The Road Less Traveled

So how did YOU spend Valentine’s Day?

I spent it happily birding with a friend, and snapping a few photos of the stillness on Tillamook Bay.   In the morning, the clouds were very dramatic.  It made for some really striking photos.

The day was perfect.  Overcast, occasionally spitting rain, but for the most part, still and dry.   On the water, we saw Loons, Goldeneyes, and several other fun waterfowl (though I didn’t have my telephoto lens, so not photos to share of the birds…  I know, I’ll learn.)  A pair of Golden Eagles perched in the trees across the water in the above photo, before moving on in search of food.

It seemed that around every corner there was another striking view.

The water in the afternoon was really high, reaching all the way to the edge of the road, where in the past I’d seen wide mudflats (good for a different sort of bird.   This brought the birds in close.  At one point my friend and I were stumped by a duck we couldn’t identify – red bill, brownish back, a bit larger than other waterfowl, and remarkably still.  It was bouncing up and down with the water, but not diving, or preening or much of anything…  Finally we figured out it was a decoy.  (Can you tell I’m blushing?)

One other feature of the Bay that I found fascinating, was the relics of some dock pilings.  They were full of interesting forms and shadows.  The knots in the wood left interesting spikes sticking out, reminiscent of birds beaks.   I liked this shot, as the blue sky was such a cheerier look than the ominous gray of the same morning.

All in all, it was a really nice day, birding, shooting and hanging out with a friend.

I hope your Valentine’s Day was a good one too.

For those of you not living here in Portland, we’ve got a pretty mild climate.  We get rain in the winter, with the occasional cold snap.  Maybe snow or freezing rain every third winter or so.  (Last winter’s Snowpocalypse, as my friend Sarah called it, does not count.)  But right now, along with much of the country, we’re going through a pretty harsh cold snap.

However (this is not a weather report) one of the great things about this particular cold snap has been how clear and beautiful it’s been.

On a clear day in Portland, the mountain is out.  When we say that locally it means Mt. Hood is visible.  (In fact, there are three volcanic peaks that one can see on a good day from Portland – Mt. Hood to the west, Mt. Saint Helens to the north, and Mt. Adams farther to the east in Washington State.  But I digress.)

The other afternoon rushing from one meeting to the next, atop one of my favorite local parking garages I snapped this photo of the lovely Mt. Hood with the Hawthorne Bridge in the foreground.   Mt. Hood was radiant with its new blanket of snow.  Such a treat.

Can you just feel the crisp breeze blowing across the Willamette River here?

Harvest time along the Fruit Loop

I don’t like to say that any one season is my favorite, but I have to say that this particular fall has been especially beautiful.  I’ve been taking advantage of the fall colors to go out and practice my photography.   So recently I spent a wet weekend day driving the Fruit Loop with a new photography buddy, Brian. (Check out some of his stellar work here.)   For the uninitiated, the Fruit Loop is a 35 mile circuit through orchards, wineries, farms and fabulous fall colors starting in Hood River, Oregon.   (Read on after the break…) Read more

There’s all kinds of travel and all kinds of places to travel to. For me, one of the more fun ways to travel is to just head down a side road and see where it takes me. I’m also really fond of places with cliffs and birds.

When I took off on a trip to Ireland last spring, what I was most looking forward to doing was finding cliffs to go hang out on and take photos. I stayed in B&Bs mostly, which were really more like B&B&Ls as they fed me so much I was able to pack a small lunch of toast and jam for myself to eat while sitting on the bluffs somewhere.

Anyhow, I’m working on a special project that I’m really excited about (beyond this blog, which I’m also very excited about.)

Here’s a sneak peek at a part of my project.

Stay tuned…