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Typically, in the world of Central Oregon Landscape photography there is a shoulder season between Autumn and winter which can be prolonged and unproductive. During this shoulder season, which we are in the midst of right now, I always hope for a few light snows that add texture and interest to our Central Oregon Cascades. There is a fine line, however, between enough snow and too much snow. Enough snow allows access without requiring overnight camping and snowshoes. Recently we’ve had just enough snow. One spot I like to visit in our photographic shoulder season is Big Lake. It is near Hoo Doo Ski area and is beautiful any time of year. The shoulder seasons are my favorite times of year at Big Lake because of sunsets like I recently experienced there. Below is the first of many shots I captured that evening.

Mt. Washington and pastel skies reflected in Central Oregon's Big Lake
As the sun slowly faded I enjoyed the kind of light that is a landscape photographer’s dream. The initial soft pastels hardened into more intensive and contrasty colors. Below is a photograph taken within 10 minutes of the first, showing a quickly changing set of cloud formations.

Mt. Washington and Big Lake's shore line illuminated by pastel skies high in the Central Oregon Cascades.
Next is slightly later image showing Mt. Washington reflected in a small cove along Big Lake’s shore.

Mt. Washington reflected in Big Lake, high in the Central Oregon cascades
As the light faded an attractive and almost electric scene developed along Big Lake’s shore line.

Big Lake reflects a beautiful sunset high in the Central Oregon Cascades
Soon after the above shot was taken, the light faded, the wind picked up and I packed up my gear and headed home to Bend after a very successful and extremely beautiful sunset. The next photograph also falls into my “shoulder season” category. It was obviously taken on a different evening but one that was no less beautiful than the one I enjoyed at Big Lake. This photograph was taken at Bend’s Tumalo Reservoir. It is one of my favorite locations for Central Oregon landscape photography for several reasons. It is close to the city of Bend, and it offers a nice reflection of all three of the Three Sisters Mountains. The mid ground of the following image is an area commonly known as the skyline forest. This area is privately owned and was previously known as the Bull Springs tree farm. It is composed of over 33,000 acres and encompasses much of the area between Bend and the Three Sisters Wilderness area. It would truly be a shame to have this wonderful area developed into a resort with the possibility of over 1,000 homes. It would be a shameless waist of breeding habitat for elk and mule deer and recreational habitat for people. Can you imagine the view of the Three Sisters from Awbrey Butte spoiled by a city the size of Sisters where there was once nothing but beautiful ponderosa forests? Can you next imagine the following image spoiled by a city crowding the area beyond the the reservoir? Groups like the Deschutes Land Trust are working hard to make sure that the cities of Bend and Sisters never have their view ruined and that valuable wildlife habitat isn’t permanently destroyed so that out of state developers can get richer. The Deschutes Land Trust is a special group filled with great people, many who I know personally and all of whom have Central Oregon’s best interests in mind Another group worth looking into if you are interested, as I am, in preserving the skyline forest west of Bend, is the Central Oregon Landwatch.
Enough of my conservation ramblings, below is the photograph which reminded me of the struggle to save the skyline forest area.

Sunset over Tumalo Reservoir, west of Bend. Just beyond the tree line is the area referred to as the "skyline forest"
Nov 14, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 4x5 camera, bend oregon, bend oregon fine art photography, bend oregon landscape photography, big lake, big lake sunset, cascade mountains, central oregon cascades, central oregon fine art photography, central oregon landscape photography, central oregon landwatch, central oregon stock photography, deschutes land trust, deschutes national forest, large format photography, mike putnam, mt washington, nn, oregon fine art photography, oregon stock photography, pacific crest stock, skyline forest, three sisters, three sisters wilderness | 4 Comments »

While on a recent trail run, with Debbie, I was stunned by the fall color in Shevlin Park, one of the true jewels in Bend’s park system. I’ve been there hundreds of times before but this time was different. During our usual Shevlin Park Trail Loop run, I found myself repeatedly stumbling while [...]
Nov 09, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Add new tag, autumn color, backpacking, bend oregon, bend oregon landscape photography, bend oregon parks, bend parks, biking, central oregon, central oregon fine art photography, central oregon landscape photography, central oregon parks, central oregon photography, debbie putnam, fall color, fine art photography, hiking, larch trees, large format photography, mike putnam, ponderosa, ponderosa trees, riparian zone, shevlin park, trail conditions, trail reports, trail running, tumalo creek | Leave A Comment »

OK, I recognize that this blog entry is a vast deviation from my normal protocol of documenting backcountry adventures highlighted with pleasant images and sprinkled with family details. Well, a lot of friends and family have been clamoring for pictures from our recent trip to Italy so here they are. Debbie(my 1/2 Italian, [...]
Nov 06, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 4x5, 4x5 camera, bend landscapes, bend oregon, bend oregon fine art photography, bend oregon photography, bend photographer, central oregon photographer, central oregon photography, chris reitz, coliseum, cunque terre, debbie putnam, duomo, emma putnam, flo scholz, florence, florence italy, florence scholz, hood river, italian travel, kenny shcolz, large format camera, manarola, max reitz, mike putnam, mike putnam photography, montepulciano, monterosso, montichielli, oregon landscape photography, oregon photography, pacific crest stock, san gimigano, sheila putnam, torre rosa, torreguelfa, vernazza villa poggiano | Leave A Comment »

Some of my favorite Central Oregon hiking areas are the alpine basins that surround Broken Top Mountain, located in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area near Mt. Bachelor. There are several beautiful hiking trails that hive good access to amazing alpine scenery high on the flanks of Broken Top, including the Tam McArthur Rim [...]
Nov 01, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 4x5 large format camera, backcountry, backpacking, bend, bend oregon, bend oregon photography, broken top, broken top trail, central oregon, central oregon photographer, central oregon photography, climbing, clouds, crater ditch trail, green lakes trail, hiking, lake, large format, larkspur, middle sister, mike croxford, mike putnam, mike putnam photographer, monkeyflower, mt washington, north sister, pacific crest, pacific crest stock, sisters oregon, skiing, sunrise, sunset, tam mcarthur rim, three fingered jack, wildflowers | Leave A Comment »
The Cascade Lakes Highway near Bend,Oregon is arguably one of the prettiest drives in the United States and is filled with outdoor adventure options. Fishing, skiing at Mt. Bachelor, cross country skiing from Dutchman Flat, hiking, climbing, and of course photography. Every year I make several photographic journeys along the cascade lakes highway, [...]
Oct 30, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 4x5, backpacking, bend, bend oregon, broken top, buttercups, cascade lakes highway, cascade mountains, cascades, central oregon hiking, central oregon landscape photography, columbine, cross country skiing, debbie putnam, dutchman flat, elk lake, hiking, hummingbirds, landscape photograph, landscape photography, large format camera, mike croxford, mike putnam, mike putnam photography, mountain heather, mountains, mt bachelor, oregon, oregon landscape photography, oregon mountains, ski, skiing, south beach, south sister, sparks, sparks lake, sunrise, sunset, wildflowers | Leave A Comment »

Debbie, Emma and I recently enjoyed an overnight backpacking trip in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area. The trail is relatively short (about 5 miles round trip) and the scenery is stunning. Emma was a trooper while Debbie and I groaned about pack weight. Below is a shot of my girls shortly after entering the lower [...]
Oct 26, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 4x5, 4x5 camera, alpine, alpine flowers, backpacking, bend, bend oregon, canyon creek, canyon creek meadow, cascade mountains, cascades mountains, central oregon, central oregon landscape photography, central oregon photography, fine art photography, heather, indian paintbrush, landscape photographers, landscape photography, large format, large format photography, lupine, lupines, meadows, mike putnam, mike putnam photography, monkeyflowers, mountain heather, mountains, oregon, oregon cascades, pacific crest, pacific crest photography, paintbrush, pink, sisters, sisters oregon, streams, three finger jack, three fingered jack, view camera, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow | Leave A Comment »

Balsamroot in the Columbia River Gorge
On the weekend of May 10th, Emma and I decided to visit our good friends, the Max, Chrissy, Joe Joe and Jill Reitz in Hood River, Oregon. Unfortunately, Chrissy(Momma) Reitz and Joe Joe and Jill were out of town, leaving my long time friend Max as the only one left [...]
Oct 25, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: balsamroot, bend oregon, bend photography, central oregon, chrissy reitz, columbia, columbia river, columbia river gorge, debbie putnam, digital camera, early morning, fairy falls, fine art photography, fine art print, fine art prints, flower, flowers, hood river, hood river oregon, kim brun, landscape photography, large format camera, large format landscape photography, large format photography, lupine, lupines, max reitz, mccall, mike putnam, mike putnam photography, morning, mountains, mt. hood, nature photography, oregon, oregon landscape photography, oregon mountains, oregon photo, oregon wildflowers, pacific crest, pacific crest photography, river, sunrise, sunset, tom, tom mccall, tom mccall nature preserve, view camera, waterfall, waterfalls, wildflower, wildflowers | Leave A Comment »

The painted hills unit in the John Day area of Central Oregon has been a favorte of photographers since its discovery because of its stunning colors and other worldly scenery. I’ve been there many times. Some visits were more successful than others, but one particular shot that I’ve obsessed over has eluded me for quite [...]
Oct 24, 2008 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, backpacking, bee plants, camping, canon 5d, canon camera, clarno unit, cleomes, clouds, contral oregon, cumulous clouds, debbie putnam, digital camera, eastern oregon, fine art, high desert, hiking, john day, john day painted hills, landscape photography, large format camera, large format photography, mike putnam, mike putnam photography, oregon, oregon landscape photography, oregon photography, painted hills, painted hills unit, Photography, stock photography, sunrise, sunset, view camera | 1 Comment »