Cascade Lakes Highway of Central Oregon

     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, so I decided to spotlight some images that emphasize this area’s impressive beauty.  Sparks Lake is a favorite location of many photographers and I am no exception. I have to start my exploration of this ara with an image of one of one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed.  It was the sort of scene which makes me nervous with excitement.  Part of what makes this one of the favorite images in my portfolio is that Debbie and Emma were there to share in this exquisite scene.  Emma to this day refers to this image as “Froggy Lake” because of all the frogs she and Debbie studied that evening.

 

       

Sparks Lake Sunset

The following image is another taken with Emma, but it required more effort than the previous image.  This was a scene I scouted while sea kayaking on Sparks Lake with my good friend, Mike Croxford, AKA “Old Mike”.  Therefore, the next morning, I awoke long before sunrise, scooped Emma out of bed in her footy pajamas and we drove to Sparks Lake where I made trips awding back and forth in waist deep water carrying gear and Emma to a small island, where this shot was taken.  I was consumed with the scene and Emma was consumed with sleep.  She quickly fell asleep on my down jacket(see Columbia River Gorge entry) while I worked the scene.   Soon the light became too harsh and hummingbirds frantically worked the scene as I had moments before.  

 

       

Sparks Lake Garden

The next two images are both of Mt. Bachelor as seen earlier this summer along the shores of Sparks Lake.  the first displays a channel of water gracefully coursing through a field of buttercups, one of the first flowers to announce the arrival of spring along the cascade lakes highway.

 

       

Mt. Bachelor and Buttercups

The following image is of Mt. Bachelor fronted by a foreground of Mountain Heather Blooming on small islands adjacent to the shores of Sparks Lake.  This specific area of Sparks Lake is in my experience, essentially a holding basin designed by mosquitos in order to exsanguinate crazed landscape photographers, namely myself.

 

       

Mt. Bachelor and Mountain Heather Islands in Sparks Lake

From this image I move along to another of my favorite cascade lakes, Elk Lake.  Elk Lake has more developed areas and is famed for a small but relatively stable population of sail boats residing there.  My favorite area of the lake is the “south beach” area, cleverly named for the fact that it is on the south shore and has a beach and not because is sports art deco architecture, palm trees, or a prominent fashion district.  The following image was captured near south beach with South Sister Mountain in the background.  The most difficult part of capturing this image was waiting for the dozens of hummingbirds to clear the scene before exposing my film.  Had I not waited the hummingbirds would have been represented by an unattractive blur due to the long exposure times I usually utilize with my large format camera.

       

South Sister, Elk Lake, and wildflowers

 Next is an image taken this July showing a foreground of columbine, where I fought a similar duel against dive-bombing hummingbirds repeatedly invading my shot.  I especially like the early morning fog breaking up the scene, adding to this landscape photograph.

 

       

South Sister, Elk Lake, and Columbine along the Cascade Lakes Highway.

Finally I’ll conclude with a Sparks Lake shot taken earlier this summer at sunrise.  Another stunning light show at a truly beautiful location for landscape photography in Central Oregon.

 

       

Sparks Lake sunrise with South Sister and Broken Top

Oct 30, 2008 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »

Three Finger Jack and Canyon Creek Meadow

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 Canyon Creek Meadow.

Debbie and Emma packing into lower Canyon Creek Meadow

The flowers in the lower meadow were a little bit ahead of their prime, but the area is beautiful nonetheless.  Below is a shot of our campsite in the lower Canyon Creek Meadow with a nice view of Three Fingered Jack.

Campsite in the Lower Canyon Creek Meadow

Upper Canyon Creek Meadow is much more alpine in nature and is generally considered to be more scenic, which makes it well worth the additional effort to get there.  While the upper meadow is stunning, camping there is discouraged due to heavy use.  Instead, backpackers are encouraged to camp in the lower meadow and day hike up to the upper meadow sparing it from the extra wear and tear associated with overnight use.  Because of the heavy snow pack from last winter, the flowers in the upper meadow are still a bit early, but there were individual groupings that were quite exceptional.  below is one of my favorites.  Mountain Heather in the foreground, red Indian Paintbrush in the midground, and  backed by the towering Three Fingered Jack.

Three Fingered Jack fronted by Mountain Heather and Indian Paintbrush.

The next couple weeks should continue to be quite beautiful in the upper Canyon Creek Meadow with thousands of lupines and Monkeyflowers preparing to bloom.  I will leave you with one last image of Three Fingered Jack taken from a previous visit to the upper Canyon Creek Meadow which features a nice foreground of moss yellow monkeyflowers and pink monkeyflowers.  This image was captured with my cherrywood 4×5 large format view camera.

Three Fingered Jack with Yellow and Pink Monkeyflowers

Oct 26, 2008 | Oregon photo blog entries, Travel and Family Photos | Leave A Comment »

Columbia River Gorge and Tom McCall Preserve

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 in the Reitz household.  The Weekend was wonderful.  Emma and I arose early and shot at Tom McCall nature preserve in the Columbia River Gorge, near Rowena, Oregon.  The light was good for macros, but not great for more expansive landscape shots.

Balsamroot and Lupines bloom in the Columbia River Gorge

Several other photographers were at the preserve that morning, shooting and enjoying the scenery.  One of the several other photographers I met there, Kim, was nice enough to take some shots of Emma and I and forward them.  He has an attractive website,  which you should visit if you like landscapes and flower photography.  Emma, through her mother’s genetics prefers to sleep in and on this we had to awake at 4:30AM to arrive at the Tom McCall Nature Preserve before sunrise.  I knew she would be cold, so I brought my orange down jacket, which she fondly refers to as “The Great Pumpkin”.  She predictably got cold so I zipped her up in the great pumpkin and she was instantly comfortable.  Comfortable enough to fall asleep in the middle of the meadow.  Several fellow photographers visited to chat and see my large format view camera and they never knew she was there beside me because her head was tucked inside the pumpkin, making for a very cute photo.

Emma asleep inside "The Great Pumpkin"

Emma Awake at Tom McCall Nature Preserve

We enjoyed the remainder of the day watching while a BMW commercial was being shot near us on the winding roads below Tom McCall nature preserve.  There were hundreds of people involved and it was very secretive in that no photographs were allowed because a new sporty car model was being filmed which had not been released to the public.  The next day, Max, Emma and I visited Fairy Falls, also in the Columbia River Gorge area and took the following photo of Fairy Falls.  We visited several other waterfalls in the gorge that day and as usual enjoyed them immensely.  

Fairy Falls

Oct 25, 2008 | Oregon photo blog entries, Travel and Family Photos | Leave A Comment »

John Day and the Painted Hills of Central Oregon

Painted Hills and cumulous clouds

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 some tome.  In early May, in certain years, yellow flowers bloom in the folds of the painted hills, creating a stunning extra element to what would otherwise be an attractive scene.  Well, this was one of those few select years.

A lone Painted Hill glows with morning's first light

I left Ben Oregon early on MAy 30th to scout the painted hills.  To my excitement, the chenactis and golden bee plants were blooming just as I’d hoped.  The ranger, Scott, a very nice fellow, said it had been five years since they had bloomed in the folds of the painted hills.  He even promised an up close guided tour of the hills if I returned that evening, so I returned to Bend and returned later that evening, with my wife, Debbieand daughter, Emma.  I was fortunate enough to capture this image of blooming bee plants in the grooves of the painted hills the next morning.

Chenactis flowers and Painted Hills, central Oregon

It was truly a privilege to get such wonderful access to such a special location. This short trip was any landscape photographer’s dream.  Great sunrises, sunsets, phenomenal subject matter and my little family camping in the great outdoors.

Sunset on the Painted Hills of John Day

Below you’ll find a shot Of Emma and Debbie in our little tent at the end of a long day of hiking in the John Day unit of the painted hills of Oregon.

Emma and Debbie

Oct 24, 2008 | Oregon photo blog entries, Travel and Family Photos | 1 Comment »