Mariposa Lilies in the Central Oregon Desert
Thanks to some friends, I was recently alerted that there were a lot of Mariposa Lilies blooming on their property. Because these lilies are relatively rare and they are truly elegant looking, I was excited about the prospects. I visited several times and took several images with my Big Rig. The below image was captured with my digital camera. I hope the images with my large format camera turn out well so I can make large format prints from them.
Image of Mariposa Lilies blooming in the Oregon high desert
In some years it is rare to find any mariposa lilies blooming. Because of our wet spring in the Oregon High Desert, there were quite a few blooming this year but having two healthy mariposa blooms in the same composition was still rare. Having two vibrant blooms, with a few as of yet unopened blooms, adds an optimistic feel to this image. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that the film from my large format camera turn out well. If anyone finds any good groupings of Mariposa lilies, please let me know!
Thanks for Reading,
Mike Putnam
Oregon Landscape Photography at Three Creeks brewery in Sisters, Oregon!
I’ve been a fan of Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters, Oregon since before they ever opened. Three Creeks Brewery is owned and operated by a great group of people and their beer is phenomenal, especially their Hoo Doo Voo Doo IPA. Try it the next time you are in the Sisters area, and while you are there, check out my Oregon Landscape Photography that is now on display in their dining area.
Oregon Landscape Photography at Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters, Oregon
My work will probably be hanging at Three Creeks Brewery for a couple of months and I plan on rotating the Oregon Landscape photography that I display at this wonderful Sisters Oregon location. The above image shows the images I currently have available at Three Creeks. If you’d like to learn more about Hoo Doo Voo Doo IPA From Three Creeks Brewery, follow this link Oregon Beer Reviews.
Thanks For Reading,
Mike Putnam
First Friday Photography show at Patagonia of Bend.
Central Oregon's Mount Washington
For those of you who who will be in downtown Bend, Oregon tonight for the First Friday Art Walk, please stop by and see me at Patagonia Of Bend(formerly Pandora’s backpack). The above image of Central Oregon’s Mt. Washington is one of the several images that will be on display at Patagonia. Art walks typically last from 5-9pm but things may close early if there isn’t much traffic in the Downtown Bend area.
Oregon's Sparks Lake at Sunrise
I’ll have the above image of Sparks Lake on display, it is one of the best sparks lake photos I’ve ever taken, so hurry on down and take a look! As is usually the case, Patagonia of Bend will have a white wine of some sort available. Their wines are wonderful for removing paint and other debris from under your finger nails and I’m told that their wines are very effective as a solvent to remove pine pitch from dog fur or from the hood of your car. So if you have any solvent needs, come on down and grab a glass of Rod’s handy wine!
Mount Jefferson
The above photograph of Mt. Jefferson will also be on display at the First Friday Art walk tonight at Patagonia of Bend. It is one of the best Oregon landscape photographs I’ve ever taken, and I’ll have a large framed version on display tonight! If you are lucky, you might get to meet Patagonia’s manager, Mo. Mo is wonderful. Helpful, personable, funny and empowering. If you meet her, tell her I said she is awesome!
Oregon's Cascades at Sunrise
The above photograph of Central Oregon’s Cascade Mountains is one of my personal favorites. Taken from the highest point in the “true” Central Oregon area, the summit of South Sister, I definitely earned this shot. I’ll have a large framed 30×50 inch print of this image downtown tonight. While at the Art Walk tonight, try to say hello to Rod Bien, the owner of both Patagonia of Bend and Fleet Feet of Bend. Rod is a famous ultramarathoner, father, husband and retail giant. Despite his fame, the real reasons we love Rod are his crooked legs, his affable personality, and his horrendous taste in wine. If you are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of his legs, notice the resemblance to to the famous yet crooked legged racehorse, Seabiscuit. It’s uncanny!
Bend, Oregon's Shevlin Park
The above image of Bend, Oregon’s Shevlin Park will also be on display tonight at Patagonia of Bend. Even if you don’t get to taste the awful wine and even if you don’t get to see Rod’s crooked legs, I think you will enjoy my photography, so please stop by tonight and say hello.
For those of you who have never been to one of my shows at Patagonia of Bend, they are located at 920 NW Bond St, in downtown Bend, Oregon.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see some of you tonight!
Mike Putnam
Love Your Mother! Earth Day(Month) support for Our Local Environment.
Love Your Mother!
Much of my work as a professional Landscape Photographer here in Bend Oregon is dictated by Mother Earth. Will the flowers be blooming, will the sunrise be vibrant, will the wind be blowing? It’s all up to her. Because of that and my lifelong passion for the outdoors, I’ve been looking for a way to give something back to mother nature and Mother Earth.
Have you seen those “Make Local Habit” stickers around Bend? Well I have and I love them. After seeing one of those stickers on the back window of a Subaru Outback in downtown Bend, I had an epiphany. I’d give 20% of my print prices to environmentally based non-profit groups and I’d make them local ones. This commitment to Mother Earth will continue for one month. Luckily there are some phenomenally well run environmental organizations with which I already have a great relationship, so the decision was an easy one. I’ve decided that my contribution to Mother Earth will come in the form of donations to either The Deschutes Land Trust or the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
Both of these two organizations are efficient, have honorable missions, and they are staffed with talented, motivated and affable individuals. To describe these groups a bit better, I have borrowed some text from their respective websites. To find out more, please visit the links for yourself.
The Deschutes Land Trust: ”The Land Trust’s mission is to work cooperatively with landowners to conserve land for wildlife, scenic views and local communities.”
The Deschutes Land Trust Vision:
The Oregon Natural Desert Association: ONDA is a 1,400-member, grassroots organization committed toprotecting, defending, and restoring the health of Oregon’s native deserts for present and future generations. Founded in 1987, ONDA is the only group working exclusively to protect Oregon’s vast High Desert. Over the past 20 years, ONDA has earned many successes including the protection of Steens Mountain as the nation’s first “cow-free” Wilderness in 2000, and the removal of livestock from both the Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and the Wild and Scenic Owyhee River. In 2009 ONDA was instrumental in the designation of the Badlands and Spring Basin Wilderness Area, creating 40,000 acres of new desert wilderness.Bend Photography Updates and a plea for the arrival of Spring in Central Oregon!
As I write this blog entry, it is snowing here in Bend, Oregon. While we have had some beautiful spring weather recently, days like today cause some to swirl back into a winter malaise. Because I have been out scouting some upcoming photography shoots, I realize that spring really can’t be far away. Some early high desert flowers such as sand lilies and alpine phlox are starting to bloom. If you are a Central Oregon resident and have been tethered to a computer recently, I hope the following photos will give you some hope for spring. While the alpine areas along the Pacific Crest will not be snow free for quite some time, the High Desert areas in Central Oregon are starting to bloom.
Below is one of my favorite locations in Oregon, Jefferson Park, with possibly my favorite mountain in the world, Mt. Jefferson. While you won’t be able to see flowers blooming in Jefferson Park for a couple more months, I couldn’t resist including this image in this spring photography primer because of it’s hopeful vernal feel.
Mt. Jefferson as seen from the beautiful Jefferson Park Area
The above Mt. Jefferson/Jefferson Park photograph can currently be seen at the Sage Cafe in the Northwest Crossing neighborhood in Bend, Oregon. My work will be hanging at the Sage Cafe through the end of April and then it will sadly leave the cafe’s friendly confines. My work is no longer hanging at the Volcano Vineyards Tasting Room in Downtown Bend but it is still showing at Pandora’s Backpack AKA Patagonia of Bend on Bond Street in Downtown Bend.
Bitterroot Blooms trumpet the arrival of Spring in the High Desert
The above photo of Bitterroot blooms was taken in the high desert area outside of Sisters, Oregon. The Bitterroots are one of the earliest flowers to bloom in Central Oregon and they give a beautiful yet delicate announcement of Spring’s arrival. Everybody get out and hike in the High Desert and let me know if you see any of these beauties in their full spring glory.
The following image of Balsamroot and lichen covered basalt columns was also shot in Central Oregon’s High Desert. This area near the Alder Springs Trail Head is a wonderful spring hiking destination. For more information about this hiking area, please visit the website for the good people of the Deschutes Land Trust. They do a great job of preserving and protecting wild and beautiful places in Central Oregon such as Alder Springs. Deschutes Land Trust. Because much of the Central Oregon High Desert is lower in elevation than the city of Bend, the spring season arrives earlier in the high desert. There are many areas in Central Oregon that will have big bright yellow Balsamroot sharing their spring cheer in the next few weeks. Their bloom season is short so plan a hike to one of your favorite high desert trails soon.
Balsamroot bloom with a back drop of lichen covered basalt columns in Central Oregon's High Desert
The next photograph of southeast Oregon’s Steens Mountain offers another reminder that spring comes early in the high desert. While Steens Mountain is a lengthy drive from Bend, it is a truly beautiful place and it can offer an early dose of spring. To learn more about Steens Mountain, visit the following link to the ONDA website. The Oregon Natural Desert Association(ONDA) was instrumental in protecting Steens Mountain for current and future generations. Steens Mountain.
Steens Mountain in the Oregon High Desert
If any of you Central Oregon hikers see some great high desert flowers starting to bloom, please let me know so I can add to my spring shooting schedule.
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
Bend Oregon Art Walk. Split shifts between Volcano Vineyards and Pandora’s Backpack.
I’m pleased to announce that I will be in downtown Bend, Oregon for the First Friday Art Walk from approximately 5-9PM this Friday, March 5th. I will start the evening at the Volcano Vineyards Tasting Room located at 126 NW Minnesota St I’ll be there from approximately 5-7PM.
The walls of the Volcano Vineyards Tasting Room festooned with beautiful Photography!
At 7Pm I’ll move to Pandora’s Backpack which is located just around the corner at 920 NW Bond St where I’ll reside from approximately 7-9pm.
Patagonia by Pandora's Backpack located at 920 NW Bond St. in Bend, Or
I’ll have some of my best work displayed at these locations so please stop by.
Volcano will have their always stellar wines available for a very fair price and the Pandora’s Backpack will have their always awful wine available for free! It should be noted that while Rod Bien’s(owner of Pandora’s Backpack) taste in wine has been know to make winos gag, they do have a beautiful collection of Patagonia clothing that will make any outdoor enthusiast giddy with excitement.
smiling and helpful staff members, like Whitney, seen above, will be available to serve you some semi-toxic wine tomorrow(3/5/10) at Pandora's Backpack
Please stop by for good or bad wine and hopefully great Photography! Below is a small sampling of the work I will have available.
Mt. Washington at sunrise.
Photograph of Shevlin Park in Autumn.
Photo of a beautiful sunrise from one of Oregon's most photogenic locations, Central Oregon's Sparks Lake.
Sunrise on Central Oregon's Broken Top Mountain with a wildflower filled foreground.
Please stop by as it should be a great evening!
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
First Friday Art Walk at my newest Bend Art Gallery: Volcano Vineyards Tasting Room
The First First Friday Art Walk for February 2010 is almost upon us and I’d like to officially invite everyone to the Volcano Vineyards Tasting room located at 126 NW Minnesota St(between Bond St and Wall St.) in Downtown Bend. I’ll be there Friday February 5th between 5PM and 9PM and my Fine Art Photographs will be hanging there through March 2010. I will have several new fine art photographs on display and the Quons will be playing as well, which should make for an entertaining evening.
Interior of the Volcano Vineyards Tasting room in Downtown Bend, Oregon
As the First Friday art walk for downtown Bend was cancelled for January( because it was on New Years Day) This Art Walk for February should be especially busy and exciting. Below is another shot of the interior of The Volcano Tasting Room with some of my fine art landscape photographs on the walls.
My fine art photographs hanging at the Volcano Vineyards mothership in downtown Bend.
Finally one last shot of the lovely and affable Liz Ratcliff who along with her husband, Scott, is the owner and operator of Volcano. If you see Liz on Friday night, buy a glass of their amazing Syrah and tell her the landscape photography looks stunning!
Liz Ratcliff of Volcano Vineyards fame!
I hope to see some of you Friday Night At Volcano! Come enjoy the Great Wine, Great Music and Great photography at my newest fine art photography gallery in downtown Bend!
Thanks for Visiting,
Mike Putnam
Sage Cafe at Bend’s Northwest Crossing, My newest Art Gallery!
I have hung my fine art photographs at Sage Cafe in Bend, Oregon’s Northwest Crossing a couple of times in the past and it has always been rewarding in terms of the results and the experience. For those of you who live in Northwest Crossing, you are probably already with the great food, great coffee, and personable staff at Sage Cafe.
Sage Cafe in Bend, Oregon's Northwest Crossing neighborhood
For those of you who don’t live in Northwest Crossing, you now have an extra reason to go visit this wonderful Deli/coffee shop/art gallery as my Landscape photography is currently hanging there and will be up through the end of February. Sage Cafe is located at 2762 NW Crossing Dr. #102 on the West side of Bend, Oregon. Below is part of the talented, affable, and hard-working staff at Sage.
Sage Cafe's talented and personable staff
Below you will see some of my Central Oregon pictures with my hand crafted frames hanging at Sage which will temporarily serve as my personal Bend Art Gallery. I will rotate images through Sage a couple of times this month, so please check back frequently to see which new landscape photographs they have hanging on their walls.
My Landscape PHotography hanging at Sage Cafe, at the Northwest Crossing, Bend Oregon.
If anyone would like a private showing of any of the work currently hanging at Sage Cafe or any of my other work, please call me at 541.610.4815.
Thanks For Visiting,
Mike Putnam
My Large Format Photography Gear
Because I often field questions about what Kind of camera I use, my camera is a good place to start when discussing my camera gear. Most people want to know how I can create such large vibrant prints and what kind of digital camera I use. They are always surprised to learn that I use a large format 4×5 film camera to capture all of my fine art images. There are lots of reasons I explored and have subsequently stuck with a 4×5 camera despite its dated technology and painstaking workflow. Below is a picture of the 4×5 camera that I affectionately refer to as “The Big Rig” which I use to capture all of my fine art prints.
My 4x5 camera , "The Big Rig" which I use to capture all of the images in my fine art landscape portfolio.
THE CAMERA. WHY I STILL USE A LARGE FORMAT 4X5 CAMERA FOR ALL OF MY FINE ART PRINTS.
1. I like it! I like working with a semi-historic camera, I like the feel of it’s cherry wood body, I like the feel of the brass fittings and I like the fact that I feel like I am creating art with art when I am composing a scene with this beautiful camera. It is a very Artisan way of capturing and creating fine art images. In a time of ever advancing digital technology, Film simply film simply feels more real to me. I consider myself a documentary artist. My intention is to capture natural scenes at their very best with minimal post processing. My 4×5 camera helps keep me in touch with that intention.
2. The deliberate process of using this camera makes me fine tune my images before exposure. This camera is largely the opposite of modern digital cameras with which you can fire away without discretion. The film is expensive as is the processing. I estimate that it costs me about $10 per exposure with this camera. The inherent deliberation required with using this type of camera, combined with the cost forces me to pay attention to composition, exposure and focus. This extra attention to details actually saves me time in post processing and that I like.
3. Perspective Control. Large Format cameras like mine are made with bellows so that the film plane and the lens plane can move separate of one another. This separate movement allows me to change the plane of focus in a given shot so that I can get a larger percentage of a given scene in sharp focus than is possible with digital and 35 mm cameras.
4. Big Image format. Part of the reason that I refer to my camera as “The Big Rig” is that it is physically large. The other reason is that it has a very large film format(4 inches x 5 inches, thus the term 4×5 camera). The magic of this kind of camera lies in this large film format. I have to enlarge my transparencies very little compared to digital and other types of film cameras when I want to make a large print. Because of this large film format, I can also make an exceptionally detailed fine art print at very large print sizes. I’ve read that a slow speed 4×5 transparency can be drum scanned and is the equivalent of a 150 megabyte digital camera. That’s huge and that is a big part of why I love this camera.
THE TRIPOD( see the above image)
I use a Gitzo 1228 Carbon fiber tripod and I love it.(Come on Gitzo, how about a little sponsorship money!) It is light for a tripod that is so sturdy because of the carbon fiber material that it is made of. It has plenty of stability, adjustability and it does a good job of dampening vibration which allows me to create images that are crisp and wiggle-free. I also use a Gitzo ball head, for a full range of camera focusing options.
THE LENSES
I carry a small stable of lenses when ever I go out shooting. Because telephoto lenses tend to have lower image quality than fixed lenses, I have opted to use only fixed lenses in my lens collection. My lens collection is pictured below.
My Lens Collection. These lenses include 75mm,90mm,135mm,210mm, and 300mm and at the bottom of this image is my Pentax 1 degree Spotmeter
4×5 camera lenses tend to have a field of view that is 3x wider than the equivalent 35mm lenses. That is to say that the 75mm lens for my 4×5 camera is roughly equivalent to a 25mm lens on a 35 mm camera. My lenses include a 75mm,90mm,135mm,210mm, and 300mm. In terms of a 35mm camera, this collection does not allow for a very long/telephoto option. This is fine with me. In general, the further away a photographer is from his or her subject, the lower the image quality is. Not having a longer lens option, forces me to get closer closer to my subjects and therefore I have more sharpness in my images and greater image quality. It is simultaneously a self control and a quality control mechanism! These lenses are all very specialized and therefore very expensive but without a great lens you cannot have a sharp image, so I’m willing to pay the price.
The pentax spot meter at the bottom of the above picture is the tool I use to take light readings which I then use to calculate exposure times. The fact that it is a 1 degree spot meter means that it samples light from a circle only 1 degree in diameter. This gives me greater control over exposure which is especially valuable is some unusual lighting situations.
Me and "The Big Rig" at my preferred office, high in the Oregon Cascades. Photo Credit: "Old Mike" Croxford
These are the high points from my gear collection. I have a hand full of other goodies that accompany me on my photography outings, but they aren’t as critical as my camera, lenses, and tripod. If you are an aspiring photographer and would like some further information or advice about photography gear, please feel free to contact me through the “contact” tab at the upper right hand corner of the home page of this website.
Thanks For Visiting,
Mike Putnam
Framing My Fine Art Landscape Photographs, A Little Bit of Blue Collar Bliss
Because I have fielded lots of questions regarding the framing That I select for my Fine Art Landscape Photographs, I’ve finally decided to write an informative piece about this very subject, and here it is! Many people have noticed that when my fine art prints are seen in shows or exhibits, they are all framed very similarly and most people tend to find the framing very attractive(at least the ones who hate my framing don’t tell me about it!) Below is one of my large format landscape photographs framed and hanging over the mantle in my house. A little bit of history will reveal why I frame my prints the way I do and then I’ll go into how I actually make the frames.
One of My Large Format Landscape photographs framed with the Cherry wood frames that I make by hand in my basement workshop.
Long ago, after I had printed my very first large scale fine art print, I took my print into a frame shop. Lets just say that it is a very large chain type of frame shop. This particular store frequently has 50% off sales, so I took a coupon in and selected some matting,mounting,glass, and moulding(the pre-made framing material). When the charges were totaled, the price was mind bogglingly high! Even at 50% off! I quickly realized that I would not be able to afford to frame many large scale fine art prints with this ridiculous pricing structure. A Do-It-Yourself mentality took over and I decided to try to make my own frame. Because I am fairly handy and I have done a little furniture making in the past, I extrapolated from what I already knew. An underlying insecurity drove me to select cherry as my wood of choice because I knew that if no one ever bought one of my framed prints, the prints would still match the mantle in our living room, which is also made of cherry wood! I have to admit that I have also had a preference for cherry wood in that It is hard, works well, it often has wonderful grain patterns and I think it looks beautiful with a natural Oil finish which I prefer. I’ll spare you the intricacies of the evolution of my framing techniques and I’ll jump straight to how I make my frames.
Before I delve into the intricacies of frame making, let me preface everything by saying that the following pictures are in no means fine art. They are snap shots. I’ll also add that my process of frame making is not fine art. It is hard blue collar work, that makes me feel tough. It is dirty, sometimes physically tiring, and after a long day of frame making, I’m exhausted. That being said, I love the results. I describe my frames as being simple, elegant, natural, and unique. They are a perfect compliment to my fine art photography. They are not perfect, because the real cherry wood that I make them from is not perfect, but it does have wonderful character that makes it much more interesting that processed, fake frames.
I start my process with real, cherry wood that I buy at Hardwood Industries here in Bend Oregon. The guys there, Tom, Hunter, and Mike are very helpful moving pallets of wood around with their forklift so that I can get to the high quality cherry wood that I need. I go through big piles of rough sawn wood an select boards that have mostly heart wood and interesting grain that I think I can make into a beautiful frame. Below is a pile of hardwood in the raw at the Hardwood Industries.
Piles of rough sawn Cherry at Hardwood Industries, in Bend, Oregon.
After selecting the boards I want, I stuff these 10 foot long pieces of lumber into my truck and haul them down to my basement once I arrive at home.
I’d like to remind you that My basement wood shop, which I affectionately refer to as Lava Lands Wood Shop(because there are small basalt columns in my shop which are remnants of an ancient volcanic eruption) is not a show room and it is not especially pretty but is is efficient and I do a lot of real blue collar work there. I bet the guys on “This old House” don’t have a lava flow in their shop! Perhaps the only thing pretty about my shop is my new Cabinet grade Table saw(Thanks to the folks at Grizzly who made it). I love my table saw! I is burly(526 lbs) and will cut through anything. Yes, Mom, I know it will cut through my arm too. Below is a dusty shot of my workhorse grizzly table saw.
My Grizzly table saw in my dusty,"Lava lands wood shop"
Back to the frames. I decide how many frames I want to make and of what size and then determine which individual board will work the best for my purposes. I then chop the boards to approximate length with my Dewalt miter saw.
Cutting hardwood to length in my wood shop with my miter saw
Next I rip the wood to the appropriate width with my beautiful Grizzly Table Saw.
Ripping wood to width on my table saw.
I usually rip the wood for several frames at a time until I have stacks of wood of the appropriate dimensions as seen below.
Unstained cherry wood cut to dimensions for picture frames.
Next I examine each piece of wood and determine which of its two wide faces are best for the front of a picture frames. I don’t like sap wood(white wood) to show on the face of my frames and I don’t want any cracks or worm holes to be present either. After the inspection, I cut a “Rabbit” out of one corner of the bottom face of the wood so that I have a notch to fit the print, backing,glass,matting, etc. into. Below is a picture of m cutting a rabbit out of a piece of framing wood.
Cutting a "rabbit" out of the back of a piece of framing wood
Next I step over to my vice and do some more fine tuned work. First I plane out the saw blade marks from the ends of each piece of wood.
Planing out the blade marks from a piece of hard wood
Next step is the first of many steps involving sanding. Sanding is dusty,tiring, monotonous, it makes my hands achy the next morning, and I do a great deal of it on every frame I make. Despite being a grueling part of making frames, the results are wonderful. To feel a buttery smooth face on a piece of hard wood is always rewarding. First I sand each exposed side of a given piece of wood with 100 grit sand paper, then I sand it with 220 grit sand paper.
Sanding the edge of a piece of hard wood.
Sanding is a very time consuming step in my frame making process. After it is thankfully over, I miter the corners of each piece of wood as seen below.
Mitering the ends of a pice of sanded wood
Then I’m left with lots of little triangular pieces of wood. I typically throw these pieces away but I suspect they would make great kindling for a fire place, so if any of you readers happen to live in Bend, Oregon and need some great kindling for your wood burning fire place, you are more than welcome to come pick it up at my house.
Waste wood/kindling for anyone who wants it!
After Mitering, I pair and mark and number the corners so that I can accurately join the corners when glueing and clamping them. I match up adjoining pieces and mark a joining point that serves as a marker for cutting a biscuit slot.
Marking a corner before joining and glueing
Below is an images of two mitered ends. One with a biscuit slotted into the joint face.
Two mitered ends with a biscuit slotted into one end of one of the framing pieces.
The idea of adding a biscuit joint to picture frames or any piece of furniture is that having a biscuit slotted gives more surface area for glue to adhere to, therefore making for a much stronger joint. This might be a little over-kill for picture frames but I like the idea that my picture frames are very durable and under normal conditions should last a lifetime.
Picture frame being clamped up after glueing
You can see glue dripping off of the corners of the frame in the image above. After 24 hours of hardening, I begin another long session of sanding to even out and round off the corners and to remove any glue that has been smeared on the frames face during the glueing and clamping process.
I start this session with 100 grit sandpaper and follow that up with 220 grit sandpaper. Once everything is smooth, I burnish the entire surface of the frame with 0000 steel wool. Burnishing serves to further smooth the frames surface and slightly darken it as well. With vigorous rubbing, the surface of the frame actually heats and finishes with a wonderfully smooth finish which helps to highlight the beautiful grain of the cherry wood that I use to make the frames. Burnishing gives me a brisk upper body work-out and gives my frames an excellent quality finish.
After burnishing, I apply natural oils to the frame which slightly darken the wood’s surface. Frames are often lighter in color than I want them to be after I finish oiling them so I set them outside in direct sunlight to help darken the frames a little bit.
Picture frames suntanning in my front yard
Suntanning my frames can be a little frustrating during winter storm cycles that offer little direct sunlight and frequent snow falls. If I have a delay in framing, it is usually because of this set in my framing process. For those of you not familiar with cherry wood, cherry naturally darkens with age and exposure to ambient light. Each piece of wood has a limit beyond which it won’t darken anymore, but some pieces can get quite dark. I try to reinforce this fact to collectors who select my framing rather than opting for their own custom framing. I am quite proud of how my frames look and how they make my landscape photographs look but it is important to note that I am never offended if someone wants to have one of my prints custom framed. I do the framing at cost so I receive no monetary benefit from someone selecting my frames. They are also very labor intensive( hours of work goes into each frame) but because I enjoy the process and because I like how they make my prints look, I continue to offer these hand made frames at a very reasonable price.
I should also note that while I do make all of my own picture frames, I do not cut my own mattes or glass. I leave that up to the guys at Art On The Go (David, Brian, and Matt) who do a great job at a fair price. I don’t have the space for matting equipment in my home and I honestly don’t think I could do as good of a job as they do anyway.
While making frames is far from blissful, I do enjoy the results and the opportunity to make something beautiful with my hands. It is a very blue collar activity but one that gives a little balance to my life as an Oregon landscape photographer.
If anyone has further questions regarding my framing Please feel free to contact me through my website, or E-Mail me directly at mputnam@bendcable.com
Thanks for Visiting,
Mike
New Photographs Now showing at the Volcano Vineyards Tasting Room in Downtown Bend, Oregon!
I’m excited to announce that I recently hung some of my new Oregon Landscape Photography at the Volcano Vineyards Tasting room in Downtown Bend. Their address is 126 NW Minnesota St., which is located between Bond St. and Wall St. Through some mutual friends, Mark Merrick and Susan Ruzzo, we have gotten to know Scott and Liz Ratcliff who are the owner operators of the Volcano Vineyards and we all decided that their beautiful new tasting room would be an excellent location to share my art work with the people of Bend. They source their grapes in Southern Oregon where they craft phenomenal reds and whites. Their wines really are excellent. In fact, Volcano Vineyards is considered to be the most highly decorated winery for its size in the U.S. ! Follow this link for some more information about Volcano Vineyards’ recent awards. Volcano Vineyards. Below is one of the Oregon Landscape photographs that are currently on display at Volcano.
Photo/picture of Oregon's Mount Washington in autumn now on display at the Volcano Vineyard tasting room in Bend, Oregon.
Timing and hard work and good friends were the keys to capturing this stunning Oregon Landscape photograph. I’ll simplify by saying that I’ve worked hard to make good friends, explaining two of the three keys. I take it back, I’ve been very lucky to find great friends here in Central Oregon. One of these great friends is Troy McMullin, who is an excellent photographer and exceptionally talented beer drinker. Thus we are friends! Troy found this glorious location which aptly displays the beauty of Oregon’s Mount Washington after he had scouted long and hard. It takes a grueling bushwack through dense underbrush along with a good GPS to find this location and I would have never found it without Troy’s extensive advanced scouting and his unusual ability to suffer in the name of adventure. Regardless, I owe him a thanks and I’ll probably buy him a beer sometime in gratitude for pointing me to this wonderful scene. As I mentioned, Timing was also crucial to capturing this landscape photograph. I wanted fresh fall snow and preferably some fall color on the opposite shores of Cabin Lake. The key is to get snow on the mountain and not around the lake and to have clear skies to the east so that the rising sun is not blocked from Mount Washington’s summit and preferably some clouds behind Mt. Washington to add some interest to the sky. Well, after several visits to this difficult location, everything came together. Once again, timing and/or luck were critical!
I was busy this fall. Below is another picture now hanging at Volcano. In this image I captured some wonderful fall color along the Crooked River north of Redmond, Oregon. Here is a link to a previous blog entry about this landscape photo. Crooked River Photo.
Oregon's Crooked River Canyon with brilliant autumn color
There are three separate images that I captured during a family backpacking trip into Canyon Creek Meadow at the base of Three Fingered Jack during this past summer. It is extraordinarily lucky for me to get three separate images with my large format 4×5 camera that are print worthy during the same trip but that was the case this summer during our trip to Three Fingered jack. The Canyon Creek area is always beautiful but this year the lupine meadows were especially full and stunning. Below are a couple images taken in the upper Canyon Creek Meadow.
Picture of Purple Lupines in Central Oregon's Canyon Creek Meadow
I like that the lupines in this images are in excellent condition and I like the gentle sway that some of them have which gives this Oregon wildflower picture an elegant feel. There were Lupines everwhere as you can tell from the following image, also taken in Canyon Creek meadow.
Photo of Oregon's Three Fingered Jack Mountain and Canyon Creek Meadow at sunrise.
Finally, here is one more picture from Canyon Creek Meadow that I took on the same backpacking trip. It is a different part of the meadow and I believe it generates a much different feel than most photographs you will find of Three Fingered Jack or Canyon Creek Meadow.
Picture of Central Oregon's Three Fingered Jack Mountain and a wildflower lined alpine stream.
As I think about all the images I’ve currently got hanging down at Volcano, I realize that I’ve got that place pretty packed. I hope Scott and Liz don’t mind! Below is a distinctly more wintry image I took two years ago at Benham Falls along Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes River Trail. I was lucky to be able to drive to this location after such a heavy snow fall. It was actually pretty questionable and my poor daughter Emma got cold feet while patiently waiting for me to compose this snowy photograph. I’ve been to Benham many times and I’ve always had contrast control issues but the heavy snow load allowed me to capture an image that was not too contrasty. I am especially happy that I found this scenic waterfall while the trees around the river were still heavily flocked with snow, making for a great landscape image and making me a happy photographer!
Photo of Benham Falls in winter. This well known Bend Oregon waterfall is located along the Deschutes River Trail South of the city of Bend,Oregon
The following is a Sparks Lake Photo that I have never printed until now and I’m very excited about it. I captured an awesome light display with great snow on South Sister and Broken Top in this image. I was able to capture rare and wonderful light at one of Oregon’s most photogenic locations. Please stop by volcano and tell me if you like it as much as I do!
Photo of a beautiful sunrise from one of Oregon's most photogenic locations, Central Oregon's Sparks Lake.
Below is one more photo that can be viewed at the volcano tasting room in downtown Bend, Oregon. It is a simple but beautiful image of a vine maple overhanging the North Santiam River slightly west of the Cascade Crest. This individual tree had some of the most wonderful layering and color of any vine maples I’ve ever seen. It is a simple image but has a pleasant artistic feel.
Vine maple in autumn color along Oregon's North Santiam River
Well, that includes all of the Fine art landscape photographs that I currently have displayed at the Volcano Vineyards tasting room on Minnesota Street in downtown Bend, Oregon. Please stop by to see my work and while you are there, buy a glass of wine. The Syrah is my favorite! Their wine really is excellent and Scott and Liz Ratcliff (the owners) are great people who are growing a unique and special business right here in Bend. While you are there, you might also tell them you like the photographs that currentl decorate the walls of their lovely tasting room!
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Bend, Oregon Gift Photos. My New Framed 11×14 Fine Art Prints Make Great Holiday Gifts.
Bigger isn’t always better! I have to keep telling myself this as I make my newer, smaller sized 11×14 inch prints and the frames that go with them. I’ve always prided myself in being able to capture and create impeccably detailed large fine art prints, up to 40×50 inches. Because I love the look and feel of a stunning, large print, I use a large format 4×5 camera for all of my fine art prints. Because I’ve had lots of requests for smaller photos, I’ve finally changed my bigger is better mindset and begun producing 11×14 inch prints that have proven to be very popular. Below is an image of a custom made 11×14 inch print that I made this past summer. In the Photo is Bend, Oregon’s Shevlin Park with Tumalo Creek flowing through the middle of the image. Fall color was amazing two years ago, when I captured this particular photograph. To view some more photos of Shevlin Park in its autumn splendor, check out this previous blog entry. Shevlin Park Pictures.
Photo of framed 11x14 inch print of Bend, Oregon's Shevlin Park in Autumn.
My new line of 11×14 inch prints will appear much like the print seen in the photo above. If the print is framed by me it will have a hand made cherry wood frame like the one seen above. They will be dry mounted, be single matted(double matting is too busy for a smaller print size like this one and they will be behind UV protected glass. Like all of my fine landscape photographs, they will be hand signed by me, and they will have a hanging wire on the back. This all comes for the low,low,low price of $250! In all honesty, I don’t know where else you could find an archival fine art photograph, hand signed, mounted, matted, with glass and a hand crafted cherry wood frame for $250. All of the images in my Oregon fine art landscape portfolio will be available in this smaller size, so if you’d like to buy a unique gift for someone special, please drop me a line or give me a call. 541.610.4815.
Thanks For Reading,
Happy Holidays,
Mike Putnam
Central Oregon Autumn Ground cover.The next fine art print in my Macro photography art gallery.
Despite what you might think, I often find more difficulty with macro photography than I do with the big sweeping western landscapes for which I’m more well known. Frankly, finding and capturing very small yet attractive scenes is very challenging for me. What small scene is interesting enough to merit the expense and time commitment of shooting the scene, having expensive prints made, and then having the image framed, and then having the courage to show the print in public and have it be scrutinized by your peers and potential collectors?
Central Oregon Autumn Ground Cover
In actuality,I find most macro photography somewhat cliched. How many close-ups of out of focus roses do I need to see? It is rare for me to find a macro image that is unique and doesn’t have any distracting and unsightly debris in the field of view.
Another difficulty I have with macro images is that they rarely convey a sense of place. I like to draw a parallel between Fine Art Landscape photography and the high end wine world. Both fine wines and fine art landscape photographs are a product of a special place on earth(think terroir in the wine world) and unique timing. No other wine will taste exactly like a 2007 Penner Ash Dussin Vineyard Pinot Noir (one of my personal favorites) and no other photograph will look exactly like a given fine art landscape photograph from Sparks Lake at sunrise after fresh snowfall in the mountains. Both the Penner Ash Pinot Noir and the Sparks Lake Print are unique because of the landscape and timing that make both of these wonderful things possible.
While the above photograph may never be one of my best sellers, I do feel that it conveys a sense of terroir and for me it holds enough interest to make it a worthy fine art photograph. I love the variation of color, the small water droplets and swirling motion of the uniquely shaped autumn foliage. This is an image that I nearly missed because I was focusing on the big picture. I was at Sparks Lake where I shot this New Sparks lake Photo. I was trying to find one more unique composition of South Sister and Broken Top framed over the glassy waters of Sparks Lake when I briefly looked down to find the splash of color and texture which eventually became the image you see above. I searched about on my hands and knees for quite some time, examining different little bits of ground cover until I found the tiny little scene that you see above. I shot this image with my large format 4×5 camera and I can’t wait to see this as a large framed print because of the way it uniquely represents a small but unique photographic terroir that is dear to me.
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
Oregon’s Mt. Washington Fine Art Photograph
The next of my soon to be released fine art prints is one that I’ve been trying to capture for two years now. It is a location that I have to thank Troy McMullin for. He scouted this image quite some time ago and I’ve searched for the appropriate conditions to make this shot work ever since then. My goal with all of my fine art large format photographs is to capture Oregon’s beautiful locations at the best time of year and under the optimal conditions. Optimizing variable photographic conditions of light, flower and plant colors and weather patterns obviously makes for a better fine art photograph but it also serves to better represent the beautiful and wild Oregon locations that recharge my soul. Photographing these locations in anything less than optimal conditions doesn’t do them justice. A good parallel to sub-optimal photographic conditions would be making your wife who you love more than anything go out to dinner for a fine meal without letting her shower and brush her teeth. (My loving wife would kill me!) She deserves better as do the wonderful Central Oregon Locations which I love so much!
Photograph of Oregon's Mount Washington at sunrise with fresh autumn snow
Fresh snow on Oregon’s Mt. Washington was paramount for making this Photograph work as a fine art print. Without a heavy load of fresh snow, Mt. Washington looks small and meek. With snow, it has the Matterhorn like appearance which makes it one of my favorite Oregon Mountains. This Particular lake happens to have great trees on the opposite shores which are covered with lichen. At this particular time of year, the blueberries and huckleberry bushes on the opposite shore glow with the colors of fall. The clouds moving in on the right side of this image also help but from a compositional standpoint. As the focus with my 4×5 camera was very sharp in this image, I think this will make an exceptional Large format fine art print. The print is not yet complete but combining fresh snow, fall color, and great light at a beautiful Central Oregon location makes me think this fine art print will proudly represent Oregon’s natural beauty.
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
Crooked River Canyon in Autumn, My next Fine Art Print.
I have recently order several new fine art prints, my biggest order in quite some time. The following image of the Crooked River Canyon with some awesome fall color is part of that order. The timing of this image was great. Nice delicate overcast light, combined with well timed fall color along the riparian areas of Central Oregon’s Crooked River.
Crooked River Canyon in Autumn from the Crooked River Bridge.
I think the textures and colors in this image will look great in a fine art print! As is the case with all of my fine art prints, I shot this image with my 4×5 large camera. While standing on the Crooked River Bridge composing this image, I slowly was swarmed with curious onlookers who enjoyed the Cherrywood, brass detailing and leather bellows on my camera. It was outside of my skill set to multi-task well but I did my best to answer everyone’s questions while composing and shooting this Crooked River Canyon picture.
Please visit my blog often to get some more updates regarding the new fine art prints that I will be producing in the next month.
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
Sparks Lake Fine Art Print on the Way. An Oregon Landscape photogapher’s dream!
As I tend to be an optimist, I have a long list of images that I want to capture with my large format 4×5 camera in order to make a beautiful fine art photograph. In my mind I have a vivid idea of what a given scene will look like when I get to the right spot at the right time on the right day. In reality, fine art photography rarely works out as smoothly as I’ve planned. The following image and story account one of the rare instances in which things worked out even better than I’d planned.
"Sparks Lake Sunrise" fine art Photograph captured with my 4x5 camera at Sparks Lake near Central Oregon's Cascade Lakes Highway
Central Oregon’s Sparks Lake is no secret as a landscape photography destination. Landscape photographers from all around the United States travel to this Central Oregon Lake off of Bend’s Cascade Lakes Highway for photography purposes. There is clearly something magical about this lake, in that it continues to facinate even after you’ve made hundreds of visits there, a I have. Oregon’s now deceased photographer laureate, Ray Atkeson, described Sparks Lake as his favorite photography destination, which is quite a compliment considering all that Oregon has to offer landscape photographers and outdoor adventurers. I’ve had good and bad luck at Sparks Lake and on this morning, I had exceptional luck. I arrived at the Lakes shores before sunrise the morning after fresh snows had coated and given detail to South Sister(on the left) and Broken Top Mountain(on the right) This coating of snow is critical to a great photograph, as the mountains would just be black blobs without the snow. This morning also happened to fall in a narrow autumn window after snows were falling in the cascades and before the Cascade Lakes Highway was closed for the winter(it closed shortly after I captured this shot) Because of Sparks Lake’s elevation, at nearly 6,000 snow comes early, stays late and piles deep.
This was one of those rare mornings where I get nervous shooting because I know that I may never see light like this again and especially not at a phenomenal location like Sparks Lake. I mostly shot with my large format 4×5 camera this morning in hopes of capturing a wonderful fine art print. When I got my transparencies back from this morning’s shoot, I was even more excited than the morning of the sunrise. They came out great! I recently sent one of the transparencies from this morning off for printing and I think it will make a stunning fine art print. I’m already picking out matting in my mind! I hope everyone loves this fine art print as much I I think I will!
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Thanks for the First Friday Art Walk support!
I’d like to offer a special thanks to those of you who turned out(there were a lot of you) to my show at Pandora’s Backpack in downtown Bend, Oregon. The turn-out was exceptional! I got to meet some great new people which made my week for me. Below was one of the images which stole the show as it often does. I call it “Summit Sunrise” because I captured this image while standing on the summit of South Sister. It captures an iconic Central Oregon view and I thrilled it was enjoyed by many people on the night of 11/6/2009.
Summit Sunrise Fine Art Print
If you invest in this fine art print, don’t worry, you aren’t required to take any of my family photos with it! Thanks again to those who turned out to support me and the new friends I made.
On a different note, I just posted a blog entry about Silver Falls State Park at our Pacific Crest Stock Photography site. Please visit the following link to view some beautiful Oregon Waterfall images. Oregon Waterfall photos. Thanks again everyone!
Mike Putnam
The Next Great Oregon Mountain Image?
I recently went out on a morning Landscape photography shoot with good friend, Old Mike Croxford and we had some stunning scenery. I’m still waiting for the large format images from that morning to get back from processing but I’m very excited about the potential of those big beautiful transparencies. Below is a digital shot that I captured that morning. Imagine this image blown up to 50 inches across and you’ll understand why I’m excited to get my 4×5 large format transparencies back from my developers!
Oregon's Mount Washington in Autumn with fresh fallen snow.
To read my account of that morning’s shoot, please follow this link about Oregon photos to our stock photography site. Oregon Landscape photography.
Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when the transparencies get processed!
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
New Fine Art Oregon Landscape Photography at the Bend Fall Art Hop
I’m excited to announce that I will have a few new Oregon Landscape Photographs available to the public for the very first time at my usual art haunt, Pandora’s Backpack (the Patagonia Store) on Bond Street in downtown Bend, Oregon. Art Hop should kick off at about 5pm and should wrap-up at about 9pm. If any of you are in the vicinity, please stop by, say “Hello” and check out my new work.
Below is one of my new images which will be unveiled. It features Three Fingered Jack Mountain in the Central Oregon Cascades and a beautiful little alpine stream.
Photograph of Three Fingered Jack Mountain in the Central Oregon Cascades.
Lots of alpine wildflowers, live water , a cool local mountain, early morning light and interesting clouds help to make this image a winner. I captured this photograph while on a backpacking trip with my wife and daughter this past summer. It is a little bit painful to admit that the summer is in fact past! Here is a link to a previous blog entry bout our trip to Three Fingered Jack and Canyon Creek Meadows.
Below is an image of Smith Rock State Park’s legendary ”Monkey Face” formation. It is an iconic and stunning rock tower recognizable to rock climbers around the world and hikers around Central Oregon. This is another Photograph that I captured with my 4×5 large format camera this past summer.
Smith Rock State Park's "Monkey Face" at sunset
Great sunset light and a beautiful cloud grouping will make this a special fine art print for those of you who are rock climbers and hikers of Smith Rock’s famed trails.
The last of my new images is from the crown jewel in the Bend, Oregon Park system, Shevlin Park. I often run in Shevlin Park. It offers several great trail runs/hikes which you can learn more about here. Shevlin Park trails. While I’ve always considered Shevlin Park an gorgeous and special place, I’ve had little photographic luck there until last autumn when I captured the following image which I’m thrilled about. You might even say that I’m as excited about this image as my daughter Emma is about picking out new school clothes, which is saying a lot!
Photograph of Shevlin Park in Autumn.
This image captures several things about Shevlin Park that I love. Riparian environments,fall color,old growth ponderosas, larch trees,and Tumalo Creek are all embodied by this beautiful image! For a few more fall images from Shevlin Park, you can visit the following blog entry. Shevlin Park. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope I to see some of you Friday, October 2nd 2009 at Pandora’s backpack in downtown Bend!
Oregon Stock Photos and some great new shots of the Wallowa Mountains
As some of you may know, I am the founder and operator of a small, High end stock photography company based in Bend, Oregon Called Pacific Crest Stock Photography. We specialize in excellent quality landscape images of Oregon with an emphasis on Central Oregon. There is a prominent trend in the stock photography world where stock photography businesses are being consolidated into larger collections of lower quality images. Our business plan dictates that we do just the opposite of that. We intend to stay small, represent very few photographers and only offer exceptional quality images for licensing. We love the area we live and adventure in and we only want it represented in the best light possible. We hope that by offering only high quality images that we will save valuable time for photo editors and photo buyers in their selection process.
As part of our Pacific Crest Stock business, we have also been maintaining a blog which documents our photo adventures where you can find great Central Oregon Photos. Pacific Crest Stock Blog.
My friend and business partner, Troy McMullin recently documented a phenomenal backpacking trip that he and I and our other friends, Jake and Old Mike took to the Wallowa Mountains and the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area in Northeast Oregon. To read the story and see some great photos, please visit the following link, Wallowa Mountains Photos. I’ll continue to make fine art updates at this Mike Putnam Photography site, but most of my trip accounts will be documented at our Pacific Crest Stock Blog so if you’d like to keep up with the adventures of Troy and myself, please visit our Pacific Crest Blog and book mark it!
Central Oregon Greeting Cards. They’re Here!
I’ve finally got all the details ironed out and my small initial line of Central Oregon Greeting Cards are now available. I’ve tried out the paypal online payment system and it is working great. I’ve even had a few advanced sales prior to this announcement!
Central Oregon Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards
These cards will be available in boxes of 8. You can purchase 8 of any one given card or you can purchase the “variety pack” which has one each of the eight different cards. You can find a tab for my new purchasing page on the right side of the home page of this website, or you can click the following link to access the greeting card purchasing page. Central Oregon Greeting Cards Cards are offered of each of the following Central Oregon Cascade Mountains. Mt. Jefferson, South Sister, Mt. Bachelor, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, The Three Sisters, Middle and North Sisters, and Broken Top.
The Cards themselves are very high quality with an attractive satin finish. They will be an excellent way of sharing a hand written note with friends, family, and clients who live in Central Oregon and beyond. For those of you in the business world, these cards will offer you the opportunity to truly personalize your correspondences with valued clients and simultaneously share the unique beauty of Central Oregon with them. The cards will initially sell for $3.00 each and boxes of 8 will sell for $24. Discounts will be available for large purchases made by distributors. Please write to me through the contact page of this website for pricing details regarding large retail orders. The contact tab is located at the top right hand corner of this page. Central Oregon Greeting Cards.
These Cards will soon be available through shop in Central Oregon. I’ll keep you up to date regarding those locations via this website, but for now, please purchase them directly through this website.
Thanks For Visiting,
Mike Putnam
First Friday Art Walk at Luxe Home Interiors in Downtown Bend. Come see the best in Oregon Landscape Photography Oregon
I hope everybody checks their Email one last time before leaving work for the weekend because I”m getting this announcement out a little late. I’ll be showing my work tonight, Friday June 5th at Luxe Home Interiors in downtown Bend , Oregon. During Art walks, the wine usually starts flowing at about 5:00PM and end at about 8:30PM. I’ll be there at about 5:30 due to some parenting responsibilities. If any of you are in the vicinity, please stop by and say “Hello”. Luxe is located at 856 NW Bond St. which is the same street that the Deschutes Brewery is on but Luxe is a couple of blocks to the south.
Photograph/Picture of South Sister reflected in Sparks Lake in the Central Oregon Cascades
The above Sparks Photograph will be amongst the many fine art landscape photography prints of mine on display tonight, so please stop by get some free wine and patronize the arts! I hope to see you all tonight.
Mike Putnam
Bend , Oregon First Friday Art Hop at U.S. Bank Downtown Branch.
I’d like to thank the good people from U.S. bank, in Bend, Oregon, who recently purchased some of my fine art landscape photography for their newly remodeled downtown branch.
Sunrise on Central Oregon's Broken Top Mountain with a wildflower filled foreground.
The above photograph is one of those now on permanent display at the downtown Bend, Oregon branch of the U. S. Bank. This beautiful image captures Central Oregon’s Broken Top Mountain at sunrise with a beautiful flower filled foreground which includes Monkeyflowers, Queen Anne’s Lace, Indian Paintbrush, Senecio, and alpine asters. This and all the other images at U.S. Bank are double matted with a museum white acid free matte which looks great at the bank.
Photo/Picture of Central Oregon's favorite waterfall, Tumalo Falls
The above Tumalo Falls also looks great at U. S. Bank. For those of you who have seen this image before, you’ll notice that this specific has a slightly different crop, giving it a more expansive feel. It is a crop I’ve wanted to try and one that the folks at U. S. Bank wanted for their downtown Bend, OR branch.
Photo/picture of an alpine sunrise as seen from the summit of Central Oregon's South Sister
This semi-famous “summit sunrise” image is still one of my favorites and is now one of the favorites of U. S. Bank. It looks great there as it does at most locations. It gives a rugged, alpine balance to the balance of fine art images in the new collection at U. S. Bank.
Picture/ photograph of the Painted Hills of John Day in Eastern Oregon
The above Painted Hills print captured in the John Day unit of the Painted Hills area is another great representation of the tremendous geographic diversity that can be found in the Bend, Oregon area. This image is also a permanent member of the U.S. Bank’s art collection.
Photo/picture of Mt. Jefferson in the Central Oregon Cascade Range
This picture of Jefferson Park was captured in late summer from one of my favorite camping and hiking areas and is one of the first locations that made me excited about fine art landscape photography. this is simply one of my favorite types of landscapes to capture. Beautiful snow-covered mountains, scenic alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and great warm evening light.
Fine Art photo/picture of Oregon's Smith Rock State Park with the Crooked River in the foreground
Smith Rock State Park offers endless fine art photography opportunities and this is one of my favorite prints from that wonderful Oregon location. The glowing towers bathing in soft warm light with a fore ground of the gently curving Crooked River offer another example of the phenomenal diversity of the Central Oregon region. I think all of the above images make a beautiful permanent addition to the downtown Bend , Oregon branch of U.S. Bank, but judge for yourself! Please stop in at the bank and tell me what you think.
I’d like to sincerely thank the kind people of U.S. Bank who chose to purchase my art work and who graciously hosted me during the May 2009 first Friday Art walk in Downtown Bend. The event was well attended and it was very rewarding to meet some new people who are willing to support the arts in Central Oregon. A special thanks should also go out to Stacey, Loretta, Andy, and the rest of the staff at the U.S. Bank Downtown branch. They were all very efficient, helpful, organized and pleasant people to work with during the completion of this art project.
Thank You!
Mike Putnam
Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards
One of my favorite Central Oregon Landscape photos is pictured below on the last of my new line of art cards to be introduced. This mountain image was captured from the summit of Central Oregon’s South Sister Mountain at sunrise. The Pink alpenglow experienced during that clear morning sunrise is one of the special things about living in mountainous areas. As you may know, alpenglow is given it’s pink color because low level morning or evening light that first reaches the summits of high mountains has to travel through a greater amount of the earth’s atmosphere before contacting the earth surface. Because of this increased contact with the earth’s atmosphere, many of the light’s wavelengths are filtered out, leaving pink as one of the most prominent colors in the light’s visible spectrum, thereby giving Alpenglow it’s pink color.
Cascade Mountain sunrise as seen from the summit of Central Oregon's South Sister.
Because I love mountains in general and I especially love our Central Oregon Mountains, this is one of my favorite Central Oregon Landscape photos. It would be very difficult to capture a more alpine feeling landscape image in the Central Oregon area. I’ve climbed to the summit of South Sister many times in the past. It’s a long and difficult but non-technical climb to the summit via the Devil’s Lake or Green Lakes routes. As it requires nearly 5,000 vertical feet of elevation gain to reach South Sister’s 10,358 foot summit, the climb is not for everyone. Several years ago I developed what my wife would refer to as an obsession with capturing this landscape photograph. I’ve climbed South Sister three times purely with the intention of capturing this mountain image. On the first attempt, I started late at night and climbed for five hours only to have the summit cloud in unexpectedly, totally obscuring any photos I had hoped for. The next time I climbed with good friend, Jake “Squishy” Bell. We started climbing the previous evening and summited and set up camp at about 11 AM. The next morning was frighteningly windy. It was impossible to stand still without being blown about by the wind. The sunrise was beautiful but the photographic conditions were impossible with my large format camera. Unfortunately, the bellows on my camera tend to act as a small sail in windy conditions. It was terrifying to be near the summit edge, much less to perch my expensive camera near it. I climbed down the mountain without taking a single shot. Very disappointing! On my next attempt, I climbed with two other people, my sisters ex-boyfriend and his sister. There was lots of snow on the route requiring endless post holing into deep snow on steep slopes, making for a long and tedious climb. The next morning was glorious! No winds and the beautiful alpenglow you see in the above greeting made all of my previous efforts worth while. The fine art version of this beautiful Oregon scene is also stunning. In the large 50 inch print, you can see volcanoes all the way to Washington State. Middle Sister, North Sister, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, Black Butte, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helen’s, and Mt. Rainier are all visible making this arguably the most alpine of any Oregon Landscapes. If you are interested in seeing this Fine Art Print in person, please feel free to contact me. If you are interested in purchasing this or any of my other Cascade Mountain Greeting Cards, please check back in a couple of days because they are almost ready for sale!
As Always,
Thanks for Visiting,
Mike Putnam
Oregon Cascade Mountain Gallery
High Desert Print Gallery
Trees and Wildflower Prints Gallery
Rivers, Lakes and Waterfalls Gallery
All content © 2010 by Mike Putnam Photography