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
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
Oregon Landscape Photography, Three Fingered Jack at its Best.
Last summer, My wife ,Debbie, My Daughter, Emma and I made what has become an annual overnight pilgrimage to one of my favorite camping locations, Canyon Creek Meadows, at the base of Central Oregon’s Three Fingered Jack Mountain. I visit this location at least once per summer because it is beautiful, relatively easy to access, and I always find some interesting photographic scenery. Three Fingered Jack is itself a gorgeous mountain which has colorful volcanic striations decorating its rocky towers. Canyon Creek Meadows, located on the eastern flank of Three Fingered Jack always has a strong wildflower display and in some years it is stunning. This year(2009) was definitely a stunning year. The Lupine meadows were the best I’ve seen in the 10 years I’ve been hiking to this phenomenal location.
Picture of Canyon Creek Meadow and Three Fingered Jack in the Oregon Cascades
As a Bend Oregon photographer, this location is a must see. I certainly can’t promise that the flowers will be as stunning as they are in the picture seen above, but even if the oregon wildflowers aren’t blooming, the scenery is breath taking. I will introduce a fine art print of the landscape photograph seen above on the first Friday in January at the Volcano Vineyards Tasting room located on 126 Minnesota St in Downtown Bend, Oregon. I hope to see some of you there! Scott and Liz, the owners, and operators of Volcano Vineyards, are funny,smart, and talented people who have the courage to operate a winery out of the high desert town of Bend. They wouldn’t know it until now but they are my heros! I’d love to have a winery business, but I’ve never had their bravery, or wine crafting talent for that matter. If you are a wine connoisseur and find yourself in Bend, you should definitely stop in and have a glass. I recommend their Syrah, it is firm but elegant, and my favorite! OK, enough about the good folks at Volcano Vineyards.
My new photography logo!
The following image of Three Fingered Jack was also taken with my large format camera on this trip with Debbie and Emma, which is now pictured in my logo and hopefully as a favicon to the left of the URL in your browser right now.
This fine art print can currently be viewed at Pandora’s Backpack in Downtown Bend. I hope Rod, Mo and company won’t be mad that I’m changing venues for a month! It is a rare occasion in which I can capture more than one image in the same trip that is worthy of making a fine art print. Well, I guess that these two fine art prints are a testament to how beautiful Canyon Creek Meadows was this year!
Picture/photo of Sunrise on Oregon's Three Fingered Jack
I’ve got a couple more fine art prints to introduce over the next week, so please stay tuned for some beautiful new Oregon Landscape Photography!
As Always,
Thanks For Visiting,
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
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
Mt Jefferson, Central Oregon mountain Greeting Cards.
This is installment number 7 out of 8 images in my soon to be released line of Central Oregon Cascades greeting cards. The cards have allegedly been printed and are in route to Bend but the shipping will take several more days. I’m in the process of setting up e-commerce options on my website and finding appropriate shipping boxes for my cards. It will take until nearly the end of the month but things are progressing rapidly. The following image is one of my favorites of all the fine art images I’ve ever taken. It includes my favorite mountain, Mt. Jefferson, an incredible alpine flower meadow and a stunning lenticular cloud cap filling out this spectacular cascade mountain scene.
Picture of Mt. Jefferson Greeting Card as seen from the Central Oregon Cascades
As an avid gardener, this scene is especially special for me. I always hope to find flower filled foregrounds but I rarely find them despite hundreds of hours of blind but hopeful backcountry wandering. I had visited this exact location with my friend , photographer, and fellow beer sommelier, Troy McMullin a few days prior to the day I shot this image. I realized that the flowers would be optimal in a few days so I decided to return. In between, I took a short backpacking trip to Oregon’s Mt. Hood. I knew that the light would be best for my Mt. Jefferson scene in the evening and I knew that it was a long way and a lot of vertical gain to reach this scene so I decided to go light and fast, trimming my pack weight to about 30 pounds. I knew I would be hiking out in the dark of night so I double checked the batteries for my headlamps and grabbed some extra food for my hike out.
I was extremely eager to get back to this scene so I hiked in very rapidly. It is about a 9 mile one way hike to this location which also requires extensive off trail scrambling and a good GPS reading to find. When I arrived I was thrilled and immediately set up my tripod and began composing the scene. As I worked the scene, something fantastic began to happen. A small lenticular cloud began to form over the summit of Mt. jefferson. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. Lenticular clouds often hold dense, artistic patterns but it is very difficult to predict their formation. They virtually always improve a landscape photograph. Clear blue skies are happy, but are somewhat boring and common in the world of Oregon Landscape Photography. The formation of this lenticular cloud was too good to be true! I nervously but frantically shot the scene and eventually captured what I think is one of the best Oregon landscape photos I’ve ever seen. To be able to enjoy this phenomenal scene was a wonderful experience. To be able to capture this scene on film was truly a gift!
After exposing all of the 4×5 film with my large format camera, I quietly enjoyed the scene and then quickly hiked out as darkness fell. I floated down the trail remembering the scene I’d just captured. In addition to this being one of my favorite landscape Photos, it has been well received by others. This same image will soon grace the cover of Visit Bend’s annual tourism guide for the Central Oregon area. To take a sneak peak at the cover please visit this link Visit Bend Cover. The link will take you to a previous blog entry I wrote about the cover shot on our Pacific Crest Stock Photography blog. To see this fine art photograph in a framed version, please visit the Visit Bend visitor center in downtown Bend. Their address is: 917 Harriman Street Bend, Oregon 97701 They currently have this image on display and they will soon carry my line of Central Oregon Cascade Greeting Cards.
Please check back to this blog in a couple of days as I have one more greeting card to announce and a final announcement when the greeting cards are officially for sale, hopefully by the end of April.
Thanks For Visiting,
Mike Putnam
Central Oregon Cascade Mountain Greeting Cards!
For those of you who are regular readers of my updates, hold on to your hats as I’m branching into something entirely different. I’m about to launch a small but super high quality line of art cards, greeting cards, note cards, or whatever you want to call them. they will open to a blank inside for personal notes to friends, family, clients, or associates. Regardless, they should be very nice and as you might expect, Central Oregon landscapes will be the theme. My first series of 8 cards is just about to be ordered and should be available in a couple of weeks. I hope to market them everywhere that sells attractive cards. I’ve received countless requests for less expensive products from people who genuinely seem to love my photography but don’t have $1,650 available for a framed 30×50 inch print. I get it! Especially in these difficult economic times. Thus my new business idea. I’ve always focused on the best quality that I could possibly achieve from the beginning of my process to the end. It all starts with great slow speed 4×5 transparency film in a balanced, accurately focusing large format camera with excellent quality multi-coated lenses on top of an exceptional carbon fiber tripod. This is just the film capture part of the process. Next comes the processing part of the image capture process. I can have a beautifully exposed capture of a once in a lifetime scene but if the processing is botched then everything but the memory is lost. That’s why I utilize the best processing outfit anywhere. Next comes the printing. Many people have asked if I do my own printing. I don’t for several reasons. The first of which is that it takes a long time to become a great printer and I’m simply too busy to perfect the art. The second is that I don’t have quite enough through put to justify having the requisite chemicals around in my already cramped basement. Also, maintaining a top quality color processing set-up is also time consuming and frankly, professional outfits can do it better than me and therefore I choose to have them do it. I consider my printers to be the best in the world. This opinion is shared by many of the best professional photographers in the world. Because all of this adds, y fine art quality photographs are not cheap. Because I’ve had lots of requests for my images at a lower price, I came to the conclusion that high end but fairly priced Greeting Cards featuring Central Oregon Cascade Mountains would be a good place to start. As always, quality was my first objective. The printing options are endless. Decisions regarding paper, print,and font had to be made. Then of course, I had to select only 8 of my thousands of images for usage. This was brutal! There are so many photographs that I’d like to make into art cards but I had to start somewhere. With endless help from my sweet wife, Debbie, and our great friends, Jason and Christine, we have finally reached the printing stage. I’ll offer a photographer’s insight into how each of my new greeting card images were captured over the next couple of weeks, until the Greeting Cards are actually available. I’ll also leak out more information about specifics of the cards, price, etc. To start off the grand introduction of my soon to be released art cards, I give you the following image of Sparks Lake, with the distant South Sister as seen from near the Cascade Lakes Highway.
South Sister and Sparks Lake Greeting Card
I felt this was an appropriate card image to start with because it is such a recognizable location for many Central Oregon outdoor enthusiasts and because it was one of the first images that I captured that I was truly excited about. I had been to Sparks Lake for many previous sunsets but none have been the equal of this Sparks Lake photo. The scene was stunning that I got goose bumps. To capture that much color, with a perfect reflection of South Sister from such a scenic Oregon location was a gift. I always have a desire to do justice to a given location. Many of you have probably been to a scenic location and took some photos and when you returned home you were disappointed with your results because the photos didn’t do justice to the beauty of a given scene. Well, my goal is to never let this happen. Don’t get me wrong, it happens, but if the scene is beautiful, I keep going back until I get it right and I eventually do justice to the scene. this photo is very rewarding because I did justice to a famous and beautiful scene. The setting could not have been better. I was with My wife and our daughter, Emma, who was catching toads along Sparks Lake’s shore while I photographed the scene. The clouds were amazing, and the water could not have been more still. Knowing that this scenic location was a favorite of Oregon’s photographer laureate, Ray Atkeson is also immensely rewarding. Of all the time I’ve spent photographing Sparks Lake, that evening is still my favorite. I hope you all enjoy the greeting card version of this shot and please contact me if you would like to make a purchase. I’ll soon have a special Art Card/Greeting Card page on my website where it will be possible to register with PayPal and buy my cards directly from the web and I’ll send them directly to you. If anyone has any suggestions regarding locations that you’d like to see as part of my next series of cards, please leave a comment at the end of this blog entry. Until my next Greeting card entry, Take Care.
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
First Friday Fine Art Photography show at Pandora’s Backpack
I’d like to officially thank Rod Bien of Pandora’s backpack in downtown Bend for hosting my photography show last Friday(3/6/09) The store is great, Rod has always been generous in allowing my huge fine art prints and cumbersome easels to clutter up his store and the staff at Pandora’s backpack is also a great group of people. Mo, Jordan, Thad and everyone who chipped in at last Friday’s art walk. It is very appreciated.
Mt. Bachelor and Red Indian Paintbrush in the Central Oregon Cascades
We had a great turn out and it was especially nice to see some old friends and collectors who I had regrettably lost touch with in the past couple years. Above is one of the many images that are still hanging at Pandora’s backpack which I captured with my large format 4×5 film camera.
For those of you that don’t already know, Pandora’s backpack is according to my understanding a Patagonia concept store. Meaning they are privately owned but carry almost a full line of Patagonia clothing. Perhaps if Rod Bien happens to stumble upon this entry , he could give us some details. Regardless, it is full of high quality, well made outdoor gear from my favorite outdoor company, Patagonia. Old Patagonia catalogs were one of my early photography inspirations. When I lived in Kentucky with my parents, I had a small collection of photos cut out of old Patagonia catalogs taped up next to my spot at the dinner table. It was my happy spot! Back to Pandora’s Backpack. It is a beautiful store with very attractive brick walls and some nice rugged wood details, all of which combine nicely with my large format fine art prints and the hand made cherry wood frames that I create for them.
Lichen covered basalt columns in Central Oregon's High Desert
The above is another one of my fine art photos which is currently hanging at Pandora’s backpack. I captured this image near the alder springs area outside of Sisters, Oregon. I met lots of new Bend residents at the show virtually all of who are living in Bend for the outdoor experiences that are available here. Having the Deschutes River, the high desert, old growth ponderosas, and the Cascade Mountains all within minutes of each other and minutes of Downtown Bend make this an amazing place for me to live.
Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson as seen from Tam McArthur Rim
This is yet another fine art image hanging at Pandora’s backpack and yet another reason I feel lucky to live and work in Central Oregon. An endless supply of beautiful photography subjects and some amazing sunsets are nothing to complain about. The above photograph was taken from Tam McArthur Rim high on the flanks of Central Oregon’s Broken Top Mountain in the Oregon Cascades. The sunset was clearly stunning but the view is always grand from this location. From left to right are Middle Sister, North Sister, Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson. It is truly an amazing volcanic viewpoint.
If any of you are interested in seeing more of my work in person, please stop by Pandora’s backpack where my work is semi-permanently displayed. It is located at the On Bond street in the St. Clair building in downtown Bend.
Big lake, Mt. Washington the Three Sisters and early season Snows
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"
Italian Expedition
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, travel hungry wife) and I have been planning this trip since we were first married. I briefly visited Italy with friend, Scott Witscher, while in college as part of a pilgrimage to see the US soccer team play in the world cup. The U.S. team was fortunately playing in Florence, Italy which subsequently has become one of my favorite cities in the world. The USA got shellacked but Florence was stunning. My dear wife has been pummeled with stories of Italian grandeur for more than a decade until we finally saved enough money to take the trip we really wanted. Our traveling partners, Max and Chris Reitz were also up for the adventure which was something of a departure from our usual backpacking expeditions with them.
Me, Debbie, Chris Reitz, and Max Reitz atop the Duomo, Florence, Italy
We flew into Rome, where we spent three days in the heart of the city. Our accommadations were modest but our location was excellent as most of the major attractions were within easy walking distance of our B&B.
Debbie Putnam in Rome Italy
I was stunned by the sheer volume of historically significant architecture. It would take several lifetimes to explore all the city has to offer. Around every corner was another 2,000 year old roman temple, many which didn’t have informational plaques. We were overwhelmed with antiquities! Some of the highlights were the Forum, the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Vatican and I’ll end right there as there were simply too many amazing sites to list.
Obligatory Coliseum Photo
Debbie Putnam and Chris Reitz insuring a future return to Rome at the Trevi Fountain
After Rome, we took a train to Florence, the city that first made me love Italy.
My beautiful Wife waiting to leave Rome
Florence was much more approachable than Rome, in that it was smaller(approximately 500,000 people as opposed to 4,500,000 for Rome) and not so overwhelming in terms of the options. It was everything I’d remembered and hoped it would be. Gorgeous, saturated with history and art, and with a refined yet friendly finish. Granted, some things about Florence seemed a like a fairy tale land, but it was wonderful for three days. We stayed in the Torre Guelfa, built in the 1200’s, this original tower is the highest privately owned tower in Florence. It’s roof top bar/seating area, predictably has a stunning view of the city, and is conveniently located near the city’s center.
sunrise from our hotel with the distant Duomo and campanile, Florence, Italy
Night time from our hotel, Florence, Italy
Arno River sunset two block from the Torre Guelfa, Florence, Italy.
One of the highlights of Florence was it’s seemingly ever present Duomo. It’s exquisite marble exterior and Dome designed by Brunelleschi, were stunning to say the least. If you are ever in Florence wondering if you should pay the 5 Euros to walk to the top of the Duomo, do it. It is sublime. From the close up views of the ceiling of the dome, to the journey through it’s double walled structure to the endless views from the top of the dome, it is well worth the entry fee. Below are several images from Florence’s famous duomo.
The Duomo's intricate marble exterior displays Moorish influence, Florence, Italy
The Duomo's front fascade, Florence, Italy
The Duomo's dome interior, Florence, Italy
Florence's campanile as seen from the top of the Duomo
From Florence, we took a train to Monterosso, one of the five villages which comprise the Cinque Terra area on the northeast coast of Italy. The area was beautiful, defined by steep agriculture laden seaside hills, and attractive, vertically oriented villages built on impossibly angled cliffs. We spent several days there, perhaps one too many. My favorite day was spent hiking the 9 mile trail that extends between the 5 villages. Below are a few images from three of my favorites of the five villages.
Vernazza Italy with its terraced vineyards, orchards, and scenic port
Manarola, Italy
Riomaggiore, Italy, the southernmost of the five villages
The hike between the five villages was beautiful, but crowded. We ate well and stayed at a wonderful hotel, but as I am more of a mountain person than a beach person, this was perhaps my least favorite stop on a stellar vacation. Much of the time in the Cinque Terra area was spent lounging and eating, both pleasant activities, but the region certainly couldn’t compete with the culture and history of Rome and Florence, of course few places in the world can. Below are a couple more shots of my traveling companions, the best anyone could ask for.
Debbie Putnam and Chris Reitz
My long time and great friend, Max reitz, and me.
From Monterosso, we sadly had to part ways from the Reitzs. From there, Debbie and I headed south and east to the premium wine country of southern Tuscany. We stayed in the hilltop town of Montepulciano, perhaps my favorite of the trip. There is something about Montepulciano that tugs at my soul. Perhaps it’s the combination of beautifully maintained medieval architecture, meaningful agriculture(vineyards have persisted here since the 1200’s) and a friendly community feel. I have never claimed to be an expert at Italian Wines, although I am fond of Oregon Pinot Noirs, and Walla Walla Cabs. While in Italy I did find what I like and that was the Vino Nobiles of Montepulciano and the Brunellos of Montalcino. They both had a medium body with pleasant layering and full finishes. Both of these styles are grown in the region of southern Tuscany. While in Montepulciano, we stayed at a beautiful hotel, the historic Villa Poggiano. Below is an olive orchard as seen from the window of our three hundred year old cottage.
View from the window of our 300 year old cottage
Next is a sunset view of the city of Montepulciano taken from near our hotel.
The medieval city of Montepulciano, Italy.
Our first day there was spent exploring, having heart attacks while trying to navigate Italian road signs while driving a tiny but sporty fiat rental and eventually exploring the wonderful city of Montepulciano. It’s ancient and excellently preserved medieval walls are lined with residences, countless wine shops, tasteful gift shops, and exceptional restaurants. Below is a photo that exemplifies part of what is special about this city. It is Debbie strolling through a small handmade ceramics shop’s basement, which incidentally includes an Etruscan tomb in its basement which dates to 300B.C. There are no exterior signs regarding the tombs, nor any national monuments as there would and should be if it was located in the US. It is simply considered a simple side note in an area deeply submerged in layer upon layer of history.
Debbie explores hand made ceramics and Etruscan tombs, montepulciano, Italy.
The tombs are through the door directly to Debbie’s right in this photo. Next is a view from Montepulciano over the surrounding country side.
View over the medieval walls of Montepulciano exposing the Tuscan countryside.
The followong day we explored the beautiful town of San Gimigano and its wonderful medieval towers and the sleepy residential village of Montichiello. San Gimigano, like Montepulciano is famous for its wine and is wonderfully maintained village. Below is a shot taken from the Torre Rosa, the tallest of the 13 medieval towers still standing in the city of San Gimigano.
The city of San Gimigano and Tuscan countryside as seen from the Torre Rosa.
Next is Debbie next to a typical residential staircase in the sleepy hillside town of Montichiello.
Debbie and geraniums, Montichiello, Italy
To be certain the trip was everything we’d hoped for and more. I’d like to thank several people for making this dream vacation possible. First off, Max and Chris Reitz for being great friends and great travel partners. Christine Kieffer, who arranged our itinerary and lodging, both of which were exceptional, Kenny and Flo Scholz(my dreaded inlaws!) who flew in all the way from New Hampshire to take care of our daughter Emma while were away, and finally my Mother, Sheila Putnam,(who I occasionally bicker with but love and trust more than anything) who drove all the way from Iowa to care for Emma. It wouldn’t have been possible without these people. Finally a photo that shows why we were so grateful to be home , even after a trip of a lifetime.
Our wonderful daughter, Emma who makes me smile every day.
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
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