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
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
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
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
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!
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
Central Oregon’s Mt. Washington Greeting Cards
Continuing on in my series of new greeting cards which will soon be released, I’ll share a photo of Oregon’s Mt. Washington, one of the lesser recognized of the Central Oregon volcanoes. Mount Washington has its own wilderness area and is easily visible from both Santiam Pass and McKenzie pass. From along Santiam Pass and high above Suttle Lake, Mt. Washington has a shape somewhat reminiscent to the Matterhorn, but of course in a smaller version. It is a beautiful mountain. One of my favorite views of this scenic mountain is seen from Big Lake which is located near HooDoo ski resort slightly west of Santiam Pass. Big Lake is where I captured the following image which is represented in my soon to be released line of Central Oregon Greeting Cards.
Picture/photo of Oregon's Mt. Washington greeting card as seen from Big Lake
Big Lake is a great recreational location offering camping, hiking, fishing, boating and great mountain views of Mt. Washington. I captured this Oregon Landscape photo last fall after an autumn snow covered the alpine areas high above the lake. To view some other pictures I took on this same colorful evening along the shores of Big lake click this link Mt. Washington Photos. This was one of many great photos I took that evening. The photography conditions were exceptional for several reasons. First, it is a great location for landscape photography regardless of the conditions. Second, the freshly fallen snow made for a much more detailed and interesting scene, giving is a more alpine look and feel. Third, the clouds were awesome, as was the sunset light which changed dramatically by the minute(see the previous link for some examples). Lastly, there was very little wind, allowing a wonderful mountain reflection of Mt. Washington in the still waters of Big Lake. This is one of my favorite compositions from that beautiful evening and also one of my wife, Debbie’s favorites. I think it is a great representation of Oregon’s Mt. Washington on a gorgeous evening and it will be well received in my new line of Central Oregon Cascade Mountain Greeting Cards. Please check back as there will be two more Central Oregon mountains covered in the next few days before my Art Cards arrive and are available.
Thanks for visiting,
Mike Putnam
Three Sisters Mountains Greeting Cards
Living In Bend, Oregon it is almost impossible to not be familiar with the Three Sisters Mountains. Most commonly they are referred to as South Sister, Middle Sister, and North Sister. They are also referred to as Charity(South), Hope(Middle) and Faith(North). These names are usually attributed to early settlers in the Central Oregon area.
Three Sisters Art Card as seen from the Tumalo area near, Bend Oregon
All of the Three Sisters mountains are over 10,000 feet tall making them the third, fourth and fifth tallest mountains in the state of Oregon. In decreasing order of elevation they are South Sister, North Sister, and Middle Sister. In decreasing order of age they are North Sister, Middle Sister, and South Sister. Upon close viewing, this age order is easily recognizable in that North Sister is the most eroded followed by Middle sister and then South Sister which is by far the most massive of the Three Sisters.
Between the Three Sisters, there are 15 named glaciers, which is almost half of the 35 named glaciers in the state of Oregon. All Three of the Sisters are located within the appropriately named Three Sisters Wilderness Area which encompasses over 280,000 square acres of land making it the second largest wilderness area in Oregon. The most recent volcanic eruptions for each of these were as follows: North Sister 100,000 years ago, Middle Sister 50,000 years ago and South Sister 2,000 years ago.
Of the Three, South Sister is the most easily climbed of the three and is arguably the most frequently climbed glaciated mountain in the world. It is usually accessed via the Cascade Lakes Highway on the south side of the Three Sisters Wilderness area. The two most common trailheads for climbing of South Sister are the Green Lakes trail and the Devil’s Lake trail. While climbing South Sister is not technical, it does make for a long day with nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain and loose volcanic pumice under foot for much of the climb. In the summit crater of South Sister is a small teardrop pool which melts out late every summer and is widely considered to be the highest lake in Oregon at over 10,000 feet in elevation. Middle Sister, like South Sister can be a non-technical climb but access is more difficult with most climbers departing from the Obsidian Trail area to the west of the Three Sisters or the Pole Creek trailhead near the city of Sisters, Oregon. North Sister is by far the most difficult and dangerous climb of the three mountains because of some very exposed and steep slopes with poor loose rock covering the route.
Personally, the Three Sisters Mountains are a prominent reason why my wife, Debbie and I moved to Bend, Oregon 12 years ago. Their glacier clad slopes are a stunning site at any time of the year and the fact that they are visible from many locations in the Central Oregon area make them a regular and wonderful landmark for visitors to Bend and the Central Oregon area.
The above picture of the Three Sisters Mountains with a foreground of A hayfield in the Tumalo Area. The hayfield adds texture and color to the scene and serves as a worthy foreground for these beautiful mountains. This scenic photo was taken in early autumn after a mountain snowfall. This picture was taken before sunrise while pink pre-morning light bather the sky above the Three Sisters. The foreground is made even more interesting because the hayfield had been coated with a light layer of frost during the night. The fine art print of the image offer excellent detail of the frost covered hay in the foreground.
If you have interest in purchasing this ore any of the other greeting cards in my line of soon to be launched Cascade Mountain Greeting Cards, please check back with this site soon as the cards have been ordered and will be printed soon and hopefully arrive before May 1st, 2009.
for those of you who have interest in fine art photographs of this or any my other Cascade Mountain Images, Please visit the following Link. Cascade Mountain Gallery
Thanks for visiting and check back soon for my next entry about my line of Oregon Greeting Cards.
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Bend, Oregon First Friday Spring Art Hop
I’d like to thank all my friends who stopped by to see my landscape photography at Pandora’s Backpack this past Friday. The event was a big success and the crowds were great. As usual, the staff at Pandora’s Backpack was great. Rod, Mo, Jordan, Thad, etc are always accommodating and personable to work with. I unfortunately wasn’t able to visit the show locations for a couple of friends who were also participating in the spring first Friday Art Hop in downtown. Jane Tolve and Mary Catherine, if you’re reading this, I hope things went great for you. I won’t be showing at Pandora’s for the First Friday Art Walk in May as I have another commitment that I’ll announce pretty soon.
The Pacific Crest as seen from the summit of Central Oregon's South Sister.
The above image of of Middle and North Sister and the rest of the Cascade Crest extending north was a big hit at the art hop. It is fun to share the mountain line-up all the way into Washington State with people. If any of you who attended my show have any questions about my work or would like to see one of my fine art landscape photography prints again, please email me or call 541-610-4815. Once again, thanks to everyone who made the spring art hop a big success.
Take Care,
Mike Putnam
First Friday Art Show- 12/5/08
Broken Top Basin
Deschutes River in Autumn
The above image was taken near the Deschutes River Trail just south of Bend. The next photo, also never shown before is of Mt. Bachelor taken from the Three Sisters Wilderness Area. This is the most dense stand of Indian Paintbrush that I’ve found in the Bend area. I also like how the small cloud cap adds another element to the composition.
Mt. Bachelor and Indian Paintbrush
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