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
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
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!
I’ll be showing my fine art prints at Pandora’s Backpack in downtown Bend for the 2009 spring Art Hop on April 3rd. Pandora’s Backpack is located at 920 NW Bond Street, Suite 101 Bend, Oregon. The Spring and the Fall art hops are the most highly promoted and anticipated of the First Friday events in downtown Bend. Typically it is an exciting, festive evening, so please stop by and patronize the arts! Things tend to start to kick off at about 5PM and wrap up at about 9:30 PM. I’ll be there with my fine art prints and, homemade easels a smiling face and a few new images. Below is one of the images I’ll bring along which has been lightly shown but has received rave reviews from the Aspen tree lovers in Oregon.
Aspen grove in fall near skyliner drive west of Bend, Oregon
The pure density of the fall foliage in this aspen grove picture makes it an enjoyable and festive image to view. I’ve always been a huge fan of aspen trees and aspen groves in that they seem to have a special energy. While I won’t divulge exactly where this photo was taken, I’ll tell you that it was taken west of Bend and it probably isn’t where you’d think it is! I’ve searched all around Central Oregon and I had very little luck with aspen groves until I found this scene. If you are an aspen lover, I think you’ll enjoy this photograph. The Next image is one I captured while backpacking along the Broken Top trail with my good friend Old Mike Croxford who is currently on an extensive post retirement road trip. Click here to read more about Old Mike’s Road Trip. Old Mike is a great adventure partner because he can carry a lot of weight, he doesn’t complain, he loves the great outdoors, and because he makes coffee in the morning! I remember how pleased i was to return from taking sunrise shots adjacent to Broken Top Mountain in the Three Sisters Wilderness area and find that not only was Old Mike awake but he’d already made coffee. Excellent!
Picture of spring wildflowers along the flanks of Broken Top in the Central Oregon Cascades
The combination of senecio, red indian paintbrush, and alpine fireweed make a playful wildflower foreground with one of broken Top’s pinnacles as a background. This is a very alpine area where it is difficult to find great flowers like these. I’ve never found an official name for the small glacial lake in the mid-ground of this picture but my friend Dave Nissen of Wanderlust Tours refers to it as No-Name Lake which is as good as an official name as far as I’m concerned. When anybody who is as gifted of a naturalist and as sharp a person as Dave has a name for something, I don’t need any other references. Therefore, my official name for this lake is “No-Name Lake”.
This next picture is a favorite of both my wife and my good friend, Big Todd. It was taken somewhere near Alder Springs Trail Head south east of Sisters, Oregon. I’ll have it at the art hop but my wife will be mad at me until I put it back over her dresser, unless of course I sell it! It is my favorite grouping of Bitterroot blossoms in an area managed by one of my favorite charities, the Deschutes Land Trust. It really is a special area and a great early spring day hike as it is relatively low in elevation and has some diverse and beautiful terrain but if the balsamroot are blooming, please beware because the rattlesnakes are out of their winter hibernation!
Photo of bitterroot blossoms near Alder Springs trailhead in Central Oregon
This final spring art hop preview picture is of one of central Oregon’s favorite locations, Tumalo Falls. I shot this photo with my daughter in a driving rain. Despite the associated gusting winds, the rain was helpful. It served to enhance the saturation of the scene that was already at it’s peak of fall color. despite the fact that one can find hundreds of pictures of Tumalo Falls, this is still my favorite. The combination of color, composition, memories and a long exposure make this photograph a strong representation of a beautiful location.
Picture of Tumalo Falls near Bend, Oregon
Please stop by and say “Hello” if you happen to be out in downtown Bend during the upcoming spring art hop on April 3rd. I’ll have the above fine art prints there as well as many others.
I Hope to see you all there!
Mike Putnam
Columbia River Gorge and Tom McCall Preserve
On the weekend of May 10th, Emma and I decided to visit our good friends, the Max, Chrissy, Joe Joe and Jill Reitz in Hood River, Oregon. Unfortunately, Chrissy(Momma) Reitz and Joe Joe and Jill were out of town, leaving my long time friend Max as the only one left in the Reitz household. The Weekend was wonderful. Emma and I arose early and shot at Tom McCall nature preserve in the Columbia River Gorge, near Rowena, Oregon. The light was good for macros, but not great for more expansive landscape shots.
Balsamroot and Lupines bloom in the Columbia River Gorge
Several other photographers were at the preserve that morning, shooting and enjoying the scenery. One of the several other photographers I met there, Kim, was nice enough to take some shots of Emma and I and forward them. He has an attractive website, which you should visit if you like landscapes and flower photography. Emma, through her mother’s genetics prefers to sleep in and on this we had to awake at 4:30AM to arrive at the Tom McCall Nature Preserve before sunrise. I knew she would be cold, so I brought my orange down jacket, which she fondly refers to as “The Great Pumpkin”. She predictably got cold so I zipped her up in the great pumpkin and she was instantly comfortable. Comfortable enough to fall asleep in the middle of the meadow. Several fellow photographers visited to chat and see my large format view camera and they never knew she was there beside me because her head was tucked inside the pumpkin, making for a very cute photo.
Emma asleep inside "The Great Pumpkin"
Emma Awake at Tom McCall Nature Preserve
We enjoyed the remainder of the day watching while a BMW commercial was being shot near us on the winding roads below Tom McCall nature preserve. There were hundreds of people involved and it was very secretive in that no photographs were allowed because a new sporty car model was being filmed which had not been released to the public. The next day, Max, Emma and I visited Fairy Falls, also in the Columbia River Gorge area and took the following photo of Fairy Falls. We visited several other waterfalls in the gorge that day and as usual enjoyed them immensely.
Fairy Falls
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