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
Feb 03, 2010 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Exhibits, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
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
Dec 13, 2009 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, First Friday Fine Art Shows | Leave A Comment »
The following Mt Bachelor greeting card is the third in my series of eight Central Oregon Greeting Cards. Hopefully they will arrive for purchase in about two weeks. As you ay be aware, my first series of art cards is focused on the beautiful volcanic mountains that highlight the skyline around Bend and the Central Oregon area. One of the reasons that My wife and I moved to Bend over 11 years ago was the beautiful cascade mountain views. When we visited it was it was a bluebird day in November after a fresh fall snow had covered the Central Oregon Cascades. The scenery was stunning. It wasn’t until several years later that I became a professional landscape photographer, but until this day, I feel a rush whenever I get to enjoy the expansive mountain views in Central Oregon.
Mt. Bachelor greeting card as seen at sunrise after a heavy winter snowfall
As Most of you know, Mt. Bachelor is one of the most prominent ski resorts in the Pacific Northwest and is an important hub in the Central Oregon economy. In general, I like to de-emphasize the effects of man in my pictures but this is impossible when photographing Mt. Bachelor which is laced with ski runs, ski lifts, and lift houses. Nonetheless,some very attractive views of Mt. Bachelor, like this one as seen from Tumalo Mountain located to the North of Mt. Bachelor’s parking areas.
I’ve previously recounted some of the difficulties of winter photography in a previous blog entry on our Pacific Crest Stock Photography Blog
Winter travel in deep powder and a heavy photo backpack is tedious at best and torture at worst. Snow blows and obscures one’s lens, and It’s Cold! I love the beauty of sunrise alpenglow after a fresh winter snow fall on a Mountain filled scene but there is a price to pay for photographs like the one above. One of the most important things about winter photography snow. That’s obvious but not that easy. Fresh snow tends to blow off of trees quickly or melt off of trees shortly after sunrise. Timing is everything. Being at a scene after a heavy snowfall on a non windy day and before the sun comes up is critically important. It also is why most winter mountain scenes are simply not that good, because the photographer has settled on sub- standard scenes with tree branches void of snow.
If you ever see one of my fine art prints, there are some interesting details. If you look closely you can see several wispy clouds drifting around Mt. bachelor’s summit and for all of you downhill skiers, you can also see a couple of snow cats grooming the runs on Mt. Bachelor. If you are interested in a fine art photograph of this image, please visit my Mountain Print Gallery
If you are interested in this or any of my other soon to be released Central Oregon Art Cards, please email me via the contact tab at the top right hand corner of this page or check back soon as they have been ordered and will soon be available.
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Apr 16, 2009 | Central Oregon Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
Yesterday started a little slowly as I had more computer and billing work to do than I prefer on any free day although I hopefully closed a fine art transaction that I’ll list here on the blog when it becomes slightly more official. My initial photo mission was to find a dry canyon outside of Sisters, Oregon, which I’d identified on a map. My hope was that the canyon would have views of Central Oregon’s Three Sisters over the top of the canyon. My first attempt was swiftly blocked by fate at the access road was closed due to seasonal wildlife usage. Oh well, as I was close to Sisters, I stopped in to see Brad at Eurosports which is an outdoor store with an emphasis on bicycling and cross country skiing. Brad was helpful as always and shared some trail information. Next I stopped in to one of my favorite Central Oregon Bookstores, Paulina Springs Books where I got a couple of trail guides to replace my old tattered versions. My last city stop was at Three Creeks Brewing Company, where Dave Fleming continues to churn out excellent beers. He recently brewed a great dry hopped pale ale which has a wonderfully aromatic nose. If you are in Sisters and you enjoy a fine microbrew, you should stop in to visit the good folks at Three Creeks Brewing Company.
As I was denied access to my intended photography location for the day I made alternate plans. I drove the back roads to Lake Billy Chinook. I’m not a power boater nor do I enjoy busy recreational lakes but I’m always pleased with how beautiful Lake Billy Chinook and the surrounding areas are. By this time of day the light had gotten pretty harsh but there were some pretty interesting lenticular type clouds forming overhead. I’ll include the following picture primarily because it shows the clouds starting to form over Mt. Jefferson, high above the basalt walls of Lake Billy Chinook.
photo/picture of Mt. Jefferson high above the basalt walls of Lakes Billy Chinook
The clouds forming at the top of this picture weren’t going to work for sunset shots of the Cascade mountains but I knew they might work out for sunset shots at Smith Rock State Park near Terrebonne so I loaded up and went to Smith Rock. For quite some time I’ve been trying to get a good sunset shot of the backside of Smith Rock including Monkey face at sunset with some good clouds as a backdrop and suddenly I thought today might be my day.
Once I’d arrived at Smith Rock I made a quick driving tour and took a couple of pictures of the Monument at the north end of Smith Rock. The monument is an alluring subject and one with which my friend, photographer, and neighbor, Troy McMullin has a growing obsession. To see one of Troy’s thousands of photos of the Monument at Smith Rock visit our stock photo site’s high desert gallery. Below is a picture I shot yesterday of Troy’s Beloved Monument.
Golden evening light bathes the monument and the Crooked River at Smith Rock State Park
The warm golden light was nice but it wasn’t the photo I had in mind. I quickly hiked down the overlook area and across the Crooked River Bridge and started heading along the river to the backside of Smith Rock where Monkey Face is located. As the light was starting to fade a bit I decided to make a gamble and try a short cut over asterisk pass which is the low point along the morning glory wall and dihedrals area where you can see a cool balanced rock. Well My short cut was a bad idea. There are signs that clearly indicate that asterisk pass is not a hiking trail and they are accurate. I managed, with a fair amount of struggle to get to the top of the pass but getting down the opposite side with my bulky photography pack was a risk I wasn’t willing to take for the sake of photos. Just a warning, don’t try to hike/scramble over this pass unless you are very comfortable with some exposed scrambling. I could have made it down the opposite side without a pack but that too would have been stressful. The good thing that did come out of climbing to the top of asterisk pass were that I could see that the clouds were thinning out over monkey face and would no longer make for a good backdrop. Additionally, I got to enjoy a new vantage point of a beautiful area of Smith Rock. below is a quick pic I snapped of the morning glory wall from near the top of asterisk pass.
Evening light on Smith Rock as seen from asterisk pass
The light would definitely be better in the morning which gives me another photo excuse to return to Smith Rock! Because of the changing cloud conditions, I reversed paths and quickly returned to the overlooks near the parking areas on the opposite side of the Crooked River because I thought that offered the best opportunity for colorful sunset. light. I was right! As I climbed along the trail to the parking area, the light really heated up and I captured the following sunset photo from near the view point overlooking the park.
Sunset photo of Smith Rock State Park and the Crooked River below
This photo alone made my day of cloud chasing worth while. I love the composition of the sunset cloud spreading out over the distant rock formations. Next I hustled to a slightly different location that I thought might hold color slightly longer. The low point with the small balanced rock is asterisk pass where I had been balanced only a few minutes before. Mt Jefferson is framed over asterisk pass in this particular photo.
Mt. Jefferson framed above Smith Rock's asterisk pass at sunset with the morning glory wall to the right.
This day typified many in my little world of Oregon Landscape Photography in the more adaptable I am to environmental conditions the more successful my photos for the day will be. I’ll soon upload the best photos from this day onto our stock photo site, Pacific Crest Stock, so please visit our High Desert Gallery if you would like to see these images or others from the beautiful desert areas around Central Oregon.
Posted by Mike Putnam
Jan 31, 2009 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Oregon photo blog entries | 2 Comments »
As our daylight shortens, the colors fade and hard frosts glaze my lawn nightly, I submit that Fall, perhaps my favorite season has officially come to an end. I would argue that autumn os our most under rated season in the High Desert of Central Oregon. The core of Bend is awash in the yellows and reds of maples and the oranges of mountain ash. Riparian zones along the Deschutes River are ablaze with the reds of red osier dogwoods and the yellows of alders. The Santiam and Mckenzie Rivers are second to nowhere for the intensity of their vine maples. Anyone who has driven over Santiam Pass in October can attest to the splendor of lava fields aglow with vine maples in full seasonal regalia. I’ve put together a small collection of images celebrating the autumn color of the Central Oregon area. Some of these images were captured in previous years while some were just weeks ago. For emphasis, I’ll take you on a virtual road trip, leaving from my front door. We’ll wonder a couple blocks away to Bend’s pride and joy, Drake Park and Mirror Pond. I rarely take photos of scenes that have houses or obvious indications of human habitation but for Mirror Pond I make an exception. When My wife , Debbie and I were planning on leaving the East coast, I stumbled upon a Bend Chamber of Commerce website with Mirror Pond as it’s lead shot. I was smitten! Imagine glaciated volcanoes framed by huge Ponderosa pines edging the wild and scenic Deschutes River right in the heart of Bend’s downtown area. Wow! I knew where I wanted to live. Below is an autumn sunrise shot from the location that sold me on Bend.
Autumn sunrise over Bend, Oregon's Mirror Pond
From Bend we hop into our fuel efficient hybrid vehicle (this is Oregon after all) and head west on highway 20 towards the storied Metolius River and the quaintly rustic town of Camp Sherman. Below is an image I’ve never published before. I enjoy the Ponderosa trees that partially define the Metolius basin and the golden fringe enhancing the rivers elegantly curving shores. I’m going to paraphrase a section I read from a fishing guide about the Metolius River which I think also applies to photographing the Metolius basin. ”If you can’t enjoy time spent in exploring the Metolius, you have no soul.” Perhaps a bit extreme but people who are fortunate enough to have spent time along the Metolius’ shores will admit that it is a truly special place whether fishing, photographing or exploring.
Central Oregon's Metolius River fringed by golden shores and saluted by land locked ponderosa trees.
Next we continue west over the lava fields of Santiam Pass and down to the diminutive community of Marion Forks. The following image is from the shores of the North Santiam River slightly west of the cascade crest. I love the strong vertical pattern contrasting with the technicolor display.
Autumn colors and patterns along the North Santiam river
The following image is also along the Santiam River. I make an annual visit to this vine maple and its double layer effect. One layer of varied color and literal layers of branches gracefully extending beyond the river’s banks. There’s something about this expressive tree and its gorgeous annual display that always makes my return visits worth while.
Expressive vine maple overhanging the banks of the North Santiam River, in the Oregon Cascades.
Next I move along to the McKenzie River and one of my favorite autumn scenes. This image is also about texture and color. It was an amazing view and made a wonderful fine art print with its combination of delicacy, vibrancy and and compostion. I love the flowing feel offered by the moss streaming down upon the vine maples akin to the rain that gently fell upon me as I captured this image. I returned to this location four times before I found the desired synergy of color, texture and light.
Vine maples in autumn adornment merge with cascading moss in the Oregon Cascades.
Next we proceed to Scott Lake, near McKenzie Pass. Every year the Huckleberry bushes along the Lakes shore put on a display that is muted by the drama of the distant snow-covered cascade mountains .
Scott Lake in autumn color reflecting the three sisters(from left to right) North Sister, Middle Sister, and South Sister.
Now traveling east, we pass Belknap Crater the martian-like lava flows of McKenzie Pass and make a quick stop at yet another surreal alpine scene. the following image is a jumble of textures and color as Huckleberries, Blueberries and willows intertwine in front of a lodgepole pine tree audience.
blueberry, huckleberry and willow mix in an alpine meadow near McKenzie Pass.
Now we progress back toward the town of Bend stopping just shy at Tumalo State Park, one of my formerly secret autumn locations. On certain years, like the one from the image below, the color can be outstanding and the scenery is always pleasant , even in less than optimal years.
Autumn color along an oxbow bend in Central Oregon's Tumalo State Park.
Passing through my beloved city of Bend, we now turn west on Galveston street and turn west towards Tumalo Creek. The following image was taken with cutest and sweetest assistant possible, my daughter, Emma. It was raining hard and I fought with water spots on my lens for quite some time before capturing the silky flow of Tumalo Falls and the pastels hues of the surrounding riparian environment. We got drenched but I got the shot from an Iconic Central Oregon location.
Central Oregon's Tumalo Falls in Autumn
Finally, we meander down to the Deschutes River and its famed River Trail where I captured this image of the river in full autumn color. I recently licensed this image to Orvis, the fly-fishing company for use in one of their stores. I love the color, the flow patterns, and the lava background which in part helps to define this special area of the world that I call home.
Central Oregon's Deschutes River in full autumn color.
It should be understood that I did not capture all of these images in the same year, much less the same day. Having said that, this trip can easily be taken in one day and beautiful color can almost always be found somewhere along the way in the month of October and early November.
Nov 24, 2008 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Oregon photo blog entries | 2 Comments »
The Cascade Lakes Highway near Bend,Oregon is arguably one of the prettiest drives in the United States and is filled with outdoor adventure options. Fishing, skiing at Mt. Bachelor, cross country skiing from Dutchman Flat, hiking, climbing, and of course photography. Every year I make several photographic journeys along the cascade lakes highway, so I decided to spotlight some images that emphasize this area’s impressive beauty. Sparks Lake is a favorite location of many photographers and I am no exception. I have to start my exploration of this ara with an image of one of one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed. It was the sort of scene which makes me nervous with excitement. Part of what makes this one of the favorite images in my portfolio is that Debbie and Emma were there to share in this exquisite scene. Emma to this day refers to this image as “Froggy Lake” because of all the frogs she and Debbie studied that evening.
Sparks Lake Sunset
The following image is another taken with Emma, but it required more effort than the previous image. This was a scene I scouted while sea kayaking on Sparks Lake with my good friend, Mike Croxford, AKA “Old Mike”. Therefore, the next morning, I awoke long before sunrise, scooped Emma out of bed in her footy pajamas and we drove to Sparks Lake where I made trips awding back and forth in waist deep water carrying gear and Emma to a small island, where this shot was taken. I was consumed with the scene and Emma was consumed with sleep. She quickly fell asleep on my down jacket(see Columbia River Gorge entry) while I worked the scene. Soon the light became too harsh and hummingbirds frantically worked the scene as I had moments before.
Sparks Lake Garden
The next two images are both of Mt. Bachelor as seen earlier this summer along the shores of Sparks Lake. the first displays a channel of water gracefully coursing through a field of buttercups, one of the first flowers to announce the arrival of spring along the cascade lakes highway.
Mt. Bachelor and Buttercups
The following image is of Mt. Bachelor fronted by a foreground of Mountain Heather Blooming on small islands adjacent to the shores of Sparks Lake. This specific area of Sparks Lake is in my experience, essentially a holding basin designed by mosquitos in order to exsanguinate crazed landscape photographers, namely myself.
Mt. Bachelor and Mountain Heather Islands in Sparks Lake
From this image I move along to another of my favorite cascade lakes, Elk Lake. Elk Lake has more developed areas and is famed for a small but relatively stable population of sail boats residing there. My favorite area of the lake is the “south beach” area, cleverly named for the fact that it is on the south shore and has a beach and not because is sports art deco architecture, palm trees, or a prominent fashion district. The following image was captured near south beach with South Sister Mountain in the background. The most difficult part of capturing this image was waiting for the dozens of hummingbirds to clear the scene before exposing my film. Had I not waited the hummingbirds would have been represented by an unattractive blur due to the long exposure times I usually utilize with my large format camera.
South Sister, Elk Lake, and wildflowers
Next is an image taken this July showing a foreground of columbine, where I fought a similar duel against dive-bombing hummingbirds repeatedly invading my shot. I especially like the early morning fog breaking up the scene, adding to this landscape photograph.
South Sister, Elk Lake, and Columbine along the Cascade Lakes Highway.
Finally I’ll conclude with a Sparks Lake shot taken earlier this summer at sunrise. Another stunning light show at a truly beautiful location for landscape photography in Central Oregon.
Sparks Lake sunrise with South Sister and Broken Top
Oct 30, 2008 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
Mike Putnam is the founder and owner of Pacific Crest Stock Photography. Pacific Crest Stock is a highly selective high end photography company based in Bend, Oregon. Pacific Crest Stock has a diverse collection of Oregon Landscape and outdoor adventure photos that capture the stunning beauty found in the beautiful back country and wilderness areas that surround Bend, Oregon and the Central Oregon area. To view Pacific Crest Stock’s collection of Bend Oregon Photos and Central Oregon Images, Please visit the following link
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Bend Oregon Photos and Central Oregon Pictures
Jan 06, 2008 | Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
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