Oregon Landscape Photography at Three Creeks brewery in Sisters, Oregon!
I’ve been a fan of Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters, Oregon since before they ever opened. Three Creeks Brewery is owned and operated by a great group of people and their beer is phenomenal, especially their Hoo Doo Voo Doo IPA. Try it the next time you are in the Sisters area, and while you are there, check out my Oregon Landscape Photography that is now on display in their dining area.
Oregon Landscape Photography at Three Creeks Brewery in Sisters, Oregon
My work will probably be hanging at Three Creeks Brewery for a couple of months and I plan on rotating the Oregon Landscape photography that I display at this wonderful Sisters Oregon location. The above image shows the images I currently have available at Three Creeks. If you’d like to learn more about Hoo Doo Voo Doo IPA From Three Creeks Brewery, follow this link Oregon Beer Reviews.
Thanks For Reading,
Mike Putnam
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
Bend , Oregon First Friday Art Hop at U.S. Bank Downtown Branch.
I’d like to thank the good people from U.S. bank, in Bend, Oregon, who recently purchased some of my fine art landscape photography for their newly remodeled downtown branch.
Sunrise on Central Oregon's Broken Top Mountain with a wildflower filled foreground.
The above photograph is one of those now on permanent display at the downtown Bend, Oregon branch of the U. S. Bank. This beautiful image captures Central Oregon’s Broken Top Mountain at sunrise with a beautiful flower filled foreground which includes Monkeyflowers, Queen Anne’s Lace, Indian Paintbrush, Senecio, and alpine asters. This and all the other images at U.S. Bank are double matted with a museum white acid free matte which looks great at the bank.
Photo/Picture of Central Oregon's favorite waterfall, Tumalo Falls
The above Tumalo Falls also looks great at U. S. Bank. For those of you who have seen this image before, you’ll notice that this specific has a slightly different crop, giving it a more expansive feel. It is a crop I’ve wanted to try and one that the folks at U. S. Bank wanted for their downtown Bend, OR branch.
Photo/picture of an alpine sunrise as seen from the summit of Central Oregon's South Sister
This semi-famous “summit sunrise” image is still one of my favorites and is now one of the favorites of U. S. Bank. It looks great there as it does at most locations. It gives a rugged, alpine balance to the balance of fine art images in the new collection at U. S. Bank.
Picture/ photograph of the Painted Hills of John Day in Eastern Oregon
The above Painted Hills print captured in the John Day unit of the Painted Hills area is another great representation of the tremendous geographic diversity that can be found in the Bend, Oregon area. This image is also a permanent member of the U.S. Bank’s art collection.
Photo/picture of Mt. Jefferson in the Central Oregon Cascade Range
This picture of Jefferson Park was captured in late summer from one of my favorite camping and hiking areas and is one of the first locations that made me excited about fine art landscape photography. this is simply one of my favorite types of landscapes to capture. Beautiful snow-covered mountains, scenic alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and great warm evening light.
Fine Art photo/picture of Oregon's Smith Rock State Park with the Crooked River in the foreground
Smith Rock State Park offers endless fine art photography opportunities and this is one of my favorite prints from that wonderful Oregon location. The glowing towers bathing in soft warm light with a fore ground of the gently curving Crooked River offer another example of the phenomenal diversity of the Central Oregon region. I think all of the above images make a beautiful permanent addition to the downtown Bend , Oregon branch of U.S. Bank, but judge for yourself! Please stop in at the bank and tell me what you think.
I’d like to sincerely thank the kind people of U.S. Bank who chose to purchase my art work and who graciously hosted me during the May 2009 first Friday Art walk in Downtown Bend. The event was well attended and it was very rewarding to meet some new people who are willing to support the arts in Central Oregon. A special thanks should also go out to Stacey, Loretta, Andy, and the rest of the staff at the U.S. Bank Downtown branch. They were all very efficient, helpful, organized and pleasant people to work with during the completion of this art project.
Thank You!
Mike Putnam
Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards
One of my favorite Central Oregon Landscape photos is pictured below on the last of my new line of art cards to be introduced. This mountain image was captured from the summit of Central Oregon’s South Sister Mountain at sunrise. The Pink alpenglow experienced during that clear morning sunrise is one of the special things about living in mountainous areas. As you may know, alpenglow is given it’s pink color because low level morning or evening light that first reaches the summits of high mountains has to travel through a greater amount of the earth’s atmosphere before contacting the earth surface. Because of this increased contact with the earth’s atmosphere, many of the light’s wavelengths are filtered out, leaving pink as one of the most prominent colors in the light’s visible spectrum, thereby giving Alpenglow it’s pink color.
Cascade Mountain sunrise as seen from the summit of Central Oregon's South Sister.
Because I love mountains in general and I especially love our Central Oregon Mountains, this is one of my favorite Central Oregon Landscape photos. It would be very difficult to capture a more alpine feeling landscape image in the Central Oregon area. I’ve climbed to the summit of South Sister many times in the past. It’s a long and difficult but non-technical climb to the summit via the Devil’s Lake or Green Lakes routes. As it requires nearly 5,000 vertical feet of elevation gain to reach South Sister’s 10,358 foot summit, the climb is not for everyone. Several years ago I developed what my wife would refer to as an obsession with capturing this landscape photograph. I’ve climbed South Sister three times purely with the intention of capturing this mountain image. On the first attempt, I started late at night and climbed for five hours only to have the summit cloud in unexpectedly, totally obscuring any photos I had hoped for. The next time I climbed with good friend, Jake “Squishy” Bell. We started climbing the previous evening and summited and set up camp at about 11 AM. The next morning was frighteningly windy. It was impossible to stand still without being blown about by the wind. The sunrise was beautiful but the photographic conditions were impossible with my large format camera. Unfortunately, the bellows on my camera tend to act as a small sail in windy conditions. It was terrifying to be near the summit edge, much less to perch my expensive camera near it. I climbed down the mountain without taking a single shot. Very disappointing! On my next attempt, I climbed with two other people, my sisters ex-boyfriend and his sister. There was lots of snow on the route requiring endless post holing into deep snow on steep slopes, making for a long and tedious climb. The next morning was glorious! No winds and the beautiful alpenglow you see in the above greeting made all of my previous efforts worth while. The fine art version of this beautiful Oregon scene is also stunning. In the large 50 inch print, you can see volcanoes all the way to Washington State. Middle Sister, North Sister, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, Black Butte, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helen’s, and Mt. Rainier are all visible making this arguably the most alpine of any Oregon Landscapes. If you are interested in seeing this Fine Art Print in person, please feel free to contact me. If you are interested in purchasing this or any of my other Cascade Mountain Greeting Cards, please check back in a couple of days because they are almost ready for sale!
As Always,
Thanks for Visiting,
Mike Putnam
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 Adventures and Smith Rock Sunset Photos
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
Smith Rock Snow Photos
Recently, Troy McMullin and I ventured to Smith Rock State Park to enjoy the low elevation snow to be found there. It was the first sunny day in quite some time and we both were happy to get out of the clouds that had been inhabiting Central Oregon. I am repeatedly amazed at how stunning the Smith Rock area is. I’m convince that if it was located east of the Mississippi River, it would have been made into a national park long ago. With its stunning colors, vertical towers the Crooked River flowing around its periphery, and with Gray Butte as a backdrop it is simply an amazing place to visit. Personally, I think it surpasses anything outside of Utah with its rugged, rocky appeal. Of course it is world famous for its Rock Climbing and less so for its hiking, mt. biking, and photo opportunities.
The Monument and snow at Smith Rock State Park
One of the less obvious but very photo worthy rock features at Smith Rock is the Monument. I’ve always been very fond of this photo location and Troy seemingly has developed something of an obsession with the scene. Please click the following link to visit Pacific Crest Stock . It is the stock photography company that Troy and I will be launching shortly after New Years. In the link included you’ll find some other very nice photos of Smith Rock and the high desert areas of Central and Eastern Oregon.
The snow cover made for some interesting textures and mid range details in our images. If you or anyone you know visits Smith Rock while it is still snow covered, please be careful. The snow adds a level of danger to the scene as well as beauty. The prominent basalt columns along the Crooked River Canyon are especially dangerous when snow covered. Obviously they are slippery, but many small crevices are now snow covered creating many hidden and potentially dangerous pitfalls. Be careful if venturing near any cliff edges for photo, climbing, or sight seeing purposes.
Smith Rock towers and snow covered basalt columns
Above is a photo of Smith Rock from high above the Crooked River Canyon featuring some slippery yet attractive snow covered basalt columns in the foreground with some rocky snow covered spires in the background. The light was not optimal for some areas of the park but the exploring was exceptional and beautiful from every angle, even if photo conditions were slightly less than perfect. It is rather rare to have this much snow at Smith Rock and blue skies because the snow tends to melt of quickly at that elevation when the sun appears on the scene. I captured the next photo from an entirely different area of Smith Rock. This rock formation is to the left after you cross the bridge over the Crooked River. It has some beautiful pastel hues in its rock formations but is quite dangerous for rock climbing purposes as I’m told that it is rather crumbly.
Smith Rock and the frozen Crooked River covered in snow.
One of the surprising things about this photo adventure was how thoroughly the Crooked River was frozen. The clouds behind this impressive rock formation are a bit disappointing in that they obscure South Sister peaking out to the left side of the rock formation. I like how the snowy juniper trees frame the bottom of this picture and the curvature of the Crooked River(perhaps this is why it’s called the Crooked River!) emphasizes the shape of the giant rock formation at the south end of Smith Rock. Finally I’ll include a detail shot of one of my favorite rock formations. Smith Rock is a wonderland for photos, hiking, biking, and virtually any outdoor activity and I love the big western scenes there. This being said, perhaps my favorite aspect of Smith Rock State Park is the small details I find upon intimate inspection of this stunning location. Like so many other spots at Smith Rock, the following photo reveals beauty in its finer details.
Smith Rock winter details
I love the varied color palette visible in this picture. The rust, aqua, and oranges all enlivened by the snowy details on these intricate rock formations. It is finding perspectives like this that has become my favorite aspect of photography explorations of Smith Rock.
If anybody is interested in a beautiful and snowy perspective of Smith Rock, now is the time for a hike as the snow often does not last long in this area of the high desert of Central Oregon and please be careful near cliff edges as the snowy beauty harbors some seasonal dangers that are best avoided. Happy Holidays!
Deschutes River Winter Photos
As Old Man Winter has thoroughly put his stamp on Central Oregon, my preferred backcountry photo locations become less accessible and even simple hikes can become a difficult task. With nearly a foot of snow in my backyard, conditions are excellent for some great winter photos, of locations that would otherwise be photographically unworthy. As there doesn’t appear to be a break in Central Oregon’s pattern of snow storms and heavily overcast skies in the near future, I’ve temporarily given up on any mountain alpenglow and fresh snow shots for the foreseeable future. Instead I’ve turned towards some less remote scenes for some interesting winter pictures.
On overcast, snow days like today, I usually find some worthy photo material at Tumalo State Park. As Highway 20 descends into the Deschutes River’s basin, on the left side of the road is an attractive overlook where you can get an arial view of the northern end of Tumalo State Park and a graceful curve in the Deschutes River. On rare snowy cold days like today, when the riparian area along the Deschutes’ shores are powdered with fresh snow, the scene is especially elegant because the juniper and ponderosa trees retain extra detail from the snow on their limbs and the snow covers some less attractive areas in the state park area. The following photo was taken from that unmarked but very pleasant location.
Deschutes River in winter
Upon entering the state park, I was rewarded with solitude and some of the best winter and snow scenery in the Bend, Oregon area. I made first tracks in the freshly fallen snow and thoroughly explored this beautiful Central Oregon location. I took pictures from all over the park but I’ll only present a few of my favorites in this blog entry. I think these photos will be great for stock photo purposes. As I stumbled up stream, I made an obligatory stop at my favorite ponderosa tree. It’s broad limbs were predictably snow covered making an interesting, graphic picture. This tree is absolutely immense and the density of the arrangement of its branches make it one of my favorite oregon photo subjects.
Snow covered ponderosa tree in Central Oregon's Tumalo State Park near Bend Oregon
Further up river more rewarding winter photos were to be found. The red osier dogwoods along the Deschutes River’s shores add a splash of red to the scene as do the trunks of numerous ponderosa trees along both banks of the river. Near the southern end of the park is a broad and rugged boulder field filled with volkswagen sized lava rocks. This boulder field is tedious to navigate in summer and it turns out that it is fairly treacherous when snow covered. The following photo was taken at the up stream end of the boulder field.
Snow covered boulders and ponderosa trees line the Deschutes River
Because these boulders were snow covered many cracks and concave areas were hidden, making the travel especially difficult. I spent a considerable amount of time on my belly grasping at small slippery hand hold in an attempt to not fall into any of the snow covered cracks that served as trap doors between the large rocks. Frankly, I wouldn’t recommend traveling through the rock field to others. Instead I would recommend climbing up hill above the rocks if you insisted on pressing up stream beyond this location. The next photo is from just beyond the boulder field. I really like the graceful curvature that the deschutes makes in this location and I love the color lent to this beautiful winter scene by the ponderosas and red osier dogwoods that flank the river.
The Deschutes River flanked by snow covered ponderosa trees fill this Central Oregon scene.
I stopped my hike at the point where the above picture was taken and began a cold and hasty retreat back to my truck. For those of you who enjoy winter hiking, Tumalo State Park is beautiful right now. The snow cover has made an already beautiful hike even more stunning but I would highly recommend avoiding the snow covered boulder field as it is challenging and quite dangerous when snow covered, like now!
Central Oregon snow, Winter’s Arrival!
It appears that old man winter has finally arrived in full force on the Central Oregon scene. I received a mixed reaction when I declared that Central Oregon residents were in need of a cold snow infusion two entries ago, in that perhaps there aren’t as many snow lovers in our midst as I had once imagined. Personally, I love distinct seasons. I wouldn’t mind spring being a little more distinct and prolonged here in the Bend area but I have no reservations in regards to winter’s arrival. In celebration of our recent snowfalls, I strategically made my first cross country ski outing of the season to Tumalo Falls. I knew it had been quite cold and enough snow had fallen to make a potentially interesting photo or two. I’ve been to Tumalo Falls many times in the winter but frankly I’ve never really dialed in the scene to the point where I’m truly proud of my photos. This outing was very good but far from perfect. It was a day that my friend and fellow photographer, Troy McMullin refer to as a good stock day. By this we mean that the conditions or the setting might not have been appropriate for capturing a fine art photograph that is worthy of selling as a print but it was probably an attractive enough scene that is has some commercial value.
In early season conditions like this, one often has travel options. The road from the parking lot along Tumalo Creek had enough snow for skiing but it had little enough that it was still hikeable. Probably the only way to go wrong was to snowshoe. I had enough kick and glide that the weight of my skis were easily justified. After the quick 2.5 mile ski into Tumalo falls, my first stop was at the viewpoint where I took the following wintry picture.
Bend, Oregon's Tumalo Falls after Central Oregon's first significant snow of 2008.
The attractive elements of this image led me to my next several shots. I like the snow cover on the trees and the rocks in the middle of Tumalo Creek but I am especially fond of the ice formations at the base of the waterfall. Their artistic shapes and blue hues made them a subject worth zooming in on a little closer. any good photographer will tell you that it is better to get closer to your subject that to employ a lens with a longer, so I got closer. I dropped my skis and skirted along the right hand side of the creek’s canyon for a more intimate vantage point. The travel was actually more hazardous than I’d anticipated as some of the steep snow laden slopes were a bit nerve racking. Looking down I realized that one slip and I slide 75 feet straight into the creek which would be uncomfortable but not devastating. What would be devastating was the fact that I was potentially the last person into the falls that evening and that I could possibly break my leg during a slide into a creek. It is moments of exposure like this that trigger my mind to draw out dark scenarios of my own dismemberment that at worst are melodramatic and at best are preventing my wife from cashing in on a life insurance policy!
Bend Oregon's Tumalo Falls in Winter.
As I was fussing with optimal tripod placement and being covered with fresh fallen powder, I became acutely aware that i was getting cold! I like the details of the falls and its associated ice formations that are captured in this picture. When I tried to hike/climb/scramble I ran into two issues. The hillside became intimidatingly steep for someone(me) who isn’t ready to cash in their own life insurance policy and the spray from the waterfall became problematic for my lenses. The next image emphasizes the Ice sculptures beneath a tad more aggressively.
Icy formations beneath Tumalo Falls near Bend, Oregon.
Hopefully this will be the first of many winter photo outings that I’ll make this winter season. It was great to be back out on skis and I’m glad winter has finally arrived despite the wishes of my loving wife and my favorite ultra-marathoner/retailer. By the way, my wife will have to wait awhile for summer and to cash my life insurance policy!
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