I’m excited to announce that I recently hung some of my new Oregon Landscape Photography at the Volcano Vineyards Tasting room in Downtown Bend. Their address is 126 NW Minnesota St., which is located between Bond St. and Wall St. Through some mutual friends, Mark Merrick and Susan Ruzzo, we have gotten to know Scott and Liz Ratcliff who are the owner operators of the Volcano Vineyards and we all decided that their beautiful new tasting room would be an excellent location to share my art work with the people of Bend. They source their grapes in Southern Oregon where they craft phenomenal reds and whites. Their wines really are excellent. In fact, Volcano Vineyards is considered to be the most highly decorated winery for its size in the U.S. ! Follow this link for some more information about Volcano Vineyards’ recent awards. Volcano Vineyards. Below is one of the Oregon Landscape photographs that are currently on display at Volcano.
Photo/picture of Oregon's Mount Washington in autumn now on display at the Volcano Vineyard tasting room in Bend, Oregon.
Timing and hard work and good friends were the keys to capturing this stunning Oregon Landscape photograph. I’ll simplify by saying that I’ve worked hard to make good friends, explaining two of the three keys. I take it back, I’ve been very lucky to find great friends here in Central Oregon. One of these great friends is Troy McMullin, who is an excellent photographer and exceptionally talented beer drinker. Thus we are friends! Troy found this glorious location which aptly displays the beauty of Oregon’s Mount Washington after he had scouted long and hard. It takes a grueling bushwack through dense underbrush along with a good GPS to find this location and I would have never found it without Troy’s extensive advanced scouting and his unusual ability to suffer in the name of adventure. Regardless, I owe him a thanks and I’ll probably buy him a beer sometime in gratitude for pointing me to this wonderful scene. As I mentioned, Timing was also crucial to capturing this landscape photograph. I wanted fresh fall snow and preferably some fall color on the opposite shores of Cabin Lake. The key is to get snow on the mountain and not around the lake and to have clear skies to the east so that the rising sun is not blocked from Mount Washington’s summit and preferably some clouds behind Mt. Washington to add some interest to the sky. Well, after several visits to this difficult location, everything came together. Once again, timing and/or luck were critical!
I was busy this fall. Below is another picture now hanging at Volcano. In this image I captured some wonderful fall color along the Crooked River north of Redmond, Oregon. Here is a link to a previous blog entry about this landscape photo. Crooked River Photo.
Oregon's Crooked River Canyon with brilliant autumn color
There are three separate images that I captured during a family backpacking trip into Canyon Creek Meadow at the base of Three Fingered Jack during this past summer. It is extraordinarily lucky for me to get three separate images with my large format 4×5 camera that are print worthy during the same trip but that was the case this summer during our trip to Three Fingered jack. The Canyon Creek area is always beautiful but this year the lupine meadows were especially full and stunning. Below are a couple images taken in the upper Canyon Creek Meadow.
Picture of Purple Lupines in Central Oregon's Canyon Creek Meadow
I like that the lupines in this images are in excellent condition and I like the gentle sway that some of them have which gives this Oregon wildflower picture an elegant feel. There were Lupines everwhere as you can tell from the following image, also taken in Canyon Creek meadow.
Photo of Oregon's Three Fingered Jack Mountain and Canyon Creek Meadow at sunrise.
Finally, here is one more picture from Canyon Creek Meadow that I took on the same backpacking trip. It is a different part of the meadow and I believe it generates a much different feel than most photographs you will find of Three Fingered Jack or Canyon Creek Meadow.
Picture of Central Oregon's Three Fingered Jack Mountain and a wildflower lined alpine stream.
As I think about all the images I’ve currently got hanging down at Volcano, I realize that I’ve got that place pretty packed. I hope Scott and Liz don’t mind! Below is a distinctly more wintry image I took two years ago at Benham Falls along Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes River Trail. I was lucky to be able to drive to this location after such a heavy snow fall. It was actually pretty questionable and my poor daughter Emma got cold feet while patiently waiting for me to compose this snowy photograph. I’ve been to Benham many times and I’ve always had contrast control issues but the heavy snow load allowed me to capture an image that was not too contrasty. I am especially happy that I found this scenic waterfall while the trees around the river were still heavily flocked with snow, making for a great landscape image and making me a happy photographer!
Photo of Benham Falls in winter. This well known Bend Oregon waterfall is located along the Deschutes River Trail South of the city of Bend,Oregon
The following is a Sparks Lake Photo that I have never printed until now and I’m very excited about it. I captured an awesome light display with great snow on South Sister and Broken Top in this image. I was able to capture rare and wonderful light at one of Oregon’s most photogenic locations. Please stop by volcano and tell me if you like it as much as I do!
Photo of a beautiful sunrise from one of Oregon's most photogenic locations, Central Oregon's Sparks Lake.
Below is one more photo that can be viewed at the volcano tasting room in downtown Bend, Oregon. It is a simple but beautiful image of a vine maple overhanging the North Santiam River slightly west of the Cascade Crest. This individual tree had some of the most wonderful layering and color of any vine maples I’ve ever seen. It is a simple image but has a pleasant artistic feel.
Vine maple in autumn color along Oregon's North Santiam River
Well, that includes all of the Fine art landscape photographs that I currently have displayed at the Volcano Vineyards tasting room on Minnesota Street in downtown Bend, Oregon. Please stop by to see my work and while you are there, buy a glass of wine. The Syrah is my favorite! Their wine really is excellent and Scott and Liz Ratcliff (the owners) are great people who are growing a unique and special business right here in Bend. While you are there, you might also tell them you like the photographs that currentl decorate the walls of their lovely tasting room!
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Jan 06, 2010 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Exhibits, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
As I tend to be an optimist, I have a long list of images that I want to capture with my large format 4×5 camera in order to make a beautiful fine art photograph. In my mind I have a vivid idea of what a given scene will look like when I get to the right spot at the right time on the right day. In reality, fine art photography rarely works out as smoothly as I’ve planned. The following image and story account one of the rare instances in which things worked out even better than I’d planned.
"Sparks Lake Sunrise" fine art Photograph captured with my 4x5 camera at Sparks Lake near Central Oregon's Cascade Lakes Highway
Central Oregon’s Sparks Lake is no secret as a landscape photography destination. Landscape photographers from all around the United States travel to this Central Oregon Lake off of Bend’s Cascade Lakes Highway for photography purposes. There is clearly something magical about this lake, in that it continues to facinate even after you’ve made hundreds of visits there, a I have. Oregon’s now deceased photographer laureate, Ray Atkeson, described Sparks Lake as his favorite photography destination, which is quite a compliment considering all that Oregon has to offer landscape photographers and outdoor adventurers. I’ve had good and bad luck at Sparks Lake and on this morning, I had exceptional luck. I arrived at the Lakes shores before sunrise the morning after fresh snows had coated and given detail to South Sister(on the left) and Broken Top Mountain(on the right) This coating of snow is critical to a great photograph, as the mountains would just be black blobs without the snow. This morning also happened to fall in a narrow autumn window after snows were falling in the cascades and before the Cascade Lakes Highway was closed for the winter(it closed shortly after I captured this shot) Because of Sparks Lake’s elevation, at nearly 6,000 snow comes early, stays late and piles deep.
This was one of those rare mornings where I get nervous shooting because I know that I may never see light like this again and especially not at a phenomenal location like Sparks Lake. I mostly shot with my large format 4×5 camera this morning in hopes of capturing a wonderful fine art print. When I got my transparencies back from this morning’s shoot, I was even more excited than the morning of the sunrise. They came out great! I recently sent one of the transparencies from this morning off for printing and I think it will make a stunning fine art print. I’m already picking out matting in my mind! I hope everyone loves this fine art print as much I I think I will!
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Nov 18, 2009 | Oregon photo blog entries | 4 Comments »
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
May 08, 2009 | Oregon photo blog entries | 1 Comment »
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
May 03, 2009 | Central Oregon Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
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
Apr 24, 2009 | Central Oregon Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
The following fine art greeting card of Central Oregon’s Broken Top Mountain has become one of my signature shots and includes one of the best wildflower displays you will find in Oregon. I’ve hiked around Broken Top dozens of times and I’ve always found some beautiful subject matter for photography purposes but the day I captured this fine art picture was one of the best days I’ve had in quite some time. I had scouted around the flanks of Broken Top Mountain several times the previous week but light and wind had not cooperated with me while at the same scene from this greeting card.
Greeting Card of Central Oregon's Broken Top Mountain with summer wildflowers
I knew the Monkeyflowers and the Indian Paintbrush would be at their peak on this morning but the weather was questionable. I awoke at about 4AM with a contingency plan in mind. If the clouds and weather were cooperating, I’d make the long drive up to Broken Top and shoot the scene above. If the weather was less cooperative, I’d shoot at Sparks Lake which offered South Sister, and some potential macro wildflower photography. When I arrived at Sparks Lake The weather couldn’t make up its mind. I could periodically see the pinnacles of Broken Top with the remainder of the mountain shrouded in clouds. Knowing that the right clouds can make for an exceptional Landscape photograph, I decided to gamble and make the long drive and then hike to the above location, all before sunrise. When I arrive exhausted, the mountain was entirely cloud covered. I decided to shoot some macro flower images and as I set up, something miraculous happened. The clouds quickly began to raise, but just enough remained to create the above fine art photograph. It became just the scene I’d hoped for when I visualized the shot the previous day under bad light. I was thrilled! My exposures were long, with many over 10 seconds but the wind mostly cooperated and I captured the scenic landscape images for which I was hoping. In addition to the above fine art greeting card, I also captured a great fine art print with my large format 4×5 camera that morning. To see the fine art print from that morning, please visit the following link. Broken Top Print
I’ve got three more note cards to announce in my initial line of 8 Central Oregon Cascade Mountain greeting cards. The cards have gone to print and should be available before the end of the month. If you are interested in buying them, please visit this site often as I’ll definitely make an announcement here when they are available. As I’ve mentioned before, if anyone has suggestions regarding other Bend area locations that they would like to see immortalized in my next set of Central Oregon greeting Cards, please let me know by leaving a comment at the end of this blog entry, or email me via the contact tab on the upper right hand corner of this website. Some of the suggestions I’ve had so far have included Tumalo Falls, Shevlin Park, Mirror Pond, the Metolius River, the Deschutes River, and Smith Rock State Park. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Until next time.
Take Care,
Mike Putnam
Apr 20, 2009 | Central Oregon Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
The following image is of my second greeting card in the series of eight Central Oregon Cascade Mountain images. This picture was captured in the upper meadow in the Canyon Creek area high on the flanks of Three Fingered Jack Mountain, which is located in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area of the Central Oregon Cascades.
Three fingered Jack Greeting Card as seen from Upper Canyon Creek Meadow.
This scenic picture was captured during a backpacking trip I took with my wife, Debbie and our daughter, Emma. It is wonderful hike that passes through several different climate zones during the short 3.5 mile hike in to the lower Canyon Creek Meadow where we camped that evening. Emma was a trooper and as usual Debbie was patient with my landscape photography obsession. Because of heavy snowpack from the previous winter, I didn’t end up with the picture I’d envisioned but instead got this gem of a photograph. The Mountain heather grouping with red indian paintbrush sprinkled and a backdrop of three Fingered Jack make for a wonderful composition with with great color and texture to finish off this image. For those of you who haven’t been to the Canyon creek area near Three fingered Jack, it is a great short dayhike with excellent overnight options. Three Fingered Jack has several different shapes depending upon the location you are viewing it from which is part of what makes it one of my Central Oregon Mountains. High and to the left of this art card’s coverage, is a small alpine tarn which holds small ice bergs until late in the summer. For more great Three Finger Jack pictures, please visit the Mountain Gallery of our Pacific Crest Stock Photography website. Mountain Gallery If you would lie to order this or any of the other art cards in my Central Oregon Cascades Mountain collection, please check back soon as the cards have been ordered and they will available soon. Please check back to this site soon to see the next image in my new greeting card series.
Thanks For Visiting,
Mike Putnam
Apr 14, 2009 | Central Oregon Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards, Oregon photo blog entries | 3 Comments »
For those of you who are regular readers of my updates, hold on to your hats as I’m branching into something entirely different. I’m about to launch a small but super high quality line of art cards, greeting cards, note cards, or whatever you want to call them. they will open to a blank inside for personal notes to friends, family, clients, or associates. Regardless, they should be very nice and as you might expect, Central Oregon landscapes will be the theme. My first series of 8 cards is just about to be ordered and should be available in a couple of weeks. I hope to market them everywhere that sells attractive cards. I’ve received countless requests for less expensive products from people who genuinely seem to love my photography but don’t have $1,650 available for a framed 30×50 inch print. I get it! Especially in these difficult economic times. Thus my new business idea. I’ve always focused on the best quality that I could possibly achieve from the beginning of my process to the end. It all starts with great slow speed 4×5 transparency film in a balanced, accurately focusing large format camera with excellent quality multi-coated lenses on top of an exceptional carbon fiber tripod. This is just the film capture part of the process. Next comes the processing part of the image capture process. I can have a beautifully exposed capture of a once in a lifetime scene but if the processing is botched then everything but the memory is lost. That’s why I utilize the best processing outfit anywhere. Next comes the printing. Many people have asked if I do my own printing. I don’t for several reasons. The first of which is that it takes a long time to become a great printer and I’m simply too busy to perfect the art. The second is that I don’t have quite enough through put to justify having the requisite chemicals around in my already cramped basement. Also, maintaining a top quality color processing set-up is also time consuming and frankly, professional outfits can do it better than me and therefore I choose to have them do it. I consider my printers to be the best in the world. This opinion is shared by many of the best professional photographers in the world. Because all of this adds, y fine art quality photographs are not cheap. Because I’ve had lots of requests for my images at a lower price, I came to the conclusion that high end but fairly priced Greeting Cards featuring Central Oregon Cascade Mountains would be a good place to start. As always, quality was my first objective. The printing options are endless. Decisions regarding paper, print,and font had to be made. Then of course, I had to select only 8 of my thousands of images for usage. This was brutal! There are so many photographs that I’d like to make into art cards but I had to start somewhere. With endless help from my sweet wife, Debbie, and our great friends, Jason and Christine, we have finally reached the printing stage. I’ll offer a photographer’s insight into how each of my new greeting card images were captured over the next couple of weeks, until the Greeting Cards are actually available. I’ll also leak out more information about specifics of the cards, price, etc. To start off the grand introduction of my soon to be released art cards, I give you the following image of Sparks Lake, with the distant South Sister as seen from near the Cascade Lakes Highway.
South Sister and Sparks Lake Greeting Card
I felt this was an appropriate card image to start with because it is such a recognizable location for many Central Oregon outdoor enthusiasts and because it was one of the first images that I captured that I was truly excited about. I had been to Sparks Lake for many previous sunsets but none have been the equal of this Sparks Lake photo. The scene was stunning that I got goose bumps. To capture that much color, with a perfect reflection of South Sister from such a scenic Oregon location was a gift. I always have a desire to do justice to a given location. Many of you have probably been to a scenic location and took some photos and when you returned home you were disappointed with your results because the photos didn’t do justice to the beauty of a given scene. Well, my goal is to never let this happen. Don’t get me wrong, it happens, but if the scene is beautiful, I keep going back until I get it right and I eventually do justice to the scene. this photo is very rewarding because I did justice to a famous and beautiful scene. The setting could not have been better. I was with My wife and our daughter, Emma, who was catching toads along Sparks Lake’s shore while I photographed the scene. The clouds were amazing, and the water could not have been more still. Knowing that this scenic location was a favorite of Oregon’s photographer laureate, Ray Atkeson is also immensely rewarding. Of all the time I’ve spent photographing Sparks Lake, that evening is still my favorite. I hope you all enjoy the greeting card version of this shot and please contact me if you would like to make a purchase. I’ll soon have a special Art Card/Greeting Card page on my website where it will be possible to register with PayPal and buy my cards directly from the web and I’ll send them directly to you. If anyone has any suggestions regarding locations that you’d like to see as part of my next series of cards, please leave a comment at the end of this blog entry. Until my next Greeting card entry, Take Care.
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Apr 11, 2009 | Central Oregon Cascade Mountains Greeting Cards, Oregon photo blog entries | 7 Comments »
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 »
Hi everybody I know this is short notice but I’ve put together a rather impromptu show for the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Bend which is of course tomorrow night from 5:00-8:00PM (12/5/08). My work will be at Pandora’s Backpack(the Patagonia Store) at 920 NW Bond Street. Please stop by if you are out and about for the evening. I’ll have several new images available that I’ve never shown before. Some of which are seen below.
Broken Top Basin
This image I just had printed in a 30×50 size and framed in my standard homemade cherrywood frame. The mounting and matting was done by David and his crew at Art on the Go, as usual, they did an excellent job! This image looks great and I haven’t been this excited about new work in quite some time.
The next image is one that has appeared on this blog before but that I’ve never shown in the past.
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
I’ll have lots of other work there for the show so please stop by and say Hello if you are in the area. I hope to see you there.
Mike
Dec 04, 2008 | First Friday Fine Art Shows, Oregon photo blog entries | Leave A Comment »
Virtually everywhere I go around Bend I’ve been hearing people praying to the proverbial snow gods. As it’s nearly December and there is only the lightest dusting of snow on our local mountains it would be good for everyone except my wife( she never wants cold or snow except on Christmas) if we were to get several heavy dumps of snow. In terms of my photography, I would definitely like some snow to cover dormant plants and to give the cascades a more alpine look and feel. I’ve got several exciting winter photography outings planned but no winter with which to work. Instead of fretting over sub optimal landscape photography conditions I’ve been working on some stock photography chores on the computer. I’d always rather be outside exploring but at least I’ve been fairly productive while waiting for the snow to fall. In anticipation of a late but inevitable winter, I’ve put together some of my favorite winter photos from previous years. All of these images were captured with my large format camera which can be a bit tedious but when I get it right it allows me to make stunning fine art prints. The first photo is our beloved Mt. Bachelor in its full winter glory, clearly not shot this year. This photo was taken two years ago in January. I’d been tracking weather patterns for over a week and was fortunate enough to capture this image at sunrise the morning after a 28 inch snow fall.
Mt. Bachelor at sunrise after a heavy snow fall.
This photograph like most backcountry winter images required lots of work. An early rise, a brutal snow shoe up Tumalo Mountain through deep snows with a heavy camera pack while the thermometer reading hovered at zero degrees fahrenheit. Getting to a winter shot is only part of the battle. Finding a level spot to set up a tripod so that it doesn’t sink in the snow is always a difficult task. Snow blowing onto my lens and leaving fuzzy areas on my images can be disastrous. Accidently breathing on my lens is inconvenient at best as it takes a bit of time before the haze will clear and if its too cold, my breath freezes on the lens making my photos look like they were shot through an opaque shower door. Not Good. Finally there’s the frustration of the visual qualities of snow itself. If I can’t get to snow before its been exposed to the sun, it is virtually never visually attractive. Here in Central Oregon, it is often sunny right after a storm, melting the snow and making unsightly bare patches contrast unattractively against still snow covered areas. Essentially, if you want a really attractive winter landscape photo you need to be there right after a fresh snowfall and hope the wind hasn’t already blown the snows off of the trees in the area you want to shoot.
I love alpenglow photos like this one because I like color in my images and because they are a reminder how how special it is to spend time in the mountains. Where else can you get two free and beautiful light shows daily, courtesy of Mother Nature?
The following image was logistically simpler but still had its difficulties.
My favorite ponderosa grove, near Sisters, Oregon.
I was fortunate enough to get to this, my favorite grove of Ponderosa trees during an active snow storm. During my extensive scouting trips around Central Oregon, this is perhaps the most colorful group of ponderosa trees I’ve found and as a bonus they have a nice composition. If you live around ponderosa trees you’ve probably noticed that they are not all created equal. Some have considerably more reddish color to their wonderful jigsaw puzzle bark than others do. I have a theory about why this is. It seems that the more colorful side of any given ponderosa tree is virtually always the side of the trunk that is more slanted toward the ground and therefore more sheltered from prevailing weather patterns. It just so happens that all of these ponderosas had a slight tilt towards where I was shooting from and therefore they all have exceptionally colorful bark. Because the snow was actively falling while I was capturing this scene, the foreground was well covered giving this scene a very wintry feel.
The next photo is of Benham Falls, on the river trail, near Bend. It was taken immediately after a heavy early season snow storm. My daughter, Emma was with me on this adventure, like many of my other photography outings. There are several things about this photograph that are special in my opinion. First, the fresh snow allows for a wintry look, like all of the winter photos I am especially proud to have taken. I love the flow patterns of the Deschutes, the icicles draped off of the rocks along the river’s shores and the heavy snow laden evergreen branches sagging under their new found burden. I think this image
Central Oregon's Benham Falls in winter.
will make an excellent fine art print because of its various patterns and textures.
The next image in this small snow dance collection was taken in Tumalo State Park, and once again, it was taken immediately after a heavy snowfall giving the vibrant red osier dogwood in the foreground an attractive texture of winter. While this is a simple image, I still enjoy the composition and angles created by the silky waters of the Middle Deschutes River in the background and the ruby glow of the foreground dogwood.
Red Osier Dogwood along the Middle Deschutes River.
Granted, this is a small collection of winter images but hopefully it will give some hope to those of you who crave fresh powder on Mt. Bachelor until Mother Nature can finally answer your prayers for snow.
Nov 30, 2008 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Oregon photo blog entries | 3 Comments »
Some of my favorite photographs have been earned through physical toil and hard work as much as artistry and creativity. One of these favorites is a shot I captured from the summit of South Sister. South Sister is normally a long and difficult but not technical climb with a breath taking view as a reward. Several years ago I became determined to climb South Sister with full camping gear as well as my large format 4×5 camera, sleep on the summit and capture morning’s first light on Middle Sister, North Sister, and the rest of the pacific crest extending northward to Mt. St. Helen and Mt Rainier in Washington state. I climbed South Sister three different times with a fourty+ pound pack before finally getting the shot I was after. One of these climbs I did solo, the next with my friend Jake Bell, and the last with friend Brad Hensley and his sister Lisa. The shot came out better than I’d imagined, thereby making all the suffering along the way worthwhile. Below is that shot which I still enjoy, partly because of the work that went into capturing that moment, high in the Central Oregon Cascades.
"Summit Sunrise" Alpenglow illuminating the cascade crest extending from Middle Sister north to Mt. Rainier
Another one of my favorite Central Oregon locations is the Chambers Lakes area high on the crest between South Sister and Middle Sister. It is visible in the lower right hand area of the image above. It is a strange and beautiful alpine terrain along with stunning mountain views that makes this area special. An elusive shot which I’ve obsessed about but has to this day I have not captured includes South Sister reflected in Camp Lake with beautiful alpenglow bathing both of them. A couple years ago friend and fellow photographer, Troy McMullin and I hiked into this high lakes area in early spring only to find the lakes were frozen solid. We got some nice shots but not necessarily the ones we were after. With the recent snows high in the Cascades and a good weather pattern approaching, I decided to revisit the Camp lake area. I contacted several friends all of whom either knew better or were unavailable. I decided to go solo! I loaded camera and overnight gear into my trusty Dana Designs backpack. Starting pack weight topped out at 63 pounds! Yikes! The hike starts at Pole Creek trailhead outside of the city of Sisters. There were only two other cars there and the weather was pleasant, in the high 40’s. After October 15th, the hiking season is unofficially over, trails are no longer maintained and trail head signs were covered for the winter. During the first thirty minutes of hiking I zig-zagged around over thirty down trees blocking the trail. They were mostly beetle killed lodgepoles so it was no real loss to the forest but an inconvenience for me. Eventually the lodgepoles thin out as did the down trees. The trail is 6.5 miles one way to camp Lake and it’s beautiful setting. About half way to Camp Lake the trail was mostly snowed over and eventually I was post holing nearly every step because of my heavy pack. By the time I reached the lake, my legs were aching. My pain was worsened when I reached the lake to find that it was completely frozen over, again! I was devastated. the setting was beautiful, as always, but I would clearly not get the shot I had suffered for.
South Sister perched high above a disappointingly frozen Camp Lake
South Sister and my camp above the frozen Camp Lake just after sunset
The night was cold but beautiful and my beloved Western Mountaineering sleeping bag kept me cozy. The sunrise offered some alpenglow color and clouds that would not cooperate for a truly great photo.
Sunrise color and uncooperative clouds above Central Oregon's South Sister.
Detail of South Sister at sunrise
As the morning progressed, I snapped a few more photos until the light became too harsh. I packed up and enjoyed my last few moments alone at Camp Lake(first time I’ve been the only one spending the night there). The return hike was long but uneventful. I left having spent a beautiful evening at a phenomenal location but not having gotten the shot I was after. The good news is that I’ll soon return to this special location and try to capture the elusive reflection shot I’ve been after for years. If you are like me, you start dreaming about your first civilized meal on the way out of the back country. For my first meal, I chose to visit my good friends at Three Creeks Brewing Company in Sisters. Their signature burger was delicious as always. The Head Brewer, Dave Fleming has recently concocted a phenomenal IPA, call HooDoo VooDoo IPA. An outstandingly aromatic nose leads the way through a wonderfully balanced body and a supple refined finish. It’s a great beer and definitely worth a try if you are ever exploring in the Sisters area.
Nov 19, 2008 | Central Oregon Fine Art Landscape Photography, Oregon photo blog entries | 3 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 »
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