Deep in the Pear Orchard

Late afternoon in Trout Lake.  

Hood River Valley

I took a little ribbing yesterday for not eating that pear, so I feel like I should put my location in context.  I was heading up the foothills along the edge of the Hood River Valley (aka the fruit loop), on a tiny named road that was really a driveway to what looked like a family compound at the top. Pear orchard to my right, and blueberry field to my left, slowly scanning the orchard for photos.  When I got to the top and turned around at the family compound, what a surprise to find a patch of bright rainbow in the valley!  One of the things that makes rainbows so wonderful is their unexpectedness, and especially at a time like this, when it wasn't even raining where I was.  I spend a good bit of time on this rainbow, and also another scene which I'll probably blog tomorrow.  So when I drove down the hill, I had forgotten all about the pears, and felt completely full from the great luck I'd just had finding a rainbow in a valley.  A rainbow photo has been on my bucket list since moving back to the Pacific Northwest, and even though rainbows are more plentiful here, I had never been in a photo worthy location when one popped up.  Hopefully someone will eat that pear though.  It did look pretty yummy! 

(One technical side note on this photo.  I used my polarizer, and it made a huge difference in how vivid the rainbow looked.  This is how it looked to me, but without the polarizer the camera captured it more washed out.  I was not imagining I'd get such good results, mainly because I don't like using it in water reflection shots, since it takes away the reflection.  So this was a learning photo for me.  Polarizer and rainbows: good)

Orchard Row, Revisited

I worked on a series of photos last spring at a blossoming almond orchard in California, and when I saw this row of pear trees in Hood River last week, I was curious to see how these fall colors would compare in a similar composition.  One of the things that really fascinated me about the almond orchard in Capay, California was the slight variation in blossom color between the rows, with some rows blossoming white and others pink.  The same thing was going on in this orchard; some rows of pear trees were leafing yellow and some red.  I think the trees are spaced a little closer here, so the overall effect isn't as striking, but overall it's got a nice fall color.  If you're curious to see the blossom photos from springtime, the links are here and here.