On This Day

Ten year ago, I started 45 journal. Time sure flies! For my anniversary post, a beautiful scene at a local park. Thankfully our county parks have not closed, unlike state and federal parks and lands in Washington and Oregon. The trillium is in peak bloom right now,
carpeting the forest floor in this section of the park.

Salmon Creek Sunrise

Mt. Hood in the background.

Sunrise Oak

Beautiful oak tree along the edge of the marshy fields that run along the bend of the Columbia River. I came down to this area around sunrise looking for cranes. There were lots last week when Hazel and I were walking along the shoreline, but I couldn't find a one this morning. I guess they have probably moved on to their next stop to the north. Even though no cranes were sighted, it was a beautiful morning with a weak sunlight and low-slung fog hovering around in patches. The start of a pretty day.

Sunrise Moulton Falls

Another angle of the Lewis River (north fork) at Moulton Falls, taken on the snowier day. This one gives a better idea of how the river moves, swiftly through the small canyon it is carving. The river bend at the footbridge (90 degrees to my left) is a rather sharp S-shape, and a large portion of that S curve is fairly shallow, the river having cut more deeply on one side than the other. This allows for the outer bend to give off a nice glassy, reflective surface. I had a hard time with this shot. I think it comes at you a bit too much, but the canyon is narrow here, and I had to frame it that way to get the sunlight reflection on the tree tops. So it's a bit extreme, I think. But it's got a nice frosty feel to it.  When we get snow, it tends to be a warm, wet snow that clings to branches, with temperatures hovering around 32-33 or even slightly higher. So it wasn't really that cold of a day, even at sunrise. The frostiness is a bit deceptive; unless our temperature dips into the 20s (a rare event) it's always more damp than cold.

Three Arches

Almost sunrise at Netarts Bay on the Oregon coast. In the distance, sunlight hits the top of Three Arches, and just to the left of the rocks my crabbing boat is visible. They were laying crabbing traps while I was photographing.  I wasn't intending to include the boat in my photo; I didn't even see it at the time. There were four different boats laying traps, and one of them was quite close to me, starting and stopping as they dropped the crab traps, and sending an interesting wake my way. That's what I was focusing on when I took this photo. I'm super happy that my boat got included though. Once the traps were set, then we spent the rest of the morning (slack tide time) checking one pot after another, keeping male crabs that were large enough, throwing back female crabs and crabs that were too small. (Small crabs were measured against a guide, and if their shells were wider than the notch in the guide we could keep them). Each licensed crabber can keep 12 crabs, and since I got a weekend license our boat of four could keep up to 48 crabs. We got 45. Not bad for a morning's work!

Netarts Bay

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go crabbing at Netarts Bay near Tillamook. The thing about crabbing is its dependent on the tides, and given the tidal conditions on this day I had to get up at 3:30 in the morning! At least that got us to Netarts before sunrise, so that gave me an opportunity to do a little photography while the traps got set. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in the uninspiring sunrise light (for the 3:30am effort!) but at least the water was calm, and it was nice to have some sunny weather on the boat.

Winter Lace

Just before sunrise at Netarts Bay near Tillamook, Oregon.  This was my first time out with my camera since before New Year's, and it felt good to get out.  I'll post more about this trip to Netarts in coming days. Today, I want to write about my dog, Clover.  If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that Clover has been my trusty companion on photo shoots. Well, her health began to fail just after the new year, and sadly we lost her this week.  She passed away peacefully, after twelve really great years with our family, and I'm sure going to miss her! If you don't know Clover, you can see her photo in the right-hand side bar (scroll a bit), and also in my top 10 shots of 2017.

Winter Palette

Nature never hurries, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu

This quote showed up on my herbal tea tag this week and it seemed like a good reminder for me,

as I was rushing around finishing up Christmas gifts.

Today (even though I was hurrying), I finally got all the gifts in the mail!

And one frosty morning earlier this week, we almost had a beautiful sunrise.  

The sky had a little band of pink, nothing fabulous, 

but it reflected nicely in Salmon Creek.

Mountain River

I just watched this really great Oregon Experience on PBS titled "The River They Saw...", featuring the works of late-19th and early-20th Century photographers as a way to show how the Columbia used to look, especially before the dams, but also just before so many people were here.  It was absolutely mesmerizing for a photographer, and I know I will watch it a few more times (at least!) Several of the photographers worked in a style popular back then called 'painterly', and this photo of Trout Creek on a misty early morning sort of lent itself to that style. I admit it's a little weak on reflection, other than that great painterly light on the water!

Nevertheless, linking to Weekend Reflections.

It Was November

It was November,

the month of crimson sunsets,

parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea,

passionate wind-songs in the pines.

-Anne of Green Gables

Linking to Skywatch.

Sunrise

First light on the balsam root flowers last week at the Dalles Mountain Ranch.

It took surprisingly long from the actual sunrise to the time the sun finally hit these hills. 

Mountain View

We had the perfect combination of light fog and sun this morning for a beautiful pastel sunrise. I photographed from Felida Bridge at sunrise last month after our big snow storm, but didn't include Mt. Hood in that image because the sunrise was too bright. Today we finally got the perfect light. I regret not taking the few extra minutes to find the trail down to the water because there was a really great misty fog hanging over the water and it doesn't show up at all from my vantage point on the bridge. Next time...

Where Photographers Meet

Two mornings in a row I tried photographing Salmon Creek from Felida Bridge at sunrise after our snow storm. And both mornings I wasn't alone. Not many people out on these single digit mornings, but photographers are a bit crazy I guess. There's a great view of Mt. Hood from this viewpoint, and the easy access makes this bridge a popular place to photograph. I found the sunrise to be way too bright though, so a more closeup view of some of the snow and ice for the blog today.

Salmon Creek

Our winter wonderland continues today, with temps not getting above freezing.  At least today the roads are clear enough that I can get out in my car. The thermometer in my car registered 11 degrees F when this photo was taken just after sunrise. Our snowy scenery should continue through tomorrow, then rain arrives on Sunday to wash it all away.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

St. Helens

The final photo in my sunrise and fog series, this one looking even further to the north and Mount St. Helens, the closest of the volcanic peaks. All in all there were four volcanoes visible this morning, the fourth was the tip of Mt. Jefferson far to the south.

Sunrise

Morning sun illuminates Mt. Hood,

while low-lying Brush Prairie lies covered

in a blanket of fog.

Linking to Skywatch.

If I Were a Groundhog...

We finally got a beautiful sunrise this morning, and I almost missed it too!  I got lulled into dull, rainy sunrises last week, and didn't remember to look out the window until after sunrise. Luckily this was one of those sunrises that built slowly.  It's a pretty spectacular scene when the mountain casts a shadow, and it seems to only happen at this time of year.  I was just imagining it happening on groundhog day, and the poor little groundhog heading back into his den to hibernate for eternal winter!  Still struggling with color balance on these vivid sunrises.  My eye sees pink, but the camera records the sunrise in a bloody-orange color. A quick online search for how to correct this turned up blank. Any advice?  The very low-lying clouds have taken on the correct pink, almost lilac color.  This is what happened to me last year too.  Low clouds and fog got the correct color, and the sky came out a bright orange. 

Linking to Skywatch Friday

It's That Time of Year

Looks like colorful sunrise season is here! I missed this one at Mt. Vista near the WSU Vancouver campus by about 10 minutes, so I'd better start setting my alarm clock through mid-February, just in case anything good develops.

Sunrise near Astoria

The companion shot to yesterday's post. Sunset Beach State Park in Oregon (at sunrise). This time facing north. The tide was just heading out, and the wet sands cast a terrific reflection as usual.

Linking to Weekend Reflections and Skywatch Friday.

Sunrise at Sunset Beach

We got out to the coast over the weekend, visiting Astoria.  Usually when we're in Astoria we stop at Fort Stevens State Park, but this weekend we went to Sunset Beach instead.  And at sunrise no less.  Sunrise in the deepest part of winter is around 8am, so it wasn't so bad in terms of sleep.  The temperature was only 38 degrees though. Pretty pastel colors, this photo is looking north.  I'll post another tomorrow looking south.