Slump

You have the image of “slump” in your mind.  Shoulders slumped down, and it’s not because you’re doing it because you’re supposed to, such as when you’re lifting weights.  No.  Instead, it’s mental, creative.  Ah, shucks, alright, just mental.

I’ve been in a photographic slump going on for a couple years now, which is why these posts have been infrequent; and even when posts have appeared, they have tended to be mere snapshots.

I am far from over it.  But more than one professional with whom I have communicated has suggested, inter alia, trying a different approach or style to a scene.  So that’s what I’ve done, below.  Just one.

Loving fall color, loving fog, I garnered enough energy to go out on a shoot the other day.  The image I liked the best compositionally, was nice.  It was also uninspiring.  So on the advice of the pros, I transformed it into something different.

Although the underlying images had their chromatic aberration successfully corrected, and this attempt did not, I am not so concerned about the CA here.  I think this image is best seen double-clicked to enlarge.  The intent is to transform the scene into much more an Impressionist rendition.  I hope you like it.  Heck, I hope I like it!!

2017 Lane County Fair

I’m thrilled that my photographic entries to the Lane County Fair this year were as well received as they were!

I mostly do photography for my personal satisfaction.  What I post on this site is the tiniest sample of the images captured, and I often let what I consider good images to languish unposted so as not to bore or overload you.

Having said that, it is always really, really nice to have some independently judged acknowledgement that your images are truly interesting to others.

Many thanks to Deigh Bates for working with me to print two of these images that simply had to be printed outside locally popular commercial sources.  He’s a paper guy, with a sensitive view of what will print dramatically.

Thanks also to Christina and Eric at Framin’ Artworks for their tasteful advice in matte colors and masterful double matting of my abstract image.

So it is with great happiness that I show you the prints submitted this year to the Lane County Fair (Advanced Category).  As always, a better view if you double-click on the image.

This first image received a Blue in Lane County landscapes/seascapes, a personal favorite of mine, taken a couple hundred yards north of the fee station at the entrance to the South Jetty, near Florence, Oregon:

Also receiving a Blue, in Humor, is this picture taken in Borneo, entitled, “Jabba the Hutt, holding court amongst us, Borneo, Malaysia:”

Getting a Red Ribbon, in the Abstract category, is this very wide image taken at Clear Lake during the fall color season, with a very long exposure.  Deigh helped a lot to make this print work, and my next door neighbor, Karl, was instrumental in getting me to draw out the colors more forcefully.  This one is another personal favorite:

Taking a White Ribbon in the Animal category was this image of impala and Nyela at a South African waterhole (some of which have Oxpeckers on their back, if you look closely).  The dramatic natural lighting and the pond with the sandy hillock as a backdrop, made this image:

This last image from the landscapes/seascapes category outside Lane County did not achieve a ribbon, but I like it nonetheless.  This was taken at the Oregon Painted Hills as wildflowers were erupting in the gullies and basins.  …this is a great place to visit, particularly in the spring:

Thanks for viewing and reading.  I am so thrilled to have had these entries so well received!

Assortment of SE Oregon Birds 2017

Nobody really wants to see pictures of the 100+ species I was able to photograph on the trip.  So here are about 17.  If you find one or two of special interest, just double click on the image.

This is the one image that is probably more properly considered Central Oregon (shot taken at a blind at Cabin Lake, a few miles north of Ft. Rock).  Red Crossbill:

This pair of Burrowing Owl were just about a mile out of Hines

Seen near Burns was this pair of Sandhill Crane

The Eastern Kingbird was found on the Paiute Reservation out of Burns

Not the best picture in the world, but a new life bird for me was the Black-backed Woodpecker, seen at Idyewild Campground

The next two images were taken at Sagehen Rest Stop, west of Hines, the Mountain Bluebird and the Say’s Phoebe:

This Prairie Falcon was seen just a few yards from the wooden structure I posted yesterday

Seen not too far from Diamond was this cooperative Black-crowned Night-Heron

Headquarters for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was where this gorgeous Rose-breasted Grosbeak was seen, along with the Black-chinned Hummingbird and the Townsend’s Warbler

Not far from the junction of the road to Headquarters off Hwy 205 was this delightful Black-throated Sparrow (I think this was just the second time I had seen one of these!)

These last four were found at various locations on the Refuge.  In order, Trumpeter Swan, Wilson’s Phalarope, a pair of Willets making whoopie, and White-faced Ibis:

While a few of these birds can be seen locally, the bulk of them are not seen around Eugene with any great regularity, so it’s nice to share images of some birds not casually seen at home!

On the Road Again

Yet again to SE Oregon.

We got up early

and all too soon, we were on the road again

The first major stop was the Ft. Rock and Cabin Lake areas

But ultimately our destination was the High Desert of the Frenchglen area

and surrounding environs (Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Ruh-Red Road, Burns, and places in between).

The Refuge was lusher than we had seen it in recent years, due to a more normal amount of rain and snow.  Perhaps my favorite picture of the trip was this picture of the pond near the Buena Vista portion of the refuge, with the west side of Steens Mountain in the background:

In addition to sighting roughly 130 species of bird (Sally of course seeing more), the more normal water level brought out other worthy flora and fauna:

Finally, two last pictures to share.  The first is my favorite old structure in the area:

and the other, from dusk at P-Ranch, just simply reminds me of the movie, “City of Angels:”

I hope to have two more posts soon…just snap shots of a few of the birds we saw.  Some will be just fun shots, a few maybe not so good but that I think represent “lifers” for me.

A Recent Foggy Day

I always find fog interesting, as it seems to add an element of mystery to any subject.

My favorite part about the third one is the fence line.

Dunes Near South Jetty, Florence, Oregon

Here’s a shot from a recent trip to the entrance area of the South Jetty in Florence.

Fog at Golden Gardens

A week or so ago I took advantage of a foggy morning to visit Golden Gardens.  Although the fog was not quite as thick as I would have liked, these two images proved to be the best of the crop: