New on 500px : Let It Shine by TjThorne by TjThorne

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I don’t have many chances to get out to nature currently. “Life gets in the way of living” kind of stuff. When my friend Tula invited me on a hike on one of the busiest trails in Oregon on the Fourth of July… I felt no hesitation about tagging along.

I think my favorite image from the day is this one right here. I was hanging out in a cave when I noticed the backlit ferns. Not thinking anything of it.. I just started shooting. I was lucky enough to catch the sun peeking through the space between the top of the cave and the opposing ridge line. Water dripping down the outside cliff face adds another pleasing element to the scene.

Yeah.. there was a line at the payment box in the parking lot. Yeah.. there was barely any parking. Yup… there was a highway of people walking up the trail and cooling off in the waters. Yes.. I shot Punchbowl Falls. But sometimes when you have those chances to get out and immerse yourself in natural beauty you just need to suck it up and let that opportunity shine.

Thanks for reading.

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New on 500px : Good Day Sunshine by TjThorne by TjThorne

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Forest scenes are very challenging for me. To find simplicity in chaos takes a special way of seeing. It takes a certain mood.. a cohesiveness with my environment.

I had been walking the forest for nearly two hours looking for a scene that I could be satisfied with. I just couldn’t do it. Friends I was shooting with were photographing scenes that I had walked past and didn’t even consider and they would come up with something really nice. I wasn’t in that zone. I was flustered. Pissed.

Frustrated, I gave up on the forest and walked towards the creek for a consolation photo while my friends retired to the meeting area for beers, conversation, and good company. I HAD to get at least something I could consider a keeper.

We had great light all day long. The thick canopy diffused the harsh light into yellows and greens. It lit up the vine maples and moss. The weather was perfect. The situation was perfect. Great conditions, good friends, nature, my camera.. and yet here I was in a sour mood.

As I took off towards the creek I saw one last stand of vine maple trees and figured ‘Why not?’. I walked over, sat down, put the sun in a place where it would cause this sunstar effect, and this is the scene I saw. This was it. This was my shot.

I only had a couple of minutes before the sun disappeared behind the branch and I lost this composition. I set up, checked my settings, and started shooting. I finally started to feel good. I found the yin to my yang and it was represented in the tree shape.

Needless to say.. my friends saw me walking back up with the biggest smile on my face.

A huge thanks to Alex ‘aNorg’ Noriega for his direction in the processing of this photo, his mentorship, and his friendship. If you want to up your post-processing game.. he can teach you how.

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New on 500px : Golden Elowah by TjThorne by TjThorne

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I dedicate this photo to the camera of my buddy Ted Gore.

I had originally shot this composition in a heavy downpour with flat light. It came out okay enough but while I was shooting this Ted had alerted me that his camera wasn’t functioning. We had spent the day shooting in some serious rain (for Oregon’s standards) and while Ted took precautions to protect his camera (and honestly.. didn’t even have it out in the rain much), the wetness permeated his protective barriers and caused damage.

I was feeling rushed. Not only did I want to get his camera into the bag of rice we had in the car.. but I was also worried about my gear. So we hoofed it back, did what we had to do, and called it a day.

I liked this comp enough that I went back two days later in the evening. The rain had stopped, the flow of the water was lighter, and we were treated to a glorious golden light show. The sun was still cresting the canyon wall and it illuminated the foreground trees. The falls is recessed back enough that it was shielded from the light which really helped balance the photo.

Aside from Ted’s bad luck and the heavy rain the first day, we had a killer weekend of great spring conditions, awesome people, and good times.

Sorry about your camera, Ted!

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New on 500px : Nothingness by TjThorne by TjThorne

http://ift.tt/1cRHAV1 http://ift.tt/1cRHCfO ~Please click the photo to view on black and to get rid of the distracting ‘HOLY CRAP REQUEST TO BUY ME!!!!’ links 500px puts up below the image.’ Holy crap do I love Oregon. We have so much diversity within a day’s drive. At the last minute on day, I decided to make the 9 hour round trip drive out to the Painted Hills. The forecast called for scattered thunderstorms… so it was quite a gamble going here. And while I always hope for good light and photographic opportunities, what I was really after was.. nothing. I wanted to be around nothing. This spot isn’t REMOTE. But it’s out there. Far enough away that you don’t hear the cars.. that you have to wait for cattle to move off the road.. that all you hear is the sound of the wind and your breathing as you inhale the scent of sagebrush and juniper. I was luckily treated to some very nice light… which doesn’t happen to me a lot. That’s just the cherry on top of an escape. Nine hours of driving. Two hours of nothingness. A beautiful girl to spend it with, and the sticky smell of juniper all over my hands. Huge thanks to Alex ‘aNorg’ Noriega for being a master at post-processing and teaching the techniques I used on this image. If you want to up your game.. he’s the person to go to.
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