Best viewed on black.
Mossy Grotto Falls · Ruckel Creek · Columbia River Gorge · Bonneville · Oregon · USA
Exceptionally low flow on Ruckel Creek brought a rare opportunity for a long-coveted reflection shot of the falls, lending added serenity to the verdant glen of Mossy Grotto Falls.
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Prints for sale at http://ift.tt/1eSTqTx
Tamanawas Falls · Mt. Hood National Forest · Parkdale · Oregon
It’s three years on since the time I first visited this guardian spirit and caught one unforgettable show of light and shadow. The phenomenon is easily explained enough, and I would bet that it occurs to varying degrees on a regular basis any time there’s direct afternoon sun shining down on the basin. But that fact in no way diminishes the awe that bearing witness to it inspires.
And so it was on a rare weekday off that I rolled with my brotog in crime TJ Thorne to pay Tamanawas another visit…not with any express prospects of catching the light show again, but just to get away from the things that are becoming all too familiar (e.g., work obligations, the hustle and bustle of city life, the news, and so on). As it turned out, the show indeed was happening, albeit to a relatively muted degree compared to the first time around. Still, I wanted to take the opportunity to recapture the scene and leverage the 3 years of photographic experience I’ve since accumulated to render it a bit more cleanly and accurately. The differences may be subtle to most eyes, but in this rendition I’ve managed to significantly reduce the motion blur in the surrounding foliage (not easy given how breezy it was) and taken a more natural, less contrasty approach to the overall processing.
But whatever incremental steps I’ve managed to take forward with my photography, the sense of accomplishment was tempered when I later learned a friend of mine was going through some pretty dark times recently. I don’t think I was able to fix anything nor do I fancy myself a savior for anyone by any stretch of the imagination, but perhaps just talking things out with someone familiar was helpful. Sometimes just being there is all that’s needed.
Just like Tamanawas was for me.
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This year is the year I’m finally getting some good forest shooting in – green has been conspicuously absent from my portfolio for too long. This spot’s been done before, but it’s still a damn special place. Thanks Teedge and Boolini for the good times en route and afterward!
Two exposures here – one ISO 100, 1s, f/16 for the base scene and water movement; one ISO 400, 1/8s, f/11 for depth of field and foliage movement.
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Prints for sale at http://ift.tt/1eSTqTx
Horsetail Falls Trail #438 · Columbia River Gorge · Dodson · Oregon · USA
Pacific forest moss- and licorice fern-flocked red alder flanking the zigzagging trail to Ponytail Falls seem to clamber relentlessly upwards in their determined quest for sunlight, raked even as they may be in the throes of a slow but graceful death.
Parallels in my line of work as a palliative care and hospice physician? Yeah, you might say that.
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FSD 