Make time

As a photographer, I think everything and every one should have their pictures taken. Like most photographers, we have our areas of focus (pun intended). I like people (street/posed/candid), SOME landscapes, and my favorite - sports.

Granted, I am not a landscape photographer, nor do I like bugs (Macro photography). A lot of people usually don't like their pictures taken. Flowers and mountains, don't ever seem to complain when sitting for a portrait.

Yesterday I was helping put in a sidewalk, and as usual, I try to figure out what to take pictures of. Usually, it's a simple snap just to document the day. This time I took a little more time to look around, see the flowers, details of the event and get pictures.

A little detail


Finished exposed aggregate sidewalk.




Please note, I don't know anything about flora.

Abandonedment of the past

I have seen this former gas station for years. Perhaps even as long as 10-15 years ago but never stopped. This time, I had to. The pumps had .33 cents for a gallon of regular leaded gas. Diesel was $1.52 and unleaded premium was .52 cents.....I think.


A former mode of transportation


Abandoned


Sighs of that time


Direction


Wagon wheel


Gas pump

Weekly update

Chinook Pass, Washington June 11, 2008


American River, Chinook Pass, Washington


Valley to Bumping Lake, Washington


Overlooking Jefferson Ranch and Gold Creek Station, Highway 410, Chinook Pass, Washington


My beautiful wife and I on Chinook Pass, June 11, 2008

Winter icescapes

These were shot in February 2008. I didn't take the time to edit them so I went through recently and did a little editing. Some of these may be presented to be put on display at the coffee shop too.

River and roots


Ice


Layers


Icesausages

Out and about

During my visit with David and Kathy of Hallowed Grounds yesterday, they suggested I get some pictures of the surrounding area. One place was the dam on the other side of the railroad tracks from their store. The dam area is a fishing spot too. Normally there are rocks and a walkway as well as a small boat launch. But with the rains we have had these past few days, the river was pretty swollen.

This walkway is about 7 feet above the normal waterline.


This wave is about the size of a VW bug.






A few people I spoke to said they have never seen the river so violent. Even in 2004 when we had the massive flooding from the hurricane.


Follow the handrail on the left and you can see another handrail in the water (middle of the image, left side). That hand rail is a landing that had a blue plastic garbage can chained to it. The handrail leads to a fishing landing that is normally a few feet above the water.

Gone in a matter of minutes

Working as a photographer requires me to always see things in many different levels. I see things that may be mundane and boring, but I look at it and wonder what if I came back in the spring or use a sidelight or even in black and white. Another thing I constantly do, is look behind me.

Light fades quickly. During the day, you don't notice it until you realize, hey, it's night time. But when you watch the light all day, every day, you see how fleeting it is.

Saturday, I was putzing around waiting for a movie to get out and I headed over to a hardware store. As I got out, I was looking East and noticed the orange glow on some of the buildings. Seeing this, I turned around to see a very dramatic sunset in the making. What I saw was broken blue gray clouds up high. Several plumes of steam rising up from a factory. As the sun dropped, there was a thin line of open sky that the sun was shining through. Because of where I was at, it was backlighting the steam plumes and turning the bottom of the clouds orange. The plumes were also creating a "V" of a shadow across the sky. Knowing that there were only minutes, I tried to find an area that didn't have obstructions. Of course, after about two, maybe four, minutes, the scene had changed significantly. The "V" shadow was gone, the backlight was gone and the orange glow was all but disappearing.

This was all that was left and it is SOOO insignificant in comparison.