Conquering Fear in Oneonta Gorge

In a previous blog post I told you about a new Meetup group I joined. Early in June I had the opportunity to head out with the group again.

About 2 years ago I heard about a location in the Columbia River Gorge that I had to see. I looked up pictures of Oneonta Gorge on the Internet and read everything I could find. My desire to visit this location grew. But having never been to the location I was reluctant to go alone. This wasn’t your normal hike. This was a hike through a river that at times got 5 feet deep. Not to mention the logjam you had to climb over before you can really begin the hike.

I’d been trying to find someone to go with me for 2 years with no luck. So imagine my excitement when my meetup group decided to go. By the time I went to sign up all the slots were taken so I put my name on the wait list.

A couple weeks before the scheduled day I got the notification that I could go. What was my initial response . . . fear. I immediately thought "I can’t go, I need to decline". I’m not completely sure what triggered my initial fear. Most likely fear of the unknown. I’d never been to the location, I didn’t know what exactly to expect.

After about a day of trying to decide if I should go I realized something. I was letting FEAR GET IN THE WAY of something I had wanted to do for over 2 years!! How ridiculous!!

From that moment I decided I was going, no matter how scared I was. And fear turned into a spirit of adventure.

Once we got to the location, excitement and trepidation intermingled. The logjam was huge. More like a log wall. Because I’m not the most coordinated person, and the logs were wet and slippery, I was a little worried. But I went slow and made it to the other side.

After crossing the log wall, we walked through the river stopping to take photo’s every few feet. It was so much fun to walk through a river instead of on a dusty trail. Even though the water was cold, it was a blast!

Then came the section of the river that was chest deep. I started wading into the deeper water with my camera over my head. As the water slowly rose it was exciting. Then the water got to my chest. I started to panic. (Having nearly drown in high school, water and I are on tenuous terms.) The cold river water felt like a band tightening around my chest and I found it hard to breath. To calm myself down I started talking to myself. “You are ok, you can still touch the ground, just keep breathing” were repeated over and over until I got back to shallow water. It was then I could begin to see the waterfall.

At first it was just hints of the waterfall around the edges of the rock walls. The sound of the waterfall grew louder as we got closer. Then we walked around a corner and there it was. The waterfall was tall and graceful surrounded by the lush green walls of the gorge.  

If I had let my fear control me and stop me from going, I would never have experienced the adventure of hiking through a river, crossing over a logjam and wading through deep water. I would never have seen the waterfall that made the journey worth it. 

                                                                              This photo does not accurately convey the size of the logjam. ;)

                                                            Besides crossing the logjam we also had to cross over random logs laying across the river.

                                                                                   Can you see the hint of waterfall in the photo above?

                                                                                             Looking back over the way we had come.

                                                                                          I had to get one last shot before we left.

Powell Butte and The Beginning of a New Journey

Two and a half years ago I began a new journey in my life. I started graduate school to become a counselor. I wrote a little about my decision to go back to school in an earlier post. It has been a long hard journey and I learned a lot about myself in the process. After 2 1/2 years of the most intensive schooling I've ever been through I am DONE. Now its time for me to begin a new journey helping others.

To celebrate the completion of school, on the day we turned in our very last assignment, my classmate and I went to Powell Butte in Portland. Its a beautiful, peaceful place in the middle of Portland. You can walk the park trials in solitude or while chatting with a friend. You can find a quite spot to sit and enjoy the nature around you, or you can stop every few feet to take pictures.

                                                                                  I loved watching how the light danced through the trees.

A Trip to Oceanside

In an effort to meet some local photographers I joined a Meetup group dedicated to hiking and photography. I joined this group because I wanted to explore more than just the tourist locations I know so well. I also wanted to make some new friends while exploring. It took me a while to build up the courage to actually attend one of the meet ups. My school and work schedule got in the way a few times. But in truth a little social anxiety played a role in my delay as well. 

When they planned a trip to the coast, I know it was time for me to join. I knew the Oregon Coast well enough, I at least knew what I was getting into. And though we were going to an area I'd never been, I was comfortable enough to join. 

We got up super early so we could be on the beach before the tide came in. Much of this part of the beach is only accessible during low tide. Even though I had to get up at 3:30am, I'm so glad I went. The group was friendly and the location beautiful.

I've always wanted to see actual starfish outside of an aquarium. But I've never found them on the coast. Now I know why. They are all on a small stretch of beach outside of Oceanside. There were tide pools and starfish everywhere. Not to mention waterfalls and caves. I will definitely need to go back to Oceanside.

                                 For some reason the above photo feels like a scene from a fantasy movie . . . like it doesn't really belong in this world.

                                                                             I think this photo of the starfish is one of my favorites of the day.

                                                2 minutes after I took this photo the starfish and the rock it's attached to were completely under water.

 This was the only picture I got from the caves. The water was dripping off the walls and I found the water drops more interesting than the caves themselves.

Holloway Family

Last fall a good friend asked me to take her family pictures. A couple years ago I had to take a step back from doing portrait work, because with all that was going on in my life I just didn't have the energy for it anymore. So when Marci asked me to take her family photos, I made sure she knew I was out of practice. 

In October we drove to the Oregon Coast to take photos on the beach. To say I was excited was an understatement. I've been wanting to do beach portraits for a long time. I had so much fun crawling around in the sand getting pictures of them jumping off sand dunes. They played with the driftwood and in the surf. It was such a fun afternoon. We took a break to eat some dinner and then rushed back for some sunset shots. By this time the family had changed out of their "portrait" outfits and back into their comfortable clothes. They look great being themselves in front of a gorgeous sunset backdrop.

Thank you Marci for putting your faith in this out of practice photographer and reminding me how much I love taking pictures of people. 

An Evening at Multnomah Falls

A couple weeks ago one of my photography friends was in town on business. I was very excited to show him, one of my favorite locations, The Columbia River Gorge. We stopped at the Women's Forum for a view of the Vista House against the backdrop of the Columbia River Gorge. We arrived just before sunset, and were treated to a wonderful view.                                  

                   We also stopped at the Vista House. I don't usually shoot the building. However I found the clouds behind the building intriguing.

 By the time we got to Multnomah Falls, the sun had set. We spent some time shooting the falls using the fading light in the sky and the flood light that's aimed at the lower half of the falls. The lower photo is an 8 second exposure. I have to say I really like it, especially the purple/blue of the sky.

                                                                          Since it was dark out, we decided to do a little bit of light painting.

                                                         Light painting is so much fun! Especially when you can do it at a nationally known landmark. :)

 The 430 second photo below was taken in the pitch dark. We were going to try light painting here, but as soon as we got our exposure figured out, it started raining.