Milky Way Galaxy and Light Painting

Dawson loved all things space. Because of that, I have been wanting to take pictures of the Milky Way galaxy for a couple of years now. I finally had an opportunity when my friend Jeff was in town on business. (You can check out his amazing work here). It was a bit late in the year to get the entire galaxy, so I was only able to get the tail of it. But now that I know how to shoot it, I'll be sure to go out next summer to get the whole thing.

                                                                  And this is what happens when Jeff is in town! Light painting is so much fun!!

   

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.

World of Tulips

A few weeks ago my Uncle sent me this question: "Jaden (my cousin) would like to know why you take such pretty pictures of flowers and why they make you feel so good?". I wasn't quite sure how how to respond, but this is what I came up with: "I don't know why they make me feel so good. I think it has to do with the process of taking the picture. And then seeing the results of crawling around in the dirt and mud. Plus they are pretty and full of bright colors. The world doesn't always look that way but it should"

Sunrise at the Tulip Fields

I made several early morning trips to the tulip fields this year. I was rewarded with some of the most amazing sunrises I have ever seen.

                                                           I love this one because you can see the first rays of light touching the top of Mt. Hood.

On a Balloon Crew

When I received a request to be part of a balloon crew, I jumped at the chance. I had a great time working with the crew to get the balloon ready to launch. Once the basket was out of the trailer, we pulled the balloon out. It took several adults to carry the bag with the balloon packed inside. After the balloon was laid out and attached to the basket, I was given the job of holding the mouth of the balloon open. Then a large fan was set up to blow air into the balloon to help get it all unfolded. Once the balloon was fully unfurled . . . . while I was still holding the balloon open . . . . they lit the burners and filled the balloon with HOT air. It was a wee bit uncomfortable to stand there next to the fire from the burners. Once the balloon was already to go, I was free to grab my camera and get a few shots. After the balloon launched I learned about a fun part of ballooning . . . . the chase!!

 Once the balloon was in the air, we packed up the rest of the equipment and piled back into the truck. We then followed the balloon wherever it happened to fly.

 To my great delight, the balloon flew over Mt. Angel. You can see the Mt. Angel Abby in the background. I used to take my morning walks up to the Abby.

We surprised some farmers when the balloon landed in their field. They were kind enough to let us remain there while we packed up the balloon. It was a fun and exhausting (in a good way) morning!