My niece and I drove straight to Multnomah Falls in the morning to try to grab a parking spot before the crowds -Success! However, the trail was closed due to icy conditions. We were able to view this most stunning falls from the bottom. This is the highest falls in Oregon and 2nd highest in the nation, totaling 611 feet in two steps.
Multnomah Falls
Multnomah Falls, painterly
We next headed to Latourell Falls. I loved the basalt rocks that surround the falls (lower). The hike is lovely and fairly easy and will take you to the upper Falls and then loops back to the parking lot, passing some lovely views along the way. The best view of the (lower) Latourell Falls is accessed from a path that leads to the base of the falls. Beware if you are photographing, there is a lot of spray. Keep your lens away from the direction of the spray until you are ready to shoot and bring a wipe. Once the water level has receded, the spray level is probably not as bad.
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After the hike, we had a delicious lunch at Edgefields in Troutdale and then went back to Triple Falls for another short hike. However, after about 1/2 mile up the Triple Falls Trail, perhaps as a result of the meal, we proved to have less motivation to deal with the steep, snowy and narrow trail and decided to leave that hike for another day.
To see more of my photography, please visit me at http://belindagrebphotography.com/ or one of my other sites!
Bridge Over Sky – Along the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway
This last trip to Harney County, I dropped my friend off at French Glen so she could take a break from the car and dust (after about 6 hours, many on gravel roads), and I went on to South Steens mountain. Last time there were about 20 horses on the side of the mountain but too far to get any good pictures.
This time I followed my instincts and drove my car past an open gate on BLM land and went slowly up a deeply rutted dirt road. I reached a flat area on the side of the mountain and the horses were there. It was a panoramic scene, 180 degrees. I had left the car and was moving slowly forward. There were multiple bands of horses, cows, and even five pronghorn laying down. The horses to the front of me were probably 500 yards away (I’m pretty bad at gauging distances) while the horses to my left or 9 o’clock where probably twice that distance.
I was just trying to taken in the scene and decide how to proceed without causing any alarm to the horses. They knew I was there, but I was too far away to be of concern. Looking to my left I suddenly saw some movement. There was a coyote, then another (later I saw a third). One saw me and that I was watching it, and the two coyotes started to run in a northeasterly direction.Reviewing my photos, I saw they had been eyeing a foal that was at some distance from its mother. They had gone about 500 yards moving past the pronghorn and a couple of bands, when a stallion saw them and started to give chase until the two disappeared to the east. The third coyote that had been left behind disappeared over the ridge to the west.
Almost immediately my eye was drawn by another movement. Two stallions were engaging in some sort of dispute. It was over in a minute or two, but very exciting to watch. I was almost out of range, so I only got one sharp image, with a couple good enough to apply a painterly technique to convey the story.
I don’t know why they stopped, but a third stallion had come near them and they both started running westward, the Palomino herding a mare while the other followed at a distance and then stopped. During spring is when a lot of the stallions will try to steal mares from another band.
Next I watched the third stallion suddenly decide to move closer to what was his very large band. Snaking them together – head low and extended – he herded them together an moved them north over the ridge.
All of these little happenings were like ripple effects. The coyotes, one stallion perhaps moving too close to another’s mare, the two stallions moving too close to the third, and the third stallion, also aware of me, then moving his band over the ridge. Despite the fact I wanted to move closer, I didn’t want to cause any alarm, and hanging back allowed me to survey the scene and see all of these singular episodes.
I decided I had better get back to my friend, and started in my car down that road. My car has about 230,000 miles on it, so I was trying to be as tender as possible with it. It did occur to me I might encounter some of the horses I had seen in the distance to the west as I was coming down, and sure enough, there was suddenly this beautiful stallion appearing like a specter on a hill to my right. I had to stop, let the dust settle, then roll down the windows to get a shot of him. I later saw he was so interesting to look at because he had blue eyes (he kind of reminded me of the white walkers in Game of Thrones).
A bay mare was behind him. He moved off again, and as I inched the car down, I saw the rest of his band. In the second photo of this group, the foal looks nothing like its mother or him. Sometimes a stallion will steal a mare that is already pregnant. Of course, I don’t know if this was the case or not!
In the next photo, one of my favorite of the South Steens herd, some other members of the band wait for the stallion. I love the sight of the valley below them in the distance. Another interesting note – in looking at multiple sequential photographs on my computer, I saw that the foal in this image was the same foal in Danger Point. He has a distinctive wide blaze and very high stockings on his back legs. After the stallion joined them, they moved over the ridge and out of sight.
I have to admit something – before I started really observing animals for my photography, I never really thought in depth about family in terms of what it means for other species. Growing up, we did have four generations of Irish setter dogs – the first three generations females and the last generation, two brothers, but I was young, so I didn’t think about that.
To humans, family is sacred. Nothing should come between parent or child. Siblings should be close. But when I think of what our domestication of animals does, I see we do not honor those same bonds. While even in the wild, the animal young will eventually separate from the parent (in some species much sooner than others) there are emotional bonds, and for our own purposes and conveniences, we think nothing of breaking those bonds because we are not thinking of animals as sentient beings. For that matter, many do not value their lives. Think of all the celebrities that millions idolize (especially pop icons) who wear the skins of dead animals as a fashion accessory. But let me get back to the idea of family and emotional bonds. There are bonds, easily observable, and if we observe these, then maybe we can start to think of animals in a different way, more like ourselves, and maybe we can start respect the lives and the emotional bonds of animals more. I think we would be better humans for it.
Caption (Starting from Upper Left and going clockwise) 1) Bella mother of Traveler and Pallaton. 2) Traveler, colt born in 2015. 3) Band Stallion (name unknown) and father to Traveler and Pallaton. 4) The two brothers. 5) Pallaton. 6) Fun and games between the brothers. For more wild horse photography, please visit my horse gallery: http://bit.ly/1QoDBaW.
I love horses. I have ever since I was a little girl. I didn’t have Barbies, I had model horses and stuffed animals. But although I rode horses occasionally, I’m not a rider and have never had the opportunity to own horses.
When I played horses as a little girl, playacting with a friend with our numerous model horses and speaking for them in faux horse language, (English with a neigh sound), we played them as wild horses, always escaping the clutches of man. So here I am, gobs of years later, and I’ve had the opportunity to watch and photograph wild horses, and it is a dream come true.
On my recent trip to Harney County, I saw horses from both the Palomino Buttes Herd and the South Steens Herd in Eastern Oregon. Another blog will be done about the Palomino Buttes herd. On the day I saw this family, I had been up Steens Mountain to the point where the road was closed due to snow and I had seen about 19 horses grazing in the far distance. As I came down the mountain and started to drive back to Burns on Hwy. 205, I saw another herd, about 7, including a foal, also in the distance. Well, I thought, that’s about as close as I’m going to get. But in the next five minutes, I saw two horses quite close. I stopped the car. The first was a beautiful Palomino stallion and behind him, or north of me was a gorgeous pinto mare.
The mare was so striking, that I decided to work my way to another position to catch another angle. I moved slowly until I was parallel with her, and then moved beyond that to get a clearer view. Both horses watched me.
Imagine my delight when I saw what a sagebrush had hidden, a foal lying at her feet. I took a few shots of it, though it still was largely hidden by the sagebrush.
However at that point, its mother decided it was time to move her foal further away. She put her nose down to it, then started walking slowly away. The foal got to its feet and followed.
Once the foal was following her, they broke into a trot and then a lope. The stallion waited until they moved past him and began to circle around. Then he ran to join, As they slowed, he fell back and let the mare and her foal move ahead where they stopped at a distance that was about 20-30 yards further but parallel to where they had been initially.
The bonds between a horse family are very strong, but within the larger herd, stallions can lose their mares to other stallions. Colts will be kicked out of a band after a year or two, and fillies will eventually join another stallion’s band. But should they meet again, the affection and bonds last. When horses are domesticated, you don’t often get to see the families together. Even horse breeders often separate the foals after a certain time from the mares.
What a joy it was to watch this family running together, and to see the protectiveness of both the mare and the stallion. I could have sat and watched them the rest of the day, but I decided to leave them in peace.
My complete photography catalog can be found on my main website through Fine Art America http://bit.ly/BelindaGreb and more wild horse images can be seen here: Wild Horses Gallery. I also have at more limited numbers of my work at Photo4Me (UK), Crated, Society 6 , Redbubble and Zazzle. My Etsy shop is currently undergoing a revamping, but look for availability of signed work up to 16×24 prints in the near future here: RadiancePhotos.
I’ve been away for a long while due to slogging through the winter blues and a more recent family medical emergency. I’m going to be doing some short photo posts from my recent trip back to Harney County. My spirit is rebounding due to Spring’s appearance and the family member is recovering!
It was my first time seeing Sandhill Cranes and I was not disappointed by their beauty and gracefulness.
Craning X 2
Sandhill cranes arrive in early Spring in Harney County from California. Many of the cranes I saw were in pairs, and this is normal as well as family units as the chicks or colts stay with the parents until 1-2 months before the new eggs are laid. During winter, migratory Sandhill Cranes will forage and roost in larger numbers called survivor groups.
Working in Pairs
An interesting fact I read about the cranes is that fossils of Sandhill Cranes have been found that date back to 2.5 million years, and there is one 10 million year old fossil that probably was a predecessor of the Sandhill Cranes.
Looking Both Ways
I will be processing more of my recent photographs of the Sandhill Cranes as well as some beautiful wild horses that I photographed in Harney County.
God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. – John Muir
Lately my heart and mind have been in Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, a wild gem of Oregon taken over in early January by armed militia. This takeover was in response to the arrest of Hammonds, two ranchers who intentionally set two fires that spread to public lands endangering lives, (in 2001 of the young relative who was instructed to set the fire and in 2006 of firefighters who were in the area). Bundy and his followers purported to take over the refuge for the purpose of returning the land to the people – a ridiculous proposition since the land already belongs to the people, as in “We, the People”. They didn’t want the government to manage the land and instead unilaterally decided that they would be the ones to do so. Malheur NWR is one of numerous public lands that have been set aside by our forefathers who wisely saw the need to preserve natural habitat and wildlife for future generations. I suspect most of us consider this a blessing, but sadly there are those that consider it an overreach of the government.
In 1864, Abraham Lincoln ceded land around Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove Area to California for use as a state park in response to Galen Clark and Senator John Conness who argued that with the increased tourism since since the mid 1850s, unregulated commercial interests were becoming a threat to the area. This would set a precedent for establishing Yellowstone as the nation’s first national park, Meanwhile after 11 years of trying, Ferdinand Hayden, was finally able to put together a geological survey in to the Yellowstone Area. This resulted in an influential report, that included pictures by William Henry Jackson and paintings by Thomas Moran, and in 1872, Ulysses Grant signed the Act of Dedication which made Yellowstone a national park. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park)
There was opposition at that time to the establishment of the park. Local settlers in Montana worried that the economy would suffer from federal prohibitions and so numerous bills were put forth to reduce land-use restrictions. There were those that wanted the land for logging, mining, and hunting. Sound familiar?
The entities in charge of public lands need to balance the needs of interested parties while protecting the land. While hunting is not allowed in National Parks and many Wildlife Refuges, on other public lands, hunting is allowed. There are guidelines for the logging that takes place on public lands, and there will always be controversy about whether these guidelines are too strict or not strict enough. Ranchers were allowed to continue grazing their cattle on public lands and charged a nominal fee. Grazing fees per AUM (animal unit per month) was raised in 2015 to $1.69. Of course fees for grazing on private or state lands is much higher. In Oregon, the state fee is $5.60 in 2016. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing_fee) How many of you can feed your pet dog or cat for that $1.69 for even a couple of days?
In addition, as opposed to owning the land, the ranchers are not responsible for the financial cost of purchasing the land, maintaining or paying taxes on it like other property owners would be. But apparently some of these occupiers, like Cliven Bundy, feel that they should not have to pay any fees at all, and for years he has gotten away from this, refusing to pay the fees or remove his cattle from federal lands. After a court order allowed officials to remove his livestock from federal lands in 2014, armed supporters advanced on collectors resulting in a standoff. The cattle were not removed by BLM due to their concern that employees might be harmed or shot. So now Cliven Bundy owes the people over $1 million dollars and continues to graze his cattle on public lands. If our society continues to give in to this type of behavior, we will have anarchy.
There’s certainly a right to question how the land is being managed, but trying to bully your opinion across via intimidation and guns is not it. The government entities that regulate these lands are not above reproach, but they are trying to balance the rights of the community along with the special interests of ranchers along with the wildlife advocates and environmentalists. How can this be an easy task? And of course the administrators are also going to be have their own personal opinions and beliefs. But dissenters should take any issue with that management to our legal system or the media.
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1908. The land was initially occupied by the Paiute Indians. Settlers then came in and took over much of it, relegating the natives to a reservation. How ironic is the world view that rages against the government but really isn’t talking about returning the land to the original inhabitants.
One settler amassed with his employer, Dr Hugh Glen, over 140,000 acres. He also restricted access to water to other fellow settlers and in fact was murdered in 1883 by one settler whose access to water he denied. Not a pretty story. Some of the land was sold to pay of company debts, and after being resold, nearly 65,000 acres was incorporated into the refuge in 1935. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P_Ranch)
In the late 1880’s bird populations were being decimated by plume hunters who used their feathers for hats or vanity wear, as I like to say in regards to fur coats. In 1908, photographers, William L Finley and Herman Bohlman noticed both the diversity of birds and the horrible effects of plume hunting. Finley successfully personally lobbied President Theodore Roosevelt for federal protection for the area. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malheur_National_Wildlife_Refuge) The William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge, also in Oregon, was named after him in 1964.
I find myself getting so upset and angry by the Malheur occupation. First I’m angry at the nerve of other people coming from out-of-state with their guns, taking over the buildings, government vehicles, blocking roads, and causing so much damage, not least of which is the emotional damage done to the community around Burns. This is an invasion. There were threats to people and their families who worked for BLM or USFWS, and there has been a huge financial cost to the county. I am also angered at this threat to a beautiful refuge and the wildlife that is there.
Private vs Public
If these protections were not in place, we would not have our system of: 58 national parks; 560 National Wildlife Refuges and 38 wetland management districts; 155 national forests and 20 grassland areas; and other state managed wildlife areas. These are open to people to enjoy, but more importantly to conserve natural resources and habitat for wildlife. How would these lands have fared had they not been under federal protection? Look around – how well have mining, privately owned logging companies, corporate farms served the land or the interests of the general population? In addition, there’s a wealth of information and recent discussion about how cattle grazing impacts environment and climate. Google it.
Loss of habitat results in loss of species.Just think what would happen if there were no birds and how that would affect the insect population. How would that affect crops or the spread of insect transmittable diseases…and so on? What about the disappearance of a predator that helped keep the rat population in control? It’s all about balance. The loss of one species can result in the overpopulation of another. There is a fine balance between prey and predator. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver is a novel that clearly explains this issue.
If there were no regulations, there would be no limitations on the type of chemicals that are used or other safety regulations that exist for a reason. Even with regulations, there are not enough controls and we’ve seen the impact of the chemicals on bees which are so important pollination and agriculture.
If resources are not managed, there is no sustainability. This affects us directly in regards to food and shelter. Would you really trust Ammon Bundy who represents his own interests or the interest of like-minded individuals over a government department that while cumbersome is still subject to the interests of many, including: legislators, citizens, and businesses?
Those are the self-interested reasons for preservation and conservation.
Being a photographer, and spending a lot of time observing animals, I am on the side of the wildlife. We do not occupy this land alone. We share it with animals and flora. We have already created an environmental imbalance that threatens not only our future, but the future of all living beings. We have used our lands and water as a huge trash can that we think we can keep pouring our waste into without consequences. Those consequences are catching up, and it is the poor and the animals who will suffer first.
These public lands are also important in that for many that is the only place that many will see life in a near natural state. The beauty and understanding that come from being in nature to those that are open to it can give one a profound respect for life, its vulnerability and its resilience. Nature can make us better human beings by connecting us to the the larger natural world that contains a multitude of life outside the “me.” It can teaches us that life is not ego-centric but all-encompassing.
Photographs taken at: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and Harney County, William Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Yellowstone National Park, and Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (run by Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife). belindagrebphotography.com
This month has glided by so quickly, that I find myself thinking what have I done? My pace in taking photographs and processing them was definitely slower, and it was done purposefully to change up my day to day. While I can’t resist running and getting my camera for the splendid scenes of nature that come my way, I’ve also been trying to focus on finding a new way to get my work out there.
Now that I’m up might as well Fish – Love nature scenes like this, a mother mallard tried to grab a nap, but a couple of her offspring got up and started swimming around.
Bobbing for Fish – A closer view of the clarity of the water and momma mallard hard at work.
I’ve joined an artist collective that has a gallery down in Eugene, Oregon, called the New Zone Gallery. It’s great to be able to print out my work and see it hanging someplace and know that others are viewing it full size, the way it was meant to be seen, as opposed to 2-3 inches wide. It’s also wonderful, although a bit out of my comfort zone, to be able to meet new people and see how they are expressing themselves. There are many talented artists, including painters, ceramicists, basket weavers and sculptors, and you can see some of their work here: NewZoneGallery.org. The gallery has First Fridays and they are quite well attended. I’ve been there since early August, and just this last weekend was happy to hear that a framed and matted print of Feldspar and Ohanzee had been sold.
I’ve also been trying to get out and get more exercise. I find I’ve been taking far fewer hikes that tend to be shorter than in years past with the unpleasant but expected results of a weight gain and stiffer joints. Part of the reason is that I was getting tired of my usual haunts that are drier than usual due to the drought we’ve been having. One day I drove out to the coast and took the Hobbit Trail down to a beach. It wasn’t that long a trail, but it has a bit of charm and my dog, Maisie, got to play with a couple of other dogs whose paths we crossed. Afterwards, I also stopped by the Heceta Head Beach Area.
Two unexpected opportunities then arose back to back mid-month. The first was an invitation to join a fellow photographer on a trip to Glacier National Park at the end of this month as circumstances had required that her husband stay at home. My initial instinct, given the short notice, was to say no, as I would need to make arrangements for my dog, make my travel arrangements, find a way to budget the expenses. But It was so enticing and a trip I had wanted to make this year, but had put on the back burner since I went to the Grand Tetons again in March. Since I am trying to change my more cautious and shy nature, and live life in the moment, I decided to say Yes and figure out a way to make this happen. I am looking forward to sharing a photographic adventure with another photographer whose work I admire and experience the beauty of the park.
The Jewel at the End of the Trail – the McKenzie River flows underground due to a lava block until it reemerges here. There are falls at certain times of the year; otherwise the water comes up via a spring to this pond. Gorgeous color, I believe is due to minerals/lichen.
Forest Flow – The hike is not so much steep as the footing is uneven. Very popular with the University of Oregon students, it is more peaceful a hike during the late fall. This day was busy, and my dog remained leashed.
The upcoming trip, however, precipitated a desperate attempt to get into shape as some of the hiking opportunities in GNP seem to require that. I decided to hike up to Tamolitch Falls since I hadn’t been there in a few years. Although this is listed as easy, I find the trail to have uneven footing due to rocks and can be narrow in parts, especially when you have a dog and there is traffic on the trail. The hike was about six miles, and shared by hikers and bikers. I did fine, with my one heavy lens, a tripod and having to keep my dog on the leash (probably the hardest part since the trail was pretty busy that day). The forest is beautiful, but I have to say, I enjoy it more when there are fewer people.
Peace as a Pastime – Seen on a five mile walk that included big hills (which I hate) and air pollution from smoke that was blowing in from the fires 100 miles away. Upon reviewing this image on my computer screen, I was surprised to find the palomino horse had a very nasty scar on its blaze. While I’m unaware of the circumstances, I am glad it now seemed to have a beautiful pastoral setting and companionship.
The second unexpected opportunity was the chance to be interviewed by Jay Gaulard of IndustryDev.com. He had seen my Twitter feed and asked to interview me. His website explores web design and development as well photography. I enjoyed being interviewed and if you are interested, you can find the interview here: Interview.
All in all, this has been a month where my usual habits have been broken up, and that is probably a good thing, since I can sometimes get chained to my habits. Although I feel a bit “less productive” not sticking to my normal process, the slowdown has given me time to review some past archived raw material and find some gems (maybe I’ll show some in a future post); make time for some much needed exercise; and leave myself open to opportunities, both looked for (artist collective) and unexpected (GNP trip and interview).
Young Raptor – formerly identified as Peregrine, now surmised to be either a Merlin Falcon or a Red Shouldered Hawk juvenile.
I’ll leave you with two unexpected photographic finds: the first is a painted lady butterfly (I hadn’t seen one before and didn’t know they were in my area) and this raptor, either a Merlin Falcon or a juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk.
One evening my dog went to investigate a rustling in the bushes and a bird flew out and perched overhead. At first I thought it was a crow flying towards me because of its size, but the coloring confused me as did the dark eyes. My phone app suggested a Peregrine, but a twitter follower of mine didn’t think that was right. After sending the image to the Lane County Audubon society, the helpful members were also unsure except that it’s not a Peregrine. However, whatever it is, it was to me an example of one of life’s treasures that catches you off guard and gives you one of those special moments not to be forgotten.
This Spring turned out to be full of contentiousness and drama, and hard as I tried to stay away from it, I had to slog through it! Meanwhile, the rain that hadn’t come in its normal amounts during the winter, started to make its appearance. During the first few really beautiful Spring days, I was chained to this legal matter I was helping my mother with and resenting the time that was taking me away from hiking, from being out in nature. I felt like I was being robbed of Spring.
Basically, without getting into details, it stemmed from lack of coherent communication between parties, obstinance, bitterness, and escalated from there. This took over two months to resolve. It was enough to make me lose it a couple of times, but on the times when I wasn’t falling apart I tried to remind myself to stay centered, breathe and know that it would eventually pass. And I think now, the worst is over. I’m finally able to enjoy looking forward to the rest of Spring, warmer weather and being able to focus on my photography again.
During one of the rainy days I was so frustrated I combed through my images from last year and worked on this image. The beautiful Iris was from my sister’s garden, and I added another exposure and textures.
This second photograph was of a dandelion taken this Spring during a short walk – my favorite and only form of therapy aside from meditation. But walking really comes in handing especially when the mind refuses to quiet itself. The title, Dandelion Don’t Care About the Time, is from one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs. I have used various verses for some of my other dandelion photos.
You can see it does has a time theme, and that is pertinent, because especially as one gets older, there is a realization of how much time is spent on drama. It causes so much stress, making us lose sleep, causing us to worry about things that are somewhat uncontrollable. We often forget in the middle of emotional upheaval or fear that the one thing we can control is our reaction. There were a lot of nights when I would wake up at around 3am and just start worrying about how things were going to come out. What I started to do after a few nights of this was pick up a book. In most cases it worked. It took my mind away from the useless circling that it was doing and engaged my thoughts elsewhere. After an hour or so of reading, I would feel sleepy again.
One day it was supposed to be beautiful and warm. I headed up to a lake area where there are usually lots of dragonflies and was hoping to find some wildflowers. Spring was not evident – the area around the lake was far to marshy to get close to it and on top of that it started to drizzle. Yet in spite of that it was a day that was wonderful for just escaping. I took multiple shots, panning the camera to obtain this photograph and later combined and aligned them in Photoshop using the perspective option. Do you see where I’m going? I took some photographs with the tripod, and then I just sat, tucking my jacket underneath my butt to protect it from the cold and slightly damp ground, leaned back against a rock and closed my eyes. I listened to the birds, the stirring of the trees while my dog went exploring on her own. I was miles away from any human being, and it was a wonderful time-out from reality.
Later my dog and I walked down the road, where there was still snow on the ground. It almost felt like I had entered an alternate universe where no bickering existed, no lies and distorted truth, and no hurt egos, and no vying to get the upper hand. The world wasn’t easier: trees would fall, lightning would strike, prey would be eaten, but still, life would continue.
On the way home I stopped to take some more photographs. I especially liked this one of a small rock formation that juts out of the water at Cougar Reservoir and looks like a small island with fir trees growing. Again, there is a theme of life being able to spring forth, even from hardship. Roots find ways around the rocky obstacles, and there is growth.
There were no winners, only losers in the legal matter, unless of course, you count the attorneys who did come out ahead. However, in the realm of things that had transpired during that time: a missing jetliner, a downed ferry with lost children, mudslides, and tornadoes, among others – it was a speck of sand.
And fortunately during this stressful time, there were moments, not as many as I would like for the real Spring drama: lovely blossoms, adorable ducklings, otters at play. That is the drama that interests me.
The last photograph on the page is from a walk I took with my dog and my friend and her dog. It’s titled When Life Gives You a Mud Puddle… and I think, as I often do, that we have a lot to learn from the natural world.
A couple of weeks ago, tired of photographing my local stomping grounds, forest and rivers, I opted to take a day’s outing to the William L. Finley Wildlife Refuge south of Corvallis and about an hour and a half from me. It’s funny that living so near rivers and woods, that while hiking I rarely see a lot of wildlife except for the occasional deer. And the ducks, geese, and other birds, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, are not tame and prefer wider boundaries when it comes to encounters with humans than at other places where they are more used to us funny two-legged creatures. Often when I’m on a trail, it is utterly quiet with no signs of visible life, except for my dog and I, of course. You might get to a spot where suddenly there are the sounds of birds or running water, but passing through, it becomes quiet again.
The coast is a good two hours away and that’s if there’s no work being done on the highway, and I was looking for something closer. So I Googled it and found there are three wildlife refuges between Eugene and Portland. William L. Finley was in easy driving distance, providing a day’s outing without the additional cost of having to spend a night away from home.
I had never heard of the refuge before, and speaking to others in my area, later, they hadn’t either. It is named after a wildlife photographer and conservationist, born in 1876 in Southern California and dying in 1953 in Portland, Oregon. He served on the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals, (later National Audubon Society) in 1905 and became the second president of the Oregon Audubon Society in 1906.
The Refuge appears to been established in 1964 and contains over 5,000 acres of diverse habitats which was one of the things I found fascinating.
I drove up Hwy 99 , through farmland, and then turned down a gravel road which bordered a neighboring farm. After several hundred feet, I came upon a large field in which there were at least 15 Great Blue Herons spaced out. On the other side of the road were marsh ponds with many ducks and some geese.
Many of the trails are closed during the winter as the primary purpose of the refuge is to provide a safe wintering spot for the birds, notably the dusky Canada Geese. There are also some historical buildings within the refuge, and one that is spotted early on is the Cheadle Barn built in 1900.
The road comes out of the refuge, first going south and you then turn right and head north on Bellfountain Road, where you re-enter the Refuge.
There is a gift store and a Refuge Office and the chipping sparrow, seen to the right, was near those buildings and taking advantage of the sun and the nearby bird feeder.
One of the trails starts from this point – the Mill Hill Loop (3 mi. loop), a very woodsy trail. I had taken this trail last, so I ended up only going in a mile or so. At the beginning of the trail were numerous Stellar Jays flitting about from tree to tree. This is also a trail where bobcat, beaver and even a cougar might be spotted. Two months earlier, a cougar kill of a deer was found near the trail.
The auto route road continues meandering through the refuge to the Woodpecker Loop trail which is the first trail I walked. This is a lovely trail. It winds through a wooded area where the trees are alive with the rustling of birds, the sound of woodpeckers, and songs of other birds. I’m not a birder, and there were many birds flitting about, most hard to see due to the density and shade of the area, and even when seen, too fast for me to photograph in the low light.
However, the trail works up a hill, and I felt as if I had been transported to California. There were oak trees and golden meadows. There were jays flitting from tree to tree and the oaks were huge and lovely. There were also extraordinary views of Mt Hood and the Cascade Range.
You then continue back into a wooded area, although at one point you have a view of another section of the refuge.. I found this remnant of a fence, and I loved the way it looked, despite the fact that it no longer served any purpose.
The spotted towhee is also one of the birds I spied among the beautiful branches of the surrounding trees. He’s so dark and I don’t think I would have spotted him, except for the glint of his eye as he turned his head.
Past the Woodpecker trail, the auto route continues on past Cabell Marsh. There is an overlook area for Cabell Marsh, less than a quarter of a mile from the parking and down a trail, but the other trail from this point that goes all the way down to the marsh is closed until Spring.
Past this, I spotted a car pulled to the side, and thus was able to see some bull elk in the shadows across a pond. Then another mile down the road, there was another overlook area. There were many raptors about. One bald eagle in a tree, many young ones in another tree, and off in the misty distance a large herd of elk. Later, around that area, I also passed a field, where I spotted a large bird in the field feeding on something. When I took the photographs, I thought it was a hawk, but after reviewing them on my computer screen, I see that it was an owl, exciting for me since I’ve never seen one in the wild before, although the images can’t be used as the owl is just too far away.
The refuge is definitely a place I will return to, not only in the winter but at different times of the year. Two birders I met, indicated winter is the best time in their opinion. They lived in the area and therefore are lucky enough to be able to visit it often. I am such a novice when it comes to birdwatching, and it was interesting to note how they could often tell what type of bird it was from a long distance from the flight or call. They said in November there are murmurations of thousands of starlings – another thing I would love to see. However, I will also be going in Spring as I really enjoy getting out of the car and walking – I’d love to explore the other trails.
I drove out of the refuge and headed back south on Hwy 99, but couldn’t resist turning in again at Bruce Road and looking at the marsh and geese once more. I spotted this little fellow, a killdeer hunting for worms. I also have a shot of his success, but haven’t processed it yet. The first photograph in the post also resulted from pulling in again to the refuge. I could barely stand to leave, but I knew my poor dog, banished from the refuge, was waiting at home for me.
As I was leaving, something stirred the geese up. Up hundreds of them flew in the sky. It’s a beauty to watch them fly and turn almost as one mind. However, I noted when reviewing the photographs – most of them show that pattern of synchronized flight – that there was one image where there is a moment of chaos. Some are turned left, some right, and others seem to be flying towards my camera. It’s such a cool thing to be able to rediscover something about a moment that has passed – like seeing it was an owl in that field, or seeing that there was a second of chaos in perfection – it just one of the many things I love about photography.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this and will get out to see what a little bit beyond your normal stomping grounds. And I hope you will be pleasantly surprised. See you in a few weeks after my return from my week’s vacation in Kauai!
I was on a mini vacation in the Wallowas, last week in Oregon, and will talk about that in an upcoming post, but I do want to get back to Part II of “To Enhance or Not . . . ” So continuing from the prior post’s discussion of when to enhance, when to use a texture or another exposure in a picture, members of a forum I’m part of shared some great sites where you can get free textures to use, and I will be sharing those sites at the end of this post.
This post will mainly be discussing enhancements or composites, and when I evaluate a photograph and decide a texture is not needed. The first example I will show here is a composite photograph. I had three photos I had taken, that just didn’t stand on their own.
The first was of an elk that I took in Yellowstone, last summer. The elk was beautiful with a huge antlers, but there was a dead log with a lot of branches just behind him that were distracting and made the photo too busy. The second photo was taken of the Leaburg Canal in the afternoon, and I had already post processed some similar photos, so just didn’t want to do one more. The third photo was of the moon and I have a file folder full of those.
I started with the daytime shot of Leaburg Canal, and using Color Effex and Viveza (both from Nik Software), I changed the photo to a nighttime scene.
Then I brought the elk in a new layer, and adjusted hue and brightness to match the scene. He was initially facing the other way, and I turned him around to face the water and moon as I thought that was a more pleasing composition. I also made sure that his hooves were covered by some of the grass from the first photo (using the cloning tool at different opacities to look more natural and blur slightly his outline, so he doesn’t just look pasted on top of the other photo).
Lastly I used the photo of the moon on a new layer, also working with the edges of the moon, and using another layer of the clouds over the moon with masks so that it would be more natural with the clouds drifting over the moon. Then I worked adjusting the brightness and colors of the sky and grass, again, so that it looked natural to my eye. I’m not trying to fool anyone that I was out there at night shooting an elk under the moon. I’m just creating an artistic work using my photographs.
I used Photoshop as my main software, as I really feel most comfortable and more in control working with layers and masks. I can tone down or change the effects very easily working with masks, without having to start from Square I.
Work like this allows me satisfies the creative part of me that doesn’t want to always be chained to reality or faithful representations!
However, there are times when I don’t want to enhance a picture (more than the usual post processing typically used by most photographers and akin to darkroom techniques).
This photograph, A Butterfly’s World, is similar to Butterfly Ripple of Part I of this post. Both with shot with a telephoto lens, at a 5.6 aperture (shallow for the telephoto) at a shutter speed of 320. I was a bit closer to the butterfly in Butterfly Ripple (BR) – 2.9m subject distance and 360mm focal length) than to the butterfly of A Butterfly’s World (ABW) – the 4.2m subject distance and focal length 400mm . Also the ISO was 125 for BR vs the 100 ISO for ABW, but all in all, pretty similar shooting conditions. However, in this photo, the colors of the background were not in competition with the butterfly’s orange, so the butterfly stood out more, and also the background, because of the further distance was more defined. I liked the capture of the butterfly within its environment in this photo as opposed to not really feeling like the other background added anything besides beautiful color.
In the next photo, Making a Beeline, the background is diffused because of the shallow atmosphere as in the background of Red Dragonfly on a Dead Plant from Part I. But in this photo, there is some definition of the other plants, and in Red Dragonfly, the diffused area was mainly darker color, then lighter with no texture or anything of interest. Of course, I’m only now analyzing while I did one thing or another because I’m writing this blog. 🙂 Generally it is going to be an instinctive choice on whether the photo stands on its own or needs something more or needs something less.
I’m not an expert or even close to one. This blog is a way of sharing my journey with photography. Textures are great to work and play with, and I really love enhancing photos, but only when they need it. I promised you some websites for textures where others have shared what they have created for others to use, but I do want to say, that as beautiful as some of these textures are, it will be better and more personal if you can in some way make it your own by combining it with another texture you may have, playing around with them to change the appearance and suit your own photo in a more individualistic way. Remember to change-up the blending options and opacities and play around with blurring, levels, and of course the masks to bring in more or less of a texture or another exposure.
There are some beautiful textures here, http://www.jaiart.com/freetextures. Jai Johnson is the creator of these beautiful textures, but as they are very high-resolution files, you may have problems downloading them as I did. I had been on my computer all day, and realized I had more than one download going at once, so I will try again today.
Remember to read the terms of use of each site, and if you can, give back or pay it forward in some way.
Thanks for visiting and please check out my work at http://belinda-greb.artistwebsites.com/ and I would love it if you would pass on any of the links to friends who may be interested.
Musings with Camera in Hand 