Winter Light

Coming back from our annual Christmas tree harvest outing in Gifford Pinchot last week. The light was so perfect all day. No time to photograph with the whole family along, but I got a quick pit stop along the Columbia on the way home, just before the sun set. 

Standing Watch

Such a beautiful, weathered Ponderosa Pine along the bluff line at Catherine Creek. 

The morning light on the trunk is what caught my eye and stopped me in my tracks.  

What a lucky tree to have such a beautiful location to spend its days!

Down River

A rare view from the center of the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge crossing the Columbia. It's not so easy to get a photo from the bridge; it's a super narrow grated metal bridge with no pedestrian path. There is the possibility of a bridge lift, but I've never been lucky enough to get caught on the bridge when a large boat comes through.  Today was my lucky day though.  No lift, but intermittent bridge work was going on and I got stopped for a few minutes so I took the opportunity and got out to get a few photos.  (Very odd feeling to be walking on the open grated bridge floor and looking through to the water below!) 

Back to the Gorge

Winter is my favorite time to drive into the gorge, because the weather varies so much from day to day. It's always a new scene.  Today's image is the companion shot to last week's post, On the Way to White Salmon. Both images taken from the same park/boat ramp just west of Cook, Washington; this one is looking west toward Cascade Locks and last week's is looking east toward White Salmon. For another winter view at this location click here. I almost didn't post today's photo, because I really object to the gray cloud reflection in the lower right. It really was a very overcast day, except for a few moments of bright sun on the nearby hills. The little house on the right is part of what appears to be a small family compound. I imagine the little homes like this one, dotting the banks on the Washington side, have been in the family for many generations.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

On the Way to White Salmon

Calm waters on the Columbia. 

The Hood River-White Salmon Bridge barely visible on the horizon.  

Linking to Weekend Reflections

Sunbreak

Dramatic clouds and sun in the gorge. I was on the Washington side, so this view is looking at Oregon which has the more dramatic landscape in the gorge. And this photo was taken close to Stevenson, which is often where the weather shifts as the river bends.

Clouds and Mist

 Another of my stops in the gorge, this time at Viento State Park. I love driving through the gorge in the winter months because it's often so misty like this.  Last year we stopped at a Starbucks for a cup of tea, and they had just switched their tea brands.  The new green tea was called Emporor's Clouds and Mist, and we thought that was the greatest name, because it was a cloudy and misty day, just like this one.  So somehow Clouds and Mist has stuck with me as a description of the gorge. 

Misty Falls

Continuing with my photo pit stops as I made my way into the gorge last week. Wahkeena Falls are just west of Multnomah. I've read there are 77 falls in the gorge, mostly on the Oregon side, and I believe it! Very pretty on a misty day like this, and actually much more vibrantly colorful than my camera captured, especially the golds and reds.

Wake

Wake on the Columbia, calm waters, and a very hazy day.
(Full color photo, believe it or not!)

Cascade Locks

Calm waters on the Columbia near Cascade Locks, 

along with a nice break in clouds, 

made for an interesting framed reflection.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

The Old CRC

I love this bridge.  The old Columbia River I-5 crossing.  Also the current Columbia River Crossing.  When we first moved here there was legislation in the works to replace this old bridge with a sleeker, wider, faster bridge including lightrail.  There was a story about the new CRC everyday in our local paper until the deal between Oregon and Washington broke down.  I suppose it will need to be replaced at some point because traffic is just awful at rush hour, and every now and then the bridge lifts to let a boat pass through, and that really snarls things up too.  But once it's replaced it won't have the same charm.  This old sage green bridge is a style that is pretty common in Washington, and it's a style I've really come to love.  I happen to think it's looking especially radiant here in the setting sun

Linking to Weekend Reflections and Skywatch Friday.

Springtime Sunset

Fabulous cloud front illuminated by the setting sun earlier this week. And very typical of what we see in the spring: rain, sun, repeat (xn). We were waiting for a table at a restaurant along the Columbia River, between Vancouver and Portland when this cloud and setting sun were forming. The scene sent me hurrying to my car to get my camera!

Linking to Weekend Reflections and Skywatch Friday.

Fog on the Columbia

A soft layer of fog was hovering right on the surface of the Columbia when I headed through the gorge last week.  I especially like the faint reflection on the still water.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

Sturgeon Season

The little pier from where I was photographing Hood River was pretty busy this morning with one fishing boat after another heading out into the gorge. When I asked what the were catching, the answer was invariably sturgeon. Sturgeon season on this stretch of the Columbia runs January and February.  Just down river at the Bonneville hatchery they have a tank holding a giant sturgeon, Herman the Sturgeon, weighing in at 425 lbs, 10ft. long and over 60 years old. I have to admit, this doesn't make me think tasty fish. I've never had sturgeon, but it does seem like there must be something to this fish given all the boats heading out. And for the bridge reflection, this is again the Columbia River crossing connecting Hood River and White Salmon.

Linking to Weekend Reflection

Rest Stop

A rest stop doesn't get much prettier than this vista view looking east on the Columbia off Highway 14 in Washington.  I actually had a hard time photographing around the fence (except for this photo of course!) and was just thinking about how fences and guardrails in scenic locations are less common in the western states.  They have more of a enjoy-at-your-own-risk mentality it seems, and they don't like to obstruct the view.  It's quite a drop off after the fence line, so a fence is a very good thing here.

Linking to Good Fences

Sunbreak in Blue and Silver: Columbia

Nocturne: Blue and Silver - Cremorne Lights
James Abbott McNeill Whistler  1872

I'm continuing to work my way through the list of artists ahead of my class this week.  Another painter who interested me was James Abbott McNeill Whistler.  He had a series of beachscape and harbor paintings where he placed the horizon pretty high up on the canvas, and mainly just painted variations in the water tone.  I thought they were really pretty, and when we were driving along the Columbia on Sunday we came upon a turnout where the light was especially beautiful on the water.  So I tried photographing the scene with the land high in the frame.  Now that I'm reading about Whistler a little, I can see that the paintings that interested me are in a style called Nocturne; he was trying to represent light at night.  I definitely wasn't trying to do that, but I do like the composition he uses. 

Tree on the Columbia

Evening: Red Tree
Piet Mondrain.  1908-1010

Tableau I
Piet Mondrain 1921

I'm still working through the list of artists in my Artistic Photography class.  I'm not really sure I'm photographing "in the style of" Piet Mondrain (see below); so far I feel like I'm just trying to copy a painting, but I suppose it's a good place to start. Mondrain's Evening: Red Tree caught my eye, and something about my tree against the Columbia had a similar feel.  The tree painting is one of his earlier works.  He was around as cubism was taking hold, and later went on to develop a style he called Neoplasticism, which is represented here by Tableau I.  For me, the general feel of all those later paintings is the side of the Partridge Family bus.  I like his earlier stuff much better. He was still simmering a painting down to the few essential elements, but hadn't oversimplified yet.  I love the red color in his tree, and I'm disappointed in how mine looks next to the painting.  I think that color variation between warm and cold is possible with a photo; I especially see it when the sun, low in the sky, breaks through the clouds after a rain.  Then the subject is warmly illuminated and the background sky is rendered a cool dark blue by the camera.  My day on the Columbia was just your plain old overcast day. Overall though, I'm happy with the shape of this tree and how it fills the photo, and I'm especially happy with the variation in blue that the overcast Columbia provides.

View from Underwood

Lately I've been really loving this midsection of the Columbia River Gorge, and I'm getting a lot of opportunity to cross the bridge between White Salmon, Washington and Hood River, Oregon. It's one of those narrow metal grate bridges where you hug to the center of your lane like crazy, never sure if you're about to scrape the guardrail or the oncoming vehicle. But it's just so pretty along this stretch of the river, that I suppose I'll be a pro at that bridge crossing soon!

Linking to Weekend Reflections

Riverfront Security

You never know where you're going to find a fence!  This security fence separates a small public park  on the banks of the Columbia River from the private property next door. At first glance it doesn't seem all that secure, but I suppose it's enough to deter. That water is cold!

Linking to Good Fences.

Hood River Marina

A misty rain was just starting to blur the reflection at Hood River Marina yesterday. I was so happy to stumble upon this marina, because it's just what I've been imagining photographing.  Mind you, I've been to Hood River at least half a dozen times, so I don't know how I've missed it.  But lately we've been crossing the bridge to visit White Salmon, Washington, and this picturesque marina is located just under the bridge.  I'm looking forward to getting more photos here throughout the winter...especially because the North Shore Cafe in White Salmon makes the best chai!

Linking to Weekend Reflection