Finally, 6+ months after my rotator cuff shoulder surgery, I am able to shoulder a heavy pack and resume photographic explorations … just in time for my annual Fall visit to Steens Mountain to shoot its colorful foliage. Get the trip’s full story, and see its images, in the Steens Mountain Trip Image Gallery.
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Eastern Sierra, Death Valley & Arizona Trip
During February & March I took a 3+ week trip in the Starr van to the southwest U.S. The trip’s impetus was a 5 day Marc Adamus photography workshop to California’s Eastern Sierra & Death Valley that I signed up for last Spring. I had attended this same workshop in 2013 and later visited the region a couple more times. It was starting to feel a little stale and therefore was looking for some fresh inspiration. And Marc is a superb photographer and weather expert, so I was sure to pick up more than just new location knowledge. In addition, at the last moment, Marc announced another edition of the same workshop starting a week after the end of the first, having an additional 3 days scheduled for shooting wildflowers further south. I was able to combine the two, together with the intervening week, for a total of nearly a month of exploring & shooting.
I am so pleased that the trip occurred since, upon returning home to Bend, I had a previously-scheduled shoulder rotator cuff surgery. This will curtail further adventures for a few months and I’ll have to bask in this trip’s memories for awhile.
See the trip’s panoramas and images in the Eastern Sierra, Death Valley & Arizona Trip Gallery
Southeastern Oregon with a New Camera
Canon’s digital camera sensor technology has significantly lagged their Sony & Nikon competition for about five years, and I have been repeatedly tempted to jump ship. My patience was finally rewarded when they introduced a industry-leading camera model last July — the mirrorless EOS R5. And, at the beginning of October, my long-ordered camera finally arrived. So, I was itching to get out somewhere with it…
With our unseasonably warm weather, I had been in a quandary when to schedule my annual aspen color trip to Steens Mountain. The peak leaf color usually occurs for 2-3 days within a 3 week window centered around the first week of October. And since timely firsthand reports are very rare, it’s a crapshoot when to take the 6+ hour roundtrip drive. With cooler stormy weather finally forecast, I departed on the 13th — more than a week later than usual. Upon arrival, it turned out that I was at least a week late for the high altitude aspen, and a few days to a week early for the aspen at the bottom of the Steens gorges. And it didn’t look like it was/will be a real colorful year for either. I did find a small pocket of high altitude color off in the distance and, after a moderate hike, I at least came home with a few decent images.
So, after a few hours of shooting and a overnight camp at the Steens, I decided to move on and explore nearby Hart Mountain in depth. I had visited its Petroglyph Lake in 2008 (image gallery) and was excited to see more of this wildlife refuge. I spent a long, enjoyable day driving most of its backroad areas, some with small aspen groves…and I returned home with a few more images. One highlight which wasn’t documented photographically was the many Pronghorn antelope that roam the sage plains — I need to make a special trip someday to “focus” on these difficult-to-“shoot” animals. For the day’s sunset, I explored Hart Mountain’s western escarpment, which drops off to Warner Valley & its many lakes.
I then continued west, past Abert Lake (with very little water this year), to the Chewaucan River Narrows near the small town of Paisley. I overnighted there and, at sunrise, I attempted to find a “secret” nearby petroglyph rock panel — unfortunately without success.
For the trip’s last stop, I drove to the Paisley Caves, where evidence of North America’s oldest human habitation has been uncovered — 13-15,0000 years old! It was great fun to explore this site and imagine what it has witnessed these last millennia!
One positive trip outcome was that I became well acquainted with my new camera and came to love some of its new features — principally the increased resolution (45 megapixels), markedly increased sensor dynamic range & low light capabilities, new in-camera-body image stabilization, and a decreased size & weight.
See the trip’s panoramas and images in the Southeastern Oregon Gallery
Colorado Autumn Color
I have long wanted to explore Colorado’s aspen color in the autumn and this pandemic year seemed the ideal time. So, I headed out on a planned 2-3 week trip when color was reported happening. Unfortunately, I found the color to be spotty & subpar and returned home after only a week. See the trip’s details, panoramas and images in the Colorado Autumn Color Gallery
Neowise Comet from Sparks Lake
Comet Neowise’s heavenly appearance in mid-July gave me an opportunity for a Covid-safe photography outing in Bend’s neighborhood. So, on a clear night I made the short drive to Sparks Lake and spent 3 fabulous, star-filled hours waiting for the sky to sufficiently darken and the comet to set near South Sister. See the resulting panorama and image in the Neowise Comet Gallery
