Two of us did a short, 2 night backpacking trip to the Olympic Peninsula’s Shi Shi Beach in September. I wasn’t very excited about my images when I came home, but they have grown on me over time — at least enough to publish them here: Shi Shi Beach Gallery
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Super Moonset from Bend
Earlier this month I captured the setting of the super moon from our Bend house.
New Software & Hosting for Website
After technical struggles with GoDaddy’s hosting service, I have moved this website to BlueHost. This should provide both better performance and an easing of my efforts. At the same time, I upgraded the site’s software to The Turning Gate’s latest release, BackLight Pangolin, which provides even better “responsive” high-quality image display on all devices.
Total Eclipse
Since our Bend house was about 20 miles outside the eclipse’s path of totality, we drove 30 miles to Black Butte Ranch which was about 10 miles inside the path. Fortunately we were able to stay with Portland friends, Gale and Roger, and their lovely family and have a very sane, uncrowded viewing site on one of the private golf course’s fairways. I had previously decided to not photograph the eclipse but instead just fully experience it. However, my grandson convinced me otherwise (it wasn’t difficult) and I’m glad that I did decide to capture it. However, it was almost a disaster — I missed the first 30 seconds of the 1:14 totality when I knocked my camera’s cable release loose (while removing the lens’ solar filter) and had to fumble in the dark to reattach it. But I saw and was able to photograph the totality’s full trailing half. In any case, the experience as AWESOME and I suspect that I’ll do almost anything to see another!
Owens Valley, Death Valley, Valley of Fire, & White Pocket
I am finally getting around to posting images from a productive two week March photography outing with Bend friend, Andy. The impetus for trip was a 5 day photography workshop in eastern California, lead by Erin Babnik and Ted Gore. I have long admired both Erin and Ted’s work, and last year I enjoyed an Erin workshop in the Dolomites (Dolomites albums).
As part of this workshop and on our own, we explored California’s Death and Owens Valleys, Nevada’s Valley of Fire, and Arizona’s White Pocket. We were also unsuccessful in obtaining a permit into The Wave and had to turn back on the drive into South Coyotes Buttes due to road conditions. In fact, this failure was a final nudge toward ordering a Sprinter 4×4 camper-van from Sportsmobile. I have a long list of difficult-to-get-to locations waiting for this baby, but unfortunately they will have to wait until after its delivery late next summer.
Owens Valley, Death Valley, Valley of Fire, & White Pocket Gallery
