Category Archives: Oregon

January 13, 2022 · 4:21 am

Welcome To Fort Clatsop

I will be the first to admit, visiting forts or other historical parks was never on my top things to do with my cameras. But, after a visit to this very small fort at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon, where Lewis, Clark, and their Corps of Discovery spent a monotonous winter, I have changed my mind.

It’s one thing to read about forts and such, but it’s another thing completely to actually be standing there in the footsteps of history, exploring the nooks and crannies of what he/she/they built so many decades / centuries ago. You get a feel for what it was like to live in a place like this, out in the forest of the Pacific Northwest, near a river, during a wet, cold, dreary winter.

I included a visit to this national historical park during my photo trip along the Pacific Northwest portion of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, and my resulting article has been published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. If you ever have a chance to explore a historic(al) site like a fort or home or battlefield, I urge you to take the time to do so, and try to imagine what life must have been like in that spot so long ago.

To read the article, just click on the image at the top of this post.

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Filed under history, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, National Parks Traveler, Oregon, Photography

Tagged as December, fort, Fort Clatsop, historical, history, Lewis and Clark, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, National Park, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, photography, Photography In The National Parks, Sony a7riv, Sony Alpha, travel, where the trails take you

June 3, 2021 · 5:17 am

National Parks Traveler Checklist: Crater Lake National Park

*A Crater Lake Sunrise, Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)*

The National Parks Traveler has published my latest Checklist – this one is for Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. These park checklists are not to remind you to bring your toothpaste and toothbrush, but rather they are filled with tips on things to do, see, prepare for, and plan for.

If you are thinking about traveling to this particular national park, then click on the image above to read the latest checklist.

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March 13, 2021 · 7:05 am

Steps Up The Trail

*A leading line shot, Flood of Fire Trail, Foree Area, Sheep Rock Unit, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument*

It’s Saturday, folks! Or does it matter? For the past year, the days have all run together and I’m glad I have a calendar (a real paper one, no less) to which I can refer and find out what day it actually is ;).

This photo is looking up the very short .4-mile round trip Flood of Fire Trail in the Foree Area of the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, in Oregon. It was the last trip I made pre-pandemic, before things shut down. Not the last trip I made during the entire year, mind you, but the last regular trip I made prior to Covid.

Anyway, if you are ever looking for a nice little road trip to make, a trip to any of the three units within this national monument will allow you to stretch your legs, since the few trails in each of the units are short. I really wish there were more, longer trails, but I have a feeling that perhaps, national monuments don’t get quite the love (or money) that national parks get. Then again, national monuments probably don’t get the visitor headaches that national parks get – or do they?

Last year, I saw a post, either on Facebook or Instagram, by this national monument asking that people park responsibily in the Painted Hills Unit. Apparently there was a crowding issue, brought on by people wanting to get out and away from Covid for a little bit. Many of those people were probably the kind who are only accustomed to water parks or theme parks, and a trip to an actual, outdoor, in-the-wild-type park unit is a new experience for them – an experience for which they don’t know how to practice the Leave No Trace etiquette.

But, I digress. Central Oregon is a place of winding roads, slower driving (so as not to hit the cattle ranging freely), stunning geology, awesome landscapes for your camera, but few large towns or gas stations. If you prepare accordingly, it’s a great excuse for a road trip.

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Filed under John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, National Parks, Oregon, Photography, Sony Alpha a7r IV, Travel

Tagged as a7rIV, central Oregon, Flood of Fire Trail, hike, hiking, John Day Fossil Beds, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, leading line, March, mirrorless, national monument, Oregon, photography, Sony Alpha, spring, trail, where the trails take you

March 12, 2021 · 5:52 am

Fun Fact Friday 3-12-2021

*Folds Of Velvet – A Telephoto Landscape*

Here;s a wide-angle and a telephoto shot of the same area in the Painted Hills Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, located in east-central Oregon. The telephoto image focuses more on those beautiful folds of maroon and olive hills, which was the objective with the telephoto shot. This is also to prove you can get some really nice telephoto landscapes, too. Telephotos are not just for wildlife, birds, and sports.

It’s #FunFactFriday , so here’s some interesting facts about this national monument located in Oregon. There are three units in this national monument, and each unit is about an hour’s drive from any other of the two units (the roads are winding so it’s important to drive the actual speed limit). The monument, as a whole, contains fossils of plants and animals that date back as far as 44 million years. The varigated colors of the hills denote periods of climate change, between wetter and drier periods. The darker colors of the hills represent wetter atmospheres, in which water oxidized (rusted) the iron minerals within the soils.

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Filed under John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, National Parks, Oregon, Photography, telephoto lens, Travel

Tagged as 100-400mm, 24-70mm, 5DSR, Canon, climate change, D850, John Day Fossil Beds, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, March, national monument, National Park, Nikon, Oregon, painted hills, Painted Hills Unit, photography, spring, where the trails take you

March 8, 2021 · 5:49 am

National Parks Quiz And Trivia #26 – Superlatives

*A Lakeside View, Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)*

Crater Lake National Park is one of the parks mentioned in my latest National Parks Quiz And Trivia piece, published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. Jumpstart your Monday with a test to see how much you know about the national parks – you might even learn something you didn’t know!

To look at the quiz and trivia piece, click on the image above.

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Filed under Crater Lake National Park, National Parks, National Parks Quiz, National Parks Traveler, Oregon, Photography

Tagged as Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park, knowledge, learning, National Park, national parks quiz and trivia, National Parks Traveler, photography, quiz, trivia, where the trails take you

August 12, 2020 · 6:51 am

Photography In The National Parks: A Short Stay At Crater Lake

If you read my previous article published in the National Parks Traveler, then you’ll know how I prepared for my photography trip to Crater Lake National Park during the Coronavirus pandemic. My latest article published by the Traveler is about the photography you can achieve within this park.

To read my photo article, click on the image above.

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Filed under Canon, coronavirus, Crater Lake National Park, Equipment, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Nikon, Oregon, Photography, Sony Alpha a7r IV, Travel

Tagged as coronavirus, Crater Lake, landscape, National Park, National Parks Traveler, NEOWISE, night photography, Oregon, pandemic, photography, Photography In The National Parks, scenery, sunrise, sunset, travel, where the trails take you

August 7, 2020 · 6:56 am

Photography In The National Parks: Getting Out There With My Cameras During The Coronavirus Pandemic

*The view from the summit of Watchman Peak in Crater Lake National Park*

It is possible to take a safe and enjoyable trip into a national park, if you prepare and use some precautions. I returned alive and well (it’s been 14 days since my return) to write how I did it and what I saw at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

To read the story published in the National Parks Traveler, click on the image above.

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Filed under coronavirus, covid-19, Crater Lake National Park, Equipment, health, Life, National Park Lodging, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Oregon, Photography, summer, Travel, Travel and Photography

Tagged as coronavirus, Covid19, Crater Lake, National Park, National Parks Traveler, Oregon, photography, summer, travel

August 6, 2020 · 7:02 am

The Great American Outdoors Act

*Sunrise as seen from Sinnott Memorial Overlook at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon*

Yahoo! The Great American Outdoors Act has been passed! So, now what? How will that $1.3 billion a year over the next 5 years be spent, and who gets the money? Remember, there are 419 units in the National Park System.

The National Parks Traveler has an interesting article asking that very question. Go check it out.

To read the article, click on the image above.

As for that image, I had arrived at the Crater Lake Lodge area around 4:00 a.m. and realized it was too cloudy to get any pre-dawn star shots. So, I sat in the car for awhile before finally venturing out to find the steps leading to the overlook, then setting up my tripod and camera for Blue Hour, sunrise, and after-sunrise shots.

I used my Sony Alpha 7R IV camera and 16-35mm lens for this shot.

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Filed under Crater Lake National Park, National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Oregon, Photography, Sony Alpha a7r IV, starbursts, sunrise

Tagged as 16-35mm, a7rIV, Crater Lake, Great American Outdoors Act, mirrorless, morning, National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, photography, Sinnott Memorial Overlook, sunrise, where the trails take you, wide angle, wide-angle lens

April 21, 2020 · 9:50 am

3 Days In John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

So, what can you do and see in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon, if you only have 3 days? Plenty! Check out my latest article published in the National Parks Traveler.

To read the article, click on the image above.

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Tagged as Canon, climate change, geology, John Day Fossil Beds, landscape, national monument, National Park, National Parks Traveler, Oregon, photography, scenery, travel

March 31, 2020 · 9:39 am

It’s Trivia Tuesday, 3-31-2020

According to the NPS, Sheep Rock (that pointy-peaked mountain), in the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, gets its name from the bighorn sheep that once populated its slopes. At the top of Sheep Rock is the Picture Gorge Basalt. That brown line across the middle part of the mountain is the Picture Gorge Ignimbrite (pumice and volcanic tuff). This ignimbrite makes a nice marker bed by which geologists can place and date geologic events. The green soils you see in the second image are colored by the mineral celadonite. Celadonite comes from the French word for “sea green.”

And now you know.

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Filed under 5DS, Canon, Geology, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, National Monuments, Oregon, Photography, Travel, Trivia Tuesday

Tagged as Canon, geology, John Day Fossil Beds, national monument, Oregon, photography, Picture Gorge basalt, Picture Gorge Ignimbrite, Sheep Rock, Sheep Rock Unit, travel, where the trails take you