Simply Nature

road's end logan valley (click on image for larger size) location: strawberry mountain wilderness   season: late winter backstory: at 9,000 feet elevation, strawberry mountain is the center point for the local mountain ranges. it is a favorite subject for photographers, mainly from the north side.  this scene is from the south side. venturing off the two main highways here (26 & 395) takes us onto county and forest service roads into logan valley. a smaller forest service road (1640) heads north up to the wilderness border: road's end . this is one of my favorite cross country ski routes. it is 12 miles from forest service 16 rd to road's end with a 3000' elevation climb.  lots of switchbacks.  it's a lot of work skiing up; quite fast on the return trip. while skiing, i sometimes think about hitching a ride with passing snowmobiles to the top. the opportunity never arose until this day. the late winter snow wasn't great and after 4 miles i decided to turn b

taking wing three forks (click on image for full screen) location: owyhee canyonlands season: spring backstory:  landscape scenes are my primary calling to photograph.  especially big panoramic vistas, endless sky, throw in some snow or moonlight (or both) and i am enchanted.  sometimes, while framing a scene, wildlife wander in front of the lens.  that was the case with this photo.  this was my first trek into the deep southeast corner of oregon; 40+ miles south and a little east of rome. the dirt ranch road was mostly dry, although someone had driven it recently when it was quite muddy.  some of the ruts, gashes approaching ravines, were up to 24" deep and went on for miles. bad things can happen when unintentionally sliding into those ruts. i was very grateful it wasn't me slogging  through that muck a few days earlier.  it was slow going while straddling the ruts and looking for ways around boggy spots. (i've mentioned this in several posts and it is worth repeating, o

  regal presence ferruginous hawk three forks (click on image for larger size)   location: owyhee canyonlands season: spring backstory: raptors have a presence unlike many other wildlife i've seen in the high desert. we can see it in the eyes.  they are alert, constantly scanning and aware of a large area around them. their clarity and distance of vision is outstanding. this photo is one of several of a ferruginous hawk; see  taking wing & raptor's cry. each of these photos reflects an aspect of this powerful bird's personality. in the moment, it seemed as if this hawk was posing, much like a royal prince would for a portrait. it felt regal, fully aware of it's strength and power within the realm. there is little that it misses with that powerful gaze. it is a confident and self assured being that knows it's place in nature.   ps - after writing this, i learned that the latin name is buteo regalis - royal hawk .  (return to simply nature portfolio site )

  location: owyhee reservoir season: last days of summer   backstory:  this is one of those photo opportunities that sneaks up on you. literally.  i was intensely focused on a scene 180º in the other direction.  throughout this 90º+ day, desert colors were thin and washed out while kayaking from a camping spot back to my rig. there was a channel that ran around to the right side of this photo.  i was up on the ridge of the island trying to shoot the reflection of the background cliffs in the channel.  it just wasn't working.  sunset light began to shift colors.  the island ridge shadow blocked the channel.  i could feel the sand in the hourglass beginning to trickle away.  sunset light is so fleeting and short. letting go of the channel shot, i turned around, hiked to the ridge top and saw this.  a few clicks of the camera, a subtle setting of the sun and the moment dissolves. The golden light of sunset teaches impermanence of all things. moral of the story: when intensely focused