Simply Nature

leslie gulch by moonlight owyhee canyonlands    (click on image for larger size) location: leslie gulch      season: spring       backstory: leslie gulch is a place i often visit, which is reflected by the number of photos from there in my portfolio.  the rock formations are unique in oregon.  the range of colors and textures is fascinating.  seeing these canyons in different seasons, light, weather brings out different qualities. night photography appeals to me because of the differences in quality and quantity of light.  an advantage of digital cameras is the ability to record very minute amounts of light, especially stars.  less intense light softens a landscape and the eye is drawn to different features compared to daylight. moonlit scenes are exquisite for this quality.  there are photos with the moon as the focus, subject or a part of the composition ( see setting sun/rising moon ). then ther...

location: owyhee canyonlands                season: spring                                       backstory: when i first moved to this area i began exploring around john day: strawberry mountains, john day fossil beds, aldrich and dixie mountains, and the john day river. it felt like a whole new world to explore. as i talked with more locals, the steens were often mentioned. heading south of burns, oregon extended my range significantly. then, a few people talked about the owyhee. the owyhee canyonlands extend from south of the oregon/nevada state line north along the eastern oregon border almost to ontario. it's isolated, rugged and it takes something extra to get there. just my kind of place. the owyhee river flows this entire distance to the 50 mile long reservoir at the north end. this scene is at leslie gulch at th...

setting sun/rising moon juniper gulch (click on image for larger size) location: owyhee reservoir season: spring backstory: there are planned photos and then there are spontaneous photos. this is the later. i often organize backcountry treks around the full moon, a few days before and after the peak. most of the time i'm interested in using the moon to light a landscape. on this journey, i had planned a series of moonlit photos along several miles of leslie gulch. the canyons wind around affording different lighting angles based on moon and canyon positions.  i finished one scene with the moon cresting the horizon along a jagged ridgeline. it wasn't quite the right composition. figuring that was the horizon/moonrise chance for the night, i began hiking toward the next planned shot with the moon at a higher angle providing a light source. walking the high desert backcountry at night feels... other-worldly, except that i now consider it this-worldly; the rest is other. after a ho...