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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Trillium Lake Wander

Spending a Tuesday, during a snow storm, on Mt. Hood, with the people you love most is hard to describe with photographs or words. Those are the moments you stop and breath in the entire experience and realize how amazing life can be.
I often prefer going out to wild places in adverse weather situations. Most people stay home firstly, but also because you form a more intimate bond with the landscape, yourself, and whomever you travel with. There is nothing like feeling the wind blow the snow against your face. It is an experience that you would be crazy to dismiss as uncomfortable. Embracing life to its fullest means embrace all of it.
Hope you enjoy the photographs. Click on any of them to see more!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Cape Horn in the Gorge.....

Wow! The Pacific Northwest is an amazing place. The rainy season can be difficult to manage. However with a little bit of effort and being okay with getting soaked to the core, the rain brings much beauty to explore. Gina, Duke, and I headed out to explore one of these wet and beautiful sanctuaries in the Columbia River Gorge known as Cape Horn.
Many times on these small saunters, I like to leave the camera behind as a way to look at these wonderfully wild places without the eye of a photographer. I strongly feel that the camera helps me connect with the natural world in a much more intimate way, but I also notice that my other senses sometimes take a backseat allowing my eyes to dominate. This domination does not always occur when I have a camera, but it definitely does when my mind is overloaded with other thoughts. During these times, my photography suffers. Making a deeply meaningful and emotional image requires focusing all of your senses on the desired topic.

Life has been busy and my mind has been full. Busy in a fantastic way, but busy nevertheless. However, against my better judgement, I decided to grab a small, easily manageable camera just before we headed to Cape Horn. I left it mostly untouched until my mind completely cleared in the mist of the raging and unnamed falls the 3 of us had to dance through before ending our journey around Cape Horn.
I made the few images here while standing under the falls and thus in the middle of a raging wind tunnel with the exception of the first image. In that image, Gina is back hugging one of the largest Douglas Firs I have seen in this area. In the other photographs, Gina is fighting through the powerful fall while maintaining a healthy smile. We capped off this adventurous day with a visit to Walking Man Brewery in Stevenson, WA. Mmmmmm..... good food and exceptional beer always tastes better when you are hungry, happy, and soaked.

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