there's a new camera around the neighborhood

     I wanted a really simple and classic camera with a fixed lens to use on a few upcoming adventures this year and almost went with an old rangefinder film camera until I did my research and discovered the Fuji x100 digital rangefinder. It's really fun to use and the picture quality is fantastic. Most digital cameras out there today are hideous and loaded with too many features that really detract, for me anyway, the enjoyment of making images. Zoom lenses up to 400x and happy birthday scene modes, what does that even mean? What if you are at a halloween party and accidentally use the birthday mode? Does the camera magically recognize the situation and just fix it for you? Using these overly gimmicky cameras really fits perfectly with our times. We want great images but we don't want to use our own creativity and thought process to get them. Crazy talk, but I like using my mind and intuition to create a picture. I don't want Canon or Nikon to decide for me. It reminds me of the directions to get a good picture in the old film boxes. "Shoot with the sun behind you." How ridiculous. Is this some sort of way to mediocracy in art? hmm, i digress easily. For being digital, this camera is incredibly simple to use, but yes, you do have to use your brain to make an emotionally charged picture. Of course even with this new camera, you must still keep the sun directly behind you for the best pictures ;)

Decided to walk around the neighborhood and enjoy using the new photo box. Here are a few pics from my walkabout....

duke panorama. the only gimmicky camera feature, but kinda cool

duke in the park

artwork in the park. you look through this scope towards the river and an overlay image of what the good ole' days looked like pops up

gina's chicken pose, see below for comparison

datsyukian

gina and duke waiting for the hens to arrive

the fam- gina, duke, beezy and datsyukian our egg layers

springtime

lumber

boots

hard light

soft light

this restaurant has been closed for some time, hope something good takes its place

One of our favorite places to eat and sit

Portland's spring always like to throw a little hail into the mix

The Ptarmigan Traverse Experience

Celebratory brew after 6 & 1/2 days in the mountains together
CLICK any of the pictures to see the entire photo story

Wow! This trip has taken some time to soak in for me. Actually,  it took a year and 5 months for me to finally feel ready to sort through the images and re-visit this mountain saunter. It is not because the trip caused negative emotions or experiences; in fact it's the complete opposite. Certain experiences are just completely overwhelming in their magnitude and....well... just badass! This was one of those trips.

Photographs can be a tough medium to express and share certain experiences and the emotions they create. I wonder if a tape recorder would have done a better job expressing the solitude, natural wonder, and pure peace this mountain traverse offered. A photograph lacks the dimension and depth needed sometimes to tell a story. Brian Anderson, Brian Eubanks, Chad Hensel and myself,...... we were out there; in the middle of a mountain sanctuary which fired off every sensory receptor and emotional response to go with them. How do you share that? All 7 days of it.....

This was our view only a few hours into the trip, and it never went away 

View from where we slept at White Rock Lakes

Enjoying a view break

Brian Eubanks taking in the view in his very euro shorts

The New Ride

Riding the Crown Zellerbach trail outside Scappoose

I always love riding a new bike! The saying goes "It's like riding a bike." The thing is, that every bike rides differently just like every experience life throws our way. Freedom to me is embracing each throw and moving forward, slowly.

Finding the top of Council Crest 

This sign reminded me of the wonderful small place I grew up in

My first go with disc brakes, still on the fence about them

Muddy beard after a good day of riding

' '

Aaron Visits the Northwest for the Weekend

Click HERE to see more photos from Aaron's visit on the Salmon River

The Salmon River, Mt. Hood National Forest

This is our "Where's Waldo" picture. Look closely and you will see Aaron and myself.

A Quick Night Amongst Mt. Hood's Winter

I decided to head out on the skis to enjoy Mt. Hood's solitary peace for the night. It ended up being a fantastic night out. I've had this lightweight bivy bag for some time and it's only been used when the weather has been ideal. This was a good opportunity to try it in the winter and see how it performs. Weather conditions were stable, cold, with an accumulation of about 2 inches. Perfectly peaceful really. 

I brought along some camera gear and a tripod hoping to capture beautiful light on Hood's Southeast face. Unfortunately, the light conditions I was hoping for didn't happen, although the precipitation and lower than expected visibility proved calming and wonderful. 

Guess I'll have to make another journey up there in search of the winter light I'm hoping for.  

Riding Bicycles, Climbing Jefferson, and Riding Bikes again

3 tired, hungry, and thirsty friends nearing the end of a quick but long journey
CLICK here or any image to see the entire photo story

Terry, Sam, and I headed out from my house at around 4am on July 20, 2012 for a quick 90ish mile bike ride South to climb Mt. Jefferson's Park Glacier before riding the 90ish miles back home. Although the trip was a self supported bike to summit tour, Gina and Alissa met us at the South Breitenbush TH to saunter in with us and enjoy Jefferson Park for a couple of nights; a wonderful lake and meadow area at the base of Jefferson's North side. 

Terry Campbell hauling a load along the Clackamas River

The trip took us 4 days. We rode the 90ish miles down to the TH and hiked in most of the 3000' into Jefferson Park on the first day. Day 2 we had to fire up our nav skills as the trail was completely covered in snow; we all thought the snow would be clear that late in July, oops. The rest of day 2 was spent hydrating and just enjoying being in the mountains. I was still feeling thrashed on day 3 (climb day) and elected myself to spend Sunday helping the ladies navigate their way back to the cars as they had to head out. TC and Sam had a fun climb along with a successful summit. They rolled into camp shortly after I made my way back, and an oncoming storm caused us to pack up and head down to the TH for a night of rest before riding the 90ish miles back on day 4. 

Sam talked about the Ripplebrook Ranger Station (halfway home mark) and all of the food he was going to crush since we left camp that morning. He didn't lie, can't remember his tic-list exactly but he consumed a couple of cokes, 2 instant noodle cups, several Twinkies, and I don't know how many more well deserved treats. 

Another successful and memorable Mountaineering Bicycle Tour (MBT) put together by Terry Campbell. Thanks TC, awesome trip. Mt. Rainier MBT 2013!

A Wilderness Honeymoon in Isle Royale National Park

Moskey Basin Sunrise- CLICK any image to see the full photo story

It was honeymoon time; we decided to head back to the state that raised us and enjoy Michigan's Isle Royale National Park. A truly amazing and peaceful place. Every moment of this trip from sauntering on the island, to meeting new people, to hearing the Moose rut was filled with a genuine peace. No special yoga or meditation practice was needed to feel collected, calm, and all around grounded. These Northwoods have a special vibe I have never experienced anywhere else. It's a land of simplicity that makes it difficult to leave. Every time I've been fortunate enough to explore the Northwoods, from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota to Isle Royale NP, and everything in between, there is a great pull, to stay and breath its unfiltered harmony...

Moskey Basin

Lake Superior

Gina excited about her breakfast

Gina and me at Moskey Basin

Lake Superior from Hwy 2 on our way back South

Around Crater Lake....

Brian taking in one of the many views we were gifted with.

 Kevin Clark and Brian Anderson asked me to join them on a ski adventure around Crater Lake this spring. Turned out to be one of the most amazing places I've seen in any time of year but particularly in the winter.

Click HERE to see all of the images from this saunter on skis....

Kevin and Brian happy to be done with the major climb of the day

Used a wooden pinhole camera at sunset to capture this image.

Saw this composition on our last day.

Searching For The Mystery Trail...

Chris and Julia on the Devil's Backbone. A feature on the ROA trail.

Julia, Chris and I wanted to climb Mt. Hood Sunday and Monday but the weather wasn't trending in a positive direction for this. We brainstormed a bit and came up with the idea to go out and look for the Mystery Trail in the Columbia River Gorge instead. We found it all right! And one heck of a spectacular adventure un-folded. 

Check out all of the pictures HERE

Chris swinging out to make the second rappel.

Julia on the last and most spectacular rappel of the day.