Saturday roadtrip to the greener side of the fence.
Summer storms and wheat fields
I wanted to photograph the uncut wheat fields of Washington but it was already a bit late in the year. While most of the fields were already harvested a few remained untouched although they were far in between. It was that time of the year when the storm clouds make their way over the Cascades into the high plateau of Eastern Washington. I did not plan for being out there while it was stormy but it turned out to be a memorable day trip.
The Upper Cascades
A familiar route for a sunny Saturday roadtrip…
Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only real cure is to load up some film in your best camera and shoot like a bastard - a slightly modified quote but relevant to the mood in these photographs.
Winthrop in the dead of the night
Later in the evening after the restaurants and shops have closed, the serene night scenery of a western themed town far east of the Cascade.
Tulips
Every year I tell myself to not go back to the tulips farm and every year I go back.
Dust in the wind
Wind gusts were not as dry as I thought it could have been, for they were carrying both water (from Columbia below) droplets and dust particles several dozen feet above the ground. I wouldn’t have had luck using a tripod, the roof of my car provided adequate support for steadiness required for telephoto shots like these.
No, that famous song by Kansas wasn’t in my head but it felt like it should have.
End of a day
After several days of very warm weather, we got a cloud cover today, that extended beyond the Cascades and over the plains to the east. The wheat fields were harvested but the farmers were kind to leave few rows uncut by the highway.
Over the hills and far away
The Memorial Day long weekend of 2022 was unnaturally cold and wet, even east of the Cascades. While we braved two nights in camping, took these photographs across the Upper Cascades as we drove around in search of dry weather.
I have to admit - I love to take photos under an overcast sky, and with waterproof/weatherproof gear, could care less about the rain…
Diablo lake was not milky teal but those clouds hugging the mountains across the water was a treat for the few folks who stopped by the famed vista point in this weather.
On the other side of the pass the sky was still not blue but the rain became thinner and the air drier. As we lost altitude, started noticing beautiful spotted white trunks of birch trees and lush spring green leaves filling the gaps in between the trunks.
Our final stop was a ghost town in the Far East and North. Still cloudy and occasional rain kept us indoors/in the car but I managed to take a few photographs when it was dry.
Frosted power lines
Besides the primary subject in this photograph, snow covered power lines illuminated by car headlights…
238 sec at f/9.5, ISO 800
It was the weekend night out on the plains east of the Cascades, I was testing (new) Hasselblad’s widest lens for X system: the XCD 4/21. Arriving at this scene I realized very quickly it was not the best lens to frame the shot. There was only two ways to fill the view with the subject (the house): walk closer to it or use a less wide lens. A combination of sense of being respectful to private property and deep snow on the ground made me not choose the first option, and a desire to stick to the new lens made the second option less savory.
Remnants from the Ice Age
This drumlin field extends across US highway two past the city of Waterville. The arrangement of these flat top hills hints of the movement of glacial ice crawling over the rocks and dirt millions of years ago.
A petrified face
When I stared at this suspiciously human like face carved into new earth (from a volcanic eruption 1.5 million years ago), did not think of the probability it might have been carved by man.
The successful search for the Sun
This weekend’s weather forecast for western Wash was not out of place nor extraordinary: overcast with chance of rain and storm likely to continue through next week. But we were determined to find the sun, and shoot timelapse videos.
Moon over Old Razorback
While filming the sunset over Black Rock desert, I wasn’t expecting the moon to come up behind me. In other words I was not planning to shoot past sundown (being aware of the bright moon) but unaware of moonrise time. The unmistakably bright reddish near full moon over the mountains to the east was a very pleasant surprise and memorable moment to end the day’s shooting.
The dust storm
A white haze filled the gap between two mountain ranges, visible immediately after getting of the highway on our way to the desert playa. Thought it might be a good opportunity to record a timelapse sequence but the tripod fell sideways to a gust of wind about sixty frames in. We continued driving through the storm until we saw clear skies. Now protected by a series of tall hills next to the playa I wait for the sunset.
Back in the wide open desert
High elevation, dry air with a hint of salt and long straight highways. Here’s day one of a week in the desert, in search for inspiration for the next project and a break from the insanity called quarantine.
Winter day in the sun
The silence of the snow
An obsession with forgotten history
History has its appeal in different ways.
