Point Defiance And NW Trek Reviews

Coyote Standoff

Laurie and I just got back from a mini vacation up to the Seattle area where we had a light itinerary planned. On our first full day we took a short drive over to Tacoma to visit the somewhat acclaimed Point Defiance Zoo And Aquarium

I feel like going on a rant at this point but will keep this review tempered and concise. First off let me say that Point Defiance Park is quite picturesque and well kept giving us hope for a fantastic zoo visit. Weather was not an issue it was a perfect day for being outside and especially for photography, which is always my interest. Entrance fees to the park are in line with what you would expect to pay $13.00/adult.

The one thing that struck me from the moment I entered the park was that young children seemed to abound in every direction. Strollers were ever present and there wasn’t any sight of animals. We made our way down the paved paths that our map told us to follow until we came to different areas that supposedly housed animals, but they were few and far between. Every animal we did see was caged in what looked like an animal prison. There was glass or bars in front and a net covering almost every habitat.Photography was out of the question; I did not take more than a handful of photos throughout the entire park. We came away pretty disappointed and felt as though the park planners could have done a better job of give the public a better Zoo experience.

There is a very nice caveat to be told however and now here is the rest of the story. On the back of the zoo entrance ticket there is print that reads 2 for 1 entrance to the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.
The park is in Eatonville approximately 30 min drive southeast from our location.

Bison

We made the drive and arrived at 2:00 pm. The park closes at 5:00 pm. We were pleasantly surprised at the vastness of the park as well as the well-kept forested grounds. This park is unlike the Wildlife Safari In Winston in that you park you’re car and walk the grounds visiting the animals in natural habitats. Photography is fantastic in this park as the animal areas are unencumbered with fencing netting or wire, provided you are standing in the viewing area. Needless to say I was able to start ripping that shutter and came away with some nice photos.

The second ½ of this park is equally as nice as patrons are given colored tokens when they arrive so they may enter the wildlife tram at a prescribed time. The tram has three open-air cars that resemble ones you might ride on the back lot of Universal studios. The tour lasted nearly one hour and is quite relaxing except for the constant narration of the driver. Many photo ops here as well.

The second day of our mini Vacation will be divulged in the next Blog entry.

Gorge Hikers Beware !!

 
Just got back from another Waterfall Photography trip with with two of my sons today.The goal was not overly ambitious as seems not to be the norm whenever I go out. We hiked up to Ponytail falls from the Horsetail Falls trail head. I spent 20 min or so photographing and then we proceeded another 1.3 miles to photograph Triple Falls. For those of you planning a trip in the are be forewarned that the bridge just beyond Triple Falls on trail #424 that crosses Oneonta Gorge was damaged and has been removed. The Oneonta Gorge is impassable at this time. This makes a loop trip impossible. As a matter of fact you cannot access Triple falls or beyond to Larch mountain from The Oneonta Gorge Trail #424 at this time. The bridge is budgeted and slated to be replaced this year 2009. Another note able about the area is the fact that there is a sizeable log jam at the entrance to Oneonta Gorge. For those of you including myself this only means that there will be a Little more adventure involved when we decide to don our Tevas and wade up the slot canyon and through the water. for any reason including magnificent photo ops. I hope this helps.. Happy Hiking, Shawn.

Waterfall Photography Tips

Waterfall photography is both rewarding and challenging. If you’re’ anything like me and enjoy getting outdoors to hike and explore having a goal or a destination like a lake, waterfall or mountaintop to photograph is a must.

Waterfall photography especially has technical obstacles that always present themselves. In direct contradiction to other landscape photography you may often welcome the harsh midday sun that may filter it’s way down through the tree canopy and illuminate the falls. Access to the down stream section of a particular falls may be quite hazardous as the steep canyon walls may prevent the ideal vantage point. Particularly high falls often prevent photographing their full length even with the widest of lenses.

It may be possible to explore the technique of a vertical panarama. Exposure problems are another issue as you may be dealing with many stops of light that the camera cannot deal with. I often revert to HDR to deal with this issue.

Admittedly not all the waterfalls you see here are worthy of a frame and I will admit that looking at endless shots of waterfalls can be quite uninspiring; however I hope you will judge each photograph as a separate canvas and realize that I have photographed many falls for documentary reasons.

More waterfalls can be seen here
You may be wondering how to find obscure waterfalls and maybe wish to find a comprehensive list of Northwest Waterfalls. Well I have to give credit to Bryan Swan who authored the Northwest Waterfall Survey.

So You Want To Hike Opal Creek Huh !

Opal Creek located in the Elkhorn Valley recreation area is one of the most beautiful river hikes you will ever experience. Opal creek feeds the Little North Santiam River that is equally clear and pristine however opal creeks color is unmatched and truly lives up to its namesake. I suppose you could use emerald to describe the watercolor as well.

If you want to experience the hike for yourself here is a link for great driving directions. I guess the only downside of this hike is the 2.2-mile hike down a gravel-logging road to reach the actual trailhead. This hike is suitable for small children and is classified as easy with an elevation gain of only 200 feet. I would caution parents to be very watchful on a couple of bridge crossings and on section of trail where there is no rail to protect from a substantial fall.

The area attracts extreme kayakers as well as backpackers. There are several wonderful campsites along the river although campfires a prohibited. If you have come for merely a day hike you may opt for the 7.5 mile loop that will take you through Merten mill and Jawbone Flats an old gold and iron mill that operated from 1929-1932. This loop will also take you to Opal Pool, another attraction that will take you’re breath away. If your feeling energetic you can continue past Opal Pool another 1.5 miles which will take you past Cedar flats (ancient Red Cedars) and several small water features. Happy Hiking !!

Clackamas Whitewater Festival

Anyone that had the opportunity to witness first hand the 2009 annual Clackamas Whitewater Festival experienced great weather and some fantastic race events, and of course a few spills. For those of you who missed it I took some photos of the race that you can see here.The annual festival is run strictly by volunteers with the help of a few sponsors. They have a dedicated Website if you wish to learn more or even enter the race next year.

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens

Many of you local Oregonians living near Portland may be unaware of the beautiful park that we have right in our midst.
I'm talking about the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens located across from Reed College and adjacent to East Moreland Golf course. For you photographers there are many prospects here. This is a romantic park with many trails and water features. Free admission awaits those that can visit any Tuesday or Wednesday. For more information here is the
website

Photographing Zoo Animals

     Going on a photographic safari in Zaire or maybe the Okavango Delta is probably on the short list of many amateur photographers. But lets be real; an extravagant safari across the globe probably won’t happen for most of us. There is something special about photographing animals in their natural environment that words can’t really convey.
    If you’re’ like me and enjoy capturing images of animals regardless of the venue then a local zoo may have to suffice. Zoo photography can really be quite rewarding in that you never really know what you will bring home on that media card, as every outing will undoubtedly find animals in different states of lethargy or lack thereof.
    First and foremost I would suggest several visits a year to you’re local zoo as the experience and results will be different every time, also it’s a great way to support the animals. Try to visit on weekdays to avoid crowds. I generally just use one lens and bring a backup. The lens of choice for me is the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG HSM II Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
There are times that more focal length would be helpful but more importantly the F2.8 speed is a huge asset in the very dimly lit exhibits and give a very shallow depth of field for blurring out obvious zoo backgrounds.
    To make you’re photographs stand out from the rest it is important to isolate an animal and not try to encompass an entire scene. By doing this you can come up with very unique perspectives of animals not usually seen. If possible take an unconventional route through the zoo based solely on the suns trajectory. By doing this you can use the natural spotlight effect the sun provides in able to highlight an animal’s face.

    In regards to indoor exhibits and dealing with glass enclosures this creates another set of obstacles. Depending on your particular camera and it’s ability to control noise will determine a ISO setting that will suite the noise threshold that you can personally accept in you’re photography. Photography of reptiles and the like will require shooting through thick glass. I look for the cleanest spot and then remove my lens hood; this enables me to virtually press the lens against the glass and avoid angle glare. Here is an example
of a gator I shot through thick glass and I found it looks as though I had an unobstructed view.
    Have fun exploring you’re local zoo and best of luck capturing unique images of the animals. To see a few more of the animals in the Oregon Zoo, go here.

Backlink Builder

Quality Backlinks are extremely important in improving your search ranking and placement within Google and other search engines. Here is a great tool that You can place on a web page or blog that will allow you're visitors or you to create great back links that are keyword generated and are within the same genre of you're website. Here it is:

Backlink Builder Enter Keyword (Theme)

Heres what it looks like on my website. If you would like the snippet of code for your'e own site here is the
link

Picasa Features

Being an amateur photographer I definitely have a need for a good photo management program to sort through all my images. I chose the totally free program called
Picasa from a little company called Google. I have tried several programs including the adobe products but just seem to love how Picasa will search you're hard drives for every image and catalog them. Later you have a chance to input keywords so that you may find photos using Googles powerful search technology.

Picasa also has some other cool features like image adjustments, red eye removal, B&W conversions and filter effects. Lastly I like the ability to make a contact sheet or collage as you can see in this example I used in my other Website Nwlandscapes.com. Give it a try you have nothing to lose.

Free Website

Want to Build a free website ?

For those of you who do not have a web presence whether you have a product to sell or just want to share thought images and ideas. I recently stumbled upon a great site called Yola formerly Synthasite.

There is no catch with this site absolutely zero hidden fees. However they will put a small ad at the footer of you're index page. This Is what I put together in just a few hours. What I like about it is the fact that you can use your Google Ads here to generate income without a web hosting expenditure. You can also sell products here using Paypal

Sure there are drawbacks like a slow server lack of scripting choices and the use of widgets gives the sites a somewhat unprofessional appearance.

I recommend this site if you truly want to build a free Website for yourself or small business.