Fort Rock In Oregon’s Outback

Fort Rock

I have wanted to visit Fort Rock State Natural Area for some time now and we recently had a chance to get out there. This volcanic landmark located just West of Christmas Valley in Oregon's outback is known as a Tuff Ring. This huge mass is even more impressive in person as you catch the first glimpse. It was formed during the last ice age when lava pushed through the Brothers Fault Zone and into what was once an ancient lake covering some 900 square miles and reaching depths to 150 ft.
For me the best image to take of this immense landmark is a frontal shot taken along county road 5-10 with ample sagebrush as a foreground. If you have the time and energy you can access the parking area via Cabin Creek Rd to explore the rock on foot. There are fairly clean bathrooms here as well as some plaques telling the history of the area. Apparently some of the oldest human sandals were found in nearby Fort Rock cave that were made from sagebrush. The trails here will take you all through and around the rock; it really is something to see up close. Be somewhat wary of the fact that there was a cougar encounter here just a few months ago.
There are a couple of more points of interest in the area as well albeit a bit of a drive. You may wish to check out Hole-In-The-Ground, Crack-In-The-Ground as well as the Lost Forest.

Toketee Falls Re-Opens

Toketee Falls

For nearly two years the Toketee Falls trail has been closed due to severe blow down caused by powerful winter storms. As of May 28^th of 2010 Toketee Falls is now open to the public. I recently was able to see the falls for the first time myself, and let me tell you these falls are stunning.

The trailhead to Toketee Falls can be found off of Highway #138 23 miles West of Diamond Lake or 41 miles East of Glide Oregon. There is room for about a dozen cars here and yes there is a couple of pit toilet style bathrooms.

The trail to the falls is a mere.4 miles and is very enjoyable hiking along the creek. What is noteworthy about the trail is the nice stone stairs that are built into the ground in spots and the many well constructed wood stairs that assist you in getting to the final viewing platform. These steps that I speak of are almost a work of art as you take different elevations of steps and sturdy black metal handrails, and the way they are situated along sheer basalt cliffs in places. The really cool part is the final viewing platform sits amongst the trees and gives the feeling you are in a tree house.

As for the falls they are definitely in my top 5 of the most beautiful falls I’ve seen. This is a two-stage waterfall dropping 120 feet into an opal pool and surrounded by sheer basalt walls and dense forest; the only drawback for photography is there is only one composition here unless you bring rappelling gear. That is why almost every photo you see from this location is relatively the same. I highly recommend a trip to this area. If you are new to Southern Oregon you will be in for quite a treat if you start in Roseburg and work your way towards Crater Lake. There are 25 waterfalls to photograph along the Umpqua Highway some of the falls you will encounter are: Fall Creek, Watson, Susan creek, Whitehorse, Grotto, wolf Creek ect..

Central Oregon Points Of Interest

Ponderosa Forest

Laurie and I just got back from another 900-mile road trip taking us through Central Oregon and Christmas valley. I came away with many great images including Fort Rock and several noteworthy waterfalls. I will break down the trip with separate blog postings on specific areas of interest. The next few blogs will be related to this recent trip so stay tuned. I had specific areas in mind and mapped them out before leaving and was able to get to all of them except for “ Crack-In-the-Ground “ and the” Lost Forest “. I hope some of the information you get here will be a help to you on you’re travels.

" Sahalie Falls Mt Hood "

There really are not very many waterfalls on Mt. Hood. This is Sahalie Falls and for my first two attempts to locate these falls I had no luck. From my research I read that these falls a well signed and can be located off of Hwy # 35 on the East side of Mt hood. To this day I have never seen a sign for these falls. These are not the most beautiful falls I have seen but I was committed to photographing them.
If you’re are interested in finding these falls they are actually in the closest proximity to you’re’ vehicle than others on the mountain. Basically the falls are located right off of Hwy #35 just North of the Mt Hood Meadows Ski Area and just South of the Meadows Nordic Area. You can access these falls from three areas: 1. When snow is not to much of an issue take the Meadows Ski Area turnoff and look for an access rd that goes North just prior to entering the Meadows parking area, this will lead you to the old hwy and the falls. 2. If you’re looking for a bit more exorcise then continue North on Hwy #35 and take the Elk Meadows turnoff traveling to the trailhead and work you’re way back south to the falls.
3.
The absolute quickest and most direct way I have found is to simply park in a wide turnout on the West side of #35 just slightly North of the Meadows turnoff. The wide spot isn’t very wide so I would suggest parking you're vehicle facing uphill or south so you can open the drivers door without it being up against the guardrail. As you park you will be able to see an arched over pass that was once part of the original Highway. You may now step over the guardrail and work you’re way up the creek two catch the double tier of the falls or you can climb straight up about 300 ft to the falls. You will be standing on the old highway overpass when looking at the falls. The compositions are slightly limiting here as well.

What type of camera do you use?

A Pentax K10d

Photography Questions you may have

formspring.me

Photography Questions you may have http://formspring.me/ShalamarImages

Golden And Silver Falls Park Profiled

Silver Falls

If you’re looking for a couple of unique waterfalls off the beaten path then I have the answer. Golden And Silver Falls State Park contains two stunning waterfalls with drops of nearly 200 feet respectively. Each of these falls can be photographed after only a very short walk from the parking area. Total hiking trail length in the park is about three miles, however that’s only if you wish to take the upper trail to Golden Falls and back. The lower and shorter trail will yield some great compositions of the falls.

I guess the only downside to this park is the is the journey there, often times traveling over very winding and narrow county roads. We encountered very few cars but did have a couple of loaded log trucks come at us on sharp turns. There are many spots on this road near the end that won’t allow two cars to pass, so be careful.

Golden Falls

Getting There: Heading South on US 101 go completely through the town of Coos Bay. When you see a 7-Eleven on the left take a left turn at the second light. This exit will say Coos River- Allegany. Once you take the exit you will immediately cross a bridge over the Coos River. From this spot set you’re trip odometer as it is exactly 24 miles to the park from here. You will pass through the town of Allegany at the 14-mile mark. Just continue on for 10 additional miles, the last 4 – 6 miles are gravel but it’s not a bad ride as gravel roads go. When you reach the park you will find a rustic outhouse and hiking instructions to each of the falls.

Good Luck..   Shawn

Abiqua Falls Complete Review And Directions

Abiqua Falls

For the longest time I have heard tale of this elusive waterfall called Abiqua Falls. Iv’e seen it profiled on a couple of blog’s and seen many photos of it on Flicker Ect..
I recently made the trip over to Scott’s Mills Oregon and finally got to photograph these falls. I have yet to see anyone give a very detailed account of what to expect and give precise directions.
Ok here is the skinny on what I experienced. Getting there: Take Hwy #213 or the Cascade Highway to the town of Markum. When you see the Markum Inn you will turn off onto S Nowlens Bridge rd, it only go East. Take Nowlens Bridge rd approximately 2 miles until you T-Bone into Crooked Finger Rd NE, turn left. At this point reset you’re trip odometer. You will now travel exactly 9.5 miles until the road ends or at least the pavement ends. Reset you’re trip odometer once again and travel exactly 1.4 miles. Turn right onto Cf300, a very illegible white sign on a tree on you’re right will denote this road as well. You will basically travel as far down this road until you cant go any further. You will pass several clear-cut areas and intersections; always go straight and downhill through these. The road will deteriorate as you get further down and some say passenger cars can make it. I would strongly discourage any thing other than a high clearance vehicle with 4wheel drive. When you come to an old yellow locked gate you have reached you’re destination by vehicle . Park in a small turnout just prior to the gate; there is maybe room for three vehicles here.

Abiqua Vertical

Don’t do what I did and travel by foot beyond the gate and down the road, I added about 4 miles of unnecessary hiking to my trip. To find the trail, I mean goat path to the falls simply walk up river or the direction you came for approximately 300 ft. You will see a fairly heavily used footpath heading down towards the river. You will also see two large white No-Trespassing signs that warn against hunting and firearms ect.. posted on trees at the beginning of the trail.
Did I mention goat trail? The path down to the river is steep and fairly treacherous. There are lots of possibilities to turn an ankle or slip and maybe damage yourself or equipment Be Careful.
Once you reach the river you will have dropped maybe 1000 ft or so, head upstream the best you can until you reach the falls. It’s only about a 5-7 min walk once you have reached the river.
The falls are beautiful and well worth the effort; however I was struck at the size of the area I was expecting it to be much larger. A wide angle lens is a must, I shot with a 16-45mm on an APS C censor and could barely encompass the whole scene. Those of you shooting full frame or one of the 10-20mm will have no problem. Also keep in mind the spray factor; I was constantly wiping my lens or filters off. If you come in late summer then you’re options open up quite a bit as you can wade across to the other side or stand in the stream to avoid the composition obstacles I faced.

Happy Adventures Shawn..

Photogaphy Paintings

A technique I’ve been having fun with lately is that of impressionistic photography or digital painting. I first heard about this technique in a recent article in Outdoor Photographer. I really loved the painterly fell to the images, but it was more than that; something unusual and very different than a painting, painting with light

I recently got the chance to try out this method on a large tree farm near Umatilla Oregon. The trick for making these images work is the exact amount of blur and that can really only be achieved by trial and error. There is no exact blueprint for every situation.

The ideal equipment for this upward panning technique is to have a tilt and pan tripod head, giving you more control over lateral movement. I only have a ball head and have done the best I could. Typically here is the rundown: 1. Find a subject with vertical lines preferably 2. Mount camera on tripod and set a 2 second timer. 3. Using a neutral density filter and a relatively small aperture to achieve an approximate 2-3 second exposure 4. Depress the shutter button and anticipate when the shutter will open, then begin panning skyward during the entire exposure. 5. Check the LCD for the results and repeat if necessary.

I hope you give it a try it’s a lot of fun..

 

  Shawn..

Palouse Falls Adventure Awaits

Palouse Falls Sunset

For quite some time now I’ve wanted to head over to Eastern Washington; specifically the Palouse agricultural region and of course Palouse Falls. I recently had a few days off and our Boxer Dog " Scout " and I headed from the Portland area directly to Palouse Falls State Park. I had fairly low expectations considering it was raining here and the forecast wasn’t much better where I was going. 300 miles later " Scout " (the Boxer) and I arrived at the park. I was surprised at how well kept this campground was. There are 10 campsites at Palouse Falls State Park each complete with picnic tables and plenty of fresh water pumps. There is no electricity or full hook-ups for the RV'ers,; however there are a couple of really clean porta/toilets.
   Palouse Falls can be seen immediately as you drive into the campground ; in fact you can hear the cascading water while in your tent along with other sounds like the coyotes howling in the distance. You will find unique wildlife in the area such as: Coyote, Mule Deer, Raptors,Rattlesnakes, Jack Rabbits and hundreds of Marmots to name a few.
   Palouse Falls are quite breathtaking and very photogenic as well. You may not always be blessed with beautiful clouds but there are many wonderful compositions as well as trails that will take you most of the way around the canyon. Finding a unique perspective is always a challenge; most photographers choose to incorporate the falls and the down stream portion of Palouse River in their shots.

Marmot

The next day the plan was to drive over to Steptoe Butte State Park where one can take in grand vistas of the Palouse region. If you are planning a similar trip keep in mind the time of year and what to expect in terms of crops. I was a little early to catch the rolling green hills I was expecting. Apparently the fall harvest is a great time to visit as the hills come alive with the amber glow of wheat. Also keep in mind the vastness of the area, it is nearly a 2-hour drive from Palouse Falls Park to Steptoe Butte State Park. Anyway as my luck would have it when I arrived at Steptoe butte the weather was looking very nasty. I made my way around and around the spiral road to the summit of the butte only to be completely inundated by a super storm cell with high winds, visibility was almost non-existent and no images were recorded for my efforts.
Overall it was a memorable trip although I would love to visit again right before the fall harvest. Maybe I’ll have that Pano Head by that time.

Until next post, hoping you all find the sweet light.
Shawn..

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