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Sunrise Fish Creek Aspen

Sunrise over colorful Aspen trees in the Fish Creek drainage on Steens Mountain

  This sunrise was taken above the Fish Creek drainage on Steens Mountain.  Aspen rarely make an appearance in Oregon and to find such a large colorful stand was outstanding to say the least.  The Aspen here only occur in a narrow elevation range of between 6,500 to 8,000 feet.  My friend Ron and I […]


Forlorn Homestead

An abandoned and forlorn farmstead in rolling wheat fields in the Palouse of south eastern Washington state.

  This forlorn homestead is in very sad condition but shows hints of a vibrant and meaningful past.  Set as it is in the midst of the second largest wheat production area in the world, the Ukraine is first, the structure of the buildings shows a love of design and craftsmanship.  The lovely front porch […]


Palouse Glow

The glow of late afternoon and long shadows provides for dramtic light of the Palouse region of Washington.

The Palouse hills and fields glows in this image taken just before sunset.  I was here attending a workshop for four days in early June of 2012.  While we had some wild wet weather we also enjoyed some lovely light to photograph this beautiful region of rolling hills of glacial silt know as loess soil.  […]


Gorge Stone Work

Rugged stone work shows the craftsmanship from the 1916 construction of the historic Columbia Gorge Highway.

  The historic Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway has many popular attractions such as Multnomah Falls and Crown Point.  Lesser known and appreciated is the solid and rugged stone work representing the craftsmanship of the workers who constructed the highway.  This image represents that craftsmanship so evident throughout the Gorge.  This lovely scene is just […]


Reflection Trillium Lake

Reflection of Mt. Hood in Trillium Lake in Spring under a brilliant blue sky.

The reflection of Mt. Hood in Trillium Lake shows just a small patch of ice remaining after a long winter’s sleep.  The brilliance of the reflection is enhanced by the lovely blue of the sky and water.  I stopped here on my way home from photographing the sunset and sunrise at Tom McCall Preserve.  It […]


Sunset Tom McCall Preserve

Glorious sunset from Tom McCall Preserve near Rowena Oregon. The lupines and balsamroots were brilliantly lit by the setting sun.

This sunset at Tom McCall Preserve near Rowena, Oregon is probably one of my best, if I can say so!  Conditions were just what landscape photographers dream of for images of lots of colorful flowers backlit by the sun.  There was next to no wind and the Columbia Gorge Broad-leaf Lupine and the Northwestern Balsamroot […]


Sunrise Columbia Hills

Sunrise over the flower covered Columbia Hills in the Dalles Mtn. State Park

This sunrise over the Columbia Hills State Park in the Dalles Mountain Ranch component was quite spectacular.  At this time of the year the sun rises high over one of the taller of the ridges within the Columbia Hills State Park.  This creates a very dramatic and intense first light on the Columbia Gorge Broad-leaf […]


Sunrise Tom McCall Preserve

Sunrise over the yellows and purples of the flowers in the Tom McCall Nature Preserve

This gorgeous sunrise was taken a short way up the trail to Tom McCall Point at the Tom McCall Preserve just west of the small town of Rowena Oregon.  I arrived about one hour before sunrise to scout out a location for the image I knew I wanted to create.  As I am still in […]


Sunset Hang Glider

A powered hang glider flies low over the rolling Columbia Hills at sunset.

This hang glider struck a perfect pose for me in this sunset image over the rolling hills of the Dalles Mountain State Park.  Part of  the Columbia Hills State Park, this time of the year the hillsides are covered with an broad array of wild flowers.  They are simply beautiful with every shade of the […]


Waterfall – Mist Falls

Mist Falls waterfall drops 400 feet over rugged basalt cliffs

This image of Mist Falls waterfall was taken from the small lake at Benson State Park in the Columbia River Gorge in early April 2012.  Mist Falls waterfall  deserves greater attention than it receives since at over 400 feet it is one of the tallest recognized waterfalls in Oregon. However, the waterfall is less than […]


Bridge at Wahkeena Falls Waterfall

A side view of one section of Wahkeena Falls waterfall from the stone bridge over Wahkeena Creek.

  Wahkeena Falls is a 210 foot waterfall that is unlike many of the waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area .  The falls does not drop into a plunge pool like nearby Multnomah Falls but instead cascades down a narrow chasm to its base.  It then flows 100 feet down an alluvial […]


Trilliums Patch

A nice patch of Trilliums early in the Spring in the Carter Bridge Campground along the Wild and Scenic Clackamas River

I discovered this group of Trilliums early in the spring in the Carter Bridge Campground along the Wild and Scenic portion of the Clackamas River in the Mt. Hood National Forest.  There had been rain earlier that left a few drops of water on the petals and leaves of the plants.  Lighting conditions were perfect […]


Indian Plum

Indian Plum with pendant white blossoms in early Spring in the Carter Bridge Campground along the Wild and Scenic Clackamas River.

The Indian Plum is often the first deciduous native shrub to flower in late winter in the Pacific Northwest.  The Indian Plum is an important early season nectar source for hummingbirds, moths and butterflies, native bees and other pollinator species.  Fragrant 1/2 inch greenish white flowers usually appear by late winter in loose hanging clusters […]


Enchanted Forest

The light for ‘Enchanted Forest’ didn’t last for more than one or two minutes.  I was already set up to photograph with my Canon 5D MKII and my 24mm TS lens.  I was waiting for this beautiful fog light to reappear that I had seen a couple of minutes earlier.  This type of light provides […]


Vine Maple in Big Lava Flow

Glowing beauty of Vine Maple set against the dark flow of ʻaʻā lava.

  The Big Lava Flow is in the Giford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state.  In the fall of 2011 I was fortunate to have ideal cloudy and misty conditions for photographing this fiery red Vine Maple bush growing out of the lava.  The fall color of Vine Maple tends to be quite reddish and […]


Douglas’ Grasswidow

Olsynium douglasii is a flowering plant, commonly known as grasswidows. It is the only species in the genus Olsynium in North America, the remaining 11 species being from South America.

In late March of 2012, I traveled from my home in the metro Portland area to the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge to photograph the Grasswidow flower.  One of my favorite locations for wildflowers is the Nature Conservancy’s Tom McCall Preserve at Rowena .  This 271 acre preserve has a diverse offering of […]


Photography Gear List

Phil with his new gear, a Canon 5D MKII and 70mm - 100mm lense.

  For the last 30+ years my photography gear list consisted primarily of a 4×5 view camera and one 210mm lens.  My most recent view camera was an Arca-Swiss F Field Clasic with Micro-Orbix.  Many of the images in my galleries were composed with this camera using various lenses.  The most knowledgeable person for Arca-Swiss in the […]


New Moon – Cannon Beach

The new moon is high overhead of Cannon Beach Oregon shortly after sunset in the late fall of 2011.

I captured this image of the new moon over Cannon Beach on a trip my wife and I took Thanksgiving weekend of 2011 to Canon Beach on the Oregon Coast.  Ecola State Park is nearby and is a favorite of mine for dramatic seascapes.  I went there hoping for a nice colorful sunset but that […]


Forest Park Trilliums

Trillium's abound in the Spring in Forest Park, Portland, Oregon.

Portland’s Forest Park is one of the largest urban forest reserves in the United States.  Forest Park is a public municipal park in the Tualatin Mountains west of downtown Portland, Oregon. Stretching for more than 8 miles (13 km) on hillsides overlooking the Willamette River, it is one of the country’s largest urban forest reserves. The park, a […]