Upper Latourell Falls

I think I've figured out a way to get some new photos up on this site and get around the sad truth that I'm out of upload space. Here's the test post to see if it works! I finally made it back out to the Columbia River Gorge for the first time in months, which feels like an unbearably long time when my mind is almost entirely occupied by these insufferable law school applications (some of which ask for the site of my blog on my resume, so, hi there University of Washington!). I got to see Upper Latourell Falls for the first time, along with Latourell Falls (my favorite in the Gorge) and the above-pictured Shepherd's Dell Falls. Hopefully, should this photography post work as I hope it does, I should be able to time travel and bring you some of the photos I've been sitting on since summer.

While you're waiting, however, you can always check out my Facebook photo page, which I will start to add more photos to now. Also I have a Flickr account that mostly has only my favorites for those of you who, like me, aren't fond of Facebook, but unlike me can avoid using it.

And I guess I should say something about the election. You know, that election that conservative pundits had so many of us convinced would be a nail-biter? The one Fox News couldn't believe was a blow-out even when the numbers started coming in? Just a good example of how I was right.

Latourell Falls, over 200 feet tall, magnificent in autumn

It doesn't look like it, but that's the trail!

Fall-swept Latourell

Upper Latourell Falls as seen from the trail. That's Courtney and Rebecca looking on in their rain gear.

Beautiful Upper Latourell

The leaves of fall abound!

No, really, they abound!

Upper Latourell Falls as first seen from the trail

Another black and white of Upper Latourell

Shepherd's Dell Falls is a toughie for photographers because the few views are obstructed, and the tall waterfall's twists and turns make it hard for a lens to wrap around. Somehow it's become one of my favorites to photograph. Go figure.

Courtney at the base of Latourell Falls, keeping dry

Shepherd's Dell Falls. I stole this composition from another Portland based photographer, but I like the fall colors here.

This composition is mine alone. Copyright.

Ben Mayer Comes To Portland Part I

My cousin Ben was in town for the last couple of weeks taking a class to become a wilderness first responder (congrats, cousin!). With the couple of days he had left before returning to Michigan we went on a couple of hikes, checking out the amazing unique beauty of the Columbia River Gorge. Luckily the first day was also Courtney's day off so we all got to spend the day together and see a number of waterfalls:

First stop was Multnomah Falls. Now way could Ben come all the way out here from Michigan and not see this.

Next was Horsetail Falls, which raged much stronger than last time I saw it.

Just above Horsetail Falls sits Ponytail Falls, also much stronger than I remember. I didn't dare venture near the stream this time.

The trail joined up with the Oneonta Gorge trail where we saw Middle Oneonta Falls. Lower Oneonta Falls is only accessible by stream wading because the Oneonta Gorge is so narrow, and Upper Oneonta Falls is only seen by a steep scramble off trail. I didn't think it was worth it, so we only saw the middle falls.

Finally we came to our destination: the 100-foot tall and aptly named Triple Falls. Below is the gang: Me, Courtney, Ben, and two of Ben's friends.

We had some extra time so we also did the short walk to Latourell Falls. These waterfalls are different beasts in winter flow.

A side stream falls towards Triple Falls

An experimental shot I took of Ponytail Falls, with 8 seconds exposed of a tree and 2.5 seconds exposed of the waterfall.

Multnomah Falls billows

The stream just above Triple Falls

The river just above Triple Falls

Multnomah Falls and the river flowing from it

A stream makes its way to Triple Falls

Seeing double at Triple Falls

Latourell Falls. Moments later I took a nasty fall and broke some of the plastic on my 18-55 mm lens and now it won't stay attached to the camera body. It was a terrible loss and hopefully won't be too expensive to fix.

"Waterfall Negatives"

After my experience with Wahclella Falls the other day I've come to realize that one of my favorite things about waterfalls are the jets of water that shoot down, at the same time coming apart as the waterfall expands or dissolves into mist and coming together in jet streams. It helps to explain why I tend to like waterfalls much better than cascades (when the water falls along the side of a rock or a hill rather than through the air). In light of that I revisited some of my old photos and tried some color editing to isolate some of the waterfall jets like I did for my Wahclella Negative and Horsetail Negative. I think the style really emphasizes what's going on with the water, both how it's jetting (not a fast enough exposure to freeze the water in place except in the case of Courtney's Multnomah Falls photos) and breaking apart into specks of mist. The photos can sometimes look grainy but when I zoom in on them with my computer I can see that it's really a lot of individual water drops. I've also been looking at some of the paintings of Japanese artist Hiroshi Senju, who is famous for his waterfall paintings, like the one at the top of this post. Anyway, with no further ado, I hope you like some of the results of my photography experiments:

Lower Düden Falls

Lower Düden Falls

Lower Düden Falls

Upper Düden Falls

Latourell Falls (Photo by Courtney)

Latourell Falls (Photo by Courtney)

Lower tier of Multnomah Falls as seen above from Benson Bridge (Photo by Courtney)

Lower tier of Multnomah Falls as seen above from Benson Bridge (Photo by Courtney)

Wahkeena Falls

Now before I go, I need to address the current holiday. Yes, today is Halloween, and most of my readers know that I hate Halloween. But this year I have discovered something Halloween-themed that I can get behind! The waterfall that needs no introduction:

Yes, this waterfall is actually called Blood Falls, and it's real. It lives in Antartica, so sadly I'll probably never see it. Iron-oxide mixes with salt water to give it that eerie red hue. One website reports that it's 5 stories tall (compare it to the tent in the lower left-hand corner).

Happy Halloween

Final Photos From Portland

So, I leave Oregon tomorrow in order to see my cousin get married. In light of the occasion, I thought I'd post my favorite photos from the month of vacation I've had here in the City of Roses.

And, of course, one final word about the formatting. I've switched back to the previous version of Blogger formatter, so there shouldn't be any more formatting disasters like there were in the last post. Yay! Enjoy!

Kalmia, the 5-year-old girl who Courtney looks after from time to time

A homeless fisherman on the bank of the Willamette River

St. John's Bridge at Cathedral Park on the day of the all-day, all-ages DJ concert

Courtney in the International Rose Test Garden

A flower in the International Rose Test Garden

A flower in the International Rose Test Garden

A pair of flowers growing in some guy's home garden

A bed of flowers on Courtney's walkway

Courtney contemplating a flower on the Springwater Corridor Path

Courtney contemplating a flower on the Springwater Corridor Path

All 400 feet of Latourell Falls

A mother and child playing in the stream just after Latourell Falls

Me sitting on a boulder next to Latourell Falls (Photo by Courtney)

Bridal Veil Falls (Photo by Courtney)

Me photographing Bridal Veil Falls (Photo by Courtney)

My photographing Bridal Veil Falls (Photo by Courtney)

View of the Columbia River Gorge from Women's Forum Vista Point

The Columbia River Gorge as seen on a cloudy morning from Cascade Locks

Courtney biking in the "Enchanted Forest" bike path