The Frosty Falls

Thanks to an impromptu call from a friend, I got a bonus trip to Multnomah Falls for a couple hours. Little did I know I was heading into winter wonderland, the waterfall surrounded by an amphitheater of white ice formations and plants encased in translucent sheathes. Besides the meteors in Crater Lake, this was probably the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in Oregon.

Still, it was not without danger. The trek to the Benson Bridge spanning above the lower tier of Multnomah Falls was slippery and slow going - in fact, access to the falls was restricted in general, although people had no qualms about stepping over the caution tape blocking the way. On the path past the bridge and heading to the top of the falls, we saw some people walking in the opposite direction who had passed us earlier on the way up. They said they had seen someone farther on the trail take a slip, and if he hadn't grabbed hold of a tree at the last moment he would have fallen off the face of the cliff. That's when we decided to head back.

But it was still so beautiful! Enjoy the photographic evidence below. And as far as top music of 2012 lists go (because I know none of you can wait), I'm still working on them. Be patient if you can!

Upper tier of the falls. I couldn't get too many pictures from this spot because of all the mist swirling around my lens. Here's a link to a photo taken a few days after this shot by someone who was able to keep his lens clear.

Classic view of the icy falls

With my new wide angle lens, I can easily fit the plaque and the top of the waterfall in the same shot.

Individually wrapped pine needles

The frozen log at the base of the lower tier

Twigs dripping with ice at the upper falls

A wide view of classic Multnomah

Walking from the parking lot to the falls

Close up on the upper tier

The base of the upper tier. That boulder on the right fell off the cliff in the 1970s, causing cold water and stones to rain on a wedding photo taking place on the bridge at the time. No one was seriously injured.

On the trail to the Benson Bridge

A 620-foor waterfall casually looks on

First 2012 Top Music List

I've got a few top music lists for 2012, but I'm still working through all the music I want to hear from the year, so I'll introduce them one post at a time. The first list, true to my pessimistic nature, is my 12 most overrated records from '12. In general 2012 was a great year for music, but, like any year, there are some artists who received a lot of attention for reasons I can't understand. Here are the records you may have been told to check out but I am warning you to avoid. This list should also explain why some records don't appear on my top records of 2012, coming out later this month.

1)    Lana Del Rey – Born to Die

There’s an okay song and another that doesn’t suck (“Blue Jeans” and “Born to Die”). Do people like this record just because you can see her bra through her shirt on the album art?

2)    Mumford and Sons – Babel

The band plays with great energy and harmony, but in two records it still feels like they have only written one song and just love to play it over and over.

3)    Jack White – Blunderbuss

“Love Interruption” was a good song, and the rest of the record was either uninspired (“16 Saltines”) or cute (“Shaking”). Certainly nothing special.

4)    Andy Stott – Luxury Problems

 I’m not sure what’s so amazing about removing all musical elements from a song and replacing them with boring rhythms and aimless, uninspired vocals. (I had the same problem the “Swans” new acclaimed record.)

5)    Flying Lotus – Until the Quiet Comes

It feels like he isn’t even trying. Such boring music.

6)    Passion Pit – Gossamer

 Any more trebly synth patches and dogs will start to cry.

7)    Tame Impala – Lonerism

 There are good songs, like “It Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” and “Elephant” (sure, add “Keep Lying”). That’s not enough to make up for the rest of the album and its terrible production quality: annoying at best, angering at worst. It might actually have been a good record if I didn’t have to strain my ears to hear anything but noise for most tracks.

8)    Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio

 Robert Glasper is okay, and his writing is okay. That’s all. No need to ogle over the Experiment that hasn’t yet produced results.

9)    Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid M.A.A.D. City

 His voice is annoying, his lyrics are often so ridiculous they might as well be jokes, and the beats behind him are only occasionally good.

10)  Beach House – Bloom

 Every indie rock stereotype lives! In no way does Beach House distinguish itself from any other band.

11) Alabama Shakes – Boys and Girls

If they work hard, they might sound as good as the BellRays someday.

12)  Baroness – Yellow and Green

A double record avoiding the band’s best qualities in order to showcase their mediocre singing? I’d have rather listened to them play two discs of instrumental metal.

Cummins Falls Photos

Yes, this is the last post I'll be making before we go over the fiscal cliff! Exciting, isn't it?

I've been recovering from a nasty case of strep throat followed by tonsillitis, so I wasn't able to get out waterfalling, or doing anything, as much as I would have liked to in Tennessee for this holidays. But the day before falling ill I made it out to Tennessee's newest state park, Cummins Falls State Park, to see the formerly privately owned 75-foot falls and tested out my new wide angle landscape photography lens. Here are some of the spoils I wanted to share with you.

On top of Cummins Falls: the 10-15 foot cascade before the big drop

On the trail

Cummins Falls Overlook. In the summertime that's probably a great swimming hole.

Courtney and her mother Susan taking pictures on top of the limestone of Cummins Falls

Ice on the waterfall

Looking out from the top of the falls

Photos From the 2012 Beach Vacation/For the Victims of the Clackamas Mall Shooting

These North Carolina photos have been a long time coming, I know, and most of my readers have already seen these shots, having been there when I took them. But I would like to share anyway because there are some photos in the group I am particularly proud of, and now that I've fixed my photo problem from earlier I can flaunt my artist's ego a bit.

But these photos are especially pertinent for today because of the recent tragedy that took place yesterday here in Portland. While I have never been to the mall where the shooting took place, apparently it's not far from where I live and Courtney and our roommates go there from time to time. It's times like this when something horrible happens close to home like this when I think of how precious my family is to me and how devastating it would be to lose someone I love in such a gruesome manner. It was emotions like this that inspired me to write "Unraveling" and even though the song is old it's still relevant. So let's enjoy the photos of a group of precious people, listen to the song of mourning, and keep the victims in our minds as we celebrate how lucky we are that our loves ones are safe.

Unraveling

Austin, the newest member of our family!

Little Sophia playing with my brother

Mad Antz: Aunt Marsha and Aunt Jan

The ocean outside the house where we stayed in North Carolina

Nana, the star of the show!

Four generations: Shira holding Sophia, Aunt Marsha, and Nana

Another sunset beach shot

Another adorable shot of Austin

Throwback Photos: Crater Lake for the Perseid Meteor Shower

It seems that the photo experiment in the last post went off with a smash, so now there's nothing holding me back from posting my photos on the blog anymore (for those of you who don't remember, I ran out of space on Blogger to upload new photos, as described here). So I'm going to go back in time to this summer when Courtney, Rebecca, and I all headed down to Crater Lake for a weekend to watch the dazzling Perseid Meteor Shower at its peak.

I'd like to get started by sharing an article, though. Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, is taking what's called a SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge, which asks people to try eating as much (or little) food as someone can get with food stamps. In New Jersey it's $30 a week, or about $4 a day. The idea is to raise awareness about the struggles of the poor who rely on food stamps and demonstrate the argument that food stamps should provide a greater benefit. I don't think I'd have a chance to stick to this challenge, but kudos to Booker for his efforts (remember, this is the guy who rescued a neighbor from a burning house, too). And it only took a couple additional clicks of research to learn that Barbara Lee has also taken the challenge. As if I needed another reason to like her. Sweet!

Anyway, onwards to photos and memories!

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. It was once a volcano, but the crater filled up with water (hence the name). Geologically speaking, this happened rather recently, only a few thousand years ago. This makes it one of the most pristine and haunting bodies of water I've ever seen.

The soil is also apparently very fertile.

This is called the "Phantom Ship." You can just make out the other end of the shore. Often Crater Lake is clear as can be and you can see everything, but when we visited forest fire season was in high gear. A lot of the sediment was trapped in the crater and made viewing difficult. But when we made it to the shore, we could see under all the haze. The water cleaned up the air just above it and we could see clearly across to the other side. Remarkable.

This is where we swam. Yes, we swam in a volcano. You're allowed to be jealous.

The walls of the crater. They keep dropping like this even in the water. Swim out about the length of a pool and you can't even see the bottom anymore, even though the water is crystal clear. It was the smallest and weakest I've ever felt. It was like I was a tiny hovering speck above an abyss, especially since I could see the gigantic rock walls shoot down and down farther than vision. A highly recommended experience!

I didn't get any photos of the meteors themselves - my nighttime super long exposure photography isn't quite up to par yet - but I did get this shot of Watchman Point, where we watched from, as we waited for the sky to blacken. The stars shot across the entire sky throughout the night in all sorts of colors: blue, orange, red, white, and green. Just dazzling! My buddy Kirk took a shot of the shower you can see here.