Pittock Mansion – Portland Oregon

Following last weeks post of architectural elements, I’m staying with the subject matter this week, but in photography. I was going back through some older files this week working on another project and that led me to a number of photoshoots I did in 2009. I resurfaced these particular captures and realized I had never done anything with them. For someone who especially loves historic architectural elements, I surprised myself. I’ll have to work on that, but for now I wanted to share a few of the shots I took of Pittock Mansion in Portland Oregon. I love the history behind this property and encourage you to check out this link (History – Pittock Mansion) or the links under each of the captures for the fascinating history behind the building of the mansion and the history of it to present day. The property sits on top of a hill overlooking downtown Portland and the Willamette River. On a clear day the view also affords you a centered shot of Mt. Hood in the distance.

We’ll start with a shot of approaching the front of the house via a circular type driveway.

Pittock Mansion 1

Approaching up the driveway to the left….

Pittock Mansion 2

Now the front entrance to the mansion….

Pittock Mansion 3

Next I’m taking you to the very back side of the house. It’s important to note that the backside faces the incredible view as I described above and did I take any shots of that awesome view. Heck no, I was too focused on the mansion and kept shooting different angles as I moseyed around the entire structure. Ugh!! That said, on the web site they did have pictures of the view.

Pittock Mansion 4

As we were leaving the property I did take this final shot highlighting the beauty of the landscaping with flowers.

Pittock Mansion 5

Thoughts?

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Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

As part of my continuing series over the last few weeks from our recent road trip to Seattle and back, this weeks post is of Crater Lake National Park. Located northwest of Klamath Falls in the south central portion of Oregon, it was formed 7,700 years ago when a violent eruption triggered the collapse of a tall peak. The collapsed caldera has become the deepest lake in the United States fed by rain and snow and one of the most pristine anywhere on the planet.

In all of our years going up and down the west coast to Seattle, we had never stopped at Crater Lake. I have seen it numerous times from the air flying back and forth, but seeing it up close and personal is an entirely different experience. One of the most recognizable features of the Lake is the island on the western side of the lake. Because of this feature, it makes it easy to spot even at 36,000 feet in the air.

Crater Lake 1

The first thing you notice about the lake is the deep blue color of the water. It looks fake even in person it so so blue.

Crater Lake 2

We drove around the entire lake and as you can see from this capture as we approach the island, it isn’t as small as one would believe, which gives you an idea just how large this lake is.

Crater Lake 3

The next capture (Crater Lake 4) was taken from the drive as it took us around in the upper right coastline of the above capture (Crater Lake 3).

Crater Lake 4

This next capture was a surprise as we continued the drive from Crater Lake 4 going left from that shot.

Crater Lake 5

Love the unique feature that nature created here. Looks like a small castle on an island. To give you a point of reference, the island itself is on the far right side of this capture.

There is so much to do in the Park and so much to see. This just gives you a flavor of the lake itself. Again, the surreal deep blue color of the lake boggles the mind every time you look at it no matter which side of the lake you are on.

Thoughts?

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Hood River Valley, Oregon

In continuing from last weeks post from our recent road trip up to the Seattle area from Los Angeles, I wanted to share some captures from the Hood River Valley in Northern Oregon. We stopped here after visiting Crater Lake in Southern Oregon (pics from that coming soon). Hood River is a town located on the confluence of the Hood River and The Columbia River. Just south of the town is a stunningly beautiful agricultural valley. The valley is known for its tree fruit agriculture—including one of the world’s largest pear growing areas. There is a mapped out drive around the valley called the “Fruit Loop”. It lists a number of places to visit where the twenty-nine member stands offer you a variety of wines, fruits, vegetables, flowers, ciders, and food. We chose to stop at an apple orchard where we were able to pick our own fruit. Loved the experience as neither my wife or I have picked apples from an orchard since we were young. It also high-lighted an old country store where in respect to covid, goods were displayed outside in front of the historic building.

This weeks captures were taken along the fruit loop and as Mt Hood is a prominent backdrop in the valley, I couldn’t resist these shots with the fall color.

Hood River Valley Fruit Stand

Mt. Hood Oregon

Autumn Colors Hood River Valley

Mount Hood Close Up

Thoughts?

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Seattle Sunshine

I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to all of those impacted by the wild fires up and down the west coast. I think of those who have lost their homes and/or evacuated from approaching flames to the fire fighters who have bravely been battling these fires.

My wife and I left Los Angeles August 31st for two weeks in Seattle (two of our daughters and their husbands live up there). At that point in time Northern California was battling significant wild fires and the smoke from those fires had migrated to Southern California. As we took off and started the flight north, there was a layer of brown smoke all of the way up the coast to Oregon. From Oregon on up to Seattle, the skies were clear and we were thankful to get out of the smoke.

Starting with our second week in Seattle, Oregon was now battling a number of fires and so was eastern Washington. Mid-week, the winds changed and the huge plume of smoke that had been blown out to sea from California and Oregon came inland and created the pictures I have attached.  I took these with my cell phone by one of our daughters house because I was blown away with how weird the sun looked. It actually got worse as the week went on with no sun getting through.

We returned to Los Angeles Sunday September 13th. On that day going to the airport in Seattle, the smoke was so thick you couldn’t even see the downtown high-rises as we drove right by them on Interstate 5 (the freeway literally butts up to downtown). Taking off from the airport was like rising through a thick layer of clouds that had a brown tinge to them. On the 2.5 hour flight coming south over Washington, Oregon and Northern California, looking out the window at 35 thousand feet, there was nothing to see but the brown cloud below us. It boggles my mind that there would be a smoke plume of that size. Think about any flight you have had of that duration and think about if there was nothing but smoke below you for the entire flight.

Seattle Sunshine

Street Scene

The air was so brown, these shots almost look like sepia photography.

Thoughts?

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Cape Blanco Lighthouse

In reference to last weeks post on remote dwellings along the Oregon Coastline, this week I’m continuing that theme by featuring an ink drawing and watercolor print I created of the Cape Blanco Lighthouse.

This lighthouse is located on the southwestern coastline of Oregon. It sits on the western most point of land in the state and was first lit in 1870. For more information: Wikipedia.

Cape Blanco

Thoughts?

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Oregon Coastline

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures of the Oregon Coastline….the setting is so peaceful and serene and the sense of tranquility seemed pertinent at this time!! Hope all is well with you, your family and friends!

Coastal Bluff

Oregon Coastline

Thoughts?

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Subtle Softening Photographs of Covered Bridges

This week, in keeping with the theme from last week (a behind the scenes peek of how I digitally create these art prints), I wanted to share a technique I used with these three examples of covered bridges in Oregon. As I stated last week, I have been using Adobe Photoshop forever. I love the variety of features and flexibility it gives me not only with my photography, but also in creating digitally painted art.

The three prints I have attached came from a photo shoot I did a number of years ago in Oregon. All three look like three photographs of covered bridges and in reality they are. If you look closer, you will see that the edges and detail are softened slightly…ever so slightly to just give the prints a subtle softness. It’s a minor change I created by using one of Adobe’s filters. I started with the photographs in Adobe and eliminated any background “noise” such as electrical wires. In these shots that was about the only doctoring I did to the actual photograph. The next step was to soften them slightly, so I used their watercolor filter. In that filter you can control numerous elements such as pixel size of softness..type of softness and intensity. With numerous trial and error attempts, I settled on a level I liked. A subtle watercolor effect that you see more easily in the trees, but it also soften the edges of the bridges…again very subtle, but an overall softening.

“Covered Bridge Entrance”

“The Short Covered Bridge”

“The Red Roof Covered Bridge”

Thoughts?

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Rose Bud and Rose Bloom: Featured Art Prints

Rose Bud

Rose Bloom

With June upon us, I wanted to feature two art prints that say June to me: Rose Bud and Rose Bloom. The colors start to pop on rose bushes this time of year and I wanted to celebrate the vibrancy of the blooms. Rose blooms are more than just color, they are texture, shape and color. The intricacy of the petals as that go from buds to full bloom. I capture these two particular photographs in a public garden in Portland, Oregon. Portland is well known for roses and these two particular photographs support that reputation. Thoughts?

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Oregon Covered Bridges In Watercolor – Featured Art Prints

The wall art prints I wanted to feature this week is a series I just added to my Architecture Gallery. It’s of covered bridges in Oregon that  I created using a soft watercolor technique. I have featured these bridges in prior posts, Sepia Prints, Covered Bridges Oregon Style and Covered Bridge Featured Art Print. They all stem from a March 2013 photo shoot of covered bridges in the south and central portions of Oregon. I love the look of covered bridges and the variety of ways in which they can be presented. It took me until last month to create a soft watercolor look using the captures from the photo shoot as an inspiration.

“Covered Bridge In Watercolor“

The first one is called Covered Bridge In Watercolor. This is a rendition of the Neal Lane covered bridge. It is actually a very short covered bridge spanning a small creek.

“Covered Bridge With Red Roof”

The second one I’ve titled Covered Bridge With Red Roof, for obvious reasons. This particular bridge isn’t used for vehicular traffic anymore, but sits as a reminder of days gone by.

“Stewart Bridge In Watercolor“

The third print is titled Stewart Bridge in Watercolor. This particular bridge also doesn’t carry vehicular traffic, but sits right next to a modern bridge that was built to carry highway traffic.

“Grave Creek Covered Bridge In Watercolor“

The fourth print is called Grave Creek Covered Bridge In Watercolor. This bridge is still in use as part of a paved highway.

I like the look of these prints using these historic landmarks. Thoughts?

I invite you to visit my Architecture Gallery to enjoy these prints and many more.

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Comfort – Featured Art Print

“Comfort” is an art print I am featuring from my Inspiration Gallery. The art print is done with a quote from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 as an overlay on a photograph I have done using a sepia tone of a rural farm nestled in the backcountry of Oregon.

Comfort

The creation of this inspirational print was a request by a client. They have purchased a few of my inspirational prints and recently contacted me with a desire for a print that would inspire them and be a daily reminder concerning a situation in their family. She was looking for a biblical quote that supported the concept of being there for a hurting family member, to help lift them up and at the same time support their own personal grief. The other part of the request was a farm related photograph.

Not one to back from a challenge, I started racking my brains and researching key words in a bible reference section. I know a lot of people can quote verses like they are always on the tip of their tongue…well, not this guy…I can barely quote what I had for dinner the night before. I remember concept and can tell you philosophically what is what, but to be able to say “Yes, that would be in the book of…chapter…verse…” not from me in this lifetime. My brain just isn’t wired that way. So the search was on.

I found a verse that fit the bill. So the next step was the print. I seek to make sure that the biblical quote I am using is a good marriage with the art print I put it on. In this particular case, when I settled on the verse I wanted to share, I went searching for the correct print. This particular print stood out in my head as I had just worked with it recently. The next step was the font style and placement. That always requires a lot of trial and error and ultimately what I think looks like the best fit. I am pleased with the way this print came together.

The setting for this particular art print is a farm in the backcountry of Oregon. I came across it when my wife and I were doing a photo shoot of covered bridges in Oregon. The farm was nestled in a field surround by a forest. It was early morning with light rain on and off. The scene was very peaceful with a wisp of low clouds or fog drifting down the hill. I liked the sepia finish to the scene as it gives it a time tested look and for this print doesn’t distract from the bible verse, but allows it to take center stage. Thoughts?

I have my inspiration prints in two locations. I opened an Etsy shop to utilize a feature they have that I wanted to test before adding it onto my website and that is the ability to download a print, keep it in electronic form for background on computers as an example or print at your own convenience. For smaller prints I thought it was a great idea for international sales as there aren’t any postage costs. Also on Etsy, I am offering these prints in an 8X10 size pre-matted with white matting and backer board ready for an 11X14 frame.

On my main gallery website, I offer the same prints in four different sizes all giclee prints on professional grade gloss photo paper.

Etsy: 8X10 downloadable version of this print.

Etsy: 8X10 pre-matted and mounted for 11X14 frame.

My web site: four sizes to choose from.

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