On Crater Lake

A unique way to experience Crater Lake is to take the boat tour offered by the park service. The tour provides a counter-clockwise circuit of the lake, with a stop at Wizard Island.  You also have the option of remaining on the island when the boat departs, catching the next boat some two hours later - plenty of time for a hike to the top of Wizard Island where you're rewarded with an amazing 360 degree view. 

Spoiler Alert: If you go, be prepared for a demanding hike back up from the water to the crater rim.

Sport Shots

Here are some favorites from my years as a serious collegiate and regional sport shooter.  I had the good fortune to shoot any and all sports for the local university as I was transitioning to digital photography and the digital darkroom. 

Working full time and shooting and processing full time... don't know how I did it... 
Sure was fun, though.

California Surfing

Just for fun, some shots from a weekend spent at the 2011 Rincon Classic.  This surfing competition is held each January at Rincon Point, on the Santa Barbara/Ventura county line.  I was in the area that year visiting friends, and happened to be there the weekend of the event, so was glad I had brought along at least a mid-range telephoto lens. 

Birds

The satisfying challenge of making portraits of birds in the wild.  This is a collection of mostly Pacific Northwest locals and migrators. 

Sunflower

Greeting the Dawn.  Here's a little collection of one of my favorite late-summer portrait subjects.  Fun to grow.  Fun to photograph.  Great fun for the birds.

Dick's Electron Microscope

I'm thinking it's a safe bet to say not everyone has a friend who has his or her own scanning electron microscope.

Early last year I got a call to come help Dick unload this machine he just acquired from someone over in Nevada.  Using a rented engine hoist, we managed to lower and scoot the two main components into his garage, where he's been nurturing the thing back to working status.  He actually has it scanning stuff now, although he says he still has a lot of fussing left to do.

Now, if I can only find something I need magnified 4,000 times...

Quiet Light

As I edit this collection, I am reminded of my attraction to the softer, quiet compositions around us.  Soft light appeals to me, as does soft focus, both often reflected in my work. 

Another noticeable theme is the number of early morning or evening images, those special moments when the softer sun, counterintuitively, can play a stronger presence in the image.  This gallery will certainly be edited occasionally, and I expect to return to this mood in future collections.

Bug shots

I enjoy photographing living things in their natural environment using the natural light of the moment.  Plants, people, landscape and microscape.

Most of these bugs shots were taken with a close-up macro lens, some with a medium range telephoto.  They all reveal the complexity and personalities of these often seen but seldom noticed critters.

Update:   This is cool... Bugs made the big time!  :o)  

A taste of coastal Oregon

Living inland from the Oregon coast, but with easy access a "mere" 3 to 4 hour drive, I've explored this magnificent stretch of coast often during the past decade, usually with some serious photography in mind. 

USS Blueback

USS Blueback (SS-581) is a retired fast attack submarine, now permanently home ported at OMSI in Portland, Oregon.  They offer a special 2-hour Tech Tour which I took advantage of one September morning.  Highly recommended for the type of person who loves to explore and wonder at impossibly complex machinery.

The images in this collection were all taken with available lighting (not much) using long exposures with hand-held propped camera.  Lots of propping places!