Tag: Photography

Anniversary Getaway

Published on by admin

We started dating fifteen years ago, after six months of flirting. Two years later we married at 10:10am on 10/10/2010. For our 13th anniversary, Lori, my wonderful wife, planned a four day/three night getaway in a rustic cabin on a working cattle ranch just outside of Tillamook, Oregon. We, Lori, Willis and I, headed south on US101, stopping at the Lilliwaup Store for ice cream at the recommendation of our good friend, Vickie. It was well worth it, great ice cream! We then took a back route through Raymond, Washington, stopping at Fort Columbia State Park before crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge into Astoria, Oregon. Lori found a great view of the bridge from Fort Columbia and I couldn’t resist taking some photos.

While in Astoria we stopped for lunch at a food truck Lori had discovered, Surf 2 Soul. Lori got a shrimp Po’ Boy, I had stacked chicken mac and cheese (blacked chicken on Cajun spiced mac and cheese). Willis, poor guy, had his regular kibble. We also got peach cobbler that was to die for. The food was plentiful, enough for another meal the next day, and just incredible. Jordan, the owner/chef, was as friendly as could be. Photos courtesy of Lori.

Stuffed, we left Astoria and headed south to Tillamook. Arriving at the cabin just before dusk, we ate a light dinner (still stuffed from lunch) and settled in for the night.

The next morning we awoke to the sound of mooing cattle. I’d seen longhorns before while driving through Texas but never this close. The fence separating us from the cattle was about 15 yards from the cabin! Our only concern for this getaway was Willis’ reaction to the cattle. We quickly found that concern to be unfounded, he couldn’t have cared less about the cattle. And the cattle couldn’t have cared less about him. Several of them were quite photogenic, as you can see below.

Bath Time

There was a beautiful sunset previous evening, but I didn’t have my camera ready. I was hoping for a repeat this evening. It did not let me down and my camera was ready.

Besides being on a cattle ranch, the cabin was on the Trask River. Lori and I spent much of our time relaxing, reading and watching the river flow by while Willis explored as far as his lead would allow. One morning I went down to the river to get photos of the sunrise. The sunrise to the east was not very interesting so I turned my attention to the west and took a few shots.

The morning of day four our getaway came to an end. Lori used her incredible Tetris skills to pack up the car, we said good bye to the rustic cabin, cattle and Trask River and headed home. What a great time I had with these two!

For more information on places mentioned in this post:

Fort Columbia State Park: https://parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/fort-columbia-state-park , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Columbia_State_Park

Astoria-Megler Bridge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria–Megler_Bridge

Surf 2 Soul: https://www.facebook.com/Surf2Souloregon , https://www.yelp.com/biz/surf-2-soul-astoria

Cabin/Campsite: https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/land/oregon-tillamook-trask-river-5x5h1jkm?adults=1&children=0

To see more of my photos visit https://jmacdphoto.com/

#Photography #Cattle #LongHorns #Trask River #Astoria-MeglerBridge

Sierras 2023

Published on by admin

The 14th annual camping trip to the Eastern Sierras with buddies, Al and Paul, was in late September, the 17th to the 22nd. I left Port Ludlow for the two day drive on the 16th. Following an overnight rest stop in Klamath Falls, Oregon, I arrived at the Big Bend Campground early afternoon the 17th. Al and Paul had gotten there couple hours before me and had most of the camp set up. After some catching up and a beer, we finished setting up camp and headed off to the creek. Paul and Al fish, I take photographs. From this first day: the waterfall near the entrance to Big Bend Campground and Al fishing somewhere along the creek.

We spent the next day along the creek, as well. I started above the waterfall, getting photos of the waterfall and the creek just below, then stopped at various places along the road with access to the creek. Found an odd mushroom and flowering thistle along the way.

On Tuesday, at Al’s urging, we went to May Lake in Yosemite. May Lake is near the center of the park. You take a narrow gravel road, off the main route through the park, for several miles, ending in a parking area. From the parking area it’s a mile and a quarter hike up the mountain to the lake. There’s a great view of Half Dome along the way.

It started raining as we were driving back to the campsite. Since the rain was not conducive for cooking dinner over a campfire, we decided it was time to go to Mono Cone for a dinner of burgers, fries and ice cream. By the time we got back to the campsite the storm was raging, loud thunder echoing through the ravine, lightning and heavy rain. With no chance of a campfire, we called it an early night.

Wednesday found us going to Tioga Lake and Ellery Lake. Both lakes are between our campsite and Yosemite. We’ve visited Tioga Lake pretty much every year, this was our first stop at Ellery Lake. That’s Paul fishing at Tioga Lake. The other photo is Ellery Lake.

Our final day was spent along the creek. The first photo is Paul demonstrating how to cross the creek, followed by the same shot without Paul. The rest of the photos are scenes along the creek.

Friday, the 22nd, we broke down the camp, said “Goodbye until next year” and I started the two day drive home. Another trip to the Sierras with good friends was over.

For more information on places mentioned in this post:

Yosemite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park , https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

May Lake: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/may-lake-trailhead.htm

Tioga Lake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tioga_Lake

Ellery Lake: https://www.yosemitehikes.com/tioga-road/highlights-ellery-lake.h

Big Bend Campground: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/inyo/recarea/?recid=20608 , https://www.monocounty.org/listing/big-bend-campground/1327/

Lee Vining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Vining,_California , https://www.facebook.com/p/Mono-Cone-100063668375027/

Previous blogs from Sierras trips: https://jmacdphoto.com/eastern-sierras-2021/ , https://jmacdphoto.com/bodie-california-a-ghost-town/ , https://jmacdphoto.com/wildlife-photography-the-bear/

To see more of my photos visit https://jmacdphoto.com/

#Photography #LandscapePhotography #Sierras #EasternSierras #Yosemite #MayLake #TiogaLake #ElleryLake #LeeViningCreek

Port Ludlow

Published on by admin

Port Ludlow, “A Village in the Woods by the Bay”, was a logging and sawmill community in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Port Ludlow became the site of a resort, marina  and several planned communities in the late 20th century. Home to around 3,000 people, including Lori and me, it is also home to a vast array of wildlife including deer, raccoon, possum, bobcat, bear and cougar,  all of which have visited our yard. Deer frequently walk onto our back deck to get apples higher up in our trees. And birds too numerous to mention. Our house is surrounded by tall trees, cedar, fir, pine and aspen. We literally live in the woods. Lori and I moved here from the Palm Springs area almost three years ago and haven’t looked back since. 

Our village is situated in the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula on Port Ludlow Bay, an inlet off Puget Sound, and just south of Port Townsend (see my Port Townsend blog https://jmacdphoto.com/port-townsend-waterfront/). “Downtown“ is a gas station with a mini mart post office, medical clinic, a couple restaurants and several small businesses. “Uptown” (across the street and uphill) has a church and several businesses. The marina area has, yes, the Marina but also the Resort, Yacht Club, Beach Club and condos, many of which are vacation rentals.  There are also incredible views of the Olympic Mountains from the marina. Port Ludlow is on the edge of the Olympic Rain Shadow, a phenomenon that spares us from much of the rain northwest Washington is known for. This means we can enjoy the 30+ miles of hiking trails in the village without getting as wet.

Here are a few photos of our Village in the Woods by the Bay.

  • The Yacht Club
  • Yacht races on the lagoon
  • The Olympic Mountains

The trails

  • One of the many trails
  • The Port Ludlow Waterfall

A sample of the wildlife (haven’t gotten pictures of cougar, bear and bobcat. Yet.)

  • In our front yard

To learn more about Port Ludlow visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Ludlow,_Washington

My friend Bryan Diehl also has great photos and incredible videos of Port Ludlow and the surrounding area, look him up on Youtube.

To see photos of other places visit https://jmacdphoto.com/gallery-places/

Start at my home page,  https://jmacdphoto.com/ , to visit all of my web site.

Tongue Point Bald Eagle

Published on by admin1 Comment

Yesterday, Lori and I took the van out to the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula in search of camping areas we’d want to spend time at. The weather was rainy and cold, but we did find a couple areas that we will visit in better weather. Because of the weather, my camera stayed in the van. Until our final stop. We walked out to Tongue Point to see the view and found, sitting atop the remnants of a tree on an island about 200 yards away, a bald eagle. I ran back to the van, collected my camera and managed to get a couple good shots from different angles.

To see more of my wildlife photos visit https://jmacdphoto.com/wildlife/(opens in a new tab)

Start at my home page, https://jmacdphoto.com/ , to visit all of my photography web site.

Super Blood Wolf Moon

Published on by admin

Last night was a Super Blood Wolf Moon. Super because it was at its orbits closest point to Earth, Blood because of the reddish color caused by light refracted through Earth’s atmosphere and Wolf from the Native American nickname for the first full moon in January. The next one won’t happen for 18 Years.

We were lucky, the Pacific Northwest clouds cleared last night and the moon was visible through the tall trees surrounding our home. This gave me the opportunity to practice astrophotography, something I’ve limited to the Moon and the Milky Way with mixed results in the past. Here are a few from last night.

To see more of my astrophotography and other things visit https://jmacdphoto.com/gallery-things/

Start at my home page, https://jmacdphoto.com/ , to visit all of my photography web site.

The Bear

Published on by admin

Every year my buddies Paul and Al and I go camping in the eastern Sierras. We go to the same campground every year, Big Bend, just outside the east entrance to Yosemite. For four or five days Paul and Al fish, I take photographs and some guitar playing gets done. A few years back we were sitting around our campsite when we noticed a commotion, other campers crowded around near the creek. Not wanting to be left out, we jumped up and ran over to the group, me grabbing my camera just in case. We were rewarded with a bear crossing to the other side of the creek on some fallen logs. While  Paul, Al and the other campers stood and watched, I sat down at the edge of the creek and started shooting. The bear put on quite a show; sitting up watching us campers, scratching in places that shall remain unnamed and pacing back and forth, as well as using a tree to scratch its back. I continued to shoot as the bear moved around until I heard someone from behind (Paul or Al, not sure which) say quietly: “John”. Looking back I noticed everyone was slowly backing away. Looking forward I noticed that the bear was on the logs crossing the creek, much closer than I realized and moving in our direction. While picking myself up off the ground, I looked back to ensure there were others that I could out run should the bear decide to charge (you don’t have to be the fastest, just not the slowest). Fortunately, the bear only wanted some fish in a pool on our side of the creek. Neither the bear nor any campers were harmed in the production of these photos. Wildlife photography.

To see more of my wildlife photos visit https://jmacdphoto.com/wildlife/(opens in a new tab)