Small Lake in Othello Channels
After a great photo shoot of Sandhill Cranes in the early morning, we decided to take a drive on back roads and look for more cranes in a different direction. We saw this little lake along side the road and just pulled off to do a little exploring. It was such a beautiful morning and such a picturesque little scene. I just couldn’t help but to stop and snap a postcard. We didn’t find any more cranes … but we saw some nice scenery.
Drumheller Channels – Othello, WA
The first thing I thought of when I looked up and saw this section of columnar basalt was that it was missing a tooth. Columnar basalt is very susceptible to water erosion because of its many fissures. The raging water of the Missoula Floods easily plucked the columns from their path.
Large Pothole – Drumheller Channels
Water did this! During the Missoula Floods water rushed through Drumheller Channels at about 55 miles per hour. The water level was about 200 feet above the mesa on the upper right corner of the photo. Through the Drumheller Channels the water followed multiple channels. Turbulent circular, tornado like, flows cut potholes throughout the area. This one is unique due to the outcropping in the “eye” of the swirl.
A short walk on the Upper Goose Lake trail will bring you to this amazing phenomenon. The uniqueness of this area continues to amaze me.
Granite Erratic in Pasco Basin, Washington
The Central Washington Basin is covered with layers of basalt, totaling as much as 2 miles thick, created by huge lava flows 8-15 million years ago. The nearest source of granite rock is several hundred miles away. This photo was taken near the Hanford site north of Richland. The granite rock was about 1/4 mile from the road. My lens combination was 560mm. For reference, the actual height of the rock (above ground) is about 12 feet. It is a big granite rock. How did it get here???
The current theory is that it was brought here as part of the ice dam that broke loose during one of the Missoula floods around 15,000 years ago. As the ice melted, embedded rocks were released. The Pasco basin and its surround hills have many such erratics.
Basalt, Yaklma River Canyon
These pieces of basalt (approximately 18 inches in length) caught my as I was exploring road cuts in the Yakima River Canyon. They seemed to be accented by an artists brush. Different patterns and different colors abounded in adjacent rocks. Since the rocks were adjacent and seem to be part of the same basalt flow, why are they so different in surface color and pattern. I need to do a little research on what factors determine the color and patterns.
Vertical Basalt Columns – Yakima River Canyon
A couple of miles up the road from my last post, I saw these basalt columns protruding vertically upward. They were located on a different ridge. The forces driving the uplift were different than the ones from the first ridge. I ask why, what caused the difference? Did this ridge lift at a different time or were the forces just different from the ridge in the first post. My curiosity kills me. I think I need to do more research on how these “Yakima Folds” evolved.
Tilted Basalt Columns – Yakima River Canyon
This tilted basalt was the result of a plate fold being pushed up from a diagonal force. Throughout the Yakima River Canyon the basalt columns show displacement in various directions. This illustrates that forces were lateral pushing toward each other creating a “fold”.
The basalt shown here is in a “columnar” formation. Basalt formed like this cooled very slowly, creating a soother texture.
Fuji X-T1, XF55-200mm @ 86mm, f/13, 1/340 sec, ISO 400
It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky and the sun shining down on this bucolic rural scene just below Hearst Castle along the central California coast. You can see the Castle on the hill above. It was just fun being out enjoying the countryside. I waited until the horses moved around to frame the country school house. I felt like I was going back in time. This area will be a place I come back to in future years.
Fuji X-T1, XF 18-135mm @ 18mm, f/8.0, 1/550 sec, ISO 800
My photography has not been very creative lately. When I get this way, I like to walk around and just practice. I do not have high expectations and just stop to photograph what catches my eye. I usually do not carry a tripod with me during these practice shoots. I use them as a scouting inspiration/exploration endeavor to come back and shoot at a better time. This image was taken in mid-day light at the Washington Arboretum Japanese Garden in Seattle. I spent 2 to 3 hours just walking around and enjoying the beautiful garden. I shot for less than an hour.
Once home, I just started playing around with different processing techniques on a few images. Again, more practice. This was one of the images that caught my eye. The original image was full of bright yellows, greens, and some oranges. I almost did not even try black and white processing. I wasn’t happy with the standard B&W images either, so I decided to experiment (play) some more. This sepia with a reverse vignette was the result.
Canon 5D MkII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 60mm, f/11, 1/20 sec, ISO 200
Fallen cherry blossoms covered the ground beneath the trees. I was able to get a few images before the lawn mowing gang cut the grass and swept away the beautiful blooms. The past few weeks are typically my favorite weeks in the garden each year. For a few days we are lucky to have the flowering pears, flowering plum, flowering crab apple, and flowering cherries all in bloom at the same time. It is peaceful and beautiful in the garden.
The image below is a new perspective using multiple exposures while zooming out.
A different look is achieved by a long exposure and a zoom pan as seen below.
Which one catches your eye? I like them all.