Scootney Reservoir Sunset – Othello, WA
After a chilly late afternoon / early evening Sandhill Crane photography shoot, we were looking for a rest area. The closest one was at Scootney Park. As we drove down to the lake, the sun had just gone down below the western hills. The red, orange, and pink colors covered the sky and reflected over the lake. The rest stop had to be delayed for a while while we captured the beautiful sunset. We sure got lucky!
Corfu Landslide – Saddle Mountains, Central Washington
This image was taken from Lower Crab Creek Road. It is a small section of the Corfu Landslide. Lower Crab creek is in the foreground. This part of the landslide was probably post Missoula Floods. It looked like the rocks at the base were not eroded, hence it probably occurred following the last floods. The land slide extends upward to the Saddle Mountains crest. A couple of weeks prior to taking this image, I was at the crest of the Mountain looking down. Refer to my post of 27 March.
Colorado Blue Spruce Abstract 1
Sometimes it is just fun to play around with images. I knew that I would use various ways of post processing when I first took the image. Here is one version. Playing around a little more, I came up with the following abstract :
Colorado Blue Spruce Abstract 2
Colorado Blue Spruce Tip – New Growth
As I was walking around my yard, I was just looking for images to pop into my sight. I have photographed new growth on evergreens more times than I can imagine. However, I have never made an image on new growth taken from a head on perspective. A tip of new growth from a Colorado Blue Spruce just jumped out in front of my eyes. So I looked around more to try to get one that was the most symmetrical. My mind started to think what I could do with this from an abstract point of view. I plan to apply some creative alternatives in a future post.
Like my friend John Barclay (www.johnbarclayphotography.com) emphasizes. Do not force a photograph, let the image come to you. This one did …
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.
Drumheller Channels Overlook
It is hard to comprehend how enormous the Missoula Ice Age Floods were. The edge of the bluff in the top left hand corner is approximately 200 feet high. The water level during the Missoula Floods was about 200 feet above the top of the mesa. The distance across the Drumheller Channels was 8-11 miles wide. The water is estimated to have moved through here at 50+ miles/hour. The landscape left behind is amazing. My mind wanders about contemplating what it must have been like.
This image was taken at the overlook off the main road running through the reserve.
Rattlesnake Ridge and Pasco Basin from Saddle Mountain, Washington
This image was taken from the top of Saddle Mountain looking southwest toward Rattlesnake Ridge. During the Missoula Floods, the water level of Lake Lewis between these two ridges was about 600 feet above the current basin floor.
As I was photographing on top of the mountain, I felt a cold wind pick up. The skies turned dark and I could see the rain coming toward me. I decided it was a good time to pack up my gear and head down the steep gravel/dirt road before it turned to mud. It was the end of a good day and a great trip driving around the Pasco basin exploring for traces of the Ice Age floods.
Sentinel Gap, Washington
This image was taken north of Sentinel Gap, looking south. The Columbia River is barely visible in the center of the photo. During the Ice Age Missoula Floods, Crab Creek thundered through here joining the Columbia River. This was the western path for the waters rushing through Drumheller Channels as it was diverted by the Saddle Mountains. The small rocks in the foreground are likely to have been carried by the rush of water as it carved out the scablands through the Drumheller Channels.