“Bucolic View”
Heatherwood Spring
This scene is also from the view point shown in my post on 29 April. It is so peaceful watching our neighbor’s cows graze in their meadow. The Selah-Yakima Gap provides the background for our maples and conifers. The late afternoon sun provides the soft glow as it warms our bodies.
During my walk to the top of the cherry orchard I found a new way to get up to the top of Selah Ridge that overlooks the hillside where we live. There are so many places around our neighborhood to explore. The trek to the top of the ridge from here will be one that I plan to wander and explore.
Looking at this line of basalt rock, I ask myself how this remnant of a lava flow got way up here. Beneath this level of basalt lay strata of limestone-type sediments from an ancient sea bed. How did a sea bed get up here? Piecing the little that I know of the geologic history of the area, the following is what I think happened: First, this area at one time was under the Pacific Ocean. Then the volcanic Cascade Mountains were formed which separated Eastern Washington from the coastal plain. Later, the Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Southern Idaho basalt flows covered what is now the Columbia Basin. Then the moving continental plates slowly forced up the Yakima Folds creating a line of ridges across south central Washington. We live at the base of one of these ridges.
Living out in the country is a wonderful opportunity to get out and explore. I have no excuse to feel “cooped up” inside the house. A 20 minute walk and I am above it all, overlooking an old cherry orchard, the valley below, and the gap to Yakima. How peaceful it is to just stand up on the hillside and observe the wonderful area where we live. In a short time, this orchard will be covered with white and pink blossoms. It is one of the few “old stands” of cherry trees around. Each year they remove a section and plant new trees. Hopefully this section will remain for several years to come.
This image is another perspective of the photograph in my prior post. It is also an infrared (IR) image, but processed in black and white. This is typically how I handle infrared images focusing on the contrasts of dark sky and light clouds and foliage from the trees.
A positive ramification of our “stay at home” order is that I can spend a good part of my day working on my photography skills. I enjoy experimenting with different methodologies to create moods and feelings. One of my next endeavors will be to combine IR and long exposure photography into B&W images. Rather than facing each day and thinking about what I cannot do, I much prefer to envision what I can do. It is a time to explore, examine new things, experiment, and learn. I really do not have time to think about what I can’t do.
It is a pretty spring day here in the Yakima Valley. The cherry trees are out in the Arboretum. I’ve been a little restless so I decided to experiment and play a bit. I shot this with a converted full spectrum IR camera. The colors were a little gaudy. Black and white looked pretty good but I felt like a splash of color. So … I added a little artistic flair to simulate a watercolor painting. So here is something a little different for today. I hope it brightens your day.
It is a beautiful day and time to get out along side nature. We all have felt “cooped up” for the last several weeks. There are many places where we can go and remain isolated from others and just enjoy the outdoors. Today my mission is to get outside as much as possible and just enjoy nature’s beauty surrounding me.
Have a wonderful day!
I would like to pass on this message from Dewitt Jones, a photographer that I follow (dewittjones.com). How many times have we sat and watched the beauty of a sunset? Remember the warmth, peace, and happiness it has brought. Some evenings it will be bright and glorious. Some evenings it will be gentle and peaceful. But, it is always there.
There are so many good and wonderful things in this world to celebrate. In times like these, it is extremely important not to forget to celebrate what is right in this world. Dewitt asks why can’t we be like a sunset to the people and world around us. Why can’t we bring beauty, brightness, peace, and hope to the world … every day? Are we too busy? Will people care? Are are efforts good enough? Why can’t we be like a sunset, showing up every evening without any expectation of the result? The essence is being there, celebrating life, and bring forth happiness to whoever may be there.
All we could see at the top of the plateau overlooking the lava plain at the end of the Chain of Craters Road was a thick bank of fog. We drove down to where the recent Kilauea lava flow blocked the road. We really could not see much and turned around. The fog started to break a little revealing this beautiful rainbow. I hopped out of the car and grabbed my camera. My lens was not wide enough to include the whole rainbow in the frame. I started to change my lens but the rainbow was breaking up rapidly. I grabbed my trusty iPhone and quickly shot a couple of images. The rainbow disappeared. Thank you Apple for the new wide angle lens on the iPhone 11.
The last time I was here I hiked down to the base of these cliffs and looked up the Palolu Valley to the south. Waipi’o Valley is in the distance. This trip I did not make the trek down to the bottom.
On previous trips, my interest focused on the bay directly below and closer. The above ridges were in the distant background. This time the ridges caught my eye. I zoomed out to 400m to isolate them.
For reference, the photo below represents my previous focus.
As seen, this is quite a different perspective. It pays to return to special places and keep an open mind to see new things.
Can you believe that it was 56 degrees in our Eastern Washington garden on 1 January 2020. It was over 20 degrees warmer than the average New Years Day temperature. I took the opportunity to spend several hours working (playing) in the garden both with my camera and garden tools. Such nice weather makes me excited about starting new spring projects early. But I must be patient and wait for the winter season to run its course. However, I can be contemplative and creative using my camera to record the progression of the season through the garden. Spring will come soon enough.