Mill City Rails-to-Trails Bridge Revisited

I had recently went up to Mill City to get a picture of the Rails-to-Trails bridge, and while I did get a good picture, I had taken what would have been a great picture were it not for the fact that it was out of focus. So this morning, I went back up the Santiam Canyon, found a parking spot on the side of the road, and walked down to roughly the same spot I was at last time. Unlike last time, I made sure the shot was perfect before I went back to my car and headed home...

The reason I take pictures of aging structures

Back in December of 2012, I came across a dilapidated barn in rural Marion County. Other than its condition, I absolutely loved the barn and its location. About a month ago, I took a small trip to get a new picture of the barn. Unfortunately, I could not locate it even though I knew I was on the right road and on the right section. After using the "street view" on Google Maps, I have come to realize that it was torn down prior to June 2013. This let down has led me to realize that the aging structures of last century will not be around much longer even if they are well maintained, and therefore piqued my interest to get pictures of these structures before they are gone forever. Aside from old barns, dated bridges are also an interest for me.

Below is the picture I took back in 2012, while the second one down was what Google Street View shows--notice the cluster of four trees on the left side. All that is left of the barn by June 2013 was a pile of wood and rubble. I find it a little sad to see a barn disappear in less than a year when it might have been in the same family for several generations.

 

The view from Bonesteele

I went over to Bonesteel County Park this morning to get some shadow pictures, but wound up getting a picture of the Turner countryside that was blanketed in fog. The golden sunrise made for a golden-colored landscape...

Golden Hour

McKay Falls and the Scotts Mills Fireman Statue

I have been wanting to revisit McKay Falls ever since I discovered it last year when I went to explore the Scotts Mills County Park that it is located at. As the Autumn colors have yet to burst onto the scene, I will be coming back in the morning later in the month for a better picture, but for now, I had to deal with a bad lighting angle which led be to wade into the cold water to get a better picture...

After that little photoshoot, I stopped at the Fire Station in town on my way out because I noticed a fireman statue. I photographed it from two angles and have yet to decide which one is my favorite--in one, you can see the flag pole behind the statue but the axe isn't shown that well; in the other, you can see the axe, but it looks like the statue has only three fingers on his left hand...

Santiam Canyon Bridges

I decided to visit two bridges along the lower Santiam Canyon--one in Mill City and one in Stayton. Once up in Mill City, I hiked around to find the best site to photograph the Mill City Rail Bridge (now used as a pedestrian bridge that makes one end of a rails-to trails system that only goes about a mile or two since the Mill City Log Mill is still in opperation) Unfortunately, what would have been my best shot composition-wise, turned out to be slightly out of focus, which means I will return to the bridge later in October when the trees are more colorful...

The other bridge, known as the Stayton-Jordan Covered Bridge, resides in a complex of four parks in south Stayton. to get the picture below, I waded out in cold water and discovered the stream was much deeper when my foot sank through 15 inches of mud and leaves. As with the bridge above, I will also be returning to this bridge later in the month for another shot...

October 5th Barn Drive

I have decided to try to get one good picture of an old barn each week so I can, in essence, document the ones that remain here in Oregon. As I live in Marion County, I have decided to start within the borders of the county and then expand into the rest of the Willamette Valley once I have gotten every barn within this county that has good character and isn't blocked by other buildings. After the Willamette Valley, then I will expand my search into other parts of Oregon. Here is today's barn picture, and so far one of my favorites due to its unique character...

Marion County Barn Drive

Earlier, I went out in search of a barn I saw about a year ago, only to settle on taking a picture of another barn I could not locate the one I was searching for. The only thing I don't like about the image is the road in the bottom left corner...

Photowalk at Minto Brown Island Park with the Salem Audubon Society

As a way to learn more about the birds that I take pictures of, I decided to meet up with members of the Salem Audubon Society at Minto Brown Island Park in Salem. The upside, I got to see some birds I may have not noticed--the downside, the other people (all retired) walked a little too slow when they wanted to count birds and then walked a little too fast when I wanted to get pictures. Basically it means the photographers and Audubon Society members don't mix well on outings. At any rate, here is the only good picture I took while hiking...

This morning's sunrise and a trip to Aumsville Ponds County Park

I have been wanting to get a good sunrise picture for a while now, so early this morning, I headed out to a nearby county park known as Aumsville Ponds to get a shot with the sun rising through the trees and reflecting off Young Lake. Unfortunately, the park was not yet opened and the sunrise was not a spectacular one, so I drove a little further south and got a picture of the Cascade Mountains silhouetted against the sunrise...

Once at Aumsville Ponds, I took some pictures of the Pied-billed Grebes (birds that look like ugly duckings) and some pictures of the tree colors reflecting off the small lake...

Oregon Coast Day Trip

I had the day off, so I went to the Historic Taft District in Lincoln City; unfortunately for me, a heavy fog layer had settled along the coast due to the mixing of the cooler Marine Temperatures and the hotter temperatures in the Willamette Valley. This led me to photograph sea lions and other animals as I could not get a good landscape or seascape picture...

The Oregon Lavender Farm

Wanting to get a good picture of lavender fields, I headed up to the Oregon Lavender Farm near Oregon City and was allowed to get some pictures after waiving my rights to press charges in case I was injured while at their farm. All I have to say about their location is Wow--they not only has a clear line of sight of Mount Hood, but also could see Mount St. Helens from less pretty areas of their farm. Walking fast through the rows of lavender covered with honeybees, I found a nice location that would feature the lavender in the foreground and Mount Hood in the background...

Marion County Fair and Pratum Co-Op Photoshoots

This morning, I decided I would go to the county fair with the intention of just taking pictures and enjoying the arts and farm animals and that I could get a quick photoshoot of the Pratum Co-Op buildings on the way home...

The 2014 Marion County Fair

 Bygone Era

 Pratum Co-Op

The Life of a Farmer

July 7th Sunny-day Drive

I decided to go for a nice drive and found myself at the Weddle Covered Bridge in the town of Sweet Home, Oregon. As I laid eyes upon this bridge, I realized it had striking similarities to the Stayton-Jordan Covered Bridge in Stayton, Oregon as you can see below...

Weddle Covered Bridge

vs.

Stayton-Jordan Covered Bridge

On the way back, I stopped at a Marion County Farm east of Stayton and got a picture of the farm with Mount Jefferson in the background.

Farm with a View

2014 World Beat Festival Photoshoot

I decided to go to the World Beat Festival today not to enjoy everything they had to offer, but to get pictures of the First Nations dancers. Unfortunately, there were less this year than in 2013...

 Gracefull with Age

In Full Regalia

Silver Falls State Park June 22nd Hike

Yet another trip to Silver Falls State Park, this time with some of my relatives from California, hence the humorous title "California Tourists" under the first picture as I couldn't think of anything better...

California Tourists

 Indian Hellibore

Within the Foxglove

Silver Falls State Park June 17th Hike

Once again, I headed out to Silver Falls State Park to get pictures that might be different than before. New types of flowers were in bloom, including some daisies...

 Salmonberry Dew

 The Monkey Flower

 The Rainflower

Yellow Daisies

First Prints and the Salem Shutterbug Photo Contest

Earlier today, I headed over to the Shutterbug store at the Lancaster Mall in Salem to print off what I considered to me the best 8 pictures I have so far. These photos include three waterfalls of Silver Falls State Park (South, Lower South, and Middle North), a landscape (South Fork of Silver Creek), two plants (Common Camas and Oregon Iris), and two animals (a Townsend's Chipmunk and a Red-winged Blackbird). As I was walking through the mall, I noticed that the Shutterbug was having a photo contest that ends June 30th.

After I printed off the pictures I wanted, I decided to enter since I didn't have anything to lose and I got the three pictures that I entered for free. I entered the Lower South Falls for the "action" category, South Falls for the "landscape" category, and the Townsend's Chipmunk for the "general" category. The other category was "portrait," and as I don't have much experience in that category, I will not be rushing to get a picture of someone. If you happen to live near Salem, check out the contest and see which pictures you like. There are quite a few talented photographers that entered the contest.

Silver Falls State Park May 27th Hike

As I was heading out on my weekly excursion to the park this morning, I decided that I would hike an area that I have never been at before--the bike loop trail. Aside from getting spooked by a small animal--possibly a rabbit--due to whatever it was running right behind me when I had my audio equipment on as high as it could go, it was a fairly nice walk. I also saw two Western Thatcher Ant hills that had been ripped open by a Black Bear, and as I noticed the ants were scrambling to move the baby ants still in their white pods, I was spooked once again when I came to the conclusion that those ant hills could have been ripped open that very morning--so I walked a little faster. As usual, below are some of my favorite pictures of the day...

 Western Trumpet Honeysuckle

 Oregon Iris

 Pacific Fritillery

 Baldhip Rose

 Early Blue Violet

 Red Elderberry

Pacific Rhododendron

Silver Falls State Park May 20th Hike

Once again, I headed out to Silver Falls State Park this morning with the idea of checking out the Upper North Falls and the Campground Nature Trail. As I was on the Nature Trail, I also recorded the sounds of various birds and a babbling creek. The compilation of the two (pictures and audio) will give you a sense on the idea I am working on--that is to create a video of what the park has to offer that includes many pictures, several short video clips, and audio of the natural sounds. Unfortunately, since this video makes the pictures look good only small, I will still be posting them like normal below it.

 Upper North Falls

 Red Elderberry

 Invasive Yellow-flowered Lupine

 Common Camas

Pacific Rhododendron