Palm Geometry, Waikoloa, Hawaii.  March, 2008

A good friend recently gave me a wonderful introduction to palm trees. Prior to our extended conversation, which occurred intermittently over several days, it became clear there is a lot to learn and appreciate about palms individually and in general.  Prior to my palm tutorial, I had only appreciated palms for their general form, symmetry and color. But now, I’m anxious to learn more about their individuality, specific characteristics, growth habits and requirements. How exciting it is to discover a new world to explore!

My favorite photographs are those of subjects often hiding within something ordinary, or discarded, perhaps abstract, or something so worn it's taken for granted and dismissed. In so many ways, I relate to these images because they remind me of, well, me as a kid. It's sort of a wall-flower line of logic, finding beauty in something overlooked. The thought is reminiscent of those noon-hour eighth grade sock-hops where it's girl's choice, and you are standing there, pressed ever so firmly against the wall, doing your best to look invisible, but secretly hoping someone will notice your act, take a chance and ask for a dance. It's a universal feeling. Consider, on the other side of the age spectrum, those senior citizens sitting outside their convalescent home, near the door, abandoned by their family, waiting for visitors to acknowledge their presence and stop for a chat, yet everyone walks by. Being overlooked is a bummer, but getting noticed is ever so sweet. In this case I hope, like me, being the one doing the noticing, you are able to see a subject so tired it's one step away from scrap metal. Yet it still holds a special beauty. (more...)

Airborne - Little Nimmo Bay, British Columbia.  July, 2006

A great vacation can often be measured, in part, by the logistics. Our recent adventure into British Columbia and the Broughton Islands is a great example. For all practical purposes our trip began, after a two day drive, at Port McNeil on the north east end of Vancouver Island. In retrospect, Port McNeil was the jumping off point from the world as I know it, into a world I’d only imagined, or perhaps read about in Jack London’s White Fang. And I will tell you in advance this line of thought would come back to bite me in the ass later down the trail, but more on that in a future posting. (more...)

Prairie House - Eastern Oregon.  June, 2006

With the engine idling, the gauge on the console read 104 degrees. I stepped out of my air conditioned car only to be enveloped by a sweltering, oppressive blast of heat. In front of me, sitting on a large expanse of open land the prairie house stood calmly, knowingly, waiting for another day and the heat to pass. Behind me, only 100 yards away, intruding into the moment, the constant drone of cars rushing north and south layered itself on top of the heat. 

I worked quickly. My camera recorded the scene and my head recorded the moment. (more...) 

Bandon Dunes - Bandon, Oregon. June, 2006

There’s a place on the Southern Oregon Coast where the ocean meets the land, and the sky sheds light on a play ground for men and women who think they’ve seen it all. And for a boy who grew up just 40 miles north of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, I had to see it to believe it. 

The plan was simple.  I’d drive to Portland and catch a plane to the Coos Bay/North Bend Airport. From there, my partners-in-crime would pick me up and we’d spend the night at Jay’s family cabin on Croft Lake, an easy 10-minute drive from the golf course.  (more...) 

The Olympics - Olympia, Washington (February, 2006)

“Oh, look. The Olympics are out today!”

This is a phrase familiar to all residents of Western Washington. In a way, its like saying, “Gee, there are the Smiths.  I haven’t seen them in a while.”

I know what you are thinking. I’ve been on this water logged thread for the last couple of months, whining endlessly about the rain. But today, the weather was glorious, and a long time coming.  (more...) 

Waialea Sunset - Big Island, Hawai'i (February, 2006)

I’ve been thinking about Hawai'i a lot lately. It’s an easy thing to do.

Living in Western Washington, especially during the winter with all the rain, it's comforting to dream about sunnier places. The rain is falling as I write this. And it's been raining for the last two months; seemingly none stop. The wind is blowing about 30 knots and this afternoon we are expecting gusts of 60 knots.

Want to get away?   (more...) 

Skokomish River (January, 2006)

When ever I’m asked what winters are like in Western Washington, I often reply by saying it’s like living in a bad black and white photo.  From November through March it seems as if there are nothing but 18% grey, overcast, dull, dreary, lackluster, mind-numbing, lifeless, uninteresting, monotonous days which remind you of yesterday and the day before that. One doesn’t have to put a lot of thought into what tomorrow might bring.  (more...) 

A Walk in the Woods (January, 2006)

What is it about a walk in the woods that soothes the soul?

The day began like any other mid-winter Sunday morning. There was the extra hour of sleep, coffee, a leisurely breakfast, the Seattle Times, and a weather report to confirm what everyone already knew. Rain! 

The decision was eventually made to follow through with the previous night's plan to go for a walk in the woods. The check list came out. We packed rain gear, a change of clothes, hats, gloves, water, a few snacks, camera, tripod, camera bag, map, and compass.  (more...)

Dome Light - Olympia (December, 2005)

As an employee for the Washington State Legislature, from time to time I volunteer a few hours every few months to capture a seasonal image for the legislature’s logon screen. When I saw this shot developing as I was driving home after work on a partially foggy, frigid, December evening, I just couldn’t let the opportunity pass. (more...)

Remember the scene from Macbeth with the witches? There’s a dark cavern, a bubbling caldron hisses and spits. Three witches appear chanting spells and adding bizarre ingredients to their stew.

"Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." (more...)

I lived here once. It was years ago and in another life time really. I was young and recently married. We owned 5 acres which was bordered by 50 acres of valley floor. And a river ran through it all. 

We had a barn, a silo and a fruit orchard.  We had an overly enthusiastic garden. The raspberries were to die for though, and we ate snap beans as we picked them.  We raised hay and had a ’52 Chevy pickup with a custom cab. We had to join the local Grange to insure our barn, and the locals called us hippies. (more...)

Murhut Falls (July, 2005)

Murhut Falls is located about 6 miles up the Duckabush River. The hike into the falls is an easy ¾ mile walk ending in a dark lush gorge with the falls dropping in two steps approximately 100 feet into a small pool. We arrived at the falls around 1:00 pm and the sun was just beginning to disappear behind the top of the falls. Because the face of the falls has a Northern exposure and because the gorge is so narrow with lots of tall Western Red Cedar trees lining the walls of the gorge, very little light is able to penetrate down onto the fall’s beautiful rock wall. (more...)

Covered Bridge (July, 2005)

For a few fleeting minutes I became Robert Kincaid.

It was hot, sweltering hot. And it was a dry heat like it must have been in Madison County, Iowa, where Robert was on assignment from National Geographic magazine to photograph their covered bridges. Like Robert, I was surrounded by farm land, freshly cut hay, and grazing cows. Before me stood a bridge similar to the one that he’d traveled so far to photograph. (more...)

It seems to happen to me on about the fourth or fifth day of a vacation.  I’m sure it’s something that occurs gradually, sneaks up on me, accumulates, and finally just takes me by surprise like a rogue wave. And when I realize it’s happened again, I know it will be short lived so I simply do my best to let it wash over me, and enjoy the ride. (more...)

This photo was taken during a trip to Brinnon, Washington to purchase landscape material at Whitney’s Gardens. I saw the shot as we were crossing the Dosewallips Bridge just a few miles south of the nursery. At the time Mt. Jupiter, in the background, was cloud free which is rare. Knowing how fast the weather can change in the Olympics, it occurred to me that I should just pull over and take the shot. But our priority was to visit the nursery so I decided to wait. As it turned out, it was a good decision. We were able to spend a good part (more...)

The sign at the trailhead indicated a 1.2 mile hike. When we finally arrived at the crest of the trail I remember thinking the hike was more like 3.2 miles! But it had been a few years since I’d done any serious hiking and I simply forgot to consider the elevation gain. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and we had taken plenty of water because it was hot and the trail was steep.  (more...)

I've always felt that Puget Sound is one of the world's great jewels. But unless you are fortunate enough to be able to spend time navigating it's many reaches, coves, and bays it can also be a bit of an enigma. Although Puget Sound has endless miles of shoreline, much of it is hidden from view by fir trees and private property. As a new arrival to Olympia Washington, (more...)

One regional characteristic of Washington State that a new pilgrim will notice is the interesting Native American names of towns and rivers. A lot has been written about these tongue twisters. Television ads have taken advantage of their ability to easily identify a newcomer by their mispronunciation. To list just a few, there's the Quillayute, Snohomish, Duwamish, Hoh (more...)

How many times have I admired this view? Taken on my last morning at our cabin on Tenmile Lake, I can hear Jimmy Buffet's song "Last Mango in Paris" spinning through my head as I think back about all the good times. (more...)

Here's another diamond in the rough, Shore Acres State Park, along the southern Oregon Coast. The history of this place is interesting and I recommend you check out this link; http://www.shoreacres.net/, for the details.

As for the photo, it was taken in February following one of those Pacific Northwest sou'westers that hammer the coast from time to time. (more...)