Winter Waves

As quickly as it appeared, it was gone. The sun, that is, on the Oregon Coast in winter. What a different day, today -- very windy, cold, and gray. But walking on the beach is such a treat, I just don't mind the conditions. The light was so flat, some of my photos appear to be in black and white.

I went for a very long walk this afternoon, all the way down to Seal Rock, stopping along the way to collect Oregon agates that had washed along the beach as the tide receded. It was another great day on the beach relaxing ---smile.

(All photos were shot with a Canon G9.)

Gorgeous Sunny Day on the Oregon Coast

I'm travelling again.... have time to post to the blog. I haven't stopped taking photos at home in Hawaii in the interim, I just have little time for editing and posting. C'est la vie. It's the old time versus money thing...if you have the time, you don't have the money and, well, you know the rest.

Yesterday it was a very typical cold and rainy winter drive over to the coast with friends. But this morning dawned crystal clear with a very light breeze. It was absolutely gorgeous for a stroll on the beach with camera in hand. By afternoon it was 60 degrees -- one of those amazing winter days for which the coast is famous if one is fortunate enough to catch it. The photo ops were everywhere. I had to remind myself to put the camera in my pocket and just enjoy the views. This second macro shot is of a dime-sized jellyfish on the beach.

I went back out on the beach at sunset for more photos. The interplay of light at sunrise and sunset is one of my favorite photo subjects.

All of these shots were taken near Seal Rock, Oregon, with a Canon G9.

Sedona Views

Enough of slot canyons for a moment. Steve and I spent the past two days in the area around Sedona, AZ, a place as equally delightful for photographers because the amazing red rock views go on for miles and miles in all directions.

This first photo is a classic from Sedona -- Cathedral Rock reflected in the waters of Oak Creek at sunset. We managed to find our way there in time to take a few shots before the sun was gone. In order to get the reflection, we had to ditch our shoes/hiking boots and wade across the slippery, submerged rocks of Oak Creek to reach the other side. Oh boy, talk about COLD water. Reminds me of another Oak Creek of which I am fond just outside of my very favorite place on the planet, Corvallis, OR.

The second photo is simply one incredible view of the red and white sandstone cliffs and rocks in the area. If you have never been to Sedona, I highly recommend adding it to your bucket list. Enjoy!

Mtn. Sheep Canyon -- A Very Different Slot

Continuing on with photos from the slot canyons near Page, AZ.... Steve, my husband, and I visited two other slot canyons this past Tuesday, Mtn. Sheep and Rattlesnake. Both were very different from Upper Antelope canyon, but equally as fascinating. Upper Antelope, as I mentioned before, is very wide and spacious in many areas at the wash bed (bottom), both Mtn. Sheep and Rattlesnake are very narrow. In the second photo here you can see the sandy bottom of Mtn Sheep canyon and, yes, it IS that narrow. We were literally brushing along the smooth, cool sandstone walls on both sides at once. Both of these photos are from Mtn. Sheep. I will post some photos from Rattlesnake next, which I feel was much more photogenic.

Quite an interesting experience!

Photos were taken with a Canon G9 on a tripod with long exposure times.

Glowing Sandstone Walls at Antelope Canyon

You know how some adventures in life just don't quite meet your expectations and you go away a little disappointed? Well this adventure so surpassed my expectations, I was literally blown away. Yesterday, my husband and I went on a guided photographer's tour into Upper Antelope Canyon. This is most likely the best known and most photographed of the slot canyons just a few miles southeast of Page, Arizona. I will talk about our tour guide in a later post, but suffice it to say that she was wonderful.

The slot canyons have been carved from the local Navajo sandstone by the tremendous forces of repeated flash floods. Upper Antelope is truly amazing -- very narrow in many places at the rim, which is as much as 100 feet above your head, but with many large room structures at the sandy bed. Yes, there are many very narrow spots as well, but what was so different from the other two slots we also visited yesterday, was the spaciousness of many areas of the canyon. In fact, it's difficult to get a sense of just how large parts of the canyon are without including people in your shots (like here) in order to get a sense of scale. Also, almost needless to say, the place lends itself to mostly vertical shots.

I decided to post these first few photos as taken with my Canon G9...no touchups with Photoshop (promise!). The camera performed like a champ! I couldn't be happier with it. I took all of the shots here in full manual mode, f2.8-5.0, 1/30 - 6 second exposures on a tripod. I will add the specifics if anyone wants to know. Some photos were shot with a Raynox high-def 0.7x wide-angle conversion lens.

Please enjoy!