Evening at the Carnival

Beached

The Farm House on the Hill

Too Much Time on Dry Land

Recently took a drive up to Washington State to shoot and hike around Mt. St. Helens.

The weather had other plans that day. The mountain was completely obscured by clouds. I was able to shoot a few shots of misty trees and things (I may post in the future) but no volcano vistas.

With Plan "A" down for the count, I moved on to Plan "B" which was to include a trip to a nearby Wolf Sanctuary.

This is where I would post a really nice shot of a wolf and tell you all how wonderful this place is. Then I would recommend it highly and give you the name, address and phone number so you could go visit it yourself. Of course I would also suggest giving generously to help care for the wolves.

Well I would do all that, if I had planned better.

The reason there are no photos is because I was not allowed to shoot any. I brought a 400mm lens and was all ready to shoot some wolves and praise the place for its work and pay for a tour and donate some extra cash to help out a bit. But the management had other plans.

I could have called ahead to arrange a photo pass or something of that nature, but since I only found out about the place the evening before in the hotel lobby, after a 13 hour drive from Elko, I skipped a call ahead. Lesson learned.

Plan "B" gone to the dogs I gave up shooting for the day and went to the beach for a picnic. After that I drove off to see David Gray at the Mountain Music Festival in Redmond. Two words, "Great show!" I can hardly contain my excitement for the November 2nd show in Salt Lake.

Day 2 (Plan "C")

Drove west on highway 4 down the Columbia River to see if I could salvage the photo trip. It did not take long before I came upon a small picturesque town called Skamokawa. It had everything I love to shoot. There were boats (old and new), bridges, water, old churches, rusty farm machinery, green meadows, wildlife and a run down boat house that just stole the show for me.

The above photo was taken at the old boat house.

Well I quicky ran out of time and had to start driving back.

I am going back for the upcoming three day weekend to do some camping and shoot more of that town. I will also go out to the end of the road and see Long Beach and Astoria. Stay tuned for the photos.

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For the wolves I will say that if you have a chance to go to Wolf Haven in Tenino, Washington, you should go. Here is a link to the information that would have been useful for me had I had more time to plan it. Maybe on that three day weekend... who knows.

Wolf Haven Media Kit

Misty Mountain Drive

Quixote's Bane

Horse and Meadow

Colt Education

Covered Wagon

If you look closely at this photo, just below the window, you may see the rope and handle from posts earlier this week.

School's Out

An abandoned school bus I found on the way out to a gold mine south of Elko.

Handled

Samantha

Over the weekend I dabbled in model photography at a workshop in Salt Lake.
The model is Samantha.

Salt Lake City Photography Workshops & Learning Group can be found on Meet Up, a web based community designed to help people find others who share their interest or cause, and form lasting, influential, local community groups that regularly meet face-to-face.

Fit to be Tied

Oldsmobile Badge

Kay DubYa

Cat Tails

Pussywillows and Cat-tails

Isn't it funny how some things remind you of other things?
When I look at this photo, I find myself humming a song by the great Gordon Lightfoot.

It goes something like this

Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses
Rainpools in the woodland, water to my knees
Shivering, quivering, the warm breath of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Catbirds and cornfields, daydreams together
Riding on the roadside, the dust gets in your eyes
Reveling, disheveling, the summer nights can bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Slanted rays and colored days, stark blue horizons
Naked limbs and wheat bins, hazy afternoons
Voicing, rejoicing, the wine cups do bring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

Harsh nights and candlelights, woodfires a-blazin'
Soft lips and fingertips resting in my soul
Treasuring, remembering, the promise of spring
Pussywillows, cat-tails, soft winds and roses

-Gordon Lightfoot

Hamilton Ruins

Hamilton, Nevada is a ghost town in the White Pine Mountains in White Pine County.
Once the County Seat of White Pine County it had its day between 1868 and 1869 with the discovery of Silver nearby.
The decline started shortly after 1869, the County Seat changed to nearby Ely in 1887, but the final nail in the coffin came in 1931 when the Post Office closed its doors forever.
The only thing left in the town are ruins like these, (and yesterday's post) a cemetery and old mining gear scattered on the landscape (seen in previous posts).

Collapsed

Two collapsed homes in Hamilton, a ghost town, off Highway 50

Duck at Ruby Lake

The Bridge to Nowhere?

Isn't that strange? A bridge named "The Bridge to Nowhere"
I looked and it certainly looks like somewhere to me.

Signs and Skies

Don't look back.

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