Pretty Skies

We were fortunate to have some pretty skies up in the Palouse.  Here are some examples.

The Rolling Palouse

I had a chance to process a few more of my photos of the Palouse region of eastern Washington. These were done with a new software program I learned about from my friend John Barclay called Perfectly Clear.  It does an amazing job of eliminating the flat look that most raw files produce and really makes the photos look like you remembered the actual scene looked like when you took the photo.  Here's a few more.

Another Steptoe View

A very tranquil scene taken at sunrise from Steptoe Butte.  It seems like such a nice place to live.

Whitman County Growers

One of the more prominent subjects from Steptoe Butte was the Whitman County Growers building.  Being bright white against the green and tan fields it was hard to miss.  Here's one of many shots I took of this Palouse icon.

The Leaning Barn, June vs. August

To contrast the different color palate in the Palouse depending on the time of year, the above photo of this barn was taken about 2 weeks ago and the photo below was taken in August of 2011.  Quite a difference a couple of months make.  

 Also, quite a difference in condition of the barn a few years make.

Another Old Barn

Yep, another barn.  There are plenty of them in the Palouse.  This one obviously has seen better days.

Grain Silos

Found this interesting composition near the Dahmen Barn. 

Dahmen Barn Detail

I enjoyed taking some detail shots of this barn.  It had some nice geometrical shapes to contend with and I learned another lesson in composition with this shot.  If you notice the peak of the roof lines up with the vertical window grid, allowing a nice balanced view.  If it didn't line up, something would seem off and the photo would seem more ordinary.

Wizard of Oz House

John Barclay and Dan Sniffin called this old house, "Auntie Em's" from the Wizard of Oz movie, due to its similar appearance to the house that Dorothy lived in with her aunt and uncle. We were hoping for better skies to photograph, but at least we had some clouds.

Thunder Storm in the Palouse

On one afternoon, we were out shooting when the cloud cover started darkening and we started hearing thunder and seeing a lot of lightning in the distance. The longer we were there the closer it got to us.  Finally, the decision was made to pack up and head to calmer grounds.  But during God's show, it made for some fun photography. That's Steptoe Butte rising up on the horizon.

A Lone Tree in the Palouse

I just got back home after spending a week in the Palouse region of Washington State on a photo tour with a couple of the best photography instructors in the business, John Barclay and Dan Sniffin.  Be sure to check out their websites.  We also had a wonderful and talented group of photography participants in the tour, which made it all the more enjoyable and inspiring.  It was a fun week.  

The photo above was taken off of Steptoe Butte of a lone tree off in the distance.  It was taken in the early morning in beautiful lighting.  It's a good example of the terrain in the Palouse. There are miles and miles of low rolling hills planted with a variety of crops including wheat, lentils, garbanzo beans and canola. 

Peacock Fan

This is a fan made from peacock feathers sitting on a couch in the Perkins house in Colfax, Washington.  This 1884 Victorian style house makes you feel as though you are in the1800's.  It is full of antique furnishings of the period.  A photographer could spend all day in this house and still feel the need to stay longer. 

Old Texaco Service Station

This old Texaco service station was scheduled to be demolished when the contractor in charge decided to move it to his own property up in eastern Washington.  We got permission to go on his property to take photographs.  This is one of the many I took.  We got there right in the middle of the day so the lighting was pretty harsh, but HDR helped save the day.  

Small Town Train Stop

When I first saw this photo opportunity I was thinking it would be a good candidate for a black & white.  However, when I saw it on my computer screen it didn't do much for me.  So I thought to create more interest and to emphasize the freight train which really was the main subject of the photo, I would add back in the color of the train only.  For me it makes the photo work.  What do you think?

More Old Trucks

It seems like old vehicles that have seen better days make for great photo subjects.  I've included a few more in this post that I took up in the Palouse country of Washington.  Something about the old chipped paint and rust that makes you wonder what stories the truck could tell you if it could talk.

Gig Harbor Sloop

Just got back from visiting some good friends up in Gig Harbor, Washington.  On our last day up there we were having lunch at the harbor when this beautiful sloop comes tooling by.  I had my new Nikon point and shoot with me and had to grab a shot.  By the way, in case you couldn't tell by my photo above, Gig Harbor is a gorgeous place to visit.

Swipes

Canon 5D Mark II 1/15 sec f/32  ISO 100

These photos demonstrate a technique called a swipe.  Using a longer shutter speed, usually around 1/15th to 1/8th of a second you move the camera across a scene while taking the photo.  This causes the photo to be blurred along the direction you moved the camera.  The result is a more artistic interpretation of the scene.  Here are a couple of my attempts at swiping. 

Canon 5D Mark II 1/10 sec f/32  ISO 100

Iconic Palouse View

When I first saw this scene, I knew this was going to be for me the iconic view of the Palouse.  You've got barns, hilly terrain, wheat fields, a leading line leading your eye to a single tree and even some clouds in the sky.  However, it's one of those scenes that unless you're carefully looking for it, you would drive right by it.  But fortunately, I was with Dan Sniffin, a photographer with an uncanny sense of composition.  He was the one who discovered this very out of the way location that worked to the delight of everyone in our group.  I would love to return here at either sunrise or sunset.

Palouse Tree

This photo was taken on my last day in the Palouse.  In an earlier blog post I had a photo of this same tree taken from Steptoe Butte.  For this one we drove right up to the tree and got the opportunity to place it more prominently as the main subject.  I usually don't get too excited about trees, but this scene was as pretty in person as it is in the photo.  Once again I used the leading line of the curved edge of the field to lead your eye to the tree.  I only wished that the sky would have had a little less cloud and a little more blue.  But hey, didn't have control over that one.  Anyway, this is still one of my favorite shots that I got of the Palouse.

Barns, Barns and more Barns

Yes, there was no shortage of barns to shoot in the Palouse.  Although most of the time when we stopped to shoot a barn it wasn't in the best of light, we made the best of it and just tried to create good compositions.  The barns all seemed to be unique, either because of their shapes, color, condition or location.
 

This one on the left was different because of its round shaped roofline and because there were a couple of llamas in front of it.

  This one on the right was another of the many barns that had seen better days.

Go figure another "red" barn.  Which did beg the question as to why red became the default color for barns.  I was thinking it had to do with the availability of red pigments for paints back in the day.  Anybody have any other ideas?