Oregon
Cannon Beach, Oregon
We took a trip at the end of August 2011 to Cannon Beach with the Morisseau clan. Had a pretty nice place right near Haystack Rock and got some decent shots of it. The house going up right across our street was JUST being built, so it’d knock out our nice view of the rock next year.
The hot tub was pretty nice. It got cold, but the kids thought it was a pretty great bath tub. We got a game (I think a full one?) of cornhole in with the boards Pete hauled over. We took a trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for Mills 2nd birthday. Man, there’s a lot of cheese there…
We roasted marshmallows one day at the beach, dug some pretty deep holes in the sand and found some sand-shrimp thanks to the tireless efforts of Derek, but it was pretty much filled-in by the next day.
All-in-all the kids had a really great time. The wind got blowing out on the coast, so they got a bit sandy, but a fun time nonetheless…
This photo here is a 180 degree shot from the house in front of us one night when the clouds were particularly poppy…
The Mediocrely Dark Tree Near Kent, OR
This shot really made me mad – Photomatix has been letting me down lately as I’ll edit the photo how I want it, and when the process comes in, the shot is very dark. I’ve tried to compensate by brightening the photo before I process it, but I’m just not as happy with the program lately – another sign I spend too much time trying to perfect it. So it is…
Barbed Wire Tree
I wasn’t going to keep this one in the mix to process because the whole point of getting the post of the fence in the picture was to be able to get the texture of the grain in it, but I under exposed the shot and wasn’t able to pull any of the texture or color out of it. I’m a fan of the barbed wire shots and it’s clearly cut into 3rds, and was easy enough on the eyes that I decided it could still fly anyway, here you be…
Crooked River Ranch, May 2009
When we were in Bend earlier this year, I remembered that I had a bunch of photos that I hadn’t processed from the LAST time we were there. I remember I took a handful on the golf course. Jay and I played with these guys that were very into the game, but very horrid at the game. They had bad tempers.,
We also have some shots of the windmills along the Columbia River, and some snapshots at Grampa’s house. Lilla and Chloe and their rabbits. I don’t remember what they named them, but one was like “Lollipop Johns” or something.
One shot in there is a an abandoned house I found. I want to say it is of this one HERE, but I’ve been wrong before… 
A Dying Tree
I always like stumbling onto these trees – the downside is that it is usually on the highway somewhere and I’ll need to pull over fast or else turn around at the next exit; either way makes Heather ask what the hell I’m doing. To my side of the story though, I don’t ever do it if there are cars right on my ass behind me. This is along highway 97 also just past the Shoe Tree (that is no longer there because some chump burned it down) – it’s not got any shoes in it, but still makes for a pretty dramatic shot.
Another Old Barn in Oregon
If you are a watcher of any of my shots, I really like to photograph old rundown barns and structures. This one I think was outside of Shaniko around HERE somewhere. Heather wanted to get home quick, but we’ve driven by this place like 283 times without stopping. Thought it’d be a good stop; think it was.
An Old Gas Station in Kent, Oregon
Heather’s dad always said that he wanted to stop by this gas station and shoot a couple of shots of the old gas pumps. I thought I’d do that for him; coincidentally the site had a few other really good shots in it. Again the bane of my existence is photo processing. There always seems to be one more thing I want to change up, or a color I’m looking to find, but I think I found most of the big ones in here on these shots.
Off One Bridge And To The Next – Biggs, OR
This is along the Columbia River, right about HERE. I was thinking of hacking off the right side of it, but the pillar was supposed to be a key piece of it, but the clear days make for some crappy halo’ing effects around it. The left side of the photo is far more interesting anyway, right?
Abandoned Church on The Way To Bend Oregon
Another shot of the old abandoned church in Grass Valley, OR. You can see it from the highway HERE, look in the back-middle of the Google map to see it. 
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Grass Valley Methodist Church – Oregon 2009
We’ve driven by THIS old abandoned church 3 or 4 times and finally decided to stop and take a few shots – will post more later, but this one was my favorite from the mix and is one of the first I’ve used Adobe Lightroom for. It’s definitely a program that I’m going to keep in the arsenal going forward – Thanks Christine!
Rounding The Corner – Biggs, OR 2007
This was another one of our trips to Bend to visit Heather’s dad. They’ve really got a lot of good shots in the town. This one was actually directly in front of my shot of Dinty’s but just pointed towards the town.
The Shoe Tree Near Shaniko OR, 2008
I had to throw in the colorless (mostly) version of THIS photo. I really love the starkness it causes and gives off a bit of eeriness. I thought this a better shot than then one of used underwear next to it.
Abandoned House Near Goldendale
We’ve driven by this house a handful of times over the years. It’s right outside Goldendale, WA and near the windmills that are going up along the Columbia river. It was amazing how clean the house was on the inside – you’d think varmints and bushes would overrun it, but maybe the owners of the land keep it clean or something. It’s scarily interesting and just off the highway.
I just got myself a new wide-angle lens (and 4gb memory card) this week when I went in for just a battery charger. It’s an addictive habit the guy at the shop told me.
Shaniko Shoe Tree 2
Couldn’t quite figure this one out, but we’ve seen it before on the drive down to Bend, OR, but the “shoe tree” needs its own bit… It’s a sight to see, so is the undergarments tree next to it, but far more interesting to look at.
Dinty’s Restaurant in Biggs, OR
This one got snapped on the way to Bend, OR. I was initially just looking to try capturing the big red bridge that spans the Columbia River (you can see it in the back), but it gets a bit dwarfed by the old sign and gas pumps.
Biggs gets pretty warm during the summer so everything around the area is extremely sun bleached. The buildings that stood around this shot were all rusted white and the pavement looked like it had gotten a fresh paste of asphalt, so it smelled new, even though nobody had eaten at this restaurant for many years…
Gas Pump Over Columbia River
A lone gas pump in Biggs, Oregon that is no longer in operation – wished the numbers could have come out a little clearer. I remember this was a stopping point a lot for baseball trips in school, but never really walked around to see what I could find (nor had a camera I guess either though).
The “Shoe Tree” Near Shaniko, Oregon
Although the “shoe tree” may not be its official name, this bizarre looking, shoe-decorated dead tree stands just ten yards from U.S. 97 highway shoulder, exactly at milepost 53 just north of Shaniko, OR. We breezed past it pretty fast, but make a quick stop to turn around.
Funny story – I was with Heather and the little ladies, and these 3 tough guys got out of their car and started walking towards our car as I was out jumping the fence to get a closer look at the tree. I kinda started heading back towards our car to see what was up and apparently all the wanted was a snap. Paranoia I guess…
