Late Pictures of Fall Color in Central Oregon
As is usually the case I made a long list of fall color images that I wanted to capture this year and time flew, weather was uncooperative and I missed many of my dream shots but did get some Oregon fall color photos worthy of sharing. The following group photos have little to with one another aside from the fact that they are all from Central Oregon’s High Desert vicinity. In general, I didn’t find this fall color season to be remarkable. The early snows dampened expectations but some late color did burst out, especially in the riparian areas of lower elevation. The first group of photos is from a location where I’ve never gotten any worthy images and frankly This fall offered the best color I’ve ever seen along the Crooked River. These images are from the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint, which is located where Highway 97 crosses the Crooked River North of Terrebonne, Oregon.
Fall color in the riparian area along Central Oregon's Crooked River.
According to my keen recollection of American History(and the big sign in the parking lot) Peter Skene Ogden was working for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1825 when he led the first recorded journey into the Crooked River Basin not far from the current Crooked River Bridge. I presume that is why this viewpoint is named after Ogden rather than something catchy like “Pacific crest Stock Scenic Viewpoint”! The yellow fall colors were more vibrant than I’ve ever seen in this location and the reds weren’t bad either! The rock pattern also helps with this otherwise simple image. Facing in the opposite direction and downstream, the Crooked River Canyon carves a deep serpentine path through 300 foot tall basalt cliffs. Some great clouds, the distant Black Butte, and the previously mentoned fall color make this a worthy photograph.
The Crooked River carves its way through basalt cliffs with a distant Black Butte in this photo
Looking back upstream from the same Crooked River Bridge which is closed to cars but open to people( this made me nervous at first!) One sees the obvious yet attractive Rex T. Barber Memorial Bridge. Rex was something of a Hero during world War II. He was born in nearby Culver, Oregon and was drafted into World War II. Rex T. Barber was an ace fighter pilot who is widely credited with shooting down and killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto who was the planner of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor thereby initiating WWII. In other words, Rex really was a hero. Rex served in the military for 20 years and after a very successful stint flying P-38 lightnings, he was eventually shot down over China. He survived the crash and five weeks later he was escorted back to allied forces by Chinese civilians. Rex returned to Central Oregon after the war where he was an insurance agent, judge, mayor of Culver and a huge civic booster. I don’t usually get moved by these Memorial plaque tales by this one really was somewhat touching to me. I also am hesistant to include man made objects in my landscape photographs, but for Rex T. Barber I’ll make an exception. Below is the handsome Rex T. Barber Memorial Bridge high above the Crooked River canyon and it’s luminous fall color.
Picture of the Rex T. Barber Veteran's Memorial Bridge high above the Crooked River Canyon, in Central Oregon
Another High desert Photography favorite , Smith Rock State Park also had some great fall color this year. Below is an attractive sunrise casting a delicate pink glow on one of the main rock formations at Smith Rock. It may not be as stunning as Troy’s sunset image from this same location found in this blog entry Smith Rock Photos but the delicate predawn light works well with the fall color in the riparian areas at the base of Smith Rock’s massive rock formations.
Picture of early morning light at Central Oregon's Smith Rock State Park
Slightly to the North of this scene lies the famed Morning Glory wall and “the Dihedrals”, favorites of rock climbers around the world. I’ve been to the morning glory wall area many times but I’ve struggled with lighting there. The following image of the Morning Glory Wall and the dihedrals with fall color and cumulous clouds makes for a good stock photo.
Photo/Picture of Morning glory wall and the dihedrals at Smith Rock State Park
On the same pleasantly cloudy day I shifted over a touch and took an obligatory photograph from the main viewpoint at Smith Rock State Park. Normally I avoid this spot as it is a bit cliched but I couldn’t resist because of the great clouds that were floating above the scene.
Picture/Photo from the main viewpoint at Smith Rock State Park
Finally We’ll leave Smith Rock behind after one more image. This rock formation is referred to as “the Monument” Stunningly vertical, is calls to some like no other rock formation in Central Oregon. I merely think of it as the scene that launched a thousand psychiatric evaluations for my Pacific Crest partner, Troy. To learn more about Troy’s struggles, visit this previous blog entry. Smith Rock Photo phychosis. It’s a good shot but mostly I included this image in this particular blog entry in an effort to torture Troy. He’ll be back at the monument later today nervously composing scenes and incoherently mumbling to himself like Milton in the classic movie, “Office Space”.
Troy's Folly, sunrise light on the monument at Smith Rock State Park
I’ve included this next and final photo of aspen trees with some great color not so much because I love the image but because I felt obligated to mention it. I’ve been there so many times that it feels like a distant cousin who I feel obligated to invite to Thanksgiving dinner because they live two blocks away. Anyway, here are my distant cousin aspen trees!
Central Oregon aspen trees in full fall color
If any of our blog readers have fall color suggestions for next year please let us know. For some of our other fall color images, please visit our main Pacific Crest website by following the following link Pacific Crest Images . Thanks for visiting our photo blog!
All the Best,
Mike Putnam
Oregon Stock Photo Success, PremierWest Bank’s Annual Report!
I feel the need to write this blog entry because my friend and partner in Pacific Crest Stock , Troy McMullin, is shy. OK, maybe not shy but he is humble. If you’ve read any of his blog entries here on the Pacific Crest Stock Photography Blog, you’ll notice a theme of self-deprecating humor. Despite his many talents, Troy has always been humble almost to a fault yet his passion for Oregon stock photos drives him to continue to improve his photography. Despite being one of the smartest people I know, very quick witted, a dedicated family man, a home improvement wiz(this might be an exaggeration, but he did repaint some of his house last weekend!), and a remarkable endurance athlete (he’s consistently finished well in the Central Oregon Pole Pedal Paddle race in the individual men’s category), he is also an excellent photographer. It’s been fun watching Troy’s progression from a tiny point and shoot camera to the Pro-Canon 5D that he currently shoots. His work has improved accordingly to the point that he is a highly talented Professional Photographer. It’s pretty Cool! To support my argument that Troy, despite his arguments to the contrary, has become an excellent photographer, I give you the following evidence!
Premier West Bank Annual Report front cover. Strawberry Mountains in the background Photo by Troy McMullin!
Yeah, that is Troy’s photo on the cover of the newly released annual report for PremierWest Bank. The shot looks great, the cover looks great, and the graphics are great. The back cover(which I might like even better) is also pretty exceptional. It is seen below.
Premier West Bank Annual Report Back Cover. Oregon Stock Photo by Troy McMullin!
I love how the fence on the back cover draws me into the image. When the annual report is opened up you can see the entire image, which doubles the effect of this Oregon Stock Photo. Troy took this image while on a photography journey in the Strawberry Mountain area of Eastern Oregon, which he recently documented in a Blog entry and which can be found here, Eastern Oregon Gems. Please visit that link to read Troy’s story about capturing this excellent stock photo. Troy will argue that this image is a result of an impulsive reaction to an attractive cloud formation but I beg to differ. I think that this is the sort of shot that only a great stock photographer captures. He recognized great photographic subject matter that was not his target for the day. He then temporarily changed his plans, and worked with what was available (great field, great fence, great clouds and great mountains) to capture a great stock photo. Frankly, this is one of the best Eastern Oregon photos I’ve ever seen!
A special thanks goes out to the good people at PremierWest Bank for licensing our image. Kaleene Connelly and the rest of the PremierWest team were great to work with as they were professional and personable throughout the whole licensing process. Thank You PremierWest Bank!
Incidentally, I’d like to thank another contact at PremierWest, Deanna Crouser. She is the Manager of the Redmond, Oregon branch of PremierWest, another very professional, organized and likable PremierWest employee. I’m not sure if she had any influence on the good people in the PremierWest graphics and marketing department finding us at Pacific Crest Stock but if she did, Thanks to her too! A couple of years ago I negotiated with Deanna regarding some Fine art prints for their Redmond branch. The Prints did not work out but Deanna did buy a print for her personal fine art collection. Thanks to Deanna for that and thanks for the possible referral!
Finally, congratulations to Troy for a great cover shot and another great Oregon Stock photo in his collection. Troy, don’t be so humble! To see more of Troy’s excellent photos, please visit his portfolio on our Pacific Crest Stock website. Troy’s Portfolio
High Desert Photo Gallery
Lakes, Rivers and Streams Gallery
Oregon Cascades Mountain Gallery
Pacific Coast Photo Gallery
Trees, Forests, Flowers and Meadows Gallery
