I love the Pacific Northwest. The rain leaves it green all year and being a Californian and an Angelino, green all year is a treat. I recently found myself with some extra time on my hands and a camera in my hands so I asked a friend for a place I could burn a couple of hours near Gresham, Oregon. Oxbow Bend Regional Park was her quick reply.
All that green comes at a cost, the cost being cloudy skies and rain. Cloud cover has one advantage: eliminating the extremes of bright sunny skies and dark shadowy forest floors. Cloudy skies are like a huge soft box over the forest making even, consistent light. On the other hand, those streaks of light and the direction of light helps separate subjects from each other and create depth of field. Taking a page from my portrait experience, I chose to make separation using depth of field. My “nifty fifty” lens opens to a wide f 1.8 and makes amazing bokeh.
Even though I live near the coastal redwoods, the moss that grows on the trees in Oregon and Washington is like magic to me. This time of year it creates a green hue throughout the forest.
Opportunity is everywhere in the forest whether looking for a calm and peaceful morning or scouting for bald eagles and ospreys.
No bald eagles or ospreys were spotted this trip. I look forward to the next chance to visit Oxbow Regional Park (even though it is over 600 miles away.)
Talkin' about the past, photographing the present 