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January 2012
Just as many birds in northern climates head south for the winter, so us Byrds migrated 800 miles south to the central coast of California for Christmas. Of course I (Brian) hauled all of my camera equipment with me. If I can't take pictures in Oregon due to the bad weather, then I for sure have to take advantage of the sunny winter weather down south were I grew up.
Of the six days we were visiting my parents, I went out to take photos on five of those days. Our first day out we went to the nearby Danish village of Solvang. Even though it was packed with holiday-season tourists, I still had fun exploring the unique European-style architecture, hidden away in the California coastal mountains. Once the crowds cleared a bit, we had a great European meal at the Viking Garden restaurant. As an extra bonus, we also visited Santa Inés Mission, which is located on the eastern edge of town. On the way back to Santa Maria, we also stopped at the nearby Nojoqui (Nah'-hoe-wee) Falls Park, which contains one of the few waterfalls in that part of the state. You can see all 36 photos in my new Solvang 2011 photo album.
For my next outing, I got up early and headed out to Oso Flaco Lake, in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes. This beautiful nature preserve includes a sturdy and attractive 300-yard bridge across the lake, which takes you right into the midst of the water fowl which frolic there. After crossing the lake, the bridge continues on as a boardwalk another half a mile, giving you a obstacle-free path all the way to the ocean. You'll have to decide for yourself how seriously to take the signs warning of mountain lions! In the early-morning calm, I got some great shots of the local water fowl, including ducks, Coots, Northern Shovelers, a Great Egret, and more. You can see all 22 photos in my new Oso Flaco 2011 photo album.
The next day I got up early again and headed out to my favorite beach in the area: Shell Beach. The towering cliffs are a great place to observe the numerous Western Gulls that live there. I spent about an hour tracking these birds in flight with my 600mm lens. I got some pretty amazing shots, 32 of which you can see in my new Shell Beach 2011 photo album.
For my fourth outing, I stuck closer to home, taking a walk on Christmas day along the Santa Maria River levee. From one end of the path to the other, and back again, was about six-and-a-half miles. By the time I got back to my parents' house, I was really looking forward to a good Christmas Santa Maria style barbecue. The (usually) dry river bed and rusty cliffs have their own kind of desolate beauty quite different from western Oregon where I now live. Because of the wide expanse of these cliffs, most of the photos presented in this album are wide panoramics. You can see all 10 photos in my new Santa Maria 2011 photo album.
For my final outing of the trip, I got up early once again and headed this time to Grover Beach, home of the largest Monarch butterfly grove in California. Although it was too dark or cold or early to see any butterflies, I did get quite a few shots of a Snowy Egret I was following around as it was feeding in the creek. The early-morning sun cast a firey glow in some of the other photos. You can see all 11 photos in my new Grover Beach 2011 photo album.
After buying my first single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, in junior high school 36 years ago (in 1976), and then giving it away at the end of college in 1985, I finally returned to an SLR (actually an SLT — single-lens translucent camera) at the beginning of March 2011 (see Brian's Photographic Journey for more details). During those ten months of 2011, I took way more than 10,000 photos in many locations all over Oregon and California. You can browse the best hundreds of these photos by clicking over to my Photo Album Table of Contents.
I've been entering some of these photos in the monthly competitions of the Albany Valley Viewfinders Camera Club which I joined in October 2011. For the past three months I have been winning awards at each meeting. I've gathered all the award-winning photos — as of January 14th there are eleven — into one album. aptly named Award Winners. As more of my photos (hopefully) win awards in the coming months and years, I will be adding them to this album. Check back throughout the year to find out which of my photos have been making the grade.
When I recently ran across a stunning photo of Thor's Well at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, only two-hours' drive from my house, I wondered why I had never visited there, seeing it was so close.
So a couple of weeks ago, when an extra high tide was occurring at mid-morning, and there was also a storm high surf advisory, and there was no rain, I realized that it was the perfect conditions for making the trip. With the turbulent sea slamming against the coastal volcanic rocks, I was able to get some great shots.
After searching for Thor's Well, and then talking to the park rangers, I finally located it. But because it was at the end of a rocky tide pool peninsula, I didn't have the courage to defy the roaring sea to take photos close up, like other photographers have done. Instead, I settled for using my longest telephoto lens, and shooting from the top of the cliffs. You can see all 34 photos in my new Cape Perpetua 2012 photo album.
The BIG news for this third week of the new year is massive rain, snow and flooding in the Pacific Northwest. And wouldn't you know, the first — and so far, only — deaths have occured right here in Albany. The fields behind our house are getting pretty flooded — here are some before and after photos (click on the photos to see larger versions in my new Albany Flood 2012 photo album.):
The latest news at 6:00 AM on Friday 20 January is that the Willamette River will reach flood stage in Albany (25 feet) around 4:00 PM this afternoon. As you can see from the graph to the left, the river is expected to rise to 26.35 feet (1.35 feet over flood stage), and finally start sinking below flood stage by late Saturday afternoon, about 24 hours later.
You can click on the graph to see the most recent version on the National Weather Service Web site. It's unclear at this point how this flooding will impact the city of Albany, and if our house will be in any danger. We are living about 325 yards from the Calapooia River, (pronounced: cal-uh-POOH-yuh) which for now does not seem to be in danger of overflowing. I'm going to walk over there later this morning and try to get some photos to post here.
OK ... I'm back. Not only did I walk down the street to the Calapooia River (the map to the right shows how close we are!), but I also drove to downtown Albany to see how the Willamette River was getting along. I got some really great shots, including 6 panorama photos. You can see all 32 pictures in my new Albany Flood 2012 photo album. The Calapooia was pretty high — be sure to check out the photo in the album.
The latest flood news is that it appears the Willamette River will not pass flood stage, and when I checked on the Calapooia River by our house late this afternoon, it wasn't any higher than it was this morning. So for now, I guess we're OK ... we really dodged the bullet on that one!
Now today, Saturday 21 January, I saw this article on the Albany Democrat Herald Web site: Calapooia threatens Oakville area. Oakville Road is on the WEST side of the Calapooia, while we live on the EAST side. Apparently, the west side is a bit lower, and so the high waters of the Calapooia area leaking into that area, and sparing our side. Check out this video, which, from 0:25 to 1:46 shows flooding of the Calapooia, two to three miles south of our house. After that, the video shows flooding along the Willamette River, around the area I was taking pictures yesterday in downtown Albany. At around 2:50 you begin to see (now underwater) Bryant Park, where the Calapooia enters the Willamette. Wow! It's been a busy month already, and there's still more to come!
The next big news is that Joanne turned 18 on the 24th! After all these years of preparation, she has finally reached the legal age of adulthood!
We celebrated by heading for Eugene to have dinner at the Red Lobster, and then to catch the concert of Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and cellist Natalie Haas. It was a great concert — see the video below for a small sample of what we experienced.
And now the next big news is that today, two days after Joanne's birthday, she passed her driving exam! After months of hard work and preparation, she got a 95% on her driving exam, and the examiner even wrote on the evaluation in French: "Très bien" ("Very good")! Hip, hip, hurray! Congratulations Joanne!!
I don't think that I've mentioned yet that Joanne and Jeremy are taking a writing class at Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC), which is conveniently only one-and-a-quarter miles from our house (as the crow flies). This is their first official college course. And today is the first day that Joanne will officially drive her and Jeremy to class all by herself!
There's even more happening in January, so be sure to check back soon. Until then....
Of the six days we were visiting my parents, I went out to take photos on five of those days. Our first day out we went to the nearby Danish village of Solvang. Even though it was packed with holiday-season tourists, I still had fun exploring the unique European-style architecture, hidden away in the California coastal mountains. Once the crowds cleared a bit, we had a great European meal at the Viking Garden restaurant. As an extra bonus, we also visited Santa Inés Mission, which is located on the eastern edge of town. On the way back to Santa Maria, we also stopped at the nearby Nojoqui (Nah'-hoe-wee) Falls Park, which contains one of the few waterfalls in that part of the state. You can see all 36 photos in my new Solvang 2011 photo album.
For my next outing, I got up early and headed out to Oso Flaco Lake, in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes. This beautiful nature preserve includes a sturdy and attractive 300-yard bridge across the lake, which takes you right into the midst of the water fowl which frolic there. After crossing the lake, the bridge continues on as a boardwalk another half a mile, giving you a obstacle-free path all the way to the ocean. You'll have to decide for yourself how seriously to take the signs warning of mountain lions! In the early-morning calm, I got some great shots of the local water fowl, including ducks, Coots, Northern Shovelers, a Great Egret, and more. You can see all 22 photos in my new Oso Flaco 2011 photo album.
The next day I got up early again and headed out to my favorite beach in the area: Shell Beach. The towering cliffs are a great place to observe the numerous Western Gulls that live there. I spent about an hour tracking these birds in flight with my 600mm lens. I got some pretty amazing shots, 32 of which you can see in my new Shell Beach 2011 photo album.
For my fourth outing, I stuck closer to home, taking a walk on Christmas day along the Santa Maria River levee. From one end of the path to the other, and back again, was about six-and-a-half miles. By the time I got back to my parents' house, I was really looking forward to a good Christmas Santa Maria style barbecue. The (usually) dry river bed and rusty cliffs have their own kind of desolate beauty quite different from western Oregon where I now live. Because of the wide expanse of these cliffs, most of the photos presented in this album are wide panoramics. You can see all 10 photos in my new Santa Maria 2011 photo album.
For my final outing of the trip, I got up early once again and headed this time to Grover Beach, home of the largest Monarch butterfly grove in California. Although it was too dark or cold or early to see any butterflies, I did get quite a few shots of a Snowy Egret I was following around as it was feeding in the creek. The early-morning sun cast a firey glow in some of the other photos. You can see all 11 photos in my new Grover Beach 2011 photo album.
After buying my first single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, in junior high school 36 years ago (in 1976), and then giving it away at the end of college in 1985, I finally returned to an SLR (actually an SLT — single-lens translucent camera) at the beginning of March 2011 (see Brian's Photographic Journey for more details). During those ten months of 2011, I took way more than 10,000 photos in many locations all over Oregon and California. You can browse the best hundreds of these photos by clicking over to my Photo Album Table of Contents.
I've been entering some of these photos in the monthly competitions of the Albany Valley Viewfinders Camera Club which I joined in October 2011. For the past three months I have been winning awards at each meeting. I've gathered all the award-winning photos — as of January 14th there are eleven — into one album. aptly named Award Winners. As more of my photos (hopefully) win awards in the coming months and years, I will be adding them to this album. Check back throughout the year to find out which of my photos have been making the grade.
So a couple of weeks ago, when an extra high tide was occurring at mid-morning, and there was also a storm high surf advisory, and there was no rain, I realized that it was the perfect conditions for making the trip. With the turbulent sea slamming against the coastal volcanic rocks, I was able to get some great shots.
After searching for Thor's Well, and then talking to the park rangers, I finally located it. But because it was at the end of a rocky tide pool peninsula, I didn't have the courage to defy the roaring sea to take photos close up, like other photographers have done. Instead, I settled for using my longest telephoto lens, and shooting from the top of the cliffs. You can see all 34 photos in my new Cape Perpetua 2012 photo album.
The BIG news for this third week of the new year is massive rain, snow and flooding in the Pacific Northwest. And wouldn't you know, the first — and so far, only — deaths have occured right here in Albany. The fields behind our house are getting pretty flooded — here are some before and after photos (click on the photos to see larger versions in my new Albany Flood 2012 photo album.):
You can click on the graph to see the most recent version on the National Weather Service Web site. It's unclear at this point how this flooding will impact the city of Albany, and if our house will be in any danger. We are living about 325 yards from the Calapooia River, (pronounced: cal-uh-POOH-yuh) which for now does not seem to be in danger of overflowing. I'm going to walk over there later this morning and try to get some photos to post here.
The latest flood news is that it appears the Willamette River will not pass flood stage, and when I checked on the Calapooia River by our house late this afternoon, it wasn't any higher than it was this morning. So for now, I guess we're OK ... we really dodged the bullet on that one!
Now today, Saturday 21 January, I saw this article on the Albany Democrat Herald Web site: Calapooia threatens Oakville area. Oakville Road is on the WEST side of the Calapooia, while we live on the EAST side. Apparently, the west side is a bit lower, and so the high waters of the Calapooia area leaking into that area, and sparing our side. Check out this video, which, from 0:25 to 1:46 shows flooding of the Calapooia, two to three miles south of our house. After that, the video shows flooding along the Willamette River, around the area I was taking pictures yesterday in downtown Albany. At around 2:50 you begin to see (now underwater) Bryant Park, where the Calapooia enters the Willamette. Wow! It's been a busy month already, and there's still more to come!
We celebrated by heading for Eugene to have dinner at the Red Lobster, and then to catch the concert of Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and cellist Natalie Haas. It was a great concert — see the video below for a small sample of what we experienced.
And now the next big news is that today, two days after Joanne's birthday, she passed her driving exam! After months of hard work and preparation, she got a 95% on her driving exam, and the examiner even wrote on the evaluation in French: "Très bien" ("Very good")! Hip, hip, hurray! Congratulations Joanne!!
I don't think that I've mentioned yet that Joanne and Jeremy are taking a writing class at Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC), which is conveniently only one-and-a-quarter miles from our house (as the crow flies). This is their first official college course. And today is the first day that Joanne will officially drive her and Jeremy to class all by herself!
There's even more happening in January, so be sure to check back soon. Until then....