Photo Gallery One - New Work (Diamond Lake, OR (Part 3))
With this gallery our trip comes to an end. Well, not exactly as we spent 4 days with our kids and grandkids in Sublimity, Oregon before heading east for the long drive home. Of course, trips like this never really end as we will enjoy the photos and fond memories for years to come.
We begin this segment with a couple of nice waterfalls - Fall Creek Falls (Image 1-1) and then a smaller and very unique waterfall (Image 1-2) on Fall Creek but about 1/4 mile downstream. I really liked the shape and intrigue of this fall dropping into a bowl and then flowing out the side (not shown here). Our Peaceful Path (Image 1-3) is part of the trail system that leads from the parking lot to/from Fall Creek Falls and the photo containing Mimi (Image 1-4) is a very narrow passage which is about 30 yards long that reminded me of the slot canyons we so enjoyed in Arizona and Utah. Of course, those were formed of red sandstone while this was a different rock and fully enveloped by the green moss so common in this region.
Image 1-5 is a nice contrast between the colors and shapes of the leaves seen here while our Spring Beauty (Image 1-6) stands out nicely against the soft and diffused green background created by other plants' leaves.
Yes, we're back at it again with our Barrow's Goldeneye ducks on Diamond Lake. Our light has improved somewhat showing off more of the iridescent color of the male's head (Image 1-7), and I am not certain I can (or care to speculate) what the male is doing in the next photo (Image 1-8). You'll have to come up with your own special caption. It was very interesting to watch them interact while on the lake with moves that seemed to imply they were courting.
Image 1-9 shows the conditions we encountered at National Creek Falls. Regrettably the area around the base of the falls was quite a mess with islands of frozen snow and fallen trees preventing any decent composition from our side of the creek. With the volume of water and ice on every tree spanning the creek, we had no way to cross to the other side that offered better views. The blessing and curse with waterfalls is always: too little water - they are less photogenic; too much water (our situation here) - you can't get close without getting drenched. We weren't drenched but certainly damp, standing in and on many inches of snow. Image 1-10 is a roadside view of a rock formation aptly called "Rabbit Ears" while Image 1-11 is a nice view of the very sharp peak (elevation 9,184 feet) of Mt. Thielsen visible from much of the region.
Sorry, but here are a few more of my favorites from the Barrow's Goldeneye collection (Images 1-12, 1-13, and 1-14). We'll quickly switch gears here and move on to some local wildflowers. Image 1-15 is, I believe, a Pacific Iris while Image 1-16 is a beautiful and fresh Columbine bloom. We'll leave with two images from our final stop heading down the mountain toward our time with family. Image 1-17 is a log that forms a small obstruction on Fall Creek. I found the shape, colors, and smoothness of this feature very interesting, although not as photogenic as I had hoped (it was the sole reason for stopping here on the way down as I had seen it on an earlier visit and passed on shooting then). The very last image (1-18) is yet another of the small falls on Fall Creek with cool lines and structure.
We hope you enjoyed these galleries, Our next new gallery will be a couple of weeks down the road after a short trip to Florida where we will have the opportunity to revisit the very first and very last stop from our anniversary trip in January.
