A Few From 2012

At the end of the year – I like this process of digging through the year’s photo shoebox and culling it to a few that I find striking.  Is there a unifying theme among the group?  No – not really.  But for some quirky reason or another – they’ve made the list.

So (in mostly) no particular order – here are a few from the year.

Here a man  at an assisted living home holds onto an ornament given to him by a six year old girl.  Her church group had visited to sing Christmas carols.From the NW Art & Air Festival.  Two photos – two photos of hands.  Hmmm….

Another one from the NW Art & Air Festival.

My wife and daughter really enjoyed the butterfly farm.  I know this particular butterfly is not quite “picture perfect” – but I really liked the contrast with this photo.

From the Philomath Classic Car Show – shot with a Lensbaby – if I recall correctly it was the Sweet 35 optic.

Coaching instructions to the Inn Keepers during rehearsal for the annual Christmas pageant.

Butterflies and flowers in the same list!  This one from the Wooden Show annual tulip festival.  Fun with the fisheye.

Someone quipped that this may be the most photographed tree in the world.  It’s possible.  This is from our afternoon at the Portland Japanese Garden.  Every time I open this photo up in Lightroom – I tweak it – still trying to get the oranges / reds / yellows / greens to match the photo in my head.

I have a blog post somewhere in the Drafts folder on our afternoon at the Portland Japanese Garden – but until I dig it up and dust it off – here’s another one.

From the Oregon Special Olympics – bocce ball.  I’ll be honest – I spent a few frames trying to get this one.  Not sure why – but I just really wanted to catch the ball bouncing with the trailing artificial dirt springing in the air. When you’re shooting rodeo – it’s seldom a good idea to have this shot on your proof sheet. 

It’s not often that two bull riding shots would make the list (typically it’s steer wrestling or saddle / bareback bronc …).  Here’s another one from the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo.

From a family shoot this last fall – they made sure to bring their Orange and Black. A heck of a lot of fun.  Go Beavers!

Some wild irises from a sunrise shoot with Jim at Finley Wildlife Refuge.Here’s Jim and Hugh walking back to the car after our last photo shoot together.  We miss you, Hugh.

It’s a Wrap! The 2012 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk – Corvallis, OR

On Saturday morning, we had about a dozen folks at the Garden of Gentle \Breeze, a newly opened Japanese garden here in Corvallis, for the 2012 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk.  This year there were over 1,300 walk locations around the world with more than 32,000 registered walkers.

After four months of essentially no measurable rain here in the Willamette Valley, the dry spell gave way to rain most of the day on Friday.  And it didn’t look all that promising for Saturday.  But, as it turned out, the weather was mild during the walk – and dare I say, it was a pleasant morning?

None of these images will likely make the medals podium – but I thought I’d share a few from the morning.

The gardens are closed now for the winter, but next spring, if you happen to be in the Willamette Valley and like strolling through gardens, put this stop on your list.

And, if you’d like to read more on the Corvallis walk – check out Kat’s post here.

Friday Fone Foto

This one is from Saturday morning at the annual NW Art & Air Festival held in Albany, Oregon.  This year they had more than 30 balloons out.

If you happen to be on Instagram – you can check out my entire feed at Camera47.

5th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk: Corvallis, Oregon

Hi all – Scott Kelby has just announced his 5th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk – happening on Saturday 13 October 2012.  This year, the Corvallis, OR walk will be at the new Japanese-style garden, Garden of Gentle Breeze.

The owner of the property has kindly given our group private access to the gardens during the time of the walk.

For all of the Corvallis walk details – hit the link.  If you’re looking for general Worldwide Photo Walk details (and possibly for a walk near you) –here’s the link to get you started.

The Instagram photos are from my scouting visit.

Out and About at the Oregon Zoo

Out with the family at the Oregon Zoo.  And, of course, I brought a camera…

Here are a few pics – but I’m not sure that I’ve correctly labeled each animal.  So – if you see an error – feel free to correct me in the comments below – and we can fill out our zoo animal bingo card together. 

1. Sea Otter
2. Visayan Warty Pig
3. Reticulated Giraffe
4. Asian Elephant
5. African Red-Billed Hornbill (?)
6. Cool looking turtle…

(Is it just me or does the giraffe look like it’s playing a game of hide-and-seek with the gazelles? )

Rodeo Week: Rough Stock

And to wrap up Rodeo Week – here are a few rough stock photos from the 2012 Philomath Frolic and Rodeo.

The concept?  Just hold on for 8 seconds with one hand.

In no particular order:

• Bareback bronc.
• Bull riding.
• Readying for a bull ride.
• Saddle bronc.
• Not all rides go to plan.
• Saddle bronc.
• Bareback bronc.
• Time to move to another shooting location. 

Rodeo Week: Bullfighters

Two good guys: Cody Harsch and Jason McCall.  In the bottom photo – you can see Jason wearing a GoPro camera on his hat (provided by Paul King).

Rodeo Week Bonus: Donkey Racing!

OK – maybe Donkey Racing isn’t much of a bonus    – but I thought I’d just share it with you all (just in case you’ve not yet had a chance to see this).

The idea is straight forward: A team of two has a single donkey. One person rides the donkey (with no saddle) the length of the arena – while the other often has the rope – hopefully guiding the donkey and rider down the course. Then the teammates swap positions and the other one rides the donkey to the finish line. Easy concept – difficult in execution.

Over the years – I’ve seen a number of techniques – neither of these are uncommon.

Rodeo Week: Steer Wrestling

Steer wrestling.  Easy concept: jump from a speeding horse onto a running steer and simply apply the brakes.

Rodeo Week: A Bit of Backstage

There’s a lot going on backstage at a rodeo.  Here’s a bit from behind the chutes.