Nature Photography Challenge :)

Hi All :)

Happy Valentine's Day :)

I recently did a Nature Photography Challenge on FB. 

I don't usually do things like that but in 2016 I am trying to embrace a few things outside my comfort zone :)

This was the premise; 

Post Nature Photos, one a day for 7 days, tag the person who nominated you to participate and then tag someone else to join in :) Simple :)

I guess I do not like to feel pressured to do something & also as a "Professional" Photographer I feel I have to come up with something special to fit this "label" that is attached to taking photos for a "Living" (well, if I made a living out of photography by itself that would be one things but I don't ............lol :)

Anyway, I thought I would give it a go, especially as it was amount friends on Facebook :)

Here are the photos I shared :)

DAY ONE - Icicles hanging from a Maple tree in my garden - January 2016.

DAY TWO - Sunset from our street - (I have never seen a cloud formation quite like this :) 

- March 2015.

DAY THREE - White Pelicans on the Salton Sea - California - November. 2014

DAY FOUR - Beautiful Silhouette of a tree against a California Sunset - Poway Park 2014. 

DAY FIVE - A beautiful Wave at Cardiff Beach, California  - August 2015.

DAY SIX - Gorgeous full bloom Magnolias - West Linn, Oregon - March 2015.

DAY SEVEN - A twilight shot of the lovely Willamette Falls, Oregon - March 2015.

I hope you enjoy these & I hope it inspires you to look at the amazing world around us from a different perspective - just for a moment - and hold on to it forever :)

I Hope everyone is having a Wonderful Weekend :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

My Year in Photos :)

Good Morning Everyone! :)

I hope you are all well :)

In 2011, I took over 12,000 photos with my Nikon D90 camera! I uploaded them and then didn't have time to go thru and look at all of them. Over the past few weeks I have been looking at them and found so many that I wanted to share with you. Last year I shared 2 previously unpublished photos for each month of the year on my blog and I thought it would be fun to do that again this year! :)  It was really hard to keep it to just 2 photos for every month of the year, but here is my 2011 year in photos.

I hope you enjoy them :)

JANUARY

Click on photos to see larger images :)

Sunset over Willamette Falls New Year's Day 2011 (SOOC)

Sunset ove the Willamette River New Year's Day 2011 (I love how the light just catches parts of the railway tracks) (SOOC)

FEBRUARY

Coastal Range approx. 100 miles away (shot taken thru the window in my Dining Rm.) (SOOC)

The glow of a Wintry Southern Evening Sky shot thru my office window (SOOC)

MARCH

Magnolia's at the Crystal Springs "Rhoddie Gardens" Portland Oregon. (SOOC)

Goose on a Mission (SOOC)

APRIL

Magnolia in my Garden :)

Easter Bonnets in the window of John Helmer Haberdasher, Portland Oregon.

MAY

Red Tulips in my Garden

Beautiful Rose, taken as I was driving around a neighbourhood

JUNE

Lovely Peach Iris in my garden :)

One of my "Babies" I really am crazy in love with my Poppies :) (SOOC)

JULY

Stars and Stripes on the 4th of July to honour at a local Cemetery.

It isn't everyday you see Vultures on the roof of a suburban neighbours house, well, not the feathered variety anyway (He! He!) (SOOC)

AUGUST

Flowers in pots in my front garden :)

Surfers on the Oregon Coast, the one and only day I went to the Oregon coast last year, but it was a great time, I went with my son before he went back to college and we sat and watched these guys for nearly 2 hours :) (SOOC)

SEPTEMBER

Rows of Grape Vines in Napa Valley, in the California Sunshine :) (SOOC)

Grapes on the Vines in Napa Valley, great reminder of our lovely vacation :) (SOOC)

OCTOBER

Then the leaves start to change colours, so prettily :)

Fall Leaves, Lake Oswego, Oregon :)

NOVEMBER

Fall Leaves, Portland Oregon

Fall Leaves West Linn, Oregon

DECEMBER

This sign was originally "the White Stag" sign, then the "Made in Oregon" sign and now it is proudly displaying the University of Oregon colours as they have a campus in that building. It is a huge part of the Portland historical landscape and every year over the Holiday Season the Stag's nose is lit in RED :) (SOOC)

Light display in a restaurant we went to over the holidays to celebrate with our whole family together :)

I tried to do more SOOC (straight out of camera) shots this year and it is an interesting challenge when you are taking the photo to know that you are not going to be colour enhancing or adding bits or taking away anything. It is a fun aspect to photography for me. After spending 2010 learning how to alter photos, it felt more like using a film camera, what you take is what you get kind of thing.

I really am enjoying my photographic journey and I truly appreciate you coming along for the ride, cheers, T. :)

 Don't forget to enter my Blog Giveaway to win this lovely

11 x 14 Photo of The Golden Gate Bridge :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Day! :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Willamette Falls.

On the Willamette River in Oregon between Oregon City and West Linn, just south of Portland, lies the amazing Willamette Falls. It is not far, maybe a mile, from our Home. I feel very fortunate to live in such a beautiful State.

Hope you enjoy the photos even if the history lesson gets too long (He! He!)


It is the largest waterfall in the Pacific Northwest and the eighteenth largest in the world by water volume. Horseshoe in shape, it is 1,500 feet (460 m) wide and 40 feet (12 m) high with a flow of 30,849 cu ft/s (874 m³/s). Located 26 miles (42 km) upriver from the Willamette's mouth, a canal and set of locks allow vessels to pass into the main Willamette Valley.

I Love the mix between the natural and the industrial. Their coexistence helps maintain life in the local area.

The Willamette Falls Electric Company (later renamed Portland General Electric) was formed in 1888 to build a hydro-electric generation facility at the falls. Four turbine driven dynamos were built on the east end of the falls. A 14 mile (23 km) long transmission line to Portland was built, becoming the United States' first long distance transmission of electrical energy. In 1895 P.G.E. built a second generation station on the west side of the falls. The newer plant, Station B, is still in operation with a capacity of 14,000 kilowatts. The old plant is currently part of the Blue Heron Paper Company.

The falls have been home to several paper mills beginning with the Oregon City Paper Manufacturing Co. in 1866. The Willamette Pulp and Paper Co. opened on the West Linn side during 1889.

View of the Falls from the West Linn side.

View from the Oregon City Side, looking towards West Linn. Below, is the view from Bridge over the River.

Native American legends taught that the falls were placed there by a great god so that their people would have fish to eat all winter. Many local tribes built villages in the area because of the abundance of salmon that could only pass the falls at certain water levels. Native Americans still harvest Pacific Lamprey at the falls each year in the early summer. Willamette Falls is a traditional fishing site for the Warm Springs Indians as well as other tribes.

It was first discovered by European fur traders in 1810. John McLoughlin established a land claim at the falls in the name of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1829.[2] Oregon City was established in 1842 near the east end of the falls. The town of Linn City (now West Linn) was founded on the western shore one year later in 1843. The two towns competed economically, vying for the lucrative steamboat traffic and the trade it generated. With the falls representing the end of the line for boat traffic, river boat captains were forced to choose a side of the river on which they would dock to unload their passengers and goods; some of which would continue their upriver journey on winding portage toll roads. Competition between the towns was fierce until the winter of 1861, which saw one of Oregon's worst natural disasters occur in the form of catastrophic flooding. Oregon City was inundated and badly damaged, but the unluckier Linn City was obliterated.

Navigating past the falls was not possible until the completion of the Willamette Falls Locks in 1873. During construction of the locks, channels were blasted from the very rocks that formerly supported the town of Linn City. Along with the locks, the modern city of West Linn sits on a portion of the former town site. The locks were sold by the Willamette Falls Canal and Locks Company to the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1915.

Last 3 taken from the Oregon City side.

Evening sun and spray, I love this shot. :)

All the text is taken from Wikipedia Thanks Wikipedia for being a great source of info.

On a side note, I would like to Thank Anna from Almost Precious and A Beader's Blog for purchasing Photos from me over the weekend at our new Etsy Photography Shop. :)

Hope you are having a Wonderful Day!

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.