TRE Photography

Union Street Bridge

2011-11-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

As many of you might be aware if you live in the Salem area that we have had this really wonderful Pedestrian / bicycle bridge converted from a very old Railroad bridge crossing that goes over the Willamette River. It also provides some interesting shooting in the AM or PM, with or without Fog coming off the river, etc.

It is also a part of my commute to the building I work in that allows me to keep earning money to keep shooting photos. Unfortunately it is not a business with photography as part of its business. So getting to cross the bridge to/from work when I bike commute can give me some really great shots, but usually on small windows out of the year do I get this.

Well on the morning of 10/26 I got a window of opportunity and happened to bring a camera with me. I only happen to bring it, as the morning before It was similar but with more fog so I thought with the very cool nights and some moisture in the air, just maybe I would get another chance.

Included in this post are a couple of shots from that AM. Hope you will enjoy them.

Tim

Portraits

2011-09-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

I have decided to get into a little more of the work of portraits and senior year photos. This will not stop me from my normal landscapes, animals and what have you. This is just another area to pursue and work with other folks and continue to become better all around as a photographer.

Included is a shot from a senior /yearbook photo for a local West Salem HS Senior. Cree and her mother gave me a call as mom works with a friend of mine (who recommended me) and asked if I would be interested. Sure I would and I may be a little less expensive than many of the 'full time' portrait photographers here locally. Anyway we did the shoot up in Portland on Sept. 4th for a couple hours in the mid-morning. We wondered around parts of "Old Town" in Portland and had quite a variety of backgrounds to work with and interesting textures from the buildings. I also had my wife in the process as she carried camera gear and reflectors for me, and that was a big help! Overall we had some really great shots and some so-so ones but found enough for Cree to choose from for yearbook and for handouts.

I also cut her the DVD with the photos that I worked on along with the originals. This is partially why I may be a little less expensive as I do not do any of the printing work. I will shot, edit and copy for a standard flat fee. If you would like to talk about some future work, please give me a shout via email at tim.e@opusnet.com

Thanks for reading! Tim -

Nice View for backpacking! Tetons!

2011-07-31T11:58:00.001-07:00

So I will include a shot from what we were able to see over half the time we were backpacking in Wyoming in the Teton Wilderness. We headed out of the Pacific Creek TH that was just inside the gates at Moran Junction.

As we hiked up the trail that more/less followed the creek it opened up to a very large valley that had Pacific creek running through it along with several other creeks that flowed into Pacific creek which all (may someday) end up flowing to the Pacific Ocean. Probability is pretty low due to all the other folks taking out some of the liquid resources along the way but some of the water may make it?

Anyway, on the first day hiking in we turned around and this was the constant site we had at our backs. It was great having it coming out also! The Tetons rising above and we were at 7,000 plus feet going through this valley it was a grand site to see. I took this shot from where Gravel Creek comes down and joins with Pacific Creek looking back Westerly. Although the bugs were horrible back there this year the scenery was worth it!

Enjoy! Tim -

Back from Wyoming

2011-07-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Got back last Saturday 7/23 in the mid afternoon. Good trip back in Wyoming but lots of those damn mosquitoes and it drove me out a day or so early. That allowed me to actually go through Yellowstone park and visit my folks for a couple nights back in Cody.

Then headed back to Jackson, WY, to catch up with the rest of the crew and have night in Jackson checking things out and Friday AM on 7/22 headed home! I made it to John Day, OR, were I spent the night before pushing home last Saturday. After going through the Hwy 26 drive of Oregon, I saw some excellent mountain areas that I think will have to go back and hike and do some camping or something. Looks like excellent Elk territory and I have heard there are some Mt. goats up in some of those eastern Oregon ranges.

I'll post a shot or two of the Tetons hopefully by the end of this weekend.

Tim -

Getting Ready - Wyoming One Week away

2011-07-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

As I type this on this Friday evening (7/8) I think that in one week I should be in Twin Falls, ID catching a nights rest before pushing into Wyoming in the Bridger-Teton Wilderness area to do some backpacking with my brothers and few friends. We'll be heading out of the Pacific Creek Drainage and do about 5 days in the back country.

I would like to get some good photos while there of any animals that want to come near our motley crew but will not mind keeping distance between us and any Grizzly Bears. I have had the wonderful experience of being within about 40 yards of a Sow/cub several years ago and was glad they took off to the trees. I have done some photos from the road in Yellowstone and that is good enough. Enjoy from a distance! I definitely should get some decent landscapes though.

I will have to make some serious lens choice as I want to minimize weight of my gear as I will be humping around my food, water, sleeping bag/pad, extra weather gear and either all of a tent or part of the tent if I can get a tent roomie to share the load.

I will try and post something a day or two prior to leaving. Will get some shots out as soon as I return from the trip.

Thanks for checking in! Tim

Humming Along....

2011-06-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a lot of the time I would prefer to be taking photos of large, medium or even smaller landscapes or even larger animals to include people's pets. Then there are times when you have to just shoot what is there and most of the time I will take a camera in my bag to work with me. This way if there is anything to capture or maybe while taking a walk at lunch there will be something I can shoot it and see if I like it later.

Back in February some of the ladies in the office set up a humming bird feeder outside the Westerly windows in our building. Surprisingly the humming birds did visit considering this was next to an open ally which also was next to a large parking lot, mostly vacant that time of year. All of this was just on the Northerly border going into the greater downtown Salem area.

I was able to be within 10 feet of the feeder and using an Tamron 18-200 on my Pentax Kx (back up camera) I got a few shots. This is one with the hummer taking on some nice sugar water that was freshly prepared for them.

I am glad the little critter sat still long enough for a few shots. Enjoy. Tim -

Memorial Day & the end of May

2011-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Another month is wrapping up and had the day off in honor of Memorial Day! I thank my fellow veterans who have served, continue to serve and the ones who did not return from the service of their country.

Got in a couple nice bike rides this weekend and checked out some more lands in Polk county Oregon to think about doing some shooting. Didn't get out this long weekend and should have but will hope a few fields I saw a couple weekends ago will still be blooming with some reddish clover looking vegetation?

I have put in a shot of some Big Horn Sheep - Rams as they were grazing this past March just outside Yellowstone Park in Wyoming. I again was battling some shade on these and not using the fastest lens for the conditions but that is all experience and not carrying extra cameras with other lenses. I hope you will enjoy the shot. I will be looking to hit some of the local NWR areas in the area and get some new shots of animals and landscapes!

Tim -

A Younger Ewe

2011-05-15T20:26:00.000-07:00

Sometime back in April I had the one shot of the Bison posted and mentioned that I may get some shots of the other game animals that we had an opportunity to photograph. Well, here we go with a tighter shot of a young ewe working on the grasses among the snow.

I carried with me my Sigma 70-200/f.28 as my main lens this day so everything is shot with that and it reacts pretty well in some of the shade conditions which this one was. As these animal's congregate in the drainage's for the water during the day then head back up in the evening I had to deal with some taller walls of stone on either side of the drainage. We actually will do quite a bit of shooting not to far off the Highway 20 that runs into Yellowstone from Cody, WY.

In March it would become quite a bit of work to heft gear back for a days shooting but would be nicer knowing that most of the bears are still in hibernation (hopefully!).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the shot and you can find more out at my website, there is a link over on the right column to lead you there!

Tim

Keeping an "Eye" out....

2011-04-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been about a month and a half since last posting and really I have looked to do something but have not done much? I am posting in a close up shot of a Bison that was passing close by the car when we did a spring break trip back to Cody, Wyoming to see some family.

Almost a dozen Bison were out near or on the road close to the East entrance to Yellowstone Park and part of that was due to the huge amounts of snow that the park was getting over the winter and spring. It will drive some of the animals out to lower areas to forage for food and have water with the nearby streams and rivers running. It helps me to have family living so close to one of our national treasures so when I am out there I can get out and find critters and some really great landscapes!

We did get some shots other than Bison and include some Big Horn Sheep, both Rams and Ewes along with some Deer. I will look at getting in some of those shots in another post which I will do very soon.

Enjoy the shot and check out the photo website - link is over there on the right and order something you might like. You can download digital files at various prices for personal or commercial use.

Thanks for stopping by! Tim -

Canada Geese - Basket Slough NWR

2011-03-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

The same day that I was out at a local National Wildlife Refuge where I got photos of a Great Blue Heron. I was also getting some shot of other water foul, that is if these Canada Geese are considered foul? eh?

Anyway, they were kind enough for a few to come in for a landing and then just hang around eating from the grass stubble. I tried to have both photos but they were a little sizeable and I don't feel like reducing them any further. Sorry, you just get them eating!

It was a great day to be out there with the sunshine and the animals. I did later try to catch a pair of bald eagles in flight but they were at a pretty good distance for the lens I had at the time.

Enjoy the shots, and hope you can get out and enjoy some nature!

Tim -

A Bridge - Not to Far

2011-02-19T20:25:00.000-08:00

So with gas prices going up and up I am trying to get my arse in gear and make more bike commutes to/from the job site. I will normally do this when I do not have other appointments that I need to use my car or motorcycle. Really, I need to first work on more bike time and then motorcycle as second choice and the car as last choice. Bus service is horrible in Salem so that option is off the table.

If I can get back to my glory days of commuting around 120 days per year as I did when we first moved out here that would be great. Over the last couple of years that total as gone down to around 80 days average per year. It is amazing how long I can make a tank of gas last when I ride more to/from work or small trips.

So long story short....As I commute from home in the hills of West Salem to a location just outside of downtown Salem I pass through Wallace Marine Park most of the time and ride over the Union Street Ped/Bike bridge. This is an old railroad bridge that the City bought for a dollar and of course has had to do some mitigation on the old lead paint and some other issues. It is probably one of the best improvements I have seen Salem do in the almost eight years I have lived here and it is a popular and useful bike/walk-way for many!

The shot I added in is from a morning back in late January this year. Sun was starting creep up and the bridge is standing tall crossing the Willamette River. Many mornings I ride across this and have to ask myself why am I going to this day Job? Photography and riding are much more pleasant than an office but, something has to pay the bills and the job will do for now.

Enjoy the shot and wishing you many great Sunrises!

Tim -

Feb. - Baskett Slough NWR

2011-02-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

Finally was able to get out to the National Wildlife Refuge that is about 10 miles from my house here in West Salem. It was a glorious morning the light fog and clouds lifted leaving a little bit of a milky sky and temps warming up from about 32 degrees overnight.

I came from the southerly side off of Hwy 22 and slowly crept along the gravel road that runs through the main section of the NWR. There were plenty of Canada geese in the fields and many coming and going, Redtail Hawks flying around a few American Kestrels and a pair of Bald Eagles sitting in some small trees above the shallow water areas. I didn't have a long lens with me today so didn't try to get much in their direction. Did try to catch them as they decided to take flight and go elsewhere.

One bird that 'finally' let me get close enough to shoot was a Great Blue Heron. I have tried over and over but anytime I come upon them and stop my car they seem to know how far to fly off so they will not make for good picture taking. This time though, I never left my car as I just rested the 70-200/f2.8 lens on the window of the car and tried not to jitter to much when I press the shutter release. I didn't have a beanbag with me to help with vibration but overall I think all the shots I took of this magnificent bird came out pretty well. So I'll share one here with you all and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Get outside and enjoy nature or hit a wildlife area near you and take in the sounds and sights it has to offer. Thanks for stopping in, and hope you come back and visit again. Eventually the Heron shots will make it to my website where you can buy a printed photo or download a digital copy.

Tim -

No Picture Post

2011-02-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

Just saying Hello from Salem, OR. Not much going on here but we have been in a decent dry streak with little or no rain in our area for the past couple weeks. Must mean that later in the spring we will be wishing for sunshine?

Hoping to get my arse out of bed one of the weekend days coming up and go out to one of the local NWR's, National Wildlife Refuge's and maybe capture some animals on digital and post later. Maybe just some landscape shots also?

going to head off the computer for awhile and see if I don't fall asleep.

Tim

January 2011 - Alive

2011-01-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

I kept looking at the blog site and saying to myself...."self, you need to get some photos looked at and post one or two and write about something...anything!"

So here I am towards the end of January here in Salem and the going through our January dry streak. That means minimal rain for about a week and the ground isn't squishy under your feet. Good time to get some miles on the bike and do some yard work chores when not at work which really only leaves the weekends.

Last summer in August I did a day hike up on Coffin mountain in the Cascades outside of Detroit, OR. On my way to the trail head the I stopped a few times to take some shots such as the one included. The smoke haze had settled down into the low lying areas from a fire that was many miles away to the South/Southeast near the Three Sisters. It kind of made for a nice shot with the smoke, Mt. Jefferson, blue sky and deep green tree color. I love the smell of the smoke from a campfire and yes even a wildfire just glad that they controlled the fire a few days later.

Have a great rest of January! Hope to be posting more some time soon.

Tim -

Almost Mid-December

2010-12-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

I'm still stuck on my Hawks that frequent the backyard for an attempt at a snack. I think I have a very consistent or should I say persistent Cooper's Hawk that comes around to check things out.

The problem with the Hawk this time is that if you sit on top of the feeders waiting for the finch's, juncos, etc., to show they never will with you being right there! Of course I have witnessed a Cooper's go flying into a shrub and come out with a bird in its talons. Pretty amazing!

I have also added in a shot of Mourning Dove taking in the late morning sun while sitting on tree just outside the kitchen window. They come in and eat up insects, etc and some of the food I put out. I haven't picked up their favorite food in a while so maybe before Christmas as a treat.

Speaking of that wonderful day....it is just around the corner and we have been watching some shows, of course classics like Charlie Brown, Rudolph and more recent movie types such as Elf, Fred Claus and just last night went back in time to catch Home Alone! Was a good time watching with the family.

Enjoy the shots, be safe and I will post hopefully before Christmas!

Tim

Busted!!!!

2010-11-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

Wow - November is flying by as we go into Thanksgiving week! I am very thankful for my family that put up with me, that is my spouse and daughter. I am thankful for my family that I was born into and still have around albeit many different places around the United States. Plus I wish a very wonder Thanksgiving to all who may read this and a fantastic Holiday season!

So Busted?! - Well, as you may know I have a few various bird feeders in my backyard which attract a small assortment of small birds, such as Golden finches, Less golden finches, black capped chickadees some brown eyed juncos and a few others and some blue jays, Norther Flickers, etc.

But some of the most intriguing are the Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-Shinned Hawks that stop by now and then and try to drum a meal through their various ambush methods. In this shot I got a Cooper's Hawk that had just finished up a meal of one of the smaller birds and may have been looking at me, looking at him through the glass door through my lens. I had actually seen it while upstairs and made a quick dash to get my camera along with a longer lens on it as I only had a 28-75 and had to get my 70-200 at least. Well, he was eating so I had the time to get from upstairs and move to the main floor so I could get some shots and he stayed for a few.

He later came back and perched on another fence but not a single 'peep' could be heard from the small birds!

Thanks for stopping in and enjoy!

Tim

The First Big Snows are Happening....

2010-10-26T21:16:00.001-07:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I touched this blog and probably have a lot to write about but am just busting through some thoughts for tonight. I am also having trouble typing and a having to backspace to correct my mistakes!

Anyway, it started this past weekend (10/23-24) with our weather. We basically started getting our first big storms pushing off the ocean over the coast range, across the valley and hitting up against the Cascades. Mt Hood is almost close to "3" feet of new snow at timberline lodge as of this Tuesday! Our favorite little ski area 'HooDoo' has over 25 inches in their parking lot from the past four days. Hope it keeps up and makes for some great days on the hill and doing the snowboard thing. My daughter is chomping at the bit to get back on a snowboard as she was just learning last year. I think she will put it all together this year.

All of that got me thinking of some snow shots and will start to look through my records (photo achieves) and see what I can find. Until I get some more I am posting one from a few years back looking back at Mt. Jefferson from near the Detroit Reservoir in the Eastern part of Marion County.

Enjoy, Tim

Going into Fall

2010-09-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday (9/25) was spent wondering if the rain might stop so I could ride a bicycle for a few hours...It didn't until later in the day after my desire had went away.

So I ended up going out around 11 AM for a few hours in the car to some areas in Polk county where I may capture some animals with the camera. I usually go out to Basket Slough NWR area and the surrounding lands to the North of there as there are some Elk that I know of and have seen but not close enough to get shots.

Today I did happen upon an Egret and some Black Tail deer and have provided a shot of one of the does in a small group that was in a field near where I parked. This one I would say is probably between 1-2 years based on it's size from the obvious older ones and one that looked like it was probably born this past spring. Anyway, they were kind of enough to let me get some shots and just sit and watch them which was a great way to pass a little time! The Egret did't pose itself very well with me looking through some tall grass in a little drainage on the North side of the NWR. I may post it in another posting.

Enjoy and thanks for stopping in. Tim -

On the Ride - Looking at Me!

2010-09-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day for a ride on the bicycle! Got in just over two hours today and used the Alloy/Carbon Diamondback bicycle for the road today. A little overcast but the clouds started to break up before I got home, with temps in the upper 50's to lower 60's.

Fun thing about this time of year is the various levels of harvesting that are taking place. Most of the grass seed fields, wheat and other grains have been brought in. Beans are getting close to being done and Corn is still growing but also getting close to coming in and processed! But Ah! The vineyards are still a month or so out from the start of harvest. The vines are getting heavy with the different varietals that will be cut, smashed and carefully crafted into another fine vintage of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay maybe some Cabernet out there also. The eola hills in which we live in are great hills for growing the Pinot grapes and there is some really great wine that is produced just miles from my doorstep!

All that being said I could not pass up taking a shot of me in this convex mirror that is opposite a driveway. They use it as the driveway has to contend with a slight curve on a gradual sloping road (Hopewell Road, I believe) and this I am sure helps them from doing some dangerous pull outs. I thought it was just fun to take the shot!

Have a great week and thanks for stopping in. Tim -

Poppies and Bikes

2010-08-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Back at the beginning of August I went out in Marion County as I was told of some Poppy fields that might make some nice shots. It was a Sunday overcast morning for the most part and just as told to me this one nice sized field was there before me.

I took a number of shots looking over the field, some close ups and wide angle shots but I decided to post this one with some bikes floating behind the poppies and in front of some trees from another farm.

I had passed the cyclists earlier while getting out of Salem, but didn't expect them to come by the very place I was at! The field was beautiful and I am glad I took the time to go out there that Sunday morning! Will post more of these on my regular photo website and maybe some further along in this blog.

August is winding down! Thanks for stopping by for a few minutes. Tim -

Art Show - Independence, OR

2010-08-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hi folks -

I have two pieces of photographic art being exhibited in an art show in a little town about 12 miles from my home. The gallery is 'River Gallery' and is located at 184 Main Street in Independence, OR. It is a nice little gallery and is owned/operated by (I believe) 15 local area artists. They also have associate levels and what I am doing at the 'visitor' level for the show.

Anyway the show is called Fur, Fins and Feathers so you guessed it! It deals with animals that have any of the three mentioned items. There should be some really great stuff to see so try and make it if you can and all items from all artists are for sale! Oh yeah, about forgot to say that it started on August 3rd and runs through August 29th with a public reception and jury awards announced on August 7th (Saturday). I believe they might have some wine and small snack items there, but there are also some really good restaurants on the same street! We could all make an evening of it.

Well, I included one of my two pieces and it is of three Big Horn Sheep Rams. The other shot is of a Bison just outside of Yellowstone Park that I got a few winters ago. Both are matted and framed and look absolutely wonderful in my biased opinion.

Thanks for checking in and if you get a chance to make it to the gallery great or even spread the news. Tim

July Harvest in the Valley

2010-07-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

Well as we wind our way down to the end of July there is a whole lot of harvesting going on in the Willamette Valley. Of course the various grass seed is being brought in which really helps with the allergies! Then the wheat is just starting to be brought in and I think they are a few weeks behind but we had such a cool and damp May into June that it didn't really get growing as normally as it would. Blueberries are also at various stages with most still on the bushes as they haven't quite turned yet.

Why would I know or share this? Just because I can for one and the other day while on a bike ride I was riding though Polk and Yamhill counties and saw the different levels of harvest coming in. Of course the many vineyards of Pinot, some Chardonnay and other varietal grapes are just growing strong now waiting for the fall harvest and produced into some wonderful wines.

I didn't have my 'point & shoot' on me on Sunday so ended up going back in the evening to shoot a few pics along my ride from the AM. I've included one that has the evening sun lighting up the wheat field with some trees in the background and in the far part of the shoot in Mt. Hood. We get lots of dirt rising from the agriculture here so it kind of gives a haze in the distance most evenings.

Thanks for stopping by and will be posting more to my website soon, see the links on the right!

Tim

Corvallis - going Greyhound!

2010-07-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

Was down in Corvallis, OR back in mid June and walked around while having my car worked on / looked at by a local dealership. So took a camera with me and just took a few shots but plan on making a gallery of Corvallis on my website where I sell work from.

Yes, that is 'Sell' from so I can make money! Well, it is nice to sell some shots now and then and you can get them in Print or Digital Download, the choice is yours. Anyway when I get things posted there I will put out a notice of that.

I will be headed back there on Wednesday of this week to have the dealership finish up the work that needed done from June's visit. This time I will be solo and will not have to try and entertain my daughter for 5 plus hours which wasn't bad. Sometimes a nine year old doesn't have the patience to sit and wait as some of older folks!

Hope your having a great summer and I will keep posting. Thanks for stopping by!

Tim

The Year Half Over and Upcoming Show

2010-07-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

I for one can not believe that this year has just gone past the half way point. We had a very mild almost chilly fourth of July here in Salem and we were wearing fleece jackets as we light the fireworks!

I haven't gotten out to shot anything in over a month but while riding my bike have spotted some good areas, but need to hurry before they harvest some fields and make the shot probably less impressive. Again, making the time instead of whining about finding the time.

I have submitted some work for possible selection and jury for an August show in Independence, Oregon. The gallery is called the River Gallery of Independence and will post a link if I make the selection. The theme is called 'Fur, feathers and Fins' or something to that affect. I am only submitting two photos one of a bison outside of Yellowstone park I took a few years back and another of three Big Horn Rams. This is kind of a current favorite of mine and hope that it will get selected. I have included the Rams shot in this posting so hope you will enjoy it also.

Not much else as we get ready for some 90+ degree weather here in Salem for the next several days. Thanks for stopping in and checking things out!

Tim

Bear must pay the ulitmate price....

2010-06-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Via Facebook, my brother that lives in Cody, Wyoming has provided articles from the Billings Gazette about a recent 'Grizzly Bear' Mauling that took place about 30 miles East of Cody and about 10 miles or so outside the East gate of Yellowstone Park.

Apparently wildlife officials had trapped this bear a day earlier to take blood samples, etc and fit it with a radio collar for tracking movements. Kind of the on-going research to study these great animals. This particular drainage had been posted to stay out of for the research stuff but apparently a 70 year old retired college professor didn't see the warnings and ended up dying from a mauling attack. This fella had recently published a book that did extensive documenting of the fauna in/around the Yellowstone area so he knew his research and knew of Bears, etc.

By Saturday, the Feds had tracked the bear down via the collar and terminated it then magically have been able to get quick results of the DNA samples of the bear and some DNA left on the man that match this bear. Does CSI work this fast or is it just on TV?

Anyway, probably to save a major lawsuit they killed the bear. They will probably get sued anyway as that is the American way so the widow will live in better comfort than she may already be. Sorry, I don't feel much sympathy for the man. Yes his family has lost a wonderful member of their family, but when you are out there (I have been several times) you watch what you do and know the price you may have to pay if you are careless. This man was careless and in the wrong place at the wrong time.

RIP Mr. Grizzly!

Tim

The photo is from summer 2008 of a grizzly in Yellowstone Park.

Telephone Man

2010-06-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was browsing through some older shots from earlier this year and came upon this photo of a phone booth in Mill City, Oregon. We pass through this little hamlet when going to HooDoo or to the Cascades, Bend, etc.

I think my family was inside what is known as a convenience store up there but nothing like the 7-Eleven's of the world, still has the basics.

I was out stretching my legs after snowboarding and skiing that day and was across the highway when I was just struck by this phone booth sitting there in a vacant lot. I don't even know if there is a phone inside of it and if so does it work? With just about everyone having a cell phone or knowing someone who does it seemed kind of a "throwback" to days gone by. I think the last time I used one they cost about 35 cents to start the local call.

We used them quite a bit back in the military to make collect calls back to home and things like that but overall a relic of the past. Speaking of that, there is quite a bit of relics of the past in the Mill City area. It once was probably pretty thriving with lumber milling but not so much anymore.

So if you are ever passing through and need the phone, hope this one will work for you!

Tim

Big Horn - Ewes

2010-05-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

I seem to be stuck on animals or big landscape type shots but tend to lead toward animals. I keep a camera in my living room so when birds are at the feeders I have, I can snap off a few shots. I haven't posted many of my backyard moochers which are mostly finches, sparrows year round and chickadees (usually in the winter/early spring) then they are gone. Other birds come in also, and occasionally a hawk to try and feed on the birds.

Well, back to larger animals! Still a shot from this past March when my daughter and I were visiting grandma/pa in Cody, Wyoming. We traveled up towards the East gate of Yellowstone Park and just off the road in the hillsides were small groups of Bighorn Sheep.

I caught a small group of Ewes about 150-200 yards away from the road and hung out in the sagebrush and scrub and took a few shots. This one was kind of interesting and didn't even notice the one animal behind the one I was concentrating on. Could probably play with it in Photoshop and make it look like a sheep with two sets of horns!

Well, just posting you know. It is a quiet Memorial Day Monday and thanks to the Veterans (including me) we get to be away from our places of work. More days like this would be welcome I think.

Tim -

Wyoming Wind

2010-05-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Back in the mid 90's I lived in Casper for almost two years. It was pretty good times and really had nothing going on but work and close to the mountains. But when the wind blew there it was just amazing how fierce it could be! When it snowed in the winter we would often have a few days of calm while the snow piled up then afterward would just blow and move the snow away. It always amazed me!

Well, with that thought in mind and wind energy sprouting up all over the place I come back to Wyoming. Yes the wind still blows there and probably as fierce as ever. But this past summer of 2009 as I traveled back on I-80 to a backpacking trip I ran across some turbine fields out in the middle of the High Basin plains of Wyoming. It was odd as they were not there just over six years ago on my travels out to Oregon, but progress shall not be stopped. Not even in Coal country!

I took this shot, not a great one, but one of several as I sat along side the interstate seeing these huge turbines sitting on this ridge line in the middle of this dry plains. Not really even close to any of the communities along this vehicle pipeline. It makes me hope that they do the best research to make sure environmental impacts are minimized as much as possible to those animals that roam the ground and fly the skies in this area. Yes it is cleaner power, but hope we do not sacrifice many wonderful things just so I can run my PC.

Well, enjoy the shot and please visit my website at www.timehlers.com, for other photos of wildlife, landscapes, and much more.

Tim

My Hawks Will Not sit Still!

2010-05-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, the start of May already and where is this year going? Looks like some rain moving in to start our first week of May. At least it stays away most of the weekend hours!

Well has many may know I have a few bird feeders in the back yard and enjoy seeing the many Finches, Chickadees, a few Towhees?, sparrows, etc come around for their free lunches, dinners and so on. Of course this provides for some other birds of different feather to come around and I get the occasional visit from both Sharp Shinned Hawks and Cooper's Hawks.

This shot was taken back in December of 2009 in the mid morning and the Cooper's Hawk would not turn around for me to get a shot of it, bashful I guess? Anyway, it was just taking off from the fence after not collecting any of the smaller birds for its brunch!

Another thing is I took this shot with my Pentax istDS camera which is now in the hands of a friend of mine who purchased it for a reasonable price. I have purchased a new Pentax K-X to use as my back up camera to my Pentax K20D. I am studying the manual on the new camera so I can use some of the different features such as HD movie capture. Since all my cameras take SD or SDHC I can also play them on our large TV in the living room in its SD slot. Pretty cool to see some of the shots on the 'Big Screen'!

Until later, have a great day, week or month! Tim

Still in Wyoming -

2010-04-14T21:25:00.001-07:00

Still out in the West of Wyoming but actually East from my home base in Oregon. A second day we went out to find animals to photograph and not much luck out the South Fork Road from Cody.

There often is plenty out there but was not our day and we were giving up hope. Then some Pronghorn came into view and got Grandma to pull the van over to a safe place. I was along a fence line about 200 yards plus from the animals. Viewing from about 100 plus feet higher then they were and the wind was blowing about 20 mph. I held the camera to the top of an old fence post to steady the shot and it worked okay.

I have cropped in some on this so the animals are really not very crisp but they were not spooked with me being so far away, and not even sure they knew we were there! I will continue to seek those Pronghorn out and get some good shots.

Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

Tim

Visit to Wyoming

2010-04-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well back in March, not so long ago my daughter and I headed back East to Wyoming to visit my folks or her grandparents depending on who's interpretation. It was over our local school districts spring break and back there the temps were starting rise and the snow inching its way back up the mountain sides.

This can bring us some good photo opportunities near Yellowstone Park as some animals are still down lower to the rivers and creeks during the daytime and head back in the hills during the evening and night. We had hopes of catching some Elk, Bison and possibly Grizzly Bear as it had been reported some had broken their hibernation.

We didn't have luck on those but did run into some small groupings of Big Horn Sheep near the N. Shoshone river (I think that is the name of it). Also have numerous shots of Mule Deer and some Pronghorn and will add those to the regular website when I make the time.

Here I have two shots, one being out the airplane window as we fly over the cascades out SeaTac Airport and the other is a pretty solid Ram. They have lighter coats as the winter wears on into spring then will start getting their darker brown coats later in Summer to fall.

Thanks for checking things out! Tim

January - Blind Boys of Alabama

2010-03-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Back in January the family and I took in an evening at Willamette University which was sponsoring a musical show featuring "The Blind Boys of Alabama". I have been listening to them for several years after being introduced to their music via my LMT.

My Honey had gotten me a ticket for the show for Christmas and she had two freebies to get her and our daughter in. If you haven't ever listened to them, I would suggest that you give them a try! They are a mix of gospel, New Orleans blues, a little bit of jazz mixed in there and will cover some classics in their own wonderful way.

It was a great night to see them and feel particularly proud as that stop was their only one in the State of Oregon this time around. I put in a photo as we were allowed to shoot during their first three songs, but no flash. I used my little P/S Panasonic with no flash, it does have anti-shake built in but also shooting from a dark area to light presents it's own problems. Anyway, enjoy and go listen to some of their music!

Tim

Back In Frisco....CO

2010-03-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well, nope we were not back in our stomping grounds anytime short in the past. We (Family and I) did make it there, back in early August 2009 and here are a couple shots. One is a shot looking W/NW down main street, some of the older buildings are gone but the feel of a small mountain town is still pretty intact. The Mountain behind it is Mt. Royal which was always a good climb and could leave out our front door and be at the trail in 10 minutes never having to use the car!

The other is a close up of my all time favorite place to get bagels in Frisco or anywhere for that matter...so far! Pika Bagels! The "everything" with plain cream cheese is a basic foundation for a good breakfast.

Spent almost 7 years in Summit County and about 5 of that in Frisco after I met my lovely wife there. She is a Colorado native and her family had owned property in Frisco for many years so she had seen many changes in that little town.

Someday, we will again set our path to cross Frisco, but until then. Thanks for reading!

Tim

Sunday Ride

2010-03-08T20:25:00.000-08:00

Went out yesterday, Sunday 3/7/2010 to catch a few miles on my bicycle. Pretty good day for riding with temps around 50 degrees at 10:30 AM and some light winds from the South/Southwest. Partly cloudy, partly sunny depending how you want to look at it.

Did a 28 mile loop which took me out towards Rickreall, then on the parallel roads to 99W into Monmouth and out South of there to Stapleton Road then worked my way back Easterly towards Independence where my patience paid off and was rewarded with a nice tail wind home for the last seven miles or so.

Took along my Panasonic point/shoot camera for light weight and easy storage so took a few shots but nothing to exciting. Thought I would add one in of myself and one shooting from the front of the bike looking down the road.

Started going though old photos again so will be trying to post more to my regular site at www.timehlers.com. That's it, March is moving fast so better get on the bus and go for the ride.
Tim

Back in September and the Coast

2010-02-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about things that happened sometime back shall we? Every year the family, to include Grandma and the dog head to the coast to celebrate my spouse's Birthday. We have been doing Lincoln City for quite a few years via Hotel or renting a house. Did one year in Newport also but a lot of stairs to get down to the beach from the Hotel.

This past year we opted for Pacific City and rented a house for a Friday thru Sunday. We had about a 1/3 of mile walk through the neighborhood to get to the beach and walk down the big Sand Dune/Wall. Various ways to get there but one was an asphalt path that led to a nice switchback boarded walkway up to the top. There they had a little platform and you go head out the beach from there or just sit and enjoy.

Saturday evening my daughter and I headed up there for 'Sundown' and see if we could get some shots. I have included one here and have posted some more with intent to post more out to my purchase site soon. Anyway this was fun to shoot and stay out of the way of others doing the same thing. I kind of wedged into the sand on the edge of some of the tall grass there and supported my camera with a monopod. Could have done away having the Grass and some other shots I have no grass as I moved my position. My daughter shot with a little Point and Shoot and man were things fuzzy! Anyway, hope you enjoy the shot and thanks for stopping by!

Tim

Things are Blooming - Is this really February?

2010-02-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

Well it is almost the end of February but here in the Mid-Valley things are blooming, budding and thinking it is spring! Early daffodils are up along with other bulb type flowers but it varies from place to place. Even in West Salem a few hundred feet of elevation and the relative position to the sun makes some already blooming and others like at our house are still busting through the soil!

Trees are starting to bud quite nicely and most of the red maples are getting ready to start having leaf production. Is this to early? We have been so mild the last several weeks that I think it has the plants confused and maybe some of us humans.

So that got me looking through some shots in the storage bank and came across some from April 2009. I was walking around near the capital on the 'capital mall' and took a few shots of the cherry blossom's and how the falling petals make it kind of look like snow in the grass. Also one of the fountains was doing its thing at the South end just across from the capital. This was April of last year and by the date on my shots this same time frame is only 6 weeks away!

Enjoy the photos and I truly am going to try and blog a little more as a source questioned why I am not doing much here! Told them I was a bit lazy, but will start to step it up.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Keizer Art Association - Photography exhibit

2010-02-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

Folks,
Over at the Keizer Art Association they are having an Art Exhibit that is focused on Photography. Yes I have two pieces over there and have yet to make it to take some supplies to them and also check out the other peoples work.

If you live in the Willamette valley and might be near Salem/Keizer go check out this exhibit it will be worth your time. You can find out information about the Keizer Art Assoc. on the links over on the right. They have limited "open" hours so make sure you check out their times they are open. Also you can see what types of classes they offer to those who might want to try their hand at some creativeness.

That's all I have for the moment. Will get back to posting some shots on this site along with where, what, who and all that. I might get to this more full time depending on what that Facebook thing does, because if they start charging then I will be outta their circles.

Have a great Day, Week, Month or Year!

Tim

Art Sale!!!

2010-01-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,
If you live in the mid-Willamette valley and want to attend a little Art Show/Sale and celebration then head to Keizer Community Center this Friday and Saturday 1/29-1/30. There will be various art for sale, some at auction and you can check out the new building that the City of Keizer calls its home base.

There are activities on both Friday Evening and then through Saturday AM until about 5 PM.

Why am I saying anything? Because I have three pieces in the Art Sale and if sold it not only helps me but also the Keizer Art Association of which I am a member.

I will also be showing at the Keizer Art Association in February as they have a month long perspective of 'Through the Lens". This will be a bit smaller scale and everything I and other artists have will be for Sale!

Check out the link over on the right for KAA to get more info. Thanks for Reading!
Tim

Shimmer

2009-12-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting here unloading some shots from one of my cameras and catching up on computer items. A lot of looking back through photos over the year, last year, etc and seeing what I can post out to my other site http://www.timehlers.com/.

So I come across this photo of my daughter playing in the rolling surf as the sun is going to set for another day. She is just having a the time of her life and enjoying things as they are, not worried about the job, family, basically very few cares. At this same time I was listening to a song by Shawn Mullins called "Shimmer" and it really struck a chord with me at that moment.

I find myself at times sitting and spending a little to much time fixated on the issues at hand and how to make it to the next hour or even day. Most of the times these are things that in the "big picture" don't really matter and yet the rise to top for few moments of thought. I am not one that really dwells on that to much and hope that I really don't, but this song kind of puts some perspective on just looking at life. I am a huge Shawn Mullins fan and really enjoy his music so when I saw this photo and heard the song, well, I thought I should share. There is to much to learn from looking at life through the eyes of our children, they can unlock so much from us it can be a wonderful gift you never have to buy.

A few more weeks until Christmas and to continually see it through a childs eyes always makes this time of year that much better. Have a great Christmas and New Year's and hope that you too find that joy this time of year brings.

Tim

Happy Thanksgiving & Birds of Prey

2009-11-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

First of all, I wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to all! May your day be filled with joy and wonderful conversation as you celebrate with family and friends!

Now, last week on 11/19 I was at home for lunch and just finished up when a larger bird flew and landed on a bird feeder in the backyard. I figured it was a Blue Jay or a crow, but looked anyway and nope....it was a smaller Hawk, and after slowly moving across two windows then going to hands and knees I was able to grab a camera I keep on a table by the back picture window. Got it turned on, lens ready and leaned on some furniture without making big motions and got off about 20 shots. I have included one and sorry had to crop and manipulate a little so it doesn't take up so much room when I upload. I also had to shoot through the window which sometimes give me some extra distortion.

Anyway - First shot is a 'Sharp Shinned Hawk' part of the Accipiter family which is some of the smaller Hawks. It was in the hood as I have plenty of Junco's, Chickadee's and some lesser gold finches for it to prey upon. I have included a shot of a Cooper's Hawk so you can kind of see the differences. I used to get a Cooper's Hawk by our previous house looking for small bird or two for a meal. Enjoy!

Tim

The Rain is here making lazy dogs

2009-11-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

Hello folks,

over the half way point for November and the rain has pretty much been a daily constant here in the Willamette valley. Somewhere there is rain falling in the valley on an almost daily basis. I haven't looked for the Salem totals to date but I think we are well ahead of last year and maybe close to normal since October first.

Kind of make days feel like lazy days and being like the dog and catching some snooze time on the couch. Yep our dog occasionally will decide that the couch is the place to be to take a nap for the day or what have you. Some how he can just lie there with no cares in the world while everyone else seems to be busy around him.

Thanksgiving is about a week away so will need to start to think about holiday decorating coming up. One thing I noticed the other day while walking in downtown Salem, is that Nordstroms has some posters saying they will get ready for Christmas holiday starting on November 27th. They said they like to celebrate one holiday at a time. It was a great change to see an anchor store in our downtown mall not having all the Christmas hype up and trying to get folks to hurry up and buy. My hat is off to them for taking their time and let the days and holidays come like they used to....what's the hurry? Nice job Nordstroms!

Not much else, thanks for reading.

Tim

Fall is holding a little warmth for us

2009-11-04T19:39:00.001-08:00

November is here and will probably blow right past as the other ten previous months this year! I will try to embrace it and as months go this is probably my favorite month, with leaves changing, crisp air to breath and the fight of slight Indian summer trying to hang on a few more days. I really enjoy the cool temps in the morning and day and the ever changing colors. Only another week or so and most of the trees will have shed their coats of leaves.

We have had a break from the usual rain after a couple of weeks where we got rain off/on all day for about two weeks. Halloween was dry so that was great for the kids to be out and not get wet and it was relatively nice with the night temps in the low 50's during trick or treat time.

Over the last couple years, Salem bought this old railroad bridge for a $1 and have been working on its conversion to a pedestrian/bicycle bridge. This past spring they opened it and it has been a great hit, connecting the west side with east side from two separate parks. I use the bridge on my bike commutes home so always enjoy the crossing. It is even more cool in the evening with more darkness and the lights, etc. It sits a little lower then the two vehicle bridges and about a hundred yards to the North of the Marion Street bridge. All in all it is one of the better investments I have seen Salem make since we moved here in 2003.

I put in a couple of shots that kind of give you an idea of the bridge. One has my trusty steed leaning against the rail and the other is me taking a shot while riding across so it is a bit blurry but still pretty cool. Enjoy. BTW the bridge is going to close on 11/9/09 until March/April of 2010 for some more work so I will have to change my commute again.

Tim

October - The new Rain & Fog season

2009-10-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

As we work our way through this month of October getting closer to the Halloween celebration it is a time where we start a new raining season (Oct.1). That is the official day of the new 12 month period, it is the same in Colorado where we moved from but there it starts the official "snow" season. This also marks the time of year where we have our most foggy months of October and November.

Anyway as the temperature starts to finally cool down more with highs in the low 60's the ground and water temperature are finally starting to give up the heat. With the Willamette river running right through Salem it provides some great fog in the morning! Also anywhere that there is still good day heating of the ground and the moisture in the air we get all kinds of pockets of ground fog. So far I have never seen it so thick you could barely see the front of your car, usually get a good 100 yards or better most of the time for visibility.

Well, with this all said I was commuting into work via the bicycle and always carry a little point-and-shoot camera just in case. So going across the Center street bridge I stopped to shoot a few shots of the fog on the bridge. This one included is a shot looking northerly towards the Marion street bridge which in distance is about 100 yards away! I was sitting directly over the Willamette river so the fog was even better. You can not even see the cars on the bridge going West....just the shadow of the bridge in the fog. Just thought I would share with you something many, but not all go through this time of year.

Stay safe and Happy Halloween!

Tim

What Stories they might Tell?

2009-10-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Back in the last week of July and into the first few days of August I took a usual pilgrimage back East to Wyoming/Colorado to hook up with brothers and friends and do some backpacking. Although I sometimes bitch about the lack of map reading skills on some folks part I still have the best time out there. You don't hear phones, TV's, Cars, worthless people taking up oxygen and the list goes on. You get to see country (hopefully) that very few will ever see because they can not or will not venture to such places, and all the better for the rest of us that do.

But what I am really getting at is while I drive on the interstate highways and the US highways and state highways I along with many others pass by buildings, structures of time gone by. Maybe they are houses, mills or stores but now they sit still as the world moves on. At one time they served a purpose as a home, or a place to buy goods and now they are the home to mice and other little critters. Who lived there? Who worked there? Are some of the things I wonder as I drive by or sit and take a picture of them. Why? when? How did this place become no longer needed by anyone? Will it continually waste away or will eventually somebody or something tear it down or destroy it?

We as a country are just over 230 years young and think about the progression and transformation of our surroundings. Just over a 100 years ago folks were going by wagon in long trains working their way out to Oregon where my family and I now live. Did any of them travel along the same lines that my vehicle takes me along when I travel? Did they think that someday all that great open land they saw would someday be split, divided, fenced and taken for personal wealth, gain or independence? The herds of animals they must have seen roaming around and facing the world and peoples unknown to them must have been a tremendous rush. There were no interchanges, or rest areas along the road. Every step was a scenic byway to them and not a posted scenic byway by the state or federal DOT.

I am starting a new gallery on my website area dedicated to these things. I have not got any photos in there yet, but keep checking it and it will grow. Think about those things as we live our day to day lives. Is there really a hurry to find the end? I think you need to veer from the road, path now and then to continue the adventure. Don't loose sight of where you are going but don't be blinded by having to get there in a hurry. In this post there is a shot of a house in far western Wyoming near the Utah border and the othe is in central Oregon somewhere between Burns and Bend.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

September - Fall is coming!

2009-09-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Just thought about the blog and decided it would be a good time to get something out there if nothing else then maybe another photo! I just ordered some supplies from "documounts" out of Portland, Oregon so will be getting some more mattes, backboards and clear bags as this fall I need to push the photos......

The shot here is from last September when the family and I spent the weekend at a rental in Lincoln City, OR. Had a pretty good cliff drop from the back of the property but made for kind of an interesting photo on a Saturday evening. We are headed back to the coast again this coming weekend to stay in Pacific City which is just North of Lincoln City off of Hwy 101. Hopefully we will get a chance to eat at "Grateful Bread" an absolute awesome bakery/eatery! Will also try the Pelican Brewery while there as they have some pretty good brews!

Enjoy the shot and you can buy this out at my other site where I sell photos.........

Thanks for checking in! Tim -

Young Deer

2009-09-13T19:12:00.001-07:00

Almost mid-September and not much has been done. The continual, I'll get to it tomorrow night is my standard slogan. I am posting a shot of a couple of yearling black tail deer that I got some photos of while up in Sisters, OR.

I had been out on the McKenzie Hwy to try and scout out some other animals and gave up after driving and sitting in areas then just as I got ready to head back into town, these two and their Mother came wandering into range. So I had about one minute and a half to move around just a little and get a few shots. Their mother was far more leery and never really presented herself in a good position for the camera. I basically couldn't move much either as the usual snap of a twig and they are off.

Still working on other photos from Sisters and beyond and will get some posted out to my other site for purchase and viewing! Thanks for checking in!

Tim

Last Day in Augusto!

2009-08-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! Eight months down and four to go as we just cruise through the year of 2009. I am still at a loss for how fast this has gone by and what little I think I have accomplished. Anyway....

My Honey and I spent the last weekend of August up in Sisters, Oregon and I say up as we live in Salem so physically it is at a higher elevation. We did this for the celebration of our ten year anniversary and just hung out, shopped a little, ate a little and relaxed a lot!

The shot included is of some geese just about to go behind the trees and you have Mt. Washington in the background ( a bit out of focus, my intent was the geese). I was trying to track them on the fly while my camera was locked into the tripod so was not the easiest thing going but got them anyway and the Mt. in the background was not even noticed until after I looked at my shots. I had actualy tracked them for about three shots prior and this was my last shot of the geese in siloutte.

I am working on some other photos from that early morning rise (5:50 AM, 38 degrees) and most are concentrated on the three sisters mountains and I got lucky and stumbled across some deer off McKenzie highway that didn't flee from me while I shot at a distance. I will post them another time soon and on my website for photo purchase. Just follow the links on the right-> ->

Thanks for reading

Tim

August and Now Everything

2009-08-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

I went out to check the blog and realized it has been a month since my last visit here. The title said it all as I was just getting ready to head to Colorado for some backpacking. Well, I did go and had a great time with my two older brothers, one sister-in-law, a nephew and a couple of friends from Summit County, CO.

The shots I have included are from the area as we did our trip in the 'Rawah Wilderness' in North/Central mountains just below the Wyoming border. Beautiful area, but unfortunately we did not get much wildlife coming around. Maybe two many folks or the dogs but that didn't hurt the scenery.

The shots included are a long shot of the area we were headed to up in the "High" country stayed over 9,000 plus the whole time. The other is just that, a trail as it passed a high country lake on the right. The lake was actually on the left but since I was shooting looking back it became on the right.

Another thing I tried with this trip was using a compact Point and Shoot camera. To be exact it is a Panasonic DMC-FS25, with 12.1 megapixels, but choose it for the digital stability when shaking (does okay) and the wider angle lens this shoots with. I am in the process of working some of the photos to see how large I can go before there is any pixelization.

Anyway, it was a great trip and will have more of these kind of photos on my Smugmug account for anyone to purchase.

Tim

July - Colorado Ho!

2009-07-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Next to last week in July and we are on the downhill slide for the year! Getting ready to head East to Colorado for some back county with at least one of my brothers, maybe a nephew and some other friends from Colorado. Well, actually everyone was born, raised and went to school in Nebraska but enjoy the Rocky Mountain High!

Will be hitting the Rawah Wilderness area for about 5 days and then hang out in CO for a few extra days, visiting the old community where we lived and seeing some friends, etc. Look out Frisco, CO!

Here is a shot of a Northern Flicker which was taking advantage of some suet on one of my feeders. If you make it larger you will see some noise in the background, etc. I was shooting through a double pane window on the side of the house so that didn't help my issue there. Still a good shot, less the distractions. I am hoping to bring home some excellent shots from the trip and will be working with a Panasonic P & S, camera in the back country. Doing this as it saves weight and time, etc.

Have a great rest of July!

Tim

Half the Year - Gone!

2009-07-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to July! Can not believe the pace at which the year is going by and not getting much done it seems like. Actually things probably get done, just do not realize how much is as compared to how much is not.

Back in late March we took spring break down in Reno, NV. My family and two other families and also spent a day around the Lake Tahoe area. But the travels to and from Reno I think were the best as we went through what I would call "The forgotten California". The landscapes to me were awesome! Some were open wide expanses and others in tall forest land. The forest there was not like the forest in Oregon where it is dense and thick. These forests were more open and seemed spacious. This whole area is in the N/NE portion of California by the way, using highways 139, 299, 395, 44, 89 and even parts of I-5!

The shot is from a state park we stopped at to use the facilities at as the park itself was not quite fully open for the season yet. It is located at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial SP along Hwy 89 south of the Mt. Shasta area.

It was a really beautiful area and would like to go back and spend some time camping and shooting photos. Have a great day!

Tim

A Full Circle?

2009-06-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

If you haven't figured out some things about me is that I like feeding the little birds that hang out near the house. We get a variety of Finches, sparrows, dark eye junco's, some chickadees and of course a crow or two, some western scrub jays, Northern Flickers, etc. They feed off the bird seed I put in the containers and the suet, and of course bugs and such on the ground, that is kind of nice.

And though I feed them and enjoy their songs and flying around they pretty much don't have much to worry about as long as we keep the neighbor cats at bay. They have even accepted our dog when he is out laying on the back steps.

This evening though the circle came closed more/less. I was working on one of the water heads in the backyard and while I was correcting the spray a bird flew threw the yard but out of the corner of my eye I noticed something different, especially the tail feathers. It landed on the fence across the yard and I could only watch it looking for birds, the cameras were inside and if I moved it would be gone that quick. What was it? I am pretty sure it was a Sharp Shinned Hawk as it was much smaller then the Cooper's Hawks I have seen around here. It had missed a bird in flight so was searching for another. It was quite awesome to sit there and watch it looking around, and being a predator with some great skills.

I know it sounds horrible that I basically am inviting potential food chain activity in my backyard, but the Hawk has more misses then hits and it is part of the circle. I expected this much sooner but now will probably have to wait along time before it happens again. Of course it will take place when I don't have a camera handy!

Sorry no shots this time, but will post out some if a Hawk comes around and I have a camera.

Thanks for reading!

Tim -

Early June - Birds

2009-06-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

Well here we are working our way to the summer solstice and I thought I would post out a shot of some of my friends that come around for free breakfast, lunch and dinner most of the time. They only provide me and others with the enjoyment of watching them fly around, occasionally chirp some songs and of course poop on the feeders so I can clean them now and then.

This shot was taken in the backyard of our previous house back in February of 2008. I believe I have some 'Golden Finches' and some of the 'Lesser Golden Finch' taking part in the feast. I actually managed to catch one coming in looking for space. I must have gotten lucky on that one.

I am also trying to work out a system of photo management so I know what I have and where it is stored. Sure there is software out there to help me, but might as well try on my own first!

Any suggestions on storage, bird shooting (non-lethal), etc. please shoot me an e-mail!

Tim

Maybe a thought in May

2009-05-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well I see that I am well over a month since a post has occurred! I will apologize for that as I just do not make the time to do this blog, but will get better. I have been busy with family, work, facebook, etc. Going into this memorial day weekend it appears that our whole weekend is not booked with activities! Sleep in time?

I am going to post a photo of the capital in Salem that I took in haste back in December when it was cold out! The snow had been pretty messed up by the time I got down there but it was still pretty neat to see. Over in the upper right behind the capital you an see the outlines (in lights) of the 'Star Trees' on the Willamette University campus. They light them up every year and it is very nice during the holidays. Oh yeah, the snow! We do not get that much in this valley but this past December of 2008 we got around 30 inches at our house and we only live at 500 feet of elevation.

I am going to try to update this more often and I have said this a few times before but I mean it this time!

Thanks for checking in.

Tim

Squirreling Around

2009-04-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

Thought I better post something out before I go a whole month without. I might do a few this week depends on how I feel. At the moment pretty burned out from being outside most all the weekend. Yes the Willamette Valley was enjoying 60 and 70 degree temps all this past weekend 4/18-19. Truly great weather, and maybe to be in the 80's on Monday so that will start the locals bitching about the heat.

Got in a really good ride today out on the East side of Salem working my out and cruising along Howell Prairie rd along with many others to get there and back home. Going by this one field and I had a familiar scent waft by me and that was the smell of Onions! Yes Onions! Damn they smelled good growing in the ground and all I could think about was a nice juicy burger with some onion, tomato, pickles and blue cheese dressing on it! But all I had were some chewy shot blocks so they had to do.

Not much else going on and as the title says here is a shot of a squirrel from the Capital grounds here in Salem. These critters have to brave some traffic as they cross streets to other locals to get the acorns in the fall them bring them back and store them in various caches. It is kind of squirrel gauntlet, but if you stop and sit at a bench they will come by you thinking you might have a little something for them. They are sort of conditioned I guess.

Well, Let's hope for more continued good weather and maybe a shower or two so I don't have to water my lawn.

Til the next time - Tim

Back From Reno!

2009-03-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

March is almost over and recently completed the family 'Spring Break' trip down to Reno, NV! Along with two other families we traveled over the cascades and through the forgotten lands of California (NE Part) down to Reno.

Will be working on some posts out to my other site www.timehlers.com and share some photos there and maybe some more here. Did one day trip over to Tahoe to see why they want to keep Tahoe Blue and it is very beautiful....keep up the good work. Kind of strange though on the Southern side there is like this mini-city of about 20,000 and tall resort buildings. I was under the impression that there might have been some small towns but nothing like that. It was okay, just not what I expected.

Reno is not quite jumping as it once may have been, but was still pretty clean and decent to spend a few days in. Some of the casino action seems to have dwindled, but I think they get bigger weekend traffic then mid-week in late march people like us. Should have brought the snowboard as there is at least one little ski are just outside of town in the Sierra's and looked good for some turns, but no gear and not wanting to rent, then no riding!

Well, the end of this and the end of March are here. Hope your first quarter of the year has been kickin'. Thanks for reading - Tim

Any News? Updates?

2009-03-15T16:50:00.001-07:00

Again, here we are on a Sunday afternoon! The rain has stopped for a bit the sun is out and the winds are gusting into the 30's. I was going to ride the bike out on the road but didn't want to fight the winds or possible rain earlier so I locked it into the stationary trainer and spun for almost 50 minutes. Watched a little 'Paris-nice' on Versus and of course CBS to see who is in for the 'Big Dance'.

Saturday saw me take the trusty Pentax K10D and trade it in for a new Pentax K20D. Get a few more megapixels and some upgraded features and little bigger screen in the back. Overall a good swap and the folks at Focal Point Photography always take care of me. So now I need to browse through the manual and see how things function compared to the model that is no longer in the house!

Also got signed up on facebook so will use that as another way to get my photo work out. Hopefully will not spend to much time doing updates on that sight and answering other folks posts. Heck, I had one of my friends from back in Nebraska already go out and look at my smugmug stuff. That is a positive sign!

Well - I think I'm gonna end this one for now. Have a great week ahead and hope it is a positive one!

Tim

Some Changes and another Year older....

2009-03-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Another year has passed in continuum of my life. I have no complaints, well maybe none I need to talk about here or that I should bring up. But, it was another wonderful year and I look forward to another and many more!

Changes - not just my age but some things on the small business side. In order to cut some expenses I will no longer be having a generic site that gave information about me, had some photos, links, etc. Spending $200 a year for a static site didn't seem to be in the best interest at this point for my business.

I have several domains and will have them pointing to my Smugmug site which can also be accessed at http://www.timehlers.com/ for those who want to check out more photos and possibly purchase a few. This will be my focus to start up-loading photos to this site so there will be a lot more to look at. I will also be focusing on maintaining this blog a little more consistently to provide updates on things and something to while away some of my free time.

I will also be working on how to advertise services that I could provide to those that might be looking for a photographer. At the moment I am open to working with groups to shoot their event, etc. The basic cost is $60 for showing up and includes the first hour then $45/hour after that which would include shooting time and PC time if needed. I would place a cap on the amount of my charges and would work with those who have hired me. This is just a small thought on that, so if you know someone looking for a photographer, I would be happy to sit down and discuss matters with them! thanks!

Anyway, I guess I will go for now. We have changed into daylight savings time overnight so this week will be another adjustment working with a few extra daylight moments. Included in this posting is a Long Shot of a Blue Heron from a few weeks ago. I was resting my lens on a fence post in the country side and trying not have the Heron get spooked. I was probably about 100 - 125 yards on this shot so I still need to get a bigger lens. This was only a 70-200mm lens.

Have a great week! Tim

February - Got to make the time

2009-02-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well - let's see what we have been up to shall we? Not much blogging, a little bit of uploading to smugmug account and basically going to work and not making the time for the PC or much photography.

Well, that actually has been changing as I have been going out to the country side on one day per weekend. A friend told me of some Elk hanging near his farmland just West of Salem and North of the Baskett Slough Wildlife Refuge. I have spotted them but unfortunately they are usually to far away for me to work with even my longest lens. Also, it is all private land out there so will need to get permission to do some "early morning" arrival and do the sit and wait! But they are out there and in kind of unusual area I think, but hopefully they are finding some peace and joy.

While driving out and about on these country roads was able to catch some other animals, mainly the bird life. I have included one of just a small patch of Canada Geese, we have thousands cruising up & down the valley. Also a Hawk, maybe a red tail but they never let me get to close before they up and fly. This one is just not going to stay long enough for me to get a good frontal shot so you get a backside in flight shot!

Weather has been good so have been getting miles on my bicycle and working on some projects around the house when I/we find the time. Thanks for stopping in and taking a read!

Tim

January - Just coming & going

2009-01-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

Here we are over half way through the first month of 2009 and I finally sit down to write something or at least let anyone who might check this know that I/we are alive!

End of the year was pretty uneventful but we ended up with some good snow amounts and enough that made the local school district shut down a week early for the holiday break.

Overall it has been a rather chilly December into January but we have stay pretty dry other than the snow in December and some rain early in January for a few days. I think it rained all day on New Year's Day so that was pretty special.

Been working a little on some photo work and trying to sort though photos to get ready to upload to smugmug for further viewing or purchase. Here is a shot I took of the Capitol in Oregon just before Christmas. you can see the 'Star Trees' of Willamette University in the background cropping over the top of the capital building. It was a rather cold evening so my shooting was not the best as trying to keep my fingers warm and adjust the whole time was making the shoot rather interesting.

Well, I hope you all have a great New Year and I hope you will check out my smugmug area and find something you might like to purchase!

Tim

Mid-December

2008-12-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

Zoinks! Here it is the middle of the month, going to try and type something out to all those who might be reading and just share some thoughts.

Thanksgiving was good and got some photo work done around the 'Little North Santiam River' while we spent a few days at a lodge that my spouse's employer owns. Went with another family so we had two sets of parents and three crazy girls all together! That pretty much wound up the end of November and since have been just doing the regular day gig (govt. work) and making it through the day.

December and we have been pretty busy it seems? Most weekends something is going on and getting Christmas shopping done and things mailed to family that lives in other states, etc. Where does the time go? We have currently turned into a regular winter location in Salem, Oregon and have daytime temps in the upper 20's and some SNOW! Which is melting a little bit and turning to ICE! I actually got out on my snowboard (Sunday Evening) and made a few turns on our street with minimal scrapping on the pavement below. Pretty exciting!

I added in a shot as I was toying around with a camera and a candle holder we have. Our daughter had gathered the leaves and they fit between to cylinders of glass and then use a tea candle on the inside. I was playing with different shutter speeds and also using "bulb" mode so I could manually control the shutter with a shutter release cable. I actually shot this photo using "Raw" and then did some work and converted to the easy to use 'x.jpg' format. With Cropping, etc I have made the file pretty small overall, saves space. I thought it was kind of cool and hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for reading - Tim

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

As I sit here and look out the window of our new bungalow in West Salem, I thank my family for being the rock and helping keep me steady. I think of my family back in Wyoming and Nebraska along with other relatives in Minnesota, Arizona, Iowa and California. I think of all the friends I grew up with that are still living in the heartland and hope they are sharing a wonderful day with their families.

Yesterday (11/26) I was on a bicycle ride just west of the hills of West Salem and had to stop along side the road. I did this so I could take in the wonderment of the late afternoon sun bathing the hillsides and the fields of grass seed and wheat that were laying dormant for the winter. The hazelnut orchards and vineyards that have seen their harvest and wait for another year when they again will bring work and another bounty for people to enjoy.

I stopped because so many times I am riding along by myself or with others and never take the time to enjoy what is around me. Even though it was but a minute it is the kind of minute that will stay in my mind for recall on those days when the rain is coming down and I am not able to be outside. It also makes me think that sometimes me/we all need to slow down and realize that there are many things more important than a new bike or some camera gear. There is Family and Friends, our health and the joy of being alive everyday.

I hope that anyone who reads this will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your Family, Friends or whomever you may be with this day. Take a moment to relax, think about what is important to you and try and do something for someone else this holiday season that will make a difference in their lives.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

Where Was I & is it really November?

2008-11-11T21:18:00.001-08:00

Holy cow! I have been meaning to get back to this and then I come up with an excuse and do something else. Overall though I really have some good excuses and the main one is the selling of our prior house and purchase of our now current home. A big move of about seven blocks in our neighborhood but we get some more space and a lot quieter street. I will not have the 'sunrise' that is the photo at the top of his blog.

Anyway, we have been to coast for a weekend back towards the end of September and since have been packing or unpacking. I am working via laptop so have to use jump drives to move files from the mothership PC to the laptop for doing things like this. I will get back in the habit soon and start to put out some more material.

Anyway, while at the coast I was trying to practice shooting (with camera) the general birds out there. Seems gulls are the predominant species! Anyway, I have a somewhat scratchy photo of one in flight and a few others that I feel good for publishing to my smugmug site. I also put in a shot of a Northern Flicker working our bird feeders at our previous house. It has not found the feeders at the new house....yet!

Well, gonna go for now. I have a had a nice day off, so thank your veterans for this holiday, oh yeah, that would include me as I am a veteran from the Army '86 - '90.

Thanks for reading! Tim -

Bring on the Fall!

2008-09-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

A nice overcast day today with a few rolling showers and at times some quick down pours. Summer comes to a head on Monday (officially) and this Sunday is the last day of summer! But why would I be excited? There will start to be more overcast days which makes shooting (cameras) almost anytime during the day much easier but you lose some of those sunsets and sunrise days. The give, the take!

I was out in the late morning doing a short 24 mile ride on the bicycle when I went by a field between Hwy 99W and Riddell Rd in Polk County, Oregon. There were six hawks, I believe they were 'Red Tailed' Hawks as they are pretty prominent around here. It was unusual to see so many in one medium sized field all feasting (I think mice or voles). Anyway I went back later in the PM when some showers were rolling through and took a few shots. The one included here is a hawk up on top of an evergreen tree as I was about 70 yards away, leaning against a pole next to another tree and trying to keep my big lens (Sigma 135-400) steady and dry! It was good to just see them and watch it take flight just a few shutter clicks latter.

I have added in another shot of a Red Winged Black Bird that I caught along the side of the road back in mid-April. It just sat there singing while I shot from the car across the road.

You gotta love these birds! Now get out and enjoy what the world around us has to offer!

Thanks for reading. Tim -

First Showing!!!!

2008-09-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hey! Thanks for stopping in and seeing what is new.

Just wanted to put out to anyone reading that I have two pieces of photo work that are on display at the Enid Mount Joy Gallery in Keizer. This is their September Wildlife exhibit, it is located within the friendly confines of the Keizer Arts Association. The location is 980 Chemawa Road NE in Keizer in the Keizer Heritage Community Center.

The show is from September 6th through September 24th and the hours are as follows:

Gallery Hours are:

Thursday: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Friday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

If you get a chance to get out there, please check it out. Not just for my work but the work of a number of other local artists. There were paintings, some bronze work and a very wonderful piece that was done on glass and the medium escapes my mind right now. It was really awesome and I had never seen that type of work that I could recall!

That is about it! First week of September out, Kids are back in school and I am somewhat tired from a windy bike ride today.

Tim -

End 'O August & Beer Ingredients

2008-08-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the end of August and some cooler temps here in the PAC NW along with some rain this past month! I actually got caught (while cycling) between two sets of showers moving over the Eola Hills on my way back home as I was skirting the county roads in Polk County. Was good to get quite wet on the bike and keep it up right and now am letting the shoes doing some drying.

Well, speaking of the topic "beer ingredients" I was out for a ride a few Sunday's ago and rode by some "Hops" fields over the river on the Marion County side of things. They are coming in quite nicely and should be harvested soon and sold to multiple brewers and others who might use this crop. I am a fan of the IPA's and they are usually a little hoppier then the average beer. Anyway after riding by them in the AM, I went back out in the mid-evening and got a few shots. I have only unloaded the shots from one camera and not the other yet so I have included a few of what I have. Five years ago while riding with others I had to ask what these were and they told me as I had no idea they grew on a vine. It is amazing when you see these huge fields of Hops while going along the road, and with a little moisture in the air they can have a very wonderful aroma! Makes me kind of thirsty!

Other items; I Had been doing about 10 photos per week to Smugmug for almost four weeks when last week I kind of got out the process with some Physical Therapy, another little leg injury and two days of vacation from work I just lost track of time and effort. Will get back in the swing again on that as this week progresses, and might have some more time in the evening now that school will be starting and that should take up some energy from the daughter.

Well, that is it for now. Not much in the way of enlightenment I don't think. Hope it has been a super Labor Day Weekend and now on to the fall Season!

Tim -

August - Dog Days

2008-08-10T19:05:00.001-07:00

Here we are heading towards Mid-August and the 'Dog Days' of summer! Where I grew up in Nebraska this became the hottest time of year with humidity equalling the air temperature. I would sweat in the shade in the middle of the night it was so hot at times.

Well, now here we are in Salem, Oregon and yes we do get some temps in the 90's but overall we only get 2-3 days of this in a row and then it is back into the low and mid 80's. We actually just had a few days here in August with the highs in the low 70's with night time temps in the 50's and 60's. If you have never been here in the Pacific NW, don't believe the rain stories....we seriously get very little rain June - September and even in our town the annual average is only 42 inches of precipitation per year. Keep moving and the moss will not grow on you much!

Anyway, I was going through some older photos and came across this one in a set of shots from July of 2007. This is a view looking [N/NE] from our deck over the roof tops and you can kind of make out Mt. St. Helen's in the background in the middle right. When we do have these evenings it is good to sit out on the deck, enjoy a beer and watch the view!

Wherever you are I hope that you enjoy your sunsets and sunrises and everything around you. Enjoy every moment and never take to much for granted!

Tim -

Wyoming - Jellystone and Night Rodeos

2008-07-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Howdy!

Have been back about a week now from a visit to Wyoming. Cody in particular as that is where my folks live so it was time to have a short (4+ day) vacation to take my daughter to see grandma/grandpa. Thankfully got some reasonable tickets and flew from Salem, OR with a stop in Salt Lake then on to Cody. That saved us at least 4 hours of driving each day to catch or go home from airports.

While there is a bunch of things to do in that part of Wyoming, Cody itself has some interesting things going on. The gateway on the East side, Cody is about 50 miles from the East-Gate to Yellowstone. In Cody they have a Night Rodeo and from my folks house you can watch it (with binoculars) and you can hear it! We did not make it this time to the rodeo but will when we venture out again next year.

Grandma, daughter and I all went to Yellowstone to see 'Old Faithful' and take a drive through part of the park. On the way we able to start a "Bear Jam" and I was lucky enough to get some shots of a Grizzly from my point on the road. The bear was about 150 plus yards away and I only had a 200mm lens so I could not get a super shot. Of course I didn't want to ask the beast if it would pose so never got a clear face shot. I included about the best shot I have and have cropped it in from the original.

Anyway, if you are out there in Wyoming land head to Cody and take in some Rodeo, do some rafting, go to Yellowstone and just relax. Things move pretty slow around there so you don't need to be in a hurry.

until next time.

Tim

Just Hawking Around

2008-07-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

So back in June on the 16th I am coming home on my bicycle from work and a hawk flies overhead and perches on my neighbors roof. I figured it would fly away by the time I got into my house grabbed a camera and headed out, but no it had not. It actually flew across the street to a fence to watch the hood.

So I started moving slowly and went across the street and got a shot before it flew to another tree, which my curiosity made me get close to and by doing that it flew out to a bush. Now I was shooting towards the sun around 6 PM but didn't want to move anymore. Really didn't want to stress the hawk and you have to take what you are given. The hawk rested on the ground, then the bush and it was only about 25 feet away so luckily I had been shooting with a big old 70-200/f2.8 so I could get some reach.

What I did not know was the hawk was looking for dinner! It made a small little jump towards the ground then just rammed into the bush that you see it sitting on. BOOM! about a dozen sparrows go flying out of the bush (they had been absolutely silent) and then the hawk came out with one in its clutches. Of course I had been so in tune with what it was doing I had quit shooting and was just watching......Dinner was served!

Enjoy the shots - I believe this is a 'Cooper's Hawk' based on the ambush method of attack! Plus the size, tail feathers and Head based on most of my research I am sticking with the Cooper's Hawk.

Thanks for reading!

Tim-

Opal Creek - Oregon Cascades

2008-06-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

A Sunday or so ago my wife, daughter, myself along with our dog went up to the Opal Creek area for a day hike. We ended up doing a seven mile loop which was a little more than we should have for the seven year old and our dog who was dragging too by the time we got back to the car. This area is a little over an hour of travel time East of Salem, and is kind of busy on the weekends, as it is rather an easy hike overall. Still a very wonderful area and to remain intact for years to come.

Anyway, this is a protected "Old Growth" area which used to have a little mining village so along the road/path you see some of the old mining equipment that was used and left behind. Further up the road is the community area of 'Jawbone Flats' which is where there are cabins that can be rented and they do learning camps for the area teaching of the ecosystem and what the old trees still do and the value to the system.

Of course there was the Little North Santiam River, which was flowing rather well from a tremendous snow pack and the spring melting. So the roar of the river stays with you as you pretty much hike/walk along this old road cut.

One of the little critters that can be found there is the 'Western Red-Backed Salamander'. The one I shot here happened to be working its way across the parking area so hopefully it did not get squished from a car later on.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

Long Time No Blog & Horsepower!

2008-06-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hey ya out there!

Keep meaning to get to this blog site but have been passing it up even while at work! Can you believe that I would rather work at a real job then post something out here? Anyway......

Things have been moving along the past month, have put out about 5 photos per week of just regular stuff to 'Smugmug' and recently posted a few shots of the 2008 Silverton Road Race which was held June 1st. I was really out there to sell off some wheels I had but took the cameras to catch some action and/or shoot some of the local countryside! You can check out my smugmug area and get into sports photography/OBRA racing where there are several galleries.

Here is a shot of my newest Bike in the stable....2006 Ducati Multistrada 620. I bought it back in late February (had 73 miles) and got my safety courses and endorsement done by mid-march. Since then have been using it to commute when I do not ride a bicycle and do some scouting rides for future bicycle training, etc. Got out today with a couple of friends and rode the back roads up to Woodburn (60 miler round trip) to look around at the outlet mall. Good will power as I bought nothing even though I was very tempted in a few stores. I meant to ride my bike today, but have to have priorities and there will always be time to pedal.

I am for hire for shooting teams, events, etc. I am currently pretty cheap at $50 for the first hour then $40/hour after that which also includes any computer time if you want some photos to be checked. Of course I have to unload them from the camera and be able to cut them to CD or DVD. Anyway that is a plug for my small company TRE Photography.

Have a great rest of the weekend! Tim

Small Update on Smugmug

2008-05-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hello to whomever is reading!

I was working on the PC last night and was logged into my smugmug site and since I had some processed photos I actually uploaded them to the site in the "Animals" area. A few of the photos are of some Big Horn sheep that I was able to photograph last December (07) while spending the part of the Holidays with Family in Cody, Wyoming.

A couple of other shots were of some 'Gulls' while we did our annual family pilgrimage to the Coast for my spouses birthday.

If you want to check them or other shots out, please check my smugmug site where you can purchase any or all of the photos available! There is a link over on the right.

Have a great day! Week! Weekend, Month, Year!

Tim

Eyewear

2008-04-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hi folks!
Just thinking about eyewear and the various brands that I have used or currently use. In my snowboard days it was and still is 'Smith' products and also have used their products for use in cycling and running. Usually with interchangeable lenses to compensate for varying light conditions. I still have an older pair of 'slider 2' at home and use them working around the yard, or under my helmet when I am riding my motorcycle.

Oakley's - can not go wrong with these folks, but you also thin out your wallet and I think you are spending more money for a name. My pair right now has interchangeable lenses, but you must be careful about taking in/out as you can break the catch pieces on the edge...bam! Out more money!

I have used some 'Axleys' but not really impressed by them. I also use some 'Ryders' and for a less expensive alternative found them to be very good eyewear and lenses. I have interchangeable on this pair also and for running me all of about $50, well worth the investment.

This leads me to my most recent trial....Tifosi optics. I recently purchased the "Slip" model with the Fototec lens and find them pretty awesome. I really like the ability of the lens to lighten and darken with the changing light conditions and they only ran me about $60! They have good ventilation and fit my bit larger noggin pretty well. I have not tried other brands (with this type technology) but do not want to spend the money on them (well over $125 - average) just to see if I like them. Would be happy to test them for FREE if anyone is reading this that has those connections! I would really like to test some more of the Tifosi though as in the past four weeks I have been very impressed for the versatility, fit and function of the eyewear. Can not say enough about the prices as they are very reasonable.

Thanks for reading, Tim

Kings Valley and Experimentation

2008-04-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Went out to take some shots at the Kings Valley Road Race this past Saturday April 12th. Absolute beautiful day, a few high clouds and the sun beaming down with temps in the upper 50's for a 10 AM start time.

Had driven the course a week prior so was trying to get some locations to catch the packs, using mostly climbs and one section of flat and then to the finish.

Not my best day behind the lens as I was messing with the 'burst' mode on the camera and doing some messing with E/V values which allows me to over/under expose the shots. This is going to cost me a little more time in the post production which is not something I enjoy all that much. It is so much nicer to get the shot in the moment instead of trying to come back to it a day or two later. I was also using my other Pentax digital SLR with a 12-24 wide angle lens and it works great when things are sitting still, but when folks are churning the gears out....well, not always the best, but it was fun to use and shoot at some pretty high speed.

Included is a the shot of south end of the women's peloton heading north through Kings Valley! I will have the rest of the days shots posted to my 'smugmug' area by mid-week. Will be posting approximately 150 of the various categories.

Thanks for reading! Tim -

Finch and upcoming Kings Valley

2008-04-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty lazy and have not gotten a photo of my new two wheeled toy! Soon I will and hope you are impressed by the horsepower I will be able to put down with this steed!

In the meantime, things are clipping away, day by day. I went out scouting the route for an upcoming bicycle race (kings valley) so I will be out there shooting some photos for the day[4/12]. Part of it to get shots for the teams web-site and the other to post out and hopefully sell a few afterward. With today's economy more folks seem to spend their money on $4,000 plus bicycles then a few bucks on a shot of themselves racing. Like their mom was out there and got a better shot? Of course this pertains to the bicycle culture life in Oregon, not the general public.

Cropped in on a 'golden finch' that was hanging out by the feed grounds in the backyard. This shot is actually last year about this time but I have quite a few variations of Finch's that come to get the free dinner. In the next few days I am going to start posting out to my 'smugmug' account and get that up to date. Need to have some fresh photos out there to choose from you know?!

Well not much else, just got back from the gym and need to relax my legs. Thanks for checking in. Tim -

A Few days off & some Bald Eagles

2008-03-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well I took a little vacation time off from the real $$ gig to hang out with my daughter, well at least for one day! Monday was a shopping day and other activities together but today, she thought it more fun to have a friend over and then go to grandma's later in the PM today (3/25) so I was left on my own for a few hours. Dad time was only a few hours today.

So I loaded up some gear and headed to Minto-Brown park and got out along the path that goes along side the Willamette River. Water was down enough so it was dry and very passable on foot or bike. The reason to go there is there is a nesting pair of Bald Eagles that are on the West side of the River but it is private property so to try and get close from that side is not very easy. So I go to the park and watch them and try to get some shots of the big majestic birds!

The shot included is not that good but it gives you some perspective of how big a nest might be! You see the one eagle perched on a branch outside the nest, and if you can barely see it there is another head just above the nest [click the picture and should make it fill a the window]. I am hoping they have laid their eggs and are now in the process of getting some new eagles to be around in a few months?! I was using my biggest lens a Sigma 125-400, shot at 1/180 of sec., f/8.0....did I say I was reaching as far as my lens would take me? This shot is actually cropped in so there is a lot more extraneous stuff in the original. My distance was approximately 175+ yards from my point to them.

Overall it was good to be out watching the river flow by, see the eagles and talk to some other folks that were also checking out the birds.

Then came home, picked up the daughter at Grandma's and shot some hoops in the driveway. Not a bad way to burn up the last day of vacation!

Thanks for reading, Tim -

Breakfast on Bikes

2008-03-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hello folks-

last time I left you and I mentioned something about 'Breakfast on Bikes' that our regional Bicycle Commute coordinator is doing on the last Friday of every month. I am giving you a shot of my fender of my

Redline Cross bike that I use as a commuter. It is mostly made up of parts from a cannondale road bike that I had and disassembled but sold the frame/fork/headset, etc.

Anyway, when Eric puts this on where ever it might be in Salem you should commute and stop by and get some coffee or a snack on the way to wherever you have to be that AM. Here are some of the donors to

the effort -Coffee provided by the Coffee House Café, pastries by Cascade Baking Company, and fruit by Lifesource. Be sure to support our generous donors!

I have given a number of photos to Eric to be used for promotion of this on-going event and possibly to be used by the BTA itself on a quick blog by them. Oh yeah, I have two pieces of photography in the silent auction for the BTA's annual even this Saturday (22nd) so if you are there, bid high as the money all goes to support their cause! Bicycle advocacy and safety!

Gotta go select my NCAA basketball brackets now!

Tim

It's been a couple of weeks

2008-03-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Noticed that the time was going by out in the real world. It is almost mid-March and I have not posted anything for almost two weeks. Did you miss it? Anyone?

Well, slowly getting taxes done and some photo work also. I am finally getting some photos to my regional bicycle commute coordinator (Eric L.) from a 'Breakfast On Bikes' that he put together on the last day of February. I will get a shot of that out on the next one, I promise! He is really working on promoting Bike Commuting and I couldn't agree more, at least to find alternatives to the SOV (Single Occupancy Vehicle).

I have been getting some miles in on the bicycles and on 3/9/08 took an all day class for motorcycle safety and passed my skills test. That waives having to take the skills test at the state DMV offices so now I have to study and take the written knowledge test, hopefully pass and I will be street legal with my motorcycle endorsement. I recently purchased a 2006 Ducati Multistrada 620 as a running errands, commute ride. Yes I still ride the bicycles in 3x/week but wanted to have another alternative. I can also use it to get to some photo locations and not burn as much fuel. Will get a shot of that another time also.

Will be working on photos this weekend and trying to update smugmug and looking at a revamp of my regular site. Included this time is a shot I took back in Aug. 2003 of smoke rising from the B&B Complex fire in the Cascade foothills of Oregon. I was sitting on Highway 20/22 after traveling East from Bend, Oregon using the Old McKenzie Pass road as the main highway was closed from this rather large fire. I happened to catch the spotter plane as it was probably doing boundary checks and aerial mapping of the fire for ground updates.

Tim -

End of February - Leap Day!

2008-02-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

Wow! Can you believe it? Last day of Feb. Tomorrow and it is "leap day" where those folks born on this day get to celebrate their birthdays. Must be hard doing that on a four year cycle. Let me rant for a bit here and get you some updates.

I did post three photos to my smugmug account on Tuesday night and am getting closer to posting at least two a night to start to build up the stock out there. I have plenty of images on the PC to review and get out for sale and display. I will have two pieces of matted and framed work in the silent auction for the BTA at their annual awards program in March. I am trying to find the positive in my lack of time to do all the things I would like to do and have changed up my work out routines to hopefully allow me to get a little more done.

Have been doing some successful commuting by bike to work this month, but have flatted three times in four weeks?! What gives? This last one I actually had a nice little shard of glass in the tire and it pinned holed the tube. I should not have swapped out my specialized armadillo tires this early. I am going to keep patched tubes with me for the commute as it gets a little pricey putting in new tubes every time. I have recently added some more Horsepower to my two wheeled collection. I bought a new Ducati MS620 motorcycle to help with gas savings and be my back-up when I do not ride the bicycles. I do sometimes commute with my spouse when it is raining as she only works two blocks away and I get to stay pretty dry that way in her car!

I recently dumped off some photos from my older Pentax istDS and had a couple shots of the moon with Mt. Hood. I didn't notice it right away that afternoon so the moon was getting pretty high up but it is pretty cool nonetheless. The shot was taken back in January from my back deck in Salem. Hope you will enjoy it!

Gotta go work on taxes or something now. If you get a chance, please check out my smugmug photo work and if there is something you might like to see let me know!

Tim

First One of February!

2008-02-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Hello!
Looks like I am averaging about two weeks between postings so far. I do not lead a very exciting life as a government worker and aspiring photographer.

I was intending to get out to one of the near-by National Wildlife Refuges but have not made it. I did take a day off during the week, but ended up riding my bike and running errands that had to get done. On Saturday 2/9 it was such great weather wise here in the Willamette Valley I needed to get out and ride and was able to get in a nice two hour ride North of Salem in Polk and Yamhill counties.

I am still working on some photos (a ton) that need to be reviewed, maybe processed or held for later. Then I need to update the smugmug location and looking at a redesign of my basic website.

I will be contributing two pieces of work (for silent auction), all framed, matted and signed that will be part of the BTA's - Alice B. Toeclips banquet/awards in March. Check out their site over on the right hand side to get more information.

To end I will include a sunrise from back in late October 2007 shot from my back deck. I have done some major cropping in so if you enlarge it, it shall not look so great. Will post again!

Tim -

More in January

2008-01-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Hi folks!

Left you about 10 days ago and am making the commitment to sit down at the PC and get some more blogging done. Seems our very cool or frigid for Willamette Valley standards is turning just a bit. Now that we seem to be getting away from mid 30's for highs we are getting back to rain! I don't think you can win when it comes to the weather here, but hopefully it will not freeze tonight or it is going to be a really bad Sunday.

I got in a run today and did get some bike commutes this week but not much in the way of mileage on the bike this year, maybe a 100+ miles so far? I am getting another new bike put together, a redline conquest pro frame set, with most of the other stuff hijacked off my older Cannondale. This will become my commuter and Cross-Racing bike if I get the motivation to race in the fall.

Hey, I know last time I said something about posting a shot or two of some bighorn sheep, but changed my mind for now. I am posting a shot of an icicle that was by this metal art thingy hanging by one of the doors at my folks house. I spent about twenty minutes shooting this icicle trying to catch drops coming off the damn thing. In this one you will see a drop just getting ready to be free from the main icicle and start its journey downward.

I am hoping to get out to one of the NWR's close to Salem to see about what birds might be hanging around and get some shooting in. Am also planning on heading up into the Cascades one of these weekends to do some skiing, snowshoeing, or sledding and getting away from the rain. Will hopefully get some good shots along the way. This week I plan on updating to my smugmug account with some animals and landscapes.

Thanks for stopping in!

Tim

New Year - New sights

2008-01-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

Wow! Over the past month and a half I have been looking at the blog but doing nothing about it. It is time to get serious and this is the year! Part of it has been laziness and the other part finding the time, but like I tell my honey bunny, you have to make the time. I should live by that same thought.

Well, December came and went with no updates so here we are mid-way through January and I am starting again. In December, my wife, daughter and I went back to Cody, Wyoming to visit my folks for the Christmas holiday. Good times, with a 3-4 inches of light powdery snow on Christmas eve and plenty of Mule deer coming into the yard for a little extra feed. Yes, my dad gives them a little bit of cracked corn to munch on, but not a whole lot and I don't think you could really say that it enhances their diet to much. Anyway, they get around 10-14 deer almost everyday and I have included a shot of one of the bucks that was around.

When not playing games with family or sitting around having a beer and talking I did get a chance to drive up the North Fork (Main Hwy) towards the East gate of Yellowstone Park. I will get you a shot or two of some Big Horn sheep that were hanging out near the road along some drainage's. Pretty nice to just sit there and watch them graze, had a few feisty males ramming their horns with each other. Makes you appreciate the animals in this world and being away from larger communities, cars and way to many people!

Well, this is just a start. I am going to work on some of the animal photos and check some of the local places in Salem to start getting some showing's on the walls of their businesses. I will post out when I have some out and about in the community.

So long for now, and thanks for stopping in! I promise to be more jazzed about getting stuff out and since I would like this to be my job someday maybe I should "make the time."

Bye, tim

Something Big is Coming?

2007-11-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

Did that grasp your attention? Well, maybe here in the next few days I am going to update my smugmug account and also post a few shots out here. It has been a long November, with the Thanksgiving holiday, hiring a few new staffers at work and getting some new floors installed in the house.......updating the old vinyl flooring, that stuff is just inadequate!

Will be posting again in a few days....I think I am finding some energy!

- Tim

Find A Niche!

2007-10-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

I was sitting around the other day seeing my e-mail box fill up with OBRA racing results and photo links from a recent Sunday Cross race held in the good state of Oregon. I was pretty amazed at the speed of some of the photo postings and started to realize that just about half the folks watching a race are shooting some record of the days happenings. Some post their photos to share because they want to and others like myself post to share but also to make money.

Sure I have a day job that pays the bills and for my equipment but would like to actually make photography my day/bill paying job...someday! Anyway, it got me to thinking why do I waste time shooting at events and why am I shooting anything at all. But it came to me as I was reading Outdoor Photographer while taking a break at work and in this one article there it was. You have to find your "Niche" and be the best at it......Damn! That's all it is?!

Well, I will still shoot races now and then or hire out for a team to shoot just them in a race, but I think my days of wasting time traveling, shooting, post production for most cycling are about over. I might shoot when I actually go to a race to race but will have to see about that, it doesn't fit with my Niche.

My Niche: I think it lies in animals and landscapes, as I truly love shooting birds (not the one finger type) with the camera and I love landscapes be it vast open spaces or urban jungles. So I will try to direct my focus that way and see where this journey will continue to take me. I will continue with this bolg and try to post photos here along with more photos to smugmug and one more outlet which I will talk about once it is set up.

So there you have it! Find what you do really well, and then work to become the best you can be at that thing you do well. Simple!

bye, tim -

Been a long time!

2007-10-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hello to anyone reading!
It has been a long time since I last posted. Almost a month in duration and what have I done or reasons may I make up to cover why I have been lazy. Um, I was at the coast one weekend, oh yeah, family things have tied me up for many evenings and weekends.....the list is almost endless!

Actually did go to the coast (Lincoln City) a few weekends ago and got some decent shots, a few of some birds, seals and what ever else came in view. It was kind of overcast rainy weekend so it was super to be outside but it was fun being away from home with the family. I still haven't dropped the photos from the camera yet so it might be some time before I get those out. I am still working on photos to go to Smugmug and finishing up looking at setting up a location on Istock.com as another place to move my photos for sale.

Been doing some shooting for my daughters fall soccer team and will be using some of those shots to give away for the girls at the end of their season.

I have a new bicycle on order from the Bike Peddler and it should be here by the end of October. It is a Specialized Roubaix Expert, could not justify going over $3,000 for a new road bike but it will be my first more/less all carbon bike. Well the frame, fork and I think the bars might be carbon so not completely a carbon setup. When it gets here I will have a 2001 Cannondale R2000 60cm complete bike to sell. More details can be had by emailing me on the bike.

Well, thought I would at the least post some trivial type speak for you to read.

Tim -

Fall is in the Air

2007-09-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hi ya!

Here in the NW we are getting closer to a new rain season, and where we moved from in the Rockies they are getting ready for a new snow season. The autumnal equinox is coming up so we will officially be in the fall season.

Cyclocross is getting in gear in Oregon, but I don't have a bike to race on as I sold it to another guy so he would have something other than a mountain bike. I am not in shape either so basically it is good all around.

Last week I had gotten a few shots uploaded to my smugmug site, but not this week. It has been pretty busy and I am hoping to get something done this upcoming weekend. I am starting to get some display photo work done to put out in local businesses if they have some wall space. Will keep you posted on anything that is out there in the public for view.

As I have probably said a few times before, when the skies are not raining and clouds are minimal we get some awesome sunrises here at the house. You can not see Mt. Hood in this shot but a fantastic sunrise back in July with some sun rays coming through. Enjoy!

Thanks for checking in and hope you enjoy the photo. Please feel free to go out to my smugmug site and browse through there.
Tim -

Posting sans Photo

2007-09-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I am trying to get to a weekly thing going and sometimes it is going to mean no photos. Just sitting down and taking the time to post. At least I am not posting a bunch of stuff from 'youtube' for you watching enjoyment.

Post 9/11 and the sun rose today, once again in the east just south of Mt. Hood from my house view looking back at the Cascades. I will have to unload some digital photos one of these days and see what is what as I get a few shots almost every morning. I did get a couple of photo galleries updated on "SMUGMUG" over the weekend and am trying to at least do about a half-dozen a week. Check it out if you get a moment the link is over on the right. I am also in the process of going through some paper work to see about getting set up with another photo outlet called "iStock" which is a stock photography place. I can upload and hope people, businesses or what have you will download my photos....for a fee of course!

Saw that Brian Marcroft was putting up a little whining on his blog about lack of frame sales for his small business. Go check out his stuff and see if anything is maybe in the line of what you could use for a new bike frame. I am thinking about going back to some mountain biking, but haven't really made that commitment. Maybe Brian could build me a large frame (he is shorter than I) and I could build some middle of the road machine to do my damage on. We'll see about all that as the 'Funding' issue always comes into play.

My co-workers all thirteen of them, out of 1,250 have posted trips for the Bicycle commute challenge put on by the BTA out of Portland. It is currently eight more than posted trips all of last September so I have made a small improvement on getting people to try bike commuting. I am actually seeing more folks doing some bike commuting around Salem, especially going from West Salem across the bridges to work on the Marion County side. So it is pretty cool to see others whom I do not know putting their legs to good use. To them I tip my beer!

I'm going to call it for now. Keep looking forward, have no regrets and learn something new everyday! Tim-

Nothing Big

2007-09-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Howdieeeeeeee!
Not much happening, well actually a lot is happening but I am failing to keep up with it all. I don't think there will be photos in this post as I have spent a little time on the files but not enough.

I did get a couple of shots loaded into the 'Smugmug' site. When you are out there you sometimes have to dig through the various categories and galleries and at the bottom of each there should be a date that shows last update. Sorry it isn't more convenient but you can not always choose the weapons you go to war with!

Labor day w/e came and went and I spent the better part of Saturday and Monday helping with Eugene Celebration Stage Race, doing wheel support. Pretty good courses and a great way to wind up the road racing season. At least it looked liked the racers were enjoying the courses. I couldn't believe the amount of attacking in the 'masters 35/45' group on Saturday! Glad I was driving my car full of wheel sets. Sheesh!

School starts tomorrow for all the grades in the Salem-Keizer SD, all that is except Kindergartners. Our daughter will a first grader and seems pretty stoked about getting to the class room and being at school for the whole day instead of the half day of last year being in kindergarten.

Bike Commute Challenge kicked in for the month of September here in Oregon and is sponsored by the BTA (check the link over on the right). I am the volunteer coordinator for my employer this year and have about 24 people signed up out of 1250 FTE's. Pretty sad, but people love their cars and will not think about other transportation. I try to bike commute to the day job at least three days/week. Sometimes I take a day with my honey as she works two blocks away on the same hours so at least it is two people in the car instead of just one.

Well, hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Will get something more interesting in the next posting or two.....maybe some bug shots? bye for now!

Hood River - Mid August

2007-08-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am able to head to Hood River, Oregon for a weekend with the family but can not get photos posted to my smugmug web-site! I promise to myself and all those fans, I will be getting some of the categories updated this weekend 8/25-26. Follow a link on the right side of this page to get there and if you like something, feel free to make a purchase!

Like I said, we went to the HR for a weekend to hook up with my wife's friend and her husband who were up from the San Fran area. First time I or any of us had spent any time in the area except for passing through on i-84 or one visit for a Thomas the Train thing. Have stayed up North from there in Trout Lake, WA. which is basically at the foot of Mt. Adams fantastic view from there.

Anyway there are quite a few things to do in Hood River, good eats, places to stay and activities such as biking, hiking, wandering around and of course "Wind Sports!" tons of folks hit the columbia gorge to Sailboard or Kiteboard, you choose your fancy. Our friend is the old school person and does the sailboarding so have put up a shot of some folks out doing their thing.

Also spent some time doing what they call the 'Fruit Loop' in the Hood River valley, which is basically a ton of spots to stop at and get fresh fruit and other assorted goodies from the many orchards, wineries and local folks who make a living off the land. Included is a shot of some lavendar growing as part of 'Hood River Lavender Farms'. The relaxing scent from those plants was simply amazing. Pretty fun thing to do and would recommend it for anyone spending some time there. Great scernery and super folks to talk with about their products, etc.

Hey couldn't forget to throw in a shot of a small flower from our back deck, you see you do not always have to travel to find some beautiful things!

Well it was a short weekend as they always are. Hope things are going great in your world, as things are going pretty darn good in our world. From Salem, OR. Bye for now - Tim

Mourning Dove - Sunset & a Blimp

2007-08-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

Well here we are the close of another weekend the second full one in August! I have recovered quite well from last weeks State TT's and got in a good little ride with Scott's Tuesday night rides this past week. I took Monday and Tuesday off as it really was getting old going to the day job every Monday and Tuesday.

Since I had some time off I was hoping I was going to get some photo work done, maybe like posting out to Smugmug and cleaning up files on the PC here at home. Got a few files cleaned up but nothing new posted and now am aiming for this week - week of 8/13/07.

Back towards the end of July I was spending an evening with my Pentax ist-DS out on the back deck near the bird feeders. I keep a Sigma 135-400 lens attached and mounted to my tripod for some of the closer work. I am still a bit skeptical on the glass work of this particular lens but some other landscape shots have come out quite nice, so I will keep it for a while longer. Anyway, I was able to be still for a long enough time to allow some Mourning Doves to continue feeding off of seed and insects from the ground. I took this shot between two slats on the deck and have cropped in to get a closer feel.

The same evening, I got bored with the birds so tilted the camera on the tripod and took some shots of some tall pines just a few hundred yards away. Looks kind of cool with the darkness of the trees, the clouds drifting by all the while the sun is setting beyond the Eola Hills.

A couple of days later while having dinner I look out the window and there is the 'GoodYear' Blimp cruising by! Not sure where they were going and never saw anything in the local paper about it, so obviously was not that interesting to many. My daughter thought it was really cool as this was the first time she had seen one and my first time in the last 20 years or so!

Thanks for reading and feel free to drop a line at tim@trephotos.com anytime you like.

Bye,
Tim

OBRA State TT's

2007-08-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, Did that totally suck wind or what? I added around 4 minutes and 30 seconds to my best time on the Peoria 40K course. By added, I mean, slower....1:06:11 which gave me DFL for the master mens 40-44.

Wasn't feeling bad hitting the turn around with a just over 25 mph average, was trying to conserve some as it was going to be a consistent head wind on the way back. Really affected me, but didn't seem to bother much of anyone else.

I can't complain to much, it was a great course as usual and I felt in decent shape. Could afford to drop a few LBs and train a little harder. Speaking of which I finally went out on one of Scott's Cycle group gathering rides tonight [8/7]. I rode with the faster group of the slower group, as I didn't feel like getting dropped with the overall fast group. Didn't know many of the names or faces in my group as I had not been on this ride in over two years. I train alone....all by myself, maybe not the best tactic and my TT results show not riding high paced rides can affect you.

Sorry no photos of the TT that I am aware of, but will have a blimp story and some more feathered friends here later this week.

Bye
Tim -

My Ride & the Kestrel

2007-07-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Whoa! It has been a while since I have been out here working on the bloggishness of my site. Can I use that long b..... word? I will try to do some updating over the next several days and try to get more regular on blogging. Wanted to make sure what I was to be regular on! It also helps having our daughter out for four days at a camp (her first) so we will not see much of her until Wednesday. Hope she makes it through.

Back in June I was taking a little ride, a bit rainy and some wind out on the west side of the 'eola hills' from where I live in West Salem. Just ahead of me along Greenwood rd heading south I see two birds hanging by the side of the road. As I approach one flies off but the other kind of hovers by the road. I go by it and then turn around as I thought it looked like a little immature Hawk or something. After staring it down and having it retreat to the brush about seven feet from the road I felt better and kept peddling along. Still not sure what type of bird, but am sure it is a member of those 'Birds of Prey'!

As curiosity killed the cat so did this feathered friend spark my interest. So later in the day around 4:30 PM I drove back out to the area with some of my camera gear and would you believe it, the little bugger was sitting in a field across the road from the AM siting. So I walked along the road and got some shots and it was working its wings with the wind and flew off to a post close by my car parked on a side road. Then I just let the bird sit there on the post and it allowed me to get closer to it, until I was about 15-20 feet max distance from it. I was also shooting with a 70-200/f2.8 lens so didn't need to be super close!

Anyway after about five minutes the little fella tested it's wings and flew back across the road next to another field. That is where the other shot came in, as I was able to sit along the side of the road where the bird flexed its wings and made itself look like a big old monster....can you see it!

It eventually flew off to some small scrub oaks and blackberry vines near the field and away from the road so I packed up and headed for home. Upon return I was tring to figure out what the bird was and thinking a 'Sharped Shinned Hawk' or a 'Copper's Hawk'? Obviously in an immature stage but was not paying attention to markings on the head. Neither was correct, after looking at my birding books, the answer was right in front of me.....'American Kestrel'. Looks like it is in the immature stage and watching it learn to fly I would guess that to be true.

No harm came of this bird while capturing the images and I gave it as much space as needed so hopefully not to stress it. What a great day that was, and makes me appreciate those rare moments when I get a chance to be so close to something so beautiful. Oh yeah it was back on June 24th, I have ridden by there several times since but have yet to see the Kestrel or any of its other family. I took a bunch more shots but just sampling two out on the blog.

Tim -

Backyard Birds

2007-06-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier I had posted about various birds that visit the feeders in my backyard and here I am wondering what the male House Finch is saying or asking the Female. Maybe something like, " Hey I know a great place for some bird seed.." or looking at his beak, she might let him know that he has a 'little something' on it and it looks embarrassing! More will be posted to my smugmug area that has the birds!

These little devils are starting to let me set up my gear outside and then I stand/sit and wait for a little while and let them get comfortable enough to come and eat and hang around the feeders. Some of the shots I have taken are from within the house so not only shooting through all the glass in the lens but also the window glass.....way too much glass.

So another little House Finch is hanging out on a plant trellis looking all cool and then "Poof"!

He makes his whole little body and feathers just pop out! Kind of like saying "How do you like me now! You want some of this?!"

Of course the equalizer in the whole show is when the friendly Cooper's Hawk comes around and sits on the feeders. Now he is looking for a free meal too, but most of the other birds that hang out for the free meals do not like becoming a meal themselves. I am not totally sure this is a Cooper's Hawk or possible a Sharp-Shinned Hawk? If you know, feel free to let me know.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Tim -

Upcoming

2007-06-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hello family, friends and fellow countrymen! I will be getting some posts out, again about those little birds in the backyard. I need to sit down and unload the camera that is getting full on the disk. Also will be updating some of the "Smugmug" areas this week, energy permitting.

I also have a number of items that need to be outta the garage so will be posting not only to OBRA but also to this blog which will have pictures and prices included.

That's it for the moment, guess I should get back to my day job!

Tim -

Sunrise, Birds and shoot the Moon

2007-06-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here we are just flying though June and I am sitting down to the once a week deal of an update to the page.

I spent a little time in May sitting out in front of my house shooting the moon! The neighbors did not seem to mind as it was actually me taking photos of the moon as it was working towards full. During the early and later part of May the moon made it to full so the later we call a 'blue moon'. I try to pick it up in various stages and with the longer daylight you have more sunlight from the setting sun to help light the moon. This moon shot is from the first week of May, and has been cropped in a bit to help show some of the craters. Sorry for being a bit out of focus, I should have used the remote trigger on this application. I am working on more of these shots to post to my regular "smugmug" account.

I also have some bird feeders off the deck in the back yard and they attract a fair number of finches, sparrows and other little birds to feed for free. This shot is a handful of the little feathered friends waiting their turn for an open space at the feeder below (out of shot).

It is also great to wake up in the morning and see where the sun is rising in proximity to Mt. Hood. I have some great view of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens from the deck, of course some of that is weather dependent. Here is a shot from a sunrise in May, if you like it you should check out some other sunrise shots in my 'smugmug' site. Just look for the links on the right of this page.

Well that will wrap it for the moment. Have to get something else done but can not remember what it is. Thanks for stopping in for a look.

Tim -

Memorial W/E - Silverton RR (5/27/07)

2007-05-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

well this is a few days past but went to the Silverton RR to volunteer some time for the cycling sport and was a corner marshal on the back part of the 17 mile loop. A bit of chilly day with overcast skies and temps in the upper 50's to low 60's by mid-day.

I was only doing my part for the AM races and had Dave who races for OSU (beavers) was helping at this intersection with marshal duties. Races were pretty well smashed apart during the first lap except about 35-40 cat 4/5 men were able to stay together for all three laps. I found out later that there had been a pretty nasty crash with about 300-500 meters left. mulitple broken collar bones and one individual who was rushed to Silverton then life flighted to OHSU where he is making some a very good recovery the last time I checked. His name is Ryan McKnab and friends have set up a blogspot that you can check to see how he is doing. The blog location is ryanmcknab.blogspot.com if you get a chance put in a little prayer or send some positive vibes to PDX/OHSU and Corvallis where he and his spouse live.

I am going to post out a few pictures in the next few days of some of the general racing. I did take a few shots while some of the morning groups came by. Not much in the way of traffic so was able to get the 'ol trusty pentax out a get some clicks in.

Not much else for the moment...thanks for reading.
Tim -

2007-05-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

I will try to do this at minimum once a week to let you know of any happenings in my world of photography or other happenings.

Last week 5/12 (Sat) I went and shot the OBRA TTT along with a few other photographers. I will try to get their links figured out as I learn this but here are a few shots from my collection. you can check the rest out at http://trephotos.smugmug.com. Go to OBRA Racing and check out the galleries!

First Photo is CMG winning the Sr. Mens Field and the second is some of my teammates from Bike Peddler here is Salem, competing in the Cat 3's.

Thanks and see you later