My Best from 2008

My Best from 2008 Throughout the 2008 year my camera recorded a total of 6,174 photo's.

This BLOG entry is dedicated to my favorite works. I chose these 40 photo's based on artist emotion, a memoriable event, difficult capturing, and the "awe" factor. My 2008 Best is in no particular order.

Enjoy!

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Considered to be the most photographed lighthouse on the west coast, I too have photographed my share of this sentinal. Each time, I try to "better" the previous shot.

Tensil of Moss Several of the trees in this area along the South Fork of the Coquille River are blanketed with this beautiful lime green moss. This journey will be documented in an upcoming blog entry.

World's Tallest Sugar Pine Located within the headwaters of the South Umpqua River, this magestic tree stands tall at 265 feet with a diameter of 7.5 feet. This trip will be blogged at a later time.

One Woman's Junk is just that...Junk

Drive the Bandon Beach Loop, and don't miss this self-proclaimed second-hand treasure trove "amuzement park". The place is an experience all in itself. There is art on every shelf and under every rock here.

Coastal Giant Sitka Spruce

My mother and I took an ocean cliffside trail near the Shore Acres Gardens. Having my mother stand near the living giant tree illustrates the grand depth of the trees magestic beauty. This tree is standing guard on the southern boundary of Sunset Bay State Park. A "twin tree" of similar size stands guard on the northern boundery of Sunset Bay.

Sight-Seeing Buddies

The majority of my 2008 summer adventures were with Brian - from Montana, and Gus - from Washington. They were both in Coos Bay for a three month intern study with the Foresty Department. Great memories were created thanks to these two guys. Watch for these adventures in upcoming blog entries.

"Mystery Shipwreck"

This once buried ship eroded out of the sand dunes during winter's high surf. Eventually the wooden mystery ship was identified as the George L. Olsen. The drama behind this story will be revealed in a blog entry this coming February.

Golden Falls - Winter Flow

I was amazed with how much water roared down this waterfall in the winter compared to the summer flow...like night and day. To capture this dramatic photo, I had to stand on the cliff's edge, 200 feet up, and extend my camera horizontally out an additional ten feet on a tripod. I blindly held the camera facing the falls and set a 10 second delay. It took seven tries to get the entire falls in the shot. CRAZY!

Frankport Sea Cave

Having Brian in this photo, illustrates the immense size of the cave. See what is inside the cave in a future blog entry.

Art of the Concretions

The Cape Arago Headland holds the largest concentration of concretions in Oregon. (say that 3 times fast) This misundertood type of rock is my favorite. I'll explain the story behind the concretion rock in a February blog.

Keeper of the Yard

This unique lady owns the "junk" yard in Bandon. The photo doesn't do her proper justice...you have to meet her to discover that...and buy something from her to understand. Watch for her story in a future blog entry.

Hewett Falls

This beautiful falls is rarely seen by the nature lover or the general tourist because it "falls" on private property and limited access into the property is given. A future blog entry will share the mystery of its location.

Lookout Rock

I visited this rock five times this last summer...each time with a different group of people. It is one of my favorite coastal vista's. This location will too be a future blog entry.

Black Silhouette of a Dancing Whitebark Pine

California forest fires added to the dramatics of this photo taken within Crater Lake National Park. This will be a future blog entry you'll love.

"Mama Mia"

I chose this photo of my Neice, Nicole, because our goal during the photo-shoot was to capture her NOT smiling. This was a huge challenge to achieve...for those of you who know Nicole will know that she is always smiling. Though it took a bit of training...we did get the job done and the collection of photo's taken turned out excellent...thanks Nicole.

Gateway

The wild rugged splender of the Oregon Coast is best seen along the Samual Boardman State Park corridor. This incredible photo location is dificult to get too, making the discovery of it a highlight for me. This journey will be a future blog entry. You'll love the trip!

The "Majesty" Grove

I journeyed into the Redwoods four times during the summer of 2008, each with a different group of people who had never seen the majestic trees. I never tire of seeing them myself. The Redwood journey will be revealed in a future blog entry.

Mack Arch

The largest natural arch on the Pacific coast...large enough you can fly a small plane through it. To get this view I had to access private property, making it one of the least seen natural wonders in Oregon. You can read about this wonder in a previous blog entry titled Crook Point - Mack Arch.

On the Seventh Day...God Rested

(PEOPLE'S FIRST PLACE CHOICE)

While my mother and I were out exploring the Millicoma River, we stumbled across this peaceful waterfall on Schoolhouse Creek. I have seen no other place that tops such a serene natural work of art.

The Three "Rodonte's"

Maxx, Mocha, and Tyg love to go exploring with me. These high-energy filled busy little dogs have hiked up to four miles on a single hike. My mother and I share the accomplishment of this photo.

Silver Falls in the Fall

If you've never been to Golden and Silver Falls State Park, then you are missing out. The Park features the second and third highest waterfalls in the Coast Range. You can read about this journey in the previous blog entry titled,

Golden and Silver Falls.

Coquille River Lighthouse

This harbor and ocean front lighthouse is the only such structure of its kind. The lighthouse was recently painted back to its "historical" color. The new "old" color sparked a fire of controversy with the people of Bandon.

Smith River Reflection

When my mother and I explored the Smith River watershed we quickly learned that if the river didn't have bridge crossings, we wouldn't have had luck in photographing...let alone seeing the river. Follow the Smith River in a previous blog entry titled, Smith River Trek.

In the Beginning...Let There Be Light

The Oregon Coast is notorious for summer fog. When the ingrediences of fog, sun and a Sitka Spruce forest combine you get "Peace in the Shadows".

Leviathan I love the way this photo signifies the true size of this beautiful giant Redwood. Having Brian standing on the tree and looking up completes the story of man and leviathan. Phantom in the Caldera The reason I chose this photo is not for its inspirational touch of beauty or for the intense blue waters. I chose this photo because of the remote location. Phantom Ship resides within the caldera of Crater Lake...accessible only by boat. The boat ride was my first time to experienced such a journey...but to get tickets for this trip I had to try seven times over a period of five years. Poor timing I guess...but the wait was worth it. See the "Journey Within the Mountian" story in a future blog entry. Emerald Elk (PEOPLE'S THIRD PLACE CHOICE) A grand-ole Big Leaf Maple standing on the edge of a deep emerald pool of the Elk River speaks for itself. The day's temperature was 80 degrees, and the cold water was very inviting. Edge of Discovery Crater Lake is like no other place on earth. I never tire of being there. While visiting the caldera with Gus, I saw this image of him before me and knew the shot would be one of those "awe" moments. infamous environmentalist John Muir would love this shot. I can't wait to finish the story writing of this journey into Crater Lake and share it with you in an upcoming blog entry. "Like A Bridge Over 'Peaceful' Waters"

(PEOPLE'S SECOND PLACE CHOICE) My mother and I ventured out to this quaint little red covered bridge. I climbed a nearby hill to get this shot. I wanted the "fairy-tale" setting to come through. You could just imagine seeing the Cinderella pumpkin coach crossing here. You can read more about this bridge in a previous blog entry titled, Yachats River Trek.

Realm of His Environment

Lakota, Brian's dog, is at home here amongst the tall grass. He is an avid hunter of deer, elk, moose, pheasant, duck...Lakota lives to hunt. The expression on his face reveals his passion of knowing tall grass may reveal the flight of a incompetent bird.

Star Discovery Brian and Lakota experienced touching a starfish for the first time. This photo speaks for itseslf. Touch this story in a future blog entry from Cape Blanco.

"Lightning Rod of the Cascades"

I took this photo high atop Tipsoo Peak looking south at the impressive Mt. Theilsen. Brian, Lakota and I hiked approximately 16 miles that day...a hike which included climbing to the top of the 9,184 foot Theilsen Volcano. Watch for this incredible hike in a future blog entry. Stand in Awe

A rare treat to be able to get so close to such a majestic wild animal. This shot was taken at Gold Bluffs Beach in the Redwoods National Park. Eight more Roosevelt Elk are nearby. I can't wait for you to see this journey "Into the Wild" in an upcoming blog entry.

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

This unique weather phenomena was captured at Sunset Bay State Park. The photo only shows the upside down rainbow, but there was more...to learn what caused such an event, look for the story in a future January blog entry.

"It's time for Change"

2008 was the year I followed an election so closely. I knew that whoever was elected to the office of President, this country would need desperate change. I love the way this photo of the United States flag blowing in the wind expresses artistic patriotism.

Shore Acres Wave

This impressive production comes once a year between November and January. What made this day of waves so unique was that the temperature was a balmy 75 degrees, there was no local storm, and there was absolutely no wind. We wore T-shirts.

Commandments from the Past

Cape Blanco is a great place to go fossil hunting. On the west flank of the cape, flat tablet-like sandstone rocks are strewed about revealing "Commandments from the Past". This journey will be blogged in a future Cape Blanco entry.

Mary D. Hume

Perhaps a lost Vincent Van Gogh? No. This is a water reflection of the doomed ship, the Mary D. Hume. The once proud vessel, now sits in disrepair and shame. Learn about this small shipwreck in a future blog entry.

Twin Sister's Rock

This impressive rock formation stands high above the Columbia River in the Wallula Gap, located in southeastern Washington near the Tri-Cities. This guardian of the river, oddly enough, didn't make it into the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition...but it made into mine. Find out why Lewis and Clark skipped over this natural landmark in an upcoming blog entry.

____________________

2008 was a year for great exploration of a beautiful state. I owe most of the travelling passion to my tourist buddies, Brian, Gus, and Lakota. Without their desire to discover Oregon, I wouldn't have had such a collection of photo's to remind me of what a great state Oregon is. I also want to thank my mother, her dogs Maxx, Mocha, and Tyg for also joining me on several river treks. Their company added several fond memories.

I look forward to seeing what adventures will be discovered in 2009. I hope you'll join me in seeing what is around the next bend...