Tag: Oregon

Seabirds

Patterns in shadows created by the crescent shape of the sun from the 2017 solar eclipse

I expected to enjoy the solar eclipse but was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it, even though we didn’t have a total eclipse from where I work in Beaverton. I thought it would get darker than it did given the near totality, but even the little sliver of sun still left plenty of light, even if things did look a little odd. Normally when the light levels are that low, the sun is either low in the sky with warm light and long shadows, or completely out-of-sight with cool light and no shadows. But this morning everything just got dim. I hadn’t read up on the eclipse, thinking that it was just going to get dark, so I was caught off guard by the shadows. I loved both their crescent shape and their hard edges so I spent more time watching the shadows at my feet than the shrinking sun itself, looking for patterns created by the light filtering through the trees.

Thankfully I brought my camera to work even though I wasn’t planning on photographing the eclipse itself, the Sony A6500 camera and Sony Zeiss 16-70mm zoom lens are small enough that I tossed them in my laptop bag this morning just in case there was anything interesting to photograph. So you’ll have to put up with some abstracts of shadows over the coming days, some in deep shadows like this one (the combined crescents reminded me of seabirds flying above the beach) as well as some more open shadows where there is less contrast between light and dark and more warmth in the shadows.

It’s Nothing Personal, But I Hate You

A bridge over a gorge in the Columbia River Gorge

When you’re scared of heights, when hiking a new trail in places like the Columbia River Gorge, you never know when you might reach a spot that will force you to turn around. I always cross this bridge to look at the waterfall on the other side, but it’s a white-knuckled crossing every time. There are little slots in the bridge that let the rain through, important in an area that gets as much rain as the Gorge, but it also lets you see the water rushing underneath. The first time I forced myself to take pictures from the bridge itself I was so nervous I forgot to focus or set the exposure, but this latest visit I not only took photos but videos as well. My heart was pounding and I gripped the railing tightly, but I took them. Properly focused and exposed, even.