regnaD kciN
regnaD kciN's JournalPortland Japanese Garden (Tree not included)
There’s a lot more to the PJG than The Tree! After I got out of line at the latter, I found these images.
“Playing it Koi”
“Heavenly”
"Yes, it's that damn tree again!"
Let’s face it, photographers are practically obligated to get a shot of The Tree (as it has become known) when visiting the Portland Japanese Garden in autumn. This year, however, there was good reason to get in line for one’s fifteen minutes of allotted time bending down under its branches. The Tree sported two-tone foliage – bright golden-yellow by the pond, deep red-orange near the path, giving it a very different look from my previous visits.
The first two shots are wide-angle and normal variants of the classic composition probably found in every landscape photographer’s portfolio; what follows are several images with different compositions or lighting conditions, which may prove a relief to those who’ve seen the usual composition (several hundred times) too often.
Winthrop Autumn
Winthrop is a small town in central Washington, up near the Canadian border. Being on the east side of the Cascades, the topography is mainly the low barren hills typical of the region, but with the Methow River providing an oasis along which a multitude of cottonwoods, poplars, and aspens grow, turning bright yellow and orange in autumn.
Seasons
I was scouting local woodland locations when I came upon this interesting juxtaposition: A young tree still clothed in green, framed by a broken stump covered with bright fallen leaves. Unfortunately, I only had my iPhone and, shortly thereafter, heavy winds guaranteed there would be little point in going back up with full gear. I think I was able to get a good enough result from the cellphone image with some careful processing.
Autumn Textures
These are from Kubota Garden in Seattle, and were taken last year. (I finally got around to posting them.)
On the "Larch March"...
Up here in the Pacific Northwest, while we might not get the bright reds and yellows of New England autumns, we do have one distinctive feature: larches at higher elevations that turn bright gold before shedding their needles in mid-late October. Many nature-lovers (and more than a few photographers) join in a trek into the mountains each fall, in what is popularly known as the “larch march.”
Earlier this month, I joined in the march, heading to Washington Pass in North Cascades National Park for a hike to Rainy Lake, to catch both the larch on the ridge and its reflection in the lake, a cascading stream in the forest along the trail, and a final stop for sunset and “blue hour” at the pass itself.
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