Thursday, August 23, 2012

Restored Texaco Shaniko Oregon


This restored Texaco gas station is in Shaniko Oregon. I wish the covers were not on the pumps, they were covered by a sturdy cloth cover and locked down with two padlocks (one on each side of the pump). On the same trip I found another restored gas station Wenatchee Washington.



Monday, August 20, 2012

Barns of Ellensburg Washington


These barns are in Ellensburg Washington, I have passed by them for more than 40 years I finally stopped and checked them out. The reddish brown cow in the foreground was up against the fence with its udders being lit by the sun. That was the picture that I wanted but the cow walked and looked away as I approached. I had a wide angle lens which tends to exaggerate distance so I got as close to the fence as I could and decided to include it in the picture as the cow walked away.




Sunday, August 19, 2012

Trucks Grass Valley Oregon

These trucks are in Grass Valley Oregon. While I was getting a couple shots a man came out and showed me how to get into the field so I could get closer. There were a couple of donkeys that my children got to play with. Everyone in Grass Valley was very nice it is the type of town where everybody waved as they passed by.



The Dodge truck below is equipped with a snorkel







Saturday, August 18, 2012

Crater Lake Oregon

Crater Lake is located in Oregon and is the deepest lake in the United States followed by Lake Tahoe located on the California Nevada border and then Lake Chelan the third deepest in the United States located in Washington state. I have tried to capture the deep blue color for years only to be disappointed by the lack of color and detail. The top image is HDR followed by the seven images that were used to create the HDR version. In earlier posts  I have explained the process, but this time I decided to include the bracketed images to give you a visual reference and simplify the idea of HDR. The bracketed images (-3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2 and +3) following the HDR version were combined in HDR Efex Pro 2 to make the final HDR version. As you can see none of the bracketed images really capture the full dynamic range of the scene. From the cameras meta data I can tell the images were captured at 12:30pm this is a time when the dynamic range is the highest especially because there was no cloud cover just strait sun light. If I had taken the shot at sunrise, sunset or on an overcast day the image would have had a totally different feel and possibly less dynamic range. That is one of my favorite things about HDR photography it opens up the possibility to shoot all day and get a totally different feel. In the past I would have had to accept the limitations of traditional photography or wait for a more "acceptable" time or day (with less contrast) to take the the images. But thanks to technology of HDR software and since I was traveling with my family (I did not have the luxury to wait) I grabbed what I could get and shot on a tripod with a cable release to limit the possible movement in between shots so I could process the image as an HDR. In the end I was able to get an image I was a lot happier with hope you like it.

HDR

-3 exposure compensation

-2 exposure compensation

-1 exposure compensation

No exposure compensation

+1 exposure compensation

+2 exposure compensation

+3 exposure compensation



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Owl Soda Fountain Wenatchee Washington

This is the Owl Soda Fountain in Wenatchee Washington its a place where you still can get an old fashion old-fashioned ice cream soda, ice cream sunday, milk shake and many other things from the past. It has resisted the change of fast food places like Mc Donalds and many others and stuck with the traditional way things were made. Not the cheaper faster ways of the bussiness world thats what probably what has kept them around for 107 years. Taste and quality still matter! I was told it has the been open since 1921. The Wenatchee World had an article dated 8/1/2012 (a few days after this photo was taken) states it was open 1894 in various locations. The Owl Soda Fountain is located just down the street from my last post Wenatchee Gas Station Restored located at  25 N. Wenatchee Ave.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Wenatchee Gas Station Restored

When I first saw this gas station I wished I could get inside the wrought iron fence, I experimented with several angles trying to shoot through the fence. I could of easily gave up, but what I was trying to emphasize was the price so I set my camera to bracket at 2 stop increments took my tripod and hoisted the camera about 4 feet over my head and triggered it with the wireless remote. I shot several at f22 then changed it to f8 for a faster shutter speed. The shot below came from a series of f22, I like the composition. I had no idea what I was shooting because I could not see through the viewfinder.  Although f22 is not the ideal f stop because of the possibility of camera movement it worked out in this case. I will take credit for a happy accident. I spent a little more time in post on this image because of a little camera shake and the software had trouble aligning the images. I think it was worth the final image. Just down the streetis anther one of my posts the Owl Soda Fountain.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The Wheels of Bodie

In 1859 William S. Bodey discovered gold in a town now known as Bodie. According to area pioneer, Judge J. G. McClinton, the district's name was changed from "Bodey," "Body," and a few other phonetic variations, to "Bodie," after a painter in the nearby boomtown of Aurora, lettered a sign "Bodie Stables". William Bodey did not live to see a profit from his dicovery he died in November 1859 while after making a supply trip to Monoville and getting lost in a blizzard. In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore. Which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a boomtown. As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, a railroad, miners' and mechanics' unions, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. In 1913, the Standard Consolidated Mine closed. Mining profits in 1914 were at a low of $6,821. James S. Cain was buying up everything from the town lots to the mining claims, and reopened the Standard mill to former employees, which resulted in an over $100,000 profit in 1915. However, this financial growth was not in time to stop the town's decline. In 1917 the Bodie Railway was abandoned and its iron tracks were scrapped.  Over the years Bodie's mines produced gold valued at nearly $34 million. Mining ceased in 1941 during World War II, as extraction of essential wartime metals took priority by Government Order L-208 of the War Production Board.
   The first label of Bodie as a "ghost town" was in 1915. In a time when auto travel was on a rise, many were adventuring into Bodie via automobiles. The San Francisco Chronicle published an article in 1919 to dispute the "ghost town" label. By 1920, Bodie's population was recorded by the US Federal Census at a total of 120 people. Despite the decline, Bodie had permanent residents through most of the 20th century, even after a fire ravaged much of the downtown business district in 1932. A post office operated at Bodie from 1877 to 1942 In the 1940s, the threat of vandalism faced the ghost town. The Cain family, who owned much of the land the town is situated upon, hired caretakers to protect and to maintain the town's structures. Martin Gianettoni, one of the last three people in Bodie in 1943, was also a caretaker.
   The information above is from Wikipedia click here for more info on Bodie.