Solar eclipse (August 21, 2017) from Corvallis, Oregon during totality (dot to the left and below the eclipse is Mercury)

#OReclipse #Eclipse2017 #eclipse

I thought I was going to be a bit disappointed with the eclipse after all of the hype, but the minute plus during totality was better than expected. Photos don’t really do the actual experience justice.

I had planned to shoot the eclipse @ 500mm on my D500 for an effective length of 750mm. However, my 200-500mm lens decided not to work on either of my cameras on this day so the above photo was shot on my D500 at 120mm (180mm effective length) and then cropped.

Solar eclipse from Oregon State University campus

The streak in the sky in the second photo is from contrails left by a plane a few minutes before totality.

eclipse shadows on ground and trees just prior to totality

Posted on August 21st, 2017 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: eclipse. Comments: None

We hiked around on Marys Peak today. Most people were just heading to the summit, which was rather unspectacular, IMO, and then heading back to their cars and taking off. The view from the summit would be far more spectacular at sunrise, sunset, or on an extremely clear day. Today things were a bit hazy and the overhead sunlight washed everything out. So a runner we talked to recommended the Meadow Edge Trail. This trail was extraordinary. As we walked in an old growth Noble Fir forest the sunlight came squeezing through just enough to make the clover-covered ground look amazing. This was probably my second favorite trail (after Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park) that didn’t include real “views” or a lake at the end.

Posted on August 20th, 2017 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: hike, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750. Comments: None

We are spending a couple of nights in Corvallis for Monday’s solar eclipse. Today we arrived, headed to the coast (Newport, Oregon), and arrived at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse just as the sun was going down.

Posted on August 19th, 2017 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: newport, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, sunset. Comments: None

Milky Way from Beatty

Posted on August 16th, 2017 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: beatty, night photography, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens, Nikon D600. Comments: None

Beatty, Oregon

#teamtokina #tokinausa #sky

Spent a few days in Beatty earlier this week…

Posted on August 12th, 2017 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: beatty, clouds, Nikon D500, Tokina AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 PRO DX Lens. Comments: None

A cell phone pic from a bike ride I took last week. I wonder when the last time was that Mt. Ashland had this much snow on it on the last day of May?

Posted on June 5th, 2017 under nature, only in ashland. Tags: clouds, grapes, mt. ashland, samsung s7 edge camera, skywatch. Comments Off on Late May in Ashland

With temperatures expected to reach the 90s by the end of the weekend, it’s a little hard to believe that today’s photo is from less than two weeks ago. Such is springtime in Ashland.

Posted on May 18th, 2017 under nature, only in ashland, places. Tags: hobart bluff, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, snow, spring. Comments Off on Throwback Thursday

Hobart Bluff (May 6, 2017)

Last week was a wild week of weather in Ashland. It felt like summer early in the week, followed by one of the best rainbow/thunder/lightning storms I’ve ever encountered, and then Friday night it snowed in the mountains. We headed up to Hobart Bluff yesterday. We had to forge our own trail as no one else ventured out to Hobart on Saturday. With the wind-chill factor it was about 10-15 degrees when I took this photo. Only five more weeks until summer!

Posted on May 7th, 2017 under nature, only in ashland, photography, places. Tags: hobart bluff, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750, snow, spring. Comments Off on From 90 degrees to 30 degrees in 3 days

#withmytamron @TamronUSA

Posted on April 23rd, 2017 under nature, only in ashland. Tags: Nikon D500, sunrise, Tamron SP 24-70mm Di VC USD. Comments Off on Good morning Ashland