2013 Christmas tree

Most years, and this goes all the way back to when I was a kid, finding the “perfect” tree has not been easy. Frequently it involved stops at multiple lots selling trees. Some years it involved long walks through the forest or Christmas tree farms in which every tree was examined from multiple angles, multiple times. (Wait, haven’t we looked at this tree before?)

I’m guessing the average time it took to pick a tree over the years comes to about 2 hours. Even with all of the scrutiny, you get the tree home and find out it has some bad spots or won’t stand straight.

Not this year. We aren’t in Ashland for Christmas to enjoy this tree so we grabbed the first tree we saw in the Shop N Kart parking lot. The tree was all wrapped up so we didn’t even know what it would look like. We brought it home, untied it, and wah-lah, it is the most symmetrical and perfect tree we have ever had.

Posted on December 25th, 2013 under Oregon. Tags: christmas, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 AF-S NIKKOR G ED N, Nikon D600. Comments: 1

Voodoo Doughnuts – Eugene, Oregon

Today we are heading south on I-5 to California for a little vacation away from Oregon’s winter. Today’s photo is from the archives of a prior trip north on I-5.

Posted on December 21st, 2013 under Oregon. Tags: eugene, food. Comments Off on Voodoo Doughnuts – Eugene, Oregon

Oregon Ducks

It’s not what they were hoping for when the season began. It was far from their minds when they went into week nine with an 8-0 record, with landslide victories over two ranked teams under their belts. However, the Oregon Ducks are going to the Alamo Bowl, to play an unranked team (Texas), in a bowl game before the year even ends, instead of to the BCS Championship Game they seemed destined for just over a month ago.

Posted on December 8th, 2013 under Oregon. Tags: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, eugene, football, Nikon D600, Oregon, sports photography. Comments Off on Duck Dynasty

Neurosis (front to back: Scott Kelly, Steve Von Till, Noah Landis)

Neurosis just came on over Pandora. Hearing them for the first time since last weekend inspired me to process another photo from the Roseland Theater show.

Posted on November 30th, 2013 under Oregon. Tags: concert photography, metal, neurosis, Nikon D600, sigma 85mm f/1.4 lens. Comments Off on Neurosis

Photomerged panorama of Portland, Oregon from the Pittock Mansion

Portland was clear and cold during the 2+ days we were there this past weekend. Even though I’ve been to Portland many times, this was the first time I can remember Mt. Hood being visible (although I have seen Mt. Hood from the air and from Salem before). I did a quick Google search on “Portland’s best views” or something similar and the Pittock Mansion came up. Getting there is easy from downtown Portland, but I’m guessing you can only see Mt. Hood from here this clearly a small percentage of the time. Apparently the Pittock Mansion was the ending point for one of the Amazing Race seasons, but I don’t think I watched that season as it didn’t look familiar. Unfortunately, a private party was happening inside so we could only see the outside of the mansion.

Posted on November 26th, 2013 under Oregon. Tags: mt. hood, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, panorama, photomerge, portland. Comments Off on Portland panorama