Vacation Photography
We hit the Oregon Trail last weekend. My wife Christine and I went to Sisters, Oregon for our nephew’s wedding. Since it was a long journey to get there, we decided to stay a few extra days and see some of the sights.
While on vacation, photography is not my priority. Many of you have asked “Does your wife go with you on your photography trips?” and the answer is “No.” Getting to Smith Rock, an iconic photo location, from our hotel in Bend would have meant getting up at 3:45 AM for a dawn shoot.
There are limits to spousal tolerance!
Instead, we marveled at Smith Rock like typical tourists in the middle of the day and had another tourist take a selfie.
John Day Fossil Beds
After Smith Rock, we headed to the Painted Hills portion of the John Day Fossil Beds. This section was called “The evil ice cream cone” by an Oregon native that we met at the wedding.
The area is a badlands featuring a “layer cake” of beautiful red, tan, orange, and black stripes.
Where did those stripes come from? From 44 million to 7 million years ago, volcanos deposited lava, ash, and dust accompanied by debris flows. The different layers had a variety of colors, resulting in the stripes. And the debris flows entombed plants and animals caught in their paths. Their fossilized remains are still there.
The Shot
The best time to shoot the Painted Hills is in the late afternoon when the sun paints the hills in warm colors. But I was determined to make the most of this opportunity during our mid-afternoon visit.
There were compositions everywhere, but the layers and overcast sky in this view caught my eye.
After that, we packed up and headed back to our hotel in Bend for a delicious dinner.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus