bittern in bushes
stand motionless in plain sight
unswayed by spring’s breeze
American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus, at Summer Lake, Oregon
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Trilobite mass death fossil at Wyoming Dinosaur Center, Thermopolis, Wyoming
Wordless Wednesday (WW)
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Summer Lake scene in Oregon
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We visited Chico Hot Springs in southwestern Montana in early June 2024. The Chico Hot Springs Resort is located near Pray, Montana. It opened in 1900 and became a popular destination for those looking for a place to rest and relax. Prior to that time, miners used the springs as early as 1865. Historically, the springs have been in use by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.
The size and shape of the pools have changed over time. There is currently a large rectangular pool with a smaller one next to it that has hotter water.
The temperature of the large pool averages 96 degrees Fahrenheit. The smaller pool averages 103 degrees.
At one time, there was a roof over the pool. It collapsed in 1957, injuring 70 people, and was never replaced. The open air pools give you great views of the nearby landscape.
The buildings surrounding the pool reflect the history of this attraction. There is a bathhouse on one side and a small cafe on the other. There is also a dining room, a saloon, and a tasting room at the resort.
The Chico Hot Springs Resort is on the National Register of Historic Places. If you want to stay here, there are several lodging options, including a main lodge, cabins, chalets, houses, Conestoga covered wagons, and a railroad caboose. Chico offers recreational opportunities on site and off including horseback riding, fishing, disc golf, biking, and hiking.
The thing I liked best about this place were the signs and murals near the pools. The sign by the small pool looked like it could have been there for decades.
A more modern mural was near the other end of main pool. This great landscape painting featured lots of local critters.
The funniest sign was on another wall. It read, “Welcome to Chico ool: You notice the P is missing. We would like to keep it that way!” It’s a friendly reminder to relieve yourself in a restroom; not in the pool. 😀
The pools are open from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm daily for resort guests. If you aren’t staying at the resort, you can visit from 8:00 am to 11:00 pm. Admission for guests ranges from $8.00 to $14.00.
As I mentioned, this is an historic resort. When we visited in 2024, the changing rooms could have used a little TLC. Door latches on the bathrooms and changing rooms were broken. The showers only had cold water and visitors were shrieking when they turned on the water. It was painfully cold after getting out of the hot springs. For people like us who were camping elsewhere and stopped here for a quick dip, a hot shower afterwards would have been great. Ironically, this facility sits atop the most geothermally active place on Earth. 🤭
I had one other pet peeve about this facility. Kids were jumping onto oversize inflatables from the side of the pool. Not only was that activity unsafe, it also affected the serenity of the setting. This is just my opinion as a former lifeguard.
We visited Chico Hot Springs as part of our Hot Springs of the West tour. There are lots of developed and undeveloped hot springs in this part of the country.
Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC) – Relax
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river birch beauty
covered in curls of pale bark
reaches for summer
August Poetry Challenge – A garden surprise
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In the summer months, we often see mule deer fawns in our neighborhood. This year, these twin fawns have been living on our property.
One of the twins has a badly broken front leg, but it’s healing itself. My veterinarian said this often happens in bones with growth plates. The injured deer keeps up pretty well with its sibling now.
Their mother keeps a watchful eye nearby. In this picture, she was hiding under a tree branch like I wouldn’t notice her. 🙂
Here she is next door. Can you find the hidden fawn?
The fawns often learn things the hard way. Moments after this picture was taken, the fawn tried to eat the cactus.
Deer like to stay in our yard because there’s plenty of water to drink. This fawn was bedded down next to our water feature.
Our dogs usually keep their distance from deer. Does will attack dogs (and people) if they think their young are threatened. My dog is in the lower right of this picture.
I love watching the deer, but they eat many of the things we plant. You can see how we installed fencing around one of the plants in front of my dog.
Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, populations are down by 56 percent since 2004 in Deschutes County, Oregon, where I live. Though they can be pests, we tolerate their presence.
Here’s a short video of the fawns playing. I wish they would have been centered in front of the camera better, but you’ll see how they can be endlessly entertaining.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Summer daze
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Here’s the High Desert Voices July 2026 newsletter for your reading pleasure. Lots of nice photos as well! This newsletter is published by and for volunteers at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. I’ve been working there as a volunteer since 2013.
Articles this month include one about my Kiger Mustang Experience. I previously posted a slightly longer version on my blog with way more photos. There’s another article about a talk entitled Deciphering the Early Universe, from Photons to Publications and a quiz about the P Ranch Long Barn on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. A calendar of upcoming events and exhibitions is on the last page.
Please enjoy the High Desert Voices July 2026 issue!
To view previous issues, visit the HDV newsletter tag.
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A few weeks ago, we drove about an hour east of our home in Bend to collect Glass Buttes obsidian again. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about going on adventures close to home.
I wrote about going on a field trip to Glass Buttes on my blog in 2018. In that post, I explained some of the geology behind this site. I’m lucky it’s just a short drive away.
On the recent trip there, we drove to one our favorite spots to collect obsidian. Yes, there are maps showing where certain types can be collected. However, at Glass Buttes you don’t have to go far to find obsidian. It’s everywhere!
If you go here, be aware that it’s easy to drive right past the entrance near mile marker 78 on Highway 20 since it’s unmarked. Drive south of Highway 20 on the dirt road, and drive a mile and a half or so. You can continue straight or turn to the left or right. On some of the side roads, 4WD high-clearance vehicles are recommended, but you can find lots of obsidian on both sides of the main road.
There is a new interpretive sign a little ways in on the road to the buttes. You can stop here to read about the importance of this site to native peoples and a few facts about the geology, recreational opportunities, and the danger of wildfires.
On this trip, I took my drone to photograph the landscape. At first glance, it may appear to be “drive by” country. However, looks can be deceiving.
If you go in the spring and summer months, you’ll see beautiful wildflowers like the lupine in the photo below. You’ll also see birds flitting between the sagebrush. On our trip, the air was filled with the songs of the shrubsteppe-dependent songbirds I studied for my graduate thesis. I heard or saw Brewer’s Sparrows, Sagebrush Sparrows, and Sage Thrashers.
It can get pretty hot here, so if you bring your dogs, don’t forget to bring them water. Bring plenty for yourself as well.
Here are a few of the pieces of obsidian I collected that day. There are at least 20 different kinds of obsidian at Glass Buttes.
What do I do with all the obsidian I’ve collected? I display pieces in the landscaped areas outside and feature some of my favorite pieces on shelves inside.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Adventures
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Dawn’s early light over Winter Ridge, Oregon
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Beneath the waves at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon
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in unsettled times
the path forward zigs and zags
to the still of spring
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I just returned from a stay at Summer Lake in Oregon where I saw lots of Black-necked Stilts, Himantopus mexicanus. Unlike other birds in the area, they are easy to identify.
They look stylish with their striking black and white markings and long, slim bill. Then you notice their legs. They’re so long in proportion to their bodies! In fact, only flamingos have longer legs. If that’s not enough to get your attention, the legs make a fashion statement with their bright rose-pink color.
So where can you find Black-necked Stilts? They live in wetland environments in parts of North, Central, and South America. In the continental United States, they are common along the coast of California, in interior parts of western states, along the Gulf of Mexico, and east to Florida.
Yes, you’ll see them in shallow water including in salt flats and pans, flooded lands near rivers and lakes, saltmarshes, swamps, and mudflats. However, you can also see them in human-created habitats like sewage ponds and rice fields. In some areas they actually prefer those sites.
Black-necked Stilts are often on the move. What are they eating? They feed on aquatic invertebrates, small crustaceans, amphibians, snails, and small fish.
Where do they nest? Stilts build nests on the ground and lay 2–5 eggs. Both sexes are active in incubation and chick-rearing.
To drive away predators, they sometimes gather together in a group and jump, hop, and flap their wings in a behavior referred to as “popcorning.” They’ll also pretend to have a broken wing and lure predators away, like killdeers. Predators include foxes, coyotes, feral cats, skunks, and gulls.
Are they doing okay? Populations of Black-necked Stilts have been stable overall in the continental U.S. They may be extending their range to the north, possibly because of climate change. Since they depend on the availability of wetland habitats, they’re vulnerable to habitat destruction, degradation, and pollution.
Weirdest fun fact: Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets, Recurvirostra americana, can hybridize and produce young. Birders have nicknamed these rare birds “avo-stilts.” Wow, I’d like to see one of those! 😀
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Subjects that begin with the letter B
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On June 29, I traveled to Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon to go on a guided tour in search of Kiger mustangs. I’ve always been a fan of horses, but have wanted to see Kigers in the wild for many years.
Our guide, Tim O’Crowley, lives on a working cattle ranch, the Steens Mountain Guest Ranch, in Diamond, Oregon. On the day I rode, Tim had his grandson, Tye, and niece, Connie, helping on the ride. Visitors to the ranch can participate in four- or five-day cowboy experiences, one-day Kiger mustang experiences, or two- to four-hour horseback rides. For our ride, Tim’s wife, Susan, laid out a smorgasbord of snacks to fill our saddlebags with.
After getting acquainted with the horses we would ride that day, our group of six riders and three guides took a short drive to the Kiger Herd Management Area. My horse, Larry, had been captured many years ago in the area where we would be riding.
People travel from all over the world to see these horses, but almost everyone in our group was from Central Oregon. The exception was a woman from Boise, Idaho. She was 81 years old and probably the oldest participant to ever go on these trips.
So, what makes a Kiger mustang different from other wild horses? In 1971, Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act to protect wild horses and burros on public lands. In 1977, while gathering wild horses near Beaty’s Butte, Oregon, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse Specialist E. Ron Harding noticed an unusual type of horse in the herd. They had strikingly similar markings and conformation, reminiscent of Spanish horses brought to North America in the 1600s. At that time, it was widely assumed that descendants of those Spanish horses no longer existed.
Genetic testing confirmed that the horses gathered near Beaty’s Butte had Spanish markers for dun factor coloration and markings. The Kiger Mesteño Association notes these characteristics include dorsal stripes, jack stripes, zebra stripes on legs, arm bars, bicolored mane and tail, ears with dark outline and fawn colored interior, facial masks, and cobwebbing. Kiger mustangs stand 13 to 15 hands, smaller than most other breeds
Bicolored tails and faint zebra stripes on legs
The BLM separated the Kigers from the other horses and eventually moved them to two Herd Management Areas (HMA), Kiger HMA and Riddle Mountain HMA. In past years, the BLM auctioned off excess Kiger mustangs, but they have not gathered any since 2015.
Many of today’s Kiger mustangs can be traced back to a single stallion named Mesteño from the original herd. In 1992, Breyer used him as the model for one of their collections of model horses.
Another Kiger mustang, Donner, was the model for the 2002 animated film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and the 2017 Netflix series, Spirit Riding Free! The Kiger Mustang Ranch in Bend, Oregon, raised the colt. Both of its parents were Kiger mustangs. DreamWorks Animation, the future producer of the film and series, purchased him after months of negotiations. Donner, later renamed Spirit, turned 31 in May 2026.
Breyer Spirit model
I’m a big fan of horse characters in books, movies, and series but feel like I have a special connection with Spirit. I live in Bend, where the real-life horse was raised, and I live in the Cimarron City neighborhood, alluded to in the movie’s title.
After reading about the history of Kiger mustangs, I was eager to see them in the field. The riders in our group were advised to wear darker, muted colors so we would blend in with the environment when searching for mustangs.
As we rode along, I asked Connie if she had seen very many greys, often referred to as grullas. She helps at the ranch for a month in the summer. Connie said she had only seen five grullas. Brown-colored horses are much more common. Kiger mustang coat colors include dun, grulla, red dun, bay, black, and claybank.
Just by chance, the first Kiger we saw was a grulla. He was hanging out with a pronghorn. Why? We can’t say for sure, but pronghorn have remarkable vision, and these animals likely alert each other if they sense something nearby. This curious young stallion ended up following us for quite a while. You can see him on the left in the picture below.
Next, we saw a small group with two adults and a foal. Tim said it was only a few days old. After a brief break, we continued on our way.
Our next stop was the most exciting one. A herd of Kigers had collected near a large clearing. There were at least 75 Kigers in this group. We ate our lunch and took numerous pictures of the herd. They seemed unbothered by our presence, partly because we had horses with us.
Within this herd, we spotted two black stallions. Tim said they were not Kigers. In the photo below, in the group of three horses near the center of the picture, you can see how much taller the black horse is. These two horses either escaped from somewhere else, or someone dumped them here.
Though the BLM lists the current population at 51-82 horses on the 36,618-acre Kiger HMA, it’s likely much higher. Some estimate there are at least 200 there. The BLM lists the 28,000-acre Riddle Mountain HMA population at 33-56 horses. Since the horses like to rest under juniper trees, certain methods, like aerial surveys, may not be as effective at counting them.
We started riding at about 8:30 am and finished the ride at 2:30 pm. That was a long day in the saddle. Did you know you use eight muscle groups to horseback ride? By the end of the day, I was well aware of that fact. After stopping at Crane Hot Springs, going to the hot tub at my hotel, and taking a hot bath when I got home, I felt just fine. 😀
Tim helped make this one of the most memorable experiences of my life. His easygoing manner, knowledge of the environment, and gentle sense of humor made it a trip to remember. Once we got back to the ranch, Tim made delicious smoothies. It was a great way to end the day.
Steens Mountain Guest Ranch, Diamond, Oregon
This article will be featured in the July 2026 edition of High Desert Voices, the volunteer newsletter of the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon.
Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC) – Fan
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New life next door. Mule deer doe & fawn.
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Before the fires
everyone is
alone
separated by
impassable fences
Wildfires charge in
homes torn
apart
trees aflame
barriers disintegrate
In the aftermath
helping hands
together
give hope
communities reborn
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Here is an infrared photograph of the road to Frenchglen, Oregon. This road travels around the south end of Steens Mountain before dropping into the basin containing the Alvord Desert. This area is part of the Basin and Range Province.
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Where buffalo roam, Custer State Park, South Dakota
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I saw this northern scorpion, Paruroctonus boreus, in my laundry room a couple of days ago. I was barefoot and almost stepped on it. Fortunately, the sting of this species is not as bad as some of those residing in other parts of the world. A sting from a northern scorpion produces effects similar to a bee sting.
It looks kind of big and scary in this picture, right? In reality, it was only an inch long. I scooped it up with a paper towel and put it outside.
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Today I’m sharing a drawing and photo of a palm tree. I saw this Chinese Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, while visiting the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Oregon.
I did a quick pen and ink drawing of the tree as part of the Inktober challenge in 2024. The prompt that day was ‘exotic.’ I always associate palms with hot, humid climates, but these plants do well in much cooler places like western Orgon.
Chinese Windmill palms grow in a wide variety of habitats around the world. These graceful plants have been cultivated in Japan and China for thousands of years.
I wanted to share a drawing and photo of a palm tree because they have such interesting structures. I’d love to grow one where I live, but it probably wouldn’t tolerate our temperature extremes.
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
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waterfalls may be heavily veiled
or as light as lace
they may end in a rainbow
or split in indecision
waterfalls may cascade in bright sunlight
or meander their way through shadows
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Pretty rocks and fossils in Bend, Oregon
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Purple & orange flower border near the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon
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green leaves unfold in dawn’s early light
reaching for the warmth of summer
heart-shaped, oval, linear,
thick, slender, feathery
bending and swaying
crooning ancient
melodies
until
dusk
Lens-Artist Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Choose a color
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Earlier this week, I saw this catch a wave cloud over my house. The curving shapes on the upper surface looked like a series of waves.
Here’s the catch a wave cloud from a little farther away. When I looked into what kind of cloud it was, I found out they’re referred to as Kelvin-Helmholtz or fluctus clouds.
These extremely rare clouds form when two overlapping layers of air move at different speeds. They’re more likely to occur on very windy days or on days with marked upward and downward air movement.
If you see Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds, take pictures right away. They are created during periods of instability and often last only a few minutes. Sometimes, they may last up to an hour.
These beautiful clouds may have been the inspiration for Vincent Van Gogh when he created his “The Starry Night” painting in 1889.
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In our journey through life, layers of wisdom accumulate in us over the years and become a thing of beauty.
We fondly recall the delicate flowers of our youth,
but sometimes forgot about the tough times.
In those days, we tumbled aimlessly from one place to another,
searching for a soft spot to land.
In our journey through life, we eventually found our way past sharp obstacles
towards a long and fruitful ending.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Textures
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For this post, I’m showing several pictures with clouds as a major element. The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is to post quotes illustrated with your photos.
The first one shows a view of Red Canyon in Utah. The quote seemed to fit this picture perfectly.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.
Edward Abbey
I took the next picture in my backyard in Bend. The nighttime rainbow magically appeared in this image taken with my phone.
There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.
George Carlin
I took this picture of a tree in my yard in winter. My juniper tree muse looks beautiful with a coating of snow.
In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.
Alice Walker
The next picture was taken on the Oregon coast, south of Seaside. Misty clouds collect along the shoreline.
Change is the only constant. Learn to surf your life instead of planting your feet.
Amy Poehler
I took the next picture on top of Steens Mountain in Oregon. The yellow aspen leaves contrasted well with the blue skies and puffy white clouds.
Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
George Eliot
I took the last picture from my house of a sliver of sunset in the final moments of a day. My drone captured great pictures of the setting sun and dark clouds over volcanoes in the Cascade Range.
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
Steve Martin
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Pick a favorite quote and illustrate it
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Today, I’m sharing a Wood Duck painting I created. I used acrylic paints on mixed media paper that is slightly grained.
Wood Ducks, Aix sponsa, are one of the most beautiful ducks in the world. They are colorful and have unique markings.
Wood Ducks look like someone couldn’t decide what they should include when they created them. They threw in multiple colors, dots, stripes, iridescence, and striking bill patterns. They’re like something out of fantasy novel.
When I created my Wood Duck painting, I used A LOT of colors. Here’s a picture of my palette and the paper l use to try out colors. I brushed iridescent gold over parts of the head, but it’s hard to see in a photograph.
For the duck, I used sharp lines of color with a little shading. For the water in the background, I took advantage of the paper’s watercolor characteristics. I did a wash of pale green and layered on darker green and patches of pale yellow. I hope it conveys the ever-changing appearance of water.
Before painting the background, I accidentally dropped my paintbrush loaded with black paint onto the unfinished painting. It left a black spot over the duck’s head. Oh no! 😮
I tried an ink eraser and an electric eraser. Nope, those didn’t work.
What did work was a small pumice file meant for fingernails. They work for several purposes, including cleaning stubborn stains in sinks and toilets. Fortunately, the file helped erase my paint mistake. 😁
If you use a pumice file on paintings, be extra careful. It will sand off part of the paper if you press down too hard.
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.
First Friday Art (FFA)
All my posts this week are related to water. Two show things in the water, and two show things on the water. I included a link to this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge in the two posts showing things on the water.
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Looking back to #155 – On the water (LAPC)
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Two white sturgeon at the Oregon Zoo, Portland, Oregon
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These salt ponds viewed from above are in San Francisco Bay, California. When I flew into San Francisco, I wondered what these colorful ponds were and had to look it up.
Salt water is collected in a series of ponds and as it evaporates, it turns into a thick layer of crusty salt. Initially, the color is green or brown but it becomes more pink when the water evaporates. The last stage is called “pickle” brine.
Though most people call them salt ponds, they are called “crystallizer beds” by Cargill, Inc., who harvests the salt. The beds are rolled, graded, sloped, and compacted.
Historically, Native Americans collected salt in this area. During the Gold Rush era of the 1850s, demand increased dramatically. Before refrigeration became common, food was preserved in salt. Salt-making continues to this day. After 80 percent of San Francisco Bay marshes were lost to development, there was a shift towards habitat restoration. Restoring those marshlands is part of the largest project on the West Coast.
Orchids as Art at the Exquisite Creatures Revealed exhibition at OMSI, Portland, Oregon in 2024
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I saw this taxidermy mount of a bighorn sheep at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center in California. It was nice to get such a close view of this ram.
Bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis, live in parts of western North America. There are three subspecies. Males of the Rocky Mountain subspecies can weigh more than 500 pounds.
After the population declined dramatically between 1870 to 1950, bighorns were reintroduced in several places. Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in Oregon was one of those locations. Here’s a herd I saw while living there.
If you’re lucky, you can also spot bighorn in Yellowstone National Park. I took this photo of two lambs and a ewe from hundreds of yards away through my spotting scope.
Bighorn sheep are doing well throughout most of their range. However, in some locations, including Hart Mountain, there have been significant declines. Research is underway to help preserve these impressive animals.
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Northern River Otters at High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon
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Two Triceratops in black and white at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana.
Monochrome Monday (MM)
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As luck would have it, sometimes I see skies painted with bold strokes of orange
Or blue skies full of popcorn clouds
Sometimes, I’m in a distant place at the right time and see tiny perennials in bloom
Or winged beauties alighting on blossoms in my own garden
As luck would have it, sometimes I pause along a road and a small predator looks back at me
Or I discover a snowshoe-footed creature by the trail that other hikers did not notice
And if I’m very lucky, sometimes I unknowingly photograph something I hadn’t intended to
Can you find two purple pickerel bloom stalks, a pink waterlily, two spiders, and a frog?
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Lucky Shot
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Last spring, I saw this ear-full of waxwings in my yard. A group of Cedar Waxwings, Bombycilla cedrorum, is referred to as an ‘ear-full’ or a ‘museum’. Yes, there are some very strange names for groups of animals.
Why are they called ear-fulls? It may be because of their constant high-pitched calls and trills. I often hear them way before I see them.
Here’s a recording of their calls.
These sociable birds frequently travel in groups. Sometimes these ear-fulls include hundreds of waxwings.
In my yard, they like to perch atop western juniper trees.
They also like to drink and bathe in our water feature.
It’s kinda like a spa for birds. 😉
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A well-designed garden considers hardscapes and softscapes
in the foreground, middle ground, and background
Hardscape waterfalls and pergolas anchor scenes in the background
In the fall, softscapes of colorful foliage add visual interest
In winter, the structure of leafless trees and shrubs is prominent
Sand gardens serve as a neutral middle ground
In the fall, color is a main character in large gardens
In winter, string sculptures add an element of artistry
Rock-lined pathways curve ahead in the foreground
In the fall, in a well-designed garden, the colors pull you forward
In winter, structures are revealed beneath twisted, leafless trees near bamboo-bordered trails
These photographs were taken in the fall and winter at the Portland Japanese Garden in Oregon.
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Here’s the High Desert Voices April 2026 newsletter for your reading pleasure. Lots of nice photos as well! This newsletter is published by and for volunteers at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. I’ve been working there as a volunteer since 2013.
Articles this month include one about the Hollow and Still: Photographs Following Fire exhibition and a talk on the long-term effects of wildfire, one on the Prohibition Party event, and one on the Under Pressure: A Volcanic Exploration exhibition. A calendar of upcoming events and exhibitions is on the last page.
Please enjoy the High Desert Voices April 2026 issue!
To view previous issues, visit the HDV newsletter tag.
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In moments of darkness, I reach for the tool of enlightenment tucked inside my pocket.
Click! Click! Click! Click! I enlighten exhibitions.
4th Floor to Mildness by Pipilotti Rist, Portland Art Museum in 2026, Oregon
Fulfillment of Emptiness by Jang Jin-ik, Portland Art Museum in 2026, Oregon
Forest at Night by High Desert Museum staff in 2026, Oregon
Infinite Moment: Burning Man on the Horizon by High Desert Museum staff in 2020, Oregon
In moments of darkness, I reach for the tool of enlightenment tucked inside my pocket.
Click! Click! Click! Click! I enlighten landscapes.
Subway Cave, Lassen National Forest, California
Sunrise over Bend, Oregon
Steam over hot springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Playa at Summer Lake, Oregon
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Phone Photography
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Watching backyard TV in Bend, Oregon
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Color in photos highlights
a balance of form and function
medleys of wholesome tasty treats
and lanterns of luck and happiness
Color in photos highlights
rainbow rows of vegetables
bright graphic designs on balloons
and the personality of each ornate orchid
Yesterday’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge was to show colorful images in monotone. My post Scenes without color shows six black and white photographs of various scenes. In today’s post, I shared how the same images looked before I edited them by restoring the color. Both versions are beautiful in their own sort of way.
Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP) – Restore
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