A colorful walk in Portland: 1-to-3 Photo Challenge

May 20, 2022May 27, 2022 / SoyBend / 6 Comments

Today I’m sharing a photograph of a colorful walk in Portland processed three ways. We visited the Portland Japanese Garden in October 2021. The fall colors are a photographer’s dream!

I’ll be showing how I processed this picture from the garden three ways with Corel PaintShop Pro 2021. Prior to trying out the various effects, I increased the contrast slightly.

The first two show the original and the same picture with a retro effect. For this image I went to Effects>Photo Effects>Retro Lab>Hue 90. This effect blurred the edges like a vignette and cast a green glow over everything. Even the carp in the foreground is green! It’s easy to imagine this as a strange world in a fantasy or science fiction book.

Seeing red near Mt Jefferson: Wordless Wednesday

January 12, 2022January 8, 2022 / SoyBend / 2 Comments

Seeing red vine maples near Mt Jefferson in Oregon

Fall color near Mt Jefferson — Fall foliage in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains

Wordless Wednesday

Turning into Fall: Wordless Wednesday

December 1, 2021November 28, 2021 / SoyBend / 7 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

Following fall close to home: LAPC

November 21, 2021November 21, 2021 / SoyBend / 25 Comments

Sometimes you experience memorable moments by following fall close to home. I’ve made a special effort to capture glimpses of the season in photographs this year near my home in Bend. Fall is my favorite season!

Autumn weather brings cloudy skies and spectacular sunrises that take your breath away.

Trees don their finest fashions and marvel at their reflections.

Some trees try to see how many shades of autumn they can pack onto one branch.

And when the leaves fall, they dazzle you like an ephemeral work of art.

If you listen closely, you’ll hear the leafless trees revealing stories layer by layer until they are clothed once again.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Follow your bliss

Fall at the Japanese Garden in Portland: LAPC & FOTD

October 31, 2021May 26, 2022 / SoyBend / 31 Comments

I have been patiently waiting for fall at the Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon. Every day, I visited their Fall Color Status Update website. In mid-October, the site indicated good leaf color in their plantings. Off we went!

A brilliant rainbow of colors bordered the Flat Garden. The green Circle and Gourd Islands in the sea of white gravel represent enlightenment and happiness.

This nearby path is bordered by more subtle colors.

The Garden limits the number of visitors, but they crowded around this maple tree with its bright red leaves.

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Streets lined with gold: Thursday Tree Love

October 28, 2021May 26, 2022 / SoyBend / 19 Comments

These streets lined with gold are along the highway east of Mount Hood in Oregon. I was there a week ago and the colors were spectacular!

The golden leaves along this road are mostly on aspen and larch trees. Larch is a deciduous conifer. Yes, most conifers keep their leaves through the winter–not the larch. See my post Western larch – A beauty in gold for more about these trees.

We also saw pops of red from the vine maples growing along this route.

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Pine Nursery Pond: Wordless Wednesday

October 27, 2021October 27, 2021 / SoyBend / 2 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

Fall walk with friend: Wordless Wednesday

October 20, 2021October 18, 2021 / SoyBend / 2 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

Another day at the park in Bend: Wordless Wednesday

October 6, 2021October 2, 2021 / SoyBend / 14 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

Autumn cascara leaves up close: Macro Monday

October 4, 2021October 2, 2021 / SoyBend / 1 Comment

Here are a couple pictures of autumn cascara leaves up close. I spotted these beautiful multi-colored leaves on shrubs near Santiam Junction in Oregon. They were growing within an inhospitable looking lava bed.

This tall shrub is attractive year round. The oblong leaves, with their distinctive parallel veins, are glossy green for most of the year. Autumn cascara leaves have spectacular colors. Cascara produce greenish-yellow flowers in the spring, and dark purple fruit in the summer.

One of their common names is Cascara sagrada, Spanish for “sacred bark.” The bark is well known for its laxative effects. See the Names section of Cascara, Frangula purshiana for funny Chinook names based on these qualities. 😉

Macro Monday

Splashes of Autumn – Tanka: LAPC & SSC

September 28, 2021September 28, 2021 / SoyBend / 18 Comments

Splashes of autumn
Along verdant waterways
Beside winding roads
Within ancient lava beds
The glorious frocks of fall

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Colors of Autumn

Sunday Stills Challenge (SSC) – Signs of Autumn or Spring

Benham Falls, Deschutes River: Wordless Wednesday

February 17, 2021July 9, 2021 / SoyBend / 5 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

An Autumn meadow: Wordless Wednesday

February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 / SoyBend / Leave a comment

Wordless Wednesday

An aspen-bordered meadow: Wordless Wednesday

January 20, 2021January 19, 2021 / SoyBend / 3 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

Oregon grape up close: Macro Monday

December 21, 2020December 21, 2020 / SoyBend / Leave a comment

Oregon grape up close in my yard dressed in seasonal colors. The prickly leaves on this semi-evergreen shrub get burgundy highlights in the fall. Oregon grape plants have yellow flowers in the spring and purple berries in the summer. It’s striking year-round.

Macro Monday

Western larch – A beauty in gold: Thursday Tree Love

December 11, 2020February 14, 2021 / SoyBend / 15 Comments

One of my favorite local trees is the western larch, Larix occidentalis. This conifer tree is unique because it drops its needles in the winter. Before they litter the forest floor, the needles turn a distinctive golden-yellow color. They stand out from the deep green shades of surrounding trees.

Western larch near Sisters, Oregon October 2020 — Young western larch tree

They have a delicate, almost lacey, growth form. Look at these needles radiating out in little groups of 15-30 on this branch. They are softer and more flexible than some of their pine tree cousins.

A home for wildlife

A wide range of wildlife relies on larch for food and cover. Squirrels feed on the cones and cache the seeds for future use. Songbirds nest and forage in their branches. They are especially important to pileated woodpeckers. This tree is an important food source for several kinds of grouse. Large mammals forage on the needles as a last resort since they are not as tasty as other trees.

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Aspen trees far away & up close: LAPC

December 5, 2020July 9, 2021 / SoyBend / 26 Comments

Aspen trees in the fall are beautiful from far away and up close. I’m featuring autumn portraits of aspens in central and eastern Oregon.

A far away aspen stand glowing in a blaze of color on Hart Mountain.

Aspen grove on Hart Mountain, Oregon October

Moving in closer to… an aspen-lined meadow at Aspen Day Use Area near Dillon Falls.

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The tree people of autumn: LAPC, RDP, & SS

October 31, 2020February 14, 2021 / SoyBend / 29 Comments

When the warmth of summer slips into the shadows, the tree people of autumn emerge. No one notices them at first. Their queen guides them concealed beneath a cloak of crimson leaves.