Out There Photography

The edge of the earth...Part 3

2011-10-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Here it is, the last in our three-part series. Here is where the fun really begins, and where a careless misstep might have truly sent us careening over the edge of the earth!

Just east of where the Bull Lake Road joins up with Highway 2, you come to Kootenai Falls and the Swinging Bridge. There's a moderate size parking area on the north side of the highway. From there, you take a relatively short hike down to the cliffs carved by the Kootenai River (pronounced koot-in-ee). The scenery here is gorgeous, and one can often see bighorn sheep on the steep hillsides on the north side of the river. Unfortunately, we didn't see any on this trip, but we've seen them in the past and will surely see them in the future.

The Swinging Bridge is a remarkable structure, strung high over the rushing river below. From the bridge, you can look upstream and see the lower reaches of Kootenai Falls.
The bridge can seem a little intimidating, but it's really very sturdy, and doesn't bounce nearly as much as you'd expect...even Tucker (as you will see) handled the bridge with ease.

Enough backstory, let's get to the photos!

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

~OTP

The edge of the earth...Part 2

2011-10-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

The next photos in our series come from a couple of spots along the Bull Lake Road. These are of the Cabinet Mountains, already dusted with snow in mid-October. Winter comes early to the high country, and from what we've been hearing, it could be a whopper of a winter.

Now let's get to the photos!

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

~OTP

The edge of the earth...

2011-10-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

It's been a long, long time since we've posted anything here at Out There Photography, but you'll be happy to know that we haven't fallen off the edge of the earth...or not quite, anyway!

While our amount of available free time has decreased significantly due to various factors, we're still making time to get out there, enjoy autumn in the mountains, and take photos.

This past weekend, we decided to take a little drive over into Montana. From home, we headed up to Sandpoint, then took Hwy 200 over the Montana border to the Bull Lake Road (also known as Hwy 56). Took the Bull Lake Road north to Hwy 2, then after a brief detour, took the rest of the loop...Hwy 2 over to Hwy 95 @ Bonners Ferry, then down to Sandpoint and home. This is a beautiful drive that can be done in an afternoon (or a little longer, depending on how many times you stop to enjoy the scenery, take a walk, etc.). We took about 6 or 7 hours to make the loop, but things seem to take longer with camera in hand.

The photos from this will be in a three part series...and we might even get all three posts done tonight!

So, without further ado, let's get to the first set of photos!

Following Hwy 200 east from Sandpoint, one comes to the little town of Hope, ID, which sits on the hillside overlooking Lake Pend Oreille. Just east of Hope lies the Hope Peninsula. There are a couple of small resorts out there, as well as a park/campground. The entire Hope Peninsula is a game preserve, so the deer out there are plentiful and very comfortable around humans. It used to be that they would sometimes walk right up to your car, but that was back in the days when people used to feed them from their cars...pieces of bread, leftover french fries, etc. Feeding the deer is no longer allowed, so the deer aren't quite as friendly as they once were, but they love to pose for the camera!

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

~OTP

Home on the range, Part 3

2011-08-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings, all!
We've still got more photos from the ranch.
We were planning to save the fun ones for last, but what the heck, let's do it today!
There might even be enough fun ones to throw a couple into the next post, too.

I think these photos speak for themselves, so let's get to it!

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

~OTP

Home on the range, Part 2

2011-08-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hello again!
Today we've got more photos from the ranch.
We're actually a little sad that the job is done and we don't have an excuse to go back out there every evening. Nevertheless, we've got the photos, and we're thinking of doing a four-seasons collection from a few set locations around the ranch...so it seems we do have an excuse to go back, after all!
So, here it is, Part 2 of our ranch series. There will likely be at least two more posts in this series, so keep checking back.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

~OTP

Home on the range, Part 1

2011-08-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been quite some time since we last posted anything. Summer is a busy time around here...not that we're making excuses or anything...but between family visits, building fences, weeding and harvesting in the garden, writing books, hauling firewood, fighting fires, and being small-business owners...well, it's a lot.
Nevertheless, business is good, and we just finished up a two-week shoot that yielded some great photos! Of course, when you're photographing a historic, inspiring, and gorgeous location, it's tough to not wind up with a few good shots.
Our long-time friend was in the area visiting her family, and asked us if we could come take some photos of their cattle ranch. (You may have seen something about this on Rob Dow's World.) It was haying time while we were there, which added something special to an already beautiful place. Plus, the smell of fresh cut hay is one of the best smells in the world.
The ranch was established in the early 1900s by our friend's great-grandparents, and has remained in the family every since. It sits comfortably in a long valley filled with rolling hay fields and wooded hills, and a cold, clear river moseys its way south toward town. And as the sun sinks down toward the horizon, and the light turns golden, you wonder why anyone would want to live anywhere else.

So, without further ado, let's get to the photos!
There are a lot from this project, so we're going to have to do a series of posts.

~OTP

Upcoming event

2011-07-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Greetings, photo fans!
We mentioned in a previous post that we were hoping to participate in the Art & Wine Fusion in White Salmon, WA, and we got word a couple of days ago that we've been accepted...yay!

So, Out There Photography will be setting up our booth for the first time on Saturday, July 16 from 3-10pm on Jewett Blvd. in White Salmon. We'll have stretched canvas prints, greeting cards, and matted 8x10 prints. We're very excited, but we've got tons of work to do to get ready, so there probably won't be a photo post this week (unless we need a break from the madness...maybe some fireworks photos...hmmm).

Anyway, if any of our devoted readers are in the Gorge area next weekend, stop by and see us!

That's it for now...thanks for stopping by!

~OTP

Okay, one more...

2011-06-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hello again!
Apparently we're on a roll tonite, so here's another photo post from our travels!

Here we have some shots from a grey, misty day at Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach, OR. The coast is always beautiful, but days like this are a favorite...the misty fog adds an air of mystery that can't be found anywhere else.

Thanks for stopping by!

~OTP

As promised...

2011-06-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

Greetings all!
As promised, we've come up with a few photos from our recent travels that we think you'll enjoy.

We took a short trip down to Portland, OR back in May. We've got some coast shots, some flowers, and some waterfalls...but since we don't want to overwhelm you with too many photos at once, we'll focus today's post on the waterfalls.

Great Blue Heron at Multnomah Falls

Upper Horsetail Falls, Columbia Gorge

As always, thanks for stopping by!

~OTP

Quick update...photos to follow!

2011-06-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings!
Well, it's been a busy couple of months here at Out There Photography, hence it's been a while since we've posted anything.
Now that our garden is planted and travel has tapered off, it's time to get back into it!

We have lots of exciting stuff in the works for the summer...our photos are still on display at Solstice Cafe in the Columbia Gorge, but our time there is about to end, so we're busily looking for another venue to display our work. We managed to sell a few prints at Solstice, which is very exciting!
We've applied to participate in Art & Wine Fusion in White Salmon, WA on July 16 and are just waiting to hear back from the Art Council.
We're also hoping to participate in the Artists' Studio Tour in Sandpoint, ID during mid-August, and are hoping to begin showing our work at Artworks Gallery, also in Sandpoint.
We've also joined the Pacific Northwest Photography Forum, and have some of our work posted there. We highly recommend checking out this website...there are some amazing photographers out there!
Still searching for the right printer to print calendars for us, but we're narrowing the search and should have calendars available within the next couple of months, provided we're web-savvy enough to set up our website for online sales. :) We're also getting ready to do a first print of greeting card sets, which will also be available online.
And as if that weren't enough, we've decided to expand our horizons and do ALL types of outdoor photography, including weddings, senior portraits, family portraits, etc. More on that later.

We've taken a couple of trips down to Oregon, and though they were mostly dedicated to visiting friends and family, we were able to take advantage of a couple of opportunities to shoot some neat photos, which we'll be posting this evening.

That's it for now...whew!

Thanks for stopping by!

~OTP

Time for a break...let's take a drive!

2011-05-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

Greetings, friends!
Well, the Out There Photography website overhaul is in full swing, and MAN, is it TEDIOUS! It will be well worth it in the end, but it's time for a break.
So, we thought we'd post a few photos of the Palouse from our trip through there last weekend.
When we left our friends in White Salmon, WA on Sunday morning, we decided to take a "scenic" route home instead of following the usual route. The entire drive home took 11 hours instead of 6, but we had a great time, saw lots of new country, and took A LOT of photos! There will be more photos from that drive later, but tonight we're just going to focus on the Palouse.
The drive through the Palouse is a unique experience. Endless rolling hills of grass, wheat, and other crops, the occasional tiny town, a river or two, and a great big sky. There are long stretches along the highways of the Palouse where the fields come right down to the road, so it's just you, the road, and acres of rolling fields. It might be difficult to imagine, but it's really a unique experience and we recommend everyone check it out if you get the chance.
We arrived at Steptoe Butte State Park at about 5:30pm, just as the sun was starting to head toward the horizon and the light was starting to change into that golden, "magic-hour" light. Steptoe Butte is an island of rock in the middle of an ocean of rolling fields. From below, the Butte doesn't look all that impressive, but once you've made your way up the narrow road that leads to the top, the views make you feel like you've stepped out on top of the world. Just over an hour's drive from Spokane, WA, this is one of the Inland Northwest's lesser known gems.

That's enough storytelling for one evening, so let's get to the photos!

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

~OTP

That's a crop duster flying over the fields. Lucky shot!

Paraglider...looks fun!

Updates, updates, updates!

2011-05-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings, friends!
Well, it's been an eventful couple of weeks, and Out There Photography has a few updates to share. These updates have been somewhat delayed due to a nasty little spring cold, but we've now beaten back the plague and are back in action.

First and foremost, the results of the First-Annual OTP Snow Melt Contest! The last of the snowbank melted on April 29, meaning Linda B. is our winner with a guess of April 28! Congrats Linda!

Second, we mentioned before that we were headed down to the Columbia Gorge to set up our first public showing of our photographs. The prints look great in the space, and we're really happy with how it all turned out. There are, of course, photos of our exhibit at the end of this post.

Third, we're going to be doing a major overhaul on our blog website as well as our gallery site. You won't see much difference once the work is done...however these changes will make it easier for Google and other search engines to find our stuff. (By the way, we were surfing around on the internet the other day and discovered two of our photos in the top row of a Google image search...needless to say, there was much squealing and jumping up and down.) :)
Even though you won't see any difference once this work is done, there will be a few days (beginning today) where some of the photos on the blog site and the gallery site might not show up properly. Bear with us, and we'll get this done as quickly as possible.

That's about it for now. We did take a LOT of photos on our short trip to the Gorge, so look for stories and photos from our adventures sometime in the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

~OTP

Coming out of the darkroom...

2011-04-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings, photo fans!
Out There Photography is finally expanding beyond the realms of cyberspace and having our first show!
15 of our photos will be on display at Solstice Wood Fire Cafe in Bingen, WA. In case you don't know where Bingen is, it's just across the Columbia River from Hood River, OR.
We're really excited, and hope that this will be the first step on the road to a successful business!
Many thanks to Hope & Kate for making this happen!

Beyond this first show, we've got a few other projects in the works.
We're in the process of putting together a sample of our work for a gallery up in Sandpoint, ID, and if all goes well, we could be in there by mid-summer (though it could take much longer than that...we're keeping our fingers crossed!).
We've also put together a few calendars and several sets of greeting cards. We'll be checking out a printer for these sometime next week, and if all goes well, we could have calendars and cards ready to sell online (eventually) and also in some local shops.

So, keep checking back for updates, and of course, more photos!

~OTP

First-Annual Snow Melt Contest ends today!

2011-04-20T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day for guesses in the Snow Melt Contest! Get your guesses in by midnight tonight for your chance to win!

Master Naturalists

2011-04-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

An opportunity came our way recently, and we just couldn't pass it up.
Idaho has a program in which individuals can become certified as Master Naturalists. It's similar to the Master Gardener program, but this one focuses on nature, conservation, habitat, ecology, etc. Once we complete 48 hours of training and 40 hours of volunteer work, we will both be Certified Idaho Master Naturalists. How cool is that?
We had our first class today, held at the Waterlife Discovery Center near Sandpoint, and of course, there are a couple photos to share.

Happy spring!

~OTP

Out along the Pend Oreille River

2011-04-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while out running errands, I decided to take a little drive out along the Pend Oreille River east of Priest River.
Managed to get a few interesting shots, so I thought I'd post them for y'all.

~OTP

P.S.
Don't forget about the Snow Melt Contest! Tomorrow is the last day for guesses...

First-Annual Snow Melt Contest!

2011-04-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

Hi there photo fans!
Out There Photography is having our First-annual Snow Melt Contest!
The photo below shows the snow that's still left on the side of our garage.

The first person to correctly guess the date upon which the last of this snow bank melts will win a custom 8x10 stretched canvas print of the Out There Photography photo of their choice.

A little info to help you with your guess:
-this is the south-facing side of the building
-daytime temps have been in the mid-40s, with mostly cloudy skies and rain showers at times

Email your guesses to outtherephotography@gmail.com. We will be taking guesses until Wednesday, April 20, so get your guesses in soon!
Winner will be announced once the snow has completely melted :)

Good luck!

~OTP

Gallery updated!

2011-04-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings loyal Out There Photography fans!

After much toil (and about 45 hours in front of the computer), the Out There Photography Gallery has finally been updated.
There are oodles of new photos to peruse, including LOTS from our big trip last fall. Some of them you've probably already seen on our blog, but many are brand new releases. We're also planning to continue adding photos on a regular basis now.

The updated gallery also gets us one step closer to being ready to start selling prints. We're checking out a local printer for a show we have coming up next month (more on that later), and if his work is as good as we think it will be, we'll be ready to sell prints of our work to the masses! (Or maybe just to a couple of friends and family, but eventually...hopefully...)

You can get to our Gallery by clicking on the link to the right of this post, or you can just click here!

Enjoy!

~OTP

Tucker Bonus

2011-04-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

It was Tucker's first trip to the ocean, and boy did he have a good time!
Here are a couple of our favorite shots :)

~OTP

Slaving away

2011-04-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

Since Out There Photography returned from our trip to Oregon, we've been working day and night updating our Gallery with a year's worth of new photos. The updates aren't visible yet, but we'll be sure to let you know when they are.
In the mean time, we thought you might enjoy a few shots from Bullard's Beach near Bandon, OR. We took a day trip out to the coast while we were staying in Eugene, and managed to get a nice, sunny day!
Enjoy!

~OTP

Bonus image

2011-03-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Thought we should introduce our traveling companion...this is his first big road trip, and so far he's handled it like a champ!
So without further ado, meet Tucker!

~OTP

On the road again

2011-03-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Out There Photography is on the road again!
Not a megatrip this time...just a short road trip down to Oregon for our friends' wedding, with numerous stops along the way to visit family and friends.
Nevertheless, beautiful scenery deserves to be photographed!
At the moment, we're staying with friends in White Salmon, WA (across the Columbia River from Hood River, OR), enjoying the spring weather...green grass, blooming flowers...it's a nice change of pace from North Idaho!
We headed east on Hwy. 14 this morning, just a few miles out toward Lyle, WA. Shot a couple of nice roadside waterfalls and walked the paths at Catherine Creek. It was a pretty mellow excursion, but there were great photographs to be had.
Enjoy!

~OTP

White Rock Mountain, Arkansas

2011-03-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Since we've been spending so much time in the desert southwest lately, we thought we'd shake things up a bit and head off to a different part of the contry...so let's go to the Ozarks!

While staying with Cathy's sister in Oklahoma, the three of us (plus her two dogs) went camping over in the Ozarks of Arkansas. Our first night out we camped at a place called White Rock Mountain. It's a beautiful park, perched (as you might have guessed) on top of a mountain. The views were spectacular, and we managed to get camp set up in time to go watch the sunset from the viewpoint. Hardwood forest as far as the eye can see, and no sign of civilization to be had. It was a surprisingly peaceful place!

The following morning, as we were packing up camp, we discovered we'd made a new friend overnight (see last photo). Cathy also made friends with a very persistent 4-inch-long walking stick bug (there was a great deal of shrieking when she discovered said bug crawling up her shoulder!). The photos of the walking stick didn't turn out that great, but he's an interesting critter, so we've included one anyway.

More from Arkansas in the next post!

~OTP

Walking stick bug

Our overnight friend

Mesa Verde

2011-03-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park are stunning to behold. It's hard to imagine an entire village tucked into a crack halfway up a cliff face, and harder still to imagine actually living in a place like that.
We saw many incredible places on our cross-country trip, but this one stands out as one of the most moving and awe-inspiring.
We arrived at the park fairly late in the day, and the cliff dwellings themselves were about 25 miles past the campground. So, we decided to set up camp, cook some dinner, and drive out to the cliff dwellings the next morning.
At 5am, we were awakened by a raging storm, with thunder, lightning, high winds and torrential rain/hail. Neither of us could go back to sleep, so we waited until the rain slowed, then crawled out of the tent into a very wet world. Rather than set up the camp stove for coffee and breakfast, we just packed up our soaking wet gear and headed for the gift shop for strong, hot coffee and chocolate donuts. The coffee and donuts were a wonderful remedy to the grumpiness of the morning!
The grumpiness and discomfort of the morning were quickly forgotten once we made it to the cliff dwellings...as you can probably imagine. What a place!

~OTP

On the way to the cliffs

Looking down-canyon from the cliff dwelling overlook

Natural Bridges

2011-03-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

We're on a roll!

Natural Bridges National Monument is a pretty incredible place. Unlike Arches National Park, where the arches are formed by wind and freezing water, the arches/bridges in Natural Bridges were formed by flowing water.
Because of the storms in the area, the river was flowing full and fast, and there were smaller streams flowing in creek beds that are dry most of the year.
The last photo is of one of those usually-dry creek beds...a blood-red waterfall, colored red because of the deep red color of the surrounding soils.
So, enjoy Natural Bridges...and we may just do a couple more posts today, too!

~OTP