I recently got some transparencies back from processing and I think my next Fine Art Landscape print is amongst those bright beautiful chromes!  Below is one of the images I took on the way back from a late summer trip I took to Mt. Rainier National Park.  To see some a photo I shot at Mt. Rainier, visit , Mt. Rainier National Park.  The Photo seen below was actually a wonderful bonus from that trip.

The Columbia River Gorge is illuminated by a stunning sunset.

I was returning from Mt. Rainier and nearing Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge and I saw some great clouds forming over the east end of the gorge.  I high-tailed it up to the women’s forum and it’s stunning view of the amazing Columbia River Gorge below.  The light played off of the clouds beautifully while warm sunset light bathed the cliffs below crown point and the vista house.  I was fortunate enough to capture this dramatic scene with my large format camera which means it will allow me to make some stunning large format prints from this wonderful evening.

I’ve driven through the Columbia River Gorge dozens of times and I’ve always been floored by its beauty, but I’ve never gotten any great shots that include the Columbia River in them.  One of the things that motivates me as a photographer is a desire to adequately represent a given location.  I truly love the landscapes I get to experience as a landscape photographer, particularly those in my home state of Oregon. If I capture a stunning location( like the Columbia River Gorge) with my 4×5 camera and I’m able to share our Oregon landscapes as seen in wonderful natural light, then that is a great day at the office!

Part of the difficulty I’ve had with photos of the Columbia River Gorge is that there are few locations that accentuate the depth  and textures of this national treasure.  This view from the women’s forum is the best I’ve encountered.  With the vertical volcanic wall below Crown Point, Oregon’s landmark Vista House,the sandy shores of the Columbia River, the layered points along the Washington side of the Columbia River, the distant Beacon Rock, Oregon’s ubiquitous evergreens, and finally and stunning light show presented against a phenomenal arrangement of sunset clouds, this photograph is exactly how I wanted to capture Oregon’s Iconic Columbia River Gorge.(Sorry about the run-on sentence, my past english professors are cringing!)  If you’d like to view a framed print from this glorious evening, please contact me and I’ll let you know where one can be viewed.

Thanks for visiting,

Mike Putnam