The Deschutes River near my hometown of Bend, Oregon is a recreational treasure. I’ve explored the banks of the Deschutes hundreds of times over the last 15 years and I always manage to find a new perspectives of the Deschutes River that inspire me. I will soon release the following print of the Deschutes River located near Bend, Oregon.

Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon

Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon

This image of the Deschutes River was initially an after thought.  Two years ago, I was trail running/photo scouting along the Deschutes River Trail and I quickly snapped a picture from this location with a camera phone.  I shared the photo with a couple of friends and one of them loved it.  He asked to use it as the screen saver for his phone and I happily obliged.  Last Fall, I returned to the same spot and quietly studied this scene, not far from Bend, Oregon and I too became smitten with this photo of the Deschutes.  It was a bit early for optimal fall color but the water levels in the Deschutes River made for some really gorgeous flow patterns.  I returned to the Deschutes several times over the next 10 days and eventually captured this wonderful combination of light and peak fall color along the Deschutes that were animated by the dancing flow patterns of the this section of the river near Bend.  Below is a wider image of the the same scene, which captures an even more dramatic flow pattern in the Deschutes River.

Bend, Oregon's Deschutes River

Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes River

I think my initial hesitation regarding this scene stemmed from the downed logs along the shores of the River.  I tend to prefer clean and elegant images but sometimes nature doesn’t cooperate.  It is unusual to find images of waterfalls and rivers without some sort of debris.  The logs in this image of the Deschutes River have been there for years and finally they have aged to the point that they offer character rather than distraction.  The mossy tips suggest some level of permanence and the small sapling growing on the log on the left hand shore suggest a certain delicacy and persistence in nature.  It may sound odd but I think of this image as something of a photographic break-through for me.  Instead of avoiding the “debris”, it has shifted my perception and allowed me to embrace the natural cycles captured in this image of the Deschutes.  A big beautiful fine art print of this image will soon be available in both a vertical and  horizontal compositions.  I should also note that the fine art print of this photograph will have an exception amount of detail in the image.  I think that it will be the kind of Deschutes River photograph that I could stare at for years.

I don’t have this print of the Deschutes  available to the public yet but If you would like to see some of the other fine art prints I have displayed in and around Central Oregon, please visit my Bend, Oregon Walking Gallery.  My walking gallery is a new concept I am trying for collectors.  It is a map of Central Oregon with all of the display locations where my Oregon fine art Landscape photographs are being  exhibited.    Please check back to my Bend Oregon Art Gallery page often as I will try to update it with information about which prints I am exhibiting on a regular basis.  Hopefully this will allow my potential collectors to casually visit and view many of my Landscape prints while they consider purchasing.

Thanks For Visiting,

Mike