The Painted Hill of John Day have mesmerized geologists and paleontologists for generations.  The Painted Hills themselves, have been adored by photographers since the development of the camera. I make a photographic pilgrimage to the Painted Hills of John Day, in hopes of capturing a fine art photograph, just like the one you see below!

John Day Painted Hills

John Day Painted Hills

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is managed by the National Park Service and is composed of three separate units, the Sheep Rock Unit, the Painted Hills Unit(seen above) and the Clarno Unit.  For more images of these beautiful units, visit my High Desert Gallery.
In my newest fine art photograph, “Painted Hills Sunset”, seen above, the geologic diversity of the Painted hills is clearly captured.  A bonus capture was that of the ephemeral “Bee Plants”, Cleome platycarpa.  These little golden beauties bloom for only a few days, if at all, in a given year.  The splattering of Bee plants, combined with the warm glow of sunset on the Painted Hills with the wonderfully detailed Sutton Mountain in the background gives a wonderful sense of what it is like to enjoy a sunset in this magical part of Eastern Oregon.   I hope this fine art photograph of the Painted Hills appropriately honors the beauty of this amazing location.

Thanks for visiting,

Mike Putnam