Posted by Larry Gloth on January 18, 2008 at 12:12 AM
I've been wanting to try this shot for awhile. I was hoping for a little more snow but the sunset was nice. It's alot of fun to walk around up there and try different compositions as it is an easy spot to get to and park, etc.
Canon 350D, F 7.1, 1/30 sec. at 45mm, 2 stop grad filter. Blend of 3 RAW exposures.
Critiques and advice please.
I was up there on on Tuesday night and when I got to work on Wednesday I noticed that a young couple had been kidnapped at gunpoint on Sunday from this location, the Portland Women's forum. There was apparently another armed robbery not far from there fairly recently.
Also, while I was out shooting the sunset at Cape Kiwanda on Sunday, apparently a man taking a picture fell to his death from a cliff in Lincoln City or Depoe Bay in front of his wife and friend.
I realize that I'm talking to alot of pros and I don't mean to be Mr. Doom + Gloom but these two recent events compel me to say be careful out there in the Gorge and everywhere for that matter, it was only about a year ago that a couple of female photograhers were held at gunpoint and nearly killed on Sauvie's Island.
I have some experience with violent crime and there is a definite tendency to believe it won't happen to me, but you should always be mentally prepared for the situation where it does.
As photographers, we are often out at odd hours, in strange places, and with alot of expensive gear.
I've spent my entire adult life either in the military or law enforcement and I can tell you that some of the craziest, dumbest, and most dangerous things I've ever done were related to photography and trying to get a shot.
Take care and be safe.
Posted by Tom Kloster on January 18, 2008 at 1:22 AM
That's a good reminder, Larry - I don't know that the rate of crime is up in recreation areas, but the degree of depravity in drug related/induced crimes certainly is, thanks to a whole new generation of drugs out there. As you probably know, you were standing a few feet from one of the spots where a historic bas relief plaque was stolen for the drug money it would bring as scrap metal. The place where I am always on high alert is the Wahclella Falls trailhead. It's a favorite afternoon hike for me, but I always figure I'll find my car ransacked when I return there... so far, I've dodge the bullet.
I'm mixed on your image - the background seems soft and the foreground muddy. That might just be a product of the shadows created by low sun angle this time of year. You might try this in B&W - I did a quick look, and it held up quite nicely!
Posted by Cliff Dodge on January 19, 2008 at 12:13 AM
You know, the older i get the more i become a fatalist, maybe because i have my boy with me most of the time and i worry about what might happen to him. He has already seen the crap side of people in having a van chase after him and his friend on our road, that close to home, so it can happen to you anywhere, even a safeway parking lot with people around. Anyway, i think i am headed down that way this weekend after i get off work tomorrow morning. Thanks for sharing the story and the picture. Cliff
Posted by Erik Lundh on January 19, 2008 at 1:02 AM
This is a hard time of year to get a good shot from this vantage point. The sun just doesn't illuminate the hills enough. I'll have to give you kudos for the sky though for mid January. BTW, thanks for the reminder. I wouldn't want to use my d2x for a weapon.
Posted by Darren White on January 19, 2008 at 1:11 AM
Erik, I feel the same way about my F4s and now my new D300......
I was thinking about this today..and decided that if I were to be held at gunpoint I would call their bluff......I really do not think anyone is gonna murder you at such a popular location...I think they just go up there because they know people like those spots for the views.....first thing I would do is get out of the car with my 3in wooden dowl...AKA walking stick......(remember, in my mind they are not gonna shoot)....talk to them a bit and if I did get a bad feeling I would take out their right knee....then their head....but not too hard...just enough to knock em silly.....I am a firm believer in the art of defending yourself by making one pay with pain to the knees.......knees only bend one way......so when they extend the other way, it's extremely painful.........
I will admit that the recent run of these events is keeping me on the Washington side as of late but also because there are such good places over here......so if the day does come, and I am sure it will.....be on the lookout for the guy with the dowl who takes out knees!!!!! I can swing that dowl so fast he OR she would have no idea what happened......
Happy shooting everyone!!!!
Posted by John Williams on January 19, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Thanks for the reminder Larry. I know that I tend to get lost in the photography when good lighting is developing in front of me, and that it is very easy to be blissfully unaware of danger, whether from the cliff in front of me or someone behind me. And in the future, I'm going to wear a bell, or whistle, etc. when I approach another photographer out there, just in case it's Jesse .
I agree with Erik that the sun isn't at it's best angle this time of year. I have a sunrise taken in January from there, that I'll try and post one of these days, that missed the best light because the sun was just too far south.
Discussion
5 repliesCanon 350D, F 7.1, 1/30 sec. at 45mm, 2 stop grad filter. Blend of 3 RAW exposures.
Critiques and advice please.
I was up there on on Tuesday night and when I got to work on Wednesday I noticed that a young couple had been kidnapped at gunpoint on Sunday from this location, the Portland Women's forum. There was apparently another armed robbery not far from there fairly recently.
Also, while I was out shooting the sunset at Cape Kiwanda on Sunday, apparently a man taking a picture fell to his death from a cliff in Lincoln City or Depoe Bay in front of his wife and friend.
I realize that I'm talking to alot of pros and I don't mean to be Mr. Doom + Gloom but these two recent events compel me to say be careful out there in the Gorge and everywhere for that matter, it was only about a year ago that a couple of female photograhers were held at gunpoint and nearly killed on Sauvie's Island.
I have some experience with violent crime and there is a definite tendency to believe it won't happen to me, but you should always be mentally prepared for the situation where it does.
As photographers, we are often out at odd hours, in strange places, and with alot of expensive gear.
I've spent my entire adult life either in the military or law enforcement and I can tell you that some of the craziest, dumbest, and most dangerous things I've ever done were related to photography and trying to get a shot.
Take care and be safe.
I'm mixed on your image - the background seems soft and the foreground muddy. That might just be a product of the shadows created by low sun angle this time of year. You might try this in B&W - I did a quick look, and it held up quite nicely!
I was thinking about this today..and decided that if I were to be held at gunpoint I would call their bluff......I really do not think anyone is gonna murder you at such a popular location...I think they just go up there because they know people like those spots for the views.....first thing I would do is get out of the car with my 3in wooden dowl...AKA walking stick......(remember, in my mind they are not gonna shoot)....talk to them a bit and if I did get a bad feeling I would take out their right knee....then their head....but not too hard...just enough to knock em silly.....I am a firm believer in the art of defending yourself by making one pay with pain to the knees.......knees only bend one way......so when they extend the other way, it's extremely painful.........
I will admit that the recent run of these events is keeping me on the Washington side as of late but also because there are such good places over here......so if the day does come, and I am sure it will.....be on the lookout for the guy with the dowl who takes out knees!!!!! I can swing that dowl so fast he OR she would have no idea what happened......
Happy shooting everyone!!!!
I agree with Erik that the sun isn't at it's best angle this time of year. I have a sunrise taken in January from there, that I'll try and post one of these days, that missed the best light because the sun was just too far south.