Day 341

ISO 125, 24mm, f/9.0, 15.0 sec.

Day 341 - Foiled by raindrops

A rather wet day here in Salem, Oregon. Damn!

According to weather.com, I had about an hour to snag that photo of the day. And it was gonna be a bonus round 'cause I had three ideas for the photo.

1st stop, no rain but OMG, it was way to dark.
2nd stop, no rain but good lord I was gonna be blinded by the construction lights. Holy crap, dim those lights, isn't there some energy crisis or something?

3rd stop, EUREKA! Twinkly lights, Salem history.

This is the second image before the skies once again opened up and I might add 20 minutes earlier than weather.com predicted.

So, this is the back of the Mission Mill Museum. The mill itself was built in 1896. I had every intention of going to the end of this building and taking a picture of the mill, until my lens began collecting rain drops.

Rest assured, I am not easily discouraged. I shall return.

Day 340

ISO 125, 28mm, f/9.0, 30.0 sec.

Day 340 - A touch of Victorian history

This is the Deepwood Estate, a Queen Anne Victorian home built in 1894. The gardens surrounding this home are fabulous in the summer.

It was acquired by the city of Salem in 1971 and placed on the National Register of Homes in 1973. I suspect a tour of the museum is now in order.

The more I seek out Salem, the more amused I become. It is quite the eclectic little town.

Day 339

ISO 100, 70mm, f/16, 13.0 sec.

Day 339 - Over the river

I wanted to catch the reflection of the tree lights in the river tonight since I couldn't stick around last night.

I decided to take my 70-200mm for a walk with me tonight. While I was waiting around for the light to change I turned my attention back to the bridge. My long lens completely changed my point of view.

It was so cold and slightly windy down on the river bank, but I still held out for the reflection.

ISO 200, 142mm, f/18, 10.0 sec.

Day 338

ISO 100, 92mm, f/22, 20.sec.

Day 338 - Holiday sparkles

Once again, I was pleasantly surprised. We had Karen's office party in West Salem and I thought a few photos off of the west bank of the Willamette would be nice.

The sunset was nice, but as I watched the skies turn their beautiful blue, I also watched the town tree light up. I had no clue it was there. What a trip.

Day 337

ISO 160, 200mm, f/5.0, 1/60 sec.

Day 337 - Still fall

Long day. Sunrise feels like it was an eternity ago.

Glad I have something to remember it by.

day 336

ISO 100, 16mm, f/16, 5.0 sec.

Day 336 - Dear pixel gods

Thank you!!!

I've got a couple of things happening here. I decided that for my last 31 days of this 365 project I wanted to focus on taking pictures around Salem and if I can at my favorite twilighty time of night.

The weather this week has been really wet. When the sun started to break through, I asked my boss if I could bail early so that I could get that twilighty time and he obliged.

Not really knowing where I was going I headed for the river front. The after work traffic was awful. I wasn't patient enough to wait for the traffic, so I went with the flow and headed towards one of the museums. On a whim we decided to walk over to the train station.

The next passenger train wasn't coming for another two hours and I set up behind the depot waiting for the light.

I wasn't expecting the freight train that blew his whistle behind me. So I left my settings where they were and started walking as fast as I could to the other end of the station. I sat the tripod down and this was my first click.

ISO 100, 16mm, f/2.8, 0.5 sec.

The same settings lost the motion of the train completely so I adjusted as quickly as I could to a faster shutter speed and moved my camera ever so slightly to the right to pick up the train and the station.

You can almost feel the wind of the train going by.

ISO 100, 16mm, f/16, 15.0 sec.

And then, the train was gone as quickly as it arrived. I went back to my original spot and got the image I originally was out to get.

Just to add one more spin. I am currently reading David duChemin's book Within the Frame. This morning I was reading about the creative muse. He talks about lack of inspiration, and what if I have just taken my last good picture.

In a few paragraphs later he writes, "Forget the absence of the muse. Head out without her. Wander until your eyes open; then you'll find the muse is already there, waiting."

He was right.

Day 335

ISO 100, 40mm, f/20, 8.0 sec.

Day 335 - The Elsinore

In 1926, "The showplace of the Willamette Valley" opened it's doors. The tudor gothic architecture quickly became recognized as the finest theater between Portland and San Francisco.

Over the years time and vandalism took its toll on the grand theater, but in the end, a dedicated group of people saved the theater from being torn down and turned into a parking lot.

I'd been watching the schedule so that I could catch a night when the theater was operating and the lights were on.