Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Merlot
Just a few shots of Pearsony Falls near Prospect, OR from our 2013 Oregon Thanksgiving trip. I really have nothing to say tonight other than I'm hoping to get lost this weekend. No work this weekend. . . all play!
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Ventana Monterey Red Table Wine
What makes you look at the hills? Is it the grasses or the trees? Is it the details that most people pass by or the views that most people never see? Most of us, myself included, just pass these things by day in and day out with little to no thought; but, upon looking back at old pictures, we should all take more time to appreciate them. Our busy days shouldn't really be that busy. We're only here in passing anyways. Sometimes, we should just stop and take in the beauty that's around us. Take it all it. Because if we don't, it (or we) might be gone tomorrow.
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Prairie Berry Winery Sand Creek American Red Wine
Happy New Year Welliver Photography fans! Thirsty Thursday here again. Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Since this is the first Thursday of the year, and seeing how this whole "Throwback Thursday" thing is getting to be pretty popular, I figured I'd throw it back to New Years 2007 for tonight's post.
New Years 2007 was our last New Year in Japan. We'd gone to a Japanese temple either at midnight or on New Years day each year. However, seeing the first sunrise of the year is a big deal in Japan, so for our final New Years we decided to go to hike up Mitake-san (Mt Mitake) and watch the sunrise from the temple located at the top of the 3,048' peak.
While there is a cog rail that goes up the mountain, we decided, in true Welliver Photography fashion, to hike to the top in the dark. After all, it was New Years and the Japanese love their New Years sunrise celebrations...therefore, the cog rail was packed. The effort was worth it.
Though as you can see, it was insanely crowded. And no, that is not Terry hold that camera up...he actually took the photo above and below.
After watching the sunrise, visitors at the shrine get their fortune, or O-mikuji, for the year. It is customary to tie to the fortune to a nearby wire or branch after reading the fortune.
The wires get pretty full on New Years at any shrine.
The fascinating thing about visiting shrines on New Years is despite the throng of people, its a quiet, peaceful experience. You leave feeling happy, content, and hopeful for the coming year.
Some big changes coming to Welliver Photography this year. Its always nice to reflect on where we've been and what's gotten us to where we are as we move forward into the next year. We plan to make a year filled with adventures, and hopefully, some cool photos doing cool stuff in cool places. One thing is for sure, we only spent one night out in a tent last year and we plan to do much better than that this year! Time to start making the New Years worth of weekend plans! And then get out there and do something awesome!
Happy New Year!
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Ancient Peaks 2012 Merlot
Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. My parents are visiting for the holidays from Iowa, and I decided we should take a little road trip to the Eastern Sierras. It was a short trip, but we did of exploring along U.S. 395 in and around Bishop.
On our first morning in the Eastern Sierra we went to catch sunrise at Convict Lake. In typical Welliver Photography fashion, the sky was completely clear...not one ounce of drama. Add a setting moon to that cloudless sky and we didn't even get good winter twilight colors. But we were there, so I snapped a few frames.
Here's one in the pre-dawn light.
And this is what it looked like once the sun started to hit the top of Laurel Mountain.
While conditions weren't incredible for photography, any morning spent shooting in the mountains is pretty much perfect. Get out there and enjoy your favorite scenery this weekend!
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Beringer Pinot Noir
Nothing fancy tonight, but a decent Pinot to ease into the night. My thoughts today are quite random and I'm not sure if this is actually a coherent post. I'm thinking about many things from spending time with family to laughing and crying to remembering travels. I'm just happy that today's events have been, well, uneventful (or maybe eventful now that I think about it). Sometimes it's a good thing when nothing happens (or that everything seems to go right). Anyways, on to the photos. Tonight's travel memory of choice was Cinque Terre, Italy. I have a few pictures that I think seem to capture the narrow streets and small village feel along with the resort style beaches. Although I wouldn't consider our Italy visit my absolute favorite trip, it was pretty fun (I must say that the wine was quite good though). I think I would recommend that everyone go to Cinque Terre at least once. I'm not sure I'd say go back but there's something about the villages there (even if they are a bit touristy). Still, the narrow streets, atmosphere of the villages, and cool sunsets make it pretty darn neat.
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Muirwood Merlot
I'm not much of a Merlot guy, but it's what we had open. This one was from the "open it any day of the week" collection. Just something red to help end a day. The week seemed to have flown by again and I find myself wondering how can it be Thursday. Work has, of course, been work. I'm still behind and more things keep piling up on the "to do" or "I'll get to that someday" lists. Anyways, onto the photographs.
Tonight I found myself sifting through a couple hundred shots of Crater Lake. I say a couple hundred because I was bracketing the shots so it was three for every scene. These are all from our Thanksgiving adventure to Ashland, OR. It's been ages since I've been there and the lake was just as amazing as I remember it even though there was little to no drama in the sky (that's par for the course for us). I think my favorite from the set is the panorama shot (last one). If you haven't been, I highly recommend visiting.
A special thanks to Bill and Jen taking us (and for driving)! Check out his site for some of his Crater Lake shots.
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Paraiso's 2009 Irie Zinfandel
Just a few shots from our Thanksgiving trip up to Ashland, OR. We are fortunate enough to have good friends (awesome photographers) that live in Ashland. The first full day we were there, they took us up to the top of Mt Ashland. The day was beautiful and the views were fantastic. It's actually hard to believe that Mt Shasta is roughly 80 miles away. Thanks to Bill and Jen for showing us around! Also, if you have a chance, check out his blog.
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2010 Valpolicella Ripasso
Forgot about this post today. Last minute addition. Go drink and eat!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2009 Paraiso Zinfandel Irie
It's been a long week since last Thursday. In fact, the days have blended together and I find myself wondering how it can be another Thursday already. Last weekend I had hoped to go through some of my Germany / Italy pictures, but it's amazing how fast plans change. These are the shots that I was able to edit throughout blur of last week. Unlike most of my edits (which are almost completely done in Apple Aperture), I discovered that my Nik Software Aperture plugins were automatically updated by Google. I'm still not thrilled that Google felt that it could update software on my computer without my knowledge (not even a notification). However, I have fallen in love with Nik Analog Efex Pro. I'm actually quite surprised that I enjoy these type of finishes so much. Many moons ago when I started to get serious about photography, I found myself waiting for the digital era. I didn't want a film camera. I didn't want a Holga. I suppose I was just naïve. I just wanted a DSLR. I didn't want to deal with developing film. I wanted sharp and crisp images with vivid colors. I wasn't a big fan of black and white photography. I didn't like the imperfect artifacts of film. But that's something's changed lately. I simply love it. There's something about the imperfections and the textures that I love. In fact, some of the images weren't perfect to start with. . . a bit blurry or maybe a poor composition. All of these images were taken with my Canon 5DMKII and processed through the Nik Analog Efex Pro plugin for Aperture. This set is a mixture of images from both Germany and Italy. I hope you enjoy them and all their imperfections. They seem a bit more real to me.
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Ancient Peaks 2012 Rosé
Hey hey hey! Thirsty Thursday here again. Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Its been a tough week for Welliver Photography, but in the spirit of Thirsty Thursday's mantra of "get out there and do something" I found it fitting that I remind myself of the importance of getting out there.
I often find myself floating through life thinking, hey, that _____ would be cool, I should do that some day. That blank, as Terry can attest, gets filled with all kinds of random, and often completely crazy ideas...doing an Ironman (I sink), thru-hiking the PCT, becoming a winemaker, trekking to Everest, running the Western States 100, learning to build custom bicycle frames, etc. And even the less crazy, doable ideas that fill that blank, like finishing the stupid Leadville mtb race, summiting Shasta, Hood, and Rainier in the same week, spending 20 nights in the backcountry in a year, going to Iceland, or even committing to racing a full season of cyclocross get brushed aside as something I'll eventually get to doing. Eventually. Those mountains aren't going anywhere. That race will always be there. Next year. Sometime. Eventually.
And yes, those mountains will always be there. Yes, those races will always exist. Yet every once in awhile that Bubble of Eventually I'm floating in bumps into the harsh reality, reminding me that while those challenges will always be there, I may not always have ability to do all those things I say I want to do. So just do them. Stop with the eventually.
So tonight I'm sharing a couple photos from one of those days when Terry and I did the completely crazy. After a day of skiing in the Swiss Alps (yeah, epic) we decided to hike to the top of a mountain and watch the sunset. It will be one of those sunsets I'll never forget, not just because it was incredibly beautiful...I mean, we were in the Swiss freakin' Alps...but because we were there, together, enjoying what were doing. Plus there's the story of the absolutely crazy post-sunset 7-mile hike down in the dark on a mountain that was getting groomed by snowcats. We glissaded down icy slopes in total darkness. A sweet old cow scared the shit out us. We barely caught the last train back to our hotel. It was awesome....because we just did it.
Just a friendly reminder to get out there and do all those things you want to do!
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2011 Ventana Chardonnay
The Patriarch Grove is a beautiful bristlecone pine grove at roughly 11,000 feet in the Inyo National Forest. Some of the trees are still alive but many are just skeletons. They still command greatness, towering over the landscape. They are a mix of beauty and eeriness. I find it amazing that these trees once survived (and some still do) at this altitude. If you haven't been and can stand the lack of oxygen, I definitely recommend visiting. You can pretty much drive directly to them and there's a small picnic area near. Enjoy the weekend!
Rambler: Massey....I mean Terry
Drink in Hand: Ancient Peaks 2012 Blanco or 2011 Cabernet Franc (or both?)
Perhaps I've had too much to drink. In my defense, it's a Thursday (or holiday right)?! I realized tonight that I need to go through my Italia photographs. They've been neglected for far too long. I'm not sure why I haven't edited them. Perhaps it's because I'm intimidated by the mountain of photographs that I have. Here's a few that I just finished tonight of the Cinque Terre village Vernazza. This was one of my favorites of all the villages. I'm not really sure why, but this one and Corniglia were my favorites!
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2005 Chesebro Syrah
We haven't been to Mono Lake for quite awhile. In fact, I think it's been over a year. These shots are from September 2011. I think these particular shots are peaceful with a bit of eeriness in them. All of them were taken with my old Canon 40D. We definitely need to get back there and get some shots without a such a flat sky. I don't think we'll be getting out there this weekend, but hopefully we'll get some time to take a few shots of something. Here's to a much needed Friday and a long two day weekend. Cheers!
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Ventana Monterey Red Table Wine (last year's)
So, it never fails. When we want to go summit a mountain (like say Mt Whitney), the weather fails us. It either snows before we get there (meaning that the trail is impassable) or it snows while we're there (meaning that the trail is impassable). Either way, we end up hiking to the base camp of the mountain and then turning around and head back down. Likewise, when we want some weather (aka, some drama) for a sunrise, it's crystal clear. Such is our lot in life these days. Oh, well I suppose. Better luck next year. Here's a few of those crystal clear mornings from the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, CA.
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Mango Juice
October in Monterey feels somewhat like summer. That being said, the days are getting noticeably shorter and it feels a bit cooler than it used to. We still have pretty warm days, but the last couple of evening (late afternoon) runs required a long sleeve. Trader Joe's has started to stock all the pumpkin related goodness as well.
The shots for today's post are from a couple of years ago when we were in Yosemite. I love the fall feel to the photos. The fallen leaves and relaxing sound of water over rocks. If you're not doing something outside this weekend, then you should be getting out there. . . soon it will winter and all will be different.
Drink in Hand: 2010 Ventana Rubystone
Rambler: Terry
Besides being unemployed this week, Beth and I headed up to San Francisco to attend the 2013 Atlassian Summit. The Summit was awesome! Look up #summit13 on Twitter and see what you can find. The first day, Beth signed up for Atlassian training and I had part of the day free...so I wandered the streets from our hotel to the Summit. For some reason I fancy street photography. I think it's because I'm always surprised what I capture and I'm always inspired.
By the way, the Atlassian Summit rocked again this year!
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2010 Marilyn Remark GSP
Hello Welliver Photography fans...Thirsty Thursday here again! TIme to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I've been spending my weekends lately plowing through what seems like an endless pile of photos and video clips from my trip to Nicaragua. I'm normally not that comfortable taking photos of people, but somehow it was easy in Nicaragua. Part of that may have been then awesome telephoto lens I used (thanks Borrow Lenses!) that allowed me to be unobtrusive, but a big part of it was the overwhelming, genuine kindness of the people we met.
All of these photos came from the tiny village of El Jocote. If you Google Map it you won't find it. There's no electricity (we were there to install solar panels), no cars, and the only running water is a pipe to each house from a solar-powered well near a creek. We did homestays for three nights in this village. Amazing how people can be so happy and content with so little. Great perspective.
I guess I need to get out and take more people photos! I had a great time and was really surprised at how easy it was once I got comfortable with the role of "people photographer". So this weekend, between video editing, I'll be taking some people photos!
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2008 Cima Collina Pinot Noir
So, I haven't spent a lot of time in Germany. In fact, I think it's only been a couple of days in the country this year when I was able to visit Beth on her MBA international tour. In my limited and jet-lagged time there, it wasn't my favorite country, but it was cool nonetheless. Here's a few shots from the streets of Germany.
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: 2011 Ventana Pinot Noir
This is a continuation of this week's Massey Monday and Two Word Tuesday. All the photos posted this week are from our first hike in Chico. If you read MM (and you should) then you know that it was crazy hot. Massey and I had no business hiking in those temperatures. That may explain why the Strava GPS track clocked me in at about 2.9 miles. I think the Mas only clocked in at around 3.5 miles (she needs a GPS collar...where's the Kickstarter for that!). We were both tired and just looking for shade. With today's set of shots, I tried to capture the heat and the stillness of the area. Nobody was crazy like us and thus it was very quiet and still. Fortunately, I was able to get one of my favorite shots of the year at sunset here (if you didn't see TWT, you should go check it out)!
It was a great way to start our random weekend!
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Marin's Vineyard 2010 Viognier
Another Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. As a a few of Welliver Photography's Facebook fans have likely figured out, I spent last week in Nicaragua as part of a MBA study abroad program through Portland State. The ten-day experience was, well, an experience...in a good way. To journey through the second poorest country in the western hemisphere after Haiti was eye-opening. Yet, despite the immense poverty, there are smiles and laughter and a feeling of having enough...even among those who have virtually nothing.
My final project for this course is to make a documentary of our experience. I had my camera and/or a borrowed video camera in my hand virtually the entire time. I collected a ton of photos and videos...and I could tell I was rusty when I started the week, given the focus on school over the last year and resultant lack of focus on photography. Plus, taking "people photos" is not my forte. I was quickly working at the fringes of my comfort zone yet slowly found myself loving the challenge of searching for connections with the people I encountered and finding ways to visually convey what I knew I wanted to share when I got back. This trip reinforced for me why I love taking photos, reminded me how much I miss my camera time, and reinforced how important the time spent behind that viewfinder is for me mentally. Clarity comes from seeing.
These photos are from our second day in Nicaragua. This was the start of our journey out of Managua and into the campo (countryside). We stopped at a roadside stand to grab some fruit. This was the first day of finding my stride with the camera...though the strides were short, they were important! More to come in the coming weeks.
Get out there and find your own roadside fruit stand this weekend...but if you find one in Nicaragua, stick to the fruits you have to peel!
