Why this blog?

To understand why this blog was created and where it got its name, start here

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Cherry blossoms

Photographers waiting for the cherry blossoms to bloom along Portland's waterfront were caught by surprise when the trees reached their peak splendor three weeks early this year - just another reminder of this winter's crazy weather that saw an unusually dry and warm winter here in the Pacific northwest while the northeastern U.S. was battered by record amounts of snow and cold.

Anyway, we're not complaining as we contemplate a beautiful spring.
 
 

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Newport Oregon

One of the things I enjoy most about living in Portland is that the ocean less than two hours away by car. With spring-like weather in the forecast, I made a return trip to the Sylvia Beach Hotel, a somewhat rickety wooden structure originally built in 1913. The rooms are unique, each decorated according to a theme surrounding a well known author. Prices include a delicious hot breakfast and the hotel also offers a fixed price four-course dinner served family style where single guests do not feel left out in a room full of couples. It was my second visit this past weekend. You can see the attraction, this was the view at dawn from my window:
The hotel is a book lovers haven, featuring books in every room along with a reading library. It's also the site of occasional writers' retreats. I went the first time fully intending to focus on writing, but warring notions caused me to spend more time out walking and shooting photographs. This time, although I took my notebook, I ended up spending more time exploring tide pools, the marina, and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
 
 
I took a tour of the historic Yaquina Head Lighthouse, tallest on the Oregon coast. First lit in 1873, it was converted to electricity in the 1930s. The four inch halogen bulb casts a light that can be seen 20 miles away, thanks to the refraction of the Fresnel lens made in Paris.
The three full-time original lightkeepers spent their days polishing, cleaning, and repairing, as well as tending gardens and livestock. The cast iron staircase had to be repainted every year!
 

Monday, March 2, 2015

Brussels Atomium

Hmm, I'm not sure why this blog post from 2012 decided to pop up here again in 2015 . . . . Maybe because I was messing around with photos and labels?? Anyway, it was an interesting trip!  Have you ever heard of the Atomium which was built for the 1958 International Exhibition? The Atomium looks like this during the day:

And like this at night:

We had fun playing with the camera controls to get effects such as this: