Veteran's Day Parade | Downtown Bend 2010

Hey all! I know it's been a long, long time since I've updated Bend Oregon Photos. I'm Sorry!

Well, I was walking through Downtown Bend to and saw the 2010 Veteran's Day parade going on. If you've spent anytime in Bend, then you'll know that Bend Oregon is no stranger to a parade.

Today's was pretty cool. Veterans of all ages were on floats, marching, and even driving some old, classic cars. There was even an appearance by Batman. What?

The Batmobile in Downtown Bend?

There were some old timers driving some old cars around as well. I was able to snap a picture of couple as they were rounding the corner downtown from Newport Ave. to Wall St. They had those old time horns and using them like crazy.

He must be headed to Robert's on Wall.

From Newport Ave to Wall Street in Downtown Bend

My apologies for picture quality... they were snapped my cell phone.

Bend Oregon|Clyde McKay River Park

Clyde McKay River Park in Bend Oregon

Clyde McKay River Park
166 Shevlin Hixon Drive
Bend, OR 97702

I went messing around downtown Bend a couple of weeks ago. This was right after all the snow melted here, it was warm for a while. I wanted to play with a little close up photography, and got some interesting shots.

I played with some lighting in my close up photography. I found a cluster of three pine cones on a tree down by the Deschutes river. It was right around sunset, so I tried a shot with the flash, and one without the flash. The two shots of on this post were taken seconds apart, so you can see the lighting effect that happened.

The photo with the dark background, is actually the shot I took using the flash. It illuminated the pine cones nicely, while sort of lost focus on the background. I kind of like the effect the flash had on the image.

The second image was taken with the suppressed flash (or no flash). You can see that it was still decently light outside. There was a little better contrast of color, you can see a green film on the pine cones.

Next, I went and walk around on the footbridge. The footbridge is just down river from the Old Mill District, and parallels SW Colorado Ave. Just before the Colorado and Simpson roundabout. There was a duck just milling around in water, right before the spillway. You can see the Old Mill Smoke Stacks reflect in the water. I was hoping my digital camera would have had a little stronger zoom for this shot. It still turned out decent.

My final shot for this post, is from the footbridge on the walk back to Clyde McKay River Park. It was right at sunset. One of the lamps along the bridge was position right in front of the sun. I was originally going to go for silhouette style of photo. Where the lamp's outline was layered over the subtle sun. After a little maneuvering, I was able to capture an shot to where it looked like the sunset was actually the lamp's glow. I think with a little higher quality of digital camera, this shot could have turned out amazing. It's still kind of cool though.

Other Great shots by BendOregonPhotography:
Brooks Park
35 NW Drake Rd.
Bend, OR 97701

Bend Oregon Snow

I've lived in Bend, Oregon for a very long time now. I've been around long enough to see it get below zero many times. It always makes laugh too. People are always so shocked how cold it is. Which, it really isn't that cold... due to the sun we get with it.

The only time I consider our weather here in Central Oregon to be unbearable is when the wind is blowing with these cold temperatures. Then you are talking about the difference between maybe -8 degrees with no wind, and maybe -20 degrees. At least feels like that much of a gap.

The first Photograph in this post, was taken a few years ago. It is off of Highway 20, on the East side of Bend. The air was cold enough to freeze what little moisture resides in your nasal passage as you inhaled that night. You could feel a sharp, crisp, and almost refreshing tingle in your throat.

This next photo is from my mother's drive way. Also taken a few years ago, on the same night as the other. These are some Central Oregon Juniper Bushes, that lined her driveway at the time. These bushes probably stood about four feet tall, six in their longest areas. With this snow fall, they were weighed down to about two and half feet.

When it gets into the lower temps like this, the snow loses a lot of its moisture qualities. It becomes dry, and crumbly. If you look at the photograph closely, you can see sparkles. This is very common when the snow reaches this consistency. It almost seems unreal.

I love Bend for all the seasons. The winter especially. The "snowbirds" (people who like the cold and winter activities Central Oregon has to offer) are always fun to hang out with this time of year. Mt. Bachelor always draws world famous skiers and snowboarders to Bend. It also produces them... With epic Bachelor runs like Old Skyliner, Red Chair (also a Deschutes Brewery IPA), Outback Express, Downunder West, West Village Getback and dozens more!

Road Trip: Along Oregon's McKenzie Hwy

The McKenzie River

Ok, I know this blog is called Bend Oregon Photos. But, from time to time, as I travel... you'll probably see some photos from other places around Oregon. Plus it's my blog... I'll do what I want! ;)

This shot comes from along the McKenzie Highway. I was on the way to an Oregon Ducks (Go Ducks!) game this last weekend. I wanted to get out of the car and stretch my legs, so I pulled in to this little day park off the highway. There was a trail that led down away from the park, and I followed it.

The air was wet and fresh. It smelled great. The ground was covered in large, yellow, wet leaves. The McKenzie river babbled on in the distance.

It was such a great time of year to be there. No else in sight. The air was cool, and crisp. It felt clean as you inhaled. Almost energizing.

I loved the walk down to the river. The leaves soaked my shoes, but that didn't matter. Fallen trees covered areas of the path. Moss grew wildly across everything two feet off the ground and up. As I came to a clearing by the water, there were large stones all around the water. I was able to build a make shift bridge, by lining up these large stones in the water, all the way out a large rock. Once I got out there, I was able to just sit there for a while and take it all in.

Mixed Feelings About Bend Video

VisitBend.com's Promo Video

I love Bend, Oregon. Let's just get that straight right off the bat. I grew up here.



It is annoying however, to watch your town start to deteriorate slowly as the population grows. Crime increases. A 10 minute drive becomes a 20 minute drive, due to traffic. Big chain stores move in and wipe out local businesses that have been here for years. Property prices blow through the roof, and make home ownership an impossibility.

The video is right though, Bend, Oregon is probably one of the greatest places to live in the Western United States. Bend is big enough to have all you need. The natural beauty is truly breath taking. So, while I love Bend... I hate to see it advertised.

The Bend Bulletin's Well Shot Photo Contest

Bend Oregon Photography!

I was pleasantly surprised to come across a recent issue of the Bend Bulletin's Local section. It appears they are running a "Well Shot!" photo contest. The issue of the paper with the winning photos is published every Tuesday, in the Local section of the paper. It would appear that shots are published a week after professional photographers offer their advice. You can also find more details on the photo contest at http://bendbulletin.mycapture.com/wellshoot.

There is some great local photographic talent in the Bend community and The Bulletin showcases it nicely! In Tuesday's issue, the theme was portraits. There were some amazing entries this week! Including one from a blog I currently subscribe to: Juniper Seahorses, written by Jacqueline Smith. Her photo was of a man named Larry. If you get the chance, stop by her blog and look at some of her stunning photography.

In the month of November there will be a "The Dark" theme followed by a "Wildlife" theme. This month's theme is "Water," and in December two more themes. If you get a chance, enter the contest! If you'd like, let me know and I may up for publishing some local photography here on this blog!

Shooting East of Bend, Oregon

Bend Oregon Photography

This Saturday I headed out east of Bend, Oregon shooting... and I don't mean with my camera (well, I guess with that too). I mean with riffles and a shot gun. Guns for the day were a shot gun, a 30-06, a .22 cal, along with some clay pigeons and paper targets.

The spot was on the old highway, about two and half miles off the main highway (E. Highway20). This spot is about 15 - 20 miles east of Bend's city limits. It's near the Horse Ridge National Area. There is a lot of neat canyons to explore, hike and tour in this area. What is nice about the Horse Ridge and BadLands area, is that it is still pretty close to Bend and city amenities.

The whole area is also known as the Central Oregon badlands. Further east is Millican Oregon, which is a podunk little town. The community was named for George Millican, a settler. The latitude of Millican is 43.879N, the longitude is -120.918W. Millican is well known amongst dirt bike riders and ATVers.

Below are the photos of this area:

View Larger Map