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!

The Little Woody Festival Photos!

Bend Oregon Photos - Awesome Craft Beer

Aside from the annoying droves of downtown hippies and flat billed skater hat kids, The Little Woody Barrel-Aged Brew Festival was amazing. The beers were simply art. Tasty, smooth, and priced well (I had to think about that last one... and it's true). The weather was amazingly warm and sunny.

The photo above is of The Little Woody pint glass and some wooden tokens (used to buy the beer). Each pour was roughly, just under a half glass. Tokens were $1 each, and the beers were 1 or 2 tokens. So a half glass of beer worked out to $1.00 or $2.00. Considering the beer was barrel aged and hand crafted... I don't think that is asking too much. The pint glass and entry fee into the event was a total of $6.00.

I have to give my personal award of the day to Silvermoon Brewing's Bourbon Bite Porter (not positive this is the exact name... but I am confident it is pretty close). It was the most taste bud arousing, full bodied goodness I put in my mouth at the event. There were a few close others, but this one took the cake.

The gnomes above gave me a quick chuckle. They were part of the fun and festivities that came along with a raffle ticket purchase for the Breedlove Guitar. Aside from the beer & food, there was a band, wood carving, fun games, and admittance into the Deschutes Historical Museum.

I suppose most photographers and photojournalists would have taken many shots of happy people, beer in hand, gathered around the tents chatting it up. That or possibly, artsy shots of fine craft beer in the pint glass, among the barrels of aged beer. I chose not to do this. I'm not a big fan of crowds and the like. So you get an empty pint glass, the asses of gnomes, and a shot of the free Three Creeks Brewing Co. (Sisters, Oregon) sticker I received. I hope you all enjoyed these photos as much as I did taking them.


(Update): The Blog "Hack Bend," has a list of the beers for The Little Woody Event. Check them out http://www.hackbend.com/2009/09/08/beers-at-the-little-woody.php.

Bend Oregon - Barrel Aged Brew Festival

Bend Oregon Photos - The Little Woody


On Saturday September 12 (today, as of this post), in Bend Oregon, there is going to be a barrel-aged brew festival! It will be on the lawn of the Deschutes Historical Museum, in downtown Bend on the corner of Wall and Idaho. Another easy way of saying this is that it is just a few blocks from the Bend library.

The event runs from 12PM - 10PM, and is for those that are 21 and over. This event will have food, beer tasting, live music, and even a wood carving exhibition. Admission to The Little Woody festival includes a commemorative glass. The Deschutes Historical Society will also receive a portion of the benefits from the event.

Featured Breweries:

• Deschutes Brewery
• Cascade Lakes Brewing
• Bend Brewing Company
• Silver Moon Brewing
• 10 Barrel Brewing
• McMenamins
• Three Creeks Brewing

I am not yet sure I will be attending this event, but have wanted to. I am not completely reliable when it comes to committing to weekend events. We'll have to see what the day brings tomorrow. If I do go, I will post some photos from the event.

For more info on the Bend Oregon Brew Festival visit http://thelittlewoody.com/

Bend Oregon Photos - Lava Lands & South Bend

If you were to take a drive five to 10 minutes south of Bend Oregon you find the Central Oregon Lava lands. This is a great place to climb cinder buttes of old dried lava and explore caves! Yes.... lava caves. As you can see from the picture I posted to left, it is in the Deschutes National Forest. There you can also find a visitor's center and a lot of information about the area's history. A few miles North of the lava caves you can find the High Desert Museum, which is also a great source for information on Central Oregon's history and geology as well.

The other photograph is an image I took inside the Lava Lands, to left of the visitor's center. Highway 97 is the highway you use to access the Lava Lands and this sign shows visitors how to get back to the road. You can see there is access to the Deschutes River and Benham falls as well.