My favorite images from 2007

The Amgen cycling Tour of California zipped through Davis, CA in February and it marked the end of my 20-year tenure at the Sacramento Bee. In May I documented the Sacramento Ballet on it's first-ever foreign tour to Shanghai and Beijing, China. As soon as I returned home Diane retired from the University of California at Davis and a great party was held in her honor by her colleagues. Her three sisters came for the event but it was the unannounced arrival of her brother Bill that completely surprised her. After our move to Oregon we attended another surprise 50th birthday party in Portland for Randy Olson, then to Louisville, KY in July for Jesse and Carmen's wedding. They visited us in September with Alton and we took a a "little tyke" hike on the Metolius River. The dramatic weather changed in October and through the end of the year and photographing that was fascinating.

Flutograph

Got a flu shot in October. Got the flu today. No sympathy necessary. I've got nowhere to go, snow is piling up outside and there is non-stop football on t.v. This too shall pass.

Enchanted forest

The Monday morning snowstorm subsided leaving a blanket of pristine powder. Allison and I drove out to Camp Sherman and along the Metolius River. The wind in the trees kept blowing the snow off the branches and with the sunlight filtering through to the forest floor the scenes were magnificent. I'm still getting used to the fact that I live in an area where the environment is in constant flux. I was hoping to photograph the full moon and got up very early for two days only to have the cloud cover obscure everything. Yesterday was the reward for perseverance. Here's to a Merry Christmas from central Oregon.

White Christmas

Snow has arrived for Christmas. Allison came from Sacramento yesterday and was disappointed that it was only raining so she is excited this morning waking and looking out to the white forest from her upstairs bedroom. Last night was the annual cookie baking event. Several of the cookies were unaccounted for and presumed lost in the operation. We are going out later this afternoon on a photo expedition. Allison is taking a photography class and will get an individual tutoring session.

Winter solstice

After leaving a friend's home last night following a winer solstice dinner I couldn't resist grabbing the Canon 5D and a wide angle lens to make a photograph of the night sky. The moon is not full until the 24th though the photograph makes it appear full. I had plans to go out this morning to photograph the moon setting over the Cascades from a spot called Cline Buttes. However, in the 5 hours since I made this image the clouds rolled in and obscured the sky. If you want to see the picture larger just click on it and it opens up.

Songs of the season

Photo by Henry Dilz
The holiday season brings out all the traditional symbols including all the music you only hear during this time of year. My head and heart have been full of songs but not "Silent Night," I'll Be Home For Christmas," or..., well you know them all. Instead, I'm hearing all the songs of Dan Folgelberg, the singer and songwriter who produced twenty great albums from 1972 to 2003. The leader of the "soft rock" generation died last Sunday at his home after battling prostate cancer. He was 56. I've been playing all his songs constantly for the past few days to hear the quiet simplicity of his voice and the eloquent lyrics that still choke me up. I'm saddened again as I was when other music artists I've enjoyed over the years have died too early: John Lennon, George Harrison, Jim Croce, John Denver and Kate Wolf. I wanted to hear them write and sing about the changes in their lives as they got older and wiser in order to help me along my own aging path. What we are left with though is no small gift. The music of Dan Fogelberg and all the past great artists is there to hear anytime and the truths in the songs will not change. Unfortunately, there is no season especially for the musicians I think of as kindred souls. This year "fa la la la la" and "pa rumpa pa pum" don't resonate. I prefer this song in particular to describe this season of music for me:




"Only The Heart May Know," a duet with Emmylou Harris:

Silent sea
Tell this to me:
Where are the children that we used to be?
Silent sea:
At picture shows
Where nobody goes
And only the heart can see.
Starry skies
Soft lullabies
Where do they go when their melodies die?
Starry skies:
To a day
Far, far away
That only the heart may know.
Friends we knew
Follow us through
All of the days of our lives
Love we shared
Waits for us there
Where our wishes forever reside.
Falling tears
Memories' mirrors
Where are summers
Oh, where are the years?
Falling tears:
Carried far
To a wandering star
That only the heart may know.
Friends we knew
Follow us through
All of the days of our lives
Love we shared
Waits for us there
Where our wishes forever reside.
Starry skies
Soft lullabies
Where do they go when their melodies die?
To a day
Far, far away
That only the heart may know.

Thanks Dan.

Dancing with the clouds

I live in a Ponderosa forest, the sweet spot between the juniper covered high desert and the Cascade mountains. The majestic peaks are just out of view for the most part. I can walk out to a spot on the road bordering my home where a peek-a-boo view of North Sister is sometimes visible. So, if I really want to see the mountains I have to get out and away from the trees. Today, I had some errands in town and on the way in (all of three miles) I could see the cloud and mountain dance in full swing. I turned around, returned home, got the cameras, and headed out to a location I know to watch an approaching storm front from the northwest make it's way over the peaks. Three-Fingered Jack on the north, Mt. Washington, then North, South and Middle Sister and Broken Top on the southern end of the panorama dealt with the clouds in their own way. Diane has been suggesting I get out to photograph the mountains for several days and I kept saying that although they were striking with blue skies the visual potential wasn't there yet. No drama in the sky. Today the grandeur of Central Oregon reminds me once again of the special place I live.

Sixteen years of holiday images

I began making personalized holiday greeting cards to send to family and friends in 1992. I had a good selection of seasonal photographs from Yosemite National Park since completing my book "Yosemite, A Landscape of Life" in 1990 and I continued to add to that body of work over the next few years. For the 1999 card I chose a photograph from a Sacramento Ballet performance of the Nutcracker and entitled it "Dancing With Glee Into The 21st Century." So far it has been the only image of people. Some years have been hard to select an image, mainly due to my old residence in Sacramento where winter doesn't look very nice. A rare snow event in the Sacramento Valley saved the 2003 edition. Diane accompanied me on a snowmobile for the 2000 and 2001 photos and also alerted me to the incredible rainbow which became the 2004 image. Allison was with me for the 2005 and 2006 pictures made near our home here in Sisters. The moody image of Mt. Jefferson above the fog was quite unusual as the region was covered in an ice-fog but for just a moment the clouds moved and the mountain was visible. This year's photo was another lucky break when the geese became airborne as I approached the flock with my camera. The process of making the cards has become one of the most pleasant parts of the holidays for me and now that I live where future images will be easier to find I'm excited about continuing the tradition. To see larger images of all sixteen photographs move your mouse pointer over the lower right-hand corner of the slide show and click on the link to the Picasa web album. Happy Holidays to all!

The holiday cat

The tree is up and our little wild one lost no time in claiming the apron as the new best place in the house to hang out. I think I need to get out of the house more regularly.

Goodbye little friend

Our oldest cat, Gracie, a companion for 16+ years, has been in the final stage stages of her life in recent months. Although she would have hung on, we knew it was time and did not want her to suffer. Our littlest friend is gone.

Gracie came into my life in 1991 in Sacramento when I found her at an animal shelter while on a "pet of the week" photo assignment. She was 10 weeks old and all gray so I didn't know she'd turn out to be a calico. I named her "Gracie."

Gracie was always as much Allison's cat as mine. She loved to sleep on Allison's bed throughout the day and kept her company while she did her homework. Gracie was quite playful in her early years and constantly tolerated my playing "cat hat" with her. When we acquired our other cats, Noire and Puss, she became somewhat jealous and mischievous. It was her way to tell us she was the queen of the house and we'd best not forget it.

It is hard to see an animal decline in health knowing the outcome. The vet looked at her and said we were right in our decision. We held her and stroked her head and ears as we said farewell. We kept telling her she was a good kitty.

Cute sweet Gracie, you are in our thoughts and memories tonight and forever.

A minor anniversary

Six months ago on a hot June morning we unloaded the 26' U-Haul and the cat-transporting Subaru at our new home. A long list of home repairs are completed, we've entertained visitors and family, traveled a bit and now enter the holiday season grateful to be here. Our home is comfortable and peaceful. Stringing the lights in sub-freezing temperatures, however, was a bit challenging. Such is life in a four-season environment.



One of the predominant factors of life in Central Oregon is the weather, like it or not. In summer there is always fire danger; in winter its snow, rain and ice. It's been 21 years since I live in a place where snow is guaranteed. While Sacramento had it's share of weather issues, snow was not one of them. What was peculiar was mowing grass in January. The most interesting aspect of the weather is watching the storms try to get over the Cascades immediately to the west. The "rain shadow" effect caused by the mountains gives us our dryer and colder environment. Last week was typical with the clouds and mountains performing their meterological pas de deux.



Yesterday I went out to the Metolius Preserve where members of the Deschutes Basin Land Trust were cutting trees for their holiday celebrations. For a $10 donation people wandered out into the forest to find "wild" trees unlike the "farmed" variety. The most heard comment was "this really begins our holiday season." Although our house has been decorated, we still don't have our tree yet. Maybe today...