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2016 Favorites

I definitely enjoy looking back through my pictures each year. My goal when I start is to pick out my 10 favorites so I can share them here. What ends up happening is I remember trips I’ve made, time spent with family and friends, and beautiful sights I’ve seen. This year is no exception and I’ve had a chance to capture some scenes I had been wanting to visit for a long time.

This year I made a photographic trip to Oregon to shoot waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge and I also made a family trip to Europe. Both trips are well represented here. As I do every year, I made a couple of short trips to Yosemite and Big Sur as well as other areas closer to home. So in no particular order, here are my favorites from 2016:Continue reading→

Oregon Day 3 – Multnomah, Wahclella, and Abiqua

Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon (Kyle Jones)

Wahclella Falls – Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon (Kyle Jones)

Sunday was the last day of our waterfall hunting trip and we had three falls on the agenda. Our plan was to get up early, stop by Multnomah Falls before the crowds arrived, and then hike out to Wahclella Falls. After that we would take Matt to the airport and Alejandro and I would drive to Abiqua Falls for one last adventure before we went home.Continue reading→

Sleeklens Lightroom Workflows

I had some time this weekend to try out the “Through the Woods” landscape workflow created by Sleeklens. This is a set of Lightroom presets and brushes (they have solutions for Photoshop as well) that can help simplify image editing. They also provide a set of video tutorials explaining how to install the tools and use them as an image processing workflow.Continue reading→

Oregon Day 2 – Washington

Cook, Washington (Kyle Jones)

Spirit Falls – Cook, Washington (Kyle Jones)

Day 2 of our Oregon trip brought us across the Columbia River into Washington. My goal was Spirit Falls. I had never visited this one before but I had been captivated by its turquoise waters in pictures I had seen online. Access to Spirit Falls is somewhat sketchy. As I understand it (because the internet says so) the falls themselves are public. However, access to the falls may be across private property and the owner has been known at times to make that clear (as is his right). So we decided to leave early in the morning to minimize the likelihood of running into anyone and arrived at the “trailhead” just after sunrise. The trail is mostly just a scramble down some loose rocks, eventually reaching a wet, wooded area and the Salmon River.Continue reading→

Behind the Shot – Cover Art for Steve Brockmann “3”

(Kyle Jones)

I have been friends online with Steve Brockmann for over a decade. I have admired his work musically and he has supported my photography as well. Steve is a fantastic musician and I was excited to learn that he was putting together a new album. I want to say he’s a fantastic guitarist (because I love rock guitar), but he plays multiple instruments and doesn’t miss a beat on any of them. A few months ago he sent me a message asking if he could use one of my photographs as the cover art for his album “3”. We quickly worked out the details and I sent him the file, honored to be a part of the project. The album features 12 instrumental tracks written and performed by Steve, and I have been enjoying it immensely. “3” is slated for release on April 2 and you can check out some of the tracks (and maybe even make a purchase) here. For one low fee you get both Steve’s amazing music and one of my photos on the cover – how can you lose?Continue reading→