Hi Rez Pictures of Real Places and Other Things...

[Maxxwire]

'Winter Stream' in Hi Rez Format

 

solbjerg- Here is a photo of a much cooler December scene of a small stream flowing into the river out in back of my Dad's house.

 

~Maxx~

[solbjerg]

Thanks Maxx

Puts me in mind of my years as forest worker.

Worked for a while in the forests of Sweden.

The job I liked best was pulling out the logs on a sledge with a horse.

Could be really exiting going down steep hillsides standing on top of the logs and the horse running for his life.

Every morning greeting the mooses when I passed them in the first light of the morning sun, feeling free and happy and strong.

Met a guy from California there that wanted to become an author, I have forgotten his name (Thor maybe), - wonder if his dream came true. He was studying on one of the Universities in Sweden but had taken some leave to earn some money. Met my first wife there too.

Cheers

solbjerg

 

 

'Winter Stream' in Hi Rez Format

 

solbjerg- Here is a photo of a much cooler December scene of a small stream flowing into the river out in back of my Dad's house.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

solbjerg- I literally broke out laughing when you said.. "The job I like best was pulling out the logs on a sledge with a horse. Could be really exiting going down steep hillsides standing on top of the logs and the horse running for his life.":lol:

 

Your description of working out in the woods is reminiscent of my family's history here in the Pacific Northwest which began in the early 1860's when my Great Great Great Grandfather came west on the Oregon Trail and built a logging mill in a town that still bears our family name. From your story I think that old American Pioneer would have enjoyed your company very much!

 

~Maxx~

[solbjerg]

Hi Maxx

My grandmother (born 1885 - died 1984) had a cousin that went to America, he had a farm in Plentywood Montana near the Canadian border. Shortly before he died he returned to Denmark, - I have never met him, but I have read his journal.

 

About going down hillsides on a sledge with timber logs I can tell you that you had to be ready to jump instantly if you made a mistake in guiding the horse with the reins, but it was fun. :-)

And you developed a relationship with your horse, so that you never felt alone or bored working high in the hills/mountains alone - just me and my horse.

Would have liked to talk to one of the old settlers from back then.

Cheers

solbjerg

 

 

 

solbjerg- I literally broke out laughing when you said.. "The job I liked best was pulling out the logs on a sledge with a horse. Could be really exiting going down steep hillsides standing on top of the logs and the horse running for his life.":lol:

 

Your description of working out in the woods is reminiscent of my family's history here in the Pacific Northwest which began in the early 1860's when my Great Great Great Grandfather came west on the Oregon Trail and built a logging mill in a town that still bears our family name. From your story I think that old American Pioneer would have enjoyed your company very much!

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'The Rocky Mountains From 6 Miles High' in Hi Rez Format

 

solbjerg- I have relatives in Billings Montana and I spent 2 summers in Bozeman long before Ted Turner moved there while my Dad finished his Masters Degree in Art. From your description you would fare quite well in the rugged Pacific Northwest and the Big Sky country of Montana.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Mountain Lilly' in Hi Rez Format

 

Segue from the Rocky Mountains to Mt. Hood in the Cascade Range where I found this Purple Lilly beside the road during a rest stop on our journey towards Crater Lake during a trip that I took with my daughter this last spring just before she left for Italy.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Passionately Purple' in Hi Rez Format

 

This flower with its varying shades of intense purples to me symbolized a 21 flute salute to spring.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Spring Showers' in Hi Rez Format

 

This picture of a dew laden purple pansy was taken to taken at sunup with the reflections of the morning sky seen in the droplets covering the flower.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Busy Bee' in Hi Rez Format

 

A salute to the fellows who do the work upon which some experts claim our very survival depends!

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

A tribute to 'The Fallen' in Hi Rez Format

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Bee Careful' in Hi Rez Format

 

Some jobs are much more difficult than others and this little guy is certainly earning his keep!

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'The Jammin' Salmon' in Hi Rez Format

 

There is a restaurant in downtown Portland located on Salmon street with the Jammin' Salmon situated right above the entrance.

 

~Maxx~

[solbjerg]

Hi maxx

Apart from the bashful Canada is it then old worn out macadam or just a gravel drive?

You certainly take some fine pictures :-)

Cheers

solbjerg

 

 

A tribute to 'The Fallen' in Hi Rez Format

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

solbjerg- As you probably already know Portland is located right where the Willamette river which is the only major river in North America that flows north meets the mighty Columbia river and they provide an abundance of colorful coarse aggregate for the washed concrete sidewalk that we see the fallen red leaf has fallen on. I have even seen building facades that were made with washed concrete tilt up panels made from select 3/8" pea gravel which was originally dredged out of the Willamette river which contained an amazing array of colorful rocks that would never be used in a routine county spec sidewalk pour.

 

~Maxx~

[solbjerg]

Hi Maxx

Interesting for an old concreter like me.

I once made the foundation for a weight for measuring the load of lorries/trucks (don't recall the name for it right now) (truck scale) this concrete had to be very, very strong, so as an experiment we also used granite powder in the mix.

The result gave a finish to the walls that looked like a very shiny black mirror.

Actually a shame that it was all hidden under ground level :-)

Cheers

solbjerg

 

 

solbjerg- As you probably already know Portland is located right where the Willamette river which is the only major river in North America that flows north meets the mighty Columbia river and they provide an abundance of colorful coarse aggregate for the washed concrete sidewalk that we see the fallen red leaf has fallen on. I have even seen building facades that were made with washed concrete tilt up panels made from select 3/8" pea gravel which was originally dredged out of the Willamette river which contained an amazing array of colorful rocks that would never be used in a routine county spec sidewalk pour.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Sidewalk SunBerry' in Hi Rez Format

 

As I travel around with my camera I never know when the next photo opportunity will present itself and on this day it appeared right at my feet!

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Purple Pair' in Hi Rez Format

 

I went through dozens upon dozens of different photos with these two flowers as the subject before found this particular one. A friend of mine who paints in watercolors has expressed a great interest in using this photo as a model for an upcoming project of hers.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Texas Star' in Hi Rez Format

 

During my trip to Texas this last fall we asked around this little town we found ourselves in where might be an interesting place to have dinner and everyone we asked had the same answer. Tucked away in what was once a hospital which was built back in the wild west days was a restaurant in the now remodeled basement. The word rustic does not begin to describe the atmosphere and this Texas Star with the diffused lighting behind it set the mood.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'The Great Blue Heron' in Hi Rez Format

 

My Dad and I went out to a local game reserve for a photoshoot and we came across this endangered Great Blue Heron getting ready to eat his lunch. At the time he was about 300 meters off in the distance because they never let you get too close to the wildlife.

 

There was a fellow just a few feet from me trying to get a decent shot with his Nikon 200 mm telephoto lens and eventually gave up because the Great Blue Heron was just too far off. Fortunately my camera can shoot at 930 mm focal length and so I was able to zoom right in and get this shot although the picture you see here is slightly cropped from the original for aesthetic reasons.

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Sun' in Hi Rez Format

 

It was 20 years ago today...

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'China Gate' and 'China Gate in Detail' in Hi Rez Format.

 

It was just before the Lunar New Year that I took this picture of what is known as Portland's China gate which arrived here from Taiwan just few years after I returned from there. I've always marveled at the intricate and truly old world craftsmanship that went into this work of art. The most difficult part for me about taking this picture was getting the birds to cooperate and stay in frame. They're very independent you know!

 

~Maxx~

[Maxxwire]

'Ice Abstraction' in Hi Rez Format

 

Taking into account that Portland is located at 45.48 degrees latitude we had quite a snowstorm come through last week. The first picture that caught my eye was this abstraction taken from a frozen waterfall. At 2.23 MB it contains by far the most detail of any picture I have posted on this thread thus far.

 

~Maxx~