A Weekend in The Palouse
Moon Over Striped Palouse
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The Palouse is a region of the northwestern United States that includes parts of eastern Washington, northern central Idaho, and northeast Oregon. It is a major location of agriculture and the most significant area within the US for production of lentils. I travel there with my family to visit my wife's sister. The drive from Redmond, Washington takes us over Snoqualmie Pass and down across sprawling praries. When travelling with two kids in the car, I never count on having an abundance of time to shoot. I tend to travel with only two lenses, an assortment of Singh-Ray filters and my Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with BH-40 ball head.
During this particular trip, I decided to bag the 40D, the 17-40 f/4L and a 10-22mm. Oh, how I wish I'd chosen the 24-70 f/2.8L and 70-200 f/4L. My decision to "go wide" left me without the ability to isolate interesting sections of The Palouse. However, my pack was very light. This was especially important during the hike up Kamiak Butte. I took the shorter, steeper trail while my wife and her sister marched the kids up the easier route.
Palouse Vista, Atop Kamiak Butte
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I descended Kamiak Butte as the sun set. The short drive home provided me with an excellent opportunity to catch great light falling on recently harvested fields. The moon was clearly visible, the sun was starting to dip down below the horizon, and the sky was streaked with pink clouds. I kept my Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo mounted the entire time, boosting the already rich golds and browns of an autumn Palouse.
Chocolate Palouse
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I finished off the evening with a shot of the sun dipping below a harvested field, tractor tracks leading off into the horizon. Two and three-stop Singh-Ray ND Grads were essential for maintaining colorful evening skies above the darkening landscape. What I really needed for this scene was a Singh-Ray Reverse ND Grad designed to control bright horizons. I'll be placing an order for one right away.
Sunset Over Harvested Palouse
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After capturing this scene, I broke down my gear, tossed it quickly into the trunk and headed back to the house for dinner. We will return for another visit during Spring.
Jamie, JFP
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