Small Town Winter - Eastern Oregon 2016

Some of my favorite shots of a pretty intense winter in Eastern Oregon. This was a nearly record year for snowfall, and to boot the occasional fog inversion, dropping into freezing cold and then crusting everything with fog frost. The place really transforms in that light, too, pushing it all into a white/blue hue around you, especially these treeless, rolling hills. The whole area used to be seabed, folded up over eons, pushed around and carved by the Snake River. Safe to say these are neat shots, but at the same time impressively blinding bright in person.

This is a 'wigwam' burner, which used to be attached to a mighty lumber mill. I don't know about you, but I love abandonia. Old factories, decrepit mines, decaying houses, rusted out 50's era cars, they magnetize me, often putting me in a degree of danger clambering around in/on/around them.

And a bonus inside pic. If only poachers would stop leaving various animal offal in there, this would be a neat place to visit.

Just to illustrate the fog inversion mentioned earlier, crusting everything it can in shock white over days and days of presence. What's neat is that it's weather you can drive out of in a few minutes and get perspective above it. It makes it hard to see, both the camera and the pupils have to dial down to nearly zero pinpoints to get by.

Dashing! This was actually a very hard fought photo. The man is my best friend, featured, and lives in a steel plated cabin some 2 odd miles out into the woods over unkempt, rocky forest service roads. But to get there on this particular winter meant a 2 mile hike through hip deep snow. Fully decked out for the occasion, at that, snowmobile pants, two layers of coats and gloves, etc. Fortunately, I was packing a sled loaded with beer and was able to fuel my way there with all due haste, then got to ride a horse-drawn sled all the way back, in total luxury.

A quick shot on the outskirts of town, just a sample of the cold sky doing its freezing, wispy thing up there. Oddly enough, for as many feet as it snowed while I was there I didn't get any pictures of actual snowing.

Dog Tax. Shady the dog, resting inside the cabin. You really get a sense of the 'blue' in Blue Heeler in this picture. She's a good girl. Maybe a little bit humpy, but we don't hold that against her.