It was a dreary foggy day when I started hiking, but halfway up Mount Pisgah I broke out of the fog layer into a lovely day. It was clear enough to see Middle and South Sister (on the horizon to the left), which is rare in this location.
“Washed Out”
Believe it or not, this is a color photo. I love most everything about it: the way the fog softened and desaturated everything in view, the shape of the tree and weeds, even the ghostly telephone poles in the back. Photos like this make me think I’m getting better at the craft.
“Alien Landing Pad”
Or maybe not. I don’t know who flagged this plot on Mount Pisgah or why, but they clearly wanted the boundaries to be very evident.
Our dog, being less camera-shy than usual, because after that last rant-post I need something calming.
Big Tech warned over AI ‘delusional’ outputs by US attorneys general
(a) Go get ‘em! (b) I doubt this will do any more good that pointing out that Uber and AirBnB grew by systematically breaking existing laws. It’s not implausible that VC-backed big tech shares a huge chunk of responsibility for the current American culture of just ignoring laws you don’t like.
“The Coast”
This was last fall, looking out from Heceta Head south along the Oregon Coast. Looking at photos like this gives me the urge to just get in the car and go repeat the hike.
“Almost There”
I blew past this guy on the trail up Spencer Butte. He was clearly on the struggle bus. But he made it to the top, and good for him.
We visited the Cascades Raptor Center this morning. Shooting through wire mesh so not the best picture ever, but this guy was still pretty impressive. Like the other birds in residence, he’s not suited for life in the wild - in this case because raised by (possibly well-meaning) humans when young.
Just wanted to express my appreciation that micro.blog/discover is getting regular updates these days. I’m guessing that’s @BonnieRue ’s doing, but even if I’m wrong and the updates are just sprinkled in by magical unicorn fairies I still like seeing them!
“Quiet”
This is the Blue Pool on the McKenzie River Trail, from last year about this time. I wish I was up there today, instead of at home.
“Spindly”
Hiking in Oregon, I photograph lots of mushrooms . Even so, I was surprised at how fragile the stems of these tiny guys were.
“Red Light District”
Just playing with a little LED spotlight on the trail.
“Type 2 Fun”
Blowdowns and trail debris on the North Umpqua Trail. In case you can’t see it, the “trail” runs right up the center of this picture.
I think I’ll try uploading image descriptions instead of technical info for a bit. People can always ask if they want to know about the camera gear.
“Buttery Smooth”
Witches Butter fungus growing on a stump along the North Umpqua Trail, Tioga segment. This was a truly miserable hike but I still managed to find a few things to photograph when I wasn’t stuck in brambles or sliding down muddy hills.
“Fishing Day”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 40-150mm lens @ 58mm, f/8, 1/500s, ISO 200. Shot at Clear Lake.
“Rainy Day”
Olympus TG-6 @ 14.6mm, f/4.3, 1/250s, ISO 800. Shot at Clearwater Park.
“Not Quite Ocean”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 25mm, f/11, 1/500s, ISO 200. Brackish lake behind the foredune at Baker Beach.
“Drawdown”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/9, 1/125s, ISO 200. Every year they empty out some of the reservoirs here to make it possible for fish to spawn, giving us these stump-punctuated moonscapes.
Great. Google News added AI-generated section headings which (a) less actual news on the page (b) fuck AI.
One more push to get me to stop reading news entirely, I guess. The intersection of AI with arrogant designers (large font, no off switch) makes this especially annoying.