Central Oregon Vacation
During the worst heatwave that I have ever experienced I traveled down to Oregon near Bend with my in-laws for vacation. This was an awesome trip filled with lots of fun with my niece and nephews. It was also filled with lots of photography opportunities. Central Oregon is rich with great locations to capture. There are volcanoes, waterfalls, lava fields, lakes, rivers, forests, and deserts, all within a couple of hours drive.
The first place I visited was Benham Falls just southwest of Bend. The river was a bright blue as it roiled over the falls. I found that the best pics were actually from above the falls looking down river.
One of the coolest places that I visited was the Painted Hills. This is one of the locations that is part of the John Day Fossil Beds. We went just before sunset and captured the hills as the last rays of the day illuminated them.
I also managed to snag this pic of a bird taking flight.
And the same tree after sunset.
The one constant when traveling through central Oregon is the looming peaks of The Three Sisters. These volcanoes still managed to have snow on their peaks in July despite the record heat wave. I captured these majestic peaks from multiple different locations, but by far the most memorable was at Scott Lake.
Taking sunset pictures of the Three Sisters at Scott Lake in July is an experience. I have never seen so many mosquitoes in my life. Not even in the swamps of northern Minnesota. They swarmed over everything. I had to drench myself in bug spray and even then I left that night with over a dozen bites. There were times I had to blow them away from the camera as they were getting in fame and leaving huge blurry messes over my photos. But it was all worth it. I had a great time and captured some of my favorite shots in the last light of the day.
One of the last outings I took on this trip was to Proxy Falls. The sun dappled falls lay deep in the forest along a rocky trail.
This was a trip that I won’t soon forget, so many memories, and looking back at all these photos brings them all back. If you can make it I highly suggest the area around Bend and Sisters for a vacation even if you are not a photographer.
