Uploads from Josh Kulla

Trillium Sunset

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:16:04 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

The sunset at Trillium Lake got a little overrun with low clouds last night. But there were a few moments when Mt. Hood peeked through the haze and showed her face while there was still a little bit of colour left.

Clean, Wholesome Living

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:01:50 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

There's something about the water at Oneonta Gorge that makes me feel clean. We ventured in there this morning and the water level is pretty manageable - except at the last deep pool before the falls. It's between chest and neck high still, and my waders just won't quite cut it in water that deep. Oh, so close ... So, Gary and I sat back and shot the falls from a distance. The canyon walls are gorgeous at any point along there, so it works, as far as I can tell.

Thanks for viewing!

Container Shipping

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:07:32 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

A massive container ship cruising into the Port of Portland last night gave me a little bit different view of the Willamette River as I tried to make the clouds look interesting with long exposures. This was about a four-minute shot, and the slow-moving freighter with the pair of tugs hauling it along was fun to watch. I almost forgot to close the shutter in a timely manner.

Mt. Hood Aquarid Meteor Shower

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:32:06 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

Please indulge me one more recent new moon star shot. The Eta Aquarids meteor shower has been peaking before dawn in recent weeks, and last Wednesday was no exception. It was noticeable all evening, but the activity definitely picked up the later it got. In this 30-second exposure alone, taken around 4:15 a.m., there are three visible meteors, one of them on the top edge of the image. It was a gorgeous display as we watched from just below Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood here in Oregon.

Thanks for viewing!

First Night Back

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:59:32 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

Trillium Lake reopened for the season last Wednesday, and this was one of my first star trail attempts of the year aside from the one posted earlier in my stream from White River on the other side of the mountain. This was taken on this evening before some heavy fog rolled in and made our lives more interesting. I especially like the faint reflections of the star trails on the lake's surface.

Thanks for viewing!

Trillium Lake Is Back

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:57:44 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

There's no ice, there's very little snow, and there have been dark, clear skies this week. So Wednesday when Trillium Lake reopened we were on it. This is one of my rather feeble lightpainting attempts. It probably would have been better to use a more powerful light, but I felt at the time like the headlamps would be too much for the foreground. Oh well, it's all about experimenting. Thanks for viewing!

See The Lights on the Horizon

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:16:49 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

... they'll be landing before too long! The meteor action was fairly intense Wednesday night on Mt. Hood. There were some exposures with multiple shooting stars, even, which you don't even notice a lot of times when you're actually doing the shooting. The Milky Way was quite nice, also, once we climbed above the fog that pummeled us at Trillium Lake prior to heading up to Timberline. That's me in the corner with the headlamp. We played around with those damn things all night.

Opening Up The Sky

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:18:38 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

The skies have been dark all week here in Oregon, and a lot of us have taken advantage by spending multiple nights on or near Mt. Hood. The Forest Service finally opened the road to Trillium Lake on Wednesday, so Gary Meyers, Kirk DuBose and I drove up there and planned to shoot star trails. We did that for an hour or so. And then the fog rolled in...after that we drove up to Timberline, where the Milky Way could be seen pulsating and the same fog we had just left was glowing from the lights of Government Camp. But that's for the next photo.

White River Milky Way

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:15:45 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

I've played with the white balance a little bit on this Milky Way shot, taken early Monday morning at the White River facing southeast from Mt. Hood. I actually caught a falling meteor in this frame, which is why it caught my eye compared with several other similar exposures. I took the liberty of lightening the rocks a little bit, although I wish that I had light painted them from the get go. I might post another shot soon where I did just that, but for now what does everyone think? I notice that there is what appears to be a fire going beyond the horizon on this night. It wasn't there the night before (previous Milky Way shot), so I found that, along with the mysterious "lightning" flashes that came out of a clear sky, to be pretty interesting.

Trucking Through the Night

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Sun, 05 May 2013 13:44:14 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

The Milky Way was blazing last night east of Mt. Hood, so Gary Meyers and I stopped in at several locations to take advantage of the clear, dark skies. The 24-hours-a-day truck traffic on High way 35 provided an interesting foreground to go with some rocks at the White River Sno-Park.

White River Star Trails

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Sun, 05 May 2013 11:33:18 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

It's glorious right now for astrophotography, as the new moon is a few days away yet and the weather is warm and clear. We headed up to the White River last night for some star action and were not disappointed. This is a 40 minute exposure that came out in a way that I liked, so at least I feel like it was not time wasted. Thanks for viewing!

Clearing Your Head

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Fri, 03 May 2013 17:13:08 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

It's an oft-photographed scene in Portland, but I love the way long exposures give you a different appearance in the same shot each time one gives it a go. The Portland skyline and the Hawthorne Bridge are no exceptions. Which is good, because the exceptionally sunny weather is killing my ability to shoot waterfalls right now.

Thanks for viewing!

Smoothing Out The Rough Spots

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:40:44 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

A nearly seven minute exposure helped smooth out the Willamette last night. I was hoping for cloud texture, but it wasn't to be. The long exposure did smooth them out as much as it did the water, though, so the overall effect isn't that displeasing, I think. All in all, a short trip downtown last night, but nice and peaceful.

Hanging With Fiends and Geese

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:25:00 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

As you might notice, it's getting late in the blue hour in this photo. The good news is that I found the Fremont Bridge pilings I had been wanting to visit. The bad news is that I was delayed by the local constabulary after committing a rookie driving atrocity. I did finally make it down here after avoiding further incidents and hustling down Naito Parkway near some waste ground. I made my way down to the river and settled in to catch the last of the blue tones. Only, the rustling under the dock overhang just downstream kept bothering me. I began to suspect it wasn't the Canada goose that kept swimming back and forth in my shots. It wasn't loud, but it sounded sort of erratic. So when the disheveled fiend stumbled out of the darkness under the overhang and headed my way, repeatedly begging for a light, I wasn't surprised. I told him mine had gone out and figured it was time to head out. Next time, I'll head down a little earlier.

The Title Must Be Green

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:32:42 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

Again, I completely fail to conjure up a strong title for this image, taken at Mossy Grotto Falls on Ruckel Creek in the Columbia River Gorge. There are so many compositions to shoot up and down this portion of the creek that it defies description, I guess. At the same time, it's certainly a gigantic reminder of why we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Thanks for viewing!

Ruckel Creek Falls

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:10:20 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

This is the lower falls on Ruckel Creek. And like the rest of the Columbia River Gorge, the creek is coming alive with the green hues of spring. I really wish, though, that someone would pull that log down from the waterfall. It's only 25 feet long, I mean, what's the hold up?

Thanks for viewing!

The Gift of Moss

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:35:40 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

Moss is one of the Earth's many gifts to photographers. And there aren't too many finer places to find it than the Columbia River Gorge. This is Mossy Grotto Falls on Ruckel Creek. It's almost as much fun getting here as it is shooting here!

Mossy Grotto Falls

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:44:47 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

Ruckel Creek in the Columbia River Gorge is far more picturesque than the lack of crowds would suggest. Yeah, it's a bit steep and there's poison oak, but with tucked away spots like the Mossy Grotto waiting to be photographed none of that matters. This is a fabulous spot.

Blue Perspectives

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:26:18 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

My favorite Portland bridge, the Hawthorne Bridge. I like them all, but this one still is my favorite to set up under. I figured I was going to be on the inner east side tonight one way or another, so I set up in my favorite spot for a few minutes. I also noticed the clouds were moving along at a pretty good clip, so I lengthened things out to two, three and then four minute exposures, with varying degrees of sucess. This is one was just over two minutes, and it worked pretty well on the sky, I think.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stepping Stone

nobody@flickr.com (Josh Kulla) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:15:03 -0700

Josh Kulla posted a photo:

The stone in the foreground looks nice and stable, doesn't it? Multnomah Creek, Columbia River Gorge.