Joe Turic Photography

Snowy exploring

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It snowed about 5 inches the other day, not enough to close anything down, but enough to make the landscapes, some industrial, really pretty.  I didn’t have my DSLR with me, but rather my Canon S95 point and shoot.  I always kick myself when I don’t have my “big” camera, but the S95 can produce some quality images for such a small body.  I’m not much of a black and white person, but this day was so bleak (really not in a bad way either), that I felt these images might do better in black and white.  As a friend said to me today about the color versions, “these already look like you’ve desaturated them”.  It always makes me smile when I can cut my lunch short at work and take a quick walk and find scenery like this.

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New Paltz Christmas Tree Bonfire

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Getting rid our our Christmas tree seems to be an annual annoyance, so you can imagine my excitement when driving home the other day and seeing a banner on the side of P&Gs for “Christmas Tree Bonfire in the Park”.  Yesterday, on a not so wintery Saturday in January (at least snow is on the ground!) ND and I lashed a bungee cord around our tree, dragged it through town and over to Hasbrouck Park to join dozens of families and neighbors all united around setting our Christmas trees on fire.  The Mayor, Jason West, spoke, reminding everyone that the Christmas tree bonfire was an old New Paltz tradition, and his hopes to make it even bigger and better next year, while a local bluegrass trio, Yardsale, played in the background and the fire department carefully tended the bonfire.  Magical moments in a magical town.

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Yardsale was playing in the dark.  I was lucky to catch them lit up for just a moment when a huge dry tree got thrown on the fire.20130112_2478

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The Bridges of Multnomah County

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PDX, Rip City, Stumptown, City of Roses —  Portland has a number of nicknames, one of the most appropriate being Bridgetown.  All in all, eleven bridges cross the Willamette River, eight of them entering the downtown area.  A little over a year ago, I had a chance to take a walk on the Broadway Bridge around dusk and get some great night shots of the Steel Bridge and the Freemont Bridge.  Ever since, I’ve wanted to get back and walk more of the bridges.

Last week, we caught a rare break of sun and blue sky on a 45 degree afternoon.  We walked the Hawthorne and Morrison Bridges, slowly enough that the afternoon turned to evening, allowing me to catch some night shots of downtown.

Looking north up the Willamette River to the Morrison Bridge20121227_2136

We caught a boat coming through the Morrison Bridge…20121227_2156

and then the Hawthorne…20121227_2161

The afternoon light on the Hawthorne bridge was beautiful20121227_2148

Looking south down the Willamette River to the Hawthorne Bridge at rush hour20121227_2187

Morrison Bridge at dusk20121227_2207

Downtown Portland at Dusk20121227_2206

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