In the fall of 2008, I spent a week photographing in Northern California and on into Central Oregon, following the string of volcanoes that make up the Cascade Range. As you will note, my photography went well beyond the beautiful volcanic landscape – I enjoyed shooting life in the area’s small towns, some spectacular waterfalls, and a bit of wildlife as well.
As usual, my photographic intentions are focused on interpretation, rather than description. I wanted to make more than just a record of the sights I saw along the way. I want my pictures to express my own feelings about them. Aside from sharing these pictures with you on this website, I also am using many of them to teach the principles of expressive travel photography on my pbase website
http://www.pbase.com/pnd1) as well as in the tutorial workshops I give in Phoenix for those desiring instruction in photojournalism, expressive travel photography and digital imaging.
These 65 images were gleaned from the more than 2,000 digital pictures I shot during this trip. I used a ten megapixel Leica V-Lux-1 to make most of these images. It features an amazing 36mm-420mm Leica lens with image stabilization, allowing me to use its long telephoto in low light situations with remarkable clarity. Its flip-out LCD viewfinder allows easy use at low and high angles, making it the single most useful tool for travel photography that I've used to date. I also made some images with a Sigma DP1, a pocket camera offering a 28mm wideangle view and a DSLR-sized sensor. I've edited all of these images with Photoshop to correct and refine the hue, color, contrast and sharpness levels, hopefully making my pictures more vibrant and meaningful. Although all of these photographs were digitally enhanced to some degree, none of the content has been significantly manipulated. The facts are all here, as I captured them. I hope you will enjoy these photographic impressions.
To view my images at their best, just click the "slideshow" button in the top right hand corner. To end the slide show at any time, press your "escape" key. I welcome your comments and questions. Phil Douglis Director, The Douglis Visual Workshops, Phoenix, Arizona, pnd1@cox.net