As American as ...

I got to do a fun story about soap box derby kids who will be racing this weekend. This is a secondary photo that didn't make it into the paper. Here Charles Jordan, right, helps his 11-year-old daughter, Charley, put her car together.

I particularly liked this photo because it showed them working on the car, but also had the American flag waving the the background. To me, soap box derby is a classic scene of Americana — like apple pie and baseball.

Distancing

This is another wheat shot from last week. I like the distancing in this one -- the way the wheat in the middle ground is in focus and the background and foreground is out of focus. Admittedly, this was just a lucky shot. I took one looking toward that grain elevator and was very happy to see how it turned out.

All about the details

Here is a nice detail shot I took at Logs to Frogs. Even this close-in look had lots of sawdust!

I asked one carver, "what's with all the bears?" He said bears sell well. They're a fad that most people like. While he could carve lots of creative things -- "dragons and fairies" were his examples -- they wouldn't sell.

Let the sawdust fly

I went to Logs to Frogs in Milton-Freewater this weekend and took about 300 pictures turing the quick carve. I ended up featuring one carver, so I couldn't use many of the photos I took of the other men.

In the quick carve they had to make something in an hour and fifteen minutes. For some that meant concentrating on a few objects they knew they could do well. For others it meant committing to one design and going with it.

When they first started it was all gung-ho.

I had a lot of fun with the fast-action mode on my camera, which caught all the flying sawdust. Here are two of the more spectacular shots.

Wheat wonderful wheat

Either side of Highway 11 is covered with golden blankets of wheat this time of year.

I drive up and down the roadway so much, I've seen the wheat start as little stubble, grow to golden stalks and lighten to amber waves.

I took a time out on my way back from Milton-Freewater last night to get some close-up shots of the plant in the evening light. Little lady bugs held on tight to some plants, like the one above. I also tried to get a sense of place, capturing the Blue Mountains in the near distance (right).

The chase is on

This was from Athena's Caledonian Games. I watched some of the novice sheep dogs Saturday morning. This proved for more difficult photos, since these dogs were still learning their craft. Many of my other photos the sheep are going the opposite way from the dog, or the dog is far off at the edge of the frame.

Mountain scape

On my day off this week I went to the Wallowa Mountains. I took a trip up a relatively short hike - four miles each way - to Maxwell Lake.

I was surprised, even though it's July there was still lots of snow and ice on the lake. But it was a beautiful way to get away from the heat of the flatlands.