Photos

This was taken Monday morning after everyone that attended the Trek Meeting at the John Day Fossil Beds annual meet at the Painted Hills Unit. As I have stated many times before on this site, the Painted Hills, as well as the two remaining units of the John Day Fossil Beds in Central Oregon, the Sheep Rock and Clarno Units, can be photographed daily and have different light, hues, and textures.
This hillside is one of two that are aligned to the west and next to the main unit along the overlook trail. I have walked by this same location many, many times and this time this small group of brush caught my eye for the foreground tie-in as I chose to capture the image with all that there was to see in such a small area.
The lighting this day was beyond the best I had ever seen while visiting the unit, this is due to the amount of rainfall and snowfall that the unit may have encountered recently when you are there. This spring was an exceptional year for rain and snow, as it seemed every other day the clouds would roll through and bring with them a measurable amount of water with them.
Every year I set up a Trek meet here at the Painted Hills Init, so if you have an agenda that would bring you close enough in May or June of next year, be sure to let me know what dates you will be in the area and we may be able to work around your schedules, if not, there is always, Always room for another visit to one of the most undisturbed, colorful, and geologically rich regions of the world.
Steve