The Art of Chris Froelich

Haystack T&S Study Haystack After Sunset Normally when I shoot photos, everything is sharp, saturated, and uses the entire dynamic range of the camera. I don't want to pigeonhole my creativity, so I went for something different on my last night in Cannon Beach. It was a full moon, or maybe one day before, so I waited around after the sun set for another hour until the moon came up behind me. With the twilight and the moonlight, I had a really flat light that worked well. Not a lot of color, and I slightly desaturated even further. The grainy look is because I shot this at 800 ISO and my Rebel is no 5D. I hope you like this because I froze my buns of to get it. It was 40 degrees and very windy and I was soaked.

Portland's Japanese Garden While driving through Portland, I saw signs that read "zoo" and I thought "eh, that could be o.k. but I'm on my way to the beach." The zoo isn't worth losing valuable wave staring time so I was going to pass on through. Then when I was nearly to the exit for the zoo, the signs got more specific. Now when I arboretum on the sign, I nearly ran others into the ditch so I could make the turn in time.  As I started driving around the zoo grounds looking for the arboretum, there was a sign for the Japanese Garden. I got very excited. This little 2 hour detour was one of the highlights of my trips and I could have spent a whole weekend there learning how to photograph plants, garden vignettes, and take macro shots. As you look at these, your going to say "photoshop". Well, I don't even have photoshop on this computer. I did run one through an HDR processor and I have before and after pictures for that one. Foot Br...

More from Palouse and McAll Preserve in the Columbia Gorge Some more morning shots from Palouse. I hope when I go back I get some more interesting light. Really clear  and calm days with no atmospheric haze are best for color, or stormy clouds coming in over the plains. Something cool anyway. Chocolate Palouse - This one makes me want pots-de-creme. Palouse Creek  Cloud formation of Palouse - does anyone know what these clouds are called? I really did battle the weather for the first half of my trip. Tom McAll Preserve near Hood River was gorgeous, but it was also very windy and overcast with blah skies. Also rattlesnakes were in the grass so I was nervous about tromping around to get the composition I wanted. Wildflowers in Tom McAll preserve.

Palouse Washington Palouse County is in Eastern Washington. The landscape is amazing and the wheat farmers must enjoy the people coming to take pictures of their fields. I wonder what the reason for the planting patterns is. Some fields have winter wheat coming up, other fields have just been planted with spring wheat, and yet other fields have summer wheat stalks still standing. The soil is rich and dark, and in the golden sunlight of dawn and dusk it has a purple hue.  I didn't really have very good conditions, a lot of dust in the air from high winds, the high winds themselves, bands of clouds on the horizon during peak color, and no chance to scout around. Even with all that I was able to make some pictures I am really happy with. The first one from sunset on the first day. I was perched up on top of Steptoe Butte on a service road and I had really low contrast and nothing was popping, then as the sun came out from behind the clouds, I saw how the balsam root was glowing....

I am finally done with the didactic portion of school, so I took a mind clearing walk-about through Oregon and Washington states with the added goal of looking for a possible post graduation home base I started out Friday and got to Palouse Falls in Southeast Washington. It is not as near Palouse as I thought. I met some fellow photogs here and they talked me into going to Walla Walla one day early to watch the sunrise hot air balloon launch. Unfortunately, thunderstorms prevented the launch, so bad choice. Palouse Falls, WA. Tyler Bradt from Missoula had the world record kayak plunge (186 feet) after going over these falls. After Walla Walla, I went to Hood River, OR for a couple of days but didn't take many pictures because it was pouring rain. I know there are a few pictures somewhere on a SD card, but they will have to be found when I am not brain dead from my trip. I was in the Columbia Gorge for 2 1/2 days and never saw Mt. Hood or Mt. Adams. I will return. My next dest...

I wanted to take some portraits of Kathryn to record her sixth birthday. I just got my G10 back from Canon after someone (Jack) dropped it and dislodged some apparently important parts. Just Katie, me, and some window light as we were heading out for church.  I think Canon has awesome jpegs right out of the camera. I always have it set up to +2 saturations and +1 contrast. This usually produces some pretty awesome landscapes, but tends to make people look sunburned, but since Kathryn is so darn fair (if you saturate white, you still have white) it is not a problem. I have only 1 week of finals left, then a week off, THEN I get to work 40 hours a week. I don't care if it is for free, I get to work. I didn't realize how much I missed a real professional job. And 40 hours a week? A vacation! Of course I will still be doing some interning and referee work for pay, but rarely will that be more than 20 hours a week. Sounds so relaxing and yet exciting. I hope I don't...