Jack and i got settled in to the Siesta Motel yesterday, and met up with Chris and Nicki and we went up to Steptoe Butte to see if the stormy clouds might produce anything interesting, we all had the same hope, but no one dared say it!!!  On the drive up we saw it the sky, a rich rainbow,  and we couldn’t drive fast enough to get there!   Turned out it lasted for over an hour!  I’ve never seen a rainbow in the Palouse so we really went after it!

 

Jack, Chris and the rainbow!

 

 

The Palouse is a fantastic location to test your eye for patterns, hope you enjoy a few of these;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots more to come, today it’s Dave’s Old Truck Rescue, and I expect some great images there!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

* Photo Note:  All images made with the Nikkor 300mm f 4.5 IF-ED lens adapted to the Fuji X-T1.

 

 

Jack and I had a fantastic time with our group, some of the nicest people ever, really good group and some good shooters too!  I can’t recommend a workshop any higher than the Columbia Gorge with Jack!  If you love to shoot water and green foliage,  this place is a sheer paradise!   We just got down to Colfax for the Palouse workshop, so I need a nap!!!!  I hope you enjoy the images below:

 

 

My good buddy Dudley Hawthorne shoot a false fro right in the stream!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wish you could have been here with us!!!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

From the start, Catherine was a miracle, and in so many ways.  With two sons already, Sherelene became pregnant again and the start of an awesome test and miracle began.  Because Sherelene was using an IUD many doctors, including family members, insisted that the danger to the baby was such that Sherelene should have a therapeutic abortion. We struggled with it, but in the end, just couldn’t do it. We prayed that God would protect our unborn child, and went forward with the pregnancy.  The night Catherine was born I was in the delivery room with Sherelene, and our Doctor, and friend, Kenneth Hurlocker, who was also one of my photo students.  I prayed all the way up to the birth, please God, honor our decision!!!  I could see the smile from behind Ken’s mask when he held up the IUD and said, “well we can stop worrying about this!”

 

Catherine Anne Fortney was the only the third girl in the Fortney family, versus 46 boys in the past 25 years!  Another miracle!  I always wanted a daughter, though honestly was petrified, not having any idea how to be a father to a little girl.  Catherine made it easy, she was my little angel, and I still have the greatest memories of being her buddy as she grew up.  Catherine was not just a miracle because of the circumstances of her birth, she was and is one of the most giving and loving people I’ve ever known.  When she joined me to run the GAPW, the adventures and fun really began as we criss-crossed America discovering it together!  The Great American Photography Weekends will be remembered for many things and people, but for none more than Catherine, she made us thousands of friends!

 

 

 

 

We had such great time and everyone that got to meet Catherine fell in love with my “little girl”!  I have so many great memories of her growing up and I captured more great images of her than any other child!

 

 

Catherine has brought so many gifts into our lives, her husband Clint, and my two wonderful grandchildren Cassidy and Cade!  There are no words that could express how proud I am of Catherine, or how much I love her, or what a pleasure it has been to be her father.  In the end it has been said that, “An actor is nothing more than the result of how he played, his best role!”  To be Catherine’s father, is the honor, and pleasure, that is my crowning achievement!

 

On Father’s Day, you have made me more than I ever thought I could ever be.

 

 

Love you sweetheart,

 

Dad

Today was our first full day in the Columbia River Gorge and the water shooting was spectacular!  Jack and I really enjoyed out day with the troops!  We all had a great time and we finally got the rain and overcast conditions we needed!  More tomorrow, but for now here are some of the best skies from today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wish you were here!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

A new entry in the Cheeseburger Hall of Fame, a New chain called Wow Burger impressed me with a 4.75 pickle scale score,  near the Portland Airport, I think it is one of the best chain burgers around, taking second place only to Smash Burger and Five Guys!