We are very grateful to all who liked and helped us since we started, but in the end it has not been enough. Gorge Wild Photography will be closing indefinitely. We will leave our Facebook page and blog up but will not longer be checking them. Our website will likely stay live until the yearly subscription runs out, which is sometime in spring.
Thank you all!
2012 Sunset Photo Contest Winner DiAnne Wasson, of The Dalles, center, with Westwind Frame and Gallery owner Marty Hiser, right, and Gorge Wild Photography owner Josh Jackson, hold the Grand Prize in Westwind Frame and Gallery’s downtown The Dalles store on Saturday, December 29, 2012. Mrs. Wasson’s photo of Meyer State Park taken in October took top honors, and won the top prize: a professional print of her photo, beautifully placed in a custom professional mat and frame by Hiser.
A huge congratulations from Gorge Wild Photography to the winner of the 2012 Fall Sunset Photo Contest, DiAnne Wasson, of The Dalles! Her photo of Meyer State Park took top honors and the top prize.
Wasson took home a professional print of her image placed in a beautiful custom frame by Westwind Frame and Gallery’s Marty Hiser. Wasson tastefully chose an archival matte print and a lovely wood frame with museum-quality glass, turning her digital photo into a framed piece of art that will be enjoyed for decades!
Wasson says the contest helped inspire a return to making art after a break to spend time on family. The winning photo was taken on October 19, 2012 using a Nikon Coolpix L120.
A huge round of thanks go out to the local Gorge businesses and organizations that made the 2012 Fall Sunset Photo Contest possible:
With 2012 all but over and 2013 just days away, Gorge residents should keep those cameras at the ready for the next photo contest from Gorge Wild Photography!
With winter in full swing in the Gorge, chilly temperatures, snow, and rain are here and have settled in. But if you’re like us, wintry weather doesn’t keep you housebound– you bundle up, grab a travel mug of something warm and head out.
Winter also means bald eagles. Right now it’s almost impossible to not spot one along the Gorge, including at one of our favorite not-so-popular spots, Hess Park. We’ve seen plenty of wildlife at Hess and its nearby cousin Spearfish Park, including mule deer, great horned owls, woodpeckers, geese, and just today, a bald eagle:
Hess features a small pond that is usually quite protected from winds due to its sitting in a bowl, surrounded by land and trees. This can create a wonderful glassy surface rife with reflections:
Winter beauty awaits you, Gorge residents, so we hope to see you out there!
It’s official– the 2012 Fall Sunset Photo Contest has closed. Thanks to all who entered, and good luck while judging gets underway! Another big round of thanks also goes to the Gorge businesses and organizations that made the contest possible:
The contest winner will be announced December 1, so keep an eye on this blog as well as our Facebook page and website!
Despite a persistent rain, residents of The Dalles still turned out in droves to watch the annual Starlight Parade through downtown. Plenty of horses, classic cars, and fire trucks, and of course local businesses and organizations. While the starlight didn’t show through the clouds, the parade more than made up for it with the lighted floats, lighted vehicles, and even lighted people and animals. Here are some images from Gorge Wild Photography‘s photo snaps from last night, and be sure to check out our photo gallery from the parade, you may see yourself in a photo! Prints and personal use downloads are only a few clicks away. Enjoy!
It’s the final week of the 2012 Fall Sunset Photo Contest! If you took a great sunset shot in October or November, or if you think you’ve got a chance to get one this week, head over to www.gorgewildphoto.com to enter your photo.
Making top honors wins you a beautiful professional print of your image, with a superb custom frame from Westwind Frame and Gallery, a value up to $150! We’ll show off your print in the storefronts of our sponsors as well as feature it online for up to two weeks following the contest. And even if you just miss the mark, two runners-up will each receive a free bar of all-natural goat milk soap from Gorge Wildcraft. All entries will be featured in a photo gallery at www.gorgewildphoto.com after the winner is announced on December 1.
The 2012 Fall Sunset Photo Contest concludes at midnight, November 25, 2012. Email jpeg images 5mb or smaller to contest@gorgewildphoto.com and visit http://gorgewildphoto.photoshelter.com/page2 to pay entry fees online using your card, or find out how to pay by mail or in person.
A huge thank you to our Columbia Gorge sponsors: Gorge Wildcraft; Westwind Frame and Gallery; Gorge Photography Club; Arthur Larsen, Architect; Optimist Printers. We couldn’t have done it without you!
After a busy day of getting the word out in Hood River about the 2012 Fall Sunset Photo Contest, a sunny afternoon and some bird watching was exactly what the doctor ordered. Just beside The Dalles Dam on the Washington side sits little Hess Park, my destination to spot some small birds near the pond. I was following this little downy woodpecker as it foraged:
when I spotted a great horned owl just snoozing in a tree above the water. It didn’t mind me getting very close, in fact, it just yawned and went back to sleep!
It is always a treat to see wildlife up close, and I spent a good half hour just watching the owl nap in the afternoon sun.
Winter in the Gorge means a lot of birds are overwintering in the area, so keep an eye out, you may get your own close encounter with a local avian!
