I recently took a drive down to some of the most beautiful farmland in Oregon. The area is considered part of the Willamette Vally consisting of Orchards, Vineyards, and other lush crops. When it comes to life in the spring it’s a sight to behold as the ground turns a brilliant green, the orchards explode with color, and vines start to show signs of life.
Needless to say my intent was to capture some of this spring beauty, so with high hopes I set out roaming some of the unpaved backroads in the area.
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When I arrived at my destination I was not disappointed. Winter wheat covered the rolling hills and surrounded majestic oaks that were just starting to bud. Color exploded from many of the orchards while the grape vines were just beginning to bud out. So here I was in the middle of this beautiful farm country searching for just the right elements to photograph when something unexpected caught my eye.
I found myself driving down a gravel backroad gawking at the beautiful landscape around me. I was particularly interested in finding “just the right” oak tree to photograph when I came across what seemed to be a small forest in literally the middle of nowhere. It’s unique beauty captured me but honestly it was totally unexpected. Why would there be a small forest in the middle of farmland?
Rather than question the logic I changed my thought process and opened myself up to the new opportunity in front of me. I spent quite a bit of time photographing this “unexpected” place and came home with some very nice and unanticipated images.
This image here turned out to be one of my favorites of the day. It’s also a reminder that you should always be prepared for the unexpected because you’ll never know when it will present itself to you. I was so engrossed in looking at the individual trees, that I nearly missed the thousands of trees in the forest. In other word, I nearly missed the forest for the trees.
Until next time,
