Winter Fog

This has been a cold foggy winter with some hoarfrost and beautiful soft light.  I showcased hoarfrost in my January 28, 2014 post, so this time I will show a few photos of the fog that creates the frost.

December 21, 2019 started out as a very foggy morning here in Montpelier, Idaho.  It was just 10 degrees (F), so I had to psych myself up to grab my camera, bundle up, and go outside before the sun appeared over the eastern hills.

I didn’t have to go far.  The cemetery and adjacent golf course are nearby where the fog was rolling in.  The sun barely appeared through the fog over the snowed-in golf course.

Naturally fog and a cemetery work well together to create an eerie atmosphere.  The subdued light and extreme cold tend to create blue light.  I converted some of these images to black and white to present more neutral tones.

There are fields on the north side of the cemetery where this fence and the irrigation lines in the first photo seemed to stretch into infinity.

Here are some tips for taking photos in these cold damp conditions.  Batteries die in the cold so I keep one in an inside pocket or in my fairly warm truck.  Don’t keep your vehicle too warm because cold lenses will fog up when you get in out of the cold.  Try not to change lenses or your cold camera mirror can fog up.  Fingers get painfully cold in a hurry so I use warm mittens with fold-off finger covers.  I hope this helps your winter photo adventures.

Please respect my copyright and do not use my photos for any purpose without permission, and probably a small payment.

Living Nativity

It has been a long time since I posted anything to this blog.  Some problems kept us from getting out much, but we hope to do better soon.

This is the story of a living nativity staged every year just before Christmas in Montpelier, Idaho.  Over the years it has been presented in various locations around town, and I think this year at Wells Stock Park near the National Oregon California Trail Center is the best one yet.

Joseph led a donkey with Mary riding through the snow.  A manger was set up under a tree and the wise men visited Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus while shepherds looked on.  There were even two camels.

It was a cold day just a few hours after a big snowstorm, and a local caterer, David Ream, supplied homemade donuts and hot chocolate.  David has been instrumental in putting this event together over the years.  Despite the cold, a good crowd listened to him tell the story of the baby Jesus’ birth in the manger.  There was live music and kids scrambled to have their pictures taken with the animals.

It isn’t every day we see camels in the snow in Montpelier.  They were very friendly, but “Dude” snacked on the pine trees around the Oregon Trail center.

  The community is grateful to Jeral and Jenine Williams for bringing the animals from Pine Tree Dairy in Idaho Falls every winter.  This year, the roads were terrible, but they still made it.

This sort of event helps us remember what Christmas is really about.  We can forget the commercialism and stress for a little while and reflect on the birth of Christ.

I hope you enjoy the photos and story, but please remember that my photos are copyrighted and must not be used without permission.

Bear Lake County Fair - After Dark

The Bear Lake County Fair in Montpelier, Idaho is always a wonderful event.  There are rodeos, entertainment, food booths, animals, rides, craft displays, and of course a big photography display.  But after dark the fair really comes to life, and the lights are a great opportunity for photographers.

Carnival photos are best just after sunset so there is a little light and color in the sky.  This Ferris wheel changes color, and if you change shutter speeds you can get anything from colorful spokes of light to a blurred circle in infinite variations.  This one was ½ second exposure.

This is the same Ferris wheel from the other side, with carnival game prizes in the corner.  This one was taken after the sky got totally dark, and the shutter speed was 1.3 seconds, resulting in an entirely different pattern.  To reduce camera shake, a tripod is a necessity and a remote shutter release or self timer also helps.  If your camera has image stabilization, turn it off while using the tripod.

This photo of entertainers Dave Anderson and Thatch Elmer was taken on the outdoor stage.  The lights were bright enough to take the photo without a tripod, but in order to pick up details in the light and shadow, three photos were bracketed two stops over and under normal, and combined in the computer using Photomatix Essentials.  The software did an amazing job removing blur caused by people moving.

This food booth photo on the midway was taken with a 2.5 second exposure.  It is fun to use these long exposures to blur moving people.  Everyone becomes anonymous using longer exposures.

Longer exposures can also be used to make abstract images.  This giant swing was exposed for 0.8 seconds, but as the dangling swings were being lowered I increased the exposure to 2.5 seconds to create the abstract image.

So, look for bright colors, movement, and lights to get unusual photos at the county fair.

Please note that my photos are copyrighted and must not be used without permission, and usually a small fee.

Steam Engine # 844

The Union Pacific railroad has done a good job restoring and maintaining some of its historic equipment, and today one of its steam engines made an excursion run through western Wyoming and southeast Idaho.  Steam engine # 844 was the last one built for Union Pacific.

Here the train approaches Rocky Point, southwest of Montpelier, Idaho.  It was on a trip from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Boise, Idaho and back.

The train crossed the Bear River at Rocky Point.

 Union Pacific took delivery of 844, known as the “Living Legend”, in 1944 to be used as a high speed passenger engine.  It pulled several famous trains, including the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited, Portland Rose, and Challenger.

As the train left Montpelier, Idaho it passed under a signal Bridge.

After diesels took over, 844 was used for freight service from 1957 to 1959, and in 1960 it was saved from scrapping to be used as a goodwill ambassador for Union Pacific.  The engine has run hundreds of thousands of miles.

Leaving the Bear Lake Valley, near Montpelier, Idaho

The statistics on steam engine 844 are staggering.  The engine and tender weigh 454 tons and are just over 114 feet long.  The water capacity is 23,500 gallons, and it runs on 6,200 gallons of oil.  The drive wheels are 80 inches in diameter.  The top speed is 120 mph (190 km/h) and it generates 4,500 horsepower.

When this engine blasts by a few feet away, it shakes the earth, and the whistle is ear-shattering. What an experience!

Please be aware that these photos are copyrighted and must not be used without permission and usually a small payment.

Rainy Day Rodeo

Here in rural Idaho, high school sports include something most big city kids don’t have – rodeo!  There are lots of ranches here, and people are experts with horses, so rodeos are an extension of what they do for a living.

It has been raining here for days, and is so cold that the mountains on the edge of town have a new white coat of snow.  That made our high school rodeo even more difficult than usual.  Mud, water, and worse was everywhere as I worked my way through the horses and trailers to get to the rodeo arena.

Idaho kids are tough.  Here is a bull rider who was bucked off in the mud.  His hand was caught briefly, but he got out of it and walked away unharmed.

A saddle bronc rider also landed hard in the mud.  If you look closely, you can see his boot in the air over the horse.  I wondered how in the world a tight cowboy boot could fly off, but I learned that some bronc riders slit their boots so they will come off easily if their foot gets caught in the stirrup.

The next photo shows the dejected, muddy cowboy carrying his boot out of the arena.

Notice that he is also carrying a helmet with a face guard.  Safety is taken seriously here.

If this had been a big professional rodeo, I would have been stuck in the stands on the far side of the arena, but the rules at these small amateur rodeos are much more relaxed.  I was able to wander anywhere I wanted, and got right against the fence between the roughstock chutes and the roping chute. 

Being close to the action was a great experience, and I was able to get a few interesting crowd shots.

I also got close to the roping competitors, and this girl is a breakaway roper.  The cowgirl ropes the calf, but it isn’t thrown and tied as in the men’s calf roping competition.  Here you can see how muddy it was as the horse skids to a stop.  I decided to use slower shutter speeds to try to capture some movement in the roping events.

I liked the way the loop of this calf roper’s lasso showed up as he chased the speeding calf.  Imagine how hard it would be to rope a calf going full speed on a galloping horse through the mud!

I tried various shutter speeds, and liked this motion image best at 0.6 seconds.  Anything slower lost too much form, making it hard to tell what was going on.  My goal was a feeling of speed with just enough information to be able to recognize the speeding horse.

Soon after I took this photo, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees F, and another storm blew in.  I put away the camera and left before the blowing rain could ruin my gear.  It was another exciting day here in  Montpelier, Idaho.

Remember, all my photographs are copyrighted and cannot be used without my permission.

Bear Lake Valley Fog

Every winter, there is a week or so of heavy fog in the Bear Lake Valley.  If the temperatures are cold enough we are treated to a display of hoarfrost on the trees and fences.  Some years, the temperatures stay low enough to allow the frost to build up over several days to amazing thickness, as I showed in this 2014 post:
http://rosswalkerphotos.blogspot.com/2014/01/hoarfrost-in-bear-lake-valley.html

So far, this year has been a little different because the temperatures have warmed up enough in most places for the frost to melt in the afternoon.  So, every night a thin layer of frost starts to accumulate in the fog over again, but we haven’t had the very thick hoarfrost like last year.

But the fog is still beautiful, and a challenge to photograph.  My autofocus had difficulty with many scenes because objects are so indistinct.  Setting the camera on a single spot focus helped when I placed the sensor on the most distinct area I could find.

I walked around the edge of the golf course in Montpelier, Idaho, then a little way up a steep hill in fairly deep snow, and had the place to myself.  There was more frost here than in some other places, perhaps because the hill blocked the sun quite a while.

Later, Linda and I went out for a ride, looking for more fog scenes, and enjoyed this barn in Bloomington, Idaho.  The fog helped clean up the background clutter, and added some nice frost to the tree.

These big fog events can totally fill the valley with fog, and I had never seen it from above the clouds, so we drove to Garden City, Utah where we could find an overlook.  I wanted to go on an old abandoned road that has a great view, but it has been blocked off, so instead hiked along a ridge in fairly deep snow to get this view.  It is hard to believe that big, beautiful Bear Lake is buried in those clouds.  It was fun to see the valley from a new perspective.

These photos are all copyrighted.  Please do not use them without my permission.

Small Town Christmas

I get a kick out of the Christmas celebration in downtown Montpelier, Idaho.

This year, December has been unusually warm so a nice crowd came out for the festivities.  Bonfires were set up along Washington Street and people roasted hot dogs in front of Radio Shack.  Horse drawn hay rides went around the city where there were living nativities and other scenes to see.  Santa was at the visitor’s center, there was a traditional Christmas tree lighting, and a Christmas craft fair was in the old abandoned hotel.

I spent the night experimenting with long exposures to capture intentional blur.  (20 seconds, ISO 100, f 10).  There were a heck of a lot of deleted photos.

The sidewalk looks empty in this photo, but the long exposure blurred movement so that people nearly disappeared.  (15 seconds, ISO 100, f 10)

There is a small park with a statue of Old Ephraim, a legendary grizzly bear that was finally killed in 1923 after devastating livestock for years in the Bear Lake Valley.  Now he guards the community Christmas tree.  (5 seconds, ISO 400, F 13)

My wife Linda (left) and her sister, Jo Ann had a table at the craft fair downtown.  Linda sold her crafts and our photo notecards, and Jo Ann sold her books.

Christmas in Montpelier, Idaho seems more laid back and peaceful than in the bigger cities.  The celebration may seem small and old fashioned, but everyone had a good time.  There is no way I would trade it for the commercialism I see most other places.

May your Christmas be filled with the true spirit of this amazing season.

All photos are copyrighted by Ross Walker and can not be used for any purpose without permission.

Groundbreaking at Bear Lake Memorial Hospital

We are a long way from a big city hospital here in Montpelier, Idaho, so our small rural hospital is an important part of our community.  Fortunately, it is an excellent hospital with great doctors and a community spirit.  But, the patient rooms are 50 years old and have two beds per room.  Two million dollars had to be raised in order to upgrade the rooms, which seemed like an impossible task for a city with just 2600 people in a county with a population of just 6000.  We did it, and the groundbreaking was held on April 3, 2014.  This may not be a great photo opportunity, but it is such an important event for the community that I had to share it.  Hospital administrator, Rod Jacobson welcomed a large crowd, told about the vision and fund raising efforts, and thanked contributors.

The variety of activities used to raise money was amazing, including recycling abandoned cars (rust to rooms), raffling a restored Volkswagen donated by Patricia Talcott, and Auxiliary volunteers earning money at a Thrift Store, annual snowball dance, and more.

Three large checks were presented for $200,000 by the Hospital Auxiliary, $200,000 from hospital employees, and $1,400,000 from individual donations, including one of $500,000 from Ted and Liz Schmidt.

Several groups took turns breaking ground, starting with hospital board members and officials.

The hospital Auxiliary took a turn.  My wife, Linda is fourth from the left.

Photographically, this isn't the most interesting post, but as an important local event and a source of community pride, it is hard to beat.

Winter in Bear Lake Valley, Idaho - 2014

On January 18th I posted photos of the amazing hoar frost we had here in the valley this winter.  This was an exceptionally beautiful winter in the Idaho end of the valley, so now that spring has arrived, I thought I would post a few scenic photos from winter days that didn't have that gorgeous frost.

The Rearing Pond in Montpelier Canyon is a favorite photo stop, but I don't think it ever looked better than on this day.

Conditions could be harsh, and this scene on the edge of Montpelier was a challenge because of strong winds and blowing snow.

One morning in late winter I saw these low clouds and hurried down the street to this abandoned house.  I think it was a great subject for a black and white photo.

The Bear River between Georgetown and Nounan was beautiful when the ice started to melt and the transition to spring started.  Most people are ready for spring, but I will miss the clean beauty of winter in the Bear Lake Valley.

Hoar Frost In The Bear Lake Valley

The Bear Lake Valley has a few days each winter when hoarfrost turns surfaces brilliant white.

Frost requires a good source of moisture, like the fog seen behind this tree, and when the moisture condenses directly to ice, frost is created.

As the frost grows larger, it becomes hoarfrost, and it can cling to nearly everything, creating masses of delicate white crystals.

There were several very foggy, cold days this January, resulting in beautiful scenes like this country lane in Montpelier, Idaho.

This is the same tree as the previous photo, taken after the fog cleared, with Old Baldy mountain in the background.  As long as the air temperature is low and there is no wind, hoarfrost can stay for days.

Simple objects like this barbed wire are transformed by a thick coat of hoarfrost.  These photos were taken in temperatures ranging from about -7 to +20 F.  All were taken in early morning before the sun and wind could destroy their delicate beauty.





Firefighter Training, Montpelier, Idaho

I noticed smoke coming from a red metal box in a vacant lot near the edge of town and stopped to see what was going on.

Volunteer firefighters from the Montpelier Fire Department were training in a flashover box.  Sensors showed that the temperature inside was 298 F, while outside it was below freezing with light snow.

A fire was started inside the box and controlled by opening and closing vents.  Notice the fire hose going into the box through a hole on the right.  The men entered the box in full safety gear and learned how to read the behavior of the fire and smoke.  Once in awhile I would hear an alarm go off that meant someone had run out of air, and they would leave the box.

Other fire agencies were invited to participate, and several were there.  These guys are volunteers, and I am amazed at what they do to protect the community.  I want to thank them for allowing me to hang around and take pictures.