Mount Adams: It’s the water
My sons asked if I would bring them a rock from the summit of Mount Adams. At the location of the question, in our kitchen at about 75 feet above sea level, I thought it was a good idea. But then the reality of packing a couple of rocks down, no matter how small, seemed [...]
So Close
April 13, 2012. Mount Talbert April 13, 2012. Mount Talbert Just through those trees, just down that hill, there are people and there are buildings and roads many lanes wide. There’s an interstate highway. There’s an old volcano like this one that’s covered with houses. I know this because I can hear it all and [...]
Fuzzy Fowl, Flowers and Paper Cranes
April 11, 2012. Reed Canyon April 12, 2012. Mount Tabor I look forward to each Spring so I can watch the woods come alive as I run the trails each day. The little ducklings are my favorite sign that most of the rain is behind us for the year. I want to scoop them up [...]
A Butte to Remember
April 8, 2012. Powell Butte After leaving the single track trail that winds through the forest of cedars and firs, you pop out into a giant meadow where I’ve seen coyotes play and hawks snag meals. It’s one of my favorite runs. As you approach the summit of Powell Butte (614 feet) you will pass [...]
These Stairs Only Go Up
April 7, 2012. Mount Tabor I go to these buttes, these crests, these ancient volcanos because I know when I get to the top, there will be a view. It is rewarding. My decision to go one place or another is usually based on the weather, not on how I feel or how far I [...]
The Ivy
April 5, 2012. River View Natural Area It felt like I was trespassing. I had that uneasy feeling I was going to come upon a camp full of people who didn’t want me there. And while I saw a few bags of trash and cans, in the end, I saw no one during the hour [...]
Looking down. Looking up.
April 3, 2012. Wildwood Trail. Forest Park I won Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s record ‘Against the Wind’ when I was in grade school by telling a joke on the radio. It went something like this: How is walking on ice like playing music? If you don’t see sharp, you’ll be flat. Get [...]
Stopping to smell the…trillium
I was thinking recently about Jim Brandenburg’s project in which he made one picture each day throughout the Fall. It ran in National Geographic in November 1997. He shot one frame each day for 90 days. Many days when I’m out for a run, I’ve wished I’d had a camera. It’s always for simple, beautiful [...]
Traveling Cross Country…with Kids
Eastern Utah Has this summer already slipped by? I’m still trying to piece together this notebook full of thoughts and ideas that’s sitting here. I had two boys in the back seat asking questions. I had the best co-pilot in the world. We thought it would be a great idea to drive from Portland to [...]
Summer of the Fish
First fish. Timothy Lake on Mount Hood, Oregon We’ve already spent a good chunk of these summer days out camping somewhere in the Cascades. Mount Hood, the Metolius River, the McKenzie River and two different Clear Lakes. The driving force and unexpected thrill of all of this has been watching Leo, 4, dive into fishing [...]
Passing Time
My dad, brothers and I heading out to go fishing in Colorado in 1977 Leo, age 4, with my dad in 2010 Photo editor and fellow PDXcrosser Mike Davis suggested on his blog just before Father’s Day to “make a picture of your dad, if you can, to remember him as he is this year, [...]
Finally Summer
Huckleberry ice cream The sun was watching the calendar up here in the Northwest. On Monday, as if on cue, the weather and my attitude changed with the flip of the switch that sent us into Summer. High lake, still snowy We were up in the Cascades on the Metolius River when it happened. The [...]
Just Looking
Berlin, 2009 I remember walking around in Chicago with an exchange student from Switzerland when I was maybe a freshman in high school. He took pictures of everything. Up, down, up, down. He was blown away by tall buildings and the people walking swiftly along the sidewalks beneath them. Berlin, 2009 I know the feeling. [...]
The Surfer
Leo, Jack and I went to the coast for a few days while Sara was backpacking up in Washington with our friend Natasha. I knew I had to create some kind of grand diversion for us all in order to keep the good time rolling for three days. Little did I know it was Leo [...]
Two wheeling
It all depends on where you live, I suppose, but the bicycle seems to come and go depending on your age. Growing up, the Schwinn Stingray was how I got around. It’s how I got to my buddy’s house, it’s how we got to the drug store to buy Tootsie Rolls and Charlie’s Angels cards. [...]
Six Nights
There were two jobs I thought about pursuing when I lived in Spain: Shepherd (but I had no dogs) or UPS delivery man. I wanted to wander through that magical landscape and daydream. This week, when I saw a square, brown truck rumble through the Central Oregon sage, the romance of driving around delivering boxes [...]
Return to Mount St. Helens
Nine years ago I had two different assignments to photograph as the twentieth anniversary of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption approached. One was of a fellow, who at the time of the blast, was a young, care-free tree planter on the south side of the mountain. The whole thing was a rush for him. [...]
Long Winter
So an entire season just slipped by since the last time I wrote. I can picture where some of the time went, but it’s really a bit of a fog. There were a few assignments, a few stock requests and the booking of some weddings for the summer. It was a season of rest and [...]
Funny People
I was just clicking through some photos from earlier this summer and spotted this little series. Within a few minutes of getting out of Big Red in Badlands National Park, I saw this familiar familial scenario unfold many times. It cracked me up. all images © Tim LaBarge 2008
Stair steps
© Tim LaBarge 2006 I saw a post on digital railroad that a magazine was looking for photos of the Grand Canyon. So I threw together a gallery from a 2006 trip with hope they’d pick one up. This picture of Leo made me laugh. I’m generally opposed to the “here’s me in front of [...]
Time in a box
© Tim LaBarge 2008 In September, my folks brought me a box of slides and asked if I would scan them so digital copies exist. I waited, of course, until yesterday. With a little editing help from Leo (“That’s a funny one, papa”) I decided to get started. The images that pop up on the [...]
The Syncline
© Tim LaBarge 2008 I went for a good ride recently through a crazy network of trail known as the Syncline. The story appeared in the Travel section of the Oregonian. It’s on the Washington side of the Columbia River…and it’s spectacular. My friend Chad and I were getting geared up to set out when [...]
On the road with Big Red
My brother-in-law Daryl and I got back recently from a little road trip. I thought I was going to be that travel blogger guy and do updates from the road. Far from it. Here I am weeks later trying to sift through photos. © Tim LaBarge 2008 Our mission was simple. Get this giant red [...]
Transition into real spring
© Tim LaBarge 2008 I was on my way back from an assignment in Hood River the other day when I entered, then emerged, from one of those crazy spring storms that packs rain, snow, ice and winds. And while there will always be more rain, there’s a warm and hopeful feeling in the air [...]
