Sig Nordal

To round out our journey around Oregon, we ended up in the Hood River Valley at this popular red barn with Mt. Hood in the distance. With the pear orchard at peak bloom, it was a good option until we actually arrived here… With droves of other photographers around—literally with lawn chairs, drinks and endless stories—we adjusted our plans and attempted a different take on this spot with a night shot—alone and with no wind at all—perfect conditions.

In my attempt to try and find something unique here, I was crouching down and crawling all over this place until I came across this spot, and from about 2 feet off the ground was just able to sneak in that top branch above Hood and with the branches almost reaching for each other, it framed the barn and mountain just right.

Here I thought I was getting down and dirty until explorer Miles appears out of nowhere shaking his head, covered in dirt and banged up. Apparently this peaceful orchard is a dangerous place, especially when you walk off a ledge and barrel roll down the hillside. Your secret is safe with me buddy 😉

For me personally, this is definitely one of the more challenging overall photos from actually capturing the shots to processing. Getting the scene brightness, colors, and sharpness correct was tough. This is a 3-shot focus stack, at 50mm, f/11, 4s, ISO 200 and another exposure for the stars.

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