I lived in Hood River, Oregon from 2015 to 2019. Photographically, it was the high water mark for me, simply due to the sheer volume of opportunities to take astounding pictures. In this gallery, I will display pictures taken in and around Hood River, and the river that gives the town its name. Some of the places of special note are the communities of Dee, Parkdale, Odell, Pine Grove, and Oak Grove. The natural wonders there include Ruthton Point, the Hood River, Dead Point Falls, (the other) Punchbowl Falls, Mount Hood, the Hood River Valley, Lost Lake, Starvation Creek Falls, and the Columbia Gorge as it passes from from the wet west side to the dry east side, otherwise known as the “Rainshadow.”
Tree Fromundah
©2015 Gary L. Quay
I shot this with my (then) new 40mm Carl Zeiss lens. It’s so wide that a lens shade only removes flare from light sources that are well out of the field of view. So, I use the flare as part of the picture.
Film shot!
Camera: Hasselblad 500 CM.
Film: Kodak Portra 400.
Lens: 40mm Carl Zeiss.
Ruthton Point, October 2015
©2015 Gary L. Quay
I took this with my 40mm Carl Zeiss lens. It’s so wide that a lens shade only removes flare from light sources that are well out of the field of view. So, I sometimes use the flare as part of the picture.
Film Shot!
Camera: Hasselblad 500 CM.
Film: Kodak Portra 400.
Lens: 40mm Carl Zeiss.
Dead Point Falls, Hood River, Oregon, June 2018
©2018 Gary L. Quay
This is Dead Point Falls near Hood River, Oregon. I took this picture in 2018 when I lived in the area. I would like to go back there this summer if at all possible.
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: 70-210mm Nikon
Punchbowl Falls, Hood River, Oregon, June 2018
©2018 Gary L. Quay
This is Punchbowl Falls (a different one) near Hood River, Oregon. I took this picture in 2018 when I lived in the area. I would like to go back there this summer if at all possible.
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: 28-105mm Nikon-D
Lamp on State Street, Hood River, Oregon
©2020 Gary L. Quay
I had the Lensbabies out for an afternoon on the town in Hood River on Christmas Eve. I was looking for interesting compositions while we stopped at one of the downtown shops, and then got something to eat in the Heights. The downtown restaurants were mostly closed. I thought that it may have been due to the pandemic, but I found out later that there was a gas outage the affected a major portion of town. I didn’t spend a lot of time out with the camera, so I only got this one image in town. I got a few more near Rowena later on.
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: Lensbaby Double Glass with the f5.6 aperture disk.
Barn and Mountain, Parkdale, Oregon
©2018 Gary L. Quay
A winter orchard near Parkdale, Oregon.
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: Vinatge 35mm Nikkor
Red Barn and Blooming Orchard, Spring 2017
©2017 Gary L. Quay
This is from a few years ago. It’s a different angle on the famous red barn in Pine Grove, Oregon, near Hood River.
I’ve never been able to get the classic picture of this barn. You have to trespass to get it, and I tend to respect the property owners’ wishes.
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: 24-120mm Nikon VR
Clouds over Hood River Orchards, March 20019
©2019 Gary L. Quay
Some intense clouds over orchards near Hood River, Oregon.
Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: 50mm Carl Zeiss
Film: Fuji Velvia 100
Pine Grove, Oregon, April 2016
©2016 Gary L. Quay
I’ve been trying to get this picture right for a very long time. From negative defects to developing mishaps, I never seem to get it quite right. This negative took an extensive cleanup. There are micro scratches all over the sky area, and some kind of residue from the developing left a streak of spots across the top. I managed to remove them with Photoshop, but this will never print in the darkroom. While I can print it digitally just fine, I need to find a foolproof method of developing. I’ve tried a lot of them, and none seem to guarantee a good outcome. I hope to nail this issue down as soon as possible.
Camea: Sinar Alpina 4×5
Lans: 180mm Caltar II
Film: Ilford HP5+
Night in Pine Grove, Oregon, June 2011
©2011 Gary L. Quay
This was one of my last “Night Shift” pictures. I had taken to venturing farther afield in the latter days of the project, and Hood River fit the bill. This is just outside of Hood River, in a little town called Pine Grove.
Camera: Deardorff 8×10
Lens: 300mm Nikkor-W
Film: Ilford HP5+ developed in PMK Pyro
Ruthton Point and Sunbeam, Hood River, February 2021
©2021 Gary L. Quay
I happened past Ruthton Point in Hood River, Oregon as a rare break in the clouds opened up to the west. Sunlight flooded the Columbia Gorge lke water breaking through a dam, and a rainbow appeared behind me as I fought to keep the driving rain off of the lens. I managed to get it dry enough for one of the 20 or so pictures I took.
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: 24-85mm Nikon D
Broken Garage, Oak Grove, Oregon, Summer 2017
©2017 Gary L. Quay
I lived in Hood River, Oregon during the Eagle Creek Fire, when the Columbia Gorge blazed for over 2 months. I didn’t take pictures of the fire. Lots of local photographers did, but it felt like a close friend was dying, so I stayed out of the way of the firefighters. I did, however, point my cameras elsewhere.
I came across this garage in Oak Grove, which is a very small village near Hood River. There is an awesome antique store there, and this garage.
Camera: Hasselblad 500CM
Lens: 50mm Zeiss Distagon
film: Kodak T-Max 400 developed in Clayton F76+
Hood River Marina and Bridge, February 2020
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Hood River, Oregon lies in the heart of the Columbia Gorge, and boasts some of the best scenery in Oregon. This is the litle marina on the Columbia River, and in the background is the Hood River Bridge that crosses to Washington.
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: Carl Zeiss 28mm Distagon F2