Some time ago my wife, Jean, and I returned from an extended RV trip that had taken us to northern Alberta and back through the Canadian Rockies, ultimately re-entering the United States in Idaho where we spent a few days.  At that point we were very close to an area in southeastern Washington known as the Palouse.  Knowing that area to be a reknown photography destination it was a perfect time to take advantage of an opportunity.  I first visited this area as a young boy when travelling to Idaho on a fishing trip; I recall being totally unimpressed, it being nothing but miles and miles of rolling hills and wheat.  My opinion has now changed.

When one thinks of Washington he thinks of mountains, forests, and a spectacular coastline.  But eastern Washington is far different.  This is farm country indeed, fields of wheat & lentels as far as the eye can see.  Farms dot the countryside but unless you have a high vantage point you're only going to see one at a time because the landscape rises and plunges relentlessly, and country roads twist and turn until one becomes completely disoriented.  But what a venue for photography!  If you like picturesque farms, old barns in various stages of repair (or disrepair), and wide vistas this is the place.

The experience differs by season.  For instance, in the spring one will see a sea of green...young wheat.  In the fall the palette changes to gold, yellows & ochre...earth tones.  My visit was in the fall.  These rolling hills were reputedly formed by sand blowing from the southwest and indeed looking at many of my "broad vista" images I see something that resembles my images of sand dunes in Death Valley.  One has to look closely to see that those "dunes" are really "waves" of wheat.  At the time of our visit the majority of the fields had been harvested leaving behind acres of stubble crisscrossed by "trails" left by harvesters.  But the color remains with the chaff.  This is a relaxing venue in which to photograph with plenty of country roads to explore and bucolic scenery to photograph.  Take your time and explore slowly; have lunch in one of the many quiet towns that dot the Palouse.

I recently scanned through some of my images and revisited this portfolio.  I had previously edited some of these photos but my style and taste have radically changed in just a few short years.  Consequently I decided to remaster some of these images.  The portfolio Palouse is the result.