The Web Journal aka Weblog or blog of Jere Matlock
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You've found the blog of Jere Matlock, a web designer and writer. This journal is mostly about writing, web design and getting sites to the top of the search engines (SEO is my business). It is also full of opinions and observations about pretty much everything. If these things are not of interest to you, feel free to go now. Go on, shoo!

Still here? If you have something to say, post a comment or send me an email.

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By the way, if you feel like taking offense at something posted on this site, go right ahead, it won't bother me a bit. Kingsley Amis has a nice quote about that, in which I take solace and some pride when the flames arrive:

"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing."

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JMBlog Archive for the 'Photography' Category

Spring is here at last

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

Just a couple of weeks ago our grandkids were building little snowmen after what was probably the last snowfall of the season:
little snowmen

It seems like Spring only arrived yesterday, in that we haven’t had to have a fire going in the woodstove the last couple of days. That’s a lovely break as it seems like we’re always chucking wood in the firebox.

I was out trimming down some brush along the road to the top of the hill near our house, and took a couple of photos to document the lovely spring weather.

spring view

The little white dot in the bottom …

Dark photos of a white hailstorm.

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

We’ve been getting a lot of hail the last few days. The temperature here on the ranch has been flirting with freezing for the last couple of weeks. The snow is mostly gone from last week, but the hail is quite something.

These are color photos, but there wasn’t a a lot of light and they came out mostly black and white.

This cloud raced past beneath a high overcast, forming and flowing and reforming over the course of a couple of minutes into something apocalyptic.

very dark cloud

This hill (”Goat Hill”) is a frequent subject; this is the darkest and most …

Snowing today…

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

Ranch life has its perks and today was full of them. It snowed pretty steadily from about midnight last night to this afternoon, when the sun broke out and we bundled up to go out and look at the winter wonders.

This is an oak tree up the hill from our house, burdened with about 6 inches of snow:

Oak in snow

This is the view toward the northwest, a view of Long Prairie in the sunshine.

Long Prairie in snow

Our garden in winter — usually all you can see is black plastic as we cover the whole thing so that there are no weeds when we’re ready …

Recent photos

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

I’ve been taking walks lately, usually in the afternoon, sometimes just before dark. The lighting on these walks varies from direct sunlight to light that is reflected off the clouds, to the gold of sunset and the “crepuscular” light of twilight. Always a challenge to know how to shoot photos of some of the views that present themselves on the walks in the varying light.

Here are a few photos from the last week or so.

madrone

This madrone tree is a frequent subject - the trunks are smooth and shiny, and usually golden or white. In the glow of sunset they became …

Clearing of head

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

Every once in a while, when doing web design, it is necessary to get up from the computer and get out and take a walk to clear one’s head.

I usually take my favorite walking stick, my dogs (Max & Xena), camera (Pentax K-10D), gun (holstered 9-mil Sig Sauer), hat and gloves, because I live on a timber ranch in the middle of nowhere and because I remember my boy scout training (”Motto: Be Prepared!”)

Mountain lions, bears, lynx and coyotes, are all confirmed predators here on the ranch, and I keep a sharp eye out while walking, as it …

Impossibly blue sky

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

The sky here in Southern Oregon is so clear on some days that it seems impossibly blue. This photo I shot yesterday about 11:30 AM. impossibly blue sky

Beautiful day….

Wednesday, June 13th, 2007

I couldn’t stand sitting at the computer through another beautiful afternoon, so Marie and I headed out for a walk. These were some of the photos I took as I hiked and she rode her horse (”Heavy”) up the hill behind our house to the lookout:
Foxglove View


Stonecrop-Covered Rock Face


Stonecrop Flowers


Sword Ferns

All in all, it has been a beautiful day….

Perfect Spring Day

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Saturday was a perfect spring day here in Coastal Oregon. Sunny and crisp. I took my dog for a long walk; it felt good to get outside again and look around.

When I first got to the ranch 8 years ago, I brought with me a Pentax ME Super camera, which I’ve had since about 1980. I’ve taken tens of thousands of shots with it: product shots beyond number for websites and promo materials and documentation for various businesses and I’ve been in over the years, family portraits, etc. Basically a lot of film went through that camera over 20 …

Fire Scare

Sunday, October 29th, 2006

slash burning - a false alarm

Heavy

Tuesday, October 17th, 2006

…like riding a rocking chair….

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