Join us in the Palouse this June!

Many photographers have seen photographs of the beautiful rolling hills of the Palouse that have been likened to the scenery of Tuscany.  What will you find in the Palouse?   The Palouse is a rich farming area famous for its rolling hills, small town charm, 100 year old abandoned barns and homesteads and fantastic scenic vistas.  The area has been described as a photographer's dream. We've been to the Palouse more than 15 separate times and always come home with unique and beautiful photographs.  In 2016 we are planning two photography tours in June.  If you would like more information or would like to join us, please email aerdmann@telus.net for more information.

Here are a few photos of our past trips.  More photos can be found on my website at http://www.anitaerdmann.com/f529286683

Homestead on the Palouse

I spent a week in the Palouse with several members and friends of the Calgary Camera Club.  It was my fourth time photographing the Palouse and each time I go, the colours and light are different.    

One of our stops was the old Weber Homestead.  We spoke to the family who owns the land which the much photographed old Homestead sits on, they were absolutely shocked when I told them that I had seen a photo of that house and because of it had done some research and learned about the Palouse.... and then decided that I needed to go and photograph the old buildings and the beautiful landscapes.  It is incomprehensible  to them, why people would want to come from all over the world to photograph their old run down house.  

Unfortunately, some photographers haven't been very respectful of the house and their property.  Some photographers have stomped down their crops (their income) to get closer to the house.  They've entered the house, even though there are no trespassing signs on it and someone has taken items out of the house... including the corner post on the front porch.  The owners are worried about their liability if someone goes into the house, which is falling apart, and injures themselves.  They said that to protect themselves from any potential liability, they have considered tearing the house down.  If you are going to photograph the house, please respect their property.... don't trespass and don't damage their crops.  If we don't respect their property, we are going to lose this old house as a photographic subject!

They told us some interesting things about the house.  The land has been in their family for 5 generations.  The original house was a small log home and then the house that we see now has been built around it.  The logs remain in the walls of the middle section of the house.  On the far right is a smaller structure which is a summer kitchen, with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees in the summer... many farmers built a kitchen apart from the house in order to keep the main house cooler.  If there was a kitchen fire, there was a better chance of saving the main house and only losing the summer kitchen.  They said that there is an upstairs window and they are assuming that there is a room there... but they can't find the entrance to the room.  They think that it was a 'panic room or safe room', if indians came... the family could hide in the room while the house was being gone through and then come back down when it was safe.  

A View from Above - Steptoe Butte

Steptoe Butte is a 3612 foot quartzite butte that looms 1000 feet over the Palouse.  There is a road that winds around the butte all the way to the top, where they say that the eye can see for 200 miles in any direction.  Most days you can see photographers stopped at various points along the road with their cameras mounted on sturdy tripods... some photographers have a confused look on their faces, there is so much to see that its hard to decide what to focus your lens on.  The light changes from morning to night, changing the look from one minute to the next of the shadows and highlights on the rolling hills below.  

Here are some photos, taken over a period of four years.... in different seasons and at different times of day.

Arusha Feb 19, 2012

FEBRUARY 19, 2012
We are in Africa!!

Another long flight and and a connection from Amsterdam to Nairobi and then on to Arusha... we are finally here! We have only seen a little bit but it is already as good or better than I expected.

The drive from the airport to the Arusha Coffee Lodge took about an hour. First we drove through a region that was bone dry... nothing but the occasional dried up blade of grass. We saw several wind witches churning up into the sky. Kilimanjaro with its snow covered peak was only visible for a short time before it was covered in cloud.

We saw many children herding flocks of goats or cattle... some children were leading donkeys loaded with containers of water. Its a stark contrast coming from Amsterdam where there was water around every corner... to Africa where water is obviously very precious.

As we drove further the landscape became much greener... there are trees in bloom everywhere. Its Sunday here so the roads are filled with people dressed in their Sunday morning finest. We passed by thousands of people! I was surprised to see how many people you can jam into a VW type van here... their public transit is just these little vans but there are probably 15 or 20 people in each... one even had two calves in it. I'll try to get a picture of this tomorrow.

The Arusha Coffee Lodge is absolutely beautiful! Sandi and Tom have the adjoining cabin to mine. I have a seating area with a crystal chandelier and a fireplace. The 4 poster bed is up one level and draped with mosquito netting. The screened windows are open to let a gentle breeze cool the room and to let in the sounds of the many birds in the trees. Outside I have a verandah overlooking coffee plants.

There is a short trail to the main buildings.. we're going to go there at 7pm to have dinner and then hopefully get some much needed sleep!

Tomorrow we meet with our driver Harry to go to our next stop and start our first game drive!! I can't wait!!