Pilings or No Pilings?

~A Photographers Perspective~
As controversy and litigation surround the removal of pilings on Cougar Bay, of Lake Coeur d'Alene; fighting over Osprey habitat and motorboats, of which I thought I had no opinion....my thoughts turn to all the photographs I have taken over the years in our piling filled bays.



Silver Solitude (Cougar Bay)



Wolf Lodge Sunset



Cougar Bay Shallows



How those same pilings have acted as interest elements in my compositions, artistic silhouettes,
leading lines and abstract patterns.



Dusk on Cougar Bay

These are just a few photos of the "soon to be gone" pilings.

Cougar Bay Abstract









Spokane River Twilight




On occasion I've found them annoying too, but not for the same reasons of current controversy.

  

Spokane River Sunset

Ice on Cougar Bay

Yesterday I returned to a favorite photo haunt to discover the absence of my favorite weathered pilings that jutted from the bay.

Remnants of a Bygone Era-Cougar Bay

I'm sure it seems odd that anyone would have favorite pieces of ragged,
protruding wood in a lake, but I did.
They were the ones in the photo below.



Tugboat in the mist hangs as 6 ft. Canvas
in the Kootenai Cancer Center (Post Falls)
and a 3 ft. print in the Federal Building, Cd'A



On a nearby dock stood the CDA press photographer waiting for a ride on a tugboat, to shoot for todays

CDA Press story on the issue.



Twin Silhouettes



As the boat transported him out to the working equipment,
I photographed the tug passing that very spot again and realized in an instant that the whole scene had lost something vital from a photographic standpoint.


 I watched from a distance with a bit of sadness,
the removal process, as equipment pushed over one piling at a time,
and then plucked it from the depths.

Without me even realizing it, these pilings have been a reminder of the history of our region and a
connection to the past.


Silver Dawn- Cougar Bay



They've added character, and intrigue.
Just my little tribute to something I think I am actually going to miss.

Spokane River Pilings

What happened to fall?

Sadly, it is becoming evident that we are not going to get a good display of fall colors this year around the Coeur d'Alene area. An early freeze seems to have killed the leaves before they could change colors.

This river image shows what I mean....the trees just look dead.

I went down on the St. Joe twice recently,

once by car, arriving before the sunrise, and again on a tour boat.

  

This is Falls Creek Falls right beside highway 50.

I caught this shot from the boat as we left Independence Point for what ended up being a very long day.

There is just something about September sunsets... I have been noticing for several years now there seems to be a lot of lavendar skies in September.

I stayed in town one clear morning and felt like a voyeur taking pictures over and through fences, just trying to get a view of the lake.

I'm quite happy with this Spokane River shot, and think it will remain one of my all-time favorites. Suprisingly I didn't think much of it when I shot it and only spent a few minutes on it, taking only a couple different exposures.

I found this canoe scene one morning and hope it is still there for a foggy day shot.

This last month has been quite productive and according to my lightroom stats, I shot 16 out of 30 days in the month of September.

This was overlooking the valleys to the East in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains after a night of rain.

Here are a few more of our beloved Lake Coeur d'Alene...

Looking forward to a trip into Montana soon and hoping they have better fall colors than here in North Idaho.