Perhaps my best photo effort - ever! "Moonrise over East Butte Lookout"

[DemoTex]

This was taken tonight from China Hat Butte, two miles from East Butte. Serious relative wilderness (not designated wilderness). Major planning required.

I did a dry run last night. My truck is scratched to hell from the manzanita-choked "road" up China Hat Butte, but what the hell. I constantly looked over my shoulder for mountain lions, which are ubiquitous in the area.

This image is not perfect, but I have about 100 more to sort through.

[Summer Hathaway]

1. It seems to be

pretty damned perfect to me.

GREAT shot!!!

[Suich]

2. I can't imagine how you could improve on this shot!

It's gorgeous!

How's the fire situation there? I'm assuming it's pretty quiet since I haven't seen you post lately.

Nice to hear from you, Mac!

[PoliticAverse]

3. Really nice. Is a larger version available (1600x1200 perhaps) ? n/t

[DemoTex]

7. Not of this image

Quality control issues. Maybe when I get through some of the other 100 or so images taken tonight.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. I always shoot at 2288x1712 and reduce or crop from that.

[TheAmeriCAN]

4. Nice

Nice

[Kablooie]

5. Beautiful, but isn't it supposed to be GREEN cheese?

[joshcryer]

6. Incredible shot Demo.

Wow.

[jtuck004]

8. Wow. n/t

[TexasTowelie]

9. Great photo.

If I had taken it, there would be a thumb ion the edge of the frame.

[defacto7]

10. Beautiful photo Demo!

[lib87]

11. Very Peaceful Looking

Good work!

[tblue]

13. You could win awards for this!

Outstanding!!!!!

[jtuck004]

14. That, btw, is now the background on my Linux desktop. Windows users

can do the same by right-clicking and selecting "set as background".

Thank you, that's really nice. I'm going to enjoy this one for a while.

[Unknown Beatle]

15. I didn't know where

China Hat Butte was so I Googled it. Not only did it show the location, but scrolling down it read "Images China Hat Butte" and your beautiful photo was there for the whole world to see.

[DemoTex]

16. Day-um!

That was quick!

[malaise]

17. Beautiful

Thanks

[klook]

18. Fantastic

The detail in the moon, the gradation of the sky, the texture of the trees, and finally the cozy little lookout -- gorgeous composition, and brilliantly executed.

Thanks for going to all the trouble required to get this shot, DemoTex! And thanks for sharing this gem with us.

[ashling]

19. WOW!

just WOW !

[B Calm]

20. I like it even better if you would

have left out the fire lookout station, but that's me. Great photo!

[Sanity Claws]

21. That was my first reaction

But after looking at the photo further, I thought it added something about the striving of humanity, despite its smallness.

[B Calm]

22. I know what you're saying. It does add something

that I can't put into words. I shouldn't be so quick judging a work of art.

[DemoTex]

47. I'll post one later

I have several shots that do not include the lookout tower.

[5X]

83. The tower makes the shot, leave it in.

Hope you have one with a little less movement. But this is outstanding.

[awoke_in_2003]

93. +1000. nt

[woo me with science]

95. Definitely leave the tower in.

I love this!

[A HERETIC I AM]

23. Very nice! n/t

[Control-Z]

24. Just beautiful! (nt)

[steve2470]

25. great pic ! nt

[parkia00]

26. Thank you for this shot.

And all the other stunning images you have taken over the years from your perch. I'm a city person and images like these fill me with awe. It's like another world.

[panader0]

27. Beautiful photo

Here in Arizona we call all those scratches on the side of the truck "Arizona pin-striping"
Keep up the good work.

[DemoTex]

49. Love it!

Permission to modify that to "Wilderness Pin-Striping," please.

[Puzzledtraveller]

28. Great job!

[Octafish]

29. Moonwatcher

Two turnin', two burnin'. Outstanding in every way.

[11 Bravo]

30. For an old sub-chaser you're one Hell of a photographer! Stunning!

[sabrina 1]

31. Beautiful shot!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

32. I am blown away, my dear DemoTex! Thank you for this amazing and gorgeous image!

[Brigid]

33. "I see the bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way."

Yes, this fabulous shot brings a certain CCR song to mind.

[VWolf]

34. Beautiful! However,

I take issue with a thread title containing both "Butte" and "Moon"

[Botany]

35. Dear Demotex

Please come back and visit ASAP. Sorry I missed the chance to spend some
time w/you.

love,
Coo Gare

[DemoTex]

48. Nooooooooooo!

Check six!

[truedelphi]

69. I got a similar Coo Gar invite

About two months ago.

I no longer hike in that section of foothills. A majestic beast, but scarey. It was probably a new mom, and they can be very fiercely protective of the offspring.

[Botany]

80. Although not as likely as to attack but I walked up on some Bison ...

.... on some open short grass prairie @ the Niobrara National Wildlife in northern
Nebraska .... I came up over a little sand hill and looked down to see 3 bison @ about
25 yards .... scared the crap out of me. In open country 200 yds between me and a
bison is more than enough. Funny when you are in a large animal's house and you
are not in a car or have a gun you get the feeling that they could hurt you bad in
a split second.

[Sognefjord]

88. The female of the species is more deadly than the male...

More proof!

[WCGreen]

36. Way Cool....

[WilliamPitt]

37. WOW

Amazing.

[LWolf]

38. I hope

we continue to be relatively fire-free in this too-hot summer. That's a beautiful shot.

I drove through Warm Springs a week ago; hot, dry, and ready to go. Hopefully they'll get that one down safely and quickly.

[Mira]

39. Looks damn perfect to me

Congratulations.
More? Please.

[Shrike47]

40. Great photo!

I thought there was a shooting star, too, but then I realized it was a cat hair on my IPad.

[tblue37]

41. Does this moon make my butte look big?

Or--does this butte make my moon look big?

[SaveOurDemocracy]

42. STUNNING! K&R

I think the inclusion of the lookout station adds perspective, and a sense of place.

[mnhtnbb]

43. Gorgeous!

[BumRushDaShow]

44. Full Buck moon

and it's gorgeous!! Thanks for posting. Always look forward to these.

[heaven05]

45. yEAH!

I watched it last evening. Truly beautiful.

[City Lights]

46. Wow, stunning!

[libodem]

50. Lord

That is SPECTACULAR! I just felt like yelling.

[MotherPetrie]

51. Absolutely breathtaking

[nadinbrzezinski]

52. WOW, that is amazing

[SalviaBlue]

53. Aaahoo!

Beautiful! Thanks for posting.

[mecherosegarden]

54. Oh that is perfect!

What a beautiful picture!

[UtahLib]

55. In the still of the night, absolutely stunning. n/t

[irisblue]

56. can I use this as my background? eom

[DirkGently]

57. Very nice shot. n/t

[Lizzie Poppet]

58. Spectacular!

Beautiful photo. =)

[grantcart]

59. Wow. Fantastic. copyright it and enter it into contests

always enjoyed your threads but this is sublimely perfect.

[likesmountains 52]

60. Thank you, that is just beautirul.

[meegbear]

61. Moon ... butte ...

Huh-huh huh huh huh-huh huh huh-huh huh huh

[hay rick]

62. That's a whole lot of moon.

Great shot.

[Solly Mack]

63. Nice!

[Hekate]

64. Enormous Moon: tiny are the works of Man. I look forward to the coffee table book of your photos....

I know I've been saying that for years, DemoTex, but I am a great fan of your "eye" and your talent. Please PM me if there is ever such a work in the offing -- but most of all, let everyone here know, as I know I am not alone.

Having the lookout station there is perfect, imo. It's the reason you are there in the first place, and it suggests the remoteness of the location, the difficulty of the endeavor, and yes, the smallness of the works of humankind in the face of the Universe that includes forest fires and the Moon.

[JDPriestly]

65. Wow! Is that moon huge or what? Beautiful!

[lunatica]

66. Wow!

That's incredible! Gorgeous! Breathtaking!

[Blue_Tires]

67. DemoTex we ought to switch jobs...

I read your words and see your photos and think to myself: "Clearly this is a man whose heart sorely misses office cubicles..."

[AikidoSoul]

68. A blue ribbon winner for sure.

Took my breath away.

[Bonhomme Richard]

70. Great shot. n/t

[emsimon33]

71. Wow! Thank you for sharing!

It is breath-taking!!!!!

[robinlynne]

72. SPECTACULAR!!!! And I was a professional photographer for 30+ years.

[indepat]

73. Awe-inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

[leftstreet]

74. DURec

[WillyT]

75. K & R !!!

[TDale313]

76. Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing it.

[leveymg]

77. We have a winner! Glorious shot!

[Warpy]

78. Supposedly we taste pretty bad to big cats

and if there is anything else around to eat, they'll leave us alone.

However, a shot like this was worth the risk.

[blackspade]

79. Gorgeous

[ErikJ]

81. Nice! How old is that lookout?

Any others nearby?

[DemoTex]

82. The current lookout at East Butte was built in 1995.

So it is a "new" lookout. It is still the classic L-4 design, which I think is the quintessential western timber lookout tower. It replaced an old (ca 1930) L-4 timber tower.

Oregon has a large network of active lookouts. We have seven USFS lookouts in the Deschutes plus one ODF lookout. I also "cross" with several lookouts from other districts/agencies (USFS, ODF, BLM).

[Vietnameravet]

84. Nice composition but

I assume you either used a large telephoto or dropped the moon in via photoshop..it seems a little heavy on the Moon color saturation.. honestly..

[DemoTex]

86. Used a 70-200 mm (with a 2X extender on some of the shots)

Actually pulled the overall color saturation down on this one. I NEVER EVER push saturation up. The moon color was due to fairly heavy drift smoke from the Stage Coach Fire, 25 miles away.

[Vietnameravet]

105. well the problem is the moon is over satuarated IMO

[DemoTex]

106. Your opinion is noted

Thanks

[MADem]

109. I think your photo of the moon is breathtaking.

I also wanted to let you know that folks are worried about you owing to the fires in your area:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023391120#top

[Triana]

85. Awesome!

That's a fabulous photo, DemoTex!

[nolabear]

87. Jesus! Talk about mankind being small in the universe!

That really is outstanding. Even the flag is an interesting statement about how big we want to seem, flying our flags like houses of royalty, and how really small we are.

Can I use it as a desktop?

[d_r]

89. Your picture is very beautiful

I wanted to put bela lagosi in it.

Sorry.

[DemoTex]

103. Arhgggggggg!

Nightmare city tonight. Thanks heaps!

[hopemountain]

90. lovely shot!

perfect in every way. more of a cheddar cheese moon. thank you!

[Liberal_in_LA]

91. great pic

[southerncrone]

92. Stunning!

Thanks for sharing w/us!

[Liberal_Dog]

94. K & R

What a fantastic photo!!

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

96. "Moonrise" and "Butte"

I was totally expecting this to be a gag

But nice picture!

[awoke_in_2003]

97. It is now the screen on my iPad. nt

[glinda]

98. Love the size relationship.

[KT2000]

99. Holy Cow!

That is stunning. Thank you for sharing.

[meti57b]

100. Amazing photo!!!

I especially like the watch-tower in the picture. It brings the whole thing "down to earth".

[Eleanors38]

101. Powerful color and composition at its most primal

[pinto]

102. Precise and a beaut.

Thanks.

[Raster]

104. Lovely! Thank you for sharing!

[Sissyk]

107. WOW!

That photo is absolutely fantastic. I don't know how I missed this thread but I'm glad I get to see it.

Thank you, DemoTex! I look forward to seeing more.

[Bethany Rockafella]

108. Very nice!