Blaine + Bethany Gallery

hood river

"Radiance of the Gorge" Gallery Image

Blaine + Bethany GalleryBlaine FrangerComment

"Radiance of the Gorge" photographed April 21 2021 at The Hook, Columbia River Gorge, Hood River, Oregon

"Radiance of the Gorge" was photographed one year ago today on April 21 2021 and I’m happy to share more of the story and behind the scenes images from this once in a lifetime moment captured on the Columbia River Gorge! We have the most wonderful memories from this day as it was such a gorgeous warm spring day so we grabbed our friends and headed out for some boat and beach fun on the river. Ahh, those first 80 degree days in early Spring- nothing quite like it! We had the best of times that day and at the end of the evening my family was hungry, tired, and ready to go home! While loading the boat up the sky just absolutely lit up with incredible cloud colors and texture. I had no choice but to rush and try to capture it and “The Hook” ended up being the perfect spot. With not a second to spare the boat and family were along for the ride- like it or not 😜 Arriving to the location I setup the tripod and camera as fast as I could and was able to capture one 30 second exposure with the color intensity before the light and color changed and faded in an instant. Perfect (quick) ending to a wonderful day spent with friends playing and creating 🤩

Here’s a collection of some other images and captions from that incredible day!

Snippets of what earlier in the day looked like- fun on the river with lots of happy kids!

A quick shot from the boat while cruising back into the marina. There was a little color in the sky but it was pretty dull and a bit eerie feeling. Still had no idea the sky would “flip a switch” and be ablaze with color in just a few moments!

Boat is out of the water and color in the sky is unbelievable! Now I’m panicked with a completely insane sunset and no plan of where to capture it!

Camera & tripod setup at The Hook, this is just moments after the image was captured and the light and color had already rapidly left the sky!

Yep- my wife Bethany and our 4 kids are in the van and I’m sure she’s pulling out every trick in her book to keep them calm and not killing each other. Snacks are long gone by now! Bless her heart 😜

Otis is happy to see me back at the van and heading home ♥️

"Radiance of the Gorge" has been a very popular print in our gallery in all sorts of sizes small to HUGE! This is the largest print I’ve ever produced. A framed 48x96” Metal Print! Finished size is roughly 5x9 feet! Turned out perfectly and customers LOVE it! 🙌

"Radiance of the Gorge" has been a very popular print in our gallery in all sorts of sizes small to HUGE! This is the largest print I’ve ever produced. A framed 48x96” Metal Print! Finished size is roughly 5x9 feet! Turned out perfectly and customers LOVE it! 🙌

"Radiance of the Gorge" framed 48x96” Metal Print at the photo lab before loading into a U-Haul trailer for delivery to my customers home. Thank you for the impeccable craftsmanship HD Aluminum Prints!

Another metal print about to head off to a very happy customer! This one is a 35x70” panoramic to fit the customers wall space just right 👍

"Radiance of the Gorge" framed 40x60” Metal Print currently on display in the gallery. $1,800 un-framed or $2,800 framed with Dark Coffee frame & black linen liner

A panorama view of our Gallery and Mylan Wines tasting room in downtown Hood River, Oregon. Love this space 😊

Checkout "Radiance of the Gorge" online or in person at our gallery and let us know if we can assist with a beautiful print for your home or office! Thanks for following along, all the best!

Blaine Franger
http://www.blainebethanygallery.com/

Introducing new gallery image "Lavender Sunrise"

Blaine FrangerComment

“Lavender Sunrise” photographed August 2020 at Lavender Valley Farm in Parkdale, Oregon

I had been dreaming of capturing a nice image at the beautiful Lavender Valley Farm in Parkdale for many years, and hadn’t been able to dedicate the time apparently until a global pandemic had arrived! Having just returned from 2 weeks in Michigan, the next day I cruised the motorcycle up there on a HOT summer day to introduce myself and seek permission to photograph of course at strange hours during sunrise or sunset. Being a local trusted photographer they were very accommodating and granted me permission to return the next morning. One of the owners was just about as excited as I was at the idea of having a gallery image featuring their farm, thanks for the enthusiasm Francisco! I was prepared to come every morning for a week or longer to “nail the shot” with the light and conditions I had in mind. Occasionally (more like very rarely!) everything just comes together perfectly on the first attempt which was certainly the case here! I couldn’t have dreamed of such perfect conditions for a summer sunrise. A brief thunderstorm with a down pour of rain, humid heat, lingering rain-showers in the sky above Mt Hood, dramatic clouds, and lavender at its peak bloom all came together just as the first light was illuminating the peak of Mt Hood on this incredibly memorable August morning. The light was constantly changing and my heart was pounding as I stood on my ladder shooting several panoramic images, hoping they’d be sharp enough with my tripod atop my tippy ladder! So thankful to have captured this once in lifetime image. What a surreal morning full of wonderful memories. Welcome to the collection, Lavender Sunrise! 

*In full disclosure: Some buildings have been edited out from the distant background for the final print.

Everett and Violet approved and said this print needs to go in the gallery asap :)

30x60” Metal Print hanging in the gallery. Stunning!

Here’s a collection of some other images from that incredible morning!

A quick shot of the view in opposite direction. Rain showers and rainbows galore. What a morning!!

Sun making it’s first appearance from behind the hills and thunder clouds around 6:30AM

Wild weather that morning with a torrential downpour of rain that lasted about 10 minutes. There were 3 workers harvesting Lavender a ways off and I couldn’t resist capturing a few images of them working in the rain.

All smiles. Refreshing rain on a warm summer August morning is a rare treat!

More rainbows and dramatic light with 2 planes flying by!

Lavender details. Such a beautiful plant!

A classic old red barn amongst the lavender.

A few images shot with the drone. Please note: drones are strictly prohibited at Lavender Valley without advanced permission and owners consent.

A few images shot with the drone. Please note: drones are strictly prohibited at Lavender Valley without advanced permission and owners consent.

A few images shot with the drone. Please note: drones are strictly prohibited at Lavender Valley without advanced permission and owners consent.

Behind the scenes shot while at work capturing “Lavender Sunrise” up on the ladder :)

Checkout “Lavender Sunrise” in our shop and let us know if we can assist with a beautiful print for your home! http://www.blainebethanygallery.com/shop/lavender-sunrise

First Friday Gallery Show, July 3 2015

Blaine + Bethany Gallery, eventsBlaine Franger

A big thanks to everyone who came out to our First Friday event last week! Even though It was announced very last minute on Facebook (here and here) we had a steady stream of folks coming in for a solid 3 hours from 5-8:30 or so. It's nice to see so many friends, and meet lots of new people who follow our work online. Thanks again everyone for your interest in what we're up to! 

One thing I never anticipated about doing these First Friday events is how heartwarming it is to have people come into the space, and not only be able to see some beautiful photography, but also see friends, meet new people, and just be able to have conversation and mingle in a creative environment. I love seeing this happen! It actually makes me a bit envious of my friends who own restaurants! How satisfying that must be to own a restaurant and day after day get to witness people enjoying themselves in your space. Of course I'm sure it's not all fun & games, but that part would be awesome  :) 

I'm always so busy at First Friday, I never get to take many photos, but here's a few we managed to get!

First Friday at Blaine + Bethany Gallery, downtown Hood River Oregon. 

First Friday at Blaine + Bethany Gallery, downtown Hood River Oregon. 

My Grandma (left) was visiting from San Diego and was able to come! We even managed to snap a quick photo with family who were there. 

My Grandma (left) was visiting from San Diego and was able to come! We even managed to snap a quick photo with family who were there. 

My Mom Therese (center) and good friends Cathi & Eleanor. 

My Mom Therese (center) and good friends Cathi & Eleanor. 

It was such an honor to have our good friends from Mt. Hood Organic Farms Brady & John Jacobson stop by! They are some of the busiest people we know, accomplishing the most amazing projects on their property (farming, gardeni…

It was such an honor to have our good friends from Mt. Hood Organic Farms Brady & John Jacobson stop by! They are some of the busiest people we know, accomplishing the most amazing projects on their property (farming, gardening, hosting weddings, building, & much more) and this was maybe our second time seeing them away from their farm, haha. Thanks for coming Brady & John! 

I had to sneak a quick iPhone snap of John checking out the work! 

I had to sneak a quick iPhone snap of John checking out the work! 

Next First Friday (August 7th) we'll try to give a bit more notice on Facebook! In the meantime, make sure you "like" these two pages (here and here) where we'll make new announcements and also join our email list, on the top right of this blog. Thanks again everyone!!! 

- Blaine Franger