Johanna Stiffler's First Friday Artwalk 2023

 Framed locally at Vistra Framing in cherry wood - $650 

William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon - 2022

Here's a view looking northeast over a big field near Bald Top out at Finley. I was admiring the crazy amounts of wildflowers among the grasses and noticed a slight indentation where an animal had been relaxing - so I went for it, crept in and just sat still in that space for a while. I smelled the air and watched the breeze sway the grasses and checked out the hills in the distance and thought about how instinctively smart that animal was to choose such a beautiful hidden spot with excellent visibility. While I can't bring you the breeze - and this pic doesn't have the flowers in focus, this at least somehow conveys my simple joy that day. May you find a comfy spot, may you follow that trail to just the right perspective, may all your stars align in relaxing ways. 

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42   

Delta Ponds, Eugene, Oregon - 2017?

I photographed this beauty over at Delta Ponds years ago and I'm always amazed to see herons as frequently as I do here in the valley. I love their expressive bendy necks and stick-like legs, and their chill attitude. I learned from a previous boss Dan Gleason (retired ornithology instructor, University of Oregon) over at Wild Birds Unlimited that "While hunting, Great Blue Herons tend to walk more slowly, stop more often and for longer periods of time than most herons. Their long legs help keep most of the body's feathers above water and dry, allowing deeper wading". I loved learning so many wildlife facts working there and that's one of the major reasons why I love finding new things to photograph - then I get to find out so much more about them! I wanted to include bits of knowledge like that, wisdom straight from Dan in fact, on the backs of my greeting cards and in this caption so others can learn, too. That context helps me recall that calm purple morning and the steady movements of that lanky beauty.

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42  

Eugene, Oregon - 2023

Caught this poppy shining in the filtered morning sun in a Friendly neighbor’s yard. I always admire their poppy patch when it’s in full bloom. The morning light definitely hits different areas than the evening light and each day seemed to bring a new rotation of freshly blooming awesomeness peeking out around new corners. Sometimes I feel like I need cameras around town to notify me about blooms or something – a flower alert! Until then, it’s a great excuse to take a little walk, see what the sun is highlighting that day, and get a breath of fresh air, too. 

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42  

Eugene, Oregon - 2017

This is my hummingbird friend I used to hang out with at my old house. The tiny Anna’s Hummingbird sat there every icy day on the frozen blueberry bush in our yard guarding that feeder like a teeny shiny hawk, chasing off any interlopers who dared try to sip that nectar. Most of my other favorite hummingbird photos are the result of luring them to my feeder. They’ll let me take photos through the window but outside is a different ballgame and my proximity must be earned. I guess I did prove myself to this little one by clearing the feeder of snow and ice and making sure it didn’t freeze overnight in that crazy ice coated winter, I sure won the humbling honor to take a few photos on that cold day.

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42

Fall Creek, Willamette National Forest, Oregon 2017

This lil’ patch of Poor Man's Gumdrop mushrooms is one of my favorite mushroom pics ever and currently resides on my phone as my background. (Don't eat 'em though, reports are mixed on edibility of Guepiniopsis alpina.) I found these lil' darlings in the forest on a branch that had fallen to the side of the road. I love investigating branches and recently felled trees to see what life looks like up there in the canopy where I rarely get to peek. 

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42  

Eugene, Oregon - 2018

This fabulous dragonfly landed on our rose bush one day - and stuck around for three whole days! I greeted it as I left for work and at the end of the day I'd giddily run out with my macro to hang out, getting closer and closer and for some reason it didn’t mind my intrusions. That’s pretty rare for wildlife in my experience. I’ve even started taking one photo immediately any time I see a neat bug or bobcat out and about. Then, if they aren’t already gone, I can zoom in and try to get a different perspective or try and get closer. To be able to return day after day to the same amazing wild subject, getting to re-visit those effervescent wing sparkles was a little slice of miracle that week.

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42

Eugene, Oregon

I love how this lil' bee is straight up shaggy with pollen. It's even on their eyeball! On this day I had gone down the street to scope out one of my favorite lush neighborhood gardens and was delighted to see these plants just humming with bees. Since the flowers are stacked vertically all the way around the top of the Blazing Star plant (Liatris spicata / Marsh Blazing Star / Dense Gayfeather) the bees busily dove in and out of each one as I stood in the sun and clicked away, trying to capture them as they emerged from each purple cone covered in pollen. 

Framed at Vistra Framing in a black wood frame - $420  

Fall Creek, Willamette National Forest, Oregon - 2022

This angle was only revealed when I climbed through winter gated campgrounds and carefully stepped through a mini mossy haven to get to where the sunlight was hitting deeper in the forest. I'm rarely disappointed when I follow where the sun leads! I like how this slice has drippy mosses, clinging mosses, bright colorful leaves and distant smoky tree trunks stalking the background - all backlit by the sun. Oh and a few bonus ferns in the foreground to boot. 

Custom Framed Print - $650  

Ecola State Park, Oregon - 2019

Here's a panorama from a hilltop at Ecola State Park looking back at Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock from a magical family trip years ago. One of my favorite parts about exploring the coast is when you go a bit further and you're suddenly in different weather - especially when you can sit in the sun amongst flowers and still get to admire wicked fog and clouds from a distance like this. One lady had brought her folding chair and was just sitting in the field, alternately reading and checking the view. I still think about that wise lady. And those flowers, I mean look at all those Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)! You really can’t go wrong with a field of blooming Queen Anne’s Lace and a view like that.

Custom Framed Print - $550  

Short Bridge, Cascadia, Oregon - 2022

I found this spot as I was exploring Cascadia over by Sweet Home and got distracted by this lovely old bridge. I’m always looking to find new angles on neat old buildings and covered bridges are some of the coolest. Imagine my surprise when I got to the other side and noticed some kids actively enjoying the swimming hole! Classic old wooden plank style fun. I don’t blame them, the sun was filtering through the golden leaves just right on a bright fall day and I’m sure the water was warmer than those first days of spring. I stepped back to provide a bit of privacy and only returned when they left to see if I could capture a bit of the neat scene I’d stumbled across before the sun set.

Custom Framed at Vistra Framing in a wood frame - $850  

Fall Creek, Willamette National Forest, Oregon - 2018 

Fall Creek is by far my favorite location to explore – in any season. Catching fall colors before they get soaked by autumn rains in the pacific northwest is never guaranteed. When I saw this perfect mix of glowing golden overstory and orangey leaves sprinkling the creek bed I knew I’d have to stay there for a while. I mean, look at those nurse logs covered in moss and sprouting ferns! Look at those pools sparkling in the evening sun and that giant mossy boulder! This image was stitched from two original shots to maximize the backlit canopy and still catch the crinkly ones in the foreground – and that boulder! 

Framed 16 x 20 - $300

Eugene, Oregon - 2016 

I’m honored to announce this photo won 3rd place in the 2023 Beauty of the Bee contest!! I'm over the moon levels of excited because this means our local fabulous organization Beyond Toxics can use it to help protect bees!! Ever since I learned that Ansel Adam's photos of Denali helped lead to it being a protected National Park, I've dreamed that the neato things I find to photograph may help advocate for protecting our magical planet and our oh so delicately interwoven ecosystems. Hopefully seeing this photo and learning about how sensitive bees are to the products we put on plants can help at least one person decide against using pesticides on their property - or to plant a native species in their garden.

This photo is extra special to me because I was at my friend Cheri’s house (the founder and owner of High Street Tonics!) when she noticed this queen bee was being born. I realize I probably should have been wearing protective gear, but I was too busy getting closer and closer watching the queen wriggling around her cell, backlit by the sun, the other bees tending to her entry into the world.  

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42 

 Eugene, Oregon - 2019 

Check out this beautiful group of mushrooms my husband found under our neighbor's raised back deck. It was like a dreamy forest glen down there! They'd kindly invited us to wander their gorgeously landscaped yard while they were out of town and as much as I drooled at their coniferous collection and wished to lure the fishies to the lily topped pond for endless photos - I couldn’t help but spend the majority of my time under that deck with THE most fabulous and magical crop of mushrooms I've ever seen. Filtered light playing through ferns and bamboo and more than a dozen of these crazy fungi just made my day. 

Two days actually, I definitely went back with my tripod the next day! 

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42 

 Eugene, Oregon - 2023

This lil' spikey blue beauty (Nigella damascena / Love-in-a-mist flower) always catches my eye but it never seems to photograph well. I love the spikey needle leaves and twirly spiny thingy (the stamen maybe?) striking out into the sky, almost erupting from its powder blue base petals. Mmmmm. But I never seem to get a nice angle on it despite my many attempts. Well for some reason on a morning walk through the neighborhood awhile back I looked over and peeking out into the filtered sun and still dappled with dew was this baby. I guess that reminded me, even if things never seem to work out quite right, it's always worth getting up in there to try again. Keep doing, keep exploring, keep looking for new perspectives. 

8 x 10 Framed Print - $42  

Fall Creek, Willamette National Forest, Oregon - 2019 

Bet the charred bark from previous forest fire makes for a nice warm spot in the sun. I suppose that’s one of those ‘silver lining’ things I keep looking for all around me in the crazy flux of life. This lil' moth sure was basking in it! I love the orange coloration - and how frackin' hairy it is. I just learned this is a Tortoiseshell moth from a lovely knowledgeable person right here in Bumble Boutique! I couldn’t figure it out and it was such a great bonus to get to learn neat things about my favorite images even as I was installing my art. The journey never ends!