The north eastern portion of Washington state and the western part of Idaho is called the Palouse, meaning lawn in French. This rural land is the farm belt of our country and displays some of the most
beautiful and unusual topography to be found world wide. Imagine soft rolling and undulating hills very reminiscent of Tuscany but dotted with farmhouses, rusty old farming equipment, barns, the solitary windmill and skies filled with puffy white cumulus and cirrus clouds. It will remind you of the serenely beautiful paintings
of Andrew Wyeth. In the Spring the hills of the Palouse are covered in tender green wheat along with fields of brilliant yellow canola. Wildflowers abound in June.
From the top of a high butte, we have a 360 degree view of bold, graphic crop patterns that carve unbelievable shapes into the soil. This is the spot to be with a long lens. The sweet light at sunrise and sunset makes magic below us as the shadows continually change with the light.
Sprinkled throughout the undulating hills are wonderful barns of every shape and size from weathered and worn, to round, and many painted vibrant red. Horses graze in pastures, abandoned farmhouses beg to be explored and the light changes every few minutes.
Don't be surprised if the locals stop to talk to us and suggest photo opportunities. They are some of the friendliest people in the world and are amazed that we travel the distances we do to visit their backyard. We have formed lasting friendships with local people who encourage us to photograph their farms and invite us into their homes and lives. You will find the last vestiges of an Americana that is
quickly disappearing throughout our country.
What is different about Light Fantastic and many other companies offering tours to the Palouse? One is the variety of photo ops that we offer. The second is a 6 year long relationship with what I call "my cowboys". As you can see by the photos, they are very photogenic. On each tour we are invited to photograph them at their farm, and they pull out all the stops to provide photo ops for us.
On our Sept. 2011 tour, it was the highlight of the tour and they took it to a whole new level with an antique buggy and tractor.
We also make it extremely easy to arrive and depart. Flying into the Spokane airport, it is a short cab ride/car ride to our hotel for the first evening. We have a tour introduction, image show, and have our first dinner. We have a good night's rest at our Spokane hotel and start early the next morning and photograph on our way to our base in Colfax.
On the 16th, our last full photo day, we head back to our hotel in Spokane, have dinner, and fly out the next day.
We will photograph a farm surrounded by a fence made entirely of wagon wheels, an old 1950's restored Texaco station, rusty old trucks and cars, abandoned farms and barns that look
as if time has stood still, cowboys, tractors plowing their fields followed by plumes of dust, a covered wooden bridge, a fabulous water fall, huge grain elevators, antique farming equipment ...and more.
Light Fantastic returns for our 7th year and we scout for new photo opportunities before each tour. Driving down unexplored backroads each time I scout always yields new gems of photo opportunities.
We will be based in Colfax, Washington from which we will explore the many backroads of both Washington and Idaho in the land they call the Palouse.
