Sunbreak

November has turned out to be the month of uneventful sunsets and uneventful sunrises. At least on the days that I venture out for a shoot ;)

On Saturday morning I tried to catch a glorious sunrise from the shores of Lake Washington. No luck. Like my Alki adventure a few weeks ago, Saturday's sunrise was all clouds, clouds and more clouds.

The picture below is the only one from the whole day that I actually like. I love the rays of sunshine, and the rolling Cascades in the background. The dreary tree in the foreground is a reminder that fall is almost at its bitter end.

I couldn't leave the beach without at least one shot of the supposed sunrise. A knotty log came in handy for framing the boring clouds.

This one reminded me of the dreamy, dewey willow pics that I took in August from the Kirkland waterfront. Dang; what a difference a few months makes! Such a contrast.

These two shots aren't the best from an artistic or technical standpoint. Rather, I took these as a quick demonstration of the coolness of the glass Canon close-up filter to show Cole (he was kind enough to join me on today's shoot). That 50mm is amazing. I love it.

And what trip to the Northwest urban wilderness would be complete without a picture of moss. This one is called "mossna" because, well, what else are you going to call moss?

Sometimes you just need a prop. I liked how the fall background in this shot showed a preview to winter's forthcoming desolation. But, as a fan of pretty things, I didn't want a landscape of dormant trees. So, I "used what I had" and posed my cozy scarf on the rockwall.

And that's it for the weekend! I am finding that I notice great shots everywhere. It is a combination of inspiring and annoying. Anyway, I may not have taken many actual photographs this weekend, but I have a ton in my mind, adding to my internal portfolio of beautiful images.

Art...

Oh! A random thought!

Here is a quote from a photographer at the Best of the Northwest show...

Art is where you find it.

He is probably not the first to say this (google it... you'll see, eh?), but that was his response when I asked about his photo of a stairway leading to the Snohomish River. Dear friends, I would have to agree. (hmm, on second thought, me being me and all, I better add a disclaimer. Those might not be his *exact* words, but it was pretty darn close. His thoughtful message that I am trying to convey is that art is all around us.)

p.s. Here is a link to another photographer that had a booth at this weekend's Best of the Northwest show... his stuff is great! Very dreamy, unique, too. I like his work; it is kind of the direction that I am taking. Quirky at times, yet interesting and nice to look at (check out his botanical gallery & autumnal colors).

Seattle Icon

I can't believe it has been two months since my trip to Pike Place. Dang, time is zipping by! Today's adventure was to another great Seattle icon. It was interesting to approach it from the eye of an artist, and VERY difficult to capture un-touristy shots from this place. I am a bit surprised by how many frames I dropped here; partly because this place is so generic, and partly because I've been uninspired lately. I've even thought about taking a little vaycay from the blog "for awhile." This turned out to be a great day, and I was able to get some fun shots, too.

So, from the pics below can you tell where I went today?


High School Memories, the Musical

These three shots are of amusement park rides. Since my birthday is at the end of summer, this place was a perfect place to celebrate. Wild River was my favorite ride. I am such a big, big fan of water rides/slides/you name it and we lived too far away from Wild Waves, so this was the next best thing.

Don't Steal Art, Junior

This place is the venue of many, many musical performances. I've always loved the funky mosaic backdrop of this stage. I called it "Don't Steal Art, Junior" because as I was taking pictures of it, I had flashbacks to my Pike Place trip when that guy hollered "don't steal art." Two months later, there I am again, stealing art. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I am such a troublemaker.

Almost?

I am not sure if you can see it, but there is a slight hint in the bottom, left-hand corner. That darned seagull stayed on the artwork the entire time I was snapping pictures. grr.

Ok, big hint

I am pretty sure you have figured it out by now, but if not, the next two pics are big hints. Many Seattle skyline shots of this locale also include these arches. And, if you are a science type nerd (like, um, me) or a fan of laser shows (woo-hoo, like me!) then you know all about these arches.

One last hint?

Ok. Here is the last hint. 1) This, um, style of architecture is quite unique (not only to Seattle, but I am guessing to anywhere in the world) and 2) you can see the reflection of the mysterious Seattle icon on its, um, wall.

Yep

Uh, yep, you guessed it... I went to the Seattle Center today, home of the world famous Space Needle. Neat.

Other Views

Through out the day, I tried to capture images of the needle in unique, artistic ways; I wanted it to be obvious that the needle was in the pic, but not super obvious. Enjoy.

The Center was refreshingly busy for such a brisk fall day. The atmosphere had an air of festivity to it; a preview of the upcoming holidays. I am looking forward to the twinkly, sparkly, magical transformation of the city for the holidays.

Thank you for checking out my pics, and for putting up with my cheesy story telling and corny "guess the locale" game. You are awesome... just because you humor me. Thanks :)

A Benchmark, part II

It is interesting how photography can bring out parts of your personality that you didn't know about and magnify your behaviors that you are very well aware of, at the same time.

For example, I am usually very, very afraid of heights/falling/slipping/hurting myself in some way resulting from the pull of gravity. However, I will find random rocks to balance on, inch my way down a trail holding on to tree limbs or get much closer to the edge of a cliff when I have a camera in hand. See, things I didn't know about myself - I may not be so afraid of heights after all, eh?

And then we have today's example of the way photography can magnify our behaviors. I admit it, I am a perfectionist. I can't help it; usually things just happen for me in such a way that it is lovely and perfect and I consider it normal. Okokok, I think I might need to explain a bit more; its that whole perspective thing... who knows if it is perfect and lovely... I mean that I strive for what is perfect and lovely for me (it may be completely weird and clinically boring to others. no prob.). yeah. So, when things aren't perfect, or aren't lovely to me I get a little itch. A little voice in my head wondering what I can do next time. I ponder. I plan. I do. That's how I roll.

I was saddened by Tuesday's attempt to "celebrate" (????) my three-month benchmark with my XTi. Darned that stinkin sun anyway. Pooey on darkness. So, I tried again to today to capture some better shots from good 'ol Sunset Park. There were plenty of dreamy clouds today, just not a lot of interesting light behind them. Oh well. I tried. I still have more to learn, but at least this set offered a better perspective on my improvements over the past three months.

And now, we can put Sunset Park to rest "for awhile." I am amazed at the cool places I've been to since I bought the XTi, and I am curious about and looking forward to the wonderments I will be able to capture in the next three months. 2009 is soon approaching. Won't that be lovely?/

A Benchmark

Three months ago today I went on my first shoot with my Canon Rebel XTi. It was a beautiful summer evening and I headed to a place that is both near and dear to me... Sunset Park overlooking the Edmonds ferry terminal with the Olympics in the back drop.

Back in August, I realized when I arrived at the park that I didn't even know how to turn the darn thing on. After fumbling with my tripod, I barely caught the last rays of glorious sunshine.

I figured it would be a good destination in order to compare my progress over the past three months. In typical Lori style, though, things did not work out as planned. I'll skip the long winded, but rather humorous story (you know I have a story that will make you at least smile!), and just say that by the time I got through the gazillion traffic lights between Bothell & Edmonds the sun was long, long gone.

Honestly, I was getting a bit frustrated as I sat through those lights. But then I reminded myself that unlike my trip in August, I now have some night shooting skills. The pics didn't turn out as great as I would like, but it was cold & dark and as much as I wanted to complete my shoot for the day, L&L on 196th was calling my name.

The first two pics were from my original shoot back August. The bottom four are from today. Enjoy

Hot August Nights


Not So Hot November Evening

This was one of my first pics tonight. I liked the movement of the ferry, but I wish I had the mountains in focus. It reminds me of firecrakerfirecraker.


The next two pics are the same shot: the top one is unedited and the bottom one has some edits (Curve Assist & Cropping). I love the deep twighlight blue of the water.

And of course, I can't resist turning the saturation waaay down to see the image in black & white. What can I say? It's an addictive habit. I also altered the brightness/contrast to give this one a dark feel to it. Mysterious? maybe.

Overall, I am kinda luke-warm on today's adventure. I think that Sunday's trip to UW is a better mark of progress. Stay tuned though, I'm sure I'll find something interesting this weekend... (really, is it only Tuesday and I am already thinking about the weekend? uh-oh)

(insert any song here) go dawgs!

Aaaah. I can't believe that it has been ten years already since I walked the beautiful brick paths of the University of Washington campus. I am so blessed to have been able to study at such a great school. This place transformed me from an uber naive girl from Arlington into a thoughtful, progessive young adult.

I spent a few days on campus this past weekend for a reunion, and was mesmorized by the beautiful colors all around. I felt called to return today, to capture autumn's splendor.

Memorial Way
I misnamed this pic as "stevens" because I thought that it was part of Stevens' Way. I also (incorrectly) thought that the trees lining this street represented each of the counties in Washington. Of course, I wanted to get my facts straight before blogging, and turns out that actually, this is Memorial Way and pays tribute to the alumni and faculty that died in WWI. Dang, I am making things up and it isn't even Wednesday.

Scenes from the Quad

As a social science type, I spent a lot of time in the quad. Most pictures that you see from this area are usually spring scenes, when those sweet little cherry blossoms make everyone smile.

The first picture was taken from beside my beloved Savery Hall. The econ department is housed in this hall and I had many, many classes here. Savery is getting a face lift, it seems, and so I took this one looking out from Savery instead. Lovely, isn't it?

The middle picture is taken from just a few steps away, looking towards Smith Hall. I remember having a Japanese class in this place. The little Japanese man was passionate about keeping things real in the classroom and would get very, very upset if we said "ummm" when trying to think of a word. He insisted that we use the Japanese "um" which is "e toooo."

The last picture is of Raitt Hall. I don't think that I ever walked the halls here. Well, maybe. I don't have a story about this place, other than I liked the lighting tonight. OH, and I apologize that it is crooked. I need to get PS3.

Denny

The oldest building on campus is Denny Hall. For this picture, I tried to capture the old and the new. The old being Denny (duh) and the new being the news board plastered with upcoming events along side a recycling bin. Back in the day they didn't even have plastic.

The idea of photographing the oldest building on campus intrigued me, so I ventured up the stairs to get a closer shot. I managed one pic and then noticed that I was in a rather secluded area at night. I quickly packed up my trusty tripod and headed out. Content with the shots I had captured and interested in making a few more trips.

Last Look

Sometimes, just when you think you are done for the day, you come across something that just calls out to you. As I was headed back to my car, I noticed the crescent moon looming above Gerberding Hall. Unfortunately, a cloud moved in and covered the cloud, but it is still an interesting shot. I was standing under a light when I took this, so it turned out orange. I made some minor adjustments and viola, a great pic. enjoy.

Thanks for taking a little trip down memory lane with me. Now, I am going to go enjoy some chicken vegetable soup that has been simmering while I wrote this post. It is such soup weather, no?