new toy

In the spirit of using my blog to post my progress, I present to you, the viewer, the first pics taken with my new speedlight! Yippee! I have to admit though, I have barely started reading through the manual, so I have no idea what I am doing. I don't know what settings to use on the flash, or how this new toy fits in with my existing knowledge of my camera. It is going to be fun to learn, though!

Ok, so this first picture I took of my beautiful sister (yep, Corbin's mom!) using the regular flash on my camera as she was preparing a lovely Father's day dinner. I didn't do any edits, and had the camera set in aperture priority. I have no idea what ISO I used.

And then this one was taken with the fancy new speedlight!

Of course, I couldn't resist testing out the new flash on a few frames of my cutie little nephew :) I bounced the light up on the ceiling for this one ( um, I think).

I wondered how it would do on subjects further away. Katie's wine glass was about four feet away from me AND there was a substantial cabinet in the way, too. Not bad though, eh? I like the reflection of the dining room windows in the glass, too.

Stay tuned for even cooler pictures as I figure out how to use the darn thing! Tttttthhhhanks!

goin to the chapel ;)

Last week, my mom & I headed to the Seattle Asian Art Museum for a quick art fix :) Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped by St. Mark's Cathedral. A few years ago, my mom took art classes at a school next to the cathedral and she wanted to take a peek inside the hallways.

We were in luck! The little chapel was open (they kept it open later that day for a vigil for peace in the Middle East). This picture adequately captures the soft, pastel colors of the chapel.

I wanted to try a new editing technique (which I figured out on my own, thank you very much... lol). I think the black and white gives it a timeless, classic look; however, as beautiful as the frame is, I don't think it captures the warmth of the chapel (like the color version above).

When we were over in the art school, this bicycle down the hall caught my eye. I used the same editing style as the picture above for this frame, too. Actually, it was kind of cool to edit this one; I took it on the fly, knowing that I hadn't metered correctly, but that I could "work with it."

Thank you for taking a looksy. Hope that you enjoyed the pictures & peace be with you.

driveway photobooth

Tuesday's adventure brought me to Stanwood. Exciting, huh? I met up with my mom & cutie little nephew for dinner. While mom ran a quick errand, the little guy and I waited in the car. Hungry toddlers strapped into their carseats are a recipe for a mini-meltdown. Luckily, I had my camera with me and figured he couldn't do too much damage to my beloved dust blower... right? lol, he was fine...

OH! And I took this one at the pizza place... he is coloring with Grandma :)

The Bo-Tan

Last Monday, dma and I headed to one of the best little places in Bellevue... the Botanical Gardens. True, it isn't a rugged ridgeline or a majestic meadow, but it is a sweet little oasis that is perfect for an evening stroll. An evening stroll with a ton of gigantic mosquitos. yikesapie! In between karate chops in the air, I managed to capture a few random blooms. Enjoy!

The vibrant pink & purple combo caught my eye, and I loved the design of the stem, too.

of course, I converted it to black & white. Its like an addiction.

There were some wee little iris' growing near the path. I loved the design of the inner petals; they reminded me of butterfly wings. So very pretty, yes? The first picture is pretty much as shot; I made some minor sharpening/contrast/saturation adjustments, but that's all folks. I couldn't decide whether I liked the tension of all the gray space above the iris, so I cropped in and saved it under a different file. Then, of course, you guessed it, I converted the cropped pic to black & white.

Allergism

I took this pick to remember a "dare" (wasn't really a dare, more of a suggestion for the gullible...)

Lily

I visited the Bo-Tan last year and spent some time in the Japanese patio area reflecting on some major life changes. I intentionally didn't bring my camera that day; I needed to recharge without the distraction of an activity. The lillies were so beautiful, though, that I gave in and took a picture with my camera phone. It captured the moment at the time, but I've been wanting a "real" picture, too. The one below still isn't quite what I had in mind, but dang, the mosquitos were particularly fierce in that area, so I had to jet out of there.

Last Look

In true "last look" form, I snapped these two pics as we were headed back to Spydo. It was a good thing, too, because dma noticed a rather unique bird in the area, so we both had captivating subjects. I loved the organized chaos of this flower. Its funky.

Per usual, I took a bunch of pictures of the same thing (gotta love digital memory!) and eventually took a picture from an abstract viewpoint. I kinda like it.

I am happy with this group of pics from the Bo-Tan, my first set of summer flowers, too! I hope that the beautiful weather is treating you well & thank you for taking a look at my pics & reading through all my overly long descriptions! Peace be with you...

Little Less Gloomy June

Oops, guess I missed a few frames from the Center for Wooden Boats! And these were some of my favorites, too, dang it! :) I switched into random close-up mode, which meant no more blah ol' skies & they turned out to be a little less gloomy :)

Work in Progress
This is a log boat that is under construction. It reminds me of something that I have been thinking about for awhile... I would love to photograph Native American artists as they work their pieces. I already have a couple images in my mind; perhaps a call to Uncle Jim is in order?

Sacred

I am not sure of the significance of this group of feathers on the beam. I am guessing that it is a spiritual piece to guide the carver, or perhaps to protect the carving?

Mrs. Peacock in the Library with the Knife
Just kidding, this frame has nothing to do with the game of Clue... it does have to do with a certain library though... the Center has quite a collection of nautical books, and the lighting was Fabulous there! I converted this frame to black and white to give it a classic feel.



Arrrg, it be the Pirate!
The compass on one of the boats caught my eye, and in true random form, I took a picture. It turns out to be quite a remarkable boat; the lady in the Center explained that it is called the Pirate and has quite an impressive history. nice!

Thanks for checking out my pics! I hope you enjoyed the less gloomy version of the Center for Wooden Boats collection!

Gloomy June

ugh. Thursday's weather was glorious. Saturday, on the other hand, was a typical gloomy June day. Del & I had some trouble figuring out where to go.... the sky was cloudy, but not the good kind of cloudy. We would definitely be encountering whited-out skies wherever we went. And no interesting shadows. bleh. luckily, we remembered just the right destination and agreed upon a trip to the Center for Wooden Boats along the shores of Lake Union.

I had a blast there... so many interesting lines and textures; plus salty stories of times before, too.

I like the composition of these frames; I am not too keen on the color, but that is par for the day. gloomy.

I wasn't going to expand on my pics for this post, but as I scroll through them I think they might look like just a bunch of random boats. So, I will explain a bit now (otherwise, a year from now, I will look at them and think "huh. wonder why I took those random things.") yay.

This one is the Virginia V; I liked the reflection of the Space Needle in the window. Because I am relatively height challenged, this shot involved a bit of balancing skill. I should wear taller shoes when I go on photoshoots.

For this shot, I just liked the water. Plus, I am always happy to maximize my wide angle focal length. Sigh. someday I will have a 10mm.

I liked the repetition of the boats lined up against the dock & the line of ropes. The bright colors of the boat awnings were distracting, so I converted to black and white to simplify the frame.

Anyone who has visited my apartment knows why I took this frame. It will soon be joining a similar shot that I took in DC a few years ago that is now hanging up at home. I added a filter, though, to this shot to give it a different feel than the old pic.

Both del and I were drawn to the Oar House. It was such a unique little building, filled to the brim with tons of cool, random boating stuff. Luckily, the CWB volunteers were super cool and didn't seem to mind us taking our kooky, yet artsy, pictures. My proudest achievement for this frame was the combination of my gradient cokin filter and proper exposure in this spot. The light coming through the window was fiercely bright for the tight space, but I metered for the lighting on the straw hat & all was good. I did a few edits, too, to soften the look to match the whimsical nature of the space.

For this one, I liked the pattern of the boats, and I am pretty darn happy with the clarity, too. I am not a big fan of the clutter in the background. I tried cropping in, but didn't want to lose any shadows. I also considered converting it to my favorite default for cluttered frames - black & white- but it didn't seem to suit the picture. Oh well, guess this is a lesson in just letting things be, eh?

And now we enter the Family Series. I found boats named after my sister & my dad. Now, if only they had one for my mom & I... the whole fam would be complete!

For the Katy pic, I intentionally decreased the saturation; I considered black & white for this one, too, but liked the little bits of color. BTW, isn't that white sky awful? June. ugh. (p.s. yeah, Katie, I know your name isn't spelled with a "Y"... my middle name doesn't have two L's either. lol ;) love ya! & sorry about the Y. My photoshop skills are not able to process font on boats... sad.)

It is odd how photographs can evoke emotions. The combination of the boat with my dad's name, plus del's frames of the CWB shop hit a spot in my heart that dearly, dearly misses my dad. I can't believe how fast time goes by, and yet, at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago since I walked through his garage; the garage of my childhood and high school years; the garage that functioned as both work space and party spot... full of sawdust, smelling like car parts and paint, with shelves and shelves of nails and screws in rusty coffee cans and the sounds of a scratchy classic rock radio station, lacking any audible levels of bass, filling the air.

miss ya.

almost forgot!

Shoot! I almost forgot to post a pic from my first attempt at star trailing!

I really need to get a remote control; I could only do a 30 second exposure. I am still happy to have been able to capture something though. nice.


p.s. I think that the blogger view is darker than when I viewed it full size while editing? we shall see.

Spooky Serenity

Somedays, you just need to hit the hills.



Last Thursday, I skipped out of work early for a pleasant mid-week adventure. The weather was fantastic; the hottest this year probably? I wanted to head up to Lake Serene because I heard that the lake is still a bit frozen but the trail is mostly snow free. dma and I seem to have been hitting a lot of snowy trails lately, resulting in last-minute change of plans and beautiful, but incomplete hikes. I think we were both eager to finish an actual hike. Two virgos with a tendency to dawdle, while on a quest for completion, meant that we got a late start but didn't want to veer off course. It worked to our benefit to have awesome lighting at the lake, but we ended up have a spooky moonlight trek back down the mountain. It was a great hike though, and, to put it midly, I learned a lot :)



Ok folks, story time has ended... time for the pics!



Bridal Veil Falls

There is a side trail to a lookout to Bridal Veil Falls that we didn't take due to time constraints, but the main trail didn't disappoint; there was a lovely wall of falls just to the side of the main Bridal Veil Falls. It reminded me of a water feature that you might see on the side of a building somewhere in the city; except that the human touch in architecture would have been too even, too calculated. I loved the rugged steps and grooves chisled by nature. I had my bff the 50mm on my camera still from a star trail shoot the night before and didn't want to take the time to change my lens (I am slow, and we were hustling up the mountain!). I opted to compose this at an angle to capture a unique frame.

my tree

It amazes me sometimes how much the simple things in life bring me happiness. On our way up the trail there was a tree that captivated me; the leaves were a vivid lime green and were glowing in the evening sun. I had tried a new technique on this frame; however, I don't think that I applied the settings correctly. dma told me not to worry, though, because it took him awhile to master that particular style, too. I wanted to salvage the picture, in order to have something to remember the trail by, so I converted it to black and white-ish. yes, those rocks are the trail. friggin' cool, huh?

the lake
Again, my landscape skills are still not quite up to par with the beauty that my eyes see. What an amazing site; this place was even more awesome to me than Lost Lake. I felt like I was in middle earth or the scandinavian back-country. The sky at this point was a really lovely shade of blue, but I converted to black and white to emphasize the movement of the clouds.

I am very thankful that my dear friend dma was able to join me on this hike; there were beautiful views at almost every turn and he captured them with his usual classical stlye and elegance. Plus, he, too, is a warrior on the trail.

Its been so long

Wow! These are O-L-D pictures... they were taken back in May when dma and I visited Lost Lake. what an awesome day. It was a snowy little trek up the forest service road to this vantage point:

I have never seen a frozen alpine lake... it is a beautiful sight. I wish that I had better landscape skills to better capture its character. Someday, though man, someday. I have posted these so that a year or so from now I can look at them and think about "back in the day" when I was oh so clueless on the finer points of landscape photography.

Of course, I did an msg style shot too! How could I resist... what can I say, I am a sucker for backlighting!

Thanks for taking a peek at my pics! Hope you are having a beautiful day.

Simba

My model for this post is a lovely little kitty named Simba. He currently resides in Baltimore, but has done a stint or two on the West Coast ;)

He was surprisingly cooperative (unlike his sister, Scout) and I had fun taking these shots of him. I used both my 18-135mm & 50mm... oooo and 50mm with my fancy glass Canon close-up filter! ooo lah lah.

He is pretty cute, huh?

(Jessica, if you are reading this.... I will email you the files soon & will update the blog with pics of Scout soon too.... I still have to do a bit of editing on them. neato.)

part two

And now we have the second part of my journey to DC...

Jill's Real Birthday
That Tuesday, I joined Jill, Jennie & Matt for the first of three celebration for Jill's birthday! Its funny... Jennie made a comment like "I feel like we are meeting Lori's child" in reference to my D80. She also suggested that I snap a quick pic of our beverages, remembering that I take random pics. Thanks Jen!

The party people: Jennie, Jill, random pippy longstocking girl, & Matt. I wish I would have switched to my bff the 50mm to get a crisper shot, but it still managed to capture the memory. fuzziness and all.

Stupid Subway
Sometime while I was back there I passed the time in the Metro tunnel by taking random long exposure shots (hmmm, I think, actually, that it was on Thursday after Jill's third birthday celebration and a few rounds of yummy Japanese Mojitos...). I have named it "Stupid Subway" not because the actual subway is stupid, but more of a frustated venting. Take a look at the pic... notice anything? Where are the Dudes??!!?? stupid subway.

Tribute to my BFF

Ok everybody... who is my bff?

If you answered my 50mm, then you, dear random reader, are Fantastico. If you answered Panda then you get partial credit because you were very, very close ;)

I was sooooo happy to have my bff the 50mm with me because for once, I was able to get beautiful shots from the National Archives. I love this place & always try to check it out when the line is short (note: 10am ish is good & mid-week in the evening is cool too). In order to preserve the documents they don't allow people to use flashes, so the f1.8 on my bff the 50mm was priceless.

Here is a picture of the Rotunda...

One of the many cool architechtural details...

and a sample of the signatures on our nation's Constitution...

Tribute to Heroes

My trip to the National Archives was part of a big 'ol six mile trek that some poor soul from North Dakota had opted to embark on with me. I don't think he figured my "going for a walk" would be so extensive. But I was armed with my trusty Keens & camera... I could have kept walking. haha suck-errrrrr. Oh well. One of our destinations was the World War II Memorial, which is, I think, the newest of the memorials. It is another one of my favorite places in DC; partly because it honors our WWII vets, and also because of the beautiful water features. My weary colleague from North Dakota noticed the reflection of the Lincoln Memorial in one of the WWII Memorial fountains & I spent about 15 minutes trying to capture the unique vantage point. My gradiant neutral density Cokin filter definitely came in handy here, eh?

At the entrance to the WWII memorial, I was drawn to the American flag billowing in the wind. I took a few pictures, but liked the one posted below the best. Just for fun, I converted it to black & white, too. enjoy.

Kalorama

Fast forward to Friday.... my meeting concluded at noon, I spent a good hour on the phone saying "no you" and my dear friend Jessica drove down from Baltimore. Jess & I went on another six or so mile trek around DC. This time, I used my DC walking tour book to guide us. It was a pretty cool walk, it was basically a tour of Embassy Row.

This pic is just a random, empty building that caught my eye. I don't have a polarizer yet for my 18-135mm, but my cokin filter definetly did the trick! I LOVE the blue sky in this shot. I had also tried converting into my default black & white, but actually didn't really like it. Interesting, huh?

I think that this beautiful building is the for the Consulate from Burma? I thought that Burma is now Myanmar? Oh well, this is just a blog, not a guide book... what matters is that it is pretty ;)

And there you go, a little glimpse of my travels to DC. I hope you enjoyed looking at DC through my eyes; random, per usual :)