From Blah to Bling

Hmmm, a day of shooting. Where shall we go?

When I set out for today's "random shoot" I figured it would be a day like my Pike Place day... a familiar locale with the pics of the randomest things. The day turned out to be one with a rather random itinerary. All for the sake of photography.

1st stop

After an uneventful trip to the camera shop, our first destination was Marymore Park in Redmond. It has many trees. It should have "the" tree shot, filled with fall's beautiful colors, right? Well.... it has trees, they are pretty, but at the same time pretty sterile. I did manage a pic of the windmill near the entrance of the park and one of the sunlight hitting a gate near the historic mansion/building. We'll call Marymore the "blah" part of the day.

2nd stop

Then we headed south. We found a place with many trees (bonzai even!) however, it was closed. Huh? It was barely even 4:30pm... we were in Del's old hood so we didn't need garm-garm to find other fun locales. The pic below was taken at the marina in Des Moines. I really, really wanted to get a shot from the base of the fishing poles, but since the fisherpeople were strangers I figured they wouldn't let me. So I settled for breaking one of the rules of photography and shot straight into the sun, just for fun. (oh and um, New Dan, if you are reading this, I hear that this marina is a great place for crabbing...)

3rd stop

It was a pleasant afternoon, but the photo-mojo just wasn't happening. After a bit of Starbucks for inspiration, we were in Seattle. The waterfront is always a good spot and is especially lovely at night. See ?

"aquarium" because it is the aquarium

p.s. Look! You can see the space needle in the background. Yeah, it was intentional.

"aquarium 2" this one has a bit 'o dock, too

For these two (the ones above and below) I stood in the same place and experimented framing the shot with my camera tilted down and straight-on... I learned on the Rainier lesson with Randal that you can get more depth of field by tilting the camera down. Can you tell which one is which? You can't judge by the reflections in the water because I used different shutter speeds for both of them. oooo tricky ;)

As you can see, the waterfront was the "bling" part of the day.

"Ivar's sign" pretty self explanatory, but the neat thing about this shot is that it is intentially under exposed AND hand held.

Um, very bling. (yep, I used a star filter...)

There you go! Another round of pictures. I really like the night-time shots; they are so sparkly. (I am pretty sure Ansel would have used the term "sparkly"... right?) Thank you for looking at my pictures!

Wok on Fire

Last Thursday I escaped the office for a bit... these are the pics from my trip to the exciting town of Silverdale and beyond...

Raindrop Macro

After a quick drive through one of Washington's many fine fish hatcheries, we spotted a turn off with a trail that lead down to a marsh. Intriguing, yes? We startled a blue heron but don't have the pics to prove it. While waiting for that stubborn heron to move and keeping an eye out on some playful seals, I snapped this macro shot of the blackberry bushes. I wanted to focus on the water droplet and ended up doing a little bit of cropping when I got home. It isn't too interesting to look at (I won't be printing this one. no way man) but it was good practice.

Limitations

This is the view of the lovely marsh area. I am calling it "limitations" because it was the best I could do with the lens I was using. Silly me, I still had my 50mm portrait lens on my camera.

Joemma Beach

With the help of garm-garm we found a handful of peninsula beaches. Some were interesting, others were not so much. This one, though, Joemma Beach, is on the list of places to go back to sometime. That would be "sometime when it is not so rainy." We managed a few excellent frames before the rain came down, marking the end of another great trip.

Check out the differences in the water in the top and bottom pics. The top pic had a shutter speed of 1/10th of a second (with an aperture of f22 & ISO 400), while the bottom one was a bit slower at 1/2 a second (at f32 & ISO 100). Neat, huh?

I would have liked to try to get the dock at a slightly different angle, but there was a big ol' tree in the way. I tried a few different spots, but then, well, it became too rainy and my poor little microfiber cloth was getting soaked. Grrr. Rain. I love it, but grrrr.

Thanks!

Macro Monday

Today's mission was to become better acquainted with my close up filter. It is so frustrating to have this great love of macro shots without the skillset to create the images in my mind. The keys to that is of course, practice, trial and error, experimentation, and all that good stuff.

For today's lesson I headed over to the business park near my apartment. I was aiming for Day Two of my I-5 avoidance. Success! (I might even be able to avoid it tomorrow, too, although 405 is on the agenda. slight grrr). I headed to the business park because I notice flowers there all the time! Usually I am in a hurry to get to work (or a hurry to get home!) so I figured I would take advantage of the warm glow of sunset to get a few shots. I waited a bit too long, and sunlight was slipping away quickly. I managed a few interesting (and challenging) shots, though.

Fall Color

Determined to only use my close-up filter, I left my 18-55mm at home. Oh Man, what was I thinking? The red leaves on the tree were such a gorgeous contrast to the cloudy blue skies. I also (quite unintentionally) left the case for my close-up filter at home, so I couldn't even try a shot with just the 50mm. (You see, I have bad luck, and didn't want to scratch up my lovely, glass, expensive close-up filter. I know my stinkin limitations.) So, I took a pic of the leaves. I don't really like the blurriness of the front leaf, but tried a couple different f-stops and moved the camera back and forth without much luck. I didn't want to spend all night in this spot, so I called it good and moved on. No matter how much you want something, or the potential you can see in the situation, you gotta just move on sometime, eh?

Sunset Flowers 1, 2, 3 & 4

For my first series on this post, I have a group of shots of the same sweet little white flower, taken at different f-stops. I used Del's 2-4-6-8 approach for shutter speed, but applied it to aperture settings. I like the third one the best, f7.1

Sunset Flower f.18

Sunset Flower 4.0

Sunset Flower 7.1

Sunset Flower F14.0

Just for Fun
Ok, so, just for fun, I wanted to take one as close as I could at f1.8. This is what I ended up with.... I kinda like the bluriness of it, relaxes my eyes a bit.

Twilight Flower 1, 2, 3 & 4
I continued on about a 1/2 mile to this patch of loveliness that has caught my eye just about every morning. It used to be a gigantic bunch of blossoms, but I noticed the landscapers cut them down early last week. Shoot. I missed my chance! I managed to get a couple shots here. It was quite dark by this point, so I had that challenge, too. Joy! I took the first three at ISO 100, but with the aperture setting I had for the last one, I needed to bump up the ISO... it was a thirty second exposure even at ISO 200!

This group didn't turn out at all like I had expected, and I wish I would have moved my camera a wee bit over to the left so that the brown part of the flower would be in focus instead of the silly tip of the petal. But, oh well, I learned something about composition, eh? What I do like is how obvious the setting changes are; the sunset flower settings seemed to create slight changes in f-stop settings. I suppose a big factor, too, is the dramatic difference in shutter speed, too. The sunset flower shots were pretty similar in shutter speeds, all at a fraction of a second. The Twilight group though, ranged from 1/2 a second to 30 seconds! Wowie!

Enjoy.

Twilight at f1.8, 1/2 second, ISO 100












Twilight at f4.5, 2.5 seconds, ISO 100

Twilight at f-8.0, 13 seconds, ISO 100

Twilight at f-18, 30 seconds, ISO 200

And there you go! These pics are going to be useful for me as I progress, and not really "frame worthy." Actually, I just realized this afternoon that I haven't printed out any pics from my new camera. Weird. I'm going to have to do that soon, eh? I need some new pics for my living room anyway. The DC & New York Black and Whites are soooo 2007 :)

Just say No to I-5

For today's photo shoot I had intended on going to Pioneer Square (apparently, I have started a series?) but then I remembered that it was football season. A quick little look at the Seattle Times online, and yep, it is a home game, too. Yikes. No way was I headed to Pioneer Square! My other option was the Fremont/Ballard area, but sadly, it is Octoberfest in Fremont & I figured I should avoid that area, too. Could have been some fun shots, just not what I was in the mood for.



Oh, and the other thing... I wanted to AVOID I-5. I can't even count the miles I have spent on the freeway in the past few weeks... I needed a break. The good thing about being in the north end is that I can still access Seattle via HWY 522. So, that is what I did. I went to Magnuson Park, along the shores of Lake Washington. (I did need to make a run into Kits for a circular polarizer & remote control, but thankfully, I did not need to go on I-5 to find Northgate!)



Today's pics are, well, just OK. I am posting them more as a sample of what I worked on rather than anything nifty for people to look at. Um, enjoy?

Fin Art

I thought these are pretty dang cool. They are fins from old submarines used in the 60's. They are a symbol of peace. Check out a bit more about the fin project here.


Dang those Birds

I spent a while hanging out by the geese, too. At first, I started about 20 feet away, but couldn't really see over the bank from that distance. I was surprised though: as I approached they just calmly got in the water and went on to their next destination. I figured they would have flown away (Ok, ok, a little piece of me wishes they had flown away so I could get some cool action shots...). I still like the movement in this picture.



Its Black & White Kinda
I followed the birds along the grassy side for awhile, and found this area to take their pictures. It took awhile to set up the shot (I am s-l-o-w) so I missed the birds, but still like the neat leaves of the trees.

Looking straight into Autumn

From where I was standing for the black&white lake shot, I pointed my camera alllll the way up to get the shot below. fun. I didn't even do any composing, just tilted the camera and hit click.

The Dock

Then I kept walking. I ended up at the boat launch, which was kind of, well, sterile. Actually, the whole park seemed rather sterile. I think that is why my pics are turning out kinda just OK. Anyway, so here I am at the dock. weeee. I liked the big sky and clouds (you are right, DMA, contrasty cloudy northwest skies are interesting). My question, though, is this: is it better to have a straight horizon or straight stuff in the foreground? I think that the dock looks alright, but man, the Kirkland waterfront is a mess. It is falling off the screen.

pretty clouds... yes? hmmm hmmm hmmm? yes.

Signs of the Season

Yeeeep. In case you didn't get the memo, fall is here. I am feeling a little bitter-sweet over the end of summer. I like the seasons that we have here in Washington, but I was hoping to hold on to summer and its vibrancy for a little while longer. I noticed that many of the trees in the park were already losing their delicate leaves.

Hey, congrats, you made it through the entire post! Cool, thanks! I finally remembered to bring my tripod upstairs, so, who knows, tomorrow may be "macro monday"! woot-woot.

Its still a tradition

Last Saturday Del & I had quite an adventure... we returned to Mt. St. Helens for what has become our annual trip. It was great; we saw meadows, crazy bogish meadows, more meadows, pinky-like vistas, another meadow and climbed up, up, up. Our intention was to visit four lakes that are all very close to one another: Fawn, Elk, Hanford & Forest. Well... on that day our adventure only brought us to Fawn Lake. It was amazing, though. This Sunday we headed back to Mt. St. Helens, back to the lakes, back to one of the most beautiful places around. We used our newfound navigational skills to zip up to the Fawn Lake trail head via Forest Service roads and then continue on to the remaining three lakes.

Macro Wishes

We really did zip up the Forest Service Roads... and the place we happened to stop at... the Fawn Lake Trail Head (thanks GarmGarm!). While Del was trying out a "lori shot" I took some dandelion shots. I am naming this pic "macro wishes" because I have sooo many more macro skills to learn. My alias may be "macro supergirl" but don't let it fool you... I am still pretty clumsy with my macro shots. I do have a very, very keen interest in macro shots and love 'em, love 'em, love 'em.

The View from Jun Fork

We kept walking along the Forest Service road until we reached the next breathtaking locale: Jun Fork (unlike the extreme Pinky-focus of last week's trek, this week's Way Points were dedicated to dear little Junior). Just our luck, the clouds had mostly lifted and you could really really see the crater of Mt. St. Helens. Amazing isnt' it? I took the pic below using my UV filter & Cokin 2nd filter... I liked the way it turned out and didn't make any subsequent editing at home. Enjoy.

Daisies were in abundance along this part of the trail, but you can tell that the season is ending because the ends of the blossoms are starting to wither. So sad. They are beautiful though, and so very cheery. Oh, and, uh, for the record... I like daisies, too ;)

Vic'try for Washington

Woo-hoo! We made it! After a bit of off-roading, Del led us to Elk Lake! When we got there I just found a nice look out spot and enjoyed the scenery. I tried to take some macros of "death berries" but not even my camera would touch them... I ended up dropping my camera in the ash! OH NO! OH NO! OH NO! Luckily, I just received a blower thingymabobber for my birthday, so I was able to get most of those fine little particles out the way. Phew. I figured I would just call it a day for my little macro filter and switched back to my 18-55mm. Here is my pic of Elk Lake. It is a little crooked, but I don't know how to edit that, yet ;)

After Elk Lake we hit Forest Lake. I didn't take any pictures there due to super harsh lighting and rather tight quarters. No problem, though, I have a really beautiful mental picture still, and Del risked certain danger and managed a great shot that I can reference. OH, you can too: look here.

We literally turned around and BOOM, there was Hanford Lake. Wow. At this point, Del and I went our seperate ways. You see, this way we end up with different pictures... plus, I think sometimes he just likes to explore on his own. Now that he has the trusty walkie-talkies it makes it even that much easier for this kind of stuff. Wow, I just over-explained my picture. Ok, so the pic below is from the lookout above Hanford Lake.

While crazy monkey macro super panda dude was at the base of the lake, I stayed at the look out and spent the entire time messing with my star filter. Yes, the entire time. I had to crop this one because I kept getting the corner of my filter or my fingertips in the shot. BECAUSE there were stupid little mosquitoes all over the place, and they seemed to know just when my 10-second timer would go off and bite my ears/eyes/cheek/hand/you name it. The extreme irritation caused me to move a bit, so, basically, it took awhile to get some clean shots. I am calling this one Someday Sunshine because, someday, I WILL be able to use my star filter and someday I WILL be able to correctly photograph sunlight. Someday, sunshine... someday....

Well, this marks the end of my pictures. It does not, however, mark the end of the adventure. After this spot we still had to make it down the mountain. It was an amazing walk down. I wish you could have seen it -I have never experienced that kind of beauty before. The sun was setting on the right hand side, bright red and orange skies along the ridge line turned into pink hues in the sky falling behind the rolling hills of blue. Mount St. Helens was in front of us, with Sagittarius shining so brightly above it. The moon was rising on our left hand side. I had never watched a moonrise before - very cool. We stopped a few times and Del was able to capture some interesting and thought provoking shots.

As always, thanks for checking out my pictures and sifting through all of my over-explanations. I love lamp.

Lori Takes on the City

I've taken random shots in DC. I've taken random shots in New York. Might as well add San Antonio, Austin, Baltimore, Portland, New Orleans & San Diego to the list, too. What's missing? The city in my own backyard... Seattle. I had intended to spend the whole day randomly wandering about. I envisioned starting at the market early in the morning while everyone was setting up, grabbing some coffee in Belltown, wandering up the downtown area, perhaps a swing through the side gardens of Volunteer Park, maybe even a stroll through Ballard? oooo how'bout Fremont?? I figured my eyes were so used to the usual sights of Seattle that it would be interesting to view it from the eyes of an artistic traveler.

Well, it didn't exactly happen that way. I slept in & then spent a while doing the "lori dawdling" that I am known for. It was a luxurious morning. The flip side to the comforts of home is that I only had time for one destination. Can you figure it out from my photographic clues?

First Picture
After I left the parking garage, this is the first picture that I took. I knew it would be a wacky, random day.

Clues Numbered Two & Three

Does the shadow of the artwork offer any insight? How about the fountain feature below?

Art, Past & Present

Ok, now this one should tell you. Actually, if you were standing where I was standing and you looked up, you would know EXACTLY the location of my photo shoot. But, there were some people having their wedding pictures taken in this spot, so I skidaddled out of their way.

Under Exposed

I loved the old lights in this place. I took a few shots here. The first one below is intentionally underexposed (I thought it looked cool); you can't even tell that I took it in broad daylight. The second one below has brighter exposure. I steadied my camera on a post, but still would have liked a tripod. (oooh, I bought a new tripod today, too, btw. I am now in the Manfrotto club. Thanks for the recommendation, dma).

Inspiring Window 1 & 2

I was checking out the view, basking in the sun, when I noticed the writing on the window sill. Sharpies can be so inspirational.... do the scenes in the back give you any clues on my locale?

Ta-da!

Ok. If you are from Washington you should know where I am at by this picture. If you can't figure it out then I am going to talk to the proper authorities about having your Washington State citizenship revoked. Remember, I have macro super powers ;)

And Why...

And why did I chose Pike Place out of aaaallll the possible cool places in Seattle? Well, a couple reasons :) for starters, Pike Place is such an iconic destination; who doesn't take their out of town visitors to Pike Place, or at least recommend it for "someday"? I thought it would be a good challenge to take my random shots in such a popular place. The other big reason is for the flowers. A lovely bouqet of birthday flowers are gracing my living room. These lovely petals reminded me of how nice it is to have fresh flowers around, so, naturally, I headed to the market in search of flowers.

The pics below are the first of many. I like the expression of the people in the top one; un-posed, natural, with motion. However, I didn't have a good focus on my flowers. That, I don't like. The one below it is a bit better. I like the flowers this time, but wish I had better candid people shots.

Can't Decide 1, 2 &3

Oh man, I don't know which one of these I like better. I included them all. I like the trail of color in the first one; I like the glow of the sun on the brown paper on the second one; and I like the people in the background on the third one. The third one looks like stock photography; and I can also think it is sweet to see the dude buying flowers. He is solo; so maybe the bouqet is destined to be a nice surprise for someone?

Behind the scenes

Luckily it wasn't too crowded at the market. I had a chance to walk around to the back of the flower stands and snap this shot.

Don't Steal Art

How do you know when you are truly in Seattle? The level of passive-aggressivism goes up about, umm, three notches. I had envisioned the picture below as an example of the funkyness of the market... you have creativity of art next to beauty of agriculture, leading towards the roughness of the fish market. HOWEVER... as I was mentally composing this shot (and of course in a bit of a dreamy daze thinking about what to do, technically speaking) I got in someone's way. I realize that it was closing time and he was in a hurry. I did get out of his way, and gave him a friendly smile and an "oops sorry!". He didn't even have to slow down. Yet, as he trotted past me and onto the brick road outside the market the hollered back "don't steal art" without so much as a glance in my direction. pffssshhht. whatever. So, to join into the Seattle passive-aggressive nature, I have named this picture "don't steal art." Ha.

Empty Spaces 1, 2 &3

At one point during the photo shoot, I realized that I had taken a handful of shots in empty spaces. While I was taking them, I hadn't thought much of it. They caught my eye. They lured me in. The said "look at me!" It made me wonder; am I feeling empty? Am I like these empty spaces; unneeded and forgotten? I dunno. Or maybe it is as simple as an inner need for quiet contemplation. still dunno. I converted these three to black & white to give them similar tones.

Token Random Shot

So, after I took the reflective, solemn shot above, I headed back to the row of flower stands to pick up some truly beautiful little bouquets. On my way there, I stopped take a picture of these fun, zany bowties. Because bowties are just too "boring" on their own, gotta mix 'em up with funky fabrics. Oh dear. These things make me chuckle. So, with that I end my trip to the market with this token random shot. Enjoy.