Barns & Birdies

The Skagit Valley is one of my most favorite places.... on Earth. Seriously, I love it up there! These pics were taken in mid-March on a day with some pretty cool lighting. Our first destination was a nature reserve on Fir Island. I was armed with my new 70-300mm & found a lot of interesting subjects!

Barns
Usually, I prefer images that have been processed in black & white. I love black & white images... maybe its my stubborn adoration of details, I love being able to focus on the small variations in tone, changes in depth, and intricacies of the image without being distracted by pretty colors. I would even venture to bet money that I prefer black & white images to color versions.... except this one...

... the full color version is so pretty! Plus, it seems like it should almost be against the law to have a a beautiful sky with fluffy white clouds like this devoide of any color saturation.
There is something about barns that evoke nostalgic feelings of rural America, eh? I chose one of my frames of this barn to do some extra photoshop processing to try to capture that nostalgic feeling.

Another Barn...

After a bunch of wandering, we found a true gem... another nature reserve along the Skagit! And.. another barn in the distance.

On the flip side to the barn above, I like this one better in black & white ;)

Birrrr-dies

One of the highlights of spring in the Skagit is the infusion of Snow Geese. While they aren't the best for the fields, they sure are pretty! Mostly, I love the patterns. I was pretty much just shooting whatever I could, with complete disregard to composition, so I ended up cropping in a bit to get the frame below...

and, hahaha, the same thing in black & white! For this image, I think both the color & black/white versions are cool in their own way.

Now... in the pic below, I thought it was pretty blah at first.

I found, though, when I cropped in that the photograph transformed into a softer, dreamier image. Almost like a watercolor.

Well, these were my favorites from the day. Pretty, huh? DMA and I capped off the photoshoot in typical fashion with a stop by a local Thai restaurant. Why does Thai food go so well with photography? And why do I always want to drink coffee afterwards? Mysteries. OH, and if you go to the Rachawadee Cafe in Mt. Vernon, go for mild spiciness. trust me ;)

Thanks for checking out this round of pics! And blessings to you & your loved ones this Easter.