NPS 4: Day 2

And now we have the second day of fantastic landscapes! On this day, DMA and I actually made it into the park. All I can say is Wow.

Well, I can probably say more, but how can I do the flora justice? The trees are taller than my camera can reach. Their diameter is wider than my arms can reach. There are too many shades of green for my brain and eyes to comprehend. The textures of trees, leaves, decomposing whatever topped with raindrops are just simply overwhelming. It is times like this that I yearn to be more poetic.

One of the first stops of the morning was along a little beach just outside of Crescent City. I have included my unedited "before" picture as well as my "after" image. I truly try to keep my edits to a minimum... partly because I don't have the skills (yep, that's right) and partly just to give respect to the natural image. You can definitely count me out of the HDR crowd; its just not my thing.



And now, here are my pics from inside the park!!!

Of course, I can't resist backlit leaves. No really, I can't.

I was completely captivated by these Redwood sorrel... gigantic, super waxy and super... green.

And, here is a view of the water through a coastal tree. I think this was in Trinidad? Again, I really need to take better road trip notes. Or, cut down the procrastination time when editing.

thanks for taking a look!!

NPS 4: Day 1...ish

Thanks to a few rounds of coffee, I have some pictures edited from my most recent National Park Series. Ok "recent" might be stretching it a bit, because by "most recent" I mean May/June 2011. (insert pathetic sigh here.)

So yeah. ;)

For this trip, DMA & I headed to the Redwood National Park. The very enchanting & beautiful Redwoods! It was a nice road trip & we topped it off with a drive up the Oregon Coast along Highway 101. Even months later I am still in awe of the beauty we saw throughout this trip. The pics from these post aren't exactly from the First Day of the trip, because that was a snooze-fest down I-5. So, technically, these are from the second traveling day... the day we arrived in Crescent City, California. (btw: if you want to be all technical and see the real Day One, you should check out DMA's website!!)

Here are some pics from the road... (they *might* be from the Jedediah State Park. I need to take better notes, eh?)

oooh, and a couple sunset pics from a random beach we found in Crescent City, California. This is the Battery Point Lighthouse.

I want to go back!!!

November Check-in

oh gawsh.... I moved... again! It seems like it is my annual ritual, eh? The good news is that now I am in a *super* cool spot (can't beat being within walking distance of a Trader Joes, right????). The bad news is that I had to pack up every single thing I own, drive it around, and redistribute somewhere in my new place. Ugh. It is a long process. And, well, I am pooped. (oh, and the picture up above is in the new place! yay!)

Don't worry, don't worry... I have been on a few little photo shoots (girl's gotta keep her sanity somehow) AND I have a new camera on the horizon. perhaps.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. :)

Summer Blooms

Not sure how many years it has been... five now? Six??? I have been helping my mom set up for the best one-day fair in the Northwest... The Silvana Fair. Some years I am up there Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday for set-up/clean-up, but this year I decided to keep the road rage stress down a bit and just go on Thursday.

I have a secret.

I like to go on Thursday because that is the day people bring in their gorgeous flowers. I adore the evening light that streams through the high windows of Viking Hall, and can't resist to take a few frames every year.






These were all taken in auto mode with my little canon point & shoot. not too shabby. Thanks for taking a look!

Quick trip to Coupeville

The month of August is a bit of a blur to me... I remember it being sunny... or at least that is what I recall from the view in my living room. I was trying to be home as much as I could to socialize my new little kitty, Comet. What was I thinking... getting a new pet during the primo summer weather? Oh well... next year?

I did manage a short day trip with DMA to Coupeville. We arrived a little late for too much exploration, so I only captured a few pics...





Aaaah, summer. Thanks for taking a look!!

Third Beach. Sigh.

So a few weeks ago I had the brilliant idea of going to Third Beach. Unfortunately, the timing just wasn't *quite* right. I had to work Friday, had plans on Sunday, so really just had Saturday for an adventure. Note to self: don't try to go alllll the way to the Northern Washington coast with just one day. It was a lovely destination, and a much needed quick road trip... its just that my photos from the day are, well, are kinda... blah.

Thanks for taking a look!

Euka's Love

On November 22, 2010, the first snow fell in Woodinville, and I spent the afternoon with my adorable cat watching the snowflakes. It was a pretty nice snow day; you know, the kind where everything is freshly dusted and beautiful.
The lighting was also pretty amazing! I grabbed my bff the 50mm for a little snowflake photo shoot with Sweet Pea, er, I mean Euka.

Aww, so cute, right? I have been looking forward to editing this round for awhile. Next step is printing a few out! Thanks for taking a looksy!

No Snow Yes Snow

The weather in Seattle today was cool and rainy... a perfect day to spend some time editing! Not only perfect for editing, but kinda nice to think back to those cool November days...

OH, not sure if I have mentioned it, but I swaped out my tiny little Sentra for a 2007 Ford Escape.. complete with the essentials, like a moonroof & four wheel drive ;) Plus, I can fold down the back seats - handy for both car camping AND hauling my own stuff that I found on Craigslist.

So, to test out how the Escapzl handles in the winter conditions, dma and I headed out to Snoqualmie Pass. Sadly, it wasn't snowy there yet, but I did drive in some pretty major... gravel.

And then we went back up there just a week a later and guess what... it snowed!!!

Thanks for taking a look at these old November pics!

First Things First

well, i am waving a white flag... instead of catching up chronologically, i am going to try catching up on my more recent pics first. but, first things first, i must introduce my newest editing assistant... Comet. Isn't he adorable???

and here are my pics from July 2011 (yes, twenty Eleven...)

Golden Gardens

I love the grove of trees at Golden Gardens in Ballard. It has been awhile since I have visted there, and I think most of my trips have been during the colder months... I was completly surprised by the tons of people at the beach. Tons I tell ya. I tried a bunch of different exposures to try to lock in the sun burst & this is my favorite from the set.

Larsen Lake
One fine evening, DMA and I headed out to the blueberry fields to enjoy the stars & do a little night shooting. I had spent most of my time light painting a single blueberry bush, but it didn't turn out quite like I envisioned. I do like this pic of the trail, though!

Tronsen Ridge...

Tronsen Ridge... you vex me. Each year, I scan the trail reports on wta's webpage, hoping for the words "snow free" and "wildflowers." I usually end up missing the peak wildflowers; but this year, I made sure to be very, very vigilant. That is, until my little world fell apart in late June. Thankfully, I managed an afternoon escape with DMA to finally visit Tronsen Ridge..... and, sadly, I forgot to pack bug repellant. What was I thinking??? We only lasted about a half hour on the trail before giving into their tiny acts of torture. I managed to snap a few pictures in an off-the-side-of-a-road meadow & a little waterfall action, too. I still must go back. I must.

Alki

Summer in Seattle is not complete without a stroll (or two or three or....) down at Alki. Oh man, if it was closer to my office I would move there in a heart beat. On this particular outing, we got there just at sunset. In fact, the pic below was taken *just* as we parked the car. I missed the perfect moment when the sun dipped behind the hillside because some lady thought it would be funny to stand in my frame and make faces. I told her very, very nicely that I was trying to get the last little bit of light & she made some crack about me not having a sense of humor. I wanted to throw my tripod at her. Is that bad??

Stonehenge 4th

DMA suggested heading out of town for the 4th of July holiday, and I was more than game. I was in the midst of my family stuff, so I needed a bit of random.

And we found it. Did you know that there is a full-scale replica of Stonehenge in Washington? Crazy, right? Yep, and we found it, right along the Oregon border. The shadows & lines here are enchanting. In order to keep up with my posts, I have edited just a few so far... The view looking west, the view looking northeastish, and a glimpse at the structure.

Ok, and that is July! Will I edit June next? or maybe August? dunno yet. Thanks for taking a look!

Checking in....

Usually, I am a big fan of rollercoasters. The ups, the downs, the anticipation of the unknown all create a wonderful, exciting whirlwind of emotions.

I am not such a fan of the rollercoaster that is my real life, though. The past few months, my personal life has taken quite a hit; perhaps on the level of Montezooma's Revenge. I am doing my best to keep it all together, and I have been on a few shoots just to keep my sanity... but editing and updating my blog are on hold for a bit till the dust settles.

Maybe August...