Greenie Green

Well, I am kinda getting caught up... at least these pics were taken this month ;)

In early May, dma and I ventured over to Newport Beach... I have been there a few times, but hadn't noticed the nature trail before. I was more than happy to stroll along its wild path. Ohmygoodness, it was so so so so so green! Spring was definitely in full force. The pics below are *barely* edited... a little bit of cropping, some mid-tone contrast adjustments and thats about it. Pretty, huh???

And of course, I did some shootin in the shade...

I also befriended an old, rather odd and not shy at all mallard. He posed for several pictures before being lured away by a beach going toddler.

And that wraps up another random shoot around the city. Thanks for taking a look :)

Candle on the Water

ooook, I guess the Yosemite pics are a little ways off... these Mukilteo pics were misplaced (I have horrible, horrible filing and am always misplacing my SD cards!). It was just another one of those lovely spring strolls on the beach with my dearest friend.


To this day, when I see a lighthouse I think about Pete's Dragon. That is one of my all-time favorite movies from when I was a kid. And, of course, I seem to get the "Candle on the Water" stuck in my head.


So, here is the obligatory picture of the lighthouse... can't go to the lighthouse without a lighthouse pic, right? right?

I was drawn more to the colors of the setting sun and the rhythmic movement of the shore line. At first, I used my 18-135mm...

... but it was a little too clean. Sparkly, yes...perhaps a bit too sparkly. I switched to my lensbaby and captured this image...

I also used the lensbaby to photograph the sun setting behind the hill. But, it was a little too clean & tidy, too. even with the lens baby. I had a image in my head that was very soft, soothing, and chill...

So, I didn't focus the lensbaby & ended up with this frame. Aaaah, just what I was looking for... horizontal tones. Its wierd, I know ;)

I also took a lensbaby shot of a little family on the beach. I am still working on the whole lensbaby-portrait thing, but I think this one is sweet. Awww, cute little kiddo in a backpack.

Thanks for taking a look! Wishing you a lovely day :)

Vashon

whooooooa, these pics are so old, they are probably dusty! hahahaha, and after this past weekend's adventures, I have another set of lighthouse images. sheesh. I love 'em though. This round of pics were taken in March sometime over on Vashon Island. It is funny that even though I am (basically) a life-long resident of Washington, I have never visited Vashon. I was surprised that it was so rural, yet so close to the city.

I liked the simplicity of this photo; I lowered the saturation to keep is simple... silly.

I wanted a unique/creative-ish image of the lighthouse, so I composed this frame to just show the front door. I made sure to include a bit of Puget Sound to give it a sense of place.

I adore white fences. In fact, I keep kicking around a name for my photography "business" that refrences white fences. Just not sure yet. Anyway, I snapped a few pics of the fence in front of the lighthouse keepers residence. I am glad that it is spring!

oooo, more spring! These blossoms were bursting off of the branch! So pretty! I made sure to compose this image with the sun juuuuust right behind the petals.

Our last stop of the day was a cute little beach, so cute, indeed. There was a pair of geese that were pretty cozy.

awwww....

Thanks for taking a peek at these oldie old frames. I *think* that my Yosemite pics are next on the editing list... but, well, we'll see. Have a beautiful day!

Ruby Ruby

oh my gosh... these are a blast from the past! waaaaay back in March, dma and I took a nice little road trip to the coast to a hidden gem: Ruby Beach. Even for two life-long Washingtonians, we hadn't visited this place... or even heard of it for that matter. (oh, btw... it is located right in between Forks & Kalaloch...)

When we arrived, it was cloudy & stormy. Oh well... we are Washingtonians, eh? I set up my tripod & took a round of pics from this area using pretty much all of my lenses...

... including the lens baby :)

Soon enough, we were in a down pour. At this point, dma had wandered up the beach a bit, so I took refuge under some trees till there was a good break in the weather. It wasn't too long until we were reunited & headed inland to escape the heavy rain. This was the view looking out from our shelter...

The rain turned into mist & we headed back out. The rain had scared away the other beach-goers and we were the only ones out and about!

Then the weather cleared up beautifully & I was glad to have my cokin gradiant ND filter!

It was a beautiful day! Since we had an early start we had an early return back to Seattle... not too shabby. It was nice to be on the coast; even if just one little beach.

Ahhh Tulips!!!

In mid-April, dma and I headed up north to the beautiful Skagit Valley tulip fields. Its kinda hectic at work these days, so I ended up heading into the office early & taking just a little bit of leave. It was definitely worth it... the fields were much less crowded than they would be during the weekend and the lighting was pretty amazing.

Sometimes, rejuvination can be found by the crashing waves of an ocean or the swift rapid of a river. Sometimes, renewal rides the gentle wind of a mountain top. Other times, you just need to stand knee-deep in glorious color.

I took too many pictures to post. Seriously... I have 30-something that are edited, 90-ish that are pretty impressive proofs. I loved the variety of scenes available.... landscapes, close-ups, abstracts, portraits; I used all of my lenses, too... even the lens baby!

Here is a standard field shot... isn't that pink pretty?

And check out my bee shot! It definitely wasn't luck... this frame took some work! I camped out for a good fifteen minutes snapping pics of these busy guys. I faced certain danger, too, because I am moderately allergic to bees! I have some other cool images, too, where you can see the motion of the bee's wings! I liked the lighting the best in this one, though.

Of course, I couldn't resist converting a close-up into a contrasty black & white image....

For this soft white tulip, I used my bff the 50mm & set the aperture at f1.8. Peaceful, isn't it?

Aha, here is my lens baby shot! This tulip in the walkway was a popular subject for those creative-type photographers. Count me in!

The image below of the white tulip is probably the most edited of the images on this post. I had to do very, very little to the others since the lighting was so interesting this day. But, the white tulip was in the path of some harsh direct light, but I liked the contrast of white and deep purple.

oh! And this one took a bit of work, too. It was one of my first frames for the day and I was soooo excited to take pictures that I didn't even think about using a polarizer or neutral density to cut back some of the bright afternoon sun. I increased the temperature, adjusted the hue & lowered the saturation a bit to get this image. (and added a vignette, of course!)

DMA and I actually wrapped up the photoshoot before midnight & enjoyed a leisurely drive back. It was our third trip to the tulips, and our most creative yet. Our first trip was back in 2007, so it is cool to see how our photographic styles have evolved. And our gear... hahaha.... back then, dma was using a Panasonic Lumix & I was rocking my sweet Canon A520!

Thanks for checking out my tulip pictures; hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of spring as much as I did. ahhh, tulips!!!

i love flowahs

shoot. I applied a treatment to my cat tonight & didn't do a good job of keeping the stuff in an area on her back that she can't reach, so I am spending the wee hours of the morning on kitty watch. Oh well, it helped me get caught up on some pics!

Earlier this month, dma and I headed over to the Bellevue Botanical gardens for a nice, mid-week photo shoot. I always find something interesting there, and this was no exception. The sun was setting, creating some dramatic lighting opportunities.

The Japanese structure is a signature structure of the Botan. When I visit the garden on my own I usually stop here for a bit for a bit of quiet tranquility.

I took sooo many pictures! I loved it! Flowers are some of my favorite subjects; I love the lines of the petals, the detailed lines and combination of soft and vivid colors. I have posted quite a few of them below. I used my lens baby for some of them. I did some editing, too!

These two are minimally processed...

And this last one is a prelude to an upcoming trip to the Skagit Valley tulip fields... glorious backlighting!

Well, I think Sweet Pea is going to be fine; she has walked across my keyboard twice while I have drafted this post and is quite curious about things moving on my laptop screen. phew! Thanks for checking out this round of pics (and for appeasing me with yet another round of flowers. beware, though, more flowers to come!)

Lake Hancock

Yay! More old pics!

THESE pics are from a wonderful hike up to Lake Hancock in March. This would have to be toward the top of my favs; the trail was a nice gentle incline along forest service roads, and the views were awesome!

It was pretty hazy, though, so I am not such a fan of my own pics. sigh. But trust me, it was so pretty!

Here is a pic of Mt. Si and a bit of the valley...

This cluster of trees reminded me of cross between Ansel Adams' aspens in New Mexico & Eirik Johnson's Sawdust Mountain series. I cropped in a bit to get this image & I was suprised by the detail; you can see tree trunks in the shadows! awesome.

Like any other hike with dma, there was a bit of adventure involved. Can you see the road on the lower left-hand corner? well, it all of a sudden just... ended. With a bit of climbing and calm, centering meditation, we found another route.

Ta-da! Here is the lake!

and here is the same image with a bit of processing...

So, as I am typing this post on my laptop, I can see the wonderful beautiful blue skies out the window. It is taking some sincere discipline to sit here & edit pics & write, and now I realize why I have fallen behind on my posts... its been too nice outside! Nice! My folder of yet-to-be edited April pics are so colorful... they will be great. But now, it is sunny & I am going to go... somewhere, anywhere but inside! laters!

Lake Easton

This round is another blast from the past... in mid-February DMA and I headed east and ended up exploring the lake basin of Lake Easton. It was pretty cool to walk along the muddy lake floor, knowing that in the summer this place will be underwater.

My brain has trouble grasping the full scene; insteady, I am drawn to patterns and details. I liked the line of evergreens on the hillside, and the beautiful back lighting. It reminds me how much I love living in the Pacific Northwest, and how at home I feel here.

One of the patterns that caught my eye was the reflection of the rockwall in the gentle, glassy stream. The lines are like graceful arrows.

I also loved the lines in dry, cracking mud. Who knew mud could be so interesting?

Just for fun, I converted the mud floor pics into black & white.

And those are my favorite pics from that adventure. Thanks for taking a look!