Screamin' Snow

Sunday, kids of all ages came out to slide down NE 70th in Seattle. It was interesting to work with high contrast snow and fast action. I used a wide-angle to get the whole scene and changed to a 100mm macro--just right to capture faces without getting run down.

Snow Days, December 2008

I have been trying the capture the changing landscape created by the snow and ice each day.  Since I'm somewhat housebound, I've been finding my photographs close to home.

Maple tree in my backyard.  With the sky so dramatic as a new storm came in, I decided to go with black and white and play around with contrast.

Icicle hanging off my back deck.  Reminds me of a hand.  Droplets are easier to photograph when the water is just above freezing.  Photo taken with my macro lens.

 Terracota planter in sepia.  More fun with contrast.

 fluffed up chickadee in my old cherry tree near the bird feeder.  Macro lens used as a telephoto. 

Retail Christmas

Snow in Olympia

Governor Rogers and the Old State Capitol Building

Summer Project completed!

Spring, summer, fall and winter - cover art

January - hoodoos in Bryce. The white rock almost looks like snow.

February - Mt. Baker Wilderness area

March - Bryce Canyon

April - Mt. Rainier as seen in Reflection Lake

May - Altar of Sacrifice, Zion National Park

June -The quintessential photo of Mt. Rainier

July - sunset at North Rim, Grand Canyon

August - Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park

September - sunrise at Grand Canyon

October - In the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

November - moon over North Cascades National Park

December - Sunset at Kolob Canyon

This is my 2009 calendar. I was particularly proud of my cover this year. I used the new Picasa to do the collage of the 4 seasons. (Actually, the spring photo was taken in October in Zion, but the colors look very spring-like, so I used a little artistic license to call it "spring.") So far I have gotten lots of nice compliments on the calendars, and I've actually sold the 15 extra I ordered. I may actually order some more, if there is enough interest, and sell them, too! Thanks, Michele, for having us do the summer project!!

I believe the following pictures were set with the white balance as follows:

1. Tungsten
2. Auto
3. Florescent

What a lot of fun and I learned a lot too!

Experiment - White Balance

This was an experiment with white balance. I set up a corner in my attic using a black cloth and black foam board. The first picture was taken WB/Shade, Second - WB/Cloudy and third was with a flash.

Another Beautiful La Conner Evening

Change your white balance setting when using available light indoors

Photographing indoors without flash can create photos with odd colors. Often the automatic color correction feature of our cameras, auto white balance, doesn't work well in household lighting situations.

By choosing a white balance setting which matches our light source, colors in our image look realistic and natural.

The photos above show the results of different white balance settings with an image shot using regular household lights.

Tricky indoor lighting or Indoor lighting trick?

Easy living

More White Balance Examples

More White Balance Examples

Link to Alexa's Spring White Balance Experiments

White Balance, Digital Photography and Gardens

White Balance, Digital Photography and Gardens

Landscape with a very tall ladder

La Conner Sunset

Shorebirds at Bowerman Basin

From Late April through early May, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds concentrate on the muddy tideflats of Grays Harbor Estuary on the Washington Coast. Grays Harbor Estuary is one of four major staging areas for shorebirds in North America and one of the largest concentrations of shorebirds on the west coast, south of Alaska. Shorebirds gather here in the spring to feed, store up fat reserves, and rest for the non-stop flight to their northern breeding grounds.

For more information on Bowerman Basin, the spring migration and viewing opportunities go to http://www.fws.gov/graysharbor/

Veteran's Day 2008

very serious landscape photos

Tulsa Landscapes

Landscrapes 3

Ideally, you would read my posts in reverse order. This is the 3rd Landscrape posting of a more primitive "settlement." It's hidden in a mixed forest in another part of Magnuson Park. It gives meaning to the term "trashed."