To include the manmade; that is the question

In pursuing our landscape project this month, I have been pondering many aspects of the topic, including "what is a landscape". Like Carolyn, I have not been limiting myself to thinking of landscapes as only pieces of the natural world. Landscapes can be man-made, natural, or exist only in the mind of the photographer.

Currently, I am pondering the relationship between natural landscapes and human influenced landscapes. When photographing in a city park, like the Arboretum, it is hard to escape the influence and impact of man. Paths, benches and exotic plants are all part of the norm.

My question to you is whether or not city landscapes are stronger for their man-made elements; or, do you prefer a landscape where the concentration is on the plant and geologic elements? In these images, the presence of man and man-made gives a sense of scale that might otherwise be difficult for us to determine.

What do you think?

9:48 am

9:48 am

traffic is coming

rush

rush

rush

solitude

I want you to enter the foto, look around, have a sense of the large beach scape

come walk with me

there is much to learn

much to share

kelp

this is another version of the jaggeded fotos that I am working on.

I wanted the finished foto to flow with the kelp bed, to have your eye travel and concentrate only on the kelp flow.

Happy Halloween!

Painted leaves

This image looked to me like a B/W or grayscale photo that had been colored. Indeed, this is exactly what the wall looked like with vermilion leaves climbing up the gray wall. The image has only been brightened a bit, no other manipulation.

I made this photo after I collected a handful of gorgeous leaves in my left hand, and shot the photo one-handed with the camera in my right hand. I like the results of the depth and shadows. I'd like to try this again, but with my new macro lens and a tripod. Marcia

Portraits by Beth

More Pups from this summer

Running Pups from this summer's races

Autumn Skagit Photos

This weekend I felt immense appreciation for the light and colors of fall. Here are a few photos I found while exploring autumn in the Skagit Valley.

Mans Best Friend

Fall Color in Olympia

I went out this morning to shoot the amazing color we are experiencing here in the South Sound. At first, I was disappointed in what I found, because the light was not great and the best trees were in parking lots with bad backgrounds.

I was fortunate to stumble upon a few leaves with amazing condensation at the Olympia City Hall. The orange images are from an amazing maple on the Washington State Capitol Campus.

Day trip to Langley with Jeanne

This week, Jeanne and I took a photo day trip over the border to Fort Langley, BC. On the drive up I told her that I am particularly attracted to the color red. When I looked at my photos from the trip, nearly every photo had a red element in it. This was completely unconscious but a fun surprise. It was also a delight to see Jeanne's photos since we walked down the same streets and caught entirely different perspectives. It is nice to have a photo buddy to share our learning process and the joy of observing the world through the lens of our lives and our cameras.

Summer in the Skagit Valley