12-27-2010

Light the way

8-30-2010

A silver lining. (you can always find one)

8-28-2010

Tilt. Shift. Shooting straight is not always the best way to go.

8-27-2010

Easy come, easy go - any way the wind blows.
I spotted the big fluffy cloud at the bottom while driving and knew I had to pull over to try and get the shot. The only place to park was the local produce stand - I didn't even see the windmill until I got out of the car and started to frame the shot. This is so a 'got lucky' I can't believe it happened. But it did, and I'm pleased.

8-26-2010

The view on the way to the view.

8-19-2010

Coloring outside of the lines.

8-14-2010

Strung out.

8-13-2010

Sometimes we have to look twice to see what we didn't see before.

8-12-2010

My city was gone.

8-11-2010

Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.

8-10-2010

Are you out there?

8-09-2010

The ride.

8-08-2010

The day I missed the shot of the Blue Angels as they flew right over our house. This shot taken probably 30 seconds before, but I got so excited I didn't know what to do when the jets really roared by!

8-07-2010

Rain. The camera+ app helps.

8-06-2010

I made the sun go down. A 'found' shot while I was looking for something completely different. The color of the sky makes it for me.

8-05-2010

Blue Angels from the roof at work! Two days later they flew right over our back yard and though I had camera in hand and had been tracking them by sound, I was so excited I missed the shot! So this is the best Blue Angels for me for 2010. There's always next year.

8-04-2010

I hate the power lines. Hate them. I've seen them ruin so many good shots. But it was bound to happen, and I think they work here. Probably will still try to avoid them whenever possible. Wired.

8-03-2010

Why not photobooth my favorite shot?

8-02-2010

Shades! I almost missed this one. Then there it was in Peter's office. A slight adjustment, a little camera+ apping, and here it is. Happy.

8-01-2010

'Red sun' through car sunroof.  First spotted a difference this morning from the sunrays coming in through the windows. Then someone tweeted the big account 'what's with the red sun?' Sure enough it was red. Ask the weather department, turns out it was caused by smoke drifting south from a wildfire in British Columbia. This photo was cropped, but not enhanced in any other way.

7-30-2010

Who moved the Needle?

7-29-2010

I call this one 'everywhere which way.' I didn't even spot the right turn with the curve sign until after I downloaded the shot. Great example of what I'm trying to do - see, not think. This came about 8 pm, and I was frantic for a shot before the sun went down. I was pulling out of a parking lot and there it was. Where I would least expect it. So, don't expect.

7-28-2010

This never gets old. Ever.

7-27-2010

Morning swirls. Slight tweak with camera+

7-26-2010

Sky everywhere! This was a quick shot of the passenger side rearview. Camera+ app enhanced and framed.

7-25-2010

The Moon.

7-24-2010

A beautiful hill near our house. I walked by this on the way to my mom's. Someday (hopefully soon) when my shoulder is all better I'm going to roll down it. A couple, three times.

7-23-2010

The view outside my home office window. This was a tiny tree when my friend Lauren gave it to me. Now it's almost as tall as the house (after a spring time move). Vine maple.

7-22-2010

One of my favorite signs in the City of Seattle. Fortunately I get to stop here a lot.

7-21-2010

It was amazing. The best of 20 shots I took over a 15-minute period before, during, after sunset.

7-20-2010

Sometimes the best days are cloudy.

7-13-2010

I thought it was a contrail but it just stayed in the same place for the longest time. So either it was a very unusual cloud, or the air was incredibly still thousands of feet up.

6-30-2010

Sometimes something wonderful happens when you least expect it. If I had gone looking for this I never would have found it. But a viewer called at work, asking what the black ring around the sun was. I ran outside and here it was! The ring is called a 'halo' - and is caused by sunlight passing through the ice crystals that make up the cirrus clouds which occasionally pass through the upper part of the atmosphere. The ice crystals act as prisms, bending light and separating it into it's component colors. Because the sun's rays spread out in a cone shaped pattern, we see the resulting effect as a 'ring.' Thanks for the explanation, Jeff Renner! And thanks for the phone call Patty!

6-21-2010

We came upon the most amazing array of windmills out in the middle of nowhere. It was almost surreal and the gravel road was wide open so we had no problem getting close to them. They went on as far as the eye could see, and the sounds they made were incredible. We both felt it was an almost spiritual experience. Sort of like a modern day Stonehenge maybe? This photo taken with Darrell's Nikon D40, with some guidance from him. This will probably be the best photo I take all year.

6-20-2010

First day of our camping trip along the Columbia River in the tiny town of Roosevelt, east of the Cascades. Took this shot in the early evening looking east. Everything is there for me - the sky, the clouds, the river, the land, the trees. It is beautiful country.

6-19-2010

This is one of the greatest view points in the city - top of Admiral Way in West Seattle. Even on a gloomy day the city is beautiful, put the fisheye effect on and it takes a different twist. I asked a few people if they knew where I was (tweeted the photo) some pretty close answers but Randy's was the best.. 'inside a crystal ball.'

1130 am

6-18-2010

This is what we call in the biz 'run and gun' - you're in, you take the shot, you're out. I only ran because I heard a lot of talk on Twitter that the sun was out. It's hard to tell from my desk just how bright it is. But all I have to do is run out to the rooftop parking and what a view! The Needle, Queen Anne Hill, a peak of Lake Union, and part of Downtown. Oh yes, Aurora Avenue at our feet. Sometimes I wish I lived in this building. Sometimes I do. 5:44 pm

6-17-2010

How many ways can you go gray? I need to get use to this with our gloomy skies around here. 267 days without the temperature hitting 75 or above. Thanks to my new 'camera bag' app - going gray can get a twist. 3:20ish pm.

6-16-2010

Photograph or painting? Why do so many artists paint the sky? The sky itself is a work of art, isn't it? I am no artist and maybe that is why I chose the sky.

Why do so many artists paint the sky? Georgia O'Keeffe, Sky Above Clouds III/Above the Clouds III, 1963

6-15-2010

I thought it would be fun to get a driving shot, but really, it's not possible (or safe or legal) so.. I was on my way to the Viaduct, the final stretch of my commute, when I saw this view and started chanting 'I can get this if the light turns red. I can get this if the light turns red.'  It worked. The light turned red. I got it. But I would have thrown it away if not for the part I could not see with my own eyes. The way the windshield tint turned the sky into a beautiful blue. A new way of looking at things.  10 am.

6-14-2010

The American flag - what does it mean to you? My father gave up his entire life to come to the U.S. and start over when he was in his mid-30's. He didn't know anyone and couldn't speak the language. Five years later he became an American citizen, and two months after that I was born. He spent the rest of his life living the American dream, and trying to help his own children - and other people's children - do the same.  My father was my first teacher. 

The Stars and Stripes 7:10 pm.

6-13-2010

Not the best photo, but you can hardly beat the view from our backyard. I can't imagine living in a place without a lot of trees (most of these are the neighbors). I took this while lying in the camping recliner looking up, 3:15 pm. Great thing about living in an older neighborhood - lots and lots of trees. They are truly amazing plants. The longer we live here the more I try to sneak them into our own garden. This tree love likely stems from growing up in a house that included a small private forest in the back four acres. My parents loved trees too.

6-12-2010

Lots and lots and lots of great views today but finally decided on this one about 8 pm from a long, long walk we took today from home, through the greenbelt, to Starbucks for frappuccinos. This on the way back - original, and then 'Camera Bag' Colorcross. Thanks for the app tip, Randy!

6-11-2010

Today was a no brainer because the sun came out in the afternoon and I had the time to take a walk up to the roof of our building. Views in every direction. The first shot was the lazy shot, the Needle looks great almost every day of the year. It still thrills me and is my favorite building in Seattle (and I've been looking at it for almost 50 years!). The second shot was a 180 degree turn just one minute later. I like it better, because I had to think about the composition. Just before 3 pm.

6-10-2010

A different way of thinking. The sky is on the other side of the skylight. I tried two angles and realized the one I thought was better really didn't show the sky. Taken at 1:03 pm and 1:04 pm looking up from the atrium at work. Which do you like better?