Car Parts

Last 4th of July came with a nice car show. I wasn't expecting it, but I was glad to see it. What a paint job on this classic auto.

Liquid Glass Delights

This is an image of Upper Christine Falls. What would we do without waterfalls to delight us? Sometimes the water takes on a look of liquid glass.

Bad Lands of America

I paused before introducing this image to my blog viewers. This was a drive-by shot and as such, somewhat soft in resolution. After setting the image aside several times, I said to myself, "let's do it". I hope you enjoy it.

SunFlower Cheer-up

I came across this SunFlower on a walk in the country. What can I say, the sunflower just cheered me up.

Sail Boat Stationary

This image started out as a water scape, but it wasn't happening for me. I did some radical post production and this is what I came up with.

Mountain Hunting

This is the time of year that I spend as much time as I can in the quest for Cascade Scenes. The Paradise Highway  route gets you the closest to Mt. Rainier. Each year this road is opened on a different date. The snow pack last winter was heavy and I'll have to wait a little longer this year.

Harley Retired

I rode this Harley for thirty four thousand miles. It was time to hang-up my motorcycle era and move on to other adventures. I do miss the ride.

Take Time for the Kids

What could be more fun than a giant kids slide? Some camera time must be family time. It's not all about landscapes, flowers, macros or birds. If you have a passion for photography, remember to capture the kids also.

Chalk and Concrete on a Sunny Day!

What fun. A big stick of chalk on a summer's day and a concrete patio to turn into your very own canvas. There have been great works of chalk, high and low. But one thing is for certain, on some not so lovely day a rain cloud will come along and the clalk drawing will be washed away. (only until another sunny day)

Summer is here!

Santa Barbara, California has been hosting a great Summer Solstice Parade for all of my post college life. Somewhat outrageous, sometimes irreverent, always bizarre. I love this parade.

Where is Waldo in the leaves?

Do you remember the "Where is Waldo" cartoon? Somewhere in a very busy cartoon there was a character named Waldo. For some reason, whenever I see clumps of fallen leaves, I look for something hidden in the leaves. Like Waldo. Funny. No Waldo, but the contrast of yesterdays leaves and early spring growth fascinated me.

Thunderbolt Hydroplane U-18 revisited

After image processing can sometimes take on a life of it's own. A few days ago I posted an image of a remote control hydroplane. I decided to explore ways to make the image have more impact. I turned to Adobe Photoshop and onOneSoftware. By a process of trial and error, more error than success, I ended with this treatment and I am satisfied with the results. I welcome comments.

A Walk in the Woods

 Think of this as a window into a walk in the woods. You may start out in a bad place emotionally but you always come out of the woods a different (much better) person.

Oregon's Coast, a beach to remember.

Oregon's coastal region is a great place to get away for a while. The rocky fortress's in the ocean waters are majestic. Makes for a good Walk-Talk.

Some Birds just look like . . .

Some birds just look like "Grumpy Old Men". Walter Matthau comes to mind. My daughter Katie and I went for a nature walk on Soos Creek Trail yesterday. The Blue Herons nest in the wetlands along the trail. Some days you can only hear them, as their nests are hidden in the trees. That was yesterday until I thought a tree in the middle of the wetlands looked strange. I zoomed in with a telephoto lens and guess what? This grumpy character was just resting on a branch. One legged to boot.

Thunderbolt Hydroplane U-18

Seattle has an annual celebration,Seafair, focused on water activities. When I was a kid Seafair meant boat racing, Lake Washington hosted the Gold Cup Hydroplane races. This isn't a photo from those races but rather an image captured of a remote control boat race held last weekend on Lake Wilderness. Looks like the real thing, doesn't it?

Why is a Black Bird not called Mocking?

Maybe Black Birds should be named the Sassy Birds or the Trash Talking Birds. Hawks, I'm sure, see them as Mocking Birds as they circle and harass. I've been trying to get a decent shot of the Red Wing Black Bird. It is hard not to get an image of a Silhouette Bird.

Bird Watching is a curse . . .

When I started this PhotoBlog I said I'd mix up the content to include many of the various types of photographic subject matter. Well capturing an image of a small bird has to be one of the toughest tasks in photography. Birds, by nature, just don't stay put. This Northern Flicker is part of the Woodpecker family.

Woodland Creature

Look what I came across while walking through the woods one day. More young wild life.

Happy Canyon is more than . . .

The Danish town of Solvang is located about thirty miles outside of Santa Barbara, CA. The town is the home of the famous horse trainer Monty Roberts, better known by many as "the horse whisperer". The Solvang area, you might imagine, is horse country and one of my favorite drives is up Happy Canyon. The hills around Happy Canyon have many horse and hiking trails. This image was taken on Happy Canyon and I used an effect called posterization in post production. This effect transforms the image into a watercolor look.

A Great Hill Top Walk

Just outside of the little town of Los Olivos is a wonderful hill top walk. The walk overlooks both the town of Los Olivos and Ballard Canyon. This image was taken in March of 2006.

Which Way Did She Go?

Spring is the time for these young ducklings to start exploring. Mom is watching but they don't know it. Just after this image was taken the ducklings heard mom's call. They were by her side in a flash.

The Pink Mountain

Recently, I got up before sunrise to attempt to capture a colorful sunrise image of Mt. Rainier. I failed. But as I noted, if you don't try you can't get. On my way back from Whidbey Island Saturday, guess what, I got my Pink Mountain image I was looking for. Mt. Rainier.

Lighthouse on Whidbey Island

While on Whidbey Island last weekend, I visited Admiralty Head Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located at Fort Casey State Park near Coupeville. Looks ready to move in and set up living, doesn't it.

Whidbey Island Beach

I got a nice walk along the beach below Deception Pass Bridge on Whidbey Island. The trip was exploratory in the sense that I hadn't been on the island for years. The weather was sunny and that means lots of people on the beach. That is where patience comes in. I waited, and waited and then I was down to one six year old little girl. Her dad just couldn't get her to leave. But she did and this is the image I was able to get.

Tide Pool Anemone

Tide Pooling is always an adventure for me. Other worldly, the creatures like this anemone are, well, just hard to identify with.

Last Year's Orchid - This Years Flowers

Last year my oldest daughter gave me this orchid for my birthday. It's blooming again. When you have to care for a house plant for a year the value of that plant goes up, sweat equity. And when it flowers again. How sweet it is.

Don't you agree?

More Lake Front Property - for ducks

Katie and I had an expedition to find Canadian Geese at Lake Wilderness. When we arrived, the geese where there but the yellow Iris beds dominated our attention.

You didn't think I would just offer you one image, did you.

 

Oh by the way, we also spent time at the swings, slides, every puddle and . . . you get the picture.

On Black Diamond Pond

The Western Washington Cascade Foothills are a lush collection of lakes and ponds. This pond was home to ducks, geese and their young goslings. It has been a wet spring and the pond itself was over its shores a bit.

Special Note: Comments

In an effort to encourage more "comments" I have opened the comment feature. Anyone can leave a comment. . . be kind.

My Wife Made Me Post This . . . really

Yes it is my birthday. I've avoided celebrating my birthday for a while. But once one reaches 65 well I guess there is no turning back, so why not celebrate the occasion. Oh, about the Birthday Card, Michellyn did make me use it today. . . . really.