We went on the last night for this year – but keep an eye out next season. The Bellevue Botanical Garden in lights is a display not to be missed! It was a mild night, and surprisingly crowed – something I didn’t expect. I brought my tripod thinking I’d have plenty of room to set it up ….. not!

But I did manage to find places where I could setup the tripod out of harms way. The problem, there was never a time or place that wasn’t jam packed with people.

The solution; include them in the photograph. I took a series of long exposures aimed more at the wandering crowd and less at the lights. I think this one is my favorite. I love how you see the motion of people moving – and one person lingering to get a closer look at a display.

There are wheelchair ramps – but the tour was as much on dirt trails as on the main paved path, so wheelchair photographers may not have access to the whole display.

Christmas Lights at Warm Springs

 This time of year it seems it’s always dark – so you might as well take advantage of it and photograph at night.

I had the chance to do just that last night at The Lights Of Christmas.We originally planned to go on Monday – but the rain was coming down in buckets and I just didn’t feel up to taking my camera out in the rain (or myself for that matter).

Last night was perfect – not especially cold and at certain parts of the evening the fog floated in and around the lights.

Take a tripod and set your camera to about 800 ISO. I took a few photos before settling in on the bracketed exposure parameters I wanted. I set my camera to ’spot meter’ and bracketed exposures at 1 1/2 over and under. I decided to take a monopod instead of a tripod – for safety reasons. It was dark and lots of people and children are milling around, which meant I had to use a very wide open aperture – f/3.5 which gave me a very shallow depth of field and a few shots were very blurred.  (Next year I’ll bring a tripod or invest in one of those monopods with feet for more stability).  I saw another photographer using a tripod and in fact if you look closely you’ll see him in one of my photos – LOL.

I shot in RAW which gave me much more flexibility in post processing.

To find more about the Warm Springs Lights Of Christmas - and do a night photo walk visit their website at: warmbeach.com

Keeping Warm By The Fire

Dress warm. Not exactly wheelchair accessible (several dirt tracks with uneven ground) - but I did notice there were electric carts with folks being given the tour. Call ahead, I think they’ll accommodate your needs.

blue mountain

 For the shot above I used a star filter on my lens instead of waiting to put the effect on in post production editing – the light from the electric car adds an nice effect blended with the wisps of fog.

I think The Bait Shop is my favorite of the series. My only regret is no tripod so that I could create a HRD from this. But with a monopod one simply can not stay still long enough to capture the necessary three consecutive shots.

The Sail Boat - Christmas on The Puget Sound

Who’s taking a picture of whom?

Santa in the mist

 This photo I had the star filter on and combined with the light fog created a great star glow around the deer.

The up coming Shorebird Festival is a great jumping off place for a season of bird watching and photographing.

From their website:

EACH SPRING, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds stop to rest and feed in Grays Harbor estuary on their migration northward. Coming from as far south as Argentina, these Arctic-bound shorebirds are among the world’s greatest migrants. Some birds travel over 15,000 miles round trip! Tens of thousands of shorebirds feed on the open mudflats in the estuary. This concentration of birds offers people a great chance to view a number of shorebird species, and with luck, to see the birds fly together in beautiful formations while trying to escape the fastest creature on earth, the Peregrine Falcon.
 
    The 14th Annual Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival will be held on the weekend of April 24 – 26 in Hoquiam, Washington with headquarters at Hoquiam High School

More information about the festival, where to find the best spots to see the birds and the keynote speaker go to the Gray Harbor Shorebird Festival Site by clicking here

They even have a free downloadable list of birds spotted in 2008!

The trees are established and set against the beautiful old University architecture – it’s a sure shoot no matter if it’s sunny or overcast.

http://www.washington.edu/home/maps/northcentral.html

I thought it was going to be overcast yesterday so I headed north the Skagit Valley and found several fields in color. Took the photo above.

However, It turned out to be a sunny day so I got the brilliant idea to head south to capture the Daffodils at The Van Lierop Bulb with Mount Rainier in the background.

Turns out the daffs aren’t ready yet. If you are thinking about the trip down to capture Mount Rainier in the background – wait a couple more weeks.

Provided by the Washington Bulb Company, Inc., the parent company of Roozengaarde and Tulips.Com. They grow over a thousand acres of flowers in the beautiful Skagit Valley, Washington! Many thousands of people visit each spring to see the spectacular bloom in progress.

Here’s a link to their farms, which field is blooming and what type of bulb. Check it out before you head up there.

http://www.tulips.com/bloommap.cfm

I’ll see you there!

mt rainier by digisnap1

Photo Courtsey Of digisnap1 – visit their Flikr photostream – http://www.flickr.com/photos/tims_photostream/2093927738/

      I’m waiting for the next clear day to head down to The Van Lierop Bulb Farm (http://www.vanlieropbulbfarm.com)  for a photo of Mt Rainier in background and Daffodils in the foreground. If I can make it down there around 6:30 – 7:00 pm the sunset colors will really pop out the photo.

  I read about this photo op in The Photographer’s Guide to the Puget Sound & Northwest Washington by Rod Barbee.

  To find the spot take I-5 south to exit 142B (Puyalluo) to SR 161 south. Turn left on Pioneer and go 2miles. At a 1/4 mile past Shaw Road, Pioneer takes a hard right. Turn left here, cross over the railroad tracks onto 134th Ave E. – You’ll find Van Lierop’s on the corner.

I’ve driven by this truck many times over the last few months. I always tell myself  to stop and take a photo.

Yesterday I took a few hours off and drove up 1-5 to the spot. It’s just south of Mt Vernon – at the NOAA exit. At the bottom of the exit, turn right, then left at the first street. Go north about half a mile – you’ll find this wonderful old beauty waiting….

The sun was almost showing, which made for a more even light – not really harsh shadows.

I used a tripod and bracketed the exposures – this may be a good subject for an HDR photo.

An Outstanding Seattle Skyline Photo

I wanted to share this outstanding photo by Flickr user stevewhis. His Seattle photography covers HDR, Seattle Skylines and more.

I strongly recommend checking out his photostream on Flickr if you need inspiration. Here’s the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevesphotos100/

Coupeville Warf

 

Pen Cove Mussel Festival

 3/6 -3/8

Coupeville is a charming town on Whidbey Island. This festival features chowder, music a car show and more. I’m sure they’ll be plenty to photograph.

More Info: http://www.thepenncovemusselfestival.com/

Winthrop Balloon Roundup

3/6 – 3/8

Doesn’t matter if your up in the air or photographing the wonderful colors this is pure eye candy for a photographer. Overcast or sunny you’ll capture lots of color.

More Info: http://www.balloonwinthrop.com/

Irish Festival

3/14- 3/17

The Festival features booths selling Irish and Celtic products, non-stop Irish music, singing, dancing, workshops, lectures, cultural displays, children’s contests and activities, etc.

More Info: http://www.irishclub.org/center.htm

Sandhill Crane Festival

3/20 -3/22

The Festival has many tours for crane viewing along with specialty tours.  Specialty tours have included Columbia National Wildlife Refuge/Potholes area wildlife tour, Missoula Floods and the Channeled Scablands geology tour,  Lower Grand Coulee birding tour and Wahluke Slope/Shrub Steppe birding tour.

More Info: http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/

Victorian Festival

3/20 – 3/22

Victorian attire, history and architecture are sure to fill up a photographers memory card in no time.

More Information: http://www.victorianfestival.org/2009/index.html

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

4/1-4/30

Need we say more….. this is a photographers annual pilgrimage to grab that perfect shot of the tulip fields.

More info: www.tulipfestival.org

Grand Floral Street Parade

4/4

The Daffodil Festival’s parade moves through four south sound cities on the same day. They are Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting.  The spectale inclues bands, floats, and brightly colored daffodils.

More info: http://www.daffodilfestival.net/

Get those camera’s out and bump up the ISO’s on overcast days. It’s time to start capturing spring activities.

Have an upcoming event that may be of interest to a shutterbug? Send me an email with the information and I’ll post it here.