Project 52 - Weeks 23-28/52

The act of catching up on the editing and posting of my Project 52 was daunting with 5 weeks to go through. I have been shooting some amazing events and locations each week, but I have been in an editing rut. When I decided to do a collage for each week not only did it seem doable, but it the act of creating collages add a jolt to my editing leaving me recharged. I hope you enjoy a journey through the past 5 weeks. I would love to know what you think! I have a long way to go in learning how to perfect collages.

Week 23 - Light in the Front Yard
Busy week at work = chasing the light around the yard. I love shooting with the intention only of capturing the light. It is such a challenging and creative exercise.

Week 24 - Brown's Point Lighthouse
I had tried to visit this lighthouse a year ago, but they were having a picnic and the tiny parking lot was full. This time, however, we pulled in just as one spot opened up. The sky was full of blue, clouds and sun that made for some amazing and challenging lighting situations.

Week 25 - Father's Day in Astoria
I spent Father's Day in Astoria, Oregon with my dad going to the Farmer's Market and riding the trolley - both of which were new experiences for me. It was a beautiful day filled with family and fun. There is nothing better!

Week 26 - Edmond's Sunset
I have said many times (maybe too many times :o) that sunsets fuel my soul. It has been a long time since I have photographed a spectacular sunset and I did not know how much I missed it until I was lucky enough to experience this one. I was looking for a new place to see the sunset and looked online. I found a list that comes out each year based on votes of residents of Western Washington. The Edmonds Waterfront, right next to the ferry dock, made the list each year. I can now see why! It was stunning and only got better and better!

Week 27 - Mount Rainier and Bumping Lake
I was hoping for another amazing sunset as we drove around Mount Rainier and ended up at Bumping Lake. Alas, it was not to be. However it was still a beautiful place and allowed me to play a bit with shutter speed for those smooth water surfaces. I need more practice :o).

Week 28 - Illwaco Firework Tradition
Finally, this past weekend I went to the annual Illwaco Fireworks show, which is always held on the first Saturday after the 4th. I was unfortunately sick on the Fourth of July. The fact that this is my favorite holiday made it even more sad. Luckily I had already planned to go to the fireworks in Illwaco with my mom like we have for the past 3 years. We stumbled upon it the first year and loved the atmosphere and the fireworks of course! This year I rented a 17-40mm f4 L lens for the trip. This is my seconded rented lens and I highly reccommend it. So much fun! It was very windy, which made getting the shots difficult, but fun nonetheless.

"I say that I can't make anything up. I think of myself as a collage artist. I'm cutting and pasting memories of my life. And I say, I have to live a life in order to tell a life." - Spalding Gray

         

Reverse 365: April 2013 Wrap-Up

Number of Photos: 30
Locations: Illwaco, WA / Pacific Science Center / Seattle, WA / Commencement Bay, Tacoma, WA / Point Defiance Gardens / Oregon Coast / Sunset Lake / The Cove Normandy Park, WA / Wenatchee, WA / Lake Chelan, WA / Vancouver, WA / Washington Coast / Puyallup Fair / Louisa Boren Park, Seattle, WA / Issaquah, WA
Editing Techniques Used: Lightroom Tips
Tutorials Used: 10 Quick and Easy Lightroom Tricks

What I Learned: Lightroom is even more amazing than I knew it was! The tutorial I used above was filled with a bunch of tricks with features I hadn't used in Lightroom before. My favorites were stacking brushes and the luminance sliders. It opened my eyes to the potential that exists in the program. I can't wait to learn more uses for it as the year continues. I also discovered this month the power of RAW I was not taping into. I have shot RAW for a long time, but when I open them in Lightroom I usually leave the default settings the program puts on the photo. This month I started "zeroing" out the photos and it has allowed me so much more flexibility with my photos. I have been able to save some that I thought were not savable. It has really helped me in my present day editing as well.

Reverse 365: Fun - Day 91/365 4.1.13

One last fireworks shot...

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss3.0secs, f/11

Date: July 7th, 2012

Location: Port of Illwaco, WA

91/365 - April 1st, 2013

"I always have the most fun on the Fourth of July. You don't have to exchange any gifts. You just go to the beach and watch fireworks. It's always fun." - James Lafferty

Reverse 365: March 2013 Wrap-Up

Month #3 was a tough month. Illness and loss made this the first month where I did not post a picture a day. However, I am determined to continue to work toward my goal of completing this Reverse 365.

Number of photos: 31
Locations: Around my house / Driving around Washington / Mima Mounds, WA / Tolmie State Park, WA / Cannon Beach, OR / Fort Stevens State Park, OR / Portland, OR / Dosewallips State Park, WA / Quincy Wildlife Recreation Area, WA / Astoria, OR / Illwaco, WA
Edited Techniques Used: Histogram in Lightroom and Adding Drama in Photoshop
Tutorials Used: Histogram Info and Adding Drama Photoshop Tutorial

What I Learned: This month I learned that there are times when life presents obstacles and challenges that may deter you from accomplishing a goal. Unexpected and unwanted things will come and it really is all about how you handle the things in your path.

Reverse 365: Shatter the Darkness - Day 90/365 3.31.13

On my second attempt to capture fireworks it was extremely windy which made the whole process much tougher.

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss2.0secs, f/11

Date: July 7th, 2012

Location: Port of Illwaco, WA

90/365 - March 31st, 2013

“We shall go wild with fireworks...And they will plunge into the sky and shatter the darkness." - Natsuki Takaya

Reverse 365: Lost in the Sound and Color and Light - Day 85/365 3.26.13

There is something so satisfying about capturing a firework in a photo. It truly feels like I captured something. 

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss13.0secs, f/11

Date: July 4th, 2012

Location: Columbia River East Mooring Basin, Astoria, Oregon

"I often use the word "joy" when describing fireworks.  It is a considered word, deliberate in choice.  Not just amusement, entertainment, astonishment, but joy.  Our art makes us all into children again for a while.  We become one in our experience for the moment; lost in the sound and color and light. We see large forces, stronger than we could ever be, yet beautiful in their effects.  Sometimes violent, sometimes restrained.  Delicate beyond imagination at times, coarse and rude at others." - Bill Withrow

Reverse 365: Performance - Day 84/365 3.25.13

I mentioned yesterday that the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. I love the history, the patriotism and of course the fireworks! Last year, I spent the 4th with my dad in Astoria and had an amazing time shooting the fireworks. I had shot fireworks before, but this time I did my homework before going and it really paid off. You can read more about the shoot here.

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss7.0secs, f/11

Date: July 4th, 2012

Location: Columbia River East Mooring Basin, Astoria, OR

84/365 - March 25th, 2013

"You can look up at the stars and every night they're going to be in the same place, but you can launch a six inch shell and you don't really know what it's going to look like until it actually performs." - James Sousa

I Clicked It Up a Notch - July

For this month, I picked a photo that continues to make me happy and proud. The location was Astoria, Oregon where my dad lives and was taken on the Fourth of July, which just so happens to be my favorite holiday. I did research before going and went into this shoot unsure, but excited. The results were more than I could have hoped for. This is just one of those photos where I had a vision of what I wanted and with a little work I was able to make it happen. I can't wait to see what happens next month!

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss12secs, f/11 (on tripod, shutter on bulb)

"The intelligent man is one who has successfully fulfilled many accomplishments, and is yet willing to learn more." - Ed Parker

Favorite Photo of the Week: Fireworks Over the Columbia 7.4.12

This is one of those rare occasions when I knew exactly what type of photo I would pick for my favorite of the week. I knew it had to be a fireworks shot. Not only is it from my favorite holiday, but I did a lot of prep work to get the photos and am really proud of the results. Picking which firework shot was a little harder! I decided on the shot below as it is not only visually appealing, but it captures my perception of the scene so well as it brings together the beautiful setting with the amazing fireworks.

To read about how I got this shot and see others, check out this blog post. 

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss12secs, f/11 (on tripod, shutter on bulb)

"Fireworks are an art form that uses the night sky as the canvas." - Larry Crump

            

Fourth of July 2012!

My favorite holiday just happens to be Fourth of July. I connect with the sense of patriotism and the ideals of freedom, sacrifice and bravery. And then there are the fireworks! There is just something about a fireworks display that makes me happy. The color, the sense of wonder and the sheer beauty is such a wonderful way to celebrate this country that I live in and those who have made and continue to make it possible for me to live free.

For this Fourth of July I am visiting my dad who lives in Astoria, Oregon where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. They have a fireworks display over the Columbia that is done from the East Mooring Basin. I had never been, but was excited to experience a new fireworks display with my dad. We got there a couple of hours before the fireworks were set to start which was perfect timing because we were able to park right across from where the fireworks were going to be set off before the parking lot got full. While we waited I spent some time scoping out the area and photographing the sunset.

Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/320, f/22 (sunlight wb)

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss1/30, f/22 (sunlight wb)

Finally, the sun dipped below the horizon and that meant the second amazing show of the night was going to begin. I wasn't sure where would be the best vantage point to see the display, so I just found where the tripods and photographers were lining up :o). Last year I got a few good firework shots using auto mode. This year I was determined to shoot in manual and be more intentional about my shots. Prior to heading out I read a couple tutorials, one from The Organic Bloom and one from Digital Photography School. 

For my set up I used my tripod, my 18-55mm lens and my remote control. I set the ISO to 100 to prevent grainy images, my aperture to f/11 to get a wide depth of field, manual focused so that the whole scene was in focus and set my shutter speed to bulb (which leaves the shutter open from when you press the remote button until you press the it again). I had never tried this type of set up before so I really didn't know how it would work out, but once the fireworks started I got into a rhythm. With my remote and the timer on my camera I had two seconds before the shutter opened and then I left it open between 3-12 seconds depending on how many fireworks were going off and how many I wanted in the shot. After a while I found that the best timing was to hit the remote right when I heard the boom and to leave the shutter open until the firework(s) began to fizzle out. 

I LOVE the results. They are so different from what I captured last year and I feel like the preparation really paid off. The 3 shots below are from the beginning, middle and the finale of the show. I really like the trails of the firework reaching the sky, the colors and the framing around the fireworks. For editing I did basic settings in Lightroom on all and for the second shot a removal of distractions and the Fresh and Colorful action by Pioneer Woman in Photoshop. I think the first one is my favorite, but that could be due to the sunset :o). What do you think? 

I hope you had an amazing, safe and fun fourth!

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss12secs, f/11 (on tripod, shutter on bulb)

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss7secs, f/11 (on tripod, shutter on bulb)

Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss7secs, f/11 (on tripod, shutter on bulb)

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -  The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

    

Also linking up for the Firework Challenge at Kent Weakley's Blog

Flashback: Fireworks 07.04.11

Today I spent some time shopping and visiting a new park. I found some lily pads and flowers to shoot and look forward to sharing them this week. For today's post, though, I went in to my archives and decided to post a photo from my favorite holiday - 4th of July! I love the history, the food and the fireworks. This past 4th my mom and I saw two amazing firework displays, one in Illwaco on the southern Washington coast and one at Lake Wilderness near where I live. The picture below is from the latter. I love how you can see the smoke trails and that there are two fireworks in the frame. 

I remember finding it challenging to shoot the fireworks on auto, as this was shot before I switched to manual. I am wondering how I would go about shooting such a fast paced and low light situation in manual. If you have any tips, tricks or websites where I can learn more please leave them in the comments. I know I will need to prepare for the next 4th :o). 

Flashback #7

Location: Lake Wilderness Park

Date: July 4th, 2011

Settings: Shot in Auto ISO 800, 18mm, ss1/25, f/3.5

Post Processing: Cropped, most of the basic settings were played with

What I Like: Smoke trails, double fireworks

What I Think Needs Work: The depth of field, the sharpness

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." - Albert Camus