Reverse 365: The Most Beautiful Planet - Day 111/365 4.21.13

Another case of being able to get to a location just in time for the sunset. I was taking my brother to a wedding at Lake Chelan and just happened to reach the lake at the right time!

Settings: ISO 100, 24mm, ss1/40, f/6.3

Date: August 12th, 2012

Location: Lake Chelan, Washington

111/365 - April 21st, 2013

"We have the most beautiful planet - the Rockies, the purple fields of the United States, the lake District, the Pyrenees, the turquoise seas of the tropics." - Dan Aykroyd

Normandy Park Sunset 09.04.11

I had planned on posting a picture of lily pads I took on Saturday, but last night I had the privilege of witnessing a stunning sunset. I just had to share it! We raced the sunset last night and had planned on going to Des Moines Beach Park, but when we arrived we found everyone else had the same idea. We decided to drive up the hill and found a street with an amazing view. I felt a little like I was trespassing but it was a public street and the view was one I could not pass up. I have come to believe that sunsets are good for the soul and I always feel blessed to watch and photograph them. I love the quiet and serenity of the moment.

In post processing I did some minor work with the basic settings, I reduced the temperature and tint and upped the blacks, fill light, highlight, vibrance and contrast. I did all of this in Lightroom, but was feeling like I wish I had Photoshop and knew how to use the clone tool as I would like to remove the branches hanging down from the tree. Do you think they detract from the photo? I can't decide if they add an interest or distract. I would love to know your thoughts.

Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/125, f/10 (full manual)

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." - Pamela Hansford Johnson

Linking up with Monday Moments and The Creative Exchange. Head over and check out the other beautiful photos!

 

Enumclaw Sunset 08.21.11

As promised yesterday here is one of my favorite shots from the Sunday sunset shoot. My goal was to capture the light. This was one of the prettiest lit sunsets I have seen in a long time. There is little for me to say other than I was captivated and feel blessed to have photographed this sky. In post processing I used tips from Courtney's editing silhouettes in Lightroom video. I upped the blacks, played with the temperature and tint, upped the contrast a bit and did the same with the vibrance. More sunset photos to come, this may just be a sunset week :o)!

Settings: ISO 100, ss 1/10, f/18 (full manual on tripod)

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." - Rabindranath Tagore

Linky up with Sweet Shot Tuesday. Go check out the other "sweet shots!"

A Moment in Time 08.21.11

Last night I set out to photograph the sunset at a local park. Upon arriving at the park it became clear that the setting was not going to yield what I wanted. Jumping back in the car with the sun slipping further below the horizon, we raced to find the perfect spot. The sunset was stunning and I was able to create some beautiful shots, but that was after one stop on the side of a country road. While I plan to post sunset pictures later in the week, the photo below is from the stop before the sunset. My goal was simply to capture a moment in time. The shot is straight out of camera with a minor crop. I planned to edit it more but everything I did just seemed to pull focus to the details and distract from the picture as a whole. I would love to know your thoughts, so please share!

Settings: ISO 100, ss 1/5, f/20 (on a tripod, full manual)

“Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph." – Matt Hardy

Lake Washington at Night 08.19.11

The weather in Washington has been beautiful for the past few days with blue skies and sunshine. If you know anything about the Pacific Northwest, you know that is something to rejoice in. Last night after work my mom and I decided to try to see a sunset on Lake Washington. We headed to St. Edwards State Park first. It is a beautiful park, but requires quite a hike to get down to the water. There was no way to make it down before sunset. We then headed to nearby O.O. Denny Park just as the sun had set. While we did not win the race for the sunset, the sky was still beautiful. I was able to capture some pretty post sunset shots and then a few night shots (luckily I bring my tripod with me everywhere!).

The photo I am posting today is one of those night shots. My goal was to communicate the peaceful atmosphere and showcase the light from across the lake reflecting on the water. I opened the shutter for a long exposure to get this shot and bumped up the ISO. The one thing I think it is lacking is some sharpness with the lights on the shore. Should I have gone with a much higher ISO and lower shutter speed? Or is there another solution? I would love suggestions!

I am putting up the straight out of the camera shot (SOOC) and an edit I did. It is a vertical shot, too!

Settings: ISO 400, 30 sec, f/13 (full manual, on tripod)

I think this is what would be called a creative edit as I went for a more artistic interpretation rather than going with trying to make the picture match what I saw with my naked eye. For this edit I used the custom white balance tool in Lightroom, played with the tone curve and maxed out the vibrance. What do you think?

"I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day." - Vincent Van Gogh

Rock the Shot: August Silhouettes Challenge

A couple of days ago I mentioned "the race for the sunset" that my mom and I aimed to win. This is what was waiting for us at the finish line. I would say we won :o)!

This photo was taken at Alki Beach with the sun setting beyond the Olympic Mountains. In post processing I played around with color levels and contrast to highlight the silhouette and the sunset colors. 

"It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream." - Bern Williams


This is an entry in the Rock the Shot August Silhouette Challenge. Go take a look at the other breathtaking entries! 

Flashback: Seattle Skyline 06.04.11

My love of photography is more than a hobby, I would have to say it is a passion. Another passion of mine, and the way I make my living, is being a kindergarten teacher. Right now school is out for the summer, but in a very short time I will be back in my classroom. I know that once this happens I will have very little time during the week to shoot, edit and blog about a photo. In order to maintain my photo a day goal I plan to post some pictures I have taken in the past, some more recently than others. Not only will this allow me to post with less steps, but also to see my pictures with a bit of distant and hopefully more objectivity. 

Flashback #1

Location: Hamilton Viewpoint Park

Date: June 4th, 2011

Settings: 1/160, f/5.6

Post Processing: Attempts to sharpen, color levels adjusted

What I Like: This quintessential Seattle-ness of the picture

What I Think Needs Work: The blurry skyline - possibly a larger aperture and tripod were needed

This picture was captured on the way to Alki Beach to photograph the sunset. We (my mom and I) found a shortcut around a horrendous traffic backup and came across this park with the help of my iPhone. We stopped here for a bit to enjoy the view and then made it just in time in what I like to call "the race for the sunset." I wanted to capture the whole skyline, but do not have the proper lens for it. I did feel lucky when a ferry came into view at the perfect moment, though and made the shot. 

"A city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to get the answer to a question, to taste the food of any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again. " - Margaret Mead