Clickin Walk 2013...Finally!

This feels so weird! Blogging, I mean. It has been such a long time, even though it has only been a couple a months. When you go from blogging several times a week to none...I am sure you get the idea. I also haven't been shooting that much :(.

I did however brave the rain and wind to spend the day walking around Seattle with a group of amazing photographers. It was for the annual Clickin Moms' Clickin Walk, which I have gone to 3 years in a row. Here a photo of our group at the beginning of the walk taken by one of our fearless leaders Davina...

It was a challenge to take photos, but the experience was amazing! I got to see people I haven't seen in a year, meet new people and immerse myself in my passion for a day. It is difficult to describe the boost in creative energy one can get from just simply being around people who love the same thing you do and who love it just as much! Here are a few of my photos from the walk...

Settings: ISO 320, 50mm, ss1/3200, f/3.2

Settings: ISO 320, 50mm, ss1/1000, f/2.5

Settings: ISO 320, 100mm, ss1/200, f/3.2

Settings: ISO 320, 100mm, ss1/500, f/3.2

Settings: ISO 320, 100mm, ss1/125, f/2.8

One of the coolest parts of the walk for me was getting to help a fellow photographer I had met first at another photography meet up get a shot she had been hoping to try. As with many photographers, I am not a fan of being in front of the camera. However, I just couldn't pass up the chance to be a cheerleader and model for a photo. I know what it is like to dream about getting a certain shot and I was glad to help make it happen. I also learned about bit about flash because of this photo and a mini-workshop Jennifer put on after the walk. 

How cool is that! I can't wait to see what next year's Clickin Walk brings!

"Life is a canvas of many strokes where shades from different palettes meet into a picture so concrete that some forget it is their own, so become framed themselves." - Vanna Bonta

Project 52 - Week 5/52

We went from fog and frost around here to rain. When I set out to take photographs I was a little disappointed with the weather and the gray overcast sky obscuring the light. After a while though, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to take some macro shots. I love the act of taking macro shots. How it forces you to slow down and look closely. How it changes your perspective and makes things that seemed ordinary extra-ordinary. I still have a long way to go with my macro shots especially when it comes to focusing, but I love the learning. 

Settings: ISO 1600, 100mm, ss1/400, f/3.5

Settings: ISO 1600, 100mm, ss1/800, f/3.5

"The trick to forgetting the big picture is to look at everything close-up." - Chuck Palahniuk

         

Tones on Tuesday #63 1.29.12

Danielle at Unconventional Photography

I love the strength in the black and white tones. This merging of two photos is very impressive! Thank you for sharing with us Danielle.

M. Vane at Compiled Ideas

Gorgeous vibrant colors and a beautiful reminder of summer. Thank you for sharing this amazing beach scene with us!

Jill at This is Life?

Adorable baby, beautiful scene and a tutorial on how to add bokeh to a photo makes for a lovely capture and a great blog post! I love the brightness and softness in this photo. Thank you for linking up Jill!

Danielle, M. Vane and Jill please go HERE to grab your showcase button.

Now it's your turn to share your photo with altered tones. Here are the guidelines for Tones on Tuesday:

• The basic idea is to share one photo where you have altered the tones. Such as a black and white, sepia toned, selective coloring or colored photo. Feel free to share the original and edit, or just the edit.
• Please share a photo that you have taken and edited yourself.
• One photo per photographer please. If you have more than one photo in your post please indicate which one is for Tones on Tuesday. If you link up more than once only the first photo will be considered for showcasing.
• Please link up with your permalink and not your blog address.
• Attach the Tones on Tuesday button or a link back here to your post.
• Leave comments for at least 3 other participants, share the love :o)!
• Have fun!

<center> <a href="http://scatteredhorizons.blogspot.com" target="_self"><img border="0" alt="Scattered Horizons" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oheKkR_BFoQ/ToqWTprynwI/AAAAAAAAAJE/eQ5mj0lgqx4/s1600/tonesontuesday2.jpg"></a> </center>

Disclaimer - By participating you give Scattered Horizons permission to share your photo on this blog. Photographers will be given credit for their work.

This weekend I had report cards to write so I had to go out on a rainy day to photograph. It took quite a while (and some driving) to find something that inspired me. Near a marina at the Port of Tacoma I found this abandoned house and was drawn to the color, texture and unexpected moments inside and out. It is a sort of a departure for me to photograph something that is not "nature-made" but there is something natural to the way that a house falls apart when abandoned. I have been playing with collages in Lightroom in order to make one for my first completed month of my Project Reverse 365 so I decided to make one here too. I feel like it works well. 

Settings: ISO 800, 100mm, ss1/200, f/5.6

Settings: ISO 1600, 100mm, ss1/125, f/5.6

Settings: ISO 1600, 100mm, ss1/640, f/5.0

“Abandonment is a process. There’s nothing static about an abandoned building. Slowly the brickwork crumbles. Windows get broken. Doors get boarded up. Paint cracks and fades. Vandals attack. There comes a critical point – the point of no return – when a decaying building slips inexorably from being empty but useable, to being fit only for demolition.” - Abandoned Britain

Joining the link ups below. Be sure to check out the beautiful shots and join the Tones on Tuesday link up found further down!

    

Tones on Tuesday #55 11.27.12

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed time being thankful for the amazing people in your life! I am thankful that you have chosen to link up again with Tones on Tuesday!

Tina at Tina's PicStory

The combination of softness and drama of this black and white is beautiful! Thank you for sharing it with us Tina!

Laurie at Pride in Photos

What amazing fall colors and a lovely representation of the season! Thank you for linking up Laurie!

Charlotte at The Life of Mummy Rawles

The colors and set up of this photo are beautiful and the expression is adorable! Thank you for sharing your photo with us Charlotte!

Tina, Laurie and Charlotte please go HERE to grab your showcase button.

Now it's your turn to share your photo with altered tones. Here are the guidelines for Tones on Tuesday:

• The basic idea is to share one photo where you have altered the tones. Such as a black and white, sepia toned, selective coloring or colored photo. Feel free to share the original and edit, or just the edit.
• Please share a photo that you have taken and edited yourself.
• One photo per photographer please. If you have more than one photo in your post please indicate which one is for Tones on Tuesday. If you link up more than once only the first photo will be considered for showcasing.
• Please link up with your permalink and not your blog address.
• Attach the Tones on Tuesday button or a link back here to your post.
• Leave comments for at least 3 other participants, share the love :o)!
• Have fun!

<center> <a href="http://scatteredhorizons.blogspot.com" target="_self"><img border="0" alt="Scattered Horizons" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oheKkR_BFoQ/ToqWTprynwI/AAAAAAAAAJE/eQ5mj0lgqx4/s1600/tonesontuesday2.jpg"></a> </center>

Disclaimer - By participating you give Scattered Horizons permission to share your photo on this blog. Photographers will be given credit for their work.

I was thinking this past week about how thankful I am to have photography in my life. I have never considered myself an artistic person and have always felt that I had no skills in that area. At the same time, I love the process and product of creation. Through photography I feel like I have found my creativity and my passion for something artistic. While photographing nature and landscapes is about realism for me, I still feel that I am able to capture my interpretation of reality. There are certain moments when I feel most myself and whenever I am taking photos I have those moments. So I guess I have to admit that I do have a little bit of artist in me :o). 

Settings: ISO 400, 100mm, ss1/500, f/3.2

"The rain began again. It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfilment of its own nature, which was to fall and fall." - Helen Garner 

Joining the link ups below. Be sure to check out the beautiful shots and join the Tones on Tuesday link up found further down!