Wednesday, August 8, 2012

An Unexpected Destination

Be sure to enter the giveaway to celebrate my one year blogiversary and one year shooting on manual anniversary! 

We set out Sunday with no place to go. Unfamiliar roads traveled, new views and parks discovered and a wonderful photography adventure completed!

First the view of Mount Rainier and the Port of Tacoma from a restaurant parking lot along the way... 


Settings: ISO 100, 18mm, ss1/250, f/11
Location: Cliff View Restaurant overlooking the Port of Tacoma


Settings: ISO 100, 100mm, ss1/200, f/11
Location: Cliff View Restaurant overlooking the Port of Tacoma

The we found our way to the Point Defiance Park and the stunning gardens they have there. The bright direct sunlight created a creative challenge that the beauty of the setting rose up to meet. 

One entrance to the gardens was found under a continuous pergola draped with flowering vines. The perfect place to catch the sun shining through the flowers...


Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/80, f/22
Location: Point Defiance Park Gardens in Tacoma, WA

Another entrance could be found under a collection of pergolas where one could stop for a moment and watch the sun illuminate the vines...

 Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6
Location: Point Defiance Park Gardens in Tacoma, WA

The gardens themselves were sectioned into a rose garden, a fuschia test garden and a dahlia test garden. I lingered among my favorite flowers, the dahlias, and searched for a unique perspective...

Settings: ISO 400, 55mm, ss1/320, f/5.6
Location: Point Defiance Park Dahlia Test Garden in Tacoma, WA
"Follow what you are genuinely passionate about and let that guide you to your destination." - Diane Sawyer 

  Live and Love...Out Loud    Angry Julie Monday hump day dump

Monday, August 6, 2012

Tones on Tuesday #41 08.07.12

I cannot believe that I have been shooting in manual and blogging for a year on August 6th. Yes the time has passed, but what I am more struck by is how much I have learned from this journey and from all of you! Thank you for choosing to link up here and be a part of this photographic journey! Be sure to check out the giveaway toward the end of the post!

Here are the showcases from last week...

Sarah at Sarah's Camera
Adorable! This is just an absurdly cute photo. I love the pensive expression, the perspective and the softness provided by the black and white. Thank you for sharing Sarah!

Laurie at Pride in Photos
A lovely composed photo with the sun setting and the boat in the foreground. Beautiful color and tones! Thank you for sharing Laurie!

There is a lovely feel to this photo. The muted tones, the texture and the subtlety make for a beautiful piece of art. Thank you for sharing Mona!

Sarah, Laurie and Mona 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.
  • 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!
Disclaimer - By participating you give Scattered Horizons permission to share your photo on this blog. Photographers will be given credit for their work.

I thought it fitting that I mark this anniversary with a flower shot as a flower shot was what started it all. My very first post here was a close up of a flower at my dad's house in Astoria, Oregon. Today's photo was taken at the flower gardens at the Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, WA where they have amazing test gardens. Looking back at what I posted a year ago I can still see some similarities such as my focus on capturing what I see and trying to keep my photos as close to what I see in person as possible. There are many differences as well. I have a better understanding of light and am much more in command of my settings. I continue to have much more to learn and discover, but that is one of the things I love about photography...there will always be something new to learn and some way to become better!

I hope you will come back later in the week for more photos from this trip and reflections on my first year blogging and shooting manual. Thank you for stopping by!

Settings: ISO 400, 40mm, ss1/1250, f/7.1
"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning." - Jiddu Krishnamurti

Now for the One-Year Blogiversary Giveaway!
In celebration of the one year blogiversary of this blog and of my shooting on manual I am hosting a giveaway! The fabulous Kristy at Life-n-Reflection has graciously donated The Science of Textures Book and Kit to one lucky winner! Kristy is a regular Tones on Tuesday participant whose unique and beautiful photography and editing style features amazing use of texture. She shares her knowledge in her eBook that includes textures for you to use on your photos! What an amazing prize!
"If you've been longing to use photo textures, but do know where to begin this book is for you! Learn how to layer, blend, re-size, & adjust textures to create extraordinary images!"

To enter the giveaway "Like" Life-n-Reflection and Scattered Horizons Photography on Facebook using the buttons below. You can also follow Life-n-Reflection and Scattered Horizons Photography on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway for extra entries again using the buttons below. Don't forget to link up your photos for Tones on Tuesday as well! The giveaway ends on 8/11/12 at 12:01am EST. The winner will be announced next week during Tones on Tuesday on 8/13/12.


Joining the link ups below. Be sure to check out the beautiful shots and join the Tones on Tuesday link up found further down!
 Sweet Shot Tuesday with Kent Weakley  Live, Love, Travel    

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Favorite Photo of the Week: King Tut

With my love of nature and landscape photography I love (and sometimes despise :o) natural light. Other lighting sources are a mystery to me and not something I feel comfortable shooting with. Therefore when I went to the Pacific Science Center to see the King Tut exhibit and found out I could do some non-flash photography I didn't have very high expectations. There were many different types of lighting on the different items and a few of them were exactly what I expected, too low to get a quality image. Some of them, though, were perfectly lit. The one below is of the top of a canopic jar. I love the drama of the lighting and how it makes the topper glow. I did a minimum of editing, choosing to let the lighting speak for itself. 


While I am still a lover of natural lighting, I just might be more open to different lighting sources in the future :o). 


Settings: ISO 400, 48mm, ss1/30, f/5.6
"Light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation." - James Turrell 

Happily Mother After    the long road     Weekly Top Shot 

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

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

Click It Up A Notch

Monday, July 30, 2012

Tones on Tuesday #40 07.31.12

Welcome back or welcome for the first time! I am happy you chose to stop by. Take a moment to check out the 3 showcases from last week and link up your photo. I can't wait to see what you have been shooting!

There is something about light shining through flower petals that feels magical and is simply beautiful. I love the softness of the black and white here and how it plays up the tiny details of the petals. Thank you for sharing this photo with us!


Jaymi at Live, Love, Travel
Each week I learn something new about photography from Jaymi and I am always inspired to give her tips a try. I love that she is so willing to share with us and I love this photo. It is shot in infared and is just so cool! The contrast, the texture and the drama make for a great photo. Thank you Jaymi!

This is a beautiful and serene sunset photo! The colors are stunning, the silhouette and reflection are lovely and the weathered dock in the front is wonderfully lit and adds so much character. Thank you for sharing Molly!

NatureFootstep, Jaymi and Molly 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 if for Tones on Tuesday.
  • 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!
Disclaimer - By participating you give Scattered Horizons permission to share your photo on this blog. Photographers will be given credit for their work.

Last week when I went to the Pacific Science Center and saw the King Tut exhibit, I also went into the butterfly house. Despite my love of butterflies, I am not a fan of the butterfly house. They tell you all these rules before you go in about how you have to be careful to not step on the butterflies, make sure they don't land on your bare skin and other things not to do as they can have various bad consequences on the butterflies. Therefore, I am always on alert as I don't want to hurt any of these beautiful creatures. This time I had butterflies land on me 3 times. After the 3rd time I had to leave just to be able to take a breather. Even with the anxiety I was able to capture a few pictures including the one below. I cropped and played with the basic settings to brighten the photo. 

Settings: ISO 100, 55mm, ss1/1, f/5.6
"Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine." - Jeffrey Glassberg

*Next month will be the 1 year anniversary of the blog (I can't believe it!) and I would love to host a giveaway. If you have a product or service you would like to giveaway please email me at scatteredhorizons.esc @ gmail . com. Thank you!*

Joining the link ups below. Be sure to check out the beautiful shots and join the Tones on Tuesday link up found further down!
 Sweet Shot Tuesday with Kent Weakley  Live, Love, Travel