Daily Image - Jan '23 Archive

26 Jan 23 The best part of the two trips to Cobb, not including the daily fishing at the end of each day for all the Red Snapper you could catch and that was a LOT, was Crossing the Bar, the tern used by sailors for the body of water that lies at the mouth of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. "The bar is where the river's current dissipates into the Pacific Ocean, often as large standing waves. The waves are partially caused by the deposition of sediment as the river slows, as well as mixing with ocean waves. The waves, wind, and current are hazardous for vessels of all sizes. The Columbia current varies from 4 to 7 knots westward, and therefore into the predominantly westerly winds and ocean swells, creating significant surface conditions. Unlike other major rivers, the current is focused like a fire hose without the benefit of a river delta. Conditions can change from calm to life-threatening in as little as five minutes due to changes of direction of wind and ocean swell. Since 1792, approximately 2,000 large ships have sunk in and around the Columbia Bar, and because of the danger and the numerous shipwrecks the mouth of the Columbia River acquired a reputation worldwide Graveyard of the Pacific." Hardened sailors frequently loose their lunch going over this bar but I found it lots of fun. On the first time out we had a school of Pacific Dolphins swimming alongside and underneath us as we made our crossing. Not all onboard agreed with my estimation of it being a great ride and a few found relief over the side of the vessel. Once past the bar everything settled down and the rest of the trip to Cobb was relatively without incident. Once there at anchor, watch schedules were activated and everyone began preparations for the work to be accomplished on the seamount. Even without any stormy weather we still had to accommodate some endlessly rolling seas as can be seen in this shot of one of the crew standing watch. (The picture isn't crooked.) I shared this shot 12 years ago as a monochrome that some of you may remember. This is straight from the camera. On Watch ISO 100; don't recall the aperture or shutter speed. Nikon F2AS and the 135mm. Scanned with a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000.

24 Jan 23 Cobb Seamount lies 270 mi (430 km) off the coast of WA state, in the 8,500 ft (2,600 m)-deep Cascadia Basin. Argon–argon dating of basalts retrieved from the volcano suggest that it is about 3.3 million years in age. Cobb Seamount's slopes average 12° in grade, and are indented by four prominent terraces at various depths one of which comes within 120 feet of the surface. In 1974-5 there was an effort to place a structure, not unlike the legs of the space needle, on the top surface of the mount to serve as a stanchion on which to place a weather station so as to triangulate the weather with two land stations to provide for better weather forecasting along the WA coast. The legs were made of 6 inch iron and bolted into the rock of the mount. In the course of approximately 18 months the ocean currents had twisted them into useless pretzel shapes; the project was abandoned. [Just for fun, try to find any info on this on the web.] I was part of the project to place those legs serving as the medical monitor for DCS (decompression sickness) using the precordial Doppler system we had designed and built for the Office of Naval Research. It was a fun and challenging job and one I'll never forget. During our second sailing - the '75 one - we got caught in an unexpected storm more about which I'll write tomorrow. As the storm grew in strength we had to abandon the diving operations to ride it out on board. I wanted to get some shots of the waves so two of us boarded a Zodiac water craft and powered off the deck of the 170 foot long Buoy Tender we were using as our diving platform to have a little fun riding the waves and take some closeup photos. The mast of the vessel was 117 feet above the water so that will give you some idea as to the size of the swells as the storm was building. I can't find THE picture I wanted to share, so this one will have to do. Sadly the slide is badly deteriorating (top half really shows it) so it isn't making for the best image but you'll still get the main idea. The "Perfect Storm" it wasn't, but for sure it was a very good contender. When we were finished playing with the waves we simply motored back to the ship and waited for the buoy deck to submerge whereupon we motored aboard as the ship was righting itself and let the dry deck "catch" us. GREAT fun!! This is what the camera (35mm slide film) captured but badly deteriorated. Riding the Waves No exposure data as such was unavailable in film days; Nikonos II; 35mm f /1:2.5 W-Nikkor (still have it). Scanned with a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000.

25 Jan 23 As the storm grew in strength the decision was made to abandon post and attempt to maneuver out of the storm. Unfortunately the storm was rather massive and although we boxed the compass we couldn't make our way out of the storm. It got to the point with the ship taking rolls of 17 degrees, but stressed for only 11 degree rolls, and it smashing down into waves such that it would come to a shuddering stop, only to have it struggle to start moving forward again only to run into another such wave that the Captain began making preparations for the possibility of the ship breaking in two. Today you can get an idea of the vessel stopping waves we were encountering; you can see the water substantially higher than the bow of the ship and I'm taking the photo from the wheelhouse! The Coast Guard was notified and we pressed on. Fortunately after roughly 24 hours the storm started playing itself out and we made it back to port still in one piece. Never found out if the ship was damaged to the point of being scrapped but it did undergo a tremendous beating! I have a couple of shots of us standing straight up with the boat leaning at a steep angle; I may share one of those. When the vessel was taking on the 17 degree rolls it was challenging to not fall over and fly across the cabin. That was both a lot of fun and very frustrating at the same time. Ankles and knees sure were aware of it all the next couple of days!! This is straight from the camera. Crashing Like yesterday, no exposure data as such was unavailable in film days; Nikonos II; 35mm f /1:2.5 W-Nikkor. Scanned with a Nikon Super Coolscan 5000.

02 Jan 23 We begin year 18 with another mountain image. I've been keeping track of the views on the blog this year - a total of 264K - to try and determine if there was a particular subject that was preferred. It seems that scenes of mountains are number 1 on the list. The one I shared on Friday as the final image of 2022 has garnered over 6K views but it is by far an outlier. But without a doubt the images getting the big numbers of hits have something to do with mountains. So, I shall endeavor to provide more of those kinds of shots this year. By far the most interesting trail in my opinion at the Paradise area of Mt Rainier is the Skyline Trail which, if my reading of the map I have is correct, is a 5.5 mile, 1,440 foot rise, round trip from the Paradise visitor center. It is a spectacular walk that I've written about before and one I want to take again this year. If you take the trail clockwise the incline is a bit challenging at times; go counter clockwise and the rise in elevation is more gentle but the challenge for the knees on the downhill portion is notable. Regardless, the walk is truly spectacular when the alpine flowers are out in full bloom. If you take the trail counterclockwise the first main event you come to is Myrtle Creek and Falls. The very first DI mailing was of Myrtle Falls. The offering for today is of Myrtle Creek where I'm standing at the downhill end of the bridge the goes over the top of the creek; the falls are immediately on the other side (not end) of the bridge. As you begin walking the trail counterclockwise from the lodge you see the top of the mountain; as you continue along you see more and more of it and then suddenly the creek appears. You might not see the creek initially as there will be some amount of distraction as you approach it, but you will hear the falls. There is a rest area with benches just before you reach this point as well as a couple more lower down for those who need to take it slow and rest occasionally. Once you reach Myrtle Creek you will likely be feeling as though you can stretch out your arm and feel the mountain. It will be like this for the rest of the 5 miles. You need to be aware that it is a bit of a climb, so bring along plenty of water - there is nowhere to fill your bottle on the trail - sufficient food, and the appropriate clothing. This is a real mountain; the weather can rapidly change from welcoming to not so with little warning. But do put this on your bucket list if you haven't walked it prior. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!! This is straight from the camera. Sparkling Water Nikon D70; 24mm; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f /10

05 Jan 23 As some of you know I'm a sucker for clouds, and have a collection approaching a thousand photos of them just in case I need to replace a sky now and then. Of course it's more of just liking to look at them as it is to use as substitutes which I do on occasion and let you know when I do it. But clouds fascinate me, has been that way since my childhood, and I fully do not understand them. I've been told by a military weather guesser how they work but the explanation(s) I've received make about as much sense to me as physics does to Jan. So I've elected to both enjoy them and pay attention to them when out exploring or shooting. On our first trip up north in the Skagit Valley area of the state we experienced a storm of some proportion that caught my eye as well as that of the camera. It left one with the feeling that the sky was probably the one Chicken Little discussed although we moved on before it could fall on us. Interestingly it didn't hang around all that long as I recall but while we were either under it or just near it it left us with a bit of an eerie feeling. I can assure you it seemed more threatening in person than it does on the screen but at least you can "experience" some of it. This is what the camera captured. Low Ceiling Nikon D200; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f / 7.1

18 Jan 23 A little spouting water for today's offering, and the first creative offering of the year. About 3 hours north of here one can find the Butchart Gardens, a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. It is claimed that the gardens receive over a million visitors each year and on a couple of occasions we have been a part of those numbers. Our last visit was about 15 years ago so we are due to visit again sometime soon. In fact, we have a paid gift visit to the Island that has been sitting on the computer desk in the kitchen for years; probably should make use of it in 2023. 😂 The gardens have something different to see each season of the year with each season having its own special appeal. The two visits we've made have both been summer visits so we need to go at another time. A section of the gardens are actually below sea level and offer some special appeal for just that reason. There is one grotto that features a fountain that dances to music and that is the main subject of today's offering. As you can see we were there when the floral plantings in front of the fountain were in full display with complementary colors to boot. I'm guessing there is something blooming in the location year round. The link above doesn't do the gardens justice so here is a link with lots of images showing the place off properly. If you are planning a visit to the area this is a good addition for your bucket list; same holds true for those of you who live around these parts and haven't yet visited. After working up the image to my satisfaction I made an additional 13 versions, all creative of course. This is Jan's preference of them all. This is what the camera captured. Painted Nikon D200; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/250 sec @ f / 7.1.

17 Jan 23 Having had a nice look yesterday at some creative art depicting what thrives in Puget Sound, I thought a photo of where that location is might be an appropriate follow on. The body of water we locals call Puget Sound has a shoreline that is 1,332 miles (2,144 km) long, encompassing a water area of 1,020 square miles (2,600 km2) and a total volume of 26.5 cubic miles (110 km3) at mean high water - in case you're interested. The average volume of water flowing in and out of the Sound during each tide is 1.26 cubic miles (5.3 km3). It's a BIG place, even bigger if you can fathom those numbers, the second largest estuary in the U.S, the largest being the Chesapeake Bay in MD & VA. It was formed by the Vashon Glaciation, a lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, called the Puget Lobe, that spread south about 15,000 years ago, covering the Puget Sound region with an ice sheet about 3,000 feet (910 m) thick near Seattle, and nearly 6,000 feet (1,800 m) at the present Canada-U.S. border. The view of the Sound from any place on the Kitsap Peninsula is truly beautiful. Our house in Ballard was roughly 6 blocks due east of the Sound although there was/is no straight path to get there. While we were living there from '70 - '77 & '06 - '12, before the 2013 plague - there have been many of them - of seastar wasting disease the sea life as rendered by Chihuly and like the anemone I shared on Friday was truly abundant. Not so much so now but the critters are making a good comeback. Before that disease hit we could make a short drive of about 5 minuets on day's of extreme low tides to find the kind of display seen in the aquaria. On any given day, weather cooperating we could walk several blocks to Sunset Hill to look across the Sound to view the Olympics. Today's offering is from that location; on that June day I took the shot you'll notice it raining over the Olympics. As you might expect, I took a lot of shots from this location. Some of the sunset ones are quite eye catching as the sun is disappearing between the peaks of the Olympics. This is what the camera captured although I've cropped the original a bit for composition. Where Seahawks Come From Nikon D200; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/800 sec @ f /11.

03 Jan 23 The very first field trip I took with a camera club after returning to the PNW was up to Fir Island to shoot Snow Geese. The weather that morning looked to be a bit iffy but it turned out to be perfect once we had reached our destination. Mt Baker was in full display with intermittent bands of clouds passing by, the sun out, and wing after wing of Snow Geese departing to return north for nesting. To top it off, it really wasn't very cold. It was a great trip, one I'll never forget, and led by one of the members of this mailing list. We visited in the first week of February (2008) and the geese were already departing the PNW. Now they remain here until late March / early April which makes me wonder if the arctic / sub-arctic breeding areas (Bylot Island, Canada; Baffin Island, Canada; Wrangel Island, Russia; Banks Island, Canada; Howe Island, Alaska; West coast of Greenland) just might be getting colder. I know that's not the current hype, but it does seem strange that they have been hanging out longer and longer during the 17 years we've been back here. Have to keep watching for their return times over the next several years to see if that changes much. If nothing else it is a good excuse to go up to Fir Island for some Snow Geese shooting. Anyone care to join me? This is straight from the camera. Return Leg Nikon D200; 80 - 400; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1 / 800 sec @ f / 8 .

04 Jan 23 We'll leave the mountains for a while and go in a different direction. I don't do very well shooting birds and so for the most part I don't do it or maybe it's the reverse, but every once and a while I do try my hand at it. When I do my favorites are Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons (as long as they stay away from our fish pond we will be good forest mates. That of course can be a discussion for another mailing) with the Snow Geese at Fir Island as part of this small group. What these three all have in common is their accessibility. Living as we do on the periphery of lots of water both the eagles and the herons are quite abundant, to say nothing of the abundance Snow Geese. If you know where to go all of these birds are reasonably tolerant of photographers and so make for both good and reasonably cooperative subjects. All three species are easy subjects both here in our figurative "backyard" and up at Fir Island. The shot for today is of one of the Blues taking flight. It had been hunting for voles when I disturbed it and decided to move about 50 yards down field. I shared another shot of this bird about 13 years ago with it full flight and wings straight out. This shot was taken about 20 seconds or so earlier. This is straight from the camera. Lift Off Nikon D200; 80 - 400; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/350 sec @ f / 9.

16 Jan 23 A change of pace for today going from nature to art. At the time of our last visit, about 15 years back, the aquarium had a very small display of a maybe a couple dozen of Chihuly's glass "Seaforms". . . . invertebrates to my way of thinking. Since that visit Dale has opened a gallery ( a story in itself) - the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum - at the old fairgrounds at the base of the Queen Ann counter balance. With the opening of the museum it appears that the exhibit at the aquarium no longer exists. Small as it was, it was a very nice addition to the other displays in the aquarium. While not a big fan of glass art, this was a very nice display and I took some effort to try and photograph a number of the pieces. It was a bit of a challenge as they were housed in a small cabinet with three sides of glass and dim lighting. The biggest challenges were folks getting in the way, the dim lighting, and working with reflections off the glass. I never got exactly what I was after, probably could have if I'd spent enough time working the problem but that more than likely would have caused me more problems than I wanted to deal with, but I did get a few I feel worthy of sharing. One of those is what I'm offering for today's image. I had to crop off some of it due to it having been blown out by the flash, and some more of it because it was too distracting, but I think what is left will give you a good idea of his glass representations on the marine life - seaforms - in Puget Sound. This is what the camera captured with the above mentioned adjustments. In Glass Nikon D300; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f / 8 with fill flash.

27 Jan 23 A couple weeks back I shared a shot of an anemone that seemed to be quite popular so I thought a good candidate for this Friday's macro / close-up might be another such close-up shot. {{ A bit of a Segue. I was never part of the diving group while over the seamount as I was the one responsible for doing the monitoring for DCS and as such I needed to be on the surface. This approach proved very successful as we were able to prevent any serious cases of DCS. Subsequent work with the Doppler monitoring technique resulted in other diving operations in which I was involved going from 1 - 2 Type II (central nervous system ) hits per project to none, so it was a very good preventative tool. With time we developed a means by which we could monitor the divers while in the water at decompression stops. I was ultimately tasked by the local divers union to write a diving paramedical manual for them based on bubble detection.}} Those who did do the diving did take photos while on the mount but they were never of the type I wanted but rather documenting the work. I would have liked to document all the marine life they were describing. At one point in the operation one of the divers had his Nikonos swallowed by a large grouper as he was making his ascent back to the boat. Next dive down he found the grouper and retrieved his camera after spearing the very large fish. The fish apparently tended to stay in the area of the upper terrace where we were doing the work. That evening's dinner was most enjoyable; nothing like fresh fish! As I mentioned above I didn't get to dive so I'll have to substitute an aquarium specimen for the open ocean one I didn't get. This is another from the Seattle Aquarium but this time red. I was able to get the shot when the critter had its mouth wide open and you can look right down its throat for lack of a better term. Jan wanted me to share a slightly softer version as she thought it looked more like the animal being underwater but I obviously didn't; probably a mistake on my part. This is straight from the camera but with a wee bit of sharpening applied. Open for Dinner Nikon D300; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f / 8 with full flash.

12 Jan 23 Now is the time of year to head up to Fir Island and enjoy the Snow Geese theatrics. If you are not local to me and you have Snow Geese where you live I'm rather certain the same applies to your location. As I've written about several times the geese put on quite a show every time a predator flies by overhead. Since I've shared several shots in the past showing them all grouped together, I thought I'd share one of them returning to ground after having made several of their moire confusion patterns flying back and forth in a crisscrossing formation. It is really fun to watch and quite loud as well. Now imagine you are an eagle trying to pick out just one critter for a meal. Keep in mind that the birds are traveling at something between 25 and 30 mph as they travel back and forth. The view I'm sharing is one of them settling down and returning to terra firma for a continuation of their dining. It's a great way to spend an afternoon or more. Other than some cropping and removal of distracting partial birds, this is what the camera captured. In-Flight Meal Service Nikon D300; 70 -300; Aperture Priority; ISO 640; 1/320 sec @ f /8.

11 Jan 23 Should you decide to treat yourself to a leisurely drive along the North Cascades Scenic Highway you will be paralleling the Skagit River for a goodly part of the drive. Depending on your month of choice you can expect to see different things from river rafters to those who enjoy fishing, both with flies and feathers. With some luck you might even get to see the fish. Lovely greens adorn the trees in the spring and summer, yellow-greens where the moss hangs down, yellows mostly but also some orange and red in the fall, and the bare limbs which give the trees a different look in the winter. Time it right in the winter and the trees will be white. The view will be different at each turn, not always the river but often lovely little farmsteads and the occasional cattle and wapiti, more-so the dairy cattle. Today's offering is just one example of what you can expect during a January visit. It was taken at Steelhead Park which may give you a hint as to what kind of fish enjoy the river along with us. Those background mountains are the Diablos. This is right out of the camera but with some cropping for composition. Drive By Nikon D300; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 250; 1/250 sec @ f / 8.

10 Jan 23 Should you happen to be traveling along the North Cascades Scenic Highway (Hwy-20), say on your way to Newhalem,WA as an example, you will come to a sharp 90 degree bend in the road just outside of Marblemount, WA. There will be a bridge directly in front of you just before you take that turn. If instead of making the turn you cross over that bridge spanning the Skagit River, you will find yourself driving easterly on Cascade River Road. It is a decent road but one which will rapidly take you up in the mountains getting more narrow as you climb. We have only driven that road in winter and about maybe 6 miles distant it is generally closed but even when it isn't it is cleared for only one vehicle and not very well at that. At that point there is a small pullout where you can get off the road and enjoy some fantastic views of the mountains known as the Diablo Range. There are several other locations where you can also get some nice views but that location offers the best shots. Today's shot is from one of the other locations. If you are among those who keep these things, you can compare this shot with those I've shared shot from that pullout. As we were gazing at the mountain I kept thinking it would be a grand location for either some cross country or downhill skiing. One can almost 007 speeding across the slope chased by a group from Spectre. This is what the camera captured. Downhill or Cross Country Nikon D300; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f /11.

13 Jan 23 With it being the 13th, here's hoping that this Friday's macro / close-up won't be bringing anyone bad luck. Since we've spent the majority of these first two weeks in the clouds so to speak, I though I'd switch gears and go in the opposite direction. Hype aside, the most interesting and entertaining part of the aquarium on the Seattle waterfront is the tide pool exhibit which is designed to experience the tides as they occur daily. Whenever we visited I spent the vast majority of my time photographing this one exhibit. There is MUCH more to see and do, but this was my favorite as it brought back fond memories of the time when I used to dive regularly in Puget Sound. One of the fun things of this exhibit is that those visiting are allowed, under supervision, to handle many of the occupants. Virtually everything in the exhibit was a routine encounter diving as I did just in the inter-tidal zone (0 - 33 feet). So today we take a dive into the inter-tidal zone but only to a depth of about 15 inches. The close-up I'm sharing is that of a sea anemone, a very colorful one for sure, and one accompanied by a sea cucumber, bottom right corner of the frame, and a mat of red algae. The ripple in the algae is a surface ripple, not actually that of the mat; you can get an idea as to the current by looking at the anemones tentacles. You are looking straight down at its mouth; the reddish yellow section directly under the tentacles is the pedal disc, which you can think of as it's foot at the base of the trunk although foot and trunk aren't used in describing an anemone. We have a similar exhibit in Poulsbo about 30 minutes from the house. This aquarium is much smaller, free to visit, but has a nice tide pool for kids to experience as well. If you reside on either coast, check with your local aquarium. Chances are they will have something similar. This is straight from the camera. Swaying in the Current Nikon D300; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f /14 with full flash (flash head pressed against the glass wall to avoid glare/reflections).

19 Jan 23 During the time we lived in Ballard I was a member of the Mountaineers and was very active in the photography group. We met once a month for a nice potluck diner and slide competition. The "rules" governing the sharing/competitions were "interesting" to say the least, but it was always a fun night socializing and seeing the work of others. Each year in the spring the group offered a basic photography class than ran as I recall for 5 weeks. Tuesday's evenings were lectures and the weekends were hands on training using differing locations according to the subject topic of the lectures. It was great to be able to participate and offer some small help in the hands on stuff. One of the locations we used each year was Fisherman's Terminal in Ballard. A working fishing boat marina where one is allowed to walk all of the finger piers offering all kinds of photographic opportunity. We would start the training at literally 0530 in the total dark and work the light until somewhere between 10-1100. A very long and often very cold morning but most of the time well worth it. You never knew what the weather would provide but no matter what there was always something challenging with which to play. On one particular session (2010) we had a spectacular yellow/orange sunrise that simply started the training off perfectly. On the bulkhead where the ramps take you down to the finger piers there is a tribute to all the fishermen who have lost their lives fishing in the N. Pacific. I've shared many shots of it prior, but mainly that of its base and all the fish that swim around it. The top features a young fisherman with a large halibut attached to a line he is holding. On that morning I took the opportunity to put the lad in the shadows with the sunrise behind him, forcing him into silhouette. Then I positioned myself such that I could include some of the boats rigging for context and used the black of the silhouette to illustrate the sorrow of all those lost lives. it made for a rather dramatic image. This is straight from the camera save for the removal of a couple of distracting elements. By Dawn's Early Light Nikon D300; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f /11.

23 Jan 23 Since the earlier silhouette from Fisherman's Terminal was well received I thought I'd share another. If I can find the right binder tomorrow I may make the entire week a nautical one, we'll see. This shot was taken around 0800 in late march so you have an idea as to the weather out here. On a day such as this one the opportunity for both silhouettes and reflections is really good and depending on the number of boats in the piers differing opportunities can abound. I used to begin the mornings by arriving about 45 minutes early and spend that time shooting the lit neon signs in the building windows. With just the light from the signs and a time exposure I got some really nice pictures. Then I could follow that up with the sunrise silhouette stuff, then all kinds of boat shots, and finish up with the reflections stuff, both that of the boats in the water and the boats reflected in the building windows. By the time the morning training was over one was generally tired, cold, and hungry. Sometimes even a little frustrated with those students who couldn't see all the opportunities being provided for them. But it was well worth it no matter what. Except for those years when it was mostly raining. 😂 This is straight from the camera. Let There Be Light Nikon D300; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1,000 sec @ f /11.

30 Jan 23 In my search for something a little different for today I came across a clever piece of architecture I thought might make for an interesting subject. After working it up something said "I think you sent this earlier" and sure enough I had, but it was 12 years ago and a very creative version at that. So I decided to go ahead and share the original as I think they are significantly different. Up in LaConner, in the downtown section of the city, - a two block long area with shops on both sides of the road and a river and a big hill on the other side of the shops - there is a rather unique "bridge." More accurately, it is a clever piece of ironwork enclosing a gangplank that takes you from the street down to the dock where the boats tie up on the Skagit River when visiting the area. The iron work is structured such that you feel like you are walking in the belly of a fish or maybe a whale, whichever you prefer it to be. In all likelihood, considering where it is, it is probably supposed to be a salmon, but I like the whale idea better as it lets me be a kinda modern day Jonah, if only briefly. We've never visited during the Christmas holidays but I'll wager during that season it is fully decked out with colored lights, possibly more than that. Lit or not, it is an attractive piece of art in the downtown area. If you live in the area and haven't seen it you might want to give it a try one of these days. This is what the camera captured. Next Jonah Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 8.

31 Jan 23 While one can easily spend a full day on Fir Island and in LaConner taking in the various sights and shooting the birds and on occasion the barns; we generally make it an afternoon/evening venture and remain long enough to take in the sunset when it puts on a show worth seeing. You have two choices when it so does as there are two mountain ranges to use as a backdrop; the Cascades to the east with Mt Baker as the prime mover and the Olympics to the west. Of course you can do both, but each location for the best composition is sufficiently far to make such an effort difficult. Best to just pick one based on how you see the scene developing. Here is one using the Olympics as the backdrop with the clouds as the key element with even a couple small patches of ground fog forming by the two buildings on the right. Stay long enough for this kind of shot and then you have to decide whether to return to LaConner for seafood dinner or grab a burger at a favorite restaurant 30 minutes away; sometimes the tummy makes that decision. This is what the camera captured. Sunset on Fir Island Nikon D300s; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/2,00 sec @ f / 8.

06 Jan 23 My favorite Christmas plant, besides the Christmas cactus, would have to be the poinsettia. With both Christmas colors as layered leaves, a center of yellow (sometimes yellow-green) like that of a Christmas star, and strongly veined leaves reminding one of tree branches, it has to be a perfect plant for the season. I like to try and do some close-up shots of them each year always hoping to find some different way of presenting them with it still being obvious as to what it is. We had in addition to the traditional red and green plants this year a white one and a variegated one but for me neither makes the mark. So for this Friday's macro / close-up I'm going with a close-up with the original colored leaves that has been modified to emphasize the structure of the plant. I believe it views best a couple of feet distant from the screen but everyone will have their own opinion on best viewing distance. Not as big a stretch calling it a close-up as last week's crater. This is straight from the camera save for the conversation with the Topaz plug-in Glow 2. Outlined Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 800; 1/60 sec @ f / 9 with fill flash & led overhead lighting.

09 Jan 23 When we first moved to our home here on the West Sound as it is called (the western side of Puget Sound) we drove down a road that was mostly forest on both sides but one was private properties and the other mostly timberland. The timberland was somewhat equally split between Tribal lands and a major timber company. About 7 years ago the timber company harvested most of their lands as they do roughly every 30 years. For them it is a crop called lumber. Unbeknownst to us at the time we built was that there was a small section of this land which had a lovely view of the Olympic Range but which was hidden by the trees. In other words you couldn't see the mountains for the trees. When the trees were harvested we suddenly got to see the mountains and what a view it was. Now the land is being taken over by Scotch broom as it hasn't been replanted yet due to political activity . . . . another story . . . perhaps. But trees or Scotch broom the result is the same, the mountains are rapidly disappearing from sight, not physically. But we somewhat recently found another location about 15 - 20 minutes away depending on traffic that offers another nice view of them. It is not as expansive as what we had prior but still more than acceptable. Today's offering is a shot from that location. The weather is now such that the Olympics should be getting some serious snowfall and I hope to share a few more shots from this location as winter progresses so for those of you who save these mailings you might want to compare each new photo with the one previous. This what the camera captured save for some cropping of a lot of blank sky. Disappearing View Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 9.

20 Jan 23 For this Friday's macro / close-up I had planned on sharing another anemone shot from the aquarium as the previous one was quite popular but as we went out this morning to take Miss Maggie for her morning stroll Jan commented on how nice the pink pussy willow looked with fresh rain droplets on the individual buds. So once the wind quieted down to basically none I went out and tried my hand at capturing a bud with some nice drops of water on it. I was reasonably successful so for today I'm offering a macro of one of the buds. To fully appreciate it you will need to zoom in to at least 75 if not 100%, even more if you like, and then scroll around the frame. There is so much to see that to try and write about it (the bud) would be to do it an injustice. This particular plant is growing more into a shrub than into a tree probably due to what the nursery from which we purchased did to it as a sapling. It is now about 5 feet in diameter with no single branch becoming dominant among the twenty or so branches; sorta whisk-like. Recall the shot I shared last year with the hummingbird flying inside the plant with fuzz in its bill. Do give the bug a close going over. This is straight from the camera save for some serious cropping to isolate the single bud. Magnifying Dew Drops Nikon D500; 105 mm micro nikkor; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f / 9 with full flash.