Fall Color Macros 10/28/2012

Recently acquired the Canon 100L IS f2.8 Macro lens, so decided to test it out on some local Fall colors and macro-scapes ummm is that even a word. Have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the lens attached to my old trusty 5D Mark II. I should note all were shot handheld and bracketed at three exposures 3EV apart.

                                          I was pleasantly surprised with the color rendering with the Canon
                                          100L IS f2.8 lens really produced vibrant colors

                                         Focus attaining was very fast and accurate with the 100L no hunting
                                         for a focus point at all no micro lens adjustment was used

                                                              The Bokeh is very pleasing to the eye
                                                              nice and creamy almost as good as the
                                                              famous Canon 135 f2 Bokeh

                                         Very little distortion or Chromatic Aberration was detected on the
                                          100L IS f2.8 Macro lens

                                                          The Lens produced some very nice patterns
                                                           textures and details in the images

                                         Really liked the comp here with the spider web
                                         detail very prominent in the image

                                         The contrasting patterns in the wood and the wet
                                         look really made the Fall leaf pop very nicely

Steptoe Butte, Washington 10-23-2012

I always enjoy calling on my "regular" job accounts in Eastern, Washington and Northern, Idaho. For me it truly is some of the most beautiful and fascinating landscape in the country. A part of Eastern, Washington know as the Palouse is an area hundreds of square miles that encompass both Washington and Idaho. The Palouse is a rich farmland area but truly a special type of farmland it that it is all "Dry Land Farming" in that there is no irrigation used for the crops of Wheat, Peas, Canola and a few other types of crops. The rolling hills, patterns and textures are just an amazing sight to be seen and the Palouse offers such diversity in the landscape from season to season.
One of the main attractions of the Palouse is a Butte called Steptoe Butte, which is located about 10 miles outside of the city of Colfax, WA. Steptoe Butte offers a beautiful 360 degree view of the rolling and diverse landscape of the Palouse, There is a parking facility at both the bottom and very top of Steptoe. The road is a very narrow winding 3.3 miles from the bottom to the top one way and an elevation gain of close to 2000ft.
Most people drive up the Butte and there are pull offs for one to get out and view or take photos of the beautiful landscape.
For me hiking up from the bottom to top and back down is such a more intimate feeling and connection with the area stopping both on my way up and way down not only photographing the beauty but just stopping and listening, mostly listening to silence, solitude and the wind whistling through the butte, I truly recommend hiking the butte if at all possible.
So on October 23 decided to hike up and down Steptoe Butte with my trusty Sony Nex 7 and an assortment of lens but figured I would use the Sony 55-210 as my primary lens for the day. I should note the previous day I tried the hike as well but storm after storm caused me to turn back down about half way up.
October 23 looked like about a 40% chance I wouldn't get rained or snowed on hiking up the Butte. As I started out around 2:30 pm the skies looked threatening but still dry. The first 1.5 miles up were fine nice and dry with some great stormy skies that were casting beautiful shadows on the landscape. As I got close to the 2 mile mark I could see a intense squall was coming in from the west. I knew I was going to get caught in it but was hoping I could make it to the top before getting dumped on. As I made my way toward the top I could tell I was going to get swallowed up by the squall and that I did it started first as rain then sleet and then that white fluffy stuff called snow, it was just about a complete white out but I kept heading toward the top and was loving every minute of it. Within another 15 minutes I walked out of the squall to broken clouds up on top of the Butte and was greeted with some amazing stormy skies and photo opportunities I tried to capture as illustrated below.

                                                           A Fall Tree contrasting with the brown earth
                                                           Hiking my way up to the top of Steptoe Butte

                                             A Bad iPhone image of me caught in a snow squall while making
                                             my way up to the top of Steptoe good fun times

                                         The intimate patterns, textures, colors and curves of the Palouse

                                         A wider view from the top of Steptoe Butte after the squall had
                                         had cleared the the sun made a brief apperance

                                         Windmill Farms are just now starting to pop up throughout the
                                         Palouse some hate them while others love them as part of the Palouse

                                         The shadows of the Palouse playing off the rolling hills and stormy
                                         Skies was just gorgeous

                                          The last view hiking back down Steptoe Butte the splash of colors
                                           in the foreground gave such a nice intimate look and feel                             

                                                        My Wife Nancy and I have a special name for this
                                                        Tree in the Palouse we have named it the "Love Tree"
                                                        As it holds special memories for my beautiful Wife
                                                        and I            

Kayaking August 2012

My beautiful wife Nancy bought me my first Kayak for my 50 birthday in August. We have a quite small 150 acre lake located only a couple of miles from our house and what no better place to start my Kayak adventures during the evening sunsets. Such a peaceful and solitude feeling being out at water level in a Kayak. The lake is Lake Cassidy located in Snohomish County, Washington State

                                          Fading light view of shoreline from the Kayak. Shot
                                          with Canon G12 handheld

                                         Washington Statecloseup of one of many water lilies
                                         populating lake Cassidy in Western Washington State
                                         Shot with Canon G12 Handheld

                                          One of my paddle against the ripples of lake Cassidy
                                          Shot with Canon G12

                                          A paddle stroke against the fading light. Smoke from
                                          wildfires made for an interesting sunset. Shot with the
                                          Canon G12 handheld

                                         A soft glowing view of Lake Cassidy's shoreline. Shot
                                         with the Canon G12 handheld

                                          Final light on bow of Kayak and time to head to shore
                                          Shot with Canon G12 handheld

                                          A resident of lake Cassidy looking for dinner. Shot
                                          with Canon G12 handheld

                                         Another view of a water Lilly on Lake Cassidy. Shot
                                         with Canon G12 handheld

10-10-2012 Whatcom Falls Park, Bellingham, WA

Visited one of my favorite places to shoot which is Whatcom Falls Park located in Bellingham, WA. There are several leisurely dirt trails one can wander through the tree line and following the flowing river below. The Fall colors had just begun to change and in the middle of a very long dry spell the river was running well below normal.

                                          The Bridge adjacent to the main falls, Sony Nex 7

                                          Hiking down to the rivers edge opposite side of bridge
                                          Sony Nex 7 18-55 lens on tripod with polarizer

                                          A small secondary falls looking north of the main falls                                        
                                          Shot with a very low POV. Sony Nex 7 with 18-55

                                          Another smaller falls about 1/2 mile south of the main

                                          falls. Hiked down to the rivers edge shot with a low 

                                          POV with the Sony Nex 7 18-55 Lens on tripod with

                                          polarizer

The Begining

Seems as if I'm one of the last to hold out on the concept of a blog to share my images with the social media world.
So as of 10-28-2012 I'm going to plunge into the world of blogging and try to share my world through my images