feather grass

We have this gigantic ornamental grass (Stipa gigantea, if you want to know)in the front yard that has just burst into bloom. Rain has bowed the stems down so we walk through the little dangling flowers going to and from the front steps, and I was determined that the first time the sun came out I was going to get a close-up photo of one of them. I particularly love the white “feathers” coming out of the base – the whole thing looks more like a fishing lure than a plant. I love my macro lens.

storm troopers

Something I love about taking photographs is the way it forces me to really look at things. Instead of just walking to work, I look up at powerlines, down at puddles, through windows and open doors, and generally keep an eye out for visual opportunities. When I saw that someone had decorated the Empire Ale House’s alley door with little storm trooper stickers (get it? The Empire?) I immediately got my camera out. Who could resist these faces?

fun with screensavers

Do you know what happens when you spend all day staring at a computer? You start to take pictures of your screensavers. Or maybe that’s just me. In any case, that’s what this image is – one of the preset Windows screensavers, exposed for several seconds to smear it across the frame. I think it is just too cool, and I’m having way too much fun.

flower bokeh

I generally save my flower shots for my garden blog, but I wanted to share this one here because I think it’s just so gosh-darned pretty. Every year there’s one white California poppy that comes up amid the regular orange ones in our front garden, and I love how this shot captures the texture and delicate veining of the pale flower, with a rich backdrop of orange bokeh from the other poppies. It’s not a profound image by any means, but it’s making me very happy right now as the rain pours down outside. I hope you like it, too.

eyes of Mount Vernon

We’re presenting our main projects at photography class tonight. I’ve been working on a series of  shots taken in downtown Mount Vernon, all windows, mostly in back alleys, many barred or broken. You wouldn’t know by looking at this image that it shows the back side of a brand new coffeeshop. If windows are the eyes of a building, what is being expressed here?

My current plan is to have nine of these images all hung together in a grid, so all the “eyes” will be looking out at once. I’m honestly not sure if the effect will be beautiful or slightly creepy, but I’m open to either!

feline intensity

As the owner of three goony cats, I do tend to use them as photographic material quite often. It’s a real challenge, as my first photography instructor commented, to shoot a cat in a way that’s not a total cliche. No-one could say my cats aren’t thoroughly documented at this point, but I’m always trying for a different angle or post-processing treatment that seems to bring out something different about them. I’ve particularly had fun putting them into black and white, which takes the focus off their coloring and onto their expressions.

Snow Crocus

I just got a letter in today’s mail, letting me know that one of my images was accepted into the juried gallery for the Edmonds Art Festival!  The show hangs from June 18-20, and all art is for sale. The piece that I’m submitting is a slightly abstract snow crocus from my garden, and will probably measure 11×14″ framed.

I’m very excited! Except that now I really do have to see about ordering my framing materials…

Ala Spit

Last weekend I went out on a photoshoot with my friend Dana to Ala Spit on Whidbey Island. I’d never been there before, but it’s a beautiful place – a sandy spit covered with samphire and driftwood and rocks, looking over the water to Mount Baker and the Cascades. I took many, many pictures, but one of the ones I was happiest with was this composition of a black rock, a green rock and a bit of wood, cropped to a square and just slightly saturated. I love the colors and the simplicity of it.