As I travel in and around Washington and the surrounding area, I frequently run across scenes that make me want to capture it for one reason or another. This page is just a collection of such photos. Some of these photos may eventually be incorporated into another page, but for now, they are just here for your (and my) enjoyment.
Walla Walla Wheat Fields
This shot of Walla Walla Wheat Fields was taken last June on a drive into the hills near Walla Walla. Shot with a Pentax K-3 with a SMC PENTAX-DA L 55-300mm lens at 230mm, 1/320 second at F/5.6.
Fall Colors in Tumwater Canyon
The colors in Tumwater Canyon, between Stevens Pass and Leavenworth, seem to always be spectacular. This year (2018) was no different. I made a mid-week trip to capture this photo in October.
Mountain Layers
I love the view of layers upon layers of mountains. In September, 2014, I was hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail at about 7,000′ elevation north of White Pass (near the Snowgrass Flats trailhead) when this view presented itself just after sunset. That is Mt. St. Helens in the background.
Lightning
As the storm approaches this weekend (Oct. 15, 2016), I got to thinking about past storms. I dug this photo out from my archives. I caught this photo in 1995 from my friends’ front yard in Home, Washington (really… look it up!).
Going back a bit further, I shot this one in the late 70’s in Spokane from the front steps of my house. I also got several other shots showing lightning bolts that night.
Fall Colors on Stevens Pass
September 30, 2016: The shrubbery is turning color on Stevens Pass. This photo was taken on Highway 2 at milepost 68.2, where Forest Service road 6970 connects with Highway 2. Driving time from Seattle to Stevens Pass is less than a two hours.
International Space Station
This photo is of the night skies over Edmonds as the International Space Station passed over June 10, 2015. It is actually 5 photos combined. Each photo was shot at ISO 1250, f/5.6, approximately 30 seconds, using a 10mm lens on a Pentax K-3 (35mm equivalent 15mm) then combined in Photoshop. You can clearly see the big dipper (cup down) just left of the middle of the photo. You can find out when you can see the ISS at your location at NASA’s “Spot the Station” site.
Milky Way over Edmonds
Who says you can’t see the Milky Way from Edmonds? It may be hard to see with the naked eye, but it’s there. This is a photo I shot of the Milky Way from my driveway (in the Edmonds Bowl) on August 3, 2014. Exposure was 30 seconds at f/2.8, ISO 1600 with a 17mm lens. I did some post processing in Lightroom (Adobe Photoshop Lightroom): increased contrast, lightened the light colors (stars), darkened the darks and a few more things to make the stars stand out a bit more, but just increasing the contrast made the Milky Way obvious in the photo. The light at the bottom is from downtown Edmonds.
Sunset from Edmonds Waterfront
The evening of July 13 (2014), I walked out my front door and was struck by the odd lighting. Looking up at the sky, I saw what appeared to be a spectacular sunset approaching. I grabbed my camera and jogged down to the Edmonds waterfront (a few minutes away). There was a storm approaching from the south, which provided the interesting clouds to go with the brilliant colors.
