Kerry Park

After we finished our tour, we went to the Kerry Park. It has the best view of Seattle. It has a higher elevation which allows me to see more of the city. Luckily when I took the picture, there were no clouds blocking my view of the city.

Baseball

At the end of our tour around the University, we stopped at the baseball field. They just finished a camp so, we were able to tour the facilities and the field. One thing I remember from the dugout, is they don't have fans like we do in Texas. Instead, they have heaters to keep the players warm.

Berries

During the many times we were in Seattle's nature, almost every one of those times I found a type of berry. There were blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. The northwest is also known for their cherries. While I had many of them, I was never able to see them on their trees.

Lake Washington

Looking out from the shell house is the lake and part of downtown. I like how we can see all aspects of Seattle. The water, the animals, the city, and even a mountain in the background. This is where the rowers practice their rowing. They go out from the dock and practice on the open lake.

Shell house

One of the athletic events that the University of Washington is known for is their rowing. We saw both of their shell houses, the place where they keep the rowing boats (called shells). One of the most famous shells is the 'Husky Clipper.' It was the shell that the 1936 United States Olympic team used to win gold.

George Washington

As we entered the University of Washington, we were met with this statue of George Washington. It was placed in 1909 from the request of a professor. In the back left is a broken obelisk. It is one of six with the others in Houston and New York City. Behind that is the Suzzalo library, who was the president of the university from 1915-1926.

Color

This picture has more than the grey rocks. There is the green algae on the rocks, the brown stick, and the multi-colored leaf. I wanted to have the leaf be the centerpiece of this picture but also have some of the other objects in the picture so the leaf would stand out.

Nature

In the surrounding area of Seattle, there are millions of trees and hundreds of rivers. I like how I was able to capture the entire scene. We can see the trees, the river, the sky, and the whitewater. It's the nature around Seattle in one picture.

Rolling

I like to take pictures from new angles. This trip, I took several pictures from a low vantage point. I think it works for this picture because normally we don't even see the water from this angle. It also works because, at this perfect time, the water rolled over the rock. It's small details that help the big picture.

White Water

The river I saw had everything I wanted to photograph. Whitewater (the white bubbles created from fast moving water), rocks, and calm water. I like the color of the rocks. They aren't just a Texas grey, they have a green color from the algae.

Ocean Fog

I like how Seattle has both skyscrapers and trees in it. The trees provide a nice balance between the big grey buildings and themselves. They also provide something else to look at, so when you look at Seattle you don't just think of buildings.

Morning Haze

The first place we went in Seattle was a river out in nature. I like this picture for the haze in the background that is bad in most pictures but good for this one. The haze helps to make a transition from the green trees to the grey sky. It makes the front trees look greener and the back trees look more like the sky. 

Finale

At the very end of the firework show, many fireworks explode in a short amount of time. Like the last picture, I like this because of its simplicity. Also because of the cool 'hidden' features in the picture. Like the fire from where the fireworks were being shot from and the smoke from all the fireworks.

Ball of Fire

This picture has the basics. A basic white firework that is in focus and isn't too bright or dark in the frame. And a black background which helps the firework stand out. While some pictures I like have a lot in them, I like this for its simplicity. It's clean, simple, and sharp.

Colorful Fireworks

Towards the end of the firework show, many fireworks exploded near the ground. I like the different contrast between the fireworks. The white ones are smaller and have streaks that shoot out from it. The red ones are longer and brighter. The orange ones are the longest but the least bright making them hard to see and photograph.

Bright Star

One of the fireworks was this star inside of a red circle. The hardest part about taking pictures of fireworks is finding the perfect time when they are bright but not too bright. If they are too bright, the white will look like bright suns and if they are too dark, you won't be able to see the fireworks.

Celebration

Before the Seattle theme starts, let us celebrate! This is my 675th post and I have nearly 8,500 views. Now to the picture, before the fireworks started, I had to adjust my camera to the dark night with flashing bright lights. I held a bright light about where the fireworks would be and set my camera to have the light be the focus. This way when the fireworks went off, I was able to capture them and nothing else.

Golden Leaf 

This isn't a real gold leaf, but it looks like it has golden edges. I like the contrast between the light green leaves, the golden dead leaves, and the light brown fence. Here's my new theme, Seattle, Washington. By Monday I hope to have posted pictures from Seattle and continue for the days to follow.

Water Marks

On the fence, there are water marks from the sprinklers. I like the designs that the water makes, it isn't a straight line and it comes in many different colors. There is dark brown and light brown scattered all over the wood.

Low Grass

I found a pile of dead grass in the green grass and decided I wanted to take a picture of it. I found a low vantage point and took several pictures. I like the focus on the dead grass, but if I could change one thing, it would be refocussing the green grass in the fore and backgrounds.

Moon

While I missed the moon during its 'strawberry' phase, I was able to get it before it became another new moon. I like how there is a structure to the moon on the top side then it fades on the bottom side. If you look closely you can see the smaller details only found in night-time pictures that I was able to capture in the daytime.

Falling In

Another one of the shots I wanted to capture was a close-up of the ball falling into the hole. Since I zoomed in, there is less sunlight in the picture resulting in a darker picture. Also since I zoomed in, the camera had a better chance to capture the ball rolling into the hole.

Hole in Three

A hole in three isn't good in a golf match, but for this picture, it was needed. In the very first hours of sunlight, I went to a putting green and captured the balls rolling into the cup. It wasn't easy since the sun was already making the picture too bright. One ball was too small to be seen so I rolled three toward the hole. This allowed the camera to see the ball and record it through this picture.

Bolt of a Thunderstorm

I was taking pictures of the sunset and I didn't even know that this was a thunderstorm. As I looked over the pictures I took I found this tiny bolt of lightning in one of my pictures. I was so happy. I have never been able to take a picture of a bolt of lightning, until now.

Thundersunset

This sunset was different then any other I have seen. I was in Dallas when a thunderstorm formed north of me. The sunset reflected itself onto the thunderstorm making this. On top of that, I was able to capture a bolt of lightning in the middle of the whole thing. That picture to come tomorrow.

Sprinkler

After the rains passed, someone's sprinklers turned on. The only problem is that this sprinkler was broken. It wasn't spraying the grass instead it shot upwards. While it wasn't good for the grass it is good to take pictures of. I increased the ISO to let the shutter speed be at its fastest and I took several pictures of it.

Fruit of the Rain

At a house that has several plants and some fruit plants, I found these fruits covered in rain. The fruits seem to be a peach or something similar to that. The rain helps to add a bright color to the fruit. It also helps to make the fruit a darker color and shinier.

Clear Spheres

Something about these clear spherical raindrops makes me love the picture. The leaf on its own isn't very interesting, but put some clear raindrops on them and the picture is much better. It might be the difference in shape or the difference in color I don't know. What I do know is that this looks much better with the raindrops.

Hanging

Nothing in this picture is straight. The grass was bent over and the raindrops were hanging on the grass. This is one of my favorites from this theme. The rain creates bright tones that contrast the dark green grass.

Macro

When taking pictures of nature, I like to put the main object in a very sharp focus. This allows the viewer to see exactly what I saw when I was taking this picture. It also allows the viewer to see things I couldn't see when I took the picture. I didn't see the small black and yellow bug when I took the picture but I did see the folded leaves.

A Group of Flowers

These flowers caught my eye for both their color and quantity. I don't normally find a group of flower together. I do like how each flower has a different color. Some have more white, and others have more purple.

Bunch of Flowers

This is a plant I have never seen before. It is a group of tiny sponge-like balls on a stem. The balls on the plant have a very interesting texture on them. They aren't smooth and look like tiny sponges. Maybe they help the plant absorb water to help it live.

Fallen Flower

This purple flower was hanging low on its branch when the water fell on it. I like the streaks on it that make it more interesting. I also like the dimension the water makes on it. The water adds another thing to look at. 

Picture Taking

Sometimes picture taking isn't venturing to someplace to take the perfect shot. Sometimes the pictures come to you. A simple walk around the neighborhood could give you five interesting pictures. Look at people's yards, gardens, trees, and the animals. 

Shape

A good picture also has depth. It isn't a two dimensional object that is one colored, it is an object with a shape and several colors scattered around the picture. Water helps with shape and depth. Without the water in this picture, it would be pretty simple. A green leaf with other leaves surrounding it.

Water in Nature

I like the way that water makes a picture so much better. It brightens the picture by reflecting the colors. It also forms interesting shapes that do not often seem in nature otherways. There aren't many other spherical and clear objects that are commonly found in nature.

Water

Water is great for reflecting objects and mimicking the color of an object. In this picture, the water is pink as it mimics the pink in the flower. It also has a grey color since that is the color of the sky. The clouds had not fully moved away but that's good so the sun wouldn't be overexposing the picture.

Rain Drop

A common weather occurrence in Dallas during the summer are pop-up thunderstorms. They are fueled by heat and the water (humidity) in the air. They pop up without warning and can bring huge amounts of rain and wind. This pop-up thunderstorm brought nothing more than rain. It lasted for ten minutes then the sun returned, and I went out looking for picture opportunities.

Flipped

As rain from the thunderstorm landed on the branches and leaves, it formed rain-drops. If you look closely at the raindrops, you can see the surrounding environment. Except it is flipped. The gray sky is on the bottom and the green tree is on top.

Color 

Another thing you want to focus on when you take a picture of an object is what do you want to be the center point of your picture? It can be a color or an object. Using this picture as an example, I chose my center point to be the color white in the flower. I knew that if I get the color white the correct exposure, the rest of the picture will fall into place.

Shadows

When taking this picture, I wanted to have the shadow of the flower be the main focus. The exposure couldn't be too low or else the shadow would disappear. The exposure couldn't be too high or else the white on the flower would distract your eyes from the shadow.

Bright Flowers

When taking pictures of bright flowers, especially during the daytime, you have to change the camera's settings to compensate for the brightness of the flower. I wanted to have the flower stand out in the picture but also have it be dark enough so that it isn't overexposed.

Bee Pictures

It is not very easy to take pictures of a small moving object, like a bee. They are small making them harder to be in focus and they move very fast. They stay at each flower for only a few seconds then fly to another. You have to just position your camera at one flower and wait for the bees to go to that flower.

Woodpecker

Like the other birds, this woodpecker also flew away when I tried to take pictures of it. When I arrived, it was on a tree. After I started taking pictures, it flew to the roof of this house. Using my zoom lens, I was able to take a closer picture.

Food Hunting

Away from the river, and back in the city, I found several birds looking for food. When I first stopped to take pictures, there were about 20 birds. After I stopped and started taking pictures, they all flew away. Except for this bird. It didn't mind me taking pictures of it, as long as I didn't get in between him and his food.

Crashing Waves

Closer to the banks of the river, the waves actually crashed. The shallow water forced the waves to fold over themselves. Like the other wave picture, I wanted to get as low to the water as I could, but the shrubbery and plants didn't allow me.

Waves

It was a breezy day on the river. There weren't many big waves, just a lot of small ones. I was trying to capture a wave folding over, but they weren't big enough to crest over themselves. I was also trying to get as low to the water as possible, but this was about the closest I could get.

Dead Tree

Still, on the banks of the river, I found this dead tree. It seemed odd that a tree would die next to water, but on second thought, I believe it died from a disease or it rotted. Another reason I took pictures of it was that the branches had no leaves on them. I enjoy the contrast between the branches and the bright sky.

Water Grass

Another plant on the banks of this river is this type of grass. It is very tall, probably since no one has cut it, and has a small flower on top. The grass stem seems green but the flower seems to be dry. How can that be if it grows in the water? I don't know.

River Plants

On the banks of the river are several types of plants. There is tall grass, small trees, and these plants. I wanted to take pictures of these plants because they are very simplistic with flowers only on the ends. I also admire how the trees and water in the background are blurred but still recognizable.