Sea Far 

Next, we went to Discovery Park. We hiked from the parking lot through several trails and to the shoreline. One of the trails led to this rocky little beach. While I was there, I could see far out into the Puget Sound. I like the dark colored rocks and how they contrast the picture. The sky is bright blue which also made the water bright blue. The rocks helped to make the picture not so bright and to also contrast all of the blues.

Crossing of the Seas

On our way out, several boats pulled into the big lock to be moved from the Puget Sound to Lake Union. The first boat was this pirate boat. The people on the boat were dressed like pirates, they had pirate music, and even a miniature blimp. I believe they were headed to the annual Sea-Fair. I didn't go to it, but I saw the traffic to the Sae-Fair and heard the Blue Angles flying above.

Algae

The locks also help control the amount of water in Lake Union. There was one lock that was open and six others that were closed. On the concrete slab that leads the Lake Union water to the Puget Sound water, was algae. I like the look of the algae. It is green and yellow and is all laying toward the camera.

Sea Lions

Another animal they I saw at the locks was this one sea lion. It managed to swim upstream into the salmon locks before going back out. It floated on the top of the water surface, probably resting, before swimming away.

Chinook Salmon

In a viewing point of the salmon locks, there was this chinook salmon resting in front of a window. I had to readjust from the outside sun to the inside darkness. It was very interesting to see the salmon flow upstream. They only travel in groups and most they have to use a lot of energy just to get upstream.

Salmon

The next day, we went to the Ballard Locks. We saw two waves of small boats and one big boat move through the locks. A few hundred feet away from the locks was a lock for salmon. It was like several flights of stairs that helped the salmon move into freshwater. Next to the entrance was this large group of salmon. This is where you could see them best. The other parts were shady and the fish weren't on top of the water. 

Overcast and Rainy

On an average, 152 days of the year are sunny. The other 213 are overcast like this and slightly misty. During the morning of the picture there was mist, but as the day moved on, the mist moved out. While I wish the sky was light blue, I like the grey. It blends in with the color of the buildings and water. It makes the buildings stand out.

Forest Paths

When I was walking between viewpoints in the garden, there was this path surrounded by very tall trees. The trees were covered in moss and there were small plants on the sides of the path. It was very calm and very relaxing. No wonder they put a Zen garden in it.

Reflecting Pool

In another area of the garden, was this reflecting pool. I stood at the edge of the pool trying to capture that most of the reflection. While I was able to capture the reflection, I forgot to make sure that the picture was centered. It doesn't make the picture look too bad, but I can still notice that it isn't straight.

Leading River

A small manmade stream flew throughout the property. I put my camera as close to the water as I could. I wanted to capture the stream, the plants surrounding the stream, the trees in the background, and the reflection. I think the best part about this picture is all of the green. It's a color that I normally don't see but it's a color I want to see more of.

Zen Garden

In the middle of the lot, there is a traditional Zen garden next to a house. I was really impressed with the garden. The only marks in the sand were the lines surrounding the stones. I also like how there was moss on the stones. It gives the stones a different color that we don't normally see in Texas.

Dew

The river and humidity created dew that covered all of the plants. I chose this plant because I like the contrast of colors on the plant. It is mostly green with shades of brown. The dew creates an interesting color that only water droplets make.

Hidden River

The next place we visited was Bainbridge Island. The ferry ride there was rainy, windy, and cold. Once we got to the island, the rain dissappeared and it became a perfect day. After lunch, we went to the Bloedel Reserve. It is 150-acres of forests, gardens, and trails that run throughout the property. 

Sunset on the Lake

For dinner that night, we went to a restaurant on the lake. This hill, the neighborhood of Queen Anne, was to our west. As the sun went down, I wanted to capture the whole scene. The water, boat, neighborhood, and sunset. I tried to time it so most of the sun was behind the hill and it made a silhouette of everything else.

Downtown

The next side I went to had a perfect view of downtown. You can see all of the skyscrapers, the Puget Sound, and some of the mountains outside of the city. I like this view point of the city. Since I was 600 feet above ground level, I was looking down on the city instead of looking up at the skyscrapers. Something I don't do very often.

Lake Washington

Atop the Space Needle, you could see the entire city of Seattle. From this angle, we see Lake Washington and the neighborhood of Queen Anne (the oldest part of Seattle). On the lake, there were boats and seaplanes. The seaplanes used the lake as a runway when they started or finished taking visitors on a tour around Seattle.

Glass in Nature

When Chahuli was placing the glass pieces around the museum he did it with a vision. It isn't just scattered randomly around the museum. He purposely put tall plants near tall sculptures and plants that spread out near sculptures that spread out. His vision helps that sculptures look more natural and more like they were anticipated to be there.

Grass Orb

The design on this ball of glass almost mimics the grass. The colors on the black glass spiral out from the center like the grass does around the orb. The grass seems to be making an even bigger spiral as it surrounds the orb.

Towers

The tall glass sculpture looks like a perfect match against the Space Needle. Both are tall and straight, almost matching each other. I also was glad that when I took this picture the sun wasn't out. The sun would have been right in between the glass and the Space Needle, overexposing the picture.

Row Boat

The first thing I notice when I look at all of the sculptures is the different shapes of glass. There is never the same glass piece in a single sculpture. The second thing I notice is the crisp reflection off of the glass bottom. It provides an interesting new view of the glass.

Glass Garden 

The next room was a long row of different glass sculptures. They came in all different colors, shapes, and sizes. The hardest part about that pictures of glass is it reflects light very well. The front blue pieces of glass were easy to photograph but the back yellow piece of glass made my photo look overexposed. To fix that I increased the shutter speed and focussed on the yellow glass to make sure that it didn't ruin the picture.

Light

The next room in, the lights were covered by colored glass. The glass made the light turn the color casting different colored light across the room. I chose to take pictures of this glass piece because of the ripples in it and the different colors. It was one of the few that were blue and red and I thought two colors would be more interesting to photograph than one.

Reflection

This sculpture was designed with the sea in mind. It has a wave-like appearance, the colors are blue and yellow, and the small yellow glass objects are animals from the sea. Some of the yellow objects are octopus and squid, and others are different types of fish.

Glass Rods

The next day, we went to the Chihuly Museum next to the Space Needle. Inside the museum, it is very dark. Most of the lights are from the glass or lights only lighting the glass. On the bottom of the glass work, there is a reflective surface. The surface creates a complete mirror of the glass. There isn't much of a mirror in this picture, but you will definitely see it soon.

Gum Wall

In an alley near Pike Place Market, there is this gum wall. Supposably, it was cleaned just a few months ago, but so many people have put their gum on the wall that it 'regrew.' Also, on the top of the picture, there are longer pieces of gum. I think this was from a heat wave that went through Seattle. I think it melted the gum and since it was hanging, it started to fall downward.

Glasswork

The last stall I am posting is this glass stall. Seattle is the second largest producing glass city in the world, behind Maruno, Italy. All of this glass was blown in the city. I was lucky enough to see a glass ornament being blown. It is a very delicate process that takes time and patience.

Fresh Produce

Like the crab and fish, the market also has rows and rows of fresh produce. While they had many different types of produce, the most common was cherries. This is because most of the cherries are grown in the northwest. There were three main groups but I heard several other names of cherries.

Crab

Along with fish, the crab was also very popular in the market. Like the fish, they are all fresh and were just delivered from the fishing boats. The expression they make is creeping me out. They have beady eyes and look like they are about the attack you with their claws.

Rows of Seafood

This stall was selling fresh seafood. All of it was whole until you placed an order or asked for them to cut it up so you could take it home. It was so fresh that you could even see them unloading it from the fishing boats. They took it from the boats and straight to this ice display. From there someone ordered it and took it home to eat.

Pike Place Market

The next day, we went to the market in the morning. The market has everything you think you might need. Fresh groceries from local farmers, seafood, jewellery, glass work, you name it and they have it. Right as you walk up, you see this sign and the ocean backdrop. It is the perfect place for a market from the background to the things they are selling.

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.