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.