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.