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.