The view of Mount Rainier over Tipsoo Lake. This is the view when you reach the summit of Blewett Pass on the eastern side of Mount Rainier National Park. I've GOT to get back up there, and soon!
On a clear day..... You can see forEVer.... unless there is a mountain in your way. A crystal clear morning in deep winter allows the light to fully show the northern face of Mount Rainier; a view usually obscured by clouds and rain. If/When I move away from the Pacific Northwest, this will be the thing I'll miss the most... the view of my Mountain.
Two things: One, this tree was conspicuously lacking it's Pot of Gold... or it was good at hiding. Two: Isn't the rainbow supposed to run out of colors at purple? Look closely and you'll see another band of green, and then another band of purple, then a faint band of teal and a smidge of more purple...
This is what Maple Valley looks like at Sunrise.... near Renton, Washington
Morning Fog sleeting through the trees... Mount Rainier, looking out over Renton, Washington. It doesn't LOOK cold... but I assure you...
A cold, foggy morning looking at Mount Rainier. Still, I woke early to get this shot, and I'll gladly do it again. Memo to self: buy some good gloves...
Caught at another drawbridge, waiting until the slow boats below finish their passage. Well... as long as I'm stuck on the bridge, I'm going to finally get this view that I see so often on the record! Mount Rainier looking out over the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington.
A light mist during a Sunrise can really add a dimension to the play of light... but a heavy mist while hiking in the mountains means that you get to pay attention to the little things near the ground! Things such as these 3" tall plants and their dew encrusted web on Mount Shasta in California.
Highly carbonated water caught bubbling up near Shasta Springs, California.
I took this picture fully intending to inflict this upon my Sister-in-law in puzzle form... and you can get a puzzle done of any of these pictures in the Prints of Light galleries! This one would be a challenge, though. These beautiful trees posed for me near Shasta Springs, California.
I was originally trying to get stars to show up behind the Flag this night. I was not successful in that idea, but this fountain looked like it was shooting out blue flame with an exposure time of about 10 seconds.
Okay, beyond the Evergreens I grew up around in Seattle, this kind of tree is my favorite; they just embody the image of shelter in my eyes. This beauty is a highlight of the Quan Yin Garden near Mount Shasta, California.
A beautiful statue of Quan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy in the center of a private garden dedicated to her. In the woods near Mount Shasta, California.
This view of Mount Rainier over lake Tipsoo is visible from the highway as you summit Blewett Pass, to the east of the mountain. I had never seen it before the day I took this photo, and it is now my favorite view of this amazing peak.
While I was adoring the view of Mount Rainier from the east, I noticed what looks to be a huge cave opening on the northeast side of the mountain. Surely just a case of convenient shadows, right?
I love mountains, and I love clouds; you may have noticed. This shot is from the 'Ski Bowl' up on Mount Shasta, looking south. I didn't even notice the cloud that looks like a Whirling Dervish until I made this my desktop image on my computer! Whirl away, Mr. Dervish! Knowing that 'Dervish' means 'Portal' I wonder where his doorway leads?
A nursery tree fallen in the foreground raises a new batch of baby evergreen trees in the Old Growth in Mount Rainier National Forest. For scale, the fallen tree in back is about five or six feet in diameter, and the baby trees were about 2.5 to 3 feet tall.
Old railway bridge over the Sacramento River, built in 1909 if I remember right. Still in daily use just upstream of Dunsmuir, California.
The clouds on this day were crisp, clear, and oh-so-high in the atmosphere... That's the sun in the lower right corner, and the shape of an Archangel on the lower left. It was as if it was 'pushed out' of the cloud layer by an Angel... but they don't DO faceplants, to they? Now a cannonball I can see, or maybe a pike or swandive... The fancy colors are a particularly fancy example of lens flare, don't you think?
THIS cloud was like a visitor.. usually you don't see the light shining around a cloud like this! I kept looking at it, taking pictures, hoping to figure out why it was so different. At least I could capture the sight with the camera.
Two 'White Fire Eagles' in the sky... they were too bright to look at with your eyes (That's the sun in the lower left!) Lots of folks see shapes in the clouds in the sky... but I get both front AND side views!
I just love clouds. The endless variety, the gossimer shapes like the contrails of the Angels... these were 'flying' over Rose Hill, near Kirkland, Washington.
The only rosey colored clouds during this Sunset... I usually don't see them from behind!
Ever get caught getting home a little late? One of those mornings where you are just wandering in, la-de-da, and the rest of the house starts to get ready for it's day? Yeah, the moon got busted by my camera this particular morning...
Three high altitude... Contrails? The left one spreading straight, the middle one twisted horizontally, the one on the right twisted vertically. I have no idea how this is possible... I'll leave it to the meteorologists to explain it away!
There's always ONE in the crowd! "WHEEEEEE" he says, while the rest of the Choir looks on...
I have a series of this cloud approaching Mount Shasta (foothills on the lower right), and then blending in with the Lenticular cloud which was already there. Water vapor. Uh-huh.
The phrase "Clouds like flames burned white across the sky..." filled my mind as these glowed in the evening sunlight.
I think I took fifty photos of this cloud; the rays of light were so pronounced I had to pull off of the freeway and capture the sight. This shot kinda looks like a kneeling Angel holding the sun, her halo would be off to the left, her hem to the right. Okay, all clouds look kinda like angels to me. If an Angel came down from heaven, I'd probably look at him/her and think: "What a cool looking cloud!"
This cloud just looked like a whirling ball of fire above that tree... centering the moon on it was just to irresistable for me. Now, if it could only have been at sunset! Next time.
That magic time a few hours after sunrise... the world hurries around attending to important things while sunlight pokes out around a building near Lake Union in Seattle, WA
Downtown Seattle around noon, taken from the beach near Alki Point... Look at the size of that Cruise Ship bound for Alaska! What a great day to go sailing...
A particular weakness of mine is a good sunset, one where the Light itself is visible, either illuminating the clouds or the sky... and on this evening, both.
Yes, this actually IS a sunset, not a moon-rise! The sun had set a few minutes before I took this shot and the light levels had dropped VERY quickly. Odd for my lattitude, but it sure made for a nice image!
The Sun was setting, the sky was on fire, the clouds above me were raining but the rain wasn't hitting the ground... what a Sunset!
Those high clouds seemed to be an echo of Light coming from just off of the Sunset! This is in the valley just east of Tukwilla, Washington.
Purple Fog rising from the valley over Renton, Washington at Sunrise.
The wind was blowing the fog my way at a pretty good clip, up out of the valley and over these trees right inbetween my camera and the Sun. It lookes like flame in the photo... and it did in real life as well!
Sunset over the Railyard in Tukwilla, Washington. Yawn, yawn, just another perfect end to a beautiful day in the Northwest.
One white cloud in a chrome yellow sunset! My buddies are calling "hurry up, Michael!" and I want to take just one... more... shot....
This is a sunset over a wooded hill for a skyline... the sunlight reflecting off of the bottom of those clouds was almost impossible to capture it was so bright. The guys with me had heard me use the term "Chrome Orange" when describing sunsets before, this day they understood.
These Croci were wet from a recent rainfall... not suprising since they were in Seattle! The color just captivated me; I must have taken about 50 photos of these gals...
And yet another Calendula. This one is obviously more yellow, and apparently very tasty! Looks like he's tasting the Sun. I use a slightly cropped version of this photo on my business cards, so if it looks familiar, yeah, this is the same shot.
This is Spike. He's a Calendula. Roses start out as buds, and then slowly unfold to reveal their beauty. Calendulae bud, go Spike, and THEN reveal their beauty. Punk Flowers... who knew?
Another angle on the ten foot Hollyhock. I have no idea how tall they are supposed to get but this one was just so impressive. Also, I have a penchant for photographing the light coming through a flower... They remind me stained glass.
Here's a nice bunch of Lazy Susans. Or Brown nose Susans. Or Something. All I know is that whenever somebody is trying to denote "Spring" in advertising, they use these.
I had just proposed a theory to a buddy of mine; one which said that flowers were like spotlights in the garden. I have real problems getting the colors to reproduce correctly if I take the photos in the evening. It was as if (I was telling her) the flowers were radiating light, not just reflecting it. To the eye, this poppy's outer petals were the same shade as the inner petals; to the camera, this flower was focusing light through the top of it's bloom.
"Poppies!" It's just one of those words that makes me laugh...
Apple Blossoms... the center one blooms first, and the other buds frame it for a few days before blooming on their own. You don't notice the aroma until you walk away from the tree and something is missing...
I still laugh when I see this image... I just can't believe how far this bumble bee stuck his head into this tiny little flower! He just grabbed hold with his little feet and SNNNOOORRRKK!!! It must have been an especially good vintage don't you think?
