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2013-01-25 08:55:13 (19 comments, 0 reshares, 20 +1s)

The Best Laid Schemes of Mice and Men Often Go Awry

- Robert Burns  (English Translation)

I know I said I was back, but I found things went awry the day after I posted :0.  Pipes broke in the yard from the deep freeze, taking a week to find and fix, the flu passed through and now I am unfortunately fighting a battle with my vision.  

Unable to keep my eyes open for any length of time is inconvenient at best.  Shooting is out and reading is now minimally done in order to save the good moments for necessary things.  I know it doesn't sound like fun, but it's just another hurdle for me and one that I will jump eventually.  For now, I wait for the right combo of meds from the modern medicine arsenal and hope they find something soon.

On the up side, my "little" rescue is growing like a weed!  He has doubled his weight and height,learne... more »

2013-01-07 00:41:35 (31 comments, 1 reshares, 53 +1s)

What Happened?

Wow, I have been gone so long and so much has changed!  Guess it's time to catch up ;).  

The holidays were good, but empty of one great service dog in this world.  Lo and behold, about the same time Max passed, this little guy was born.  I rescued him, having been taken from his mom too early and have nearly gotten him back to full health.  He is crazy lively and will be big enough to carry my equipment in no time ;).  Meet Hunter, my new boxer/lab.

I look forward to catching up and seeing where everybody is again!

2012-12-22 07:53:25 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

#WeeklyPhotoProject2013

Welcome to the Weekly Photo Project for 2013!

The idea of the project is to learn more about photography and your camera. Each week you will take a photograph based on a theme and execute it anyway you feel fit.

This is an open project, and you can join at any time.

Please read the About page for all the details and instructions on posting.

Feel free to share this post with all your friends. If you took part in the +Project52-2012 you'll be right at home.

#2012project52   #project522012

2012-11-15 08:34:11 (20 comments, 1 reshares, 41 +1s)

Feeding Frenzy

Last weekend I had a chance to visit the Nisqually Wildlife Refufe, where over 300 types of birds take refuge during their migration cycle.  It is where the freshwater of the Nisqually River meets the Puget Sound salt water.  

This is where I finally made up my mind I am getting a long lens!!!!  I saw so many different birds, including a flock (?) of Great Blue Heron and did not have the reach to get to it with any clarity.  Now, which one??  ;))

2012-11-13 03:10:36 (25 comments, 2 reshares, 57 +1s)

A Room With a View

I surely wish it was my house that has this view, too!  This is a shot from earlier this year during one of my wandering days....  The stack of lenticulars on top of Mount Rainier and the smoke and fog in the valleys had me shooting it on the way to my destination and when I was on the way back.

For #mountainmonday , curated by +Michael Russell, because it's high time I get through some of my mountain backlog!  :)) 


#mtrainier   #mountrainier   #plusphotoextract   #lenticular  

2012-11-04 20:43:47 (32 comments, 3 reshares, 51 +1s)

Farewell My Friend, We Will Meet Again One Day

We found each other nearly a decade ago. You had suffered at the hands of someone who harbored ugliness in his heart and needed to heal.  To do that you needed to trust again.  Believe me, we were both in the same shape. We became inseparable, even getting waivers for you to be at work with me because you threw such tantrums when I left you alone :))

You helped me in ways I never could have imagined. You always thought it was a game, but later it would come in handy when I was in need.  So for every time I fell and you braced to help me up, everything I dropped and you picked up and brought to me, for every time you had to find the phone when I needed it - thank you.  When I didn't think I could get out of bed your happy face got me going, breathing over me like a little kid, ready to start the day - I will miss that.<... more »

2012-10-26 22:21:02 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 34 +1s)

Northern Lights : I haven't seen the northern lights in years, and to be honest, I didn't even 'see' them when I took this photo. To the naked eye, only the stars were visible, and they were spectacular. But in every long exposure, you could see the aurora glowing.

At sunrise the next morning, I was paying for staying up so late to shoot these. But well worth it, IMO!

2012-10-26 21:32:03 (15 comments, 0 reshares, 36 +1s)

Teach them while they are young!

Yesterday I spent the day with my daughter and granddaughter, chasing sunbreaks and fall color.  For three, she gets some pretty good shots with this little camera and really looks forward to going shooting!  :)

2012-10-25 05:15:33 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 36 +1s)

The Road Home

A busy schedule this week has made for stressful evenings.  This helps :)

2012-10-24 08:51:09 (9 comments, 1 reshares, 38 +1s)

This Late Night Final Post of the Evening is Brought to You by the Word "RED"

I found this scene while wandering around on the UW campus.  A perfect blend of old and new architecture, covered in a blindingly bright red vine!  The campus itself was founded in 1861 on 10 acres in the heart of Seattle.  If you want to get some really good architecture shots, go n a weekend!

2012-10-24 08:38:19 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 17 +1s)

Perfect Read for a Rainy Day!  (That's just about every day here now :))

http://www.photoextract.com/plus-extract/2012/10/21

2012-10-24 04:57:29 (19 comments, 2 reshares, 42 +1s)

There's a saying here in the Pacific Northwest that goes something like - if you don't do things in the rain you won't do much of anything....

That goes for the rest of the year here!  Having been spoiled by a two month spell of no rain, I think the opposite is happening now.  

Undeterred by the rain, I found that it may be a good thing.  The rain saturates the already colorful trees and also acts as a light bokeh :).  Too bad that fly fisherman just to the right of me didn't see the fish jumping under the maple on the right.....

Taken from Flaming Geyser Bridge of the Green River in Washington State for +Tree Tuesday curated by +Christina Lawrie and +Shannon S. Myers.


#treetuesday   #pacificnorthwest   #greenriver   #flaminggeyserstatepark   #flaminggeyserbridge   #landscapephotography   #plusphotoextract  #breakfastar... more »

2012-10-24 03:47:53 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 25 +1s)

#landscapephotography   #landscapephoto  

2012-10-22 08:06:01 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 33 +1s)

This Huge Blast of Color is Brought to You by

+Project52-2012, curated by myself and +Giuseppe Basile and a wonderful team - +Shelly Gunderson , +LaDonna Pride , +Sue Butler +Gretchen Chappelle , +Greg Berdan and +Gary Munroe .  The project for the week is "Openings".  These sunflowers were opening on my patio!

it is also a good morning G+ shot, because if this doesn't brighten your day, nothing will!  It could be good day, or good night, it's hurting my eyes, too :)). 

#sunflower   #flower   #flowerphotography   #goodmorning  

2012-10-21 10:28:04 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 23 +1s)

The Geyser may not be Flaming, but the hills are on fire!

I found this bridge ages ago and couldn't for the life of me remember where.  It turns out it is only a few miles from my house at Flaming Geyser State Park.  It is actually an amazing piece of architecture.  Some day when it is not pouring rain, I will show it to you. 

For now I bring you a good morning or good evening blast of Pacific Northwest color!

Good night and good morning everybody  

#fallcolors   #fallphotos   #FlamingGeyserStatePark   #FlamingGeyserBridge   #TravelWashington   #WashingtonStateParks   #pacificnorthwest   #canonusers  

2012-10-21 03:07:20 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 24 +1s)

Welcome to My Neighborhood

I tried to get out and shoot today, frantically trying to outrun the rain for fall color.  Got a few shots off before I was soaked!  When I pulled up to the house, I saw the side of the tree in my yard from a different angle than from the front window.  It is boringly green on the other side!

Hope everyone had a great Saturday!

2012-10-20 03:39:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink!

This set of TOP's is amazing, as usual, and has a lot to do with water, starting with an amazing shot by +Lance Rudge of a place I really need to go :).  Take a minute and enjoy the view(s)!

2012-10-19 07:59:11 (17 comments, 4 reshares, 49 +1s)

Sometimes the Greatest Things are Right Before Your Eyes

Ahh, Spring. It is gone for now, but the images live on!  Good thing, or else +FloralFriday, curated by +Tamara Pruessner, would be flowerless.....  :)

A wild poppy my granddaughter picked for me and just ended up in the right spot!

#floralfriday   #wildflowers   #poppy   #orange    

2012-10-21 03:21:25 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

It's Hard to be Dainty When You Don't Wear Pants

Now that I am out of my paper mess, the rains have started!  Long term forecast says to start growing those webbed feet again!

I saw this lovely young lady young mallard in his transitional colors at Lake Washington.  I was intrigued with the way he stood so tall as he stared at the sunset. He could have been watching the kids with the popcorn bag, though too :)

Wow.  It's already midnight here.  *Have a great Friday*

2012-10-16 23:53:23 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

Technical Difficulties

This gentleman looks none too happy about whatever is taking so long!  

I will be on and off for another day or two while I figure out how to use new gadgets, put my computer back together right and file a massive amount of paper in order to find one piece!  (Moving offices and changing computers and phones is not all the fun I wanted it to be :))

Happy Tuesday!

2012-10-13 23:35:02 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Sunrise

2012-10-13 08:19:13 (9 comments, 1 reshares, 34 +1s)

It's Time for a Change

Fall has firmly taken hold in the Pacific Northwest

2012-10-13 07:37:39 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 23 +1s)

Needle in a Sunset

Last weekend's sunset was the last smoke fueled color bomb for a while.  Finally,, the rains have come to clear the air.  This shot was taken at Lake Washington looking west toward Seattle.  If you follow the skyline, you will see silhouette of the Space Needle and the glint of the sun against the skyscrapers that are on the other side of this enormous lake!

For +Sunset Saturday by +Dennis Hoffbuhr.


Good Night and Good Morning Fellow Googlers   :)

#lakewashington   #sunsetsaturday   #sunsetphotography   #orange   

2012-10-13 06:47:48 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

Too late to read a book, so why not just look at the pictures?  Warning, this first shot could induce vertigo!!  :)

2012-10-12 09:18:38 (19 comments, 6 reshares, 47 +1s)

Look At Me!

At least it seemed to be pointing that way!  Wildflowers from the garden for +FloralFriday , curated by +Tamara Pruessner .  Maybe even the +PurpleCircle! 

Good night and good morning G+!


#floralfriday   #floralphotography   #purplecircle   #purple   #wildflowers  

2012-10-12 09:10:10 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Oooh, it's got everything. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet!

2012-10-12 05:01:48 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 21 +1s)

Birds

2012-10-12 04:12:17 (31 comments, 0 reshares, 40 +1s)

I think he's laughing at me!!!!

Today was probably the last day of sun for a week.  All packed up, ready to shoot a bit of color, I get a call to pick up my daughter at school.  As I head to the city I see color popping all over the place and I am dying driving by it!!  

As I pull into the college, it becomes a zoo!  People everywhere.  I finally got to a parking lot and this is the first thing I see.  If you look closely, I really think he's getting a kick out of my irritation.

So I did the only sensible thing.  I got out and started shooting.  That made me feel better :)).  I got some color, too.  That's another story....

2012-10-11 07:01:49 (25 comments, 0 reshares, 50 +1s)

The Water Speaks to You

It really does!  When I am hiking or driving in the hills, I rarely turn on any music, but I listen to the sounds of nature. I can hear roadside waterfalls over the sound of my truck and it is wonderful. I spent an entire season of 3 day weekends photographing waterfalls throughout the Pacific Northwest.  I was mesmerized by both the power and serenity of the water.

This shot was taken when I was still using film.  Re-sharing for #waterfallwednesday , curated by +Eric Leslie because I haven't shared anything for so long!  


#waterfallwednesday   #Coppercreek   #pacificnwfriday   #pacificnorthwest   #plusphotoextract   #Washingtonwaterfalls   #serenity  

2012-10-10 05:11:56 (19 comments, 5 reshares, 47 +1s)

10 of 365: Milford Sound, New Zealand. My day began at 5:45am with a nice leisurely 5 hour drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound. I was ready to start anew and leave the worries behind. I made the rookie mistake of letting money and budget get to me, but that all changed as I drove with tunes blasting and the scenery exploding with drama the closer I got to Fiordland National Park. It’s amazing what a difference a day makes and a valuable learning lesson on my journey. At first the skies were cloudy, but showed promise. Heavy rain is the norm and clear skies in Milford Sound are few and far between, and if you’re a photographer they’re actually the last thing you want – can you say booooring. I took a 2 hour cruise on the sound and although a little blah, I met some cool people and one very cute female. I doubt I’ll ever see her again, but hey, you never know. After the cruise, the sky all thissudden st... more »

2012-10-10 03:34:30 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 20 +1s)

Last Call

I captured this Mallard heading back to shore after a little dunk just as the sun was setting on Lake Washington.  The water was aglow with the intensity of the sunset which is still hazy from the fires to the east.  Rainy weather threatens to bring a halt to that, but is it very needed here just the same.

For a missing submission, +Project52-2012, Week 31, Silhouette.  +Project52-2012 is brought to you by +Giuseppe Basile and myself, along with a loyal and hard working team of Awesome Moderators!

#2012project52 , +Canon Users  #canonusers   #birdloversworldwide   #hsqppromotion  +HQSPPromotion  +Breakfast Art Club +Breakfast Club 

2012-10-08 19:46:53 (23 comments, 0 reshares, 40 +1s)

The tiniest shaft of light can make the biggest difference!

More from my trip up to Mt. Rainier last week.  As I debated and drove from here to there to find the best place for sunset, knowing it was going to be handheld (<----somebody forgot the tripod), I looked in my rear view mirror and saw this.  By the time I could get out and shoot, all that was left was the tiniest shaft of light that lit up the edge of Mt. Rainier.  I'm calling it 'mission accomplished' !

For #mountainmonday  by +Michael Russell.  I finally made it on Monday ;))


#mtrainier   #sunsetphotography   #mountainphotos   #cascades  

2012-10-08 18:14:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

8 TOP Google+ Photographs for October 6
=====================================
#plusphotoextract  

YOUR photo could be in the SUPPORTER SECTION in the next daily Google+ TOP!

How? It's easy:
.

1) Share publicly this G+ post

2) Choose one of the best photographs you have published on G+ and leave a comment with a link under the original G+ post:
https://plus.google.com/+JarekKlimek/posts/YC9G3PfbDXe
Jarek Klimek will manually choose one of those photos and place it in the supporter section in the TOP for the next day!


Indicate your best photographs to the Plus Extract algorithm:
https://plus.google.com/111873853137122484021/posts/37u6oWycU3K

Plus Extract FAQ:
https://plus.google.com/111873853137122484021/posts/LqrTRbP7Cpb

#photography              #potd... more »

2012-10-08 07:28:10 (29 comments, 1 reshares, 38 +1s)

Autumn on the Water

The wind is brisk, temperatures are down.
The sunset produced an amazing light in the sky,
Yet the chairs sit empty.
Autumn has finally come to the Pacific Northwest.

From tonight, when I had an opportunity to shoot with my daughter and 3 year old granddaughter.  They grow up so fast.  I feel lucky to have the time with both of them, both of them doing the very thing I love most.  (Okay, my granddaughter brought her camera, but decided the playground at this lake was cooler!) 

#lakewashington   #sunsetphotography   #sunset   #plusphotoextract   #autumn  

2012-10-07 08:05:17 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 48 +1s)

Back to my Roots, and they are on fire!

Today I left the garden and headed for Mt. Rainier to see the fall color.  There really wasn't any, at least where I was near Tipsoo Lake.  I haven't done many landscapes lately and it was getting really depressing :)).  

This is one I took on the way home from Tipsoo Lake.  With little light left, I was able to catch the wild fires in the Cascades.  I think this is a new one - there was a red glow that was visible at points where it was impossible to get a shot off!

Enjoy and good night!

2012-10-05 07:01:28 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Are you a "K" Photographer? #AZfaves  

The new Alphabet Series #Streamcircle  Photographers Circles.
Feel free to reshare

Edited: I saw the #AZfaves  tag after I posted this... so here are my favorite K photographers =)

I'm going through the streams of each photographer I follow to see what they have been up to. and continuing to sort my 2000+ photog circle into smaller ones based on first name this time

I am sharing active photogs, no matter what their photography type or number of followers.. so there are all types in here. Yes, I visited EACH of the streams myself to validate this.

The folks in this circle have all been active in the last month , share their own work, and their first names start with "K". Of course, Active means in the public posts which I can see

There are a fewwho ... more »

2012-10-05 01:18:13 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 17 +1s)

"A September Remembrance"
Tomorrow morning I will be here once again for the second part of our annual photo photo meetup! 

Regardless of what a lot of photographers say, there is a great deal of "luck" involved with getting a photo. I am not really sure if there is any greater luck than the weather itself. I only have control over my camera, things like fstop, exposure, shutter speeds, lenses, filters, deciding when to click the shutter. Often times I am presented with skies which are completely cloudless when I wanted clouds for instance and every once in awhile mother nature gives me something to where I am literally screaming at the sky in excitement. 

Fog in Colorado is a very uncommon thing and for this, I just happened to pick the right place to have as a meeting point for the first day of our annual "Fall In Colorado Photo Meetup"t... more »

2012-10-05 00:49:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Worth a shot!  Thanks +Joe Azure! 

2012-10-04 00:12:35 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

Another colorful edition (Black and white are colors too :)) from PhotoExtract!  

2012-10-03 23:58:42 (20 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

When you plant too late.... *

You will likely have lines of fruits and veggies sunning on your deck too :))

Shot 2 of +Project52-2012 theme "Color".  *This is for you +Lori Seebeck !!  I forgot my "skittles" had dark spots on the tip :))

2012-10-03 06:10:53 (9 comments, 4 reshares, 36 +1s)

Glass Trickery

A friend of mine came over who knew I liked shooting glass with a crazy colored jar that I couldn't help but shoot.  

Funny thing. You know how they say you can't see the forest for the trees?  That was me.  I kept seeing this white shape, kind of like an eagle, on every picture of this jar.  It took me a few, but it is the reflection of my wildflower garden all the way to the clearing on the other side of the yard. I found the tree!

For Week 40, 'Color' of  +Project52-2012, #2012project52  Curated by +Giuseppe Basile and +Kate Church (me) and Moderated by +Gretchen Chappelle, +Greg Berdan , +Sue Butler, +LaDonna Pride, +Shelly Gunderson 

#2012project52   #coloredglass   #glass   #color      

2012-09-30 06:31:58 (35 comments, 1 reshares, 50 +1s)

Pretty Girl

Looking through unprocessed shots, I found this one from earlier this year.  This is a Red Fox at Mt. Rainier National Park.  The dark spot under her neck is a tracking beacon.  The Park uses this to see how much time these animals come close to human areas.

Remember not to feed any of the animals in the wild, even in the wilderness of the National Parks!  They will become too casual around people and could end up paying for it with their lives.


#redfox   #plusphotoextract   #mtrainier   #mtrainiernationalpark   #fox  

2012-09-29 18:14:21 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

This is a WOW edition!  Take a minute to look at it and you will see what I mean!  Congratulations to all that are in today's edition :))

2012-09-29 02:38:35 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 26 +1s)

Lily of the Nile 

I found this awesome colored flower in California and until today did not know what it was.  Apparently, I found a Lily of the Nile or Agapanthus.  (Hopefully that's right!)  For +FloralFriday,   #floralfriday , curated by +Tamara Pruessner.

#floralfriday     #Trumpetflower  ,   #lilyofthenile  ,   #agapanthus  

2012-09-28 21:03:31 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

I think I Ruffled some Feathers!

This Dark Eyed Junco was a little camera shy, so I visually followed where it went when it flew off and happened to catch the landing at it's new spot before it flew off again.  Though it may not be an award winning shot, it was too cute to pitch!  (Best looked at Large)

Happy Friday

2012-09-27 22:17:40 (12 comments, 1 reshares, 36 +1s)

Yellow Tigridia

Contrasting greatly with the vivid red and yellow of the earlier Tigridia I posted, this Yellow Tigridia is beautiful in it's subtle tones.

For +Project52-2012 , #2012project52  Week 39, Negative Space.
Curated by +Kate Church (me), +Giuseppe Basile and the Awesome Team of Moderatosrs!


#tigridia   #yellowflowers   #flowersphotography  

2012-09-24 02:27:22 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

Totally and completely caught off guard when I found out my image had made it to Plus Photo Extract!  Thank you +Jarek Klimek for all of your hard work!  Congrats to all that are in this issue, too.  

2012-09-21 09:16:26 (22 comments, 12 reshares, 63 +1s)

So I got a little crazy......

This is the result!  When my vision took a dive I could only look at images that were considerably enlarged and did not have a lot of white space.  I was shooting, hoping something would come out good when I processed them.

This is one that really caught my eye when I zoomed in.  You are looking at the Pistil and Stamen from the Tigrdia in my garden.  To me, it looks like a little person with a feather in their cap :))  Perhaps it is so elaborate and unusual because the flower lasts only one day? 

For +FloralFriday,   #floralfriday  , curated by +Tamara Pruessner 

And for all those early risers or night owls, for +Breakfast Art Club,   #breakfastartclub .

Friday's are also good for +ColorsOnFriday , curated by +E.E. Giorgi, +Gilmar Smith, +Christina Lihani and +Erin Henderson   

#plusphoto... more »

2012-09-20 07:35:28 (21 comments, 3 reshares, 52 +1s)

The Final Rose

Fall is making a very late showing in the Pacific Northwest with little change in the color of the foliage.  There is one thing in my garden that is done for the season, that is my rose tree.  This is the final rose of the season.

 For +Project52-2012,   #2012project52  "Autumn".  Created by +Giuseppe Basile, curated by +Kate Church  (me)  and my wonderful group of moderators - +Sue Butler, +Gretchen Chappelle, +Greg Berdan, +Shelly Gunderson and +LaDonna Pride.

#rose   #flowerphotography    

2012-09-17 17:20:01 (44 comments, 27 reshares, 185 +1s)

There is Strength in numbers!

These two juvenile Steller's Jays have spent their summer on the front porch at my daughter's.  Once they could fly and hunt, the parents took off!

In a continued effort to catch up on my own project (:D), I present to you a pair of Stellers Jays for the theme {"Animals}.  Their color is amazing!  For +Project52-2012 , #2012project52   Created by +Giuseppe Basile , curated by +Kate Church (me)  and my wonderful group of moderators - +Gretchen Chappelle, +Greg Berdan, +Shelly Gunderson, +Sue Butler & +LaDonna Pride.