John Guilford's Photo Gallery: Complete

Complete Gallery of all pictures on one large page

All rights reserved. These images are not to be used or copied without my prior written permission.

Unless otherwise noted, through 2011 all pictures taken by me with a Nikon D70 camera.
Depending on the focal length, the lens is most likely either the Nikkor 18-70mm AF-S or the Sigma 70-300mm DG APO.
Starting in 2012, I switched to the Nikon D7000 with either the Nikon 18-105VR lens or the Nikon 70-300 VR lens.
In early 2013 I added the Nikon Micro 85mm lens.

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View From Glacier Point
Date: 10-Jul-2014 Time: 8:20 PM Exp: 1/13 & 1/80s @ f/10 ISO: 100 Lens: 48mm		This is the view at sunset from Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. The sun is still shining on the more distant hills though the sun has already set for the foreground. The almost full moon is peeking through the clouds. This was a HDR (high dynamic range) shot composed from two separate exposures.

Wizard Island in Crater Lake
Crater Lake is the water filled caldera of Mount Mazama in Oregon. At 1949 feet, it is the deepest lake in the United States. Its water is among the clearest of any natural body of water. This leads to the stunningly blue color that many remark upon. This is a photo of Wizard Island viewed through the trees from the western rim.		Date: 14-Jul-2014 Time: 5:13 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/7.1 ISO: 400 Lens: 28mm

Moon Climbing Over Yosemite Valley Rim
Date: 9-Jul-2014 Time: 9:13 PM Exp: 1/60s @ f/8 ISO: 100 Lens: 300mm		While staying in Yosemite Valley, the almost full moon rose over the valley rim, silhouetting some trees along the edge. Since the moon wasn't quite full, the terminator showed some nice shadowing of some craters.

El Capitan in the Moonlight
El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, is the largest monolith of granite in the world and rises more than 3000 feet above the Yosmite Valley floor. Viewed at night, under the moonlight, it takes on a different persona than during the day. This time exposure was taken when El Cap was lit by a recently risen, almost full moon.		Date: 10-Jul-2014 Time: 9:38 PM Exp: 30s @ f/6.3 ISO: 400 Lens: 30mm

Winter Sunlight Through the Misty Trees
Date: 10-Feb-2013 Time: 9:49 AM Exp: 1/125s @ f/7.1 ISO: 500 Lens: 32mm		The low sun of a winter morning shining through the misty trees in my backyard.

First Baptist Church
Like many New England towns, Wakefield, MA has its share of churches with picturesque white steeples. This is the First Baptist church which is nearly 150 years old with a 180 foot spire. The polarizing filter really darkened the autumn sky, perhaps a bit too much in this case.		Date: 6-Sep-2013 Time: 2:40 PM Exp: 1/640s @ f/6.3 ISO: 200 Lens: 18mm

Flower
Date: 27-Jun-2013 Time: 1:42 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/14 ISO: 500 Lens: 85mm Micro		Flower at the Butterfly House at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

USS Wisconsin
The USS Wisconsin, a World War II era Iowa class battleship, is now permanently moored in Norfolk, VA as a museum as part of Nauticus, The National Maritime Center. The Wisconsin was launched December 7, 1943; decommissioned on September 30, 1991; and was donated for use as a floating museum on December 14, 2009. It is 887 feet long, 108 feet wide, with a 29 foot draft, and displaces 52,000 tons. While touring the battleship, I looked for interesting angles to photograph. I particularly liked this view from directly in front of the bow.		Date: 24-Jun-2013 Time: 4:49 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/7.1 ISO: 220 Lens: 28mm

Caterpillar
Date: 27-Jun-2013 Time: 1:21 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/14 ISO: 400 Lens: 85mm Micro		This caterpillar, from a cecropia moth, was at the Butterfly House at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. I recently obtained a macro lens for my camera, and this was a great opportunity to play around with it. This caterpillar was stunning with its colorful protrusions covered with black spikes. One challenge with macro photography is the short depth of field from being that close to the subject.

Mount Trashmore
Mount Trashmore is a city park in Virginia Beach, VA. It is built on top of an abandoned landfill. While walking through the park, I noticed the Westin Town Center looming over the grassy hillside. I like the incongruous juxtaposition of the isolated tower and the field.		Date: 28-Jun-2013 Time: 10:10 AM Exp: 1/400s @ f/7.1 ISO: 250 Lens: 105mm

Butterfly
Date: 27-Jun-2013 Time: 1:28 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/14 ISO: 280 Lens: 85mm Micro		A butterfly at the Butterfly House at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

Jamestown Ship Susan Constant
This is a reconstruction of the Susan Constant, one of the three ships that brought the first English colonists to Jamestown in VA. This Susan Constant was commissioned in 1991, carries 3900 sq. ft. of sail, and displaces 120 tons. The original Susan Constant sailed from London on December 20, 1606 with 105 passengers and 39 crew, and landed at what is now Jamestown on May 13, 1607.		Date: 26-Jun-2013 Time: 2:03 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f/10 ISO: 200 Lens: 18mm

Dragonfly
Date: 25-Jun-2013 Time: 12:26 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/10 ISO: 140 Lens: 98mm		The Cape Henry Memorial, part of the Colonial National Historical Park in VA, commemerates the first landing of English colonists in VA. A quarter of an acre in size, it is perhaps the smallest park in the National Park System. It is located inside the military base Joint Expeditionary Base East (formerly known as Fort Story) near to the Cape Henry Lighthouse. The spiny brush near the shore was filled with dragonflies affording ample opportunity to photograph them

Hallstatt Lamp
Hallstatt is a beautiful alpine town in Austria full of quaint shops and restaurants. A lakeside cafe in Hallstatt, Austria had a number of lamps hanging from the tree. This orange one particularly caught my eye.		Date: 2-Jul-2012 Time: 9:19 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/5.6 ISO: 2000 Lens: 92mm

Dolomites
Date: 8-Jul-2012 Time: 2:53 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f7/1 ISO: 200 Lens: 105mm		The Dolomites in the Italian Alps above San Cassiano (St. Kassian), Italy. From the town down in the valley, you can ride a gondola up to the ski area. In the summer, you find miles and miles of walking or bicycling trails, fields of wildflowers, and stunning views of the surrounding Alps.

Little White Church on the Hill
"The Little White Church on the Hill", in Silvana, WA, was built in 1890 and originally called Zion Lutheran Church. In 1972 it was placed on the Register of the State of Washington for Historic Preservation and renamed. While bicyling in the area, I stopped near the base of the hill for a break. Looking up the lane, I saw the brilliantly white church standing out against the deep blue sky and peeking out from behind the green vegetation, and knew I'd have to return with my camera and tripod after my ride. The white church was considerably brighter than the shaded vegetation next to the road. Thus I needed several exposures ranging from 1/20s (to expose for the vegetation) to 1/400s (to expose for the sunlit church). These five exposures were combined to form the HDR (High Dynamic Range) image shown here.		Date: 4-May-2013 Time: 3:25 PM Exp: 1/20, 1/60, 1/160, 1/250, 1/400s @ f/9 ISO: 200 Lens: 45mm

Ferienhaus Unterkircher
Date: 4-Jul-2012 Time: 2:29 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/8 ISO: 1000 Lens: 25mm		A chalet in the Austrian Alps near Heiligenblut, Austria. After crossing Grossglockner Pass in the Austrian Alps, we descended to Heiligenblut where I took a photo of this inn. This image has been post processed (in a manner sometimes called tilt-shift photography) to make it look more like a miniature model rather than the real place. For comparison, the unprocessed image can be seen here.

Lights of Christmas
Each year in December the Warm Beach Camp in Stanwood, WA puts on their "The Lights Of Christmas" display. Among other things, this features more than a million lights. This display is a tiny portion of their whole display. It shows the moon rising over (presumably) the Cascade Mountains above a flowing river. Warm Beach Camp puts on a truly stunning display.		Date: 23-Dec-2011 Time: 6:09 PM Exp: 1/60s @ f/6.3 ISO: 1600 Lens: 50mm

Enchantment Lake Basin By Moonlight
Date: 27-Aug-2012 Time: 9:15 PM Exp: 30s @ f/6.3 ISO: 400 Lens: 32mm		The Enchantment Lakes basin of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness is considered by some to be one of the most spectacular places in the Cascade mountains. There are a limited number of camping permits given out per day, though anyone can day hike the Enchantments. It is a long day, however, as the loop is 18 miles with significant elevation gain and loss. This is a 30 second time exposure of the upper basin lit by the moon. There was a gusty wind blowing, and I didn't have a tripod, so I had to balance the camera on a rock. Fortunately the wind didn't seem to move the camera much, and I got this picture.

Salzburg Cathedral
The cathedral and the city of Salzburg viewed from the castle above town. The original image was modified in postprocessing to simulate ("fake") a miniture scene or model. Sometimes this is called "tilt-shift" photography. My goal was to make the picture resemble having been taken of a model of the cathedral rather than a normal picture of the cathedral.		Date: 01-July-2012 Time: 10:27:19 AM Exp: 1/250s @ f/8 ISO: 200 Lens: 18mm

Dome of Salzburg Cathedral
Date: 01-July-2012 Time: 3:26:13 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/5 ISO: 1250 Lens: 21mm		The dome above the Crossing of the Cathedral in Salzburg, Austria. The cathedral, or dom, was finished in 1628 and is 109 feet high at the dome. It was damaged in World War II, but was fully restored by 1959. When viewed from directly below, the dome takes on an abstract look.

Venice Canalside Restaurant
A canalside restaurant in Venice, Italy. Not too much else to say about it. Venice was definitely a unique place to visit.		Date: 05-July-2012 Time: 7:36:29 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/6.3 ISO: 1600 Lens: 18

Grossglockner Cycling Race
Date: 04-July-2012 Time: 1:11:31 PM Exp: 1/1000s @ f/7.1 ISO: 200 Lens: 210 Meter: Aperture Priority		While dring over the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, a 8215' pass in the Austrian Alps with numerous hair pins turns, we were delayed for a while when they closed down the road for a cycling race. We were a little ways below the pass and got to watch the cyclists zoom downhill past us, traveling considerably faster than I would have the courage to ride. It wasn't till later at home when I viewed the pictures on the computer that I realized many of the riders apparently got some food up at the pass and were eating it on the way down, as is apparent for several of the riders in this photo.

Alpine Shed
A shed in the Alps most of the way up the Hafelekar (7657 ft) above Innsbruck, Austria. The easy way to get there is via the Hungerburgbahn and Nordkettenbahn cables cars though you can hike up if you want the workout. I don't know what the shed is used for, but I loved its weather beaten appearance as well as the rocks helping to hold down the roof.		Date: 29-June-2012 Time: 12;11:53 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f/7.1 ISO: 200 Lens: 80mm

Backyard Hummingbird
Date: 09-May-2012 Time: 2:31:53 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f/9.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 300.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		This has been a good year for hummingbirds at our house with four plus birds buzzing (humming?) around our feeders. They are brave little birds and didn't mind my sitting 5 feet away on the deck photographing them. This guy was in the full sun, and the dark tree trunk in the background was in the shade, so the background appears black. I like the detail in the feathers that you can see in this image as well as his stunning coloration.

Waimea Rainbow
Waimea Canyon, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, is sometimes known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It is about 10 miles long and up to 3,000 feet deep. After we got rained on near the top of the canyon, the sun broke through, resulting in this rainbow.		Date: 21-Feb-2012 Time: 3:08:07 PM Exp: 1/250s @ f/8 ISO: 250 Lens: 18mm

Snowy Owl with Heron
Date: 11-Feb-2012 Time: 1:35 PM Exp: 1/640s @ f/9 ISO: 200 Lens: 300mm		It is rare for normally Arctic snowy owls to visit Washington state. This year an irruption of owls have been visiting. While photographing the owls along the north shore of Boundary Bay in British Columbia, a heron walked by behind the owl. This photo is a collage of three separate pictures (there weren't really three herons, it is the same one three times).

Splash of Wine
A splash of wine erupting from a goblet, this was a created image. I saw this technique on the internet, and I thought "I could do that." It is a bit messy, and it took a number of tries to get the timing down, but it was a fun way to spend a winter afternoon.		Date: 02-Jan-2012 Time: 2:43:41 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 40.00mm Meter: Manual Flash: Manual

Butchart Sunken Garden at Night
Date: 06-Aug-2011 Time: 10:39:55 PM Exp: 2.1s @ f/4.0 ISO: 400 Lens: 18.00mm Meter: Manual		Butchart Gardens near Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC contains wonderful gardens. My favorite is the Sunken Garden that was built about a hundred years ago on the site of an old quarry where they had mined limestone for a cement factory. In 1953 miles of underground wiring was added to provide night time illumination. I especially enjoy this garden at night. This is a time exposure from the north rim of the Sunken Garden. Several places in the garden you can see "ghosts" of people who moved during the time exposure. The stack in the background is all that remains of the original cement plant.

Ross Fountain at Butchart Gardens
In Butchart Gardens, near Victoria BC, is the Ross Fountain, installed in 1964 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Gardens. The fountains are illuminated and constantly changing. At night it puts on an especially colorful show.		Date: 06-Aug-2011 Time: 10:26:48 PM Exp: 1.3s @ f/4.5 ISO: 400 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Manual

Creek Street, Ketchikan, Alaska
Date: 21-Jul-2011 Time: 5:10:28 PM Exp: 1/60s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 24.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		They say that Ketchikan, Alaska gets 300 days of clouds and rain a year. We were fortunate to visit on one of their rare sunny days. This is Creek Street built on pilings over the Ketchikan Creek. It was built over the water due to the difficulty of digging out the steep hillside along the creek. A century ago it was Ketchikan's red light district, but now it is home to restaurants and shops.

Mt. Orville and John Hopkins Glacier
Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska is a stunning place. The scale can be so vast it can be hard to grasp the scale of things. This is Mt. Orville (10,272 ft), first climbed in 1995, towering over the John Hopkins glacier. From this distance, it is hard to appreciate the size of things. The John Hopkins glacier is a mile wide here, extending 250 feet above water (the size of a 25 story building) to 200 feet underwater. The glacier itself is 12 miles long and is flowing about 10 feet a day on average. It is one of the few tidewater glaciers currently advancing (most are receding). The glacier is actively calving as can be seen from all the floating ice in John Hopkins inlet. This picture was taken from a cruise ship about 5 miles away from the glacier's face.		Date: 20-Jul-2011 Time: 9:44:14 AM Exp: 1/320s @ f/9.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Chihuly Bridge of Glass Closeup
Camera: Canon S410 Date: 09-Apr-2011 Time: 4:31:40 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/2.8 Lens: 7.41mm Flash: None		This is a small part of the roof of the Chihuly Bridge of Glass at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA. This is a 500 foot long pedestrian overpass next to the museum. The 20 by 50 foot ceiling, called the "Seaform Pavilion" is made of 2364 glass art objects from Dale Chihuly's "Seaform" and "Persian" series and showcase an underwater motif. This image was made looking straight up from near the floor of the overpass.

Lanham Creek In Winter
While snowshoeing up Lanham Creek near the Nordic Center at Stevens Pass in Washington, this little cascade caught my eye. I didn't have a tripod, and had to brace the camera against a tree for this 1/3 second time exposure. By that time of the day in winter, the sun had already left the valley floor, and it was dark enough to make it easy to take a long enough exposure to blur the running water.		Date: 19-Feb-2011 Time: 1:21:50 PM Exp: 1/3s @ f/14.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 31.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Water Tower Shadows
Date: 13-Nov-2010 Time: 3:32:13 PM Exp: 1/30s @ f/9.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 38.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		While hiking in Tamalpais State Park north of San Francisco, I came upon this water tower. I loved the way the shadows of the steps played against the actual steps themselves. It makes the picture more of an abstract image.

Bachelor's Button At Yellow Point
While visiting one of my favorite places for photography, Yellow Point Lodge, I found this Bachelor's Button (Corn Flower). It was a bit challenging to shoot as the wind kept it in motion. I had to time the shot between gusts of wind.		Date: 21-Apr-2010 Time: 12:27:59 AM Exp: 1/250s @ f/8.0 ISO: 400 Lens: 220.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Golden Gate Bridge Tower
Date: 14-Nov-2010 Time: 1:04:53 PM Exp: 1/100s @ f/10.0 Lens: 18.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		One of the things I like about photography is lets me look at the world in different ways. I like to view things differently looking for a picture. While walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, I looked up from the base of the tower, and this is what I saw. I love the way the orange of the bridge contrasts with the blue sky.

Golden Gate Bridge After Sunset
The Golden Gate Bridge north of San Fransisco is said to be one of the most photographed bridges in the world. Photographing the bridge after sunset is challenging, however, as the lights (especially from the traffic) are much brighter than the bridge. This HDR (High Dynamic Range) picture was made from six separate images with exposure times varying from 1/2 second to 25 seconds. These images were then combined to form the image you see here.		Date: 14-Nov-2010 Time: 5:26:29 PM - 5:48:21 PM Exp: 25s, 8s, 4s, 2s, 1, 1/2s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 62.00mm Meter: Manual

Green Frog
Date: 26-Sep-2010 Time: 9:18:10 PM Exp: 2.5s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 220.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Kermit the frog said "It's not easy being green," but for this guy it is. This little glass frog finds it very easy. I illuminated him from underneath through a glass table top. The star burst highlights were not added with any filter or post processing - they were a pleasant surprise from the light reflecting around the lens.

Hands and Dog(?)
I shot this picture for a competition with the theme "hands". For the lighting, I dug out my old slide projector (for the first time in decades). It was surprisingly hard to get good looking shadow puppets, at least for novices like ourselves. The subject of this shot made it a natural for conversion to B&W. Doing so allowed me to focus more on the texture of the hand and shadows.		Date: 09-Sep-2010 Time: 8:46:48 PM Exp: 1/6s @ f/9.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 95.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority Lighting: Kodak Carousel Slide Projector

Mount Rainier
Date: 31-Jul-2010 Time: 7:58:06 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/13.0 Lens: 22.22mm Flash: None Camera: Canon Powershot S410		While flying into SeaTac airport near Seattle, Washington, I had great hopes of getting a great picture of Rainier (14,410'). I was on the correct side of the plane, the skies were clear, it was late in the day so the low level sunlight would light the peak well. To my horror, the battery in my DSLR died one photo before getting to Rainier. Thus I had to make do with my Point And Shoot to get this picture. In the background, Mount Adams (12,281') is visible.

Colorado Hummingbird
A hummingbird in Grand Lake, Colorado. This shot used a combination of existing light and an electronic flash to capture the detail of the bird as well as give some indication of motion. You can see a little drop on the bottom of its beak from the drink it just took in the feeder. Even with the feeder to attract them, they were still hard to capture in flight.		Date: 29-Jul-2010 Time: 2:46:53 PM Exp: 1/250s @ f/7.1 ISO: 400 Lens: 220.00mm Meter: Manual Flash: Flash fired; Auto mode

Alpine Slide
Date: 28-Jul-2010 Time: 3:37:18 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/7.1 ISO: 400 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Winter Park, Colorado is home to the longest alpine slide in the state, dropping 610 vertical feet over 3000 feet of length. An alpine slide is a track down the side of ski mountain similar to a concrete bobsled run. You take a chair lift up to the top and ride down in a little sled. The sled normally slides on teflon runners, though you can push the control stick forward to drop wheels to speed up. Conversely, if you pull back on the stick rubber blocks drop to slow you down. This is a view from the start, heading into the first turn. Both my wife and I found the ride exhilarating and had to go down several times.

Colorado Wine Country
While visiting Winter Park, Colorado, we were having a glass of wine on the deck. I noticed the refracted and inverted image of the surrounding hills in my wine glass. It was only later I noticed a third image in the stem of the glass.		Date: 25-Jul-2010 Time: 5:45:53 PM Exp: 1/100s @ f/7.1 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Impressionist Trees
Date: 21-Apr-2010 Time: 11:23:09 AM Exp: 1/100s @ f/4.5 ISO: 200 Lens: 48.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Despite looking (to me, anyway) like an Impressionist painting, this photo is as-shot from the camera. The "effect" is due to the picture actually being the reflection of the trees and skies from a small pond. A light wind was rippling the surface of the water leading to the visible effect. All I did was to turn the picture upside down. The picture was shot at a pond at Yellow Point Lodge on Vancouver Island.

Sea Lion Arch, Ecola State Park, Oregon
Sea Lion Arch rock as seen from Indian Beach at Ecola State Park near Seaside, Oregon. As is often the case on the Oregon coast, the day was foggy and not the best for photography. We had driven down to Indian beach and saw Sea Lion Arch at the far end of the beach. I hiked down to get as close as I could without getting wet. You can see some of the myriad of birds who live on and around the rocks. The ones on the arch are hard to see at this resolution; the ones at the top left are clearer. Due to the fog the picture was virtually monochromatic, and I decided it would make a better black and white image.		Date: 21-Jul-2009 Time: 5:40:24 PM Exp: 1/320s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 270.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Cape Meares Lighthouse, Oregon
Date: 20-Jul-2009 Time: 5:11:39 PM Exp: 1/60s @ f/13.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Cape Meares Lighthouse near Tillamook, Oregon is a lighthouse built in 1890, and deactivated in 1963. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby hillside offers a rather unique vantage point to see inside the lens assembly. This tight crop of the first order Fresnel lens almost has an abstract feel to it.

Evening Beach, Seaside, Oregon
Seaside, Oregon has a wide beach with soft, white sand. In the evenings small bands of people would gather around small campfires along the beach. I was surprised to see how many fires dotted the sands over a wide area. We saw this during our whole stay at Seaside, even on a cool evening with a light mist falling. I took this photo after dark but before all the light faded from the sky. This gave what I think is a dramatic look to the clouds. The fifteen second exposure blurred the cloud edges enhancing the effect. The railing in the foreground separates the beach proper from the promenade that runs the length of the beach.		Date: 20-Jul-2009 Time: 10:03:57 PM Exp: 15.0s @ f/14.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 40.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Rufous Hummingbird
Date: 16-Apr-2009 Time: 2:07:13 PM Exp: 1/500s @ f/13.0 ISO: 400 Lens: 195.00mm Meter: Manual Flash: Flash fired; Auto mode		Hummingbirds are delightful creatures to watch and listen to, but they can be difficult to photograph due to their speed. I shot this Rufous hummingbird at Yellowpoint Lodge on Vancouver Island. I needed to use my SB800 electronic flash to prevent his wings from blurring too much. I spent about 45 minutes waiting for birds to come near the feeder. Since I didn't know where one would hover, I had to hand hold the camera and try to focus and shoot quickly when a bird came by. This shot came out the sharpest of my attempts and had the feature of showing off some of the iridescence of his throat feathers.

Butchart Pansies
While visiting Butchart Gardens, north of Victoria, BC, on a rare, sunny April day, we came across these pansies. There's no great story here - just an explosion of color. These flowers where on a hillside above the walking path, so I was able to get below them for a shot from a different perspective than normal.		Date: 14-Apr-2009 Time: 1:38:30 PM Exp: 1/80s @ f/16.0 ISO: 400 Lens: 50.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Acapulco Sunset
Date: 19-Feb-2009 Time: 6:42:19 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 300.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		This picture is pretty self explanatory. It is the sun setting into the Pacific Ocean on a beach in Acapulco, Mexico. It was shot from the grounds of the Grand Mayan resort. During our entire stay in Acapulco we enjoyed incredibly pleasant weather with clear skies. Often the lack of clouds means a boring sunset. Here, it gave a great view of the sun's orb sinking into the watery horizon. My 300mm lens allowed me to make the sun look large compared to the trees in front.

La Quebrada Cliff Diver
During an evening performance of Acapulco's world famous La Quebrada Cliff Divers, I shot this time lapse picture of a single dive. It is actually a combination of six individual shots taken in rapid succession. Here you can the diver starting off at the top of the right hand cliff, leaping off, and finally splashing into the Pacific Ocean. These professionals (the La Quebrada Cliff Divers were formed in 1934, though people were diving long before then) put on one show in the afternoon and several more in the evening. They dive into the ravine from a (relatively low) cliff on the left side of the photo. They swim across the narrow channel and climb the rock face on the right side of the photo. There, they progressively dive from higher heights until the finale of diving from the top of the 148 foot high cliff. The cliff isn't vertical. This makes it a bit easier to climb, but it also means the divers have to leap outward enough to clear the rocks on the way down (but not too far outward!). I've read that they need to time their jumps to coincide with the crests of waves to ensure enough water to land in, though when we were there I didn't see significant wave action. One can watch the show from a viewing platform or from the La Perla restaurant at the El Mirador Hotel, which is what we did, catching two shows over the coarse of dinner. I had my camera set up on a tripod. As the diver dove, I'd squeeze off a number of rapid shots. I later combined a series of shots taken during one dive into the image you see here.		Date: 16-Feb-2009 Time: 8:51:13 PM Exp: 1/40s @ f/2.0 ISO: 400 Lens: 50.00mm Meter: Manual

Beartivity
Date: 26-Dec-2008 Time: 8:47:08 PM Exp: 1/4s @ f/1.8 ISO: 200 Lens: 50.00mm Meter: Manual		Here is another example of using a cardboard cutout to modify the bokeh of the blurred out lights. In this case, the background lights are from my Christmas tree. The foreground is a Beartivity (Bear + Nativity, get it?) scene featuring a set of figurines made by Big Sky Carvers. The stable building is something my wife and I made using some rough cut sticks and a hot glue gun.

Icicle
We had an unusually cold and snowy end of December for the Pacific Northwest. Among other things, this allowed an icicle (quite a few, actually) to grow off my eave. This is a night shot with my Christmas lights showing in the background. The icicle itself was lit by my porch lights as well as a small table lamp I brought out, both using CF bulbs. Perhaps the more interesting effect is the shape of the blurred out Christmas lights. To get the star shaped bokeh, I used a lens with a wide aperture and placed a star shaped cardboard cutout in front of the lens. This had the effect of changing the shape of the blur from round to star shaped.		Date: 26-Dec-2008 Time: 7:18:13 PM Exp: 2.0s @ f/1.8 ISO: 200 Lens: 50.00mm Meter: Manual

Happy New Years
Date: 24-Dec-2008 Time: 5:57:49 PM Exp: 1/2s @ f/1.8 ISO: 200 Lens: 50.00mm Meter: Manual		The holiday season is a time to gather with family and celebrate. Here I photographed a champagne flute in front of my Christmas tree lights. I used a cardboard cutout in front of the lens to change the bokeh of the lens to little hearts. A half second time exposure blurred the bubble trails to show motion. Lighting of the glass was from a handheld flashlight.

Snowy Stillaguamish
On the same trip to the post office mentioned above, I shot this picture looking up and across the Stillaguamish River from the Marine Drive bridge. The sun was behind me and I really liked the lighting on the trees. I was particularly pleased with this picture as it was shot from a moving car (I did roll down the window, though) bouncing along the icy/snowy road. I got lucky and got a relatively sharp picture.		Date: 22-Dec-2008 Time: 4:29:36 PM Exp: 1/60s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Horse and Tree
Date: 22-Dec-2008 Time: 4:31:35 PM Exp: 1/320s @ f/7.1 ISO: 400 Lens: 60.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		One more picture from the aforementioned trip to the post office. Just north of the Stillaguamish river, we came upon this scene. We enjoy the contrast between the spot of color formed from the horse's blanket and the mostly white landscape around it.

Snowy Field
The unusual snow fall mentioned above allowed the chance for me to photograph things I usually don't see. On a pre-Christmas trip to the post office, we stopped along the side of Marine Drive to photograph this field. By varying the exact camera location, I took this same shot both with the sun shining through the tree on the left and with the sun completely blocked by the tree. I liked this one better. Puget Sound is visible behind the field with Camano Island behind that.		Date: 22-Dec-2008 Time: 4:26:03 PM Exp: 1/320s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 29.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Eleven A.M. Moon
Date: 23-Aug-2008 Time: 11:12:02 AM Exp: 1/6s @ f/32.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 300.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		It can be amazing how bright the moon can be, even when it is nearly noon. The moon was at last quarter with half the moon showing through the branches of a tree. In many ways, the half moon is more photogenic than a full moon as the light near the terminator (the line between the lit and unlit portions of the moon) casts some fantastic shadows really showing off craters and other features.

Okanagan Hay Field
Down in the valley below the bench shown in "A Long View" lies this hay field in the Okanagan area in north central Washington.		Date: 23-Aug-2008 Time: 10:33:23 AM Exp: 1/100s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 44.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

A Long View
Date: 23-Aug-2008 Time: 10:16:05 AM Exp: 1/160s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 18.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority Flash: Flash fired; Auto mode		The Okanagan area of north central Washington is much drier and open than the more populous western side of the Cascades. Here's a bench on a hillside with a long view across the valley. A great place to sit awhile and watch the world go by at its own slow pace.

Okanagan Sunset
This is another "high dynamic range" picture, this time of a sunset in the Okanagan region of Washington. The range in brightness between the setting sun and the foreground tree and field was much too great to record in the same expsure. I took three separate pictures at different exposures and combined them together to get this image. This view was shot across the same valley as shown in "A Long View" above.		Date: 22-Aug-2008 Time: 7:50 PM Exp: 1/500,1/80s,1/15 @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Manual

Tree At Washington Pass
Date: 22-Aug-2008 Time: 4:24:24 PM Exp: 1/100s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 48.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		In northern Washington State, highway 20 is known as the North Cascades Highway as it cuts through the center of the National Park. In the winter the highway is closed due to snow, but in the summer, it is a gorgeous drive. The high point of the highway is Washington Pass (5477 ft). From the viewpoint at the pass, one can see many gorgeous views, such as Liberty Bell Mountain. But there are other views easier to overlook amid such grandeur. One such example is this dead tree. The deep blue sky is a result of the clear air that day plus the polarizing filter I used.

Sunlight On The Water
This is an experimental High Dynamic Range (HDR) picture taken of the morning sun reflecting off the Stuart Channel. It was shot from one of my favorite places to take pictures, Yellowpoint Lodge. The scene had way too much dynamic range (the range from the darkest part to the brightest part of the image) to be captured in one picture. Under the trees it was fairly deep shadow while the sun reflecting off the water was extremely bright. This picture was made from 8 separate exposures varying from 1/2000 seconds (to capture the sun on the water) to 1/15 second (to capture the shady areas) with each picture doubling the exposure of the previous one. These images were then combined and tone mapped into the image you see here. While it doesn't accurately reflect what the scene looked like in real life, I like the effect. I think it looks a bit like a painted image.		Date: 03-Aug-2008 Time: 8:38 AM Eight images from Exp: 1/15s @ f/13.0 To 1/2000s @ f/13.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 38.00mm Meter: Manual

Dead Tree At Sunset
Date: 27-Jun-2008 Time: 7:05:10 PM Exp: 1/80s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 27.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Sedona, Arizona is red rock country with beautiful rock formations all around. While on vacation there, we climbed to the top of a small knoll near the airport in order to photograph the sunset. We got there an hour early. Waiting for the sun to set, I shot various pictures enjoying the fantastic quality of the low angle sun. This shot is a dead tree lit by the soon to set sun with more of Sedona's red rock formations visible in the background.

Sedona Redrock At Sunset
Another picture of the beautiful red rock in Sedona, Arizona. This shot was taken on the Broken Arrow trail during a Pink Jeep Tour. We were driven into the back country by a four wheel drive jeep. During one of the stops, I got this shot of the rock formations lit by the low angle sun.		Date: 26-Jun-2008 Time: 6:55:32 PM Exp: 1/125s @ f/7.1 ISO: 400 Lens: 31.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Grand Canyon North Rim
Date: 24-Jun-2008 Time: 7:29:25 PM Exp: 1/80s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 46.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		While visiting the north rim of the Grand Canyon, we were eating dinner at the lodge on the rim as the sun was setting. Outside on the patio people were enjoying the lengthening shadows and warmer colors of the canyon rock. The lodge, located at Bright Angel Point, was built in 1927 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

Moonlight On The Water
An almost full moon reflecting off the waters of the Stuart Channel. The streak of light on the right was a boat that moved during the time exposure. Taken from Yellowpoint Lodge above White Beach.		Date: 17-Apr-2008 Time: 9:00:53 PM Exp: 15.0s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 25.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Beaver Pond Reflection
Date: 16-Apr-2008 Time: 3:22:06 PM Exp: 1/20s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 135.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		This picture is more of an abstract image for me. We had been hiking around the grounds of Yellowpoint Lodge when we came to their Beaver Pond. I saw this reflection and thought it would make a nice photo. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, and I had to hike back to the cabin to get my camera and tripod. When I returned to the pond, the water wasn't quite as smooth as it had been (you can see some little ripples) but I still like the result.

Multiple Personality Self Portrait
While vacationing at Yellowpoint Lodge we stayed in one of the Cliff Cabins above the water. There were so many things to do! I had a hard time deciding. Clearly I was just having some fun here. The picture is the composite of seven different photos. I set the camera on a tripod and used manual exposure and focus so that those parameters wouldn't change between images. I then used a IR remote to trigger the camera after a few second self-timer delay. I had a little trouble due to the light varying a bit between pictures, but for the most part the light didn't change all much. I think I ended up wearing almost all the different clothing I had brought with me on the trip.		Date: 16-Apr-2008 Time: 11:20:01 AM Exp: 1/250s @ f/6.3 ISO: 200 Lens: 31.00mm Meter: Manual Flash: Flash fired; Auto mode

Skagit Eagle Taking Wing
Date: 21-Jan-2008 Time: 1:45:39 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f/10.0 ISO: 400 Lens: 270.00mm Meter: Manual		In the winter, eagles come down from Alaska to feed along river banks in the Northwest. A good place to see them is along the Skagit River in northwest Washington. On a rare cloudless day, I drove up there to do some eagle watching. I set up my camera and tripod while this bird was perched on the branch. I'd taken several shots and was waiting to see if he'd do anything. I didn't even have my eye to the viewfinder when he turned, spread his wings and took off. I quickly fired off three shots, and it wasn't until I reviewed the images later that I saw that I had gotten lucky with this one.

Drop of Cream
Despite looking like a hard-boiled egg, this is actually a drop of cream about to hit a pan of water. A high-speed flash was used to stop the motion. Nothing fancy was used to time the picture. I used a turkey baster with needle tip to create the drops and tripped the shutter by hand. It is surprisingly easy to get the timing right, though you may still take many shots to get a good one.		Date: 25-Dec-2007 Time: 5:21:23 PM Exp: 1/400s @ f/32.0 ISO: 640 Lens: 300.00mm Meter: Manual

Water Column
Date: 25-Dec-2007 Time: 5:18:24 PM Exp: 1/400s @ f/32.0 ISO: 640 Lens: 300.00mm Meter: Manual		Another picture from my water drop collection. This one shows the rebound of a water drop landing in somewhat deeper water.

Fireworks In The Magic Kingdom
While vacationing in Florida, we visited Disney's Magic Kingdom. In the evening, they had a fireworks display near the central castle. The cloud like background is actually the smoke from earlier fireworks blowing in the breeze blurred out by the time exposure. The fireworks show was pretty impressive and *almost* made up for the hassle of the crush of people, who, like us, stayed for the show and then all tried to leave at the same time.		Date: 10-Nov-2007 Time: 7:03:53 PM Exp: 5.0s @ f/16.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 48.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Autumn Maple
Date: 13-Oct-2007 Time: 11:00:17 AM Exp: 1/320s @ f/4.5 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Growing up in New England but living in Washington state, I miss the autumn foliage. This is a tree my mom gave me to remember New England by, and it is in my front yard. On a rare, cloudless fall day, I shot this photo. It looks like I boosted the contrast, but this is as it was shot by the camera. The circular polarizer deepened the blue in the sky. I tried to narrow the depth of field to emphasize the central leaf.

Seattle From The Space Needle
The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle built for the 1962 World's Fair. It is 605 feet high. At the top is a restaurant that revolves once every 47 minutes as well as an observation deck. The Space Needle is about 4/5th of a mile from the downtown buildings. This photograph is a time exposure of the Seattle downtown skyline from the observation deck of the Space Needle.		Date: 16-Sep-2007 Time: 6:43:41 PM Exp: 2.5s @ f/7.1 ISO: 200 Lens: 44.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

E.B. At Wawawai
Date: 04-Aug-2007 Time: 2:24:54 PM Exp: 1/200s @ f/7.1 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority Flash: Flash fired; Auto mode		On the banks of the Snake River Canyon about 15 miles southwest of Pullman, WA one finds the Wawawai County Park. In the heat of August it makes a cool place to retreat to. While visiting our daughter, E.B., in Pullman, we spent the afternoon at the park, and this picture was one of the results.

Hazardous Conditions
While staying at Palm Beach Shore, FL, we found this structure on the southeast corner of the island. I really don't know what it is or what its function is, but I thought it might make a good picture. I hiked out onto the beach on several evenings trying to catch the dim light of the just-set sun. I wanted dim light so that I could use a longer exposure time to blur the waves, but not so long that they were indistinguishable. There was only a narrow sliver of time between too bright and too dark, but this was one of the results.		Date: 24-May-2007 Time: 4:36:25 PM Exp: 2.0s @ f/5.6 ISO: 640 Lens: 18.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

E.B. and the Lorikeet
Date: 24-May-2007 Time: 11:41:32 AM Exp: 1/80s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority Flash: Flash fired; Auto mode		Lion Country Safari is a game park in Loxahatchee, Florida. In addition to the drive-through part of the park, there is an enclosed cage full of Lorikeets. We could enter the aviary and meet the birds. We could also (for a token fee) buy some nectar in a little cup for them to eat. One particular lorikeet took a liking to my daughter E.B.. The bird particularly liked her earring. I just love the look on her face.

Flowering Dogwood
A flowering dogwood tree in my front yard. Not too much else to say about it.		Date: 13-May-2007 Time: 3:59:35 PM Exp: 1/500s @ f/5.6 ISO: 400 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

A Dandelion in my Backyard
Date: 11-May-2007 Time: 6:14:38 PM Exp: 1/100s @ f/5.6 ISO: 200 Lens: 240.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Not much story - the picture says it all - a dandelion in my backyard. I intentionally used a small depth of field so that the sides of the flower would blur.

Lake Union Building
Lake Union in Seattle, WA is generally an expensive property area. That's why I was surprised when visiting my daughter, who was renting a house just off the water, to find this building next door. It was just about sunset. I liked the way the setting sun lit up the westward facing facade and the weathered texture of the wood. Clearly this building has seen a lot in its time.		Date: 09-May-2007 Time: 8:29:51 PM Exp: 1/20s @ f/3.8 ISO: 800 Lens: 24.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Mini Cooper and Kayak
Date: 05-May-2007 Time: 11:56:58 AM Exp: 1/200s @ f/6.3 ISO: 200 Lens: 29.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		This is our tandem kayak on top of Pam's Mini Cooper S. I love the contrast between the red and the blue. At first I was a bit concerned about carrying such a long boat on top of a little car, but Lil' Coop handles the boat rather well. I'm amused by the looks we get driving around with the kayak on the roof. We've even had people lean out car windows to take our picture as they go by.

Threatening Clouds
We were eating lunch at Yellowpoint Lodge on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The skies overhead were clear and blue, but these ominous dark clouds started building south of us. For a while the weather was looking grim, but shortly after I took this photo, the dark clouds started breaking up and moving off. We ended up with quite pleasant weather in the afternoon. While the original photo is color, I felt that black and white better captured the ominous grandeur of the clouds.		Date: 19-Apr-2007 Time: 12:02:51 AM Exp: 1/400s @ f/8.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 18.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Twilight From The Cliff Cabins
Date: 18-Apr-2007 Time: 8:03:16 PM Exp: 6.0s @ f/4.5 Lens: 18.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Another evening time exposure from Yellowpoint Lodge. This one is from the so called Cliff Cabins (whose eave you can see at the upper left). This is another view looking north across Stuart Channel.

Glass of Wine
At Thanksgiving we had the family over for dinner. I thought I'd try back lighting a glass of wine with a candle. The Pooh bear looking on was an unintentional addition to the picture.		Date: 24-Nov-2006 Time: 2:57:54 PM Exp: 1/2.50s @ f/11.0 Lens: 56.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Monkey
Date: 24-Oct-2006 Time: 3:54:56 PM Exp: 1/320s @ f/6.3 ISO: 400 Lens: 135.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		While on safari in the Tarangire National Park in Tanzania I saw this little monkey, half hidden, peering out from the crook of a tree. I just like the look in his eye and his tail hanging out which makes me wonder what he's thinking?

Yellowpoint Looking Northeast
This is a night time exposure looking northeast from Yellowpoint Lodge located on the east coast of Vancouver Island. You can see a campfire down the beach as well as the glow from Vancouver (the city) reflected off the clouds. The light on the beach in the lower left is from the lodge building.		Date: 19-Apr-2006 Time: 9:10:15 PM Exp: 15.0s @ f/5.0 ISO: 640 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Palouse River Trail
Date: 30-Oct-2005 Time: 11:39:38 AM Exp: 1/320s @ f/11.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Between the towns of Pullman WA and Moscow ID, in the Palouse area of eastern Washington lies the Bill Chipman Palouse trail. It used to be an old, abandoned railway line before being converted to a trail in 1998. On an early summer morning, this was the view down the trail.

Teasel
The seed head of a teasel plant taken alongside the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail in Pullman, WA.		Date: 30-Oct-2005 Time: 11:21:22 AM Exp: 1/250s @ f/10.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 195.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority

Legion Park Tree At Sunset
Date: 18-Feb-2005 Time: 6:07:05 PM Exp: 1/30s @ f/4.5 ISO: 1600 Lens: 40.00mm Meter: Aperture Priority		Another of my early pictures with my DSLR. On a rare clear February day, I took the scenic route home from work and stopped at Legion Memorial Park in Everett, WA. Part of the park overlooks Port Gardner Bay (Puget Sound). Across the water you can see the southern part of Whidbey Island in front of the Olympic Mountains.

Blackberry Leaf
This is one of the first pictures I took with my DSLR. I was walking through the Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary next to where I work in Everett, WA. I saw a lone blackberry leaf that had so far survived through winter. I liked the color and back lighting and this is the result. This is one I printed up large, framed, and hung in my kitchen.		Date: 25-Jan-2005 Time: 1:27:34 PM Exp: 1/100s @ f/5.0 ISO: 200 Lens: 70.00mm Meter: Program Normal

Reflecting Pool
Date: 14-Apr-2004 Time: 6:22:58 PM Exp: 1/500s @ f/4.9 Lens: 21.31mm Camera: Canon Powershot S45		Reflection from the salt water pool at Yellowpoint Lodge on Vancouver Island. The view looking across pool is across the Stuart Channel and Thetis, Galiano, and Valdez islands.

Dock
This is the dock you can see immediately behind the pool in the previous picture.		Date: 13-Apr-2004 Time: 9:57:17 AM Exp: 1/1000s @ f/4.5 Lens: 7.09mm Camera: Canon Powershot S45