Ducks on Lake Washington
Crossing the 520 Floating Bridge on a Windy Day
Water Fowl in the Snow
This city is just not equipped to handle snow; everything shuts down and only major arterials are plowed. The accumulation this year is really out of the ordinary, and this weather has lasted longer than I remember as well.
We had to get out of the house yesterday, so we walked to the lake. The snow was deep enough that the one block hike was exhausting.
I was blown away by the number of birds in the water. I can always count on this spot for some bird watching, but not this many birds.
Sunbreak
Moments before this photo was taken, the sky was black and I couldn’t see the water. When the sun broke through I was shocked to see all the sailboats. If you look closely in the upper left hand corner you might be able to see a faint rainbow as well.
Daybreak Star Cultural Center, Seattle, WA
Patience: how to photograph an ocean wave
Sometimes getting the perfect shot can be a little frustrating and take quite a bit of patience. Most (if not all, I’m not sure) digital cameras have a significant delay between the moment you press the shutter button until the point at which the camera responds to the command. As a result, I have a library of photos taken just after the expression, or the smile fades, or the bird flies away, or in the case of these photos, just after the wave crashes.
Photographing a wave crashing means you need to pay attention to the timing of the waves. Spend some time just watching them crash over and over. What sounds does the ocean make at each point in the wave’s lifecycle?
Then take lots of pictures trying to hit just before that perfect moment to accommodate the delay in the shutter response.
And don’t be afraid to get your feet wet.
Then the blanket your husband is wearing as a cape because he forgot to bring a coat shows up in the picture.
And the cape is still in the picture when you finally get a shot of the wave crashing.
So you reposition to get an angle that does not include an ancient airplane blanket and try to pick up the rhythm of the ocean again.
every once in a while you get a cool shot, but it may not be exactly the shot you’re trying for.
so you keep trying
Well, I got a little splash there.
Oh, that’s a little better.
And finally, I got the shot I was waiting for.
