Windows – Piano, Dog, Cat and Abstract

Abstract, Alaska, Black & White, Film, Photography, Portraits, Street, Travel

Above: Piano lessons at night through a window in the University of Washington district. Shot on a Kodak Retine IIIc, 35mm film.

Windows, the current weekly photo challenge, can mean many things. Look in or out a window to see opposites. Eyes are windows. A window of time carries heavy implications. Windows are simultaneous openings and reflections. Insight into others and self.

Throughmylens posted two wonderful windows to look through – one in British Columbia and one in Italy.

Im excited to feature film frames this post. I have been neglecting film recently, so it’s good stimulant to shoot and process more. Two are film, the abstract black and white and the color frames are film.

Abstract frost patterns in a window at Creamers Field – 120mm Illford film.

Cat watches world.

Dog watches world.

Beginning of Ski Season – Weekly Photo Challenge

Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Sports, Weekly Photo Post

Above: A quiet and foggy beginning to the 2013-2014 season at Skiland. December 7, 2013 at 10:12 a.m.

December 7, 2013, marked the start of the downhill season at Skiland – the farthest-north chairlift in North America. Opening day is often a mad dash; wake up after a party; corral people, some gear, and grub; then try to get there for first run at 10 a.m., because last run comes quick at 2:30 p.m.

This year was relaxed, waxed boards the night before and went to bed at a reasonable time. The next day lots of clouds made visibility difficult, but unseasonably warm temperatures – over 10 degrees fahrenheit – complemented a snowpack that hide reasonable numbers of rocks!

Not much lifts the spirits in dark and typically cold December then an early opening at the downhill. Here’s a few examples of rapidly-changing light from the chairlift.

Sitting in a cloud, prepping for the second run of the season.

Visibility remained elusive, even worsening as the morning progressed – 10:42 a.m.

By 1:58 the sun was in decline, and direct sunlight had all but passed.

With one hour left to snowboard, at 1:48 p.m., the sun had broken some clouds – revealing spectacular scenery.

WPC: Costumed Community of Music Lovers

Alaska, Music, Photography, Portraits

The photos are dated, but the weekly photo challenge of “community” is a good opportunity to post them.

A costumed community of musicians and dancers joined together the Saturday after halloween for some dancing to Steve Brown and the Bailers. These like-minded people – in spirit, enthusiasm and search of enjoyment – joined together for the night to make a very welcoming community.

Hope my fellow wordpress community and beyond enjoy!

Smiles and spins for the honky-tonk rhythms.

From left to right: a monk, skeleton, witch and vampire don’t often form a community.

Music and costumes

This prisión mandolin player is part of a community I wouldn’t want to be.

A furloughed fed and Inspector Gadget come together to have a good time.

Palace at Versailles – Part Three

architecture, Photography, Portraits, Travel

Above: The grand Château de Versailles as seen from the gardens, July 12, 2013.

It’s time for more images from the extravagant Château de Versailles. If you missed either Part One or my Hall of Mirrors post check them out for more history and a more complete tour. This post fits in particularly well with the Weekly Photo Challenge – Grand.

Replica of “The Crowning of Empress Josephine by Napoleon in Notre-Dame of Paris on 2 December 1804.” Throngs of tourists blur make it difficult to tell where the life-sized painting begins and ends.

Long hallways, lovely light and matching tourists.

Practice being royalty by looking down on other people.

Plenty of fancy molding and decorations.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Eerie Spiders

Alaska, Macro, Photography, Weekly Photo Post, Wildlife

Above: The much smaller wolf spider can be seen in the clasp of an orb weaver.

The weekly photo challenge for Nov. 1 through Nov. 7 is eerie. Of course it was announced just one day after I posted about the Paris Catacombs, which would have fit the bill perfectly. Not uncommon for me to have great ideas ahead of their time.

So for this challenge I’m heading to the archives. In 2010 I was slowly experimenting with digital – and often forgetting to make sure I was shooting RAW files.

I did have some extension tubes to attach to my old Canon Rebel XTi. Extension tubes increase macro capabilities by moving the lens farther away from the sensor. So when I saw a large orb-weaver spider killing a smaller wolf spider I ran to grab my camera.

Spiders are eerie enough when they aren’t cannibalizing other spiders.

Reservations for one.

Securing the pray for later consumption, July 11, 2010.

Securing the prey for later consumption, July 11, 2010.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Mt. Rainier Horizions.

Landscapes, Photography, Travel, Weekly Photo Post

Above: A riverbed in late fall offers little more then a creek winding into Mt. Rainier.

The horizon, like the end of a rainbow, is unreachable. Constantly changing – expanding and contracting, becoming more open or more obscured. Horizons inspire adventures and dreams, spawn stunning sunsets and create wonders.

Horizon is also the weekly photo challenge.

Paradise, located 5,400 feet up Washington’s Mt. Rainer, can supply spectacular views. As well as keep them completely hidden. I got a taste of both possibilities hiking there August, 2012.

Clouds lift, if only for a moment, to reveal a expansive view.

This time clouds descended to create a more abstract horizon line.

Again clouds create the horizon, no panorama today. Panorama Point, elevation 6,800 feet.

Vibrant and Healthy Blueberries

Alaska, Landscapes, Macro, Photography

Above: Handfull and bucket full of berries.

Fall in Alaska brings much more then decreasing temperatures and less daylight. Gorgeous colors fill the hills while harvests fill the pantries. The near total daylight of summer allows great success over the short growing season. The harsher, cooler climate vegetation endure make for sweet and succulent food.

Blueberries are both incredibly tasty and incredibly healthy. Packed with antioxidants, blueberries are often called a brain food for their anti-aging and protection-properties for brain neurons. A 2012 article from Alaska Dispatch describes how antioxidants “pick up loose oxygen-seeking substances that, left to roam, will ultimately find a healthy cell to deplete.” WIld Alaskan berries have repeatedly tested to be much higher then farmed berries in health benefits.

The vibrant colors also fit in nicely with the Weekly Photo Challenge: Saturated.

Berries topped with dew rest on a branch.

A sea of color.

More Cluny Museum – Stained Glass

Photography, Travel

Above: Visitors take in the colorful array of stained glass, July 8, 2013.

Once again the weekly photo challenge lends itself nicely to the Cluny Museum in Paris, France: Saturation. Saturation is a pretty simple concept, the intensity of color relative to brightness. A vibrant flower or dramatic rainbow would be saturated. Completely unsaturated would be black and white.

My last post dealt with lines and pattern of Musee De Cluny architecture. There is also a small stained glass room inside the museum. The nearly pitch black ambiance dramatically increases the vividness of the centuries old glassworks.

Storytelling was the main function of these colorful creations. Most depicted people, many seemed to deal with religious or revolutionary subjects, and more then a few dealt with violence.

The overthrow and subsequent beheading of a king.

Perhaps symbolizing the temptation from satan.

Perhaps symbolizing temptation from satan.

Cluny Museum: Lines and patterns.

Photography, Travel, Uncategorized

Above: Cascading light and rough masonry from Cluny Museum architecture create lines and patterns. I like how the busts on the left and lady on the right direct the eye toward the smaller lady nearly dwarfed by rock.

Located in Paris, France, Musee de Cluny occupies two gorgeous buildings, the 1st century Gallo-Roman baths of Lutece and the 15th century townhouse of the abbots of Cluny.

The highlight for me was the amazing architecture of the building, one ceiling in particular.

The the many triangles with inlaid s-patterns are perfectly suited to the Weekly Photo Challenge: “From lines to patterns.” The following photo uses a simple tactic. Setting the camera flat on its back, to get as much of the roof as possible.

A ceiling in the Cluny Museum in black a white. July 8, 2013.

A ceiling in the Cluny Museum in black and white. July 8, 2013.

The ancient busts have long seen wear and tear.

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Golden Hour, Versailles, France.

Photography, Street, Travel, Weekly Photo Post

The golden hour is the current weekly photo challenge. Around sunrise or sunset the sun’s low angle causes more diffusions in the atmosphere and casts long shadows. The result can be spectacular light. I used to strictly time my photography around this time, until one day a teacher asks when the best time to take a photo was. I replied “the golden hour” to which he responded, the best time to take a photo is anytime. While I still prefer catching the dramatic and soft lighting prone to the golden hour, that piece of advice has stuck with me and greatly influenced my photographing habits.

These two images were recently taken in the town of Versailles, France.