Spotlight on Green

Posing Lizard, July 1, 2009
Kiahuna Plantation Resort, Po'ipu, Hawaii
Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 @ f/5.6, 1/500s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.5

Ah, Hawai'i. I'm not through with you yet. I still have many photos of you in my catalog left to develop and publish.

This little guy wasn't camera shy. We found him while walking around the gardens at our resort, Kiahuna Plantation. The wife's sharp eyes caught him first, nestled in the leaves of a bush. I'm sure he's some sort of common lizard that Hawaiian residents sick the cats onto, but for us he was quite charming.

She Wears a Striped Hat

Street Corner in Paradise, October 16, 2009
Avalon, California
Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 @ f/4.0, 1/1000s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.5

Last month when we were in California the wife, her mother and I took a boat out of San Pedro to Santa Catalina Island. We didn't feel the need to rent a cart or pay for a tour, so we stuck with our feet and prowled through the alleys and shops of tiny little Avalon.

The house on the hill also tickled my photographic senses the last time I was on Catalina, some 15 years ago. I remember taking a photo of it with the medium format camera that I had borrowed from the high school photo lab. I recall that one didn't turn out well. It seems my photographic skills have improved over the past decade and a half, which pleases me.

Hiding From the Rain

Bikes for Boats, November 18, 2009
Seattle, Washington
Nikon D80, Tokina 12-24mm (AT-X 124 II) f/4.0 @ f/8.0, 1/15s, ISO 100
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4, Camera Landscape Profile

The camera club at work was recently invigorated by the discovery of new members who had been surreptitiously running their own secret camera club. (OK, truth is that we simply didn't know about each other until chance eavesdropping in the kitchen brought us together.) We've started going on photo walks again, and there are even contests. This week's theme is "color"; that's a bit of a challenge in gray, rainy Seattle during the fall and winter months.

My submission to the contest is above. You can view submissions from all of the club on Flickr.

With the Soft Side of the Hand

What Flash?, August 22, 2009
Seattle, Washington
Taken with Palm Pre
Unadjusted

I am so going to take crap for posting this photo.

This is the very first photo I took with my new Palm Pre. Since I wasn't aware that it had one, I had no chance to warn the wife that the flash was going to go off. Haven't played much with the phone's camera since then, though it seems more limited than the one on my old phone. Here's hoping Palm gets off their butts and makes some proper camera controls.

(Side bar: some of you probably wonder why I bought a Pre instead of an iPhone, especially now that the newest version of the Apple gadget has focus control. Suffice it to say that I had my reasons, and if you want to know more you know how to contact me.)

Speaking of my old phone, I just spent half the evening retrieving all the photos off it and arranging them nicely into my gallery. They are now available for your viewing pleasure. Farewell, little Samsung ACH-930, you were a decent handset.

Walk This

Elliott Bay Sunset, July 18, 2009
Seattle and Elliott Bay, Washington
Nikon D80, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 @ f/5.6, 1/100s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4, Camera Landscape Profile

Yes, it's been a while since I posted. After the Hawaii trip and a short jaunt down to Southern California I had some other business to attend to, and since then I've been settling back into routine.

One of the bits of business was the 2nd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk. A co-worker and I decided that since the Big A sponsors this event, as employees we should represent by leading one of the walks. So we did. Tina did all of the real work, I just helped by suggesting routes and then using my 6'2" frame to head up the camera parade while she brought up the back end.

It was quite fun, though I didn't take many photos. We started the walk at Kerry Park, the source for all postcards of Seattle. We looped through the neighborhood and stopped at the foot of the Queen Anne retail district. Those of us so inclined had pizza and beer and conversation, then hoofed it back over to Kerry Park to catch the sunset. The end result was this panorama.

Not my best work, no. But not bad for an impromptu, slightly drunk, hand-held pano.

Roadside Attraction

Red Dirt Falls, July 5, 2009
Waimea Canyon Drive, Kaua'i, Hawaii
Nikon D80, Tokina 12-24mm (AT-X 124 II) f/4.0 @ f/16.0, 1/4s, ISO 100
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4, ACR 4.4 Profile

Back at home now. We really didn't want to leave Kaua'i. Sure, we wanted to see our kitties (who have been terribly affectionate and purry), but whatever magic is in the Hawaiian islands seems to have taken hold of us. Yes, we discussed the practicality of moving to Kaua'i several times. No, I don't think we were serious. Yet.

This photo was an awesome opportunity that we caught on the drive up to Waimea Canyon. (Ignore any bunk you hear about Mark Twain's "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" quote. He never set foot on Kaua'i.) This slash of dark red cut through the otherwise brown and green roadside landscape. There weren't any signs or much room to park, but stopping the car was mandatory.

This shot was almost a blessing. A couple of days before we had driven to two different waterfalls on the island, only to be disappointed by low waterflow and poor sightlines. Despite dragging my tripod to them I didn't take a single photo. Now, here at this little natural wonder, I was glad that I had brought the tripod all the way from Seattle. To get the optimal shot I had to set up in soft soil on the side of a hill. It was slippery and difficult to get the perspective I wanted, and maintaining my body position was painful for my feet. But I got my Hawaiian waterfall shot, so I'm happy.

FYI - I processed this photo on the flight back home, cramped up in an economy seat with a 17" laptop. I don't recommend this as a regular work environment.

Pointy Things

Cathedrals, July 2, 2009
Na Pali Coast State Park, Kaua'i, Hawaii
Nikon D80, Tokina 12-24mm (AT-X 124 II) f/4.0 @ f/8.0, 1/160s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.4, Camera Landscape Profile

Here, as promised are pointy things. Enjoy.

More specifically, these are the Cathedrals formations on the Na Pali cliffs of Kaua'i. We saw them from a catamaran (not unlike the one in the lower right of the photo), which took us around the western side of the island for snorkeling, dinner, a sunset, and a hell of a lot of fun.

I had to whip this out quick, as tonight is our last night on the island and I really ought to be packing. Tomorrow we make the sad, sad trek back to our regular lives.