Auto Levels

Lucky Pigeon (8a+) in the Aggro Gully at Smith Rock State Park.  The masking I used to edit this photo might be kind of sloppy so I apologize for how forced it looks but I'm playing around with editing software and trying to learn something new everyday. 

Distant snow frosted peaks and ridges just outside of North Bend, WA.  Sometimes the clouds and rain lift their skirts so we can take a peak at the beauty underneath.

The very top of Mt Si in North Bend, WA.  I've spent so much time looking at these rocky faces and spires and never actually visited them.  It would be real interesting to see if any of this is climbable and not just a bunch of choss.

Experimenting with the macro function on my camera.   

I really love how the light is hitting this daffodil, kind of eerie and ethereal at the same time.  Still struggling with my understanding of focus and exposure.  

I was drawn to this because of the red berries out of focus in the back ground.  I liked the contrast of the white patches on the tree limbs and the subtle amounts of snow that were starting to form on the crotches of the branches and how it was all somewhat framed by the redness in the back ground.

I'm also a HUGE sucker for droplets of water on leathery vegetation.  Not to mention macro photography is becoming my favorite kind of photography, although I'm not really good at it :)  Lot's of room for improvement.  My goal for the summer is to photograph insects and birds.  I love the element of action and life interacting with it's surroundings.

Again, I'm a sucker for droplets of water, on pretty much anything.  I decided to stick with the auto-levels I used to edit this photo, it brought out some amazing contrast and color in the background that isn't in the original photo.  The intersecting lines in the background remind me of some kind of abstract art.  

I feel like this dog must feel, except I feel it all the time when I'm at work, even when the sun isn't shining. 

Snoqualmie Falls, Snoqualmie, WA.

I was hoping the fly would come out with more detail but I guess that's what a macro lens is for!  I'm curious about using lens separators as well, I've heard they are a cheaper substitute for a more expensive macro lens (??).  I like this photo because of the contrasting textures: the wood grain and deep splits, the flat grey color of the wood screw and even the star shape of the inlay, and the shiny metallic-looking exoskeleton of the fly and the reflective surface of its wings.  

I thought the frozen jewels on this running stream were neat.  Not much else to say!

Seed pods?  I just like the juxtaposition of sun and decay.

Spring time is near when the crocuses appear.  The stamen on the closer flower really got out of control with editing and look almost radioactive and unnatural, but the stamen of the flower in the back are much sharper.  This is a screaming example of how I lack experience in manipulating the focal point of a picture and how I need to balance the exposure.  

Sunrise right out my window.  Best way to wake up.

I think this bird really wanted me to feed it.  It hopped about from branch to branch watching me cautiously and patiently.  It's little head on a spasmodic turret, poking and prodding me silently for any hint of reaching into my pack and spilling crumbs onto the alabaster surface of the unbroken snow.

A somewhat disappointing jaunt out snowshoeing in the Alpental side country.  I was hoping for clear skies and an easy path to the Snow Lakes wilderness area but was greeted with one hell of an inversion and an incredibly steep and icy blockade to the back country paradise.