moog55's photostream

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Wow. Long time, no Flickr. Again, work has consumed all of my time for the last few months and I have not had a single moment to go out shooting. Finally, work has slowed down and I find myself coasting into the Holidays. So I seized the opportunity to dust off my D90 to shoot the most obvious Seattle shot which was the perfect way to get back into my Flickr groove. The view from Kerry Park is amazing no matter how many times you go there and take it in. I think the reason I've never shot it is because it is so iconic and so familiar to anyone living in or outside of Seattle. The fact was though that I didn't have it in my portfolio so I thought it was time to check this one off my list. The first night that I went there was on December 5th, but when I was there competing with at least 60 other photographers for a spot, I realized a few shots in that my 18-200mm was not functioning properly so I had to scrap the shoot. I shot with the only other lens I had with me which was my Tokina 11-16mm. It's just not the right lens for this shot. Disappointed, I went home and cleaned the contacts of my 18-200mm. That did the trick and so I came a couple days later to get my shot. The title of this shot is inaccurate, I know. Technically it's not Winter until December 21st this year, but it sure felt like winter that night. It was a brisk 25 degrees at sunset and so standing out there for nearly 2 hours chilled me to the bone.

I am looking forward to posting more photos again and also visiting all my Flickr friends' photostreams again. My sincere apologies for the drop off.

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Shooting the Seattle skyline is always fun because Seattle offers so many different vantage points that are all vastly different from one another. I have been intending to get this shot for a while now, but I never had the proper wide angle lens to get it. Having the Tokina 11-16mm has really opened some doors for me. I happened to be at home when this sunset was accompanied by some cool clouds blowing through. So I grabbed my gear and raced over to the 12th St. bridge to capture the sunset. I got there quickly, but the problem with shooting from the bridge is that it does move when cars go over it. That's not ideal obviously, so I had to hope for breaks in the bridge traffic before I would take the shots. Since these were exposures up to 30 seconds long, that's a long time to not have a car drive by, but I was able to get the shots that feature some cool light streams from the cars on I-5 and I-90. You can also see Safeco Field towards the left and Qwest Field to the right. This is about 1/4 mile away from the location where I shot 30 Seconds of Seattle, but that shot was considerably higher up on a hill.

Thanks to everyone that has been following my photo stream. I appreciate all the comments, faves, and suggestions on how to improve my shots.

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I went to the Oregon Coast for Memorial Day weekend and stayed in a beachfront room right in Cannon Beach. It was spectacular. Just being able to look out the window and see the beach 10 feet away and hearing the surf raging was awesome. Sadly, the weather was hit and miss the whole time. There were bouts of sunniness, but for the most part, it was overcast and kind of cold. I came hoping to catch a great sunset or two with Haystack Rock. What I ended up with was this shot. I brought my gear out to the beach and waded in the surf to set up for a shot to showcase the glass-like beach with its great reflections of Haystack Rock. To my surprise, there was a brief break in the clouds that allowed for some sunset sunlight to come through and create some beautiful purple tones in the clouds. I reframed the photos and shot away for about 10 minutes. Then the cloud closed back up and darkness quickly fell. It's not the shot I was planning for, but I think it's still cool.

Haystack Rock is pretty interesting in that as you get closer, you realize that it's actually a bird sanctuary. There are hundreds of bids that make their nests on the north side (the side you see here) of the 235 foot high rock. There is actually a lot of sea grass that grows on it hence the subtle green. When the tide is out, you can walk up to Haystack though you're not allowed to climb it due it being a bird sanctuary. The tide pools around it are amazing too. Lots of starfish and little sea creatures everywhere. It's one of my favorite places to go and I'll be going back this summer for sure.

The shot: Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm, f22, ISO 100 - 3 bracketed shots (-2, 0, +2), Photomatix.

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Is this an entrance to a gigantic space station from the year 2189? Nope. It's a merely a metro bus tunnel in Seattle. This is on the "mandatory shots" list for any Seattle photographer. It's spectacular to see, but the notion of subterranean bus routes still boggles my mind.

This particular station is located in Pioneer Square on 3rd and Yesler and was designed by architect Jerry McDevitt with design guidance from Kate Ericson. The arches seen in the photo are a nod to the many instances of arched structures and materials in the surrounding neighborhood. Normaly, I don't like having people in photos of this type, but it would not be easy to get a people-free shot here and I also think it's good to have people in this so you the viewer can get an idea of the scale of the station. The white and bronze colored circular objects on the ceiling are air vents and sound baffles. You can read more about the tunnel station here.

This shot is also the first that I took with my new Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 super wide angle lens. So far, I really like it and I think it will really allow me to get some good results when shooting landscapes and this will definitely fill the void until I upgrade to a full frame camera.

The shot: Nikon D90, Tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm, f11, ISO 100

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Living in Seattle is great for lots of different reasons. It's definitely a photographer's paradise. There is such diversity in the subject matter to choose from too, but ultimately I'm drawn back to the water time and time again. There are tons of public access parks and beaches to choose from and most offer great photo opportunities. One of these parks is called Discovery Park. It is a giant 534 acre park. It is also home for the West Point Lighthouse. There are several lighthouses in the Puget Sound area. Earlier in my photostream I posted a photo of the Alki Point Lighthouse which is a couple blocks from my house. Personally, I think it's much more attractive than this one - the West Point Lighthouse which is pretty weathered and beat up. There are rust steaks everywhere on it and it doesn't appear to be kept up in the same meticulous manner that the Alki Lighthouse is. In any event, it still makes for an interesting photo subject. There seems to be only two ways to shoot this lighthouse - from the south or from the north. The angles from the south were much more pleasing to me and I was able to frame the sunset better. I shot from both sides, but these turned out the best, especially since I caught a sailboat traversing the sun's reflection in the water. This photo also follows the same type of theme as my photo of the Alki lighthouse in that there is a large amount of driftwood in the foreground.

This particular afternoon was the first semi sunny day after about a week's worth of rain and so there were tons of people out at the park and that also meant lots of other photographers. There was a guy that set up about 3 feet on my left and another guy about 10 feet away on my right. I think I had the best angle. I also made the same mistake that countless others make and that is to park in the parking lot that is about a mile away from the lighthouse only to realize that you can drive up to a paved parking lot right next to the lighthouse. After freezing my butt off, I had to hike back with all my gear to my car. Haha. Oh well.

The shot: Nikon D90, 18-200mm @ 18mm, f22, ISO 100 - 3 bracketed shots (-2, 0, +2), Photomatix Details Enhancer.

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