Kidlet practice

A couple of weeks ago our little photo group/class got together at a local park for some practice with ChicPea giving us pointers, tips and help. One of the group brought her little girl, who became our model because she isn't crawling yet...we looked like papparazzi, clustered around snapping her. So, here are a few of Miss C. Enough to confirm to me that doing portraits is WAAAAY harder than I would like to handle. I did get some catchlights, though! I'm not too thrilled about the chainlink fence in the background, but hey--these are for practice!

enough.is.enough

still raining. still. all week. to make matters worse, there is snow in the pass and snow on the top of the mountain behind the house. it's cold. it's grey. it's rotten outside. (I need some cheese with my Whine).

So, because of all the above, here are some recent photos, just edited, so that makes them POTD, I guess. I just needed a shot of warm color. OBVIOUSLY not taken outdoors--let's hear it for nurseries and Home Depot!

Wishing, and hoping

..spring-like weather would arrive. Took these a couple of days ago in a dry patch; it's been raining ever since. My Sony P&S has a macro conversion lens, so I thought I'd try it out. Hand-held.

In Between the Storms

Yesterday was one of those rain-all-day-long days, but just about the Magic Hour, it stopped raining so I raced outside and grabbed a couple of shots. ("My name is Pat and I am addicted to raindrops...")

After taking the fuschia shots, I looked up and noticed the way the late sun was hitting the Doug firs, with the still-stormy sky behind them. It really was this dark gun-metal grey, and the light on the firs was amazing.

Purple!

Backsliding into flowers, but it's 50 degrees and raining...too yukky to try to go shoot something. So, here are some chives (aren't they a pretty bloom? I'd grow them just for the flowers!)...
...And this is a giant allium. It is about 5"-6" across, and about 3 1/2' tall. They're part of the onion family. This one was in front of a yellow-foliaged shrub, and I love the contrast.
Detail of the individual flowers that make up the enormous ball...
..and a visitor who just couldn't stay away!!

Ferns

A few details from Saturday's hike, with ferns all over everything. You can see them here, growing on the side of a tree. This fir was at least 80' tall, and the ferns covered the trunk almost all the way up.
A lone frond, just starting to uncurl, backlit by the sun.
I love these ferns. I THINK they are maidenhair ferns, but am not sure. The center vein is a really dark purpley/blue color and is so contrasty to the green of the foliage.
Sometimes just the sheer mass of the ferns themselves makes really neat designs.

"I keep on falling..."

Apologies to Alicia Keys. Another Falls post... ML and I did our own little Peas outing yesterday and hiked to a nearby waterfall. The trailhead is about 2 miles from my house, practically in my backyard! Perfect day for hiking--coolish, a breeze, sun, and not too many people. The rivers/falls have started going down, but there was still a lot of water. In the summer this falls is just a thin little ribbon. But now it is glorious!

This is the "middle" portion of the upper falls--there is another cascade higher up, beyond the rock on the left (you can see the mist from the cascade) but the trail was super muddy and very uninviting. Really tricky exposure for me, since the falls were in deep shadow in the gorge, but then there was the bright sun hitting areas. Sun in the NW is a photographer's double-edged sword. It is SO nice to see the sun shining, but then it blows everything out. When the clouds roll in, we cheer, or at least give a little sigh of relief.
Detail from above. Lots of water churning through that small area. I wish you could hear the roar. You couldn't speak in a normal tone of voice. This is the "big drop" of the lower falls. Just spectacular. It's 135'.
Part of the path. This glen was in the shade, except for that one section of vine maples where the sun hit them and illuminated them. You can see the moss and ferns growing on everything.
Part of the trail along the river--ML and I called it Fern Valley, because everything was covered with sword ferns. It was gorgeous!
And, of course, a little bit of slow water in the river. I liked the way the sun was hitting the moss on the rock in the foreground.