Still too wet...

..to get outside and really do any shooting. The upside is that when I do, I am going to have raindrop shots aaaallllll over the place!! Brace yourselves.
These are from the park on Monday, before it started raining. Our little photo class/group got together for some practice. I discovered that although I DID take some photos of the kids provided, I would much rather do other subjects, or at least my family, or people who don't know I'm taking the photos...long distance candids, so to speak.


The photo below is from last summer, at a beach in Seattle. These kids were in 7th heaven with all the driftwood and the fort they were building. The little redhead in the center was the organizer and foreman of the project. This was sheer happiness.

Bubble Abstracts

Too much rain to go outside, so I edited some more of my bubble photos. It amazes me sometimes what I take photos of, but the patterns that the water condensation on the inside of water bottles were too cool to pass up. The bubbles took on completely different looks depending on what was behind the bottle, or the angle I shot them at. My DH doesn't even shake his head any more when I start eyeing an empty bottle speculatively. However, he IS thinking "Oh BROTHER!" quite loudly. :-D

A Little Edgy

It's been raining all day, to make up for our wonderfully sunny weekend. Angela's posts a few days ago of her begonia edges reminded me to edit some of my pansy edges. I was trying for an abstract feel to them. The pansies are so ruffled the edges are amazing.



And, here's one with a rain drop. Wouldn't be a post from me without water in one form or another!

The View From Below

These were taken from an area at the base of the Falls posted on Saturday. A few foolhardy souls climbed past the railing and warning signs to get out on the rocks at the river's edge. When the river is this high and violent, it is a risky place to be. I was late enough in the day, and the sun was at just the right angle, to have a mist-bow appear for just a few seconds.
And, I am addicted right now to the ultra-slow exposures and running water. This was cropped and sharpened for the web, but other than that, no PP-ing. The water looks like painted silk to me.

Happiness...

Happiness is living close enough to your grandkids to be able to take photos of them... That's not my case.
So, here are a couple of random photos of people doing things that make THEM happy...

Ahh--great ice cream, a bench in the sunshine, and the perfect spot to watch passers-by. Aren't these 2 old guys cute?? Love the hat; he looks so dapper.
And this is from vacation in Hawaii--I was way down the beach, and had my kit lens on, but these 2 were having so much fun jumping the waves. I even managed to get her shadow on the wave foam underneath her!

After the sun shines...

...the snow in the mountains starts melting. Most years that isn't a problem because Spring arrives here slowly, a few degrees at a time, over a period of weeks. However, with 2 days of high 80s weather, the snow in the mountains is filling the rivers and overflowing waterfalls. I love it! Not the threat of flooding, but the awe-inspiring majesty of the power of the falls, no matter their size.
This is the falls near us. It is 268' feet high, 100' higher than Niagara Falls. They are full right now; there are usually large black rock outcroppings that show at the lip of the falls, but not now. Some times the spray plumes are as high as the falls themselves. You can't even see the river below.
Same shot, just taken horizontally...
This is a small falls about 4 miles from my place. Well, it's usually small...see the shot below.
This was taken 10 days ago, and is a close up of the upper cascade at the very top of the falls in the above photo. Amazing what a little warm weather can do, isn't it?

YES!!!

This wasn't taken today, but it could've been. WE HAVE SUN!! WE HAVE 85 DEGREES!!! It is abso-bloomin-lutely glorious outside. Of course, Monday it starts raining again, but it is like this through the weekend. Just what I need to bake the crud out of my lungs! These were all taken at my favorite nurseries.
Gazing balls aren't just reflective anymore. There are a lot that are the really cool Chihuly-esque types. I'd hate to waste them in the garden, though.

And this guy--I know he is supposed to look fierce, but doesn't he look like Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion to you? I mean, whois going to be afraid of that face? Either that, or he REALLY likes lavender.