Presentation 2

Tokitae - Washington State Ferry

The densely populated area of Washington State is centred around Puget Sound which is criss-crossed by ferries like the Tokitae which is about to dock at Mukilteo. Several of my staff came to work this way

After the Bar Closes

I had to walk past this lighthouse on my way to the parking lot from the Diamond Knot Alehouse (not that I went there that often, honest) . As I was putting the presentation together I remembered that there was a picture on my phone of the bar taken at my leaving party – never did get to around to deleting it. The bar and the lighthouse are just next to the ferry terminal of the first image

After the Bar Closes

I had to walk past this lighthouse on my way to the parking lot from the Diamond Knot Alehouse (not that I went there that often, honest) . As I was putting the presentation together I remembered that there was a picture on my phone of the bar taken at my leaving party – never did get to around to deleting it. The bar and the lighthouse are just next to the ferry terminal of the first image

Harley-Davidson

Switching from the delights of Mukilteo to what I would like to think of as “Arty Images” – at this point I expect a level of incredulity from anyone who has seen my work. Motorbikes, almost exclusively Harleys, are not about utility or speed they are about “cool”, about being young and macho when you are 55 and have a beer gut. The more chrome there is, the greater the impact on the beer gut! This one was photographed on the ferry in the first image

Cannon Beach People

Sunset on Cannon Beach in Oregon often offers up some interesting people images as well as great seascapes – these two just happened to be riding on the right bit of sand to get the reflections. Sorry about the lack of separation!

Sunset Dowitchers

the Dowitchers are in flight – the birds still standing are yellowlegs. This was taken in Skagit (Wiley Slough) – a large river delta about 40 minutes drive north of Mukilteo. It will feature in quite a few images.

After Henry

One of the members of Puget Sound Camera Club entered an image he called Reflected Birches – it was a winter image so no leaves. When I did the spring version I had to be careful that I didn’t call them Aspen, which is what they are, hence the ambiguous title. They are in a little nature reserve “constructed” as part of the mitigation for the huge (2.7 miles long) Boeing factory in Everett.

Poplars in the Mist

Skagit has a few rows of poplars (some are 100 years plus old, which is really old for these parts) and does a good line in mist

Working with Colours

a big crop in Skagit is tulips, you know where they are being picked because you come across a long line of beat-up old cars and trucks abandoned at the side of the road (all marked no parking). The workforce is an interesting mix of Mexicans, Vietnamese and Filipinos. I just think that the guys face makes the image

Bremerton Statue

This guy is in Bremerton – on the West side of Puget Sound, home to an enormous naval base. The statue is on “Bremerton Boardwalk”, one of the 10 best things to do in Bremerton according to Trip Advisor. The original version of this image was a disaster with the sky completely burned out and for some reason the camera was set to jpeg not RAW. But I like the “patina” on his face. I am not sure if I like the high contrast or the high-key version best so here are both of them.

Bremerton Statue

This guy is in Bremerton – on the West side of Puget Sound, home to an enormous naval base. The statue is on “Bremerton Boardwalk”, one of the 10 best things to do in Bremerton according to Trip Advisor. The original version of this image was a disaster with the sky completely burned out and for some reason the camera was set to jpeg not RAW. But I like the “patina” on his face. I am not sure if I like the high contrast or the high-key version best so here are both of them.

Mt Baker from Eide Rd

This would have been taken after an afternoon photographing Short Eared Owls (see later) – I must have looked East as I headed back to the car. Mount Baker is about 10,000’ high and the upper reaches have snow/ice all year round, not surprising as one winter I was there they recorded 100’ of snow in the season. This was shot with a 600mm lens

Three Fingers

another Cascade mountain photographed from the SEO location, this time with 840mm focal length. Not an easy place to get to so I never explored it, but it makes a good backdrop

Seattle from Mt Si

Mt Si is a much more heavily visited mountain, the trailhead is just off I90 out of Seattle and the trail is good (although quite hard work). I had the bright idea of watching the 4th of July fireworks from near the summit – me and a few hundred other people most of whom didn’t have good torches to get back down in the dark, I heard a lot of bad language on the trip down. This was before the fireworks started. The tower centre stage is the Space Needle at 518’ high

4th July Fireworks from Mt Si

Just a little later the fireworks started from Snoqualmie in the foreground through Issaquah and Belleview to Seattle. The mountains in the background are the Olympics

Diablo Lake

This is the reservoir for the Seattle City Light company’s hydroelectric plant up in the Cascade Mountains. Because it is there, there is a road through the mountains (May through to October anyway). This is the view from the top of the pass back to the lake.

Diablo Lake Island

The same island a different trip, obviously a popular kayaking destination. The water is mainly from snow and ice melt hence the colour

Blue Heron Preening

The GBH is always a striking bird but without a little help from that beak you don’t get to see the red-brown details. Also I think the on its side eye is quite interesting

Pied-Billed Grebe

Very similar to the UK Little Grebe but with added detail on its bill

Oystercatcher and Harlequin

Honest this is not a collage, they were just standing there. The seaweed adds to the image but it makes clambering over the rocks quite hard. This was taken at Deception Pass nature reserve on Whidbey Island – the deception is that there is no pass – it is an island! There is a bridge back to the mainland there now. The other end of the island is where the ferry in the first image came from. I had a loop, taking the ferry in the morning, driving up the island, across the bridge and back to Mukilteo via Skagit.

Black Oystercatcher

I originally called this image “The Wrong Mollusc” but nobody got the joke – its eating a limpet. This bird was a regular, or there is a whole tribe of them with the same defect in their right eye. They are a complete mimic of the European Oystercatcher except for the colour – their call is the same, their flight is the same ……..

Pelagic Cormorant

Just like our cormorant they look black unless you get the right light. Just sitting on the ferry dock as the ship came in