Foot Bridge – Bellevue

25. October 2012 · Comments Off on Foot Bridge – Bellevue · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , , ,

Tonight I had the opportunity to join my new team for dinner in Bellevue.  We had a reservation in Daniels Broiler (which by the way is a lovely restaurant) at 6:30, but I thought it might be nice to get into the city a little early and grab some pictures.

The center of Bellevue has some fantastic restaurants and a really great shopping mall.  Most of the shops and restaurants are positioned around the same part of town, an intersection between Bellevue Way and NE 8th St.  On one corner of the intersection is the Hyatt hotel and Daniels Broiler, on another corner (across the road) is a large shopping and office area called Lincoln Square and joining the two together is this funky walking bridge across the road.

My plan was to walk onto the bridge and shoot some of the cars driving past on the roads below but as I approached the bridge I thought it might make a good image in it’s own right.  Luckily my timing was really good and got a couple of shots of the bridge with nobody on it.  As the bridge has a lot of chrome, glass and lights it looked really cool.

Of course once I took this the world decided to come across the bridge, so I was lucky to get this shot.  Then I moved to the center of the bridge and started shooting traffic.  I got some nice shots but really liked the bridge image best so that’s what I’m posting tonight.

The boys were going out this evening for a night on the town.  I caught them getting ready before heading out.

Grass Lawn Park – Bellevue

16. October 2012 · Comments Off on Grass Lawn Park – Bellevue · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

I left work this evening and as I was walking to the car I noticed that above me was the most amazing sky.  Big billowing black clouds interspersed with white clouds and blue sky and as the sun was starting to go down a red glow was spreading across the sky.  I had my camera with me and had to find a place where I could get a picture.

I jumped in the car and decided to try the nearest park.  While the Microsoft Campus is in Redmond, Grass Lawn Park is just down the road on the Bellevue border so off I set.  I parked up, grabbed the tripod and camera and headed into the park.

The park is really beautiful with loads of trees covered in red and yellow leaves but they were blocking out the sky, and really that’s what I wanted to shoot.  I tried loads of different compositions and got some great shots, but not the one I was really after.  Walking back to the car, I came to the basketball courts and they looked great.  The courts were empty (it was about to rain and everyone had gone home) and it had got even darker, the sun was nearly over the horizon and the sky in the distance was red.

Anyway I set up the tripod and took some shots.  When I got home I looked at the images and thought the pictures looked really good.  I only just made it too as the skys opened and the rain came down like you wouldn’t believe.  But I made it and got my cook sky.

Master Chief decided to count his footsteps today and to make sure he got a good number he used more than on Pedometer!

Stones – Bellevue Botanical Gardens

03. September 2012 · Comments Off on Stones – Bellevue Botanical Gardens · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

The other day I visited Bellevue’s Botanical Gardens and got some really nice pictures.  On the way out I found these stacked stones in a grass garden.  I wasn’t sure how this image would come out as everything is so green.  But after post processing I think it looks cool.  The little bit of blue sky helps but for some reason the grass and stones just grab my attention.

When I got home I showed Abi the picture and told her I stacked them myself.  She was blown away, super impressed I managed to do it and kept asking how long it took and how I stopped them from falling down.  Eventually I had to tell here the rocks are just an exhibit

I tried several different compositions, some from really low, some at standing head height and a some vertical but this is the one I liked best.

Carter and Master Chief got excited today as they packed a suitcase ready for our trip to Las Vegas and Photoshop World.

Pergola – Bellevue

14. August 2012 · Comments Off on Pergola – Bellevue · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: ,

Tonights image was taken in Bellevue’s Botanical Gardens and as you can probably tell it was a beautiful day, very sunny (hence the shadows) and as I’ve said before, the worse possible conditions for landscape photography.

This area is near the entrance to the gardens and is surrounded by numerous flower beds and lawns.  Of all the images I took out in the open (not shaded by trees) this was the only one I felt justified a posting.

At Christmas, this whole area is covered with fairy lights and is amazing to see.  The pergola is completely lit up and really beautiful, but impossible to photograph as there are hundreds of people walking around and they just get in the way.  I tried one year to photograph Abi and Lisa under the lit up pergola and it was a disaster!  This was the first time I’ve visited the gardens in summer and while it’s very pretty, it’s not as nice as the year end lights.

Ironically I think I missed the real opportunity for capturing the flower beds as most of the flowers now are starting to wilt.  Spring would have been much nicer but I’ll remember next year and go back earlier.

That said the manicured flower beds and hanging baskets are really nice and make me realize just how much I suck at gardening.

Today Master Chief introduced Carter to his new pet!

Suspension Bridge – Bellevue

10. August 2012 · Comments Off on Suspension Bridge – Bellevue · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

The other day I posted an image of the Suspension Bridge at the Botanical Gardens in Bellevue.  You find this 150′ bridge if you follow the “Ravine Experience” nature walk through the park.  Usually I take wide angle shots of structures like this so you can see the whole thing.  But lately I’m trying to find an alternative perspective (that’s a posh photography or “arty” way of saying a different or interesting view).

With modern cameras anyone can take a correctly exposed picture that’s in focus, in fact it’s quite hard not to.  But the difference between a holiday snap and a beautiful picture is all about reading, understanding and manipulating light and learning how to compose scenes that draw the eye in and either tell a story or leave the viewer with a strong emotion.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting I’m good at this or know how to create those strangely compelling images that you can’t stop looking at, but I’m trying.  What’s funning is as I’m a total geek and cameras have so many knobs and buttons, sometimes I go so excited about the technology I forget the composition.

If nothing else, this New Years resolution has got me out of the house and forced me to take a LOT of pictures and I *think* I’m getting better.

I really liked this image.  You can clearly see this is a suspension bridge and you can see it’s surrounded by forest.  I liked the texture of the brick in the base pillar and to draw your eye to it I kept that in focus and made the rest of the bridge slowly fall out of focus.

Tonight Carter and Master Chief decided to do some ironing and we witnessed a terrible accident!

« Older articles
Newer articles »