Train Decay – Snoqualmie

13. May 2012 · Comments Off on Train Decay – Snoqualmie · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

Today’s image is not going to be to everyone’s taste, but I like it (and so does Lisa) so up it goes.  This shot was taken in the Train Museum in Snoqualmie.  There were loads of trains there – all shapes and sizes and I took lot of pictures.  But there was this one wagon that was really in bad shape.  It was obviously very old and weathered.  The sun, rain and every other element had hit this wagon hard.

So I took loads of pictures including the close up one below.  Some of the things you should look for in “interesting pictures” is texture and this train had plenty of it (in fact it was falling off the thing and all over the floor).  I really liked the peeling paint and rotten wood (keep with me here I’m being sincere) and the orange and blacks looked great (I thought) so this was one I was pretty pleased with.

But I’ve been holding off posting it as it’s not what you normally see from me – and I appreciate that most people wont “get it”.  Lisa asked me if I liked it and I said yes, I love it!  So she said them post it, the site is for you not for readers.  (She clearly had a bad day).

So here you are, a close up of rust and rotten wood on a decaying old train that literally is falling to bits.  Enjoy…

What with the nice warm weather outside Cater decided to play ball in the yard.

Shelby Cobra – Redmond

12. May 2012 · Comments Off on Shelby Cobra – Redmond · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: ,

Today was a great day.  Firstly we had temperatures of 80 degrees with blue skies, and secondly, Redmond held an “Exotics @ Redmond Town Center” event.  The Exotics event is a car meet in the middle of town where around 200 cars are put on show for the adoring public.

Some of the cars relatively modern or even new, in fact there was a company there with a few of it’s cars looking to make a sale.  But there was also a lot of people who refurbish old cars and and you could see the love and pride they had in showing their “babies” to other fanatics.

Obviously you see the usual suspects at the meet, there were loads of Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches and if that’s your thing you’d love it.  But for me I like older cars and there were plenty of them there too.  I shot Corvettes, Ford GTs, Jaguar’s and even an Austin Healey and they were FANTASTIC.  So you should expect some cars being posted in the coming weeks.

But I thought I’d start with a 1966 MK III Shelby Cobra.  There were a couple of these cars parked up at the meet and they looked amazing.  They have this large opening at the front and catches air and funnels it to the car’s radiators (for water and oil) which looks like a big mouth.

Today’s picture was shot from the ground looking up.  I wanted something very low capturing that big mouth and the vertical bumpers that I think look like teeth.

The Cobra originated in England in the early 1960’s and was built by AC.  Shelby in the US wanted something to compete against the successful Corvette and worked with AC to come up with a challenger.  These days AC still builds the cars in Germany and you can buy a new MK VI for around $175,000.  Needless to say, Lisa is lucky I’m into photography.

The Halo guys had bad breath today, so we told them to give their teeth a real good clean, I captured the moment for you…

Yellow Tulip Field – Mount Vernon

11. May 2012 · Comments Off on Yellow Tulip Field – Mount Vernon · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , , ,

Yeah yeah I know I said no more tulip pictures, but I like this one so suck it.  This picture was taken in Mount Vernon at the tulip festival (now that’s a surprise).  Can you see all the people walking in the field?  No?  Well that’s the magic of Photoshop!

I liked this one as the tulips looked beautiful and the leading line of the row on the right going off to the distance draws your eye to the trees, hills and mountains behind the flowers.  That white peak “poking” over the hill top to the right of the barn is Mount Baker.  I also liked the barn behind the tulips.  It kind of provides a feature of interest between the flowers and the sky.

When I took this picture I actually took several versions all with varying depth of field, some had everything in focus, others (like this one) had the flowers at the front in focus and the focus dropped off into the distance.  I liked this look most of all so I picked it for today’s picture.

Obviously this wasn’t taken at work as that would be quite naughty, but the guys found a bottle of scotch somewhere!  (My Dad will like this one).

Pike Place Market – Seattle

10. May 2012 · Comments Off on Pike Place Market – Seattle · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , ,

You really can’t post a series of pictures of Pike Place Market without posting one of the actual market.  So that’s tonight’s image.  This was taken from the north entrance and as you can see it’s super busy.  Actually it’s not because this was early on a week day, if you go to the market at the weekend you can see about 4 floor tiles in and then it’s just a mass of people.

As you can see on the left of the market you find all the fresh flowers and fruit, and on the right the preservatives and crafts.  As you walk through the market the people behind the counters offer you samples so you can walk your way through and get a pretty decent meal – for free.

The market has a load of neon signs and lights and looks great and this came across a little in the picture.   You’ll be pleased to hear that I only have one more Pike Place image to post, so I had better get out of the house over the weekend to take some more pictures.  I can hear the farmer’s markets calling me – they all start this weekend.  (I wonder if I could do a year of market pictures?)

Carter and Master Chief decided to draw on my whiteboard today, and who am I to say no!

Lake Union – Seattle

09. May 2012 · Comments Off on Lake Union – Seattle · Categories: Image a Day · Tags: , , , ,

Lake Union is a fresh water lake that sits between Lake Washington and Puget Sound.  On the north shore of Lake Union is Gasworks Park which provides a fantastic view of downtown Seattle which is directly opposite on the other side of the lake.

I guess the thing that Lake Union is most famous for, is that this is where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed.  In fact the house boat that the male lead Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) lived in was on Lake Washington.

When you visit Seattle you can go on the “Duck Tours” which are amphibious World War II vehicles that take you round Seattle showing you all the local sites and end up going into Lake Union.  They actually take you past the house boats and tell you that after the film these homes became supper popular.  One reason being they don’t pay property tax (as they are classed as boats).  Apparently the city of Seattle was concerned they were losing money so now there is a limit on the number of house boats on the lake.

Today’s picture was taken from Gasworks Park right by the waters edge.  There was this small wall that had graffiti on it – something you don’t see much around Seattle.  Anyway I thought it looked cool with the painted wall in the bottom of the picture, the choppy water in the center and the Seattle skyline at the top.

Today Carter was caught enjoying his secret passion – reading “Reality Weekly”.

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