Addie and Claire with their 2nd cousins Jades Harms and Harmony Miller at Jade's HS Graduation Party. Congratulations Jade!

When I think about the thousands of tree photos I've taken over the years, I'm reminded of the Art student I saw at UW one Quarter back in the 70s. She was sitting at the Drumheller Fountain on campus every single day I passed by, working on some pastel? or colored pencil drawings. The water, the lighting, etc...it's different every day, every hour depending on the weather. It's the same with my "tree" photos, and I find subtle differences even when I shoot several shots of the same image. Since I like to shoot with the "Auto" setting, I'll aim at different focal points to see what changes happen from shot to shot. I do the same kind of thing when I'm editing. "What will those greens look like when I convert the image to black and white?" "What if I go further and sort of zoom in on the lines and shapes and values...?"

Talking about Selfies, this was a covid shot in my FB Memories folder this morning: "standing in front of some public art in our little downtown Bothell".

Selfies #1 I'm not a Selfie picture taker, and I get frustrated when I have to navigate around selfie takers when I'm at a special exhibition or scenic viewpoint. Oh well. I do take shadow self portraits though, and funny shots.

I usually don't go on a photo walk, come home, and edit/post them the same morning. I only got down to the pathway that fronts our apartment complex before I pulled out my camera today. Lighting, and sunshine... The green vines climbing the trees there remind me of the mossy colors we hiked by in the Olympic National Forrest long ago. I also liked the colors in the two shots with wires, one aiming across the street and the one with red leaves at the end of our parking lot.

 an overcast morning, a walk along the Sammamish River...

I don't know what kind of plant this is. It's in the McMenamin Hotel's garden here, and it's fun to photograph.

I try to take what I call my scenery shots, but I often end up standing under a tree and aiming my camera up through the sunlit leaves.

 Claire and Addie - Spring Dance Recital 2023 - Lollipop Dance

I'm looking at lines and patterns and layers when I look up into the trees. It's a similar process when I edit the photos later. I zoom in a little and explore the image, playing around with the same elements...

photo walk 8Jun2023 1

One of my rewards during my box-making days, besides paying the bills, was when I oiled the wood. Watching the designs, grains and colors come out are still one of my favorite things to do.