Flowers did not need to wait for May, maybe showers all year long have something to do with it. The flowers and blossoms started to show up in March, but really after a dark and wet winter. April also welcomed the return of many birds, Canadian Geese, Red Winged Blackbirds, Finches, and plenty of shore birds.
Whidbey and Fidalgo Island Flowers and Birds
Before moving here and taking photos of birds, I had no idea the variety out there. It’s been fun to see new species and great way to practice and truly understand the autofocus options and settings on the camera, it’s helped my confidence a ton and helped get a higher percentage of good photos. This month was the first time I was able to get belted kingfishers in flight, there were a few occasions of watching them hoover and dive for fish right in front of me. It was the first I noticed red-winged blackbirds with bright red, orange, and yellow on their wings that really pop against the dark black. Close-ups of colorful finches, a kingfisher, ducks, swallows, bald eagles in flight, and portraits of a seagull and geese wrapped things up. I also knew I had a flower farm coming up (see below), so I was on the lookout for flowers to practice on. MT Baker also made an appearance.
Gear: Sony A7iv, Signma 150-600mm
Tulip Time
We visited not one, but two tulip farms in Mt Vernon for our first season, RoozenGaarde and Tulip Town farms on different days. Admission was about $20 for each with some very pricey options to photograph at sunrise. The farms were really gorgeous, row after row of tulips, RoozenGaarde had daffodils as well (these actually turned out to be some of my favorites). I was glad I had some practice beforehand, this would be my first time on a mission for only flower photos. Going on separate days also gave me a second chance. In-between visits I evaluated what lenses, compositions, and settings worked best and came up with a list of shots and colors I wanted to get at the next opportunity. A few things worked out perfectly for a rainbow collage.
Seattle Gas Lamp Park
Driving South on I-5, past the University of Washington, the Seattle skyline appearing over Lake Union had been grabbing my attention for the past 10 months. An overnight stay for a dive course was the perfect opportunity for some photographs at night. Night photography was one of my early draws to photography, especially reflections on water. I hadn’t shot a skyline over water in years, and not with a nicer camera so this was really exciting. I chose Gas Lamp Park and scoped it out quickly before sunset. There was some amazing weather that day/weekend and it was packed! Parking took quite some time, heads up if you’re looking to go here. I returned with my tripod after dark and got the skyline photos I was hoping for, but by then, a group of fire artists were lighting up, spinning wands and juggling objects on fire. I took some long exposures with the skyline in the background, met the juggler and headed back to the hotel. Previews had me excited but I’d have to wait until after my dives, a drive home, and gear cleanup. I was ecstatic with how they turned out.
Dry Suit Certification and Edmonds Dive Park
After a seven month hiatus I finally got back in the ocean and under water! This time for my drysuit course, because the water is freezing here! I went through the course with Evergreen Dive Services of Everett, a great dive shop if you’re interested. The open water dives were at Edmonds Dive Park. I only took my camera on the second dive to prove I still had it and make sure I did learn how to safely dive in a drysuit. Saw a lot of fun ocean critters and swam through some hoops but no octopus. We did see a lot of fish, crabs, starfish, and nudibranchs. Glad to have the option for when its really cold.
Gear: Sony A7iv, Marelux Enclosure, Strobes: YS-110A
