Day 190 - Angles, Wood, and Warning

I like our kittycat warning sign.  Even though I had nothing at all to do with buying it, I've always liked it.  When the old gate was replaced several months ago, it was only natural that we save the sign, whether it was cracked, broken, and warped or not (see the shot on Day 93).  It's just way too cool to let go of.

When I snapped a few pictures this evening, this one jumped out at me.  There are angles going every which way!  The fact that I snapped it at 27mm (wide angle) made the fence boards go different angles, then you have the top of the gate going a different way because I snapped it down low.  Add the house siding up at the top and suddenly the simple shot is a busy one!

Day 189 - Fireman Boots!

This is Shayne and Joe.  We were taking some family group pictures this afternoon when I spotted them:

Those boots... Those are nice boots!

I just had to get them to give me a quick pose and show them off.  Believe me, if you know these boys, any pose they give you will be quick.  They are busy little guys.

With nice, new fireman boots!

Day 188 - Late Afternoon at the Duck Pond

Downtown Auburn right next to the Lowe's store sits a duck pond.  It's actually right next to the kiddie daycare at the edge of the Lowe's parking lot.  At any rate, there are a lot of ducks there.  It's got a nice concrete walkway all the way around it with a couple of benches for people to sit on also.

Although it's a place to drop by for easy duck shots, it still takes a little thought toward the time of day and that sort of thing because it's surrounded by trees and shrubs.  I liked the way this one ended up showing the water beading off its feathers.  I shot this one with the 300mm zoom.

Day 187 - The Groundskeeper

When I got home from work today Suzie was hard at work maintaining the beautiful yard that she has created.  This is her yard, and it's her lawnmower.  She loves this lawnmower--Almost as much as she loves the yard she maintains with it.

I walked out with my camera and started snapping pictures of her.  Her response?  She turned the steering wheel and headed straight for me.  She loves me so much.  See, you can see the wheels turning... She was aiming for me.

Day 186 - Inside Looking Out

I had this idea.  Maybe it had to do with how cold and nasty it was outside--I dunno.  Anyway, I put the fisheye lens on my camera and stuck it in the woodstove.  I took several pictures with the door in various degrees of open, and I got good results.  Then I thought something was missing.  Then I took several with me "lighting the fire" and liked that addition.

I'm convinced I can do better though.  At the very least I need to be holding a wooden match instead of a stupid disposable butane wand.  I couldn't get a decent flame off that thing to same my life.  Maybe as the winter progresses I'll have another go at it.  Of course, as the winter progresses I may never have a chance at a cold woodstove...

Day 185 - Purple... With Empasis

Suzie and I attended the Salmon Days event in the town of Issaquah today.  I want to tell you about crowds.  This event had crowds like I haven't seen in a while.  It was the biggest concentration of people I've seen in one place in a long time.  I have to say, the vendors and their products were a cut above what a lot of small town events have.  But even the vendors were there in amazing numbers.  It was like the vendor tents just went on forever.

We saw a lot of strange things--Almost all of which were people related.  You know the drill:  Clothing, tattoos, all the things that make people worthy of watching and taking pictures of.  I have no idea what these three girls were originally involved in.  Maybe a parade.  They stopped here in the middle of the street and crouched down to offer a pose to someone that apparently knew them.  Walking behind them, I was just amazed at the depth of purple that they were wearing.  It was truly a purple overdose.

Day 184 - Scavengers

This is the time of year around here when the salmon swim upstream to spawn.  Nearby our house is one of the Pacific Northwest area's many salmon hatcheries--This particular one on Soos Creek.  I drive by it every day on the way to and from work, and today I decided to stop by and see what was going on.  I saw many, many salmon, some energetic, some lethargic, and some already dead.  Also present were the many seagulls and ducks that apparently see this as an annual smorgasbord of seafood.

Because I was there somewhat late in the day none of my water pictures came out.  The light was just not in the right mode for illuminating the water the right way.  The activity on the surface was much better.