Snoqualmie Falls | Bellevue Photographer

The other day while on my winter photo stroll, I went up to the falls since I was in the area.  Everything within view was frozen.  All the leaves and trees around me were coated with a thick layer of ice.  You could  peel the half inch of ice coating the leaves if you are careful and hold in your hand nature's ice sculpture of the leaf impression.  Pretty amazing!

I normally don't hold photo sessions in the rain, unless it's a session I've conceptualized with the client, or from a "Day in the Life" photo session and it's been a while since I got so wet photographing.  The splash back from the falls left my down jacket soaked and caused my lens to hunt for focus.  I was able to capture one wide angle image, which shows the rock wall to the left covered in ice from the spray.

Winter | Northwest Nature Photography

Getting outside of the studio and photographing nature is one of my favorite things to do.  This past weekend, I went out with a couple friends and photographed the things I pass by every day and wouldn't give a second thought about, until you see the frost on them.  Suddenly they become these gorgeous bits of nature.

The moss that clings and hangs from trees like dark creatures accompanying you as you walk deeper into a forest, or the river that has iced over the branches and trees in it's path.  And of course the light...  Photographers live for the light, follow the light and create around the light.  This was a fun (and cold) outing and one I look forward to doing again soon!

Bellevue Photographer | Resilience

This is quite a departure from shooting seniors, boudoir, families or children.  My goodness, initially I thought that the news was going overboard, but as it's worked out, this has turned into quite a snow and ice storm.  I have a tree in my backyard that was causing me a fair amount of worry yesterday.  As you can see in the first image, well...  you can't see it, which is how it's supposed to be, but as the day progressed I noticed this large blob blocking my otherwise pretty view to the forest on the back of my property.  As the day went on, it dropped a few feet and another few feet until this morning it was on the ground!

If this tree were to snap, it was not is not in danger of hitting my home or shed, but it would be a very big mess for me to clean up!  I've learned that it's very hard to imagine how heavy a "seemingly" small limb weighs and this is a cedar tree!

I try to find the lessons in everything that comes my way, but today I was grateful that I had a the experience of watching every stage of this tree in it's descent to the snowy ground below.  It reminded me how we all need a soft place to land and with family and good friends, we are all resilient and can bounce back just as this tree is going to bounce back (I hope.)   It hasn't broken yet!  It may have a permanent bend and be crippled for a while, but over time, I believe it will bounce back.

(Click the first image to enlarge and bring up slideshow)

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A Fiery sky, Ice and Water

The following images were shot two days apart starting the evening of November 30th, with a gorgeous sunset. On December 2nd we got snow and then on December 4th, the flooding. Snoqualmie Falls was a spectacular sight due to the record rainfall resulting in urban flooding.