One word... EPIC

Last night's Aurora Borealis made it's way well into Washington state and it was epic!  The lights were dancing and pulsing with pillars reaching so high I felt I was in nature's cathedral.  It was breathtaking to witness with the naked eye. 

Aurora Borealis | August 21, 2017

Not exactly what I was hoping to get last night given the numbers and contending with the light pollution from a neighboring town, but I'll take it. It's close to home and it was a long day yesterday starting with the eclipse. If you blinked last night from my location, you missed it.  There's nothing like sitting underneath a blanket of stars on a warm summer evening.  It's my little slice of heaven when I'm not photographing portraits.

Northern Lights | Night Photography

Got a little color from Monday morning aurora taken at 12:39 am. I enjoyed the new people I met that night, it's always fun to meet others while we're waiting for the lights to make a showing. I stayed local, since I had worked the weekend photographing a fun family and my bones were feeling it, I wanted to make sure if it ended up being a bust that I could drive 20 minutes back home and slide right into bed. It wasn't the storm I expected to see and I was at my location from 9:45pm Sunday night until 3am Monday morning. This is one night where it would have been worth the long drive away from light pollution and higher elevations, but always happy to see the lights wherever I am.

Perfect night to photograph the Northern Lights | Night Photography

Last night was a welcome reprieve from a warm house to sitting outdoors in the cool air waiting for the show to begin.  It didn't take long after setting up that I saw this beautiful arc running across the sky.  Cow dung aroma dominating the air, a pack of coyotes howling into the night and sheep baaing, in the background (which I presume explains the coyotes were so close.)  A beautiful night and beautiful display of the Aurora.

A hint of color from Friday night's Aurora

Just a hint of color from Friday night's Aurora.  It was a gorgeous day, but the clouds crept in front blocking the beautiful color.  Aurora chasing is a hit and miss, but I still enjoy trying.  The train runs along the waterfront and a tall unavoidable street light camera right, but I made the most of this image despite the inconveniences.

Northern Lights | Redmond, WA Portrait Photographer

The aurora showed up this morning, later than expected and a bit weak, but that's how it goes sometimes...  sit and wait... and if you're lucky you see the colors on the horizon and maybe some pillars of light.

This was taken from Duvall, WA

This one was taken from the Mukilteo Ferry Terminal 

Northern Lights | Mother's Day 2016

About 1:10 am Sunday morning I was just about asleep after a few long days when I decided very spur of the moment to head out to see if I could catch the Aurora closer to home. I was too tired to drive up north, so I ended up on a country road in Duvall and was able to see the Northern Lights in front of me and overhead. Certainly not like my previous captures, but worth leaving my warm bed. These were taken around 1:45 am on Mother's Day

Reflections | June 2015 Roundup

Taken on Monday 6/22/15 just East of Snoqualmie Pass.  I was lucky enough to be looking north where I could see the Northern Lights and then turning about 90 degrees to see the milky way.

My sister has a gorgeous garden, full of beautiful flower, fruits and herbs. I was lucky enough to get this Allium just before the heat rolled in.  

Allium close up.

Hummingbird on feeder and my first image with the beak (or bill) parted.

This hummingbird was sitting on a tree branch.  These tiny creatures are so hard to focus on (and I was in my office behind glass) so doubly challenging.

Juvenile hummingbird, tiny, fluffy and even harder to photograph.

My nephew graduated from University Prep this month.  I am so proud of him!  David is off to Denver University in the Fall.  

Jamie Brown Borzy

The fact that you're no longer here will always cause me pain, but you are forever in my heart

until we meet again.  I love you always...

Reflections | March 2015 Roundup

After completing my research I finally made a decision to purchase a couple of Westcott Spiderlite TD6's.  These are primarily for photographing boudoir clients on some of the dark, gray Pacific Northwest days, though I will use them for any portrait session too.  They are fabulous, I'm very happy with the results I achieve with these!

March was a busy month, a lot going on, but by far the highlight of the month for me was getting to see and photograph the Aurora Borealis a dream of mine for many years.  I always thought I'd have to travel to Alaska to see it, but I was able to see it locally and it was well worth standing in the cold until 2: 30 in the morning.

I have this Himalayan salt piece with an colorful LED lamp inside sitting on my desk, which was a reminder of how much I'd hoped at some point to photograph the Northern Lights.  It cycles through some of the beautiful colors in the Aurora.

I had an assignment this month of Intentional Camera Movement from a local group I belong to and I usually dig into my archives for assignments due to time constraints for personal shooting, but this month I was able to take some images and it was fun.  I tried visualizing that my camera was a paintbrush, below are some examples.

And the last image for the month is from a recent session I did with Emma who will be entering her senior year next fall.  After a session, if you were to call me and ask what I'm doing, you will hear "just editing...  how about you?"  If they are a photographer, the conversation keeps moving, but if it's anyone outside the industry, this is usually what I hear...  "Editing?  Again?  Still?  Can't you just not be so picky?  Can't you just do less?"  (And mind you, I'm not complaining, it's just part of the job.) 

 I wanted to take a moment and show this before and after.  I think it speaks to going the extra mile when you or the client choose a location, but cannot always control all aspect of a session. (SOOC=straight out of camera)

Northern Lights | Bellevue Portrait Photographer

It has been a dream of mine to photograph the Aurora Borealis in any capacity; be it the flaming dancing bright lights, or the more muted colors in the night sky.

I was waffling back and forth last night when I made the last minute decision to leave my house about 10:30 and head east far from the noise pollution of any city in search of remote darkness.  On my way up toward Snoqualmie Pass I saw nothing but cloud cover and fog so thick at times it was hard to see.  It left me begging the question, why are you doing this again?

Nature is truly amazing...   Watching how the lights change from moment to moment or how the clouds move in and (fortunately) back out again revealing the stars and color.   It's all very exciting!

My bucket list is a minimal one, but it just got smaller.  I am still chilled to the bone today, but I'd go back and do it again in a heartbeat!