Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature (Baby Birds and Gun Batteries)

I’m slowly working my way through hundreds of photos from our 2015 Staycation and in typical fashion 90% of them are of trees, beaches and the natural vistas that make the Pacific Northwest such a beautiful place to live.  I’ve got so many potential images for this weeks “nature” challenge it’s difficult to choose just one to share today but in the end I selected this photo of a little swallow family in front of an abandoned Gun Battery at Fort Warden, WA.  Their mamma flew by every couple of minutes with a new worm to feed her babies and this tiny group of four waited patiently until their bellies were full and it was time to return to the nest.

iPhone Saturday 10-11 Nature

Posted as part of Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge:  Nature.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Grid (Seattle’s Great Wheel)

This week, let’s take the humble grid out of the shadows, and make it the star.

Michelle W. The Daily Post

Grid

I’m always amazed by how much weight can be supported by such delicate grid work.  Watching these viewing cars float in circles above the Seattle Waterfront was almost as much fun as our ride on a sunny summer day.

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  Grid

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Challenger’s Choice From Under the Sea

iPhone Thursday 8-27 2

We’re almost through the fourth week of August and it’s time for a round of Challenger’s Choice over at Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge.  I’m a little late to the party but the weeks not over so I still have time to share a few underwater views from our Staycation 2015 visit to the Seattle Aquarium.

iPhone Thursday 8-27 1

All photos taken with my iPhone 6 native camera and edited in Oggl using the Watts lens and Love 81 film combination.

A Surprise Every Day: Shaking Up August With Hipstamatic (week 1)

Well, it’s Monday morning and our staycation week is over but sorting through my new photos to find one image from each day has been a fun trip back through our latest adventures.  Our goal was to visit at least one mountain, island, river, beach and city while trying new things and as of today we accomplished just that.  Our feet need a rest and the laundry is out of control but we’ve got plenty of happy memories stored away and a long list of places we want to revisit when summer changes to fall.

Our week started bright and early Sunday morning with a hike up to Wallace Falls.  We made it all the way to the upper falls and the view down was spectacular but my favorite part of the day was the climb through old and second-growth forest.  This shot is from our last rest stop along the river on the way back down.  We spent Monday exploring Port Townsend and Fort Warden on the Olympic Peninsula, a pretty ferry ride from Edmonds.  I’ll have plenty of photos to share over the next few weeks but this view is of the caretaker’s house next to the lighthouse at Pt. Wilson.  Tuesday found us a little closer to home enjoying lunch on the deck and a walk through Carkeek Park in Seattle.  Inside the park we found this little orchard and some of the trees had bags tied over the young apples as part of an art project to be revealed in September.  We’ll have to go back to see the final results.

Wednesday was our “in-the-city” day with a trip to the Seattle Aquarium, lunch on the waterfront and a ride on the Great Wheel.  Thursday was our 21st Anniversary and my aunt Maryellen joined us on a beautiful hike up the Ira Spring trail near Snoqualmie Pass.  This peaceful view of Mason Lake was our lunchtime reward for climbing the 3.5 mile trail straight up the mountain.  Our sandwiches, fruit, trail mix and chips were just enough fuel to power our trek back down to the forest service access road and by the time we made it home pizza on the couch was the perfect dinner.

Our final adventure of the week was a trip to Whidbey Island and a hike through Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve.  We enjoyed another ferry ride followed by coffee and cinnamon rolls in Coupeville before heading to Ebey’s Landing for lunch on the beach and a hike along the bluff.  I could write a weeks worth of posts about this day but today you get an image of Ryan winding up for a rock skipping throw before flying his kite while whales jumped and swam past our picnic spot on the beach.  What a day!  I knew it would be hard to live up to Friday but Saturday definitely took a turn for the worse and I’m sorry to say my aunt’s sweet little Prius will never be the same…  She’s alright though so everything can be solved with a little time, a little luck and some creative thinking.

Even though I was away from WordPress last week I posted plenty of new photos on Instagram and Facebook so if you’d like to see more of where we’ve been please stop by and take a look. 🙂

Each photo was taken with my iPhone 6 using Hipstamatic’s “shake to randomize” function then posted without any additional editing. If you like a particular combination and want to try it at home just click on the image to see the lens and filter used.  For variety I continue to add new lenses and filters so if you want to try Hipstamatic but are unsure how to start let me know and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Searching For Inspiration

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We’ve reached the middle of the hottest summer on record here in the Pacific Northwest and the soaring temperatures combined with our home’s lack of air conditioning are making me long for cool forest pools and fresh waterfalls.  Thank goodness it’s time for vacation!

This year we’ve decided to shake things up and instead of traveling for a destination holiday we’re planning a series of day trips designed to get us out of the hot house and into some of the beautiful scenery we live with but can’t appreciate fully during the work week.

If all goes as planned we will board the Washington State Ferries, visit Pt. Townsend and Fort Warden, hike to Wallace Falls, visit the Seattle Aquarium and ride the Great Wheel, hike two more days around Snoqualmie Pass and finish with a final trip to Whidbey Island.  Mixed with these adventures are some stay home family nights with BBQ dinners, party lanterns and movies in the backyard.  A true staycation!

Tomorrow’s “Shake It Up” post will be my last here until August 9th but I won’t be vacationing from all my social media accounts.  If you’d like to follow our adventures through the beaches, forests and mountains of Washington State I’ll be dusting off my neglected Instagram account and increasing postings on Facebook. Everyone’s welcome to come by for a visit, peek over our shoulders and hike the trails with us!

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  Inspiration.

Black and White Weekly Challenge: Family

B&W Family

Last summer we decided to stay close to home and try a touristy “staycation” in the Seattle area instead of leaving town during the best part of the year.  We filled our house with family and spent a great weekend exploring Seattle, The Pike Place Market, taking a Ride the Ducks Tour and having water balloon fights in the backyard.

My sister always has fun party ideas and last year she designed and printed matching t-shirts for the group.  After breakfast the dads and cousins headed outside to practice their synchronized tourist point…

Posted as part of the lovely Sonel’s Black and White Weekly Challenge:  Family