Mima Mounds

Washington has some amazing landscapes. From our snow-capped volcanoes to the channeled scablands, a photographer will never lose variety and inspiration in our scenery. And so it was this idea that brought me to the Mima Mounds for the first time several years ago. I had heard of vast meadows south of Olympia filled with native wildflowers and odd mounds.

The first time I visited, I had just missed the peak of the wildflowers. The next time I was there just before the peak. And always at mid-day. Even though on some days I visited the skies were overcast, I never truly got images I was pleased with - images that showed the beauty & mystery of the mounds.

Then finally it came to me - visit the mounds when I hear that the flowers are blooming and after work so I could hit the Natural Area during the golden hour. I was but one of 3 cars in the parking lot as I arrived and began my meandering through the mounds which geologists are still trying to understand. The camas fluttered in the breeze, a coyote trotted off into the distance. And as the sun began to set, the sky lit up. I took several exposures to blend in photoshop later and capture the true beauty of the scene.

Revisiting Photos

There are times where I just can not make myself dispose of an image. Even if it doesn't thrill me at the time, I wonder if there is a way I can "play" with it later to make the image more interesting and affective. I will see potential in an image and save them for later. So I tuck them away for a cold and dark wintery evening. After a blog post by Moose Peterson about converting what he thought were lackluster images from Monument Valley into Black and White, a light went on in my head.

I flipped through my southwest folders looking for images I had put aside. I may have already played with them but they just didn't work well for my eye. They seemed dull, the geologic striations blended together, the sky was just there - it didn't pop. But I held onto the images in hopes that I would find a way to make them look as I felt was I was shooting. And I did.

Using the Black & White layer in Photoshop CS4 and the preset for high contrast blue filter, I found that the marvelous geologic striations became more pronounced & even took on a life of their own. The wispy clouds in the sky became noticeable. In the end, I came away with an image I am extremely happy with - one that captures the essence of the place.

Finding Inspiration

I recently went on an evening photo shoot with friends at the Pike Place Market & Post Alley in Seattle. I love the lights of Seattle. And I love Seattle nights - although they can be bitterly cold in the winter. But the wind & cold would not deter us as we explored the street & neon signs near Seattle's iconic market. We had postponed our trip once before because of weather that didn't turn out to be so bad, so we weren't going to be fooled again.

The sunset glowed as it set behind the cloud-shrouded Olympic Mountains and we lined up for the quintessential image of the neon coffee cup and the Public Market Sign along Pine Street. A crowd gathered to catch the sunset behind the signs. Then we stopped for a cup of hot coffee to warm up our hands. Did I mention it was cold.

From here we could explore Post Alley and Pike Place Market as the night progressed and night lights created a different Seattle. I was taking a picture of the Post Alley sign above my head when I lowered my gaze to the alley across the street. My gaze stopped at the little corner cafe, golden light illuminating the sidewalk and outside seating area. The Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks suddenly came to mind - A "simple" painting of people sitting in a corner cafe in the evening, the lights of the cafe lighting up the city street outside.

For me this is the image that made my cold fingers & nose worth it.