From flowers to berries… This was one of the first salmon berries that was showing color. I didn’t try this one, but I did have one from a bush nearby and it was still very sour. Still be maybe a couple weeks before they get sweet enough. Growing right along a main path in plain view, I bet it doesn’t last long enough to get sweet.
Really nice to see the fresh greens of the new growth. It makes it seem like spring is really here. (even though as I write this it is cool and raining)
This was at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA.
Camera: Nikon D850
Lens: Nikkor 24-85mm set at 62mm
ISO 400 1/125 sec f/5.6
I was walking along the beach and noticed this patch of horsetail catching the sun. I really liked the way you could follow the contour of the ground beneath. Most of these are the common horsetail, with a few giant horsetail mixed in. Like the dandelion, often regarded as a weed. But one of the older plants still thriving.
Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: Nikkor 28-300mm set at 300mm ISO 400 1/200 sec f/7.1
It was a little surprising to see paintbrush starting to bloom in mid-April. But the site was southwest facing and fairly open to the sun.
Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: 80-400mm set at 400 ISO 800 1/400 sec f/7.1
Found this trillium just starting to open along the Elwha River Road washout bypass trail. It was a cloudy day and in the woods … so I had to bump up the ISO to get a high enough shutter speed to hand hold the camera with the 80-400mm zoom. The depth of field was not ideal, but the bloom is mostly sharp.
Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: 80-400mm set at 300mm ISO 3200 1/1250 f/5.6
I recently picked up a (used, but in good condition) Hasselblad film camera. Always wanted one … the price on older film models is now within my reach.
Film? Yes. I find that occasionally shooting film helps concentrate your mind on the image and slows the pace. With the cost of a single image being what it is, you want it to have the correct exposure to match your vision of the image. It’s good practice. Sometimes I use my DSLR to check the exposure settings. But using a light meter helps with the mental concentration part.
This is a scan of the negative. The image is of a dying madrone in my front yard. WIth some salal, oregon grape and rhody mixed in.
I don’t the the plant (I’m better at native Pacific Northwest plants) … but I loved the way the colors matched the bricks.
Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: Nikon 28-300 mm set at 45mm ISO 1600 1/160 sec f/6.3
The small native low-growing blackberries in Washington make the best pies… and their leaves provide some late fall color in the frost.
Camera: Nikon D200 Lens: Nikon 50mm ISO 100 1/60 sec f/4.0
The Mt Walker trail has areas where the trail goes through fairly thick clumps of wild Rhododendrons. I liked the backlighting showing the leaf veins.
Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: Nikon 28-300 mm set at 105mm ISO 400 1/400 sec f/10