Another Evening At Mukilteo

Sunset over the Possesion Sound, Mukilteo, Washington

Agave

The March Storms Continue....

Tuesday was one of those days where everything fell into place. When I woke up I never even contemplated getting a shoot in. My son had been sick through the weekend and had to stay home from school on Monday.  To say I was running behind in my chores would be an understatement. Throw in the fact that it was raining like cats and dogs outside and I thought the day would be completely dedicated to vacuuming, laundry, and other assorted Daddy stuff. I got my son off to school and dove into the to-do list.

Sometime between prepping for dinner and cleaning the drains, I noticed the rain started to let up and the clouds begin to break. My rational side told me it would be pouring again by evening but my irrational side continued to hope.  Surprisingly the rains held off so I fed the crew, did the dishes, grabbed my camera gear, and dashed to the second closest beach to my house (I had a few extra minutes thanks to that amazing invention called daylight saving time.)

When I arrived, there were still some holes is the clouds letting the sun through from time to time. I started out working a few compositions but found myself drawn to the still stormy action to the northwest. Funny how I spent the entire winter complaining about the weather but as soon as the sun popped out, all I wanted to photograph were the cloudy scenes. When darkness came, I was cold and wet from the spray and a few surprisingly strong wave surges, but I had a filled flash card and a happy smile on my face. It may not have started off as a great day, but it sure ended as one.

Koosah Falls

A waterfall in Oregon, can it be true???? One of my many favorite falls in that amazing state is Koosah Falls on the McKensie River.

Misty Forest

I'm not a fan of sunny days. There it is! I've said it! The problem remains that I'm not quite sure if I believe it or it is a way to remain sane while living in the Pacific Northwest. Either way, I might as well go with it. Nature will dish out reality whether it agrees with my feelings or not. More often than not, that means clouds.

I stood for over an hour at the top of Stevens Canyon in Mount Rainier National Park watching this scene. The canyon seemed to be alive and breathing that morning, literally blowing clouds up the slopes and then sucking them back down into the depths. At times the clouds would obliterate the scene leaving me staring at a grey wall. At other times the clouds would disappear completely revealing the entire forest at one time. Like this image, most of the time, it was somewhere in between.

Cold Morning

It snowed north of Seattle again on Monday. The Puget Sound Convergence Zone set up over Snohomish county during the afternoon and it was coming down at a pretty good clip. But as quick as it came, it was over and clear skies appeared at sunset.

I got up Tuesday morning and drove down to the Edmonds waterfront expecting to catch first light on the Olympic Mountains. Instead I was greeted with pelting sleet storms, a cold stiff breeze off the water, sizable waves (for the Sound anyway), and some pretty ominous skies. Eventually the clouds did part and cleared the way to see the Olympics but I couldn't take my focus off of the dramatic and moody scene on the beach in front of me. It was not what I went looking for, but I chose to embrace what the Puget Sound was dishing up that morning.

I finished the shoot with wet shoes, frozen fingers, and a sense of peace that I only attain after seeing nature play out its wildest side. The best part of the shoot, however, was the surprise at the end. I came home to a stack of hot pancakes. My family is awesome!

Last Light

Last light on Mount Shuksan, Washington. The hike along Kulshan Ridge has to have some of the easiest, most accessible alpine photo ops in the country (probably why it has photographed to death).

Share The Love

Feeling like you might want to score a discount code for 30% off any single purchase on my website for the rest of the year? Well I want to expand the number of people that follow my photography. Here's how we can help each other. There are only three easy things you have to do. Go ahead and navigate on over to my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/jimlundgrenphotography and...

1. "Like" the page if you haven't already.

2. Share 2 photo posts during the month of March at different times. They can be new or old posts. If you feel like it, please go ahead and write a little glowing recommendation about how awesome I am and how everyone will be better off by "liking" my page....or something like that :)

3. Drop me a line at jimlundgrenphoto@gmail.com or at the website describing which posts you shared and I will email you back your discount code within 48 hours.

Fine Print:
1. All shares must be completed by 11:59 PM PDT on March 31, 2012
2. Discount codes expire on 11:59 PM PST on December 31, 2012
3. Codes apply to purchase price only and not applicable taxes and shipping (did you know I offer free shipping to the lower 48 states?)
4. Discount codes may be used only once for a single purchase.
5. Codes are non-transferable but I can ship directly to third parties.

Lastly, a big thank you to everyone who has taken a moment to look at my work over the past year. It means more to me than you know.

Spring Is In The Air...Not Really

Sitting in Seattle in March can get a little boring. The trees are still bare, everything looks dirty, and even the moss is starting to look a little tired. It's days like these when I start thinking of the desert bloom in southern California. It starts in  Death Valley sometime in February, Continues into the lower southern deserts in March, and wraps up in the higher deserts sometime in April. I wonder how long I could get away with taking my son out of school?

Desert Sunflower in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California