Midnight Lupine

Taken close to 11:30pm, I was thrilled with the result of this image. There were several things I could have done to improve it, but I was running out of time, as the sun was quickly on its way to sleep for the night.

Print available here.

Fire in the Sky

I loved the light around the wild grass and the lupine as the sunset, but I was having problems shooting without a tripod. I have had some issues recently with people wandering near me that make me uncomfortable, and it has only gotten worse now that it is summer and there are tourists everywhere. I wanted to be quick on my feet that night, not bothered with a tripod. Thus, most of the images I took of the grass and the sunshine did not turn out to my liking very much.

Then I decided to try a silhouetted image. I know it is cliched, but I really enjoyed shooting it. I have another silhouette image to share tomorrow, and I am pretty excited about it.

Augustine at Sunset

I checked out the sunset on the day after summer solstice. It was not too incredible, but I did get some fun images I will share in the next couple posts. I was intrigued by the clouds floating by Mt, Augustine, though.

Print available here.

On an unrelated note, I am shooting my first wedding today! I am shooting with a dear friend, for another dear friend. It will be small, and I would be taking photos anyway, but this way will ensure I get to really get the ones I want. Hopefully I will be pleased with the results, and share some with you all!

Forget Me Not

I love Forget-Me-Nots. They are Alaska's state flower, so they can be easy to find (not always!). I got lucky this year that one of my friend's has some planted in her yard.

I'm not sure where the pink comes from, but it was not there two weeks ago.

Print available here.

Roses

I am so spoiled :) C brought these roses home for me tonight, unexpectedly. They smell wonderful, and have been lovely posing for the camera tonight :)

Mountain Streaks

This week, after looking for fields of lupine, my friend and I had to stop in awe at the clouds and fog around the mountains. Print available here.

I love living in Alaska. That's all there is to it.

It's a Bird, Not a Dinosaur

Photo credited to: Ferdi

Today, at work, I had a customer come up to me, holding out a figurine of a bird.

Customer: "I have a weird question. What is this? One of these ran across the road in front of our car and I thought it was a small dinosaur. What is it?"

Me: *Laughing* "That's a pheasant.....it's a bird."

I had no idea that dinosaurs were thought to be running around Alaska, but apparently I had not been informed!

Peace

A friend and I went in search of a field of lupine this week. The day turned glorious while we were shooting: the sun came out amid the blue skies, and wispy clouds streaked across the sky. We found this field with lupine and dandelions and just fell in love.

Horsetail Dew

Looked outside the other morning and saw dew drops covering the grass. This is horsetail grass, an obnoxious weed, that looks sort of beautiful when dripping with dew!

Bleeding Heart

 Bleeding Hearts are definitely one of my favorite flowers. I am incredibly blessed that they grow in my yard!

Dandelion Seeds

My goal for this image was to capture rain drops on the dandelion, but I ended up focusing on the center of the dandelion. It's not something I usually think is pretty, but I find this a fascinating image!

Lupine Drop

It has been raining for days here. I discovered that the leaves on the arctic lupine are quite waxy. Thus, they make water drops bead up nicely.

I really should have used my tripod, but I was trying to keep my camera from getting wet.

Lupine

Arctic Lupine is one of my favorite plants. I've been on the lookout for a field of this plant to do some shooting in. Hopefully I can find one soon :)

Clear View Across the Inlet

Often, the view to the mountains across our Bay are obscured by clouds, fog, or mainly just haze. Yesterday, the haze was gone, and all the mountains were incredibly clear and sharp. I always love to gaze on the mountains when the contrast is like this. I'm lucky to live here to be able to see it when it's like this!

Golden Center

Closeup of a cosmo flower

Contest

Exciting news today! One of my favorite bloggers and photographers, Jenna, of That Wife and Jenna Cole Photography, has graciously agreed to host a contest on her blog!

Her post explains it all, but this is a chance for you to get an opportunity to enter to win a framed 8 x 10 print from me!

Please click over and give her some love!

Contest at That Wife!

Contest!

Exciting news today! One of my favorite bloggers and photographers, Jenna, of That Wife and Jenna Cole Photography, has graciously agreed to host a contest on her blog!

Her post explains it all, but this is a chance for you to get an opportunity to enter to win a framed 8 x 10 print from me!

Please click over and give her some love!

Contest at That Wife!

Cosmo

I shot these flowers last summer, but now that I have a macro lens, I really wanted to try to do them justice. I have one more from this session to show you, but I'm sure it will not be the last time you see them :)

Chives

This was not intentionally done out of focus, but I really adored how it turned out!

Water Drop 2

In the next couple weeks, I and a friend are shooting another friend's wedding. I have been adamant that I will not do this, because it is such a responsibility, but I am making an exception. This is going to be a very small and intimate outside wedding. I'm excited, but nervous of course!

I researched purchasing an external flash, and a friend lent me hers to try out. I won't be using it, but I did try it on some water drop shots before I gave it back! And I was incredibly happy with how this one, especially, turned out.

Beach Set 6-4 2

The water was so incredibly soft and quiet when I was shooting the other night that I wasn't sure how it would turn out with a longer exposure. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, though!

Beach Set 6-4

After a rather creepy run-in with a homeless man on the beach who wanted me to take his photo, I scampered down to the water's edge. Looking around and over my shoulder to ensure he stayed where he was, I set up my tripod and started shooting. The water was already really calm, but a longer shutter speed made it look even more creamy and lovely.

Webs

I normally can't stand to eye spider webs. However, I have seen some incredible image made with webs, and when I saw this one in my yard a couple days ago, I could not resist. Thankfully, the web was vacant at the time! I just adore the background colors in this one!

5 Years

Last Saturday, the 29th, marked five years that C and I have been together. In the grand scheme of things, five years is not long, but I really wanted to ensure that we celebrated the day.

We went out to our favorite pizza place and afterward, to the beach. I'm so happy C tolerates me wanting to take photos of us! This was my favorite of the ones we took.

I can't wait to see what the next 5 look like, and the next 5 and the next :)

Graduation

My nephew graduated from high school a few weeks ago. It's hard for me to believe that I am that old to have him graduating!!

It was a stifling ceremony in the gym, but it was mercifully only a little over an hour long. Usually it goes longer than that. My nephew was excited C and I made it, and we had a big family gathering at the end. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of that...

Newborn Moose Calf 3

My last shot. More newborn shots at my Facebook page!

Newborn Moose Calf 2

Probably my favorite from that morning. Resting patiently and quietly waiting for mom to come back.

More newborn shots at my Facebook page!

New Print Shop and Coupon

I like to believe that the third time is indeed the charm, sometimes. I have used two different services to print my images, and both had different problems. The second company I went with was decent, but the fee they charged for each print was astronomical.

I recently had some framed prints done by Mpix, after hearing many reviews of the quality and unbeatable prices. I was really impressed with them!

Mpix partners with Zenfolio to offer storefronts for photographers. I have eyed their service for the past year, but could not justify the cost. However, dealing with the past two companies annoyed me, so I finally decided to give them a shot.

As I said, I hope the third time is the charm! I redid my gallery and shop on my website, so they are one and the same, with over 50 images, many old, but many more that are new. So far I have been happy with the service, and I really think my problem from the beginning was going with unknown companies who did not take input to heart.

To celebrate my new service, I am offering a coupon code! I will likely offer these throughout the year, but this is the first one! This 15% off your order code can be entered in the checkout process on the website, and it expires next Wednesday, the 9th of June at 11:59 Alaska time. Go to my website, click on "Gallery & Prints", then decide on the image(s) you want. In the checkout box, enter the code exactly as: NEWSERVICE10

Zenfolio has a referral program, where by using my number, you get $5 off the service for yourself. (I get $5 for the referral as well) If you have been interested in trying out the service, I can definitely say that my first day using it has been great. My code is: DQ5-194-YJM

Feel free to share this post with your friends if they would be interested in the new prints I have put up! 

Newborn Moose Calves 2

Aren't they incredible? It was fascinating to watch the cow take care of her babies. She nudged them up to make sure they could stand, and let them nurse whenever they desired. But she also took time for herself and made sure they would lay down before she went off to find food for herself.

I don't know when these two were born, but they are definitely new. Most definitely within the past week, though! More newborn shots at my Facebook page!

Newborn Moose Calf 1

Isn't he or she just darling? This one and a sibling wandered through with their mom on Friday evening, and actually stayed overnight in our yard. I got many shots Saturday morning, so the cuteness will continue!

More newborn shots at my Facebook page!