Quick Shot – Upper Spokane Falls
Another quick shot for you. I spent most of last week in Spokane, but was not able to slip out and do much photography. However, one night I did get manage to escape and shoot some late evening shots in Riverfront Park. Though water levels were down a little bit from several weeks ago, the falls were still spectacular. This shot is of Upper Spokane Falls, taken from the Post Street Bridge. Enjoy!
Seattle, Spokane Web Galleries and a Note on Conservatories
Recently I’ve decided to upgrade my website to include more photo galleries. In that regard, this weekend I added two new galleries featuring the two largest cities in the State of Washington: Seattle and Spokane. I’ve displayed many of the images in the new galleries previously here on the blog, but there’s a few new images thrown in as well. Please take a look and let me know what you think.
To illustrate this post, I’m posting two shots of conservatories, one in each city. The Gaiser Conservatory in Spokane sits above the beautiful Duncan Garden in Manito Park. The Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle is missing the beautiful outside garden, but the building itself is very photogenic. Shooting inside conservatories is a lot of fun, particularly on rainy fall days (which will be coming sooner rather than later). I’ve shot inside both these conservatories, as well as the small conservatory here in Tacoma, and made some great shots. I typically use a tripod and a macro lens when photographing in conservatories. If you plan to photograph at your local conservatory, and plan on using a tripod, it’s best to go on weekdays when there are fewer visitors. Also, be kind and move your tripod when others need to walk by. In fact, at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle, tripods are only allowed on weekdays. When the weather turns bad, consider your local conservatory to keep your creative photographic juices flowing.
Duncan Garden in Spokane’s Manito Park, the Gaiser Conservatory is in the background
The Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle
Experiment in Infrared
A couple of years ago I purchased an infrared filter, used it perhaps once, stuck it in the camera bag, and have been carrying it around ever since. Earlier this month, I thought it was high time I tried it out again. My subject was Riverfront Park. It seemed like a good time to try. It was the middle of the day, with bright sunshine, and I was somewhat unimpressed with my “normal” shots.
So I pulled out the infrared filter. Here are three samples of one scene from the park, one shot normally in color, a black and white conversion of the color image, and the infrared shot. All were processed in Lightroom.
Riverfront Park shot in color
Black and white conversion from the color image
Same scene shot with an infrared filter
While I like the infrared image the best of the three, I can’t say I’m overwhelmed with it. It certainly seems to be lacking a bit of the character I normally associate with infrared – namely very dark skies and very light foliage. It may be that my camera (Canon 6D) doesn’t transmit much infrared. Or perhaps there is an issue with the subject I picked. Any experienced infrared photographers out there want to give me some advice?
Spokane, Riverfront City
Earlier this summer I visited my old hometown of Spokane, Washington. I previously have only shown one image from that trip in my blog because I was there on assignment with American Bungalow Magazine, and they had first publication rights to the images. The current issue (August-November 2012) of American Bungalow came out late last month with a 8-page article on Spokane featuring 12 of my images. You can go to your local bookstore or library to see those images, but here are several that didn’t make the magazine. Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Lobby of the Davenport Hotel, which opened in 1914.
Spokane River in Riverfront Park, looking at the former US Pavilion (from Expo 74) and the Great Northern Railway Clock Tower
Looff Carrousel in Riverfront Park (built 1909) with downtown Spokane in background
Hula dancer and dog at the Gaiser Conservatory, Manito Park
I took a lot of pictures of bungalows. This was one of my favorites because of the cat that posed for me in the driveway.
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
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