Ruby Beach - Olympic National Park - Western Washington

After an evening photographing downtown Seattle, Denise Carl and myself traveled west the next day to the shoreline of the Olympic Peninsula.  A friend from work visited Ruby Beach recently, and the pictures he brought back highlighted the seascape photography potential of this area perfectly, thus I was excited to explore the area.  I shot the beach and numerous seastacks from mid-afternoon through sunset.  It was cloudy and misty the entire time, so contrast was awful.  Still, a few of my pictures with strong foreground subjects turned out reasonably well.  The swells were huge this day, with waves crashing up to the edge of the shoreline.  One particularly large wave grabbed my backpack, which was full of camera gear, and started dragging it out to sea.  Luckily, Denise was on top of the situation and grabbed the pack in the nick of time, averting a dramatic demise to my gear.

Downtown Seattle

I recently made a quick trip to Seattle/western Washington.  All of the iconic/popular spots for photography were hit during the trip, including Kerry Park, Rizal Park, and the shoreline of West Seattle.  A waterspout occurred earlier in the day over Pudget Sound, and prompted the weather service office in Seattle to issue a tornado warning, the first in 17 years.  While shooting from Kerry Park, a legit supercell with obvious updraft rotation moved across downtown Seattle.  The storm put on a great lightning display as well.  I tried my best to capture lightning in the background of the skyline, but nature axed that idea.  It was a still a cool experience nonetheless.

Downtown Seattle from Kerry Park.

Thunderstorm over downtown Seattle.  Viewed from Kerry Park.

Downtown Seattle at dusk.  Viewed from Kerry Park.

The moon lighting up Elliott Bay.  Viewed from the shore of West Seattle.

Downtown Seattle viewed from the shore of West Seattle.