2014, Day 120 - Love

Normally I try to mix up my postings but I am feeling the need for more puppy love.  A friend of mine said goodbye to the dog that started his love of all things canine tonight which reminds me that we all need to give our pets a little love and capture their moments of joy while we're able.

This is Spec, of yesterday's photo, chewing on his sister Luna.  It isn't just that she seems unfazed by his nibbling but she enjoys it.  If you can't tell she was about to take off running again and her slightly round brother then struggled in vain to catch up.  Puppies have this magical ability to make all think seem right in the world.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
145mm, f4, 1/2000 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 119 - Joy

I had the pleasure of a sunny day and a visit with Frankie's niece and nephew.  Of the seven only one hasn't gone home yet but she will in a few weeks but until then Spec has his sister Luna as a buddy.  Luna is the runner of the two and he is struggling to keep up but I suspect he likes not being the "bunny" when they play.  It was a beautiful day and they ran until they were exhausted but the whole time it was obvious that they were having a blast.  Below is Spec running and grinning as he chases his sister across the field.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/2000 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 118 - Target

I wonder why we don't cultivate dandelions.  They grow prolifically and take almost no input but produce nutritious leafy greens quickly and there is no need to plant more since they self-seed.  Is it an issue of output?  These are the questions that keep me up at night...

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/320 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 117 - Diamond in a slingshot

Little miss Cartier is on fire!  Last weekend she went lure coursing and won best-in-field two days in a row and today she won the oval racing meet.  Those are pretty big accomplishments especially considering she is just two years old and half the dogs on the field are twice her size.  And yet, at home, she's a princess, Cartier loves to cuddle and be carried but on the field she wants to win.  Congratulations Jason, Melissa, Karen, and Paul but most especially congratulations Cartier!

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II with EF Extender 1.4x Mark III
280mm, f5.6, 1/1250 sec @ 160 ISO

2014, Day 116 - Day dreaming

I stopped by my friends' house this evening to chat and talk over a project.  While we worked and talked I noticed Shelby sitting on the ottoman and gazing out the window.  I couldn't pass up the moment so grabbed a couple quick photos.  Maybe she is thinking about going racing tomorrow, I haven't told Frankie yet because he won't be able to sleep.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 56/f1.2R
56mm, f1.2, 1/150 sec @ 800 ISO

2014, Day 115 - Shiny

Today was an exciting day as I got to welcome my friends Brian and Nicole back to Portland!  After being gone for a year it is great to have them back and I can't wait to restart our adventures.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f2.8, 1/900 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 114 - Stand with your friends

An early morning walk through the park, the earth smelling of sweet and musky, wildflowers swaying in the breeze, and the sun breaking through the clouds momentarily to throw their darkness into relief...

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f5.6, 1/1250 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 113 - Competition

Hubert is such a spaz, he would rather run than walk anywhere and everything is very exciting to him, even the things we do every day.  Meal times get him worked up and I am constantly tripping over him because he is so thrilled to be eating.  When I grab the leashes off the hook the other dogs walk to the door but Hubert runs and if he isn't t he first he pushes his way to the front.  Everything is a contest with him which includes cuddle time; he races up to give sloppy kisses and then runs away and no one snuggles up closer than he does.  There are some less desirable aspects to this need to be first but some really worthwhile parts too.  It's ironic that he didn't want to race, it seems like it would have suited him.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 56/f1.2R
56mm, f1.4, 1/17 sec @ 800 ISO

2014, Day 112 - Disrupted

Back to the camas!  I loved this field, broken by huge mossy boulders, dotted with camas flower, and under a blue sky.  This is my new favorite springtime venue, the variety of the flora and fauna is remarkable given that this is only a twenty-six acre park.  I would like to go back again but the weather does not look likely to cooperate, this afternoon we had a few minutes of torrential rain coupled with lightning that I could see in a lightly cloudy sky and thunder that shook the house which was followed by hail.  With weather like that I don't know if the flowers will last much longer.

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f8, merged layers of 1/200, 1/100, 1/50, and 1/25 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 111 - Bastard

This tall glass of son-of-a-bitch is my trainer.  For the past year and a half be has been thinking up inventive ways to abuse me into gaining strength and I've certainly felt the benefits.  Yes, I am still built like a teapot, short and stout but that is a battle against my natural predisposition.  So for eighteen months he has been miscounting my reps to punish me and torturing me with "one more set."  The gym just redid their website and I didn't care for his picture so I took my camera and, arms straining to lift my camera after a tough workout, I made him pose for a few pictures.  There is a skylight in the warehouse-like space so I made him stand under it for this shot.

Canon 1D X, Canon 50/f1.2L
50mm, f2, 1/500 sec @ 100 ISO

2014, Day 110 - Field of snacks

This morning I took a walk through a great park in West Linn named for the common camas that is so prevalent.  After walking through the wood the maples gave way to oaks and open fields.  Camas like slightly marshy condition and the flowers are in full bloom right now.  There are a number of places named for camas in this area because they were an important crop.  The bulbs are roasted in coals and have been described as tasting like a sweeter more fibrous sweet potato; alternatively the bulb can be dried and pounded into a flour.  Today we enjoy the rather spectacular show these beautiful flowers put on every spring.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
11.5mm, f5.6, 1/280 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 109 - Worming

I have an old electric radiator that has been gutted and turned into a lamp that serves as a nightlight.  When I walked into the living room this evening I saw Frankie laying on the floor in front of the lamp like it was keeping him warm.  Never one to miss a moment I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures.  This was as he was thinking about getting up to cuddle with me as I was crawling across the floor to take his picture.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 56/f1.2R
56mm, f1.2, 1/125 sec @ 3200 ISO

2014, Day 108 - Revel

I am going through a phase where I am enjoying flare, bokeh, and backlighting and this is another in that series.  The warmth of the sun, the points of light amplified by the misting of rain, and the opacity of the flowers.  It's the feeling of warmth that I like especially given our still chilly nights.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/3500 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 107 - Recovery

Johan and Stubbs went to the vet yesterday to have their teeth cleaned and get their vaccinations updated.  Both had a growth or two that needed to be removed while they were anesthetized.  When I picked them up Stubbs was happy and energetic but Johan was happy and drunk.  I just figured that he had his dental second so he would be a bit more out of it.  By the time we got home I thought he would be more with it but he wasn't and after a five minutes standing in the back yard at the bottom of the stairs I had go back out and help him walk up one foot at a time.  He's back to normal now but he was even slower than usual yesterday.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 56/f1.2R
56mm, f2, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 106 - Orbs

It has been raining again and after I took the dogs in this morning for their dentals I stopped to take a few pictures.  When I passed by Portland Nursery I noticed that their hostas were getting big so I had to stop and I found that there were beautiful little droplets of water of the leaves.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 105 - Fuzzy

It is amazing to me that flowers have the capacity to open, then close, and the open again.  These flowers I see multiple times each day and in the morning when it is cool and the sun hasn't completely risen they are closed.  Later, as the day warms, the open and insects come and go pollenating them.  And when the sun sets and the evening cools they close again.  It is beautiful and amazing to see them worshipping the sun.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 500 ISO

2014, Day 104 - Velvet

It is everywhere and spring has sprung judging by the vigorous growth of new foliage.  Hopefully I can get out in the next week or so and really take advantage of the weather, the plants should be looking fresh and bright and green even by the standards of the Pacific Northwest!

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5, 1/125 sec @ 320 ISO

2014, Day 103 - Poised

I am so excited that I found my first crab spider of the year this afternoon.  While walking under the lilac in my backyard I saw this little guy poised to grab a snack.  This is one of my favorite sights, I love insects but spiders are my special favorite.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f11, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 102 - Squeezed

With the warmer weather the ferns are starting to grow new fronds.  This is a maidenhair fern and the new fronds are so light and bright and new they stand out in stark contrast to more mature growth.  Right now they're so delicate but in a day or two they will unfurl and there will be a little more green in our northwest landscape.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 101 - Interlocking

I love wood sorrel, it is so lush and vibrant and it brightens every garden.  There is a little bit in my yard, it is just getting established and I hope that it really takes off this year.  Gardening has never really been my forte but since starting the yard from scratch last year I take a much greater interest and find even the little things exciting now.  Not that I want to lose years of my life in a flash but I am anxious to see how it looks when it is well established.  Oh well, I suppose I'll have to be patient.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 500 ISO

2014, Day 100 - Down on the floor

Bunchberries are a relatives of the more familiar dogwood trees but they are only eight inches tall.  They spread by rhizomes and will eventually form a nice carpet under the canopy.  Their flowers are the same in form as those on dogwood but their name is derived from the bright red fruit they bear which are said to taste similar to apples.  These aren't the plants in my yard, they are my friend's plants, but I have a couple flats planted and hope to see a carpet in my yard in a few years.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/140 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 99 - Three-legged legend

This is a northern red-legged frog and he has been a regular at the pond where I found him for years.  While there are many other frogs who call that pond home he is distinctive as he is missing a hind leg.  It doesn't seem to affect his ability to swim, I saw him shoot across the pond after we finished our little portrait session.  Red-legged frogs are an indigenous species and my friend Lory has two ponds in her backyard that are teaming with tadpoles right now.  What's unusual is that these frog, while prolific, are not noisy at all because they make their calls underwater but their diminutive relatives, the Pacific tree frogs, are almost deafening with their loud persistent calls.  Unfortunately their numbers are in decline and while they're still commonly found it is a cause for concern.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f3.6, 1/125 sec @ 1000 ISO

2014, Day 98 - Giants

Getting low and wide for a different perspective is always fun.  I joined my friend Lory at her nursery this morning to pick up a plant I've been trying to find since last year and she had one for me.  While I was there we took a walk through the grounds and out to her own hidden garden so I could see her trillium kurabayashii, a large plant that is extremely slow growing that she's been carefully propagating for years.  They're native to southwest Oregon and are considered rare probably because they take years to mature to the point where they flower and are relatively fragile.  However when given the right care they will self-seed and in a few years a nice colony will establish.  They are beautiful plants with large mottled leaves and deep red flowers with upright petals and a more open form that most of the trilliums we are accustomed to seeing.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 97 - Lances

The head of a dandelion is like a target with hundreds of little arrows crowding the bullseye.  Each seed is barbed to catch passing animals who then distribute them and there are also feathered parachutes to capture even the slightest breeze.  You are looking at evolution, the head of a dandelion is perfectly adapted widespread dispersal, this is function refined by thousands of years and it is elegant, simple, and effective.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 96 - Bouncing

This is my turtle.  Yes, Frankie is the perpetual loser but he loses with style and has such a great time doing it.  It must be nice to participate in a sport where the winner is whoever has the most fun because Frankie is certain that he wins every time.  The nice this is that there is a prize for "most appreciated" which is usually a toy, not that Frankie cares about toys but it allows him to be a good uncle and send it to his favorite nieces and nephews.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II with Canon EF Extender 1.4x Mark III
280mm, f5.6, 1/1250 sec @ 500 ISO

2014, Day 95 - Tufts

Life is in the detail, in the little pleasures.  That is what I like about macro photography, there is alway something to see, a little surprise that should be captured lest it be ignored and lost forever.  I was walking past a patch of ground cover that looked like a mat of little ferns when I noticed chartreuse flowers dotting the rich greens and purples of the foliage.  It took only a minute to take a few pictures, to find the right composition after which I continued on my way.  Stop and take in the details, it makes a difference.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 250 ISO

2014, Day 94 - Dancing light

Sometimes the light is just perfect.  It rained lightly this morning and as the sun came out it caught the droplets clinging to the leaves and they sparkled beautifully.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f2.4, 1/140 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 93 - Nodding

I noticed this flower in my neighbor's yard when I walked the dogs this morning and after I fed them breakfast I went back out the door to take a picture in the warm morning light.  There was a breeze and I had to wait for the flower to stop nodding in the breeze to get my photo but my patience paid off.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/640 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 92 - Available light

I know I've taken pictures of this pose many times before but rarely under these conditions.  After I cleaned up the kitchen this evening I walked into the living room and found Hubert laying on the floor patiently waiting for me in front of an old electric heater that was converted into a lamp.  It contains a single sixty watt bulb and I liked the quality of the light.  Fortunately there is always a camera near to hand in my house so I mounted my favorite fast lens and took a few pictures.  This is my favorite, I love the look of his eyes, it conveys well his avid watchful nutty personality.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 56/f1.2R
56mm, f1.2, 1/125 sec @ 2500 ISO

2014, Day 91 - Eye of fire

The crocuses are gone, destroyed by time and rain but I took many pictures to remember them by until next year.  When I see them I can smell the sweet daphne whose blooms coincide with the appearance of the first crocus.  They let us know that winter is coming to an end and life will be returning to the soil in a riot of colors and scents.  Gone will be the musty sweet aroma of decomposing leaves and soon we will be reveling in the sun's warmth.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/150 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 90 - Calm

It's late but tomorrow I meet with my accountant which means I am scrambling to get all my financial information together for my taxes.  I've been at it for hours so I decided to take a break and enjoy the flowers even if they are digital.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f2.8, 1/2000 sec @ 200 ISO