Remembering my most dramatic sunrise

Flashback Photo of the Day: 12/30/2003 – Another winter highlight and likely still the most dramatic sunrise I’ve ever photographed. I have my early-rising daughter to thank for even having a chance to see this across Case Inlet in the South Puget Sound, a sunrise shadow of Mount Rainier being cast UNDER the clouds which were on fire at the moment. The crater flat top of The Mountain is even visible in the shadow being cast!

The shadowing effect lasted about three minutes total, which was simply a stellar day in my life to remember and I'm so fortunate I was able to photograph it to not forget how dramatic it really was!

Full moon rises over the waters last month

With a late-August start to school quickly approaching we had a chance for one last getaway before our daily routines would suddenly be altered. Lucky for us it was full moon time for the month of August and seeing clear sky with full moon rising across Case Inlet was a great send-off to summer break.

It is a rare treat when we get both clear sky and smooth water to enjoy this.

Now it's time to prepare for a hopeful repeat of 5-6 years ago in November and again in February when sunrise happens directly behind Mount Rainier.

I've only seen that once - why is it always cloudy in November and February when we get out there? Oh, never mind :)

Rainbows and Happy New Years - reflecting on the past, excited about the future!

I bring an end to 2009 here with a simple rainbow from this past week. Sure, I was happy to see this set up for me and get the small rainbow "piece" that made a brief appearance also reflecting in Case Inlet in my special part of Puget Sound.

But the rainbow always makes me stand there and think a bit, and what better time to do that than today - Happy New Year everyone! Maybe a rainbow can allow you a moment of peace to reflect on things of the past, even make what could be viewed a sour note in your past year into something positive. Maybe it will bring a refreshing positive and eager outlook on the upcoming year - it sure does to me! In either case, I hope everyone realizes you can appreciate the past year, you can make the next year positive. You are in control of your state of mind so smile and take the initiative to make happen what you want to fit in to your time in 2010! Happy New Year!

Year ending with a bright light

It's been a bit quiet from my end as I figure out where to start out catching up from a busy wonderful fun time over Christmas. But a part of that catching up was enjoying some down time at the special place we call our get-away at our cabin. I've always enjoyed being there in winter more than summer for some reason...it is so peaceful, quiet, lacking urgency to play as hard outdoors with kayaks (although we DID kayak in Case Inlet this time anyhow!), and just enjoy being inside reading and playing games. Yes, I did get creamed at playing Nerf hoops, not to mention every other game I was challenged to over the days there. But...the weather in December has been so dry and so many clear days and that brings me to my "bright light". We get sunrise light there...and this time of year the sun rises far to the south and even south of Mount Rainier in our view. I was ready - and how fun it is not having to get up so early for the sunrise light this time of year - I slept in until 7:00am! For a COMPLETE HOUR the light in the SE was changing and climaxed with the sun cresting the horizon south of Mount Rainier. Oh, and Rainier was sporting a pile-up of lenticular clouds this morning of shooting as well. It was below freezing, it was cold, and my border collie was out there with me. My son even came out in his PJ's outside the door and took his own photos while I was out on the beach shooting. I saw him sneak out up behind me, he can't hide from me!

It was a great way to have nature tell me "here's to the end of a great year, Merry Christmas Mr. Bauer, and onward to 2010!". Indeed!

Bring on the tugboats

As a child I sure had a fascination with tugboats. Sure, I had a fascination about trains and stuff too! But I remember how thrilled I was to count the tugboats I'd see on the Columbia River when we would do a family trip up the Columbia River Gorge to The Dallas to see relatives over the holidays sometimes. I thought they were so cool and still do! I've had a few chances to photograph them over the past few years in Puget Sound when out on a ferry or other boat. Now my childhood fascination can be enjoyed yet again after seeing one of my images of a lovely tug passing by the front of the Space Needle in Seattle being used in the just released 2010 Tugboats calendar. It was a pleasure to work with Capt. Tom McCall in New York who put this together and I'm excited to get my copies soon! You can see it as well as purchase it here at Tugboatbay.com - enjoy!

(photo: tugboat on Puget Sound passing in front of the Space Needle and the Seattle waterfront)

A relaxing break from a busy summer

Wow. That's how I felt this morning. Wow! I've been having a load of fun the past month. A week long trip to the Inland NW for a family vacation. It was great! And I returned home exhausted! It's a lot of work to play so hard and swim, fish, run, fish, play. I love it! Then I got to drive another 600 miles and visit with my own parents this past week. But this morning...the frantic running around must have caught up with me. I'm out in the south Puget Sound and relaxing for a few days. Real relaxation...and it felt SO good this morning! I went for a walk on the beach with my dog while sipping a fresh cup of coffee.

And then a few magical nice moments to photograph, which seems to happen to me every visit out here. That is what a magical place does for the soul...it brings life to a halt and good things come out in front of you. I hope you all have a special activity or place that does this for you as well!
(photos: sunrise on the shoreline waters of Puget Sound; an immature Bald Eagle circling over the photographer at sunrise)

Seabeck and back

What a busy month of May it has been - sorry again for so little news from my end! The past full week I've been deep in the heart of fifth grade adventure as the entire group of 5th graders from my son's school just returned from Seabeck, an annual "outdoor education" experience for them. The community of Seabeck was once the main hub and thought to turn out to be what Seattle is today, along the shores of Hood Canal.

I have many things coming up - many presentations, many details about two-month showings of my work locally, and a lot of fun - stay tuned to hear more from me in the coming weeks!

A day on the beach

The quiet of being away for a few days at the beach, a beach on Puget Sound in this case and not "the ocean". But it brings all the joys of a restful break from the schedule of feeling like too many things need to be attended to. What better way to show the pace of how our days went than with an image showing the frantic pace of....agate hunting. Slow, slow wandering during low tides on the rocky beach, for hours. That is a pace we all need to appreciate life sometimes! And, when you get the sun to come out just after the rocks were wet? Agates can be spotted 30' away - just ask my son, the family professional agate finder.

Oh, and there were plenty of frantic moments to photograph birds as usual also :)

Back to normal schedule for the week hoping spring might actually bring blooming cherry trees and blooming bulbs FINALLY soon!

(photos top-to-bottom: agate in hand of a child; agate popping out of the scene of rocks on beach; Barrow's Goldeneye couple swimming by; Bald Eagle fly-overs captured by pure luck...and paying attention to what was passing by me!)