Seen from the airplane window. Everett WA to Phoenix.

Yesterday morning very early, in the cold rain, we boarded our Alaska Airlines flight to Phoenix for a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar. I had the window seat in First Class. Here is what I saw. Above the clouds Sunrise Mount Rainier Curvature of the Earth Snowy mountains Natural beauty Mountain ranges I would love …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #313: Cool colors

Way back in the 1970s, a favorite phrase describing something you liked was "Cool, man!" Living in a place with abundant bodies of water, and the nickname of "Evergreen State", you'd think that cool colors would be everywhere. You would be correct! Sometimes, though, you get too much of a good thing, with vegetation run …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #296: Abstract

I just love patterns, both in nature and man-made. I'll often photograph a chair with an interesting upholstery pattern, or even a piece of furniture, like the bench below. I spotted this on a walk through downtown Bellevue, Washington last week. It's remarkable how you can actually bend slices of wood into undulations not normally …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #276: Looking Up, Looking Down (and trying not to trip over one’s feet)

Hello, everyone.  This week's challenge is going to be great fun for me, as I am always in the habit of looking both up and down for good photos.  It's amazing what you can spot, if you look down around your knees.  We have been some places recently that had beautiful flower containers on the …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #275: Filling the Frame

I think one of the original lessons I learned from the professional photographers who follow me (and who I follow) is to "home in" on your subject.  That has taught me to look very closely at possible subjects, and try to eliminate extraneous details that might detract from the subject.  My followers will know that …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #269: On the Edge

What is an edge?  It divides two things, or two places, from each other.  Sometimes, it can divide people from each other, too.  Like the term "edgy", which has come to mean something that might be too vulgar, or modern, for some people. The "water's edge", or the beach, delineates the land from the water. …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #257: Simplicity

I have always liked to take photos of simple scenes, since I do most of my photography outdoors.  On our way out to dinner this evening, I looked up and found the most beautiful sky, covered with the puffy white clouds you often see in stock photos.  Right above our heads! And the tree in …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #250: Skyscapes/Cloudscapes

This week's topic is tailor-made for me.  On my computer, I have an album dedicated to photos of clouds.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, the sky is as apt to be covered with gray clouds all winter, and they are never the same one minute to the next.  But when Spring arrives and the gray …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #240: The Photo Road Most Traveled

I'm no professional photographer at all, but I do love to snap pictures with my iPhone camera everywhere I go.  My most common subject is landscapes, with a preference for rolling hills, mountains, and water.  Now, the last week of February, we flew down to Indian Wells, California, for a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar, …

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #219: A Treasure Hunt

This week, Tina has sent us on a guided treasure hunt, with a list of subjects to capture with our cameras.  I think I can find them all.  Here we go! First on the list is A Pet.  My readers will all know that I have a profusion of photos of our pet (owner), Kikyo …

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