2021 In Review – A Mixed Bag

2021 was the year of the COVID vaccine which was received with mixed acceptance. I don’t think anyone could have expected the twists and turns related to the pandemic in 2021.

Likewise, my year of photography in 2021 took many unpredictable twists and turns, not always in the direction I wanted. More times than not, my original ideas for a capture totally changed once I was at my destination. Or I was surprised that what I ended up photographing was so different from my typical inspirations.

I found myself deviating from my usual style and also learned many new editing techniques that led me to experiment during post processing with illuminating specific areas in an image to create a “flow” of light. The time I spent learning new post processing techniques distracted me somewhat from focusing on subject, composition and style.

After a year of practicing these new post processing techniques, I’m hopeful they became “muscle memory” and I will be able to easily multitask, thinking more about vision and style without spending so much time in the post processing “learning curve”.

As usual, the subjects of sunsets and the Puget Sound are prominent in my photography, however their “look” (style) is a little different.

If you asked me to sum up my photos from 2021, I'd probably say "all over the board", but in reality as I review them there is a natural progression through the seasons and an evolution and experimentation with personal style.  

Here are some of my favorites from 2021:

"Reaching Out" - The lower branches of this iconic tree seem to be reaching out as if to embrace people who pass by. As well, the heron in the next tree is reaching out its neck looking for its next meal. The tree is reaching inward and the heron reaching outward.

"Stillness" - A heron stands still as he eyes the calm waters for evening prey.

Like many of my captures in 2021, "Stillness" was an unexpected surprise. I took this photo during a photo workshop at Deception Pass State Park. We had finished photographing the scene from a nearby bluff during sunset. We packed up and walked toward the beach to catch the trail to the parking lot to leave thinking that we saw the best of the light. The instructor, Erwin Buske, noticed that the colors of the sunset were still strong so we walked to the beach. The water was calm and all was quiet. The only movement was a heron quietly hunting. It was dark so this was a long exposure and my tripod was not steady in the sand and I couldn't see my settings very well so I wasn't confident I was going to be able to capture the moment as I experienced it. Now when I look at this photo I'm reminded of the amazing peacefulness and calm I felt standing in the moment.

"Following the Lupine Light" - Lupines at Harborview Park in Everett.

 

"Following the Lupine Light" took another twist that added to my mixed bag of 2021 photos. My intent was to capture a Mother's Day sunset, however the sunset composition I had visualized didn't work because the sun was setting too far south to get a good composition. Since I was already at the location, I decided to capture the evening sun shining on the pink Lupines i the grass instead. I sat by the Lupines and watched as the light changed. As the evening shadows took over, I had to move around in order to following the light on the Lupines. To my delight as the sun was close to the horizon, the Lupines provided the edge needed to create a sun star. Below is also another view of the Lupines before the light was low on the horizon.

 

"Happy Mother's Day Lupines"

 

In 2021 people were starved to get out after the "lock downs" in 2020 and crowds were large at outdoor venues so I tried to avoid the crowds by going to the daffodil fields in the Skagit Valley at the very beginning of the bloom season. The fields were muddy and only a few fields were in bloom. I found this tractor resting in the mud. Since I was purposely looking for something different than the typical daffodil festival image, I decided to use the tractor as a foreground with the daffodil fields in the background. Even though this was a different perspective, I didn't expect it to be so different. It was a post processing challenge and I chalked this up to another mixed bag of results and moved on. By the way, most of my Dad's career he worked for the International Harvester Company (which went out of business) and this is an International Harvester tractor.

 

"Red Tractor in the Daffodil Fields"

 

"Pink Wild Roses in Edmonds" - Sunset Avenue in Edmonds lined with wild roses in the late Spring.

 

With the image "Pink Roses in Edmonds", my intention was to take a photo of the sunset, however that vision didn't materialize. Warm Spring evenings during the pandemic attracted such crowds along Sunset Avenue that setting up a tripod for a sunset photo was too difficult. Instead, I used my phone to take some close up photos of the bright pink wild roses that lined the walkway. I was a bit disappointed, but this was another opportunity to practice my newly learned post processing skills. 

 

The following three photos were all taken on the Summer Solstice at the Everett Marina and Grand Avenue Park. The sunset put on a long, beautiful show and all I had to do was click.  

 

"Sunset over Everett Marina" - from Grand Avenue Park on the Summer Solstice 2021.

"Blazing Summer Solstice Sunset" - The Summer Solstice sunset this year was one of those sunsets that started out yellow, then turned pink after the sun went below the horizon with the finale turning a bright red. There was something to see long after the sun had set as the colors were constantly changing and reflected in the calm water.

 

 

Grand Avenue Bridge at Night

"Summer Solstice Light" - Bright colorful light from the sun reflecting off clouds in the sky as well as the lighted bridge that crosses from the Marina to the park.

 

The following photo is another one to add to my mixed bag for 2021, although this photo does falls in line with one of my recent gallery themes - water reflections.

 

Snohomish River Reflections

 

"Snohomish River Reflections" - I was seeking out a short hike for my grandchildren and stumbled upon a peaceful wildlife refuge near the Snohomish River. No pets, no drones, no horses, no bikes, no camping, no hunting allowed - nothing but walking/hiking and fishing from the bank of the river allowed.

 

A Calm Center, Everett Marina

"A Calm Center" - Late Summer sunset.

 

What was fascinating about the above late Summer scene is that between the two boats on either side of the entrance of the channel, the water is crystal clear like a mirror, everywhere else there are ripples from a small breeze. In addition, the reflection of the sun is almost absent in this calm area.

 

Also in late Summer, the mini sunflowers that my grandson and I planted in my garden in early Spring started to bloom. The blooms presented in a variety of colors. Below is one of the rust orange variety.

 

"Sunflower Face Down" - The sun shines on the backside of this sunflower. It's bent over not showing its face. Even the underside has a lot of character.

 

Mixed with sunflower photos, I also returned to my mainstay of sunsets and the Puget Sound. One September evening I ventured to the Edmonds marina and saw and elderly gentleman sitting on the seat on his walker watching the sunset. I decided to set up my tripod and camera with the view point he was seeing. The resulting image is below:

 

Calm Sunset, Edmonds Marina

"Calm at Sunset" - There was a lot of commotion at the Marina Beach Park at sunset, so I moved to up to the boardwalk and explored the marina instead. All was calm up on the boardwalk, including the water.

 

On the Autumn Equinox I captured another sunset in Everett. This photo includes the dock for the Jetty Island ferry with Jetty Island in the background.

 

Autumnal Equinox Sunset

"Autumnal Equinox Sunset" - To witness the seasons pass into Fall on the Autumnal Equinox, I went to a new spot on the Everett waterfront to view the sunset. The trees silhouetted in the background reside on Jetty Island, a 2.5 mile long man made island.

 

In October, the larches were turning golden in the North Cascades. I took a wonderful road trip to the North Cascades to hike among the larches which were peaking in all their glory. It snowed lightly the day before the hike but the sun was out during the day. There was a transition from Fall to Winter taking place. The images below depict the peak of Autumn and the transition to Winter in the North Cascades.

 

North Cascades

"Glowing Larches" - A dusting of snow during the night, then the sun came out the next morning and illuminated the golden larches against a blue bird sky.

 

North Cascades

"Transition" - Looking down from the trail into an avalanche chute, the fall colors glowed in the sunlight. Deeper into the shadows at the bottom, the dusting of snow from the night before had not melted. Where the warmth from the sun had touched the ground the snow was melted. This is where I saw a transition from fall to winter. Soon the valley will be covered in snow and the mountain side will rest and take a break from humans.

 

As Fall turned to Winter and the colorful leaves fell off the trees, I turned to photographing bare trees. This is a subject I started to become interested in a few Winters ago. I created a gallery on my website dedicated to this subject. You can view this gallery here: https://pattiphoto.zenfolio.com/p13271513 

 

Fallen Tree

"Fallen Tree" - When I first saw the tree that recently fell over into the water because its roots had been eroded away by waves of the higher tides of the last few years, my first thought was "victim of global warming". Then as I watched the waves crash over it, I realized that no one had attempted to move it off the beach and it would soon be washed to sea by the high tide becoming another piece of driftwood - just part the cycle of nature.

 

There was snow on the ground and I was bundled up in my snow clothes when I took my last sunset photo of 2021. Saying good-bye to 2021 and hello to 2022 filled with more photography adventures.

"Winter Sunset" - Yesterday evening, the clouds were rippled throughout the sky overhead as a bright sunset on the horizon reflected off the calm Puget Sound and the snow covered Olympic Mountains in the background created this magical winter sunset scene.

 

If you'd like to see more of my images you can view them on my website here: https://pattiphoto.zenfolio.com/f1024169279