Category Archives: Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Local trees in summer

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Between the land and sea.

This was taken yesterday at Fern Cove Nature Preserve on Vashon Island in Puget Sound. A typical forest for the shores of the Puget Sound: mostly the brighter green trees are alder with a few big leaf maples. The evergreens are a mix of Douglas fir, hemlock and western red cedar.

These trees help to keep us cool. One of the factors heating up our area is cutting down the forest and replacing it with grass and pavement. When I was a child (a long time ago) we never saw temps in the 90s (degrees Fahrenheit), let alone days over 100.

For Becky of Winchester’s Tree Squares-11.

Puget Sound

High tide at sunset

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It’s been crazy hot here. But the water is cold, and wading at sunset makes you feel like the world isn’t so bad…

Puget Sound shoreline at high tide...and golden hour.
The sun setting over the Kitsap Peninsula, viewed from Vashon Island in Puget Sound.
Silhouetted of geese on waves refelcting the gold of the setting sun.

I played with using some of the effects available in the GIMP and the G’mic plug in for it (I think you can use G’mic as a plug-in for other programs as well).

The Water pixels filter is found in the Filters menu: Filters>Artistic>Water pixels
The simple noise canvas filter is in the Artistic set of filters.
This uses the "dream smoothing filter found in the Atristic set of G'mic filters.

For Jez’s Water, water everywhere and the Lens Artists Challenge: one photo two ways.

Puget Sound

High dynamic range!

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Two arctic terns in wavelets sparkling in the spring sunlight.
Arctic terns on the tide flats.

These Arctic Terns are stopping by on their way north for the summer on a very bright spring day. Yesterday’s summer-like weather must have been a shock to them. On Monday I had to go in because the wind was so cold it gave me an earache (even with a good stocking cap on). Yesterday I didn’t even need a coat! Both days were sunny, but the temperature difference was about 30 degrees!

For Becky of Winchester’s Bright Squares.