So many old friends came out today, the sun, blue skies, Mt Rainier and an animal!

Since the mochi festival I’ve been honing my animoto production skills. I like the service quite a bit though there are some improvements I’d love see – an API and a better image browser top the list.

When the storms hit after Christmas the Mochi Tsuki Festival at Islandwood, courtesy the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community, was one of the casualties – fortunately it was just postponed.

We’ve been doing most of our walking lately in The Grand Forest and wanted a change of pace but still close to home. Fortunately, the Bloedel Reserve’s appointments are easy to come by in the winter on late notice so off to the Reserve went we.

We’ve had some really powerful storms blow through the area the last couple of months and they’ve wreaked havoc on my long-term wood supply. When the power goes out (and it does) we rely on a fireplace and wood-burning stove to keep warm so it’s important to have plenty of backup – plus, the wood is one wall of the dog run.

After weeks of snow, rain and colds we needed some outside time and turned to one of our favorite and frequent destinations, Foulweather Bluff Preserve. We haven’t been there in winter nor in stormy weather so we weren’t sure what to expect.

I’m looking for help. I need some advice for taking photos of bright winter moons. Tonight’s moon, waxing gibbous, presented the usual set of problems of being far brighter than the surrounding and we had fast moving clouds added to the mix meaning long exposures blurred any details.

In the post about the Mountaineers’ photography show I referenced two photos I really enjoyed. Jason took both and is kind enough to let me post them.

Thanks to all the well-wishing I walked away pretty thrilled with the outcome of the Mountaineers’ photography show. Three of my photos took awards, including the Best in Show:

I haven’t been at the computer or behind the camera recently because I’ve spent the last two weekends clearing the mess left behind from the storm of the century – we had some serious snowdown.