Pretzel's Birthday, June 2017

Leica M-E + Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4.

Chrissy Needs Coffee, October 2016

Leica M-E + Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Sandy Point, WA - Memorial Day 2017

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Smile, May 2017

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

The Olympic Peninsula, October 2016

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Lazy Sunday

The weather was nice on Sunday, so we decided to take a drive through Steven's Pass to Leavenworth and enjoy the coming season. We stopped at the very short, but very cool Tumwater Pipeline trail. Enjoy.

Tumwater Pipeline Bridge | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Tumwater Pipeline Bridge | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

Chrissy in the setting sun I | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4.

A Bit of Warmth in the Cold

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I'm unbelievably thankful for having the best wife you could ever have.

From one of our numerous swims in the Snoqualmie River during the dead heat of summer:

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Much Needed Rest

Chrissy, taking a break in our hotel room at Seaside, Oregon, near the end of our trip to the coast.

Voigtlander Nokton Classic 40mm f/1.4

The Oregon Coast, Part I

Chrissy and I (and Pretzel) finally took some time off and made it down to the Oregon coast this past week. We traveled to the coast down through Portland, and then west. Our first stop was Newport, OR, where we stayed for a couple of days.

 Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Our first stop was Beverly Beach, which lies north of Newport and south of Otter Rock. We wanted to stretch our legs a bit after finally reaching the coast. An old wooden chair awaited us on the cliffs down to the beach.

 Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Oregon is extremely dog friendly when it comes to beaches, so Chrissy and Pretzel did their Bo Derek thing. You can see the Yaquina Head Light to the far right.

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Chrissy's reflection and shadow on the wet sand.

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

We made it to our hotel, which lies right next to Agate Beach. While there were plenty of people at the beach, we saw only a few people swimming. Apparently, the ocean was deemed too cold to swim in by the tourists and locals, but that didn't stop us. Years of swimming in Lake Huron as kids has turned our blood blue. Afterwards, we hit the streets to get some seafood.

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

After getting some cod, fried Yaquina oysters, and chowder from the Chowder Bowl in Newport, we headed back to our hotel. We were met with somewhat of rare sunset over Agate Beach.

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical.

We went out onto the dunes of Agate Beach and watched the sunset. All in all, it was a great first day in Oregon.

More to come...

4th of July

I posted a previous picture from this group a while back, and finally got around to posting the rest. Since it was so hot, and I had work off, we spent the weekend on the Snoqualmie River just outside of North Bend. Because of the little snowfall this winter, the river is lower than normal, so there are a bunch of sandbars to lay on. We picked one up river that required us to travel across river a few times, but this ensured we were alone most of the time. We even got to see some fireworks that someone was shooting off further up river.

My 3 girls: Pretzel, the beer, and Chrissy | Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

The spot we picked is near the base of Mount Si, so there's a great view of it and Little Si. I also got to test out my new hiking shoes which are made for fording. They held up great.

We spent most of the time just lounging around. | Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

I decided to take the risk of bringing my camera into the water to get some photos. I figured I had already risked it by taking it across the water to get to our spot. I think it paid off.

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

Chrissy, just before going under | Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical.

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical.

We had a nice relaxing weekend. And by staying out all day, our apartment was cool when we got home. A win-win situation. Check out my Flickr page for more photos of our trip.

Chrissy with Little Si (the first mountain on the left) in the background. | Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical

At the River

4th of July weekend was pretty hot here in Seattle, so Chrissy, Pretzel, and I pretty much spent the entirety of the weekend on the Snoqualmie River cooling off. Even got to see a few fireworks there.

More to come.

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical lens.

At The Farmer's Market

Chrissy and I walked to the Lake Forest Park Farmer's Market today on the Burke-Gilman Trail. It's fairly small, but has a pretty good selection. We grabbed some fresh Salmon that we grilled for dinner, but not before Chrissy had some homemade ice cream. (Don't get between Chrissy and her ice cream ;)

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical lens.

Popeyes

Summer madness is sweeping the office. Since many of my co-workers are from the Midwest, we decided to head to Popeyes for our weekly lunch outing. The crazy part? We went to the one 25 miles away in North Bend, WA. But, it was worth it, and we got to drive through the mountains a bit.

Braidee and Ryan. Leica M-E + Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4

Camping

Chrissy and I were going to go camping this weekend with my brother, but I came down with something during the week and decided not to go. We did make a visit to my brother's campsite though, located near the Snoqualmie Pass.

Little Stephen was obsessed with our old red cooler. | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

We also got to witness Stephen eat his first S'more. Before...

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

And after...

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

And no surprise, he was full of energy after.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

Adventures on the River

Last weekend, Chrissy and I went over to Snoqualmie, WA for the day. Seattle's been a scorcher lately, so we thought it'd be cool to go to Olallie State Park to take a dip in the Snoqualmie River. It was pretty cold, but felt great. We even put Pretzel in - her first time swimming.

Chrissy and Pretzel on the South Fork Snoqualmie River | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

On Sunday, it was even hotter so we decided to go swimming again, this time in the Snoqualmie River just upstream from the Snoqualmie Falls. We were actually in the water just to the right of where the famous Twin Peaks sign was shot for the show Twin Peaks.

Chrissy & our nephew Stephen | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

 Because the Cascades got such little snow fall this winter, the river was a lot lower than it normally would be. We were able to easily cross the river and plant ourselves on a sand bar all day. Surprisingly, the water here was warmer than we're use to in Michigan. We had a beautiful view of Mount Si in the background. My brother and his family also joined us.

Stephen. | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

We had a great day. I got a little burnt, and lost a sandal (which probably went over the falls), but it was well-worth it.

Tree Hugs

After I got home from work last night, Chrissy, Pretzel and I went to Magnuson Dog Park. Down by the water, Chrissy sat on an interesting tree that seemed to stretch out a limb, putting its arm around her during the sunset.

Leica M-E + Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4

The Look

Chrissy, just after waking up.

Leica M-E + Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4

Visit

My parents recently visited us for three weeks, staying at a cabin in Duvall. It was great to see them, and to have them with us for my birthday and Mother's Day. The time really flew by though. Below are some shots taken of my nephew, Stephen, when we all got together at the 192 Brewing Company in Kenmore, Washington.

Nicole and Stephen | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.

My dad has recently gotten back into (wildlife) photography while spending the winters in Florida; some of my old Canon gear found a great home with him.

My dad ("The Irish Mobster" as we dubbed him here) with Stephen | Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 lens.