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Hung out with Sara for what is now our traditional Wednesday-night routine: listen to Hunter play and then go for a drive, take in some sights, exchange new music.

I've never been much of an Alanis Morissette fan, but her new cd is pretty neat! It was cowritten by Guy Sigsworth who, along with Imogen Heap, was responsible for the band Frou Frou. He has cowritten and played instruments in songs for a large number of artists.
Go have a listen if you've liked anything of anyone I just mentioned.

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I was actually excited to go grocery shopping with Morgan after work. Made turkey chili burgers and hash browns for dinner. Why didn't we try this years ago??

Thinking about spending Memorial Day weekend at Birch Bay...yeah, I think I'll do that.

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Hazelnutty goodness.

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Woke up just before noon, showered, and walk down to the waterfront with Morgan. Spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and the sea, had lunch and strolled slowly home.

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Spent the day with my family. My little siblings wouldn't let me leave when it was time to go home. They played around in Sara's van before my parents finally started prying them, one by one, off the fuzzy bucket seats.

Took Chuckanut Drive on the way home, which is where the view in today's photo is from. The orange of today's sunset made me think to tell Sara that we need to go to Utah, and sure enough, after we park along the cliffside-drive to take some photos, the next car that pulls over in front of us has Utah plates. I told her it was a sign (obviously).

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At a grocery story tonight, our checkout-girl was a friend of mine from long ago, from when I lived in Japan. I heard from my mom that her family had moved here too. I think I last saw her about ten years ago. Ten years? So weird. We were really young, and obnoxious, but we had fun. I didn't recognizer her until she was done with my friend's transaction, and I caught her name tag on the way out. Should I have said anything? Hell no, I'm not up for small-talk these days. lol but it was nice to see her.

This happened to me years ago at an airport in Denver when I saw a guy I recognized and hadn't seen since we were kids. When your family moves a lot, five years feels like fifteen. With every new home, every new school and each new clique, it feels an entirely new life. That's how I like to think of it, anyway.

I told my mom about seeing her, and she had pulled out a photo album that she just recently dug up. Man, we were dorks. Today I am still a dork. I wonder what she is like...

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Avenue Bread makes the best coffee and morning snacks in town, and I fully appreciate that there is one four blocks from my work. I would have taken a photo of their glass case full of sweet and savory things next to the register, but I was tired and feel like attracting extra attention. This was taken from a corner table while waiting for my coffee. The curve of the top of the bread reminds me of an Alien head. It's a stretch, but it makes today's photo interesting for me.

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Happy Earth Day!

HDR photo of tulip field | click all photos to enlarge

I reduced my carbon footprint today by taking the bus and walking everywhere...wait, I do that every day! I rock!

Went to see the tulip fields in Skagit Valley with Sara. She is such a great sport, and has a good eye for interesting photographs. She was very patient with me while I was setting up my shots. We didn't make it out there until 6:15pm so we were moving quickly. My favorite thing about Washington is how late the sun stays up when Summer is coming near (although it annoyed me when I first moved here and couldn't sleep away jet lag at 9 at night). I am pretty excited about my photos from today. :D

I couldn't figure out the best settings for this photo with the sign in it, so I just went with it. All in all, an awesome photo-hunting day.

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After work I walked to the local laundromat to hang out with Morgan while he finished up. Went home and made the best chicken parmesan I've ever had...and I made it! No pictures, as amateur food photography generally grosses me out.

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Morgan made delicious six-cheese Ziti with Italian sausage for dinner! Caesar salad to begin and Chianti to finish. I was ravenous when I got home, so I could have cried a little upon smelling it as I came through the front door.

Within that last week I've been so busy at work that I have no appetite until work is nearly finished. I'm sure there is a direct correlation between the number of espresso shots I've had in the morning and my buzzing through the afternoon.

I had just enough time for a quick shower before slipping into the comfort of my couch with a mouthwatering meal and a favorite movie. Tried to watch L.A. Confidential, but only made it about an hour into it before we changed our minds and went outside. Walked downtown for ice cream (again, geeze), and came home to polish off another bottle of wine. This is a hazardously comfortable routine for us; hearty food and wine, followed with ice cream. At least we're getting in the exercise by going to get it. :) I think we'll wait awhile before doing this all again.

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Since I pushed all my chores onto today, I worked my ass off getting the whole house clean. In the evening, Morgan and I went up to Birch Bay to visit some of his family while they were vacationing at the cabin.

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A very lazy day.

The sunshine these last few days has been gorgeous and it feels like summer is coming soon. I avoided my chores and worked on some projects instead. My creative energy was all on something other than photography today, so today's photo is of my keychains.

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Today really flew by! Wined and dined with Morgan tonight, which was something I needed. Had some drinks and walked downtown for ice cream. Great food, good movie and a handsome man. I love spring!

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Woohoo! Finally went to see The Watchmen tonight. I was not disappointed. Zack Snyder proves, once again, that he is one impressive visionary. I am not above being his personal errand-slave if it meant I could observe the work he does on set. I wouldn't mind staring at a gigantic green screen all day.

I've got to make a public note about the sex scene in The Watchmen (as well as the scene in 300) - it is amazing. Call me a perv, but I couldn't get it out of my head! Snyder is a either a great lover or a lucky director. haha Everything was great, the colors, music, blocking, the slow motion, the chemistry, the movements. I'd love to direct a movie as great as that one scene! I look forward to it's DVD release. :)

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This is Diesel!

Went south to hang out with Sara and listen to Hunter play. He really is getting good. Took Highway 9 all the way home, which was beautiful even in the dark.

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Hoppy Easter!

heehee, Couldn't help myself.

Woke up early to take photos of the Easter egg hunt at my family's house. It was raining so everything was indoors. This part was a blast! Later we colored eggs and made cupcakes. All in all, an enjoyably messy day with my family.

Had dinner with Morgan's family. We left before sunset and got to drink it in for most of the ride home (until I passed out in the car). Tried to finish watching Kung Pow and woke up to Morgan laughing at me for making it only 15 minutes further into the movie before sleeping again. It's really not that bad! Sleep is good.

Here are a few more:

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Went down to my folks' for Easter weekend. Got my little siblings all hyped up for the fun Easter activities.

Went with Sara to her coworker's going-away party at the Impulse Lounge in the Tulalip Casino. The place is nice, and I didn't mind the bumpin' r&b. I had a drink and had fun meeting some new people. I wanted to get a picture of this neat fire-pit they have outside in the lounge's smoking area Maybe next time, and there will be a next time. :)

Stayed up way too late with Sara putting together Easter eggs for the little people. Got home and spent the next hour drawing bunny footprints and taping them up to the places in the house where eggs could be found. I've always thought the Blue's Clues scavenger hunt was pretty neat.

A very good day.

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100 days complete!

I looked everwhere to find a "100" to photograph, but I found nothing! This creepy van that has been parked outside my apartment for a week will do.

I sometimes hate how time flies, but this has been awesome. This project is a piece of cake! I think I take an average of 15 photos a day. :) Looking back on it, it has never felt like work. My camera is like an extension of my body! :D

Here's to the rest of the year!

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I wish I could have taken a nicer photo but this bird didn't trust me.

This bird and a few others have been spotted in the reconstructed alleyway that is the back entrance to the building I work in. I can't find their nest. Because of their color, they blend in fairly well with the grey cements and red bricks of the buildings. I'm not sure how well I would notice them if they were quiet. They sing in the morning, and their tweets echo off the walls in the alley and make them sound much louder than they look. :) Kind of neat.

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More HDR fun today!

This cherry tree almost looks like a watercolor after tone-mapping the five different exposures. I am always amazed by how blending images makes such a true-to-vision photograph. Every bit of pink from each of the five shotscame through wonderfully. So beautiful! HDR is magic.

EF+2 | EV+1

EV0

EV-1 | EV-2

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Guy barbecuing on a rooftop across from the building I work in. The weather was perfect for it today!

Got a new camera case today.

While out to lunch with Gus and Stu the other day, the waitress at Bob's Burger and Brew spilled a very large brew and a very sweet drink across the table, straight into my lap-where my camera was. My cell phone also happened to be there, but I just have bad luck with it all-around. My camera was fine - just a few wet spots, no damage. The case was drenched. So, Morgan got me a new case! It's soft and squishy :)

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Morgan and I spent another night with Gus and Stu. Sara joined us for dinner, for which I was supremely grateful - I was drowning in testosterone.

Picked up pottery from last week's super-fun studio adventure. Not bad!


:D that's my octopus!

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This was cute-animal-weekend.

Showed up at Gus' at 9am after being dropped off by Sara. He slept off a party from the night before so I hung out with his parents for a few hours. It really wasn't that bad, it was pretty fun. His mom fed me pancakes and eggs. Came back up here with Gus and Stu. They stayed the night and I finally got to watch Kung Pow. Great terrible movie.

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Went south to hang out with Sara for the night. Finally played the Nazi Zombies game at the end of Call of Duty: World at War. VERY FUN! You have to beat World at War to unlock the Zombie game. Renting it first to check it out.

Here's one more photo for good measure. Sara took this one:

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(click to enlarge, as always)

Back up to Birch Bay for the night.

Got plenty of photos during sunset to create some HDRs, nothing turned out nice enough when I came home. HDR house will do. Will spend more time on them later.

Here are the three images that generated the HDR:

EV+2


EV0


EV-2

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