Splashdown

Triple Breach

A couple of days before the Olympic Peninsula circumnavigation we left out of Friday Harbor to go watch the Orcas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Unlike previous trips it seems like they never turned to pass close to our boat so they were usually very far away. But the first 30 minutes after we arrived on scene they were really putting on a show. We saw lots of spy hops, a simultaneous double breach (no pictures, unfortunately), a sequence of three breaches in quick succession (I got photos of the splash of the first breach and the subsequent two breaches) and a beautiful single breach with Mt. Baker in the background. Luckily I had rented a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens for the occasion from Glazer's Camera (at $30 for one day, a great bargain). It was a bit hard to follow the action and keep things steady on the rolling waves but the lens made for some really great shots as you can see above (those are three of a series of six). Select any of the pictures above to go to the set on Flickr.

A friend of mine visiting from North Carolina and I went on a 19 hour circumnavigation of the Olympic Peninsula yesterday. The weather was fantastic (especially at the coast) and we got many great shots. From left to right: Hurricane Ridge, Marymere Falls, Hoh Rainforest and Ruby Beach. The natural lighting dynamics at Ruby Beach made for some especially interesting pictures -- none retouched.

Click on each of the pictures above to go straight to the set on Flickr.

I believe Thomas is one of the best candid portrait photographers out there. I love this image he posted to Zooomr...

And by contrast, my picture taken at the same time -- notice the huge artistic gulf which separates us...? :-)

I can't wait to see what he does with the pics he took of Media Center team members...!

Typical Pose Reflection

I drove down this morning to hang out with Thomas Hawk (and Missus Hawk) and about 30 other photographers to walk around Portland taking pictures. This was my first photowalk and I had an absolute blast. I'll have to put one together for Seattle soon! That's me on the left and Thomas on the right.

You can find my unedited Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8482343@N04/sets/72157604020356618/. I'd love to get links to the pics others took to compare notes on subject matter, so if you attended please leave a comment here or get in touch with me at charlieo@microsoft.com.