finally behind the camera again

at last, some photography. it's been a gruesome week, with my computer at work dying and some unexpected news from Hiro, and to make matters worse, the only sunshine seemed to come during work hours.






I think both Kat and I had had our fill of gray skies and rain, and I definitely needed to clear my head a little, so early Saturday morning, we agreed to debunk and head for more distant locales.






our first destination was the Mount Vernon/La Conner area, where the tulips are beginning to bloom in abundance. the trip up I-5 was not rain free, but when we finally found our initial destination, Roozengaarde (note to self: bring a map next time!), there was a little sun.






it was cold, though. much colder than expected, and I was glad I had on a sweatshirt and a fleece jacket. although not all the tulips are in full bloom yet, it was wonderful. we got there early, but just. the tour buses started coming in fast and thick. after all, there was a celebrity on hand: Ciscoe, the radio and TV gardener for the Seattle area. he's one of the funniest gardener personalities I've ever seen, though, so I don't begrudge him the deserved fame. (that last sentence makes me sound like a magnanimous jerk! note to self: get off high horse!)







of course, you'll note that I'm not posting a lot of tulip shots. I did take a lot, and I love tulips, but there were so many other beautiful shots to grab, like these chocolate lilies at the WSU Skagit display garden.







I was pleasantly surprised to see my favorite flower of all time, irises, blooming already as well, both in Skagit, and then down in Federal Way, for yes, the intrepid Brian and Kat, upon finishing our shoots in Mount Vernon, drove down I-5 (stopping for a Jamba Juice in Seattle--the Jamba Juice at Whole Foods doesn't serve Enlightened Smoothies, because their low-calorie base contains Splenda, a product verboten at Whole Foods!) to Federal Way to visit the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. mind you, we weren't getting lots of sunshine, but the rain did hold off until we were done. thanks again to Kat for driving.







(I love the fact that there is a little spider clinging to the stamen of this lily. this flower has a couple of common names, including dogtooth violet and trout lily!) so, what was the unexpected news from Hiro? he's done with Central Washington University, but not in a good way.







after all the hassles he's had over there with the registrar's office, including three quarters of mistaken registration issues, when he failed his last class, they asked him to transfer to another school. at first, I was panicked, because I understood him to say that his visa has been cancelled. that would have necessitated his return to Japan and god knows what other hoops to jump through. I even started researching visa requirements for Canadian universities.







however, it looks like he can transfer to City University, here in Bellevue. this would actually be an ideal solution, since it is less expensive than CWU, the class schedule is easier, and he can live here again, eliminating his living expenses in Ellensburg.







I decided to add a shot from a piece I think I have finished working on: diana confounded. I have a moon fixation, that's for sure. the text is Japanese for a moon occluded by clouds, but there's a more mystical feel to this moon, and the fractals I chose to interact with it.


copyright Brian Watson, www.studiomomo.com