photography

Norway: Trollstigen

I still have lots to share from our trip to Norway! I wanted to include the renowned Trollstigen (you can hardly visit the region without seeing this iconic zigzag road), but the harsh lighting kept my photos out of “wow” territory.

There’s no real entertaining photostory here, but we did discover a detour from the standard tourist fare. I’ll let the photos do most of the talking.

Trollstigen is a remarkable place, and despite the poor photo opportunities, we were amazed by the landscape. Continue reading →

TWO5: 9/17/18

Two new on Instagram; five on 500px. TWO5: This Week on 500px!

Guess what?? I finally met my goal of actually posting 7 pictures this week! I’m getting into a better groove for these things. I like the new wildlife focus on my Instagram account, and I love sharing my best work on 500px.

This first one was from my first foray into backpacking. I joined some of my photo buddies in a bush plane that whisked us to the Alaskan backwoods. There, we hiked over 20 miles along the beach in search of bears. Along the way, we espied this majestic creature. We ended up seeing another eagle much closer – actually in our camp. It was an unforgettable experience. You can read about the entire journey here.

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Norway: Geiranger Fjord

When in Norway, we had a plethora of choices for beautiful sights to see and extraordinary hikes to embrace. Alas, we couldn’t see it all in one short week, but Geiranger Fjord was high on our list.

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TWO5: 9/10/18

Another week has inexorably slipped by.. how did that happen?? My summer has been so ridiculously busy. I really hope it starts to slow down a bit soon. Incidentally, I only got two photos up this week: one on Instagram and one on 500px. I promise more this next week.

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Biweekly Wow: Scenes of Norway

This is going to be a quick post this week. As mentioned on Monday, I’m working on some big things for my site behind the scenes, so I’m taking it easy on the blogging. Instead, I’ll leave you with just a few images from Norway.

I couldn’t quite decide on which “wow” picture to share this week, so you get two scenes.

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New Blogger Stock Photos and TWO5: 9/3/18

Welcome to September! Already a new month.. this year has gone by so quickly. But we are just beginning to get into my favorite season, so I’m ok with that. Is it fall yet?

This week, I got only one new photo onto Instagram and five up on 500px. But the good news is I’ve been working on some exciting things on my website. I’m cleaning up some things behind the scenes, and I’m now offering affordable web-quality stock images for fellow bloggers! I only have a small selection there now, but stay tuned; I’ll be adding a lot more in the coming weeks.

Blurred autumn trees in Boardman, a new stock image available for sale | LotsaSmiles Photography

Autumn Blur – LotsaSmiles Photography

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The Kjenndalen glacier from the rock wall that rises right next to the glacier proper | LotsaSmiles Photography

Photostory: Discovering Norway’s Kjenndalen Glacier

Every day in Norway brought yet another magnificent wonder. Just when we thought we had reached the ultimate level of amazement, Norway ratcheted it up another impossible level.

See this stunning waterfall? Now feast your eyes on this! Think this view is beautiful? Wait till you get a load of this!

And this was before we discovered the glaciers.

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TWO5: 8/27/18

This week, I fell a bit behind, so I didn’t get any new photos posted to Instagram (shock!). I feel bad, but the craziness of life just got away from me this time around. You might have noticed that I have been focusing my Instagram account on wildlife. For now, I think I’ll continue to do that and see how folks like it. I certainly have lots of wildlife to share!

I did manage to get five new photos posted to 500px, so here they are:

First, a minimalist scene from Washington’s expansive Palouse. We spent a long weekend there last spring, and it was such a beautiful area to explore. One can view rolling farmlands as far as the eye can see, and there’s no end to picturesque covered bridges and red barns to photograph.

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Biweekly Wow: Norwegian Ice Tunnels

Exploring Norway is a new scenic wonder around every corner. Just when we thought we had been wow’d enough for one day, something else fell across our path that renewed the amazement. This particular day, we had already visited an adorable church and hiked a spectacular glacier (that story’s coming soon!). We were merely on our way to another beautiful campsite for the evening.

But the landscape wanted to hold us tight, to seduce us into staying out later to soak in the natural wonders. We were surrounded by eye candy; it’s a shock we ever slept. How could the inside of a familiar tent ever compare to Mother Nature’s endless artwork all around us for miles in every direction?

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TWO5: 8/20/18

Two new on Instagram and three on 500px this week. More of a TWO3 than a TWO5; this week got away from me a bit!

On the other hand, I’ve been working on a version 2.0 of my new scatter photos, and I’m really excited about it. If you’ve been following me on social media, you might have seen the preliminary result. I spent the weekend making custom wooden frames with my expert-carpenter dad, and I love how they look! I’ll be updating my page on scatter photos soon, so stay tuned for that!

As for the photos this week, here’s the line-up, ranked by the ones I personally like best. This week was really tough, as I like all of these.

This first one is a fun one from Costa Rica. We went wandering through the town of Alujuela on our first day, and these little pigeons were everywhere in the central park. This one perked up his head just as I shot the picture, and I couldn’t have been happier.

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