Some abnormally pleasant days in Seattle offer splendid days for sea kayaking off West Seattle.

Kayak for two

Beached on Beach Drive in West Seattle

To see more sea kayaking photos from Seattle, British Columbia and beyond, click HERE

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I just posted a quick update on our trip up to Whistler on backcountryskiphotos.com. No ski touring was had, but we did manage to spend a bit of time skate skiing at the new Olympic Park nordic center. And, I was able to capture this one shot before the weather turned, again.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s December 1st…are you ready for the holidays?

I’m changing the way I do things…for a very short time. Browse through ANY of my landscape and adventure photographs and if you find one you want a print of (canvas included), email me what you are willing to pay for it, along with the size you are interested in. I can’t guarantee I’ll accept all offers, but if it’s reasonable I’ll consider it and will have the print ready before the holidays. (Shipping costs are separate.)

NOTE: not all images are available in all sizes. Contact me if you have any questions about a certain size. Framing is available for Seattle-area folks at an additional cost. I will consider shipping photos without glass out of the Seattle area.

We’re all running out of time though, so start browsing and let me know what you want! More photos are being added daily so keep checking back. Inexpensive shipping rates will stop after Dec 10th.

www.mackieimages.com

Why I am doing this? Am I that desperate? Not at all. It’s simple: I love photography, I love capturing that ‘moment’ and feel everyone should be able to enjoy the same thing.

Panoramic Prints
Mt Rainier Photographs
Backcountry Skiing Photos

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

National Geographic Traveler is hosting a photography contest titled World in Focus. While pondering what photograph to enter in the amatuer category, I was browsing through many of the entries, which includes both amateurs and professionals. There are surely some beautiful shots and to be honest, some that are very mediocre, even in the professional entries. But regardless, I don’t think there is a better way to self-teach photography than by looking at others images. I can’t say I recommend studying the winning photograph of a every online photo contest out there (subjective judges…maybe?) but I wholeheartedly believe that flipping through photo magazines, browsing photographers online photo albums and seeing what, and how, good photographers shoot, will offer invaluable insight into what makes a good shot. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned by working in Art Wolfe’s gallery here in Seattle. It’s been well, priceless.

Of course everyone’s opinion about what a good photograph is in the first place is different. Who cares. Even if you’re not into portrait photography, you’re probably going to take some sort of picture with a person it in. Considering angles, light, mood can all be applied whether you’re in a studio or on the edge of mountain peak.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I will admit I’m a bit of a brat when it comes to my idea of what an ‘adventure’ is. Despite living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and having the mighty Pacific ocean on one side, towering mountains on the other and pristine lakes in between, I often find myself reaching for distance peaks I cannot see, day-dreaming about mountain bike trails and epic bike tours I’ve only read about. Unfortunately, reaching these far-off destinations has become a bit more financially straining with a gas-guzzling pickup. So, as I’m forced to entertain myself and look locally for activities (and work with the fiancee on having one car), I’m slowly beginning to appreciate that an adventure doesn’t have to mean a month-long solo bike tour in Chile (although…) but instead it can be as simple as dropping the sea kayak in the water for a paddle in Puget Sound, or joining up with a group of friends for a nearby mountain biking ride.

So I stopped my whining, calculated my carbon footprint (ok, maybe not) for a local paddle and mountain bike ride versus driving out to central Washington and basked in the glory of a Seattle summer weekend.

First up, a circumnavigation paddle of Blake Island. With the put-in less than a mile from our house here in West Seattle, my goal was visible before I even started. While the island sits only a couple miles off-shore, you have to pass a busy shipping lane in the process, but that only adds to the adventure! Every time I slide the sea kayak into the water and push away from the beach, I ask myself why I don’t do more paddling. It’s such a unique way of seeing the lay of the land (or water) that few get to experience.

[View with PicLens]

The next day Jeannine and I had planned a hike up Mt Si, something neither of us had ever done despite living in Seattle for over eight years. Instead we opted to join a group of folks who were heading down to mountain bike the Sun Top trail. Only 90 minutes away from Seattle, the trail sits in a web of spectacular mountain biking not too far from the Crystal Mountain ski area. Many of the trails offer stunning views of The Mountain, or Mt Rainier. Fortunately for us, it was one of those truly perfect northwest summer days. Crystal clear sky, perfect temps…and of course an awesome ride.

[View with PicLens]

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The photography business is very tough. Stock agencies are overloaded with certain types of images and offer photos at absurdly discounted prices. Simply selling images online is difficult, not impossible, but difficult. If you find a niche though and have the ability to market yourself, one can be very successful in the world of photography. For example, selling ebooks about Photoshop or Lightroom or landscape photography tips and offering these online can do wonders for a photography business. Teaching photography workshops or leading photography trips can be very prosperous. In my opinion though, there is one thing that will help you rise above the rest, regardless of what you are trying to sell, and that’s networking.

And there’s something else: offering your images and/or services for free. OK, so this doesn’t make you any money, but in SOME cases, for example, exchanging photos for a link on a high-traffic website, can be worth quite a bit down the road. I touched on this last week and how I was able to take pictures at the 2008 Spearhead Traverse Whistler Backcountry Ski Race in exchange for (what I hoped would be) future publicity and maybe some leads. Lo and behold I started seeing traffic to my site pick up…and that’s because my photography website was placed on the homepage of the race site at http://www.wbfj.ca/index.html. Awesome.

But sometimes things don’t always work out as you would like, which is the reason I’m writing this post. I’ve “donated” many of my photographs, many of them without even a moment of hesitation. I love what I do and if I can share my experiences with others who may not be as fortunate or may find inspiration in them, then I’m OK with that. But when someone (in this case a very large and extremely well-known co-op whose name I will not disclose except for the fact that they sell outdoor gear) wants to use a photograph in their marketing material without giving a SINGLE bit of credit to the photographer…well, too bad.

When this offer initially came to fruition I was excited, and what photographer wouldn’t be. The opportunity to have your picture in front of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people is a dream come true. But when I was informed there would be not a single piece of credit given, I thought otherwise. All photographers work extremely hard to capture unique and inspiring images, so if a company, who has a very large marketing budget, won’t offer even the smallest form of appreciation (my name on the image) then I say screw em.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.