Samantha Lynn Photography

From A Distance

2011-06-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

While out enjoying a glorious day in Seattle, I happened to luckily find this man just launching his kite into the air on top of this grassy hill and it just struck me as such a dreamy, beautful and simple moment of joy!!

I am linking this picture up to the From A Distance Photo Challenge at I Heart Faces.

Woodland Park Zoo

2011-04-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it certainly has been a day or two since I posted anything on here!

Recently, I went to the Woodland Park Zoo to take a class and learn how to better photograph the animals there. It was a somewhat cold day but the walking and excitement took over and kept me warm throughout the day as Ryan (Mind you he was still in his sling from having shoulder surgery the week before and was trucking around and even taking pictures (one-handed he he he). He was a real trooper!) and made our way through the whole zoo. We had a good time and I got some really awesome shots! I've posted some of my favorites (so far) for you to see what we got to see while we were there!

"Orange"

2010-11-08T05:59:00.000-08:00

Recently, I attended a dear friend's wedding. She has always had a fun sense of style and it definitely came through on her wedding day!! I just fell in love with her orange shoes!! I snapped this picture, and it is still my favorite from the whole day!!

Fix-It Friday #72

2010-09-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

The photo we we able to work with this week is very special! I played around with different versions of it and just wasn't satisfied. After, I started my last edit, I was hoping that it would turn out just how I was envisioning it in my mind. IT DID! I hope you enjoy my edit! Please let me know what you think.

Original Photo

My Edit

Trek out to Snoqualmie River

2010-09-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

We took off and drive out to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River to go on a hike. We were trying to hurry so we would miss the rain that we knew was coming...we sort of made it. It started to sprinkle on us as we were making the trek back out to the truck.

The trail is very lush and beautiful! The river was so clear and suprisingly green! It was so cool to be able to see completely to the bottom; we were hoping to see some fish swimming but we didn't see anything! It looked like there could be some good spots to go fishing though...maybe next spring time!

Here are just a couple of the pics that I took while we were out and about.

Fix-It Friday #71

2010-09-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Helloooooo Friday!! Thank goodness that you have arrived! I've been needing some major creativity in my life this week and was able to satisfy some of that need with this week's Fix-It Friday!!

What a great photo to work with!! Thank you Angie Arthur for letting us play with it!!

I wanted to play with the crop, color, black & white, and sepia tones this week! I hope you enjoy my edits and please let me know what you think!!

Happy Friday!!

Original Photo

Edit #1 - Color

Edit #2 - Black & White

Edit #3

Edit #4 - Color

Edit #5 - A bit desaturated

Edit #6 - Color

Edit #7 - Sepia

Fix-It Friday #70

2010-09-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Yay! It's Friday!! I always look forward to Fix-It Fridays!! They are always a great distraction from the stresses of the week! This week there are lots of stresses so I didn't have as much time as I usually do so I've only done 3 simple edits. I hope you still enjoy them!

Let me know what you think! :)

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3

Fix-It Friday #69

2010-09-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here we are...another wonderful Fix-It Friday!! It's even better this week because it's the beginning of a fabulously long weekend!!

This week's picture was just great!! The couple just seems to be so in love and I feel that the picture captured their playfulness!!! Thank you Rachel Durik for contributing this special picture!

I hope you enjoy my edits...let me know what you think!!

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3

Edit #4

Fix-It Friday #68

2010-08-27T09:15:00.001-07:00

So, I'm not going to lie...today, I totally woke up on the wrong side of the bed! It just started out as one of those days where you wake up cranky for no reason...don't you hate those? Well, I knew it was Fix-It Friday so before I did anything else I figured I would download the picture and come back to it later in the day when I felt I had the "motivation" to work on it.

I'm so GLAD I didn't! I just threw myself into the editing process and since I'm still fairly new to Photoshop (and not to mention...self-taught) I had to do some research on how I could achieve the results I was wanting! This all proved to be such a great distraction that now I'm finised with the editing...I'm not cranky anymore! Thank you I Heart Faces for making my day better!! :) I hope all of you find something that makes you happy today!

Here are my edits of the wonderful picture taken by Dana Suggs! I hope you enjoy...let me know what you think!!

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3

Edit #4

Edit #5

Fix-It Friday #67

2010-08-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hooray for Fix-It Friday!! I have always looked forward to Fridays because it's the beginning of the weekend, however, Fix-It Fridays just add a whole new level to loving Friday!!

This week's picture is super adorable! I started playing with it in color and enjoyed the results that I was able to achieve. Then, I decided to start playing with it in a sepia tone and was pretty happy with the results too! Let me know what you think and/or where I can improve with my editing! Have a great weekend!!

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3

Edit #4

Edit #5

Fix-It Friday #66

2010-08-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today's Fix-It Friday was very fun! What a cute subject we had to work with!!! I hope you enjoy my edits this week!

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3

Fix-It Friday #64

2010-07-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hello All! It's another wonderful Fix-It Friday!! I woke up this morning more excited that usual for Fix-It Friday because I FINALLY got Photoshop! YAHOO!! I know, I know...I'm a bit behind the times but since I've really only gotten into photography over the last month and a half all the freebie programs (mainly Picassa) worked just fine for me. Now, my eyes have been opened up to a whole new world! Ha ha ha!! I just got Photoshop 3 days ago and have been playing with it trying to learn how to edit with it, so bare with me if my edits this week aren't up to par!! :) I hope have enjoyed this week's Fix-It Friday...I know I did! Have a great weekend!!

Original Photo

Edit 1

Edit 2

Edit 3

Edit 4

Fix-It Friday #62

2010-07-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

So here we are again...the fun time of the week...FIX-IT FRIDAY!!! This week the photo is just so adorable!! I had a lot of fun just playing around with it! Check out my edits and let me know what you think! Happy Friday Everyone!!!

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3 (My favorite!)

Fix-It Friday #61

2010-07-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

I've been absent as of late and was so excited when I realized it was Friday today. Not just that it was a Friday, but that it is a Fix-It Friday! Wahoo!! So here goes! I hope you enjoy my edits of this wonderful picture!

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3

A Grand Weekend!

2010-06-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

As this past weekend approached, I must admit, I didn't think it would be too exciting! Ryan was out of town working and was not due back until late Friday. I figured we would be spending the weekend at home doing laundry, cleaning, and repacking Ryan for his next trip on Monday. To my surprise, Ryan was able to finish up at the client's office on Thursday and even caught an earlier flight than planned that evening in time to make it home for a late dinner!

Friday morning came with an amazing gift of sleeping in for both of us! However, we soon realized that all 3 of us needed something to do, especially after the Toyota dealership irritated the begeezus out of me! So, we decided to go to Kubota Garden since we missed it on our last park hopping adventure. We loaded up the Garmin and off we went! (By the way, how did anyone ever get anywhere before GPS? ha ha ha)

We arrived at Kubota Garden and didn't think much of it and were a little scared! One of the first things you see is a sign alerting you of high car prowling and to be sure to secure your items out of sight! We grabbed a map at the entrance and within a few steps in we were blown away! The lawns were lush and green. The plants were unique and beautiful. The paths were winding, sometimes muddy, and numerous!!! We ended up spending 2 hours or more there and didn't even see the whole place! It was such an amazing find and we will definitely be going back!!! Thank you The Dog Lovers Guide to the Pacific Northwest by Val Mallinson!!

Saturday proved to be a treat as well! We found more parks that were fun and challenging! We started the day out at Flaming Geyser State Park and were a bit disappointed that we weren't able to go hiking on the trails because they had been washed out. The park was your typical state park though...nice, big green lawns set along side the river, and it appeared to have some good fishing spots. We will definitely be going back when the trails are in use again!

Next, we went to Clark Lake Park. The park itself is very quiet for being in the city! It was like someone bought a huge block of land and just left it how it was found except to add a few well groomed trails and a few roughly groomed trails around the lake. Here I found some very pretty and fuzzy subjects that miraculously stayed put while I snapped away with my camera!! Channon met another boxer, Ozzie, who looked just like him only without the white on his nose!

We tried to head over to Lake Wilderness Park next, however, there was a HUGE festival going on and we could barely even drive down the road. We decided to come back another day when it wasn't going to be so busy!!

At this point, it was getting late in the day so we decided to make one last stop and decided on Marine View Park. It's totally a hole in the wall type of a park. It's located on a residential street and as soon as you pull into the parking lot it seems like you entered a totally different world!! It's a lush forest on a cliff/HUGE hill overlooking Puget Sound. We wound our way through the primitive trail and down the dozens of wooden steps to the small beach. Lots of rocks, driftwood, and amazing views every direction you looked! The hike back up, however, would be a challenge for even an Iron Man!

Sunday proved to be a bit of a disappointment. We went to Kayak Point, River Meadows, and Jennings Memorial Park. I swear we spent more time driving than we did in any of the parks, however, we did enjoy a few things here and there.

Kayak Point boasted lots of rocky beach and open picnic areas. We walked along the beach for a while letting Channon play in the sand (seems to be a new favorite thing for him!) and ended up taking up the hunt for baby crabs. We found hundreds of them!

River Meadows is just that...huge open meadows right beside a river. There were a few places along the river that looked like it might have good fishing and the park hosted the LARGEST Banana Slug I have ever seen!! Other than that it was pretty boring! :(

Our last stop, Jennings Memorial Park, was interesting. It had playgrounds for both kids and adults, a fishing pond for kids, and some trails that just looped through everything. The only really interesting find here was a squirrel that was very interested in being a model for me! :)

After a long weekend of park hopping, we found ourselves tired and in need of some couch time to recoup! However, the plans are already in the works for our next adventure!

Enjoy a FEW of the pictures that I took while we were out and about over the weekend!

Stayed tuned for more updates as the Adventures of Sam, Ryan, and Channon continue!
Until next time,
Sam, Ryan and Channon

Kubota Garden

Flaming Geyser State Park

Clark Lake Park

Marine View Park

Kayak Point

River Meadows

Jennings Memorial Park

Fix-It Friday #58

2010-06-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

This Fix-It Friday was FUN! I loved the angles in the oringinal photo and really liked the relationship I could see between the pair! I really wanted to play up the fun I could see happening and that is what you will see in my first edit. My 2nd and 3rd edits are just practicing with different elements. Let me know what you think! :) TGIFFIF (Thank Goodness For Fix-It Friday!)

Original Photo

Edit #1

Edit #2

Edit #3

Park Hopping

2010-06-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a beautiful day here in Seattle!! Even though we have been living here for 2 months now, we haven't done much exploring...so I decided I was going to plan a day trip of park hopping for us!

I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased The Dog Lovers Guide to the Pacific Northwest by Val Mallinson (what a GREAT book, by the way!!) to help find places that were safe and good for all of our family members, a.k.a. our fur-baby Channon. I narrowed down where we wanted to go and decided upon Gas Works Park, Alki Beach, and Kubota Garden.

We started our park hopping adventure at Gas Works Park and had a fun little picnic lunch and soaked up the sun. After relaxing for a bit, we decided it was time to walk around and take some photos and stretch our legs! After touring the park, we decided to head over to Alki Beach.

We were greeted at Alki Beach with amazing views, lots of people and their dogs, and tons of cars...a.k.a...NO Parking! We drove all the way down the beach and had just about given up hope of finding a place to park when we found a great little residental street with an empty space. We took it! We loaded up the stuff we would need for the next hour or so and took off walking! Lukily, I was able to take some fun and great photos while we were out and about in Alki before we needed to call it a day...we were all hot, tired, and ready for a nap! :)

So, we didn't make it to Kubota Garden yesterday; however, I'm not sad! It will be a great place to start our next park hopping adventure on the next beautiful day here in Seattle!

Scroll down and enjoy some of the photos I took while out on our adventure! :)

Until next time,

Sam, Ryan, and Channon

Gas Works Park

Alki Beach

Fix-It Friday #57

2010-06-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

This is my first time participating in Fix-It Friday and I must say that I have definitely enjoyed it! I am new to I Heart Faces and to digital photography and have found that both are such a great outlet for my creativity!!

Original Photo

My Edit