#nikon creators

[aflennikenphoto]

(Cross-posted from my site, where there are additional photos to see.)

A few shots for Macro Monday, taken a couple of weeks ago at Marymoor Park.

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR Macro

[aflennikenphoto]

(Cross-posted from my site, where there's another photo from that day's wanderings.)

I shoot a lot of nature & wildlife, and always have. While I tend to generate more income from portraiture and show work, nature photography today still serves the same purpose in my life it always has: getting me outside, filling my life with beauty, and giving me peace. It's everywhere you look, even in a city.

While wandering around town recently, before meeting a friend for trivia, I passed a vacant lot between buildings. It was a riot of colorful wildflowers (including my beloved California Poppies) and tall green grass; a pocket of nature in an otherwise urban setting. Unplanned and unplanted, I'm sure, just a spot left to its own devices and what grew, grew. It initially felt somewhat sad that it was fenced off, since you couldn't get in to walk among the blooms, but upon reflection that's probably why they could grow at all. A lesson in the importance of good boundaries, maybe, and giving things the space they need to grow.

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon Z 40mm f2

[aflennikenphoto]

(Cross-posted from my site, where you can see the color version and visit the print store.)

Another BirdCast migration alert in my email, another excursion to see if I could find any migrating wetland birds.  The destination was Spencer Island and Union Slough.

While I did spot a large flock of waterfowl, they were on the other side of the chain-link fence separating the slough from the water treatment plant beside it.  I guess the combination of retaining pond and the relative protection provided by the fence were more attractive than the tidal estuary right next door.  Very unhelpful, though.  For me.  :P

Still, the day was gorgeous, the walk down the trail was pleasant, and I was well rewarded at the end.  That large, weathered tree, growing next to the channel, with it's bare top pointing up to the wispy cloud-filled sky, demanded my attention.  The Sentinel of the Slough.

I liked the black & white version so much I immediately added it as an option in my print store.  :)

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8 S

[aflennikenphoto]

It’s been a couple of years since I made it down to Mount Rainier National Park, and I wanted to do so before they closed the highway on the east side for the winter. They’d already closed the road up to the Sunrise ranger station, sadly, as well as much of the White River campground, due to the government shutdown, but Chinook Pass was still open, so up I went.

(Cross-posted from my site, where there are additional photos: https://andrewflenniken.com/2025/10/17/october-17th-2025-scenes-before-closing/)

It’s mostly pines out that way, so where there are pops of color they really pop. And I’m pretty sure those are larches in the photo of Tipsoo Lake with Yakima Peak rising up behind. Their crowns are going golden, at least.

I’ll post a few more from that trip next week!

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8 S

[aflennikenphoto]

The days are getting shorter, the leaves are changing, and the sun increasingly gives way to clouds.  So long as there are flowers in bloom, though, the bees are going to be busy.

(Cross-posted from my site, where there are more photos: https://andrewflenniken.com/2025/10/07/october-7th-2025-tiny-tuesday/)

I caught a few of them in action the other day when I was at the Bellevue Botanical Garden, and they made me smile.  We're headed into the Long Dark Wet months here in the Pacific Northwest and I need as much color as I can get now, to tide me over until spring.

As always, if you'd like to see one of my photos added to my site's print store you can let me know in the comments, or via the site's contact form.

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon 105mm f2.8 VR Macro

[aflennikenphoto]

July 1st means it’s once again Canada Day!

(Cross-posted from my site, where there's a 'making of' photo.)

I don’t have any sugar maples near where I live now, in the Seattle area, but there’s a silver maple in the park down the street. I gathered a leaf yesterday, threw together a very DIY light table, and here we are.

For my Canadian family and friends, have a wonderful day! I hope your celebrations are joyful. For everyone else… maybe eat something maple flavored? Drink a Canadian beer? Tell someone you’re sorry? 😉

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8 S

[aflennikenphoto]

(Cross-posted from my site, where there are more photos to see, including a new-to-me bird, the violet-green swallow.)

It's a wonderful spot; bookended by state parks, but the friend I went with suggested hitting a couple of spots in the middle, so that's what we did.  The trails down to the river were pretty steep in parts (what with, you know, it being a gorge and all), but the scenery was well worth the effort, even on a hot summer day.  I'd never seen so many salmonberries in one place before!  There are fewer now, though: many were perfectly ripe and I assure you they got eaten.

Also got to see a new-to-me bird, the Violet-green Swallow.  There were quite a few of them along one stretch of the river, darting along just above the surface.  They were moving so fast it was a challenge to get a good shot, but I did manage a few.  :)

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8 S, Nikon 70-200mm f2.8

[aflennikenphoto]

(Cross-posted from my site, where there are more photos to see!)

Walking along the beach at sunset recently and felt a thunk as my toe encountered something heavy in the sand.  "That didn't feel like a rock," I thought, before I even looked down.  At first glance it looked like something gnarled and wooden, but the shape was… odd.  Bending down to retrieve it I realized it was an old eye bolt, corroded by time, sea, and salt.

I immediately know what to do with it.

Gear: Nikon Z 7II, Nikon Z 24-70mm f2.8 S