Landscape Photography in Washington

Photographing Throughout the State of Washington

Landscape Photography of Mount Rainier and Tulips

For those of you who do not follow me on Instagram, I wanted to share a few brief video clips from a recent trip to Washington. A lot of my photography work was done in the early mornings and the evenings - around sunrise and sunset. There were a few mornings and evening when I thought I would capture the perfect photograph but the clouds moved in or the rain started pouring. I wanted to share these videos with you so you could hear the quietness of nature around me and envision what I was seeing while I was crafting my artwork.

On a side note - from a travel standpoint, one week is not nearly long enough in this beautiful state! There’s so much to see, so many trails to hike and such beautiful land to soak up. I had the chance to witness beautiful tulips blooming, hike to Rattlesnake Ledge, and see Mount Rainier poking out of the clouds.

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Landscape Photography of Mount Rainier and Tulips in Washington

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Landscape Photography Equipment

For this landscape photography adventure, I decided to take 2 camera lenses, 1 camera body, 1 tripod and 1 camera bag. When I first started packing for this trip, I wasn’t sure if I would be taking wildlife photographs or more landscape photographs. I decided on taking just 2 lenses but these two cover a fairly wide spectrum of distances. Here they are below:

Nikon D810 FX-format Digital SLR Camera Body Buy on Amazon

Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 AF II DG HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs Buy on Amazon

Manfrotto Compact Action Aluminum 5-Section Tripod Kit with Hybrid Head, Black (MKCOMPACTACN-BK) Buy on Amazon

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports Lens for Nikon F w/Sigma USB Dock & Advanced Photo and Travel Bundle Buy on Amazon

Landscape Photography Video of Gig Harbor

Quick video showing behind-the-scenes when I'm photographing the San Juan Islands from the mainland. Beautiful sunset! Check out the final piece of artwork at: https://bit.ly/2XwF5a2

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Landscape Photography Video of Skagit Valley Tulip Festival at Sunrise

Quick video showing behind-the-scenes when I'm photographing tulips at the Skagit tulip festival from as the sun comes up. Check out the final piece of artwork at: https://bit.ly/2XwF5a2

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Landscape Photography Video of Rattlesnake Ledge

Quick video showing behind-the-scenes when I'm photographing from the top of Rattlesnake Ledge in Washington. Check out a few pieces of my artwork at: https://bit.ly/2XwF5a2

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Landscape Photography Video of Sunset at San Juan Islands

Quick video showing behind-the-scenes when I'm photographing the San Juan Islands from the mainland. Beautiful sunset! Check out the final piece of artwork at: https://bit.ly/2XwF5a2

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Landsape Photographer Mary Parkhill

Mary Parkhill, Photographer

Landscape Photography Locations in Florida

Florida Landscape Photography Locations

6 Places to Take Landscape Photographs in Florida

Over the last couple of years, I called sunny Florida ‘home’. As I became more familiar with the ocean and the Florida way of life (#saltlife), I started exploring as much of the state as I could through my camera lens. With the ever-changing weather, constant sunshine and beautiful landscape, Florida is a treasure chest of eye candy!

As a photographer’s paradise, there is almost always a beautiful sunrise or sunset and the weather is always pushing the norms providing texture in the skies. Getting started, I leveraged Google Earth quite a bit to plan my shooting locations. Below are a few of the wonderful locations that I had the chance to explore and photograph while I was in Florida.

If you’re ever in the area, check out the states tourist website for tips/ideas of what to do / where to go. It’s a great resource to begin planning your trip. If you’re looking for more specific locations, feel free to reach out to me here.

Landscape Photography Location - Everglades:

Crocodile - Everglades, Florida

Landscape Photography Location in Florida: Pass-a-Grille:

Walkway to beach - Pass-a-Grille, FL

Landscape Photography Location in Florida: St. Petersburg:

Sail Away - St. Petersburg, FL

Landscape Photography Location in Florida: Tampa:

Tampa at Night

Landscape Photography Location in Florida: Fort Lauderdale:

Lifeguard - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Landscape Photography Location in Florida: Key West:

Key West - Key West, Florida

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Photographing Oceanscapes in Florida

Florida Landscape Photography

Landscape Photography taken in Florida

I have always found that when you visit or move to a new city or town, it becomes a piece of who you are. You tend to look at things differently and certain foods or scents can flood your brain with beautiful memories of the people you meet along the way.

My husband and I lived in St. Petersburg, Florida for about 2.5 incredible years! One of our favorite parts of this area was the natural beauty that seemed to be surrounding us at all times. From the pretty parks to the incredible fishing piers and the wonderful wildlife that called this place home - we loved every piece.

Now whenever we visit, each sunset reminds me of how incredible Florida is. Here are a few photographs of the Florida sunset that I captured on my last trip through Florida.

What Florida photographs have you captured lately? Feel free to share them here in the comment section or send me your @Instagram handle. I’d love to check out your work!

Ocean Landscape Photography

Beautiful Ocean Sunset

Ocean Photography Taken in Florida

Ocean blanket greeting the beach with a fishing pier in the background

Sea Turtle Photography at the Ocean

Sea turtle heading to the ocean

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Ocean Landscape Photography Equipment

To capture these photographs, I used my ‘go to’ camera equipment. If you are interested in learning more about what I take along with me in my camera bag, check this section of my website out. However, if you are interested in just the camera and camera lens that I used to capture these images, here is the camera body, lens :

Nikon D810 FX-format Digital SLR Camera Body Buy on Amazon

Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 AF II DG HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs Buy on Amazon

Photographing Southeast Alaska: Wildlife, Glaciers and Landscapes

Orca Whale Nature Photography

Photographing Orca Whales and Alaska Landscapes

Orca Photograph taken in Southeast Alaska

Over the last few years, I have been fortunate enough to travel through Southeast Alaska and set eyes on beautiful vistas! The air always has a refreshing crisp to it and the scenery is grand and powerful. It’s one place in the world that feels raw and untouched. If you’ve ever cruised through Alaska or have had the opportunity to travel there, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, hopefully my photographs below will help show you what I mean.

One thing that I love about Alaska is that it is ever-changing. The environment changes rapidly under the extended summer sun and the wildlife is constantly moving. It’s exciting to see a whale fluke, an eagle in a tree or a bear scrambling up a stream for a salmon. However, as a photographer, it can also be extremely challenging.

Often times, you get one shot (no pun intended). As fast as you see a whale fluke breech the water line, it disappears below the surface. A seal that was once laying on a chunk of ice is now just a tiny head bobbing above the water. A beautiful mountain range disappears under a thick cloud of fog. For all of these reasons and more, Alaska can be a tough place to photograph but if you are up for the challenge, you will have an adventure of a lifetime.

Interested in recommendations of where to photograph during your Alaskan vacation? Send me a message here and I’ll send you a few tips and locations! Happy photographing!

Humpback Whale Nature Photography

Whale Fluke, Alaska

Southeast Alaska Nature and Wildlife Photography

Mature Bald Eagle sitting in a tree

Orca breeching in Alaska

Crab Pot Buoy

Alaska Forest & Fog

Juneau Alaska Landscape Photography

Snow capped Mountains in Alaska

Glacier Photography

Glacier

Alaska Landscape Photography Equipment

In addition to the normal camera gear I tow along with me on each trip, I decided to take two weatherproofing items to Alaska. It rained almost everyday when I was there so I’m extremely happy that I had these two items. One item was for my camera and the second item was for my backpack (I didn’t want the rest of my gear getting wet while I was hiking around). Below are the two lifesaving pieces I had with me:

OUTAD Waterproof Backpack Rucksack Pack Rain Cover Bag Rainproof for Camping Hiking (Black, Middle) Buy on Amazon

Altura Photo Professional Rain Cover for Large Canon Nikon DSLR Cameras Buy on Amazon

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Traversing Through Central Park in New York City

Landscape Photographs of Central Park

Central Park Landscape Photographs During Fall

There’s so much to photograph in New York City! During my latest trip, I traversed through Central Park photographing the autumn colors and the park’s beauty. Below are a 3 of my favorites from the beautiful oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.

Bethesda Terrace, Central Park

After walking from Manhattan to Central Park, I continued towards The Lake crossing under the Bethesda Terrace. I love how the sun lit up the beautiful tile artwork.

Central Park, New York City

The Park’s Autumn colors were illuminated by the late afternoon sun. This tree begged to be noticed with it’s incredible warm hues of yellows and oranges acting as a gateway to the entrance of the walking path.

Central Park, New York City

The green ivy gives the old architecture a contrasting texture.

Capturing Beautiful Lighthouses in Maine

Photographing Maine Lighthouses

I traveled up the coastline of Maine starting in Portland and ending in Acadia National Park in an effort to capture the ‘Essence of Autumn’. I’ve been intrigued by Maine’s lighthouses and the natural beauty of the rugged coastline for awhile. Add in the beautiful colors that Fall brings and I could not have imagined more stunning scenery.

Portland, Maine

I arrived in Portland during a ‘Nor-Easter’ which included high winds, ferocious waves, and a lot of rain. Mother Nature’s intense backdrop provided a unique photography opportunity to capture the lighthouse.

Portland, Maine

The following morning, the sun greeted us for about 3 seconds. Just enough time to capture the light peaking through the clouds. Temperatures were frigid but at least the rain held off.

Rockland, Maine

I continued up the coastline of Maine and stopped in Rockland. Right before sunrise, I scrambled over the ocean rocks to catch the lighthouse’s reflection. The crashing of the nearby waves kept me on my toes the entire time I was shooting.

Acadia National Park, Maine

What this photograph does not capture are the jagged rocks and boulders between the end of the footpath and where I took this photograph. It was quite the adventure getting to this location but I think capturing this angle of the lighthouse was well worth it.

A Few More…

Here are a few more photographs from trekking along the coast of Maine. There’s so much to see and do - it’s a location worth a thousand visits!