Tag Archives: April

April 8, 2021 · 6:01 am

Traveler’s Checklist and Celebrating International Dark Sky Week

*Redwoods and rhododendrons, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Redwood National Park (California)*

Today is a two-fer-one day. A couple of my articles were published in the National Parks Traveler. One of them is what is called a “Traveler’s Checklist,” and the other one is titled “Celebrating International Dark Sky Week In A National Park.”

The Checklist deals with listing things you might want to do or see, places to stay or eat, and reminders for reservations you might need to make. There have been Checklists published in the Traveler in the past, but then they sort of stopped. We’re trying to start them up again and I have a series of them written and scheduled for publication. This week’s checklist deals with visiting Redwood National and State Parks. To read that article, click on the image above.

To read the Celebrating International Dark Sky Week article, click on the image below.

*The start of morning colors over The Mountain and Reflection Lakes, Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)*

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Filed under National Parks, National Parks Traveler, Photography, Redwood National and State Parks, Star Photography, Travel and Photography

Tagged as April, checklist, international dark skies, International Dark Sky Week, list, photography, planning, Redwood National and State Parks, stagazing, travel, Traveler's Checklist, where the trails take you

November 27, 2020 · 7:39 am

It’s Fun Fact Friday 11-27-2020

Our neighbor to the North sure has some pretty national parks of its own, don’t you think? And since it’s #FunFactFriday here are some pieces of trivia about Banff National Park:

Banff National Park was Canada’s first national park. The mountains in this park are believed to be between 45 and 120 million years old. Before Europeans came into the region, this area had been inhabited by the Peigen, Kootenay, Stoney, and Kainai aboriginal peoples, to name a few.

This image was captured off of the Icefields Parkway, while on my way from Banff National Park into Jasper National Park. Even in April, when it’s spring in the lower elevations, it’s still winter in the higher elevations of the mountains.

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Filed under Banff National Park, Canada, Fun Fact Friday, National Parks, Photography, Travel

Tagged as April, Banff National Park, Canada, Fun Fact Friday, National Park, photography, spring, springtime, travel

November 16, 2019 · 9:00 am

Dawn Along The Seashore

How about a nice, peaceful, beach scene colored by the blush of “rosy-fingered dawn” to start your weekend? I have a feeling dawn won’t be as pretty where I live – it’s been overcast with a low cloud ceiling for the past few days.

Padre Island National Seashore in Texas is a great place to watch the sun rise. I got there at dark-thirty a.m. and just watched the play of colors over the sky and Gulf of Mexico, as the shore birds pattered along the water’s edge looking for breakfast.

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Filed under 1DX, birds, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, National Parks, nature, Padre Island National Seashore, Photography, Seasons, Spring, sunrise, Texas, Travel

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX, April, beach, Canon, Canon 1DX, dawn, morning, national seashore, Padre Island, Padre Island National Seashore, photography, pink, rosy, shore bird, spring, springtime, sunrise, telephoto, telephoto landscape, Texas, where the trails take you

April 30, 2019 · 9:30 am

Not Today

Yellow Iris

I thought the time for iris blooms was over, since it is one day away from May and even the daffodils are gone, and the tulips, while still around, are waning in my yard. Guess I was wrong! The first thing I thought when I saw these lovely yellow iris on the side lawn was Arya, in GOT, saying “Not today,” when asked what she would say to Death.

The iris will shrivel up “not today,”

P.S. Instead of using a macro lens for my flower close ups, I like to use my telephoto lenses. This image was captured with a Canon 1DX Mk II and a 100-400mm lens.

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, death, flowers, nature, Photography, Seasons, Spring

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX Mk II, April, Canon, central Washington, flower, Flowers, iris, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, spring, Washington, Washington State, yellow

April 22, 2019 · 6:45 am

A Cup Of Sunshine

The tulips are now blooming. Our house only has small patches of them in yellow, red, and the striped orange & gold you see here. I believe they are my favorite flowers, although I do like the colorful calla lilies, too, and fragrant sweet peas. I’m posting this bit of sunshine because I think it’s supposed to be a little overcast today. That’s ok. I finished sweeping up the shop roof yesterday and trimmed the overhanging branches. And don’t worry – I was very careful. I have a slight fear of heights – well, maybe more than slight, since there is no way in hell I would ever hike that last half mile on the Angels Landing Trail in Zion National Park 😉😟🗻

This photo is brought to you by my 100-400mm telephoto lens, then cropped a little more. I used to own a macro lens but realized I didn’t use it much. So, I traded it in for a different lens. And this is a lesson to you in how to get close-up “pseudo-macro” shots using just your telephoto lens on an SLR or telephoto setting on a point-and-shoot camera.

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, flowers, Photography, Seasons, Spring, telephoto lens

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX Mk II, April, Canon, central Washington, fringed, orange, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, red, spring, telephoto, tulip, Washington, Washington State

April 20, 2019 · 9:05 am

Star Magnolia

After a search on Google, I discovered that the spindly, dead-looking “bush” out there that keeps sprouting these long-petaled blooms is called a Star Magnolia! This is certainly not the same kind of magnolia that I used to see blooming in southeast Texas, that’s for sure. I learned there are actually 8 species of magnolia. I might have to go out, now, and take a sniff to see if these blooms are fragrant (and hopefully not trigger any spring allergy).

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, flowers, Photography, Seasons, Spring

Tagged as April, bloom, central Washington, cream color, flower, Flowers, magnolia, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, spring, star magnolia, Washington, Washington State, white

April 18, 2019 · 6:35 am

Rainy Days And Thursdays

Hellebore in the rain

Standing tall

Ok, not quite the words to the song, but you get my drift. Maybe it should be more like “April showers bring May flowers,” although these flowers are already in bloom and it’s not yet May.

Raindrops on spring flowers are very photogenic, if you don’t mind getting wet to get the shot.

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Bad Weather, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, flowers, Photography, Seasons, Spring

Tagged as April, Canon, daffodil, Flowers, hellebore, photography, rain, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, spring, Washington, Washington State, weather

April 13, 2019 · 8:33 am

Glory-Of-The-Snow

These little flowers are quie eye-catching, especially when looked at close-up, with their almost neon-bright white centers. I must admit that I was pretty pleased and proud with myself for finding out what they are called so quickly when I ran an online search. I think all I typed in were “blue and white flowers washington” or something like that.

They are stiill in bloom here at the house, but look like they might not last too much longer.

Happy Saturday! What are your photography plans?

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, flowers, nature, Photography, Seasons, Spring, Washington State

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX Mark II, April, blue & white, Canon, central Washington, Flowers, glory-of-the-snow, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, spring, telephoto, Washington State, Yakima

April 12, 2019 · 9:19 am

Hellebore

Spring has definitely sprung, if the flowers have anything to say about it. First came the iris, and now the bright yellow splotches of daffodils are blooming in spots of the yard. I’ve noticed some tulip buds coming up but it’s apparently still too early for them – at least, here in Yakima. The hellebore have been in bloom since March. I never really gave much glance to these perennials but as I look at them more closely, they are, indeed, lovely. They are also poisonous, accodring to what I have read (so no hellebore salads – ahem). I’ll content myself with photos of these beautiful blooms.

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Filed under 1DX Mk II, Canon, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, Canon Lens, flowers, Photography, Seasons, Spring

Tagged as 100-400mm, 1DX Mk II, April, Canon, central Washington, eastern Washington, flower, Flowers, hellebore, purple, Rebecca Latson Photography, rebeccalatsonphotography, spring, telephoto, Washington State, Yakima

May 31, 2018 · 6:19 am

The Beginning of Sunrise at Sunrise Point

Even though you can capture amazing sunrises in many places within Bryce Canyon National Park, this overlook is still one of the most popular places to view the sunrise. It can get pretty crowded, even in the winter and early spring. To photograph the sunrise, you need to arrive during the pre-dawn hours, set up your tripod and wait for the light show to start. On this, my first morning in the park, the colors of the sunrise did not disappoint. I arrived about 45 minutes prior to sunrise and was the first person at the overlook.

I used my Canon 5DS and 16-35mm f2.8 Mk III lens on a tripod. I did not use a CPL filter and, for this image, did not use a grad ND, either.

The trail you see below is the Queens Garden trail.

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Filed under 5DS, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canon, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III, Canon Lens, Landscape, National Parks, Photography, Seasons, Spring, sunrise, Travel