Mud, Bus and Tulips

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tulips-mud-and-busMade 16 visits to the tulips last spring, still haven’t really inspected all the images yet. Here’s one from a day I went rainbow hunting… unsuccessfully.

2017 Washington State Scenic Calendar is here!

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The new 2017 Washington State Scenic Calendar is here!

Printed on 8.5″ x 11″ 100lb bond glossy paper the images will really pop with color and vibrance.

In my opinion, its my best calendar yet.

The calendars will be $20 each. Shipping anywhere in the US is $6 and anywhere out of the US the shipping cost is $12.

Calendars ship out in 24 hours.

We will ship your calendars anywhere you’d like!

Here is the link to order!

Here are the images from this years calendar.

Mother’s Day Sale: 50% OFF all prints

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NIGHT SKY

NIGHT SKY

AndyPorterImages Mother’s Day Sale: 50% OFF all prints

IF YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME TO BUY A CANVAS PRINT, TODAY IS THAT DAY!

ORDER YOUR PRINT TODAY AND YOU’LL HAVE IT BY MOTHER’S DAY!

50% OFF ALL SIZES AND FRAMES     

SALE ENDS AT MIDNIGHT April 24th

NORTH CASCADES

NORTH CASCADES

SKAGIT VALLEY TULIPS

SKAGIT VALLEY TULIPS

VISIT THE GALLERY PAGE, FIND YOUR FAVORITE(S), CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE AND WHEN YOU CHECK OUT ENTER THE CODE: MOTHERS DAY TO RECEIVE YOUR DISCOUNT

 

Padilla Bay

SKAGIT VALLEY

Night Sky Photo Tours for 2016 are filling up fast!

Click here for dates and info for registration.

Skagit Valley Tulips Sunrise and Sunset

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I have to admit that I have a cool job: taking people out for Photo Tours at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival…

So far this year I have visited the tulip fields 14 times. Each visit is different, the light, sky and clouds change very rapidly.

This first set of images is from a sunrise photo shoot. After finding the one lone red tulip and capturing it with a nice sky background, I was pulled towards the field workers and their truck nearby…

Interested in a Tulip Photo Tour? Here are the details and registration page!

I was mystified about what they were doing, collecting huge bundles of tulips and unceremoniously tossing them in the back of a big truck!

Then, the next evening I was out on a rather gray day, very dull…until just before sunset when the clouds thinned a bit and the most magnificent colors popped out for a short while. The tractor was, of course a magnet.

Interested in buying a print? Here is the link to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Gallery, where I offer canvas wraps and fine art prints!

Imaging Tulips

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Once you’ve been out to take pictures of the tulips as many times as I have you start to get a bit bored with the standard images of rows of flowers and the usual shots. Skagit Valley Tulips

I have tried to find some different elements to add to the image, something in the foreground maybe to create a bit of the different look and feel.

Water and reflections do the trick nicely, accenting the colors and maybe the sky.

Are you interested in a Tulip Photo Tour? Here is the link for the details!

Living so close by affords more opportunity to visit often, and so I can make it there for sunrises and sunsets easily. Nothing adds more to a tulip shot than an dramatic sky!

Finding interesting foreground elements is based on where the tulips are each year. Every new year the crops are rotated. Some years they are near a barn, others a grove of trees…

This year (2016) is more difficult, the only interesting foreground element was a school bus. These are from sunrise on March 30.

Including people in the images is also an option, one I tend to avoid, but often with good results.

The two (so far) elusive shots I dream of are: a huge, gob-smacking rainbow over the tulips, and as unlikely as it may be, lightning firing above the fields. One can always hope!

Skagit Valley Tulips, Sky and Barn

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I visit the tulip fields in Skagit Valley many times each year. I try to go when the skies will be colorful. Its not easy to guess when that will be! These images are all from 2015. It was a rainy,wet day. Not the sort of day you’d think to go tulip hunting. But just as the sun started to set the skies cleared. here are a few image! More information on Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Photo Tours here!

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 2016

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The Spring Equinox marks the change of seasons, beginning a time of renewal and birth and hope and beginnings.

Here is Skagit Valley it also marks the start of Tulip Season!

I have lived here 11 years now and the tulips seem to start blooming earlier every year…

Yesterday and today I spent time in the tulip fields, leading clients on Tulip Photo Tours.

The tulips in Tulip Town are abloom. This year they have one small field of tulips, maybe 100 rows, 5 rows or so for each color or variety. tulips 1

The larger fields, spread through the valley are just starting to bloom now.

Given some more sun, they will all be popping open in the next week or so. Here are two images from this morning at one of the tulip fields first to bloom.

If you would like to find out more about Skagit Valley Tulip Tours, call or email me.

Here is the link with details and registration.

These images are from Saturday morning at sunrise, at the Daffodil Fields.

 

If you would rather go on a Night Sky Photo Tour here is the link to find out more.

First Beach

 

La Conner Daffodil Festival 2016

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Skagit Valley Tulip and Daffodil Festival Photo Tours

Daffodil Photo Tours start Feb 21! Here is the link with the details!

Every spring the fields of the Skagit Valley explode with colors.

First the daffodils arrive, spilling yellow and green paint buckets over the browns and grays left over from winter.

These daffodil images were taken on Sunday, Feb. 21 2016 at sunrise!

Depending upon the weather this happens any where between late February and early March. In 2015 we had full fields of daffodils abloom in the third week of Feb. and it looks like we may see the same this year.

Skagit Valley Tulip and Daffodil Photo Tours get info on registering here.
Tulips arrive 3 to 4 weeks later, anywhere from mid to late March into April. fields upon fields of tulips of all shapes and colors spread across the valley their quilt like pattern changing each year with the annual field rotations.

The valleys main tulip grower, Roozengaarde updates their Bloom Map each day or so, showing where the fields are and when they are in bloom.

What is a Photo Tour? A Photo Tour is a guided tour specifically for anyone who would like to capture stunning images. Each sprint I spend time reconnoitering the fields, noting where are the best views and backdrops. I can offer advice for not only the best locations but also tips on exposure and composition as well as post editing so that you come away with fantastic images.

I also offer North Cascades Photo Tours and Night Sky Imaging Photo Tours as well.

These are tulip images from years past…

Skagit Valley Tulip and Daffodil Photo Tours

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Skagit Valley Tulip and Daffodil Festival Photo Tours

Daffodil Photo Tours start next week, Feb 21! Here is the link with the details!

Every spring the fields of the Skagit Valley explode with colors.

First the daffodils arrive, spilling yellow and green paint buckets over the browns and grays left over from winter.

Depending upon the weather this happens any where between late February and early March. In 2015 we had full fields of daffodils abloom in the third week of Feb. and it looks like we may see the same this year.

Skagit Valley Tulip and Daffodil Photo Tours get info on registering here.
Tulips arrive 3 to 4 weeks later, anywhere from mid to late March into April. fields upon fields of tulips of all shapes and colors spread across the valley their quilt like pattern changing each year with the annual field rotations.

The valleys main tulip grower, Roozengaarde updates their Bloom Map each day or so, showing where the fields are and when they are in bloom.

What is a Photo Tour? A Photo Tour is a guided tour specifically for anyone who would like to capture stunning images. Each sprint I spend time reconnoitering the fields, noting where are the best views and backdrops. I can offer advice for not only the best locations but also tips on exposure and composition as well as post editing so that you come away with fantastic images.

I also offer North Cascades Photo Tours and Night Sky Imaging Photo Tours as well.

Photography Classes in Burlington

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Andy Porter Photography Classes in BurlingtonSunrise on the Ferry 2

Beginning in January, 2016 I will be teaching a series of Photo Classes in Burlington, Washington.

All the details for the Burlington Photo Classes are below.

I am also teaching much the same classes in Bellingham, Marysville, Anacortes and Friday Harbor! See details for these at the bottom of the page.

Better Pictures with your DSLR Camera-Level 1 (3 hr class)
Instructor: Andy Porter
Saturday, January 23 (10am-1pm)
Thursday, February 11 (6-9pm)
Saturday, March 12 (10am-1pm)
Fee: $40
Is your DSLR always set on auto? Quality images start with understanding manual exposure. Cover bracketing, polarizers, and the benefits of capturing images in the RAW format and more. Lots of time for hand-on instructor and Q & A. Learn to use your camera to create the image you want. Come with your camera and owner’s manual.
Location: Burlington Parks and Recreation Center 900 E. Fairhaven Ave
Register one week ahead! 360-755-9649 (Visa/MC ok over phone)

Better Pictures with your DSLR Camera-Level 2 (3 hr class)
Instructor: Andy Porter
Saturday, February 20 (10-1pm)
Thursday, March 17 (6pm-9pm)
Fee: $40
This class is for anyone who has completed the DSLR Basics Class or someone that has a firm grasp of shooting images in the manual mode. Learn about different lenses, how to use them effectively, delve deep into aperture, depth of field, and shutter speed. Learn how to master these settings and create stunning, unique images. Class will also cover advanced details of focusing, use of a tripod, and tips on how to capture images at night.
Location: Burlington Parks and Recreation Center 900 E. Fairhaven Ave
Register one week ahead! 360-755-9649 (Visa/MC ok over phone)

Winchester Mountain Lookout

Winchester Mountain Lookout

Composition: How to take Awesome Photos with ANY Camera (3 hr class)
Instructor: Andy Porter
Wednesday, Feb 17 (6pm-9pm)
Saturday, March 5 (10am-1pm)
Fee: $40
Having an “eye” for photography is an acquired skill. This class covers the basics of composition that can be used with ANY camera-point and shoot or DSLR.
Learn subject placement, use of the horizon, reflections, leading lines, the Rule of Thirds, framing and more!
Location: Burlington Parks and Recreation Center 900 E. Fairhaven Ave
Register one week ahead! 360-755-9649 (Visa/MC ok over phone)

Photo Editing: Learn the Basics and Software Conversations (3 hr class)
Instructor: Andy Porter
Thursday, March 10 (6pm-9pm)
Fee: $40
Ever try to capture a fantastic scene, only to be disappointed with the results? To create an image that looks just like what you saw, especially in low light situations, you are going to have to edit the image. Discussion will include different types of editing software, edit student’s images in class, learn tips and tools for you to use in your journey into this new, exciting world.
Location: Burlington Parks and Recreation Center 900 E. Fairhaven Ave
Register one week ahead! 360-755-9649 (Visa/MC ok over phone)

I am also teaching much the same classes in Bellingham, Marysville, Anacortes and Friday Harbor!

Here is a link to the calendar and schedule of classes. Find the month you’d like to attend, click on a class and you’ll see the time, cost and location details and a link to register.

Photo Tours
Would you like to get photo training out in the field? I offer Photography Tours as well. These tours are for anyone who is interested to take their imaging skills to the next level. Small groups (1 to 4 people) intimate knowledge of the area and lots of advice on setting exposure, composing images and more make these trips a wonderful experience. North Cascades Photo Tours, Tulip Festival Photo Tours, Night Sky Imaging Tours and more. Find out more about Washington Photo Tours here.