I spent last Saturday in Port Townsend, Wash. perusing the hundreds of wooden sailboats, cruisers and smaller watercraft at the annual Wooden Boat Festival. The weather was exactly the same as last year and the mood was jovial, but easy-going with thousands in attendance. This year, I spent more time enjoying the atmosphere and boats than photographing everything in sight. But, here are a few select photos from my time with the boats.
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Another perk to living on a lake: being witness to the cycle of nature. These shots are what I get for sitting out on the dock in the late afternoon.
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The sun came out for a little bit at the end of the day May 14. As soon as I got home from work I got out my 35-105mm macro, which is old but still functions, and my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and started shooting the beads of water that had collected on our tulips. These two photos are desaturated and color-corrected a little bit, but mostly they are otherwise as I shot them.
- C
Each spring, Beaver Lake is stocked with fish. Fishing season opened April 25 and people have been coming out in their non-motorized boats to try their luck with the rod. Some say fewer anglers come to Beaver Lake because it’s tougher to catch a fish here than on Pine Lake, about two miles away. I say keep it that way. We like it as peaceful as it is.I got this shot just as the sun came out to set.
Living around the lake are eagles, hawks, deer and even black bears. But the osprey are so far our favorite because almost daily, they put on a show for us over the water. After work on days it’s not raining, we go sit out on the dock and relax for a bit and watch the osprey eye their catch from more than 100 feet above the surface of the lake. They circle, hover a little and then dive, but unlike hawks or eagles, they actually plunge at full speed into the water like a torpedo.
- C
We spent part of the weekend in the Bavarian mountain town of Leavenworth, Wash. The sun was out and so were the beer enthusiasts. The annual Ale Fest in downtown Leavenworth drew folks from all around and thus crowded the streets and hotels. No crazy drunkards, but lots of people. We still were able to enjoy the peace and solitude of the small town, which sits just on the eastern side of the Cascade mountains.
Here’s a selection from the trip: 
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