I am at a loss for words for the incredibly mild weather we’ve had this month. In all the years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Flowers blooming in January? Not quite normal for us here in the Puget Sound area. We actually broke the high temperature record a few times last week with the thermometer soaring over 60 degrees F. And it’s been stuck in the 50 degree range since. Did I say we’ve had sun with that, too? Yes!
I came out of my usual winter hibernation this past weekend to bask in the unusual heat wave, grabbed my camera, and headed to Point Defiance Park to explore. With the bright sunlight and its sharp angle during the winter months, it’s an excellent time to experiment with themes, such as shadows and reflections, and so I did. Pick out a morning hour time to do this with a mainly clear sky and you can find some really delightful compositions. Trust me, you won’t have any problems finding willing subjects. All you need for reflections is a calm water surface and no breezes. My favorite area of the park is the Japanese Garden with its reflection pond. I had a great time photographing the reflections of the garden structures in the pond. Here’s a few samples.
I also spent quite a bit of time photographing harsh shadows from all kinds of subjects. Some might find this rather boring, so I’ll just publish a few favorites I thought were very interesting. This first one looks like some sort of scary plant monster. It’s actually a thrown shadow from one of the traditional Black Pine trees in the Japanese garden. The earlier in the morning, the more stark the shadows appear.
Here’s a tree shadow that reminds me of a long fingered claw. One’s imagination could really run away with this project. Making a game out of it for children would be a lot of fun, too, seeing who could find the scariest or funniest looking shadows.
And last, but not least, let’s not forget the early bloomers. I came across blooming Rhododendrons, Camellias, and Hellebores, with the Daffodils soon to be in bloom, as well.
© Peggy A Thompson
northwestphotos 
It’s been rather mild down here, too. Feels a bit spooky, but nice at the same time.
Here we’re in a deep freeze, so spring is a long way away. Beautiful shots!
Thank you, William! Hope you don’t have to wait too long for spring to arrive!
Ah, youth springs eternal
What a nice bonus, Lisa. your reflections are so gorgeous. Beautiful shadow pics too, and those flowers certainly don’t look like winter. 🙂
Love the shadows. How about all the cherry trees? It’s been great, hasn’t it? I’ve only been here 3 years so it’s interesting to hear that you’ve never seen spring come this early.
Thank you! Yes, I have never seen such sparse snow in some places in the Cascades and Olympics. We are only about 40% of our normal snow pack. Not good! I haven’t seen any cherry trees yet in bloom. All the pink blossoms we’re seeing are Plum Blossoms. They bloom first, and then the Cherry blossoms later.