By Terry Divyak

I used to blog a lot about photography techniques before starting Shutter Tours and thought I’d pull this one out from a post I made earlier this year. This is one of my favorite techniques to create an art like image from a landscape photograph.

When you take our tour, we look for some great textures to add to your arsenal of images to create some fantastic art.

This fine art image can also be purchased via Zenfolio.

I have been driving around my Macbook Pro with my new version of Photoshop CS4, trying to learn all the little nuances hidden under the hood. Somehow I got sidetracked and ended up at istockphoto.com looking at textures. Don’t ask me how, it just happens when one has a period of boredom, followed by flashes of inspiration and then some temporary forms of ADHD. Anyway, so I did a search on textures as I wanted to work with some layers in Photoshop and play around with some images I shot over the weekend in Seattle. Not having any textures at the ready, I found this one of a tuscan wall that I figured would work perfect. Yeah I had to pay for it, but I wanted it now and did not have my Europe images close by and the time to spend hours hunting for a texture. Besides I I started looking at my old Europe CD’s, I’d end up on some other tangent and never accomplish my goal , so I bought it.

Originally I was going to use and image of Post Alley by the Pike Place Market, but felt that the Seattle image would work a lot  better. In the upper left corner, you can see the original texture file as well as the Seattle photo I used.

So, let’s see step by step how I created this.

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Seattle has so many great places to take photographs, so creating a list that everyone can agree on is almost impossible. Being a lifelong Seattleite, I have been shooting around the city since I was 15 and with the running of a photography tour company, I am always on the lookout for all things photographic.

Some of these locations are outside the city limits, but if you have a rental car, they are worth the effort to get to the locations listed below.

10. Pu Pu Point in Issaquah

This is one of the locations that many Seattle natives may not even know about. Located about 10 minutes east of Issaquah, Pu Pu Point is the jumping off location for paragliders. With it’s breathtaking view of Lake Sammamish and surrounding areas, makes for a great backdrop with the colorful paragliders as your subject matter. This is one of those locations you’ll have to work for, however. It’s is about a 45 minute hike up to the point from the parking lot and has a pretty good elevation gain, so bring water to keep yourself hydrated. Once you arrive, you will want to spend some time sitting and watching the almost delicate ballet of the paragliders as they float on the updrafts. It is not unusual to see 20 or more floating above the point on a beautiful day.

Location to shoot from:

First and foremost, you want to stay out of the way of the para gliders. This is a dangerous sport and the less distractions, the better for those that are trying to get airborne. You can get a great shot, standing directly behind the launching point. This gives you a terrific background, especially in the mid morning hours. I also like to stand on either side of the launch pad and use both a wide angle and telephoto lens to capture the action. You’ll need a telephoto lens once they are airborne to get some good closeups.

How to get there:

View Google Map
Approximate address is 11206 Issaquah Hobart Rd Issaquah, WA 98027. Head East out of downtown Seattle on I-90. Take exit no. 17, Front Street Exit, take a right off the exit. Continue south on Front Street for exactly three miles. (Front Street turns into the Issaquah Hobart road.) You will see on open field on your left with cars parked in the lot and along the shoulder of the road if it’s a busy day. You will start your hike on the opposite side of the field, (Landing zone for paragliders so be careful).

Miscellaneous Notes:

Seattle Paragliding offers both lessons and tandem jumps if you are feeling adventurous.

9. Snoqualmie Falls

Snoqualmie Falls by KM Photography via Creative Commons

Snoqualmie Falls is one of the most popular attractions in Washington State next to Mt. Ranier and Seattle’s Pike Place market.  About 45 minutes from Seattle, this is the farthest location from Seattle on our list. Rising 268′ from the bottom of the basin, the falls can be captured from the observation deck with a perfect view as the above image by KM Photography illustrates. This was not listed further up the list as it is quite a drive from Seattle, but is worth the effort to get there.

Location to shoot from:

The observation deck, about 100 yards from the parking lot is the most popular place to shoot. Setting up a tripod can be a bit of a problem when there are weekend crowds, so go later in the day or on a weekday. As you look at the falls, you are looking East, so the sun will be behind the falls in the morning and illuminating the falls in afternoon and evening. You can also take a trail to the bottom of the falls. There is a wooden boardwalk that will give you a good vantage point from below. At the bottom of the trail is also the 1910 powerhouse, closed off behind fences, and the river itself. Visitors can leave the boardwalk and  walk on the river rocks to get a better view from the bottom. Be advised that this area floods during heavy rains.

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