Opening My Eyes

If you've read here before, you know I have a senior in high school this year because I've maybe mentioned it a thousand times. With that comes senior pictures. How to pick a photographer?

That was easy. Because through this blog world of ours, I met Stasha. She lives in the Northwest, as I do. Besides blogging (and her fabulous Monday Listicles meme) and being a mom and wife, she is a photographer. And her pictures are fabulous. Lots of nature, very relaxed and she captures the real thing through that lens of hers.

So it was that we scheduled a time for Stasha to shoot my son's senior pictures. If you haven't read Stasha's blog, she lives on an island in Puget Sound. She has an undeniable awareness of the Nature's incredible playground that she lives in. Beaches, forests and beauty abound. If you follow Stasha's pictures on Instagram, you'll see that she, her sweet little boy and her super cool dog, who is too big to steal or I would try, are out enjoying that playground. All. The. Time.

I read all about it. I appreciate her pictures. I ooh and ah over her descriptions. And then I sit all comfy in my house.

Heading up to Stasha's island (okay, it's Whidbey Island but it's more fun to call it Stasha's island) reminded me that I live in one of the most amazing parts of the country. From my home, I can be on  a beach of Puget Sound within 20-60 minute, depending on where I want to go. I can be at a mountain pass is less than an hour. Multiple islands are just a ferry ride away. The coast and the Pacific Ocean are just over two hours away. The same for the Olympic Peninsula with it's mountains, lakes, rain forests and more beaches. Hiking trails are everywhere, even close to home. Small towns and small farms still exist here.

She's inspired me to make an effort to get out and revisit places I haven't seen since I was a child. Discover new places I've never seen that have been here all along. To really appreciate what's all around me. I'm already trying to find somewhere to drag my family this weekend.

These are from Fort Casey State Park, Whidbey Island, WA. Just to be clear on photo quality here, I took these pictures with my phone while Stasha was shooting pics of my son with her really awesome camera:

Two cruise ships passed by on their way out of Seattle.

Gorgeous beach filled with driftwood.

No explanation needed!

Stasha capturing my son.

Getting kinda crazy with the pictures.

Photos at Fort Casey below the historic gun batteries.

Of course, I can't wait to go back to Whidbey, meet up with Stasha again and take in more of her island. There's so much more to explore!

What's in your "backyard"? Do you explore the areas around where you live?

PS - Oh, and yes, the senior pics turned out incredibly well. I couldn't be happier!

***Ally

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