by Jim Bellomo | Mar 16, 2025 | Photography
This week, there are only seven shots—just the bare minimum. I love some, though others aren’t my favorites. Today’s is my least favorite, and I feel exhausted after a week of radiation, coupled with sleepless nights where I’m up every hour to use the bathroom. I managed to take a nap today and realized I was really out of it. I had to feed the sourdough and glanced down into the mess, thinking I should take a photo of this. I think my favorite is the succulent; I love the light and detail. Of course, my sentimental favorite is our wonderful Keeley!
Remember, don’t forget: if you click on the first shot, you can scroll through using your arrow keys or by swiping. Also, while you are looking at the individual photos, click the small i at the bottom of the page to read the full caption and see my photographic metadata.
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This is just something I saw this evening while looking for my daily shot. I went back into the house, grabbed my macro lens, and returned to see how it would look. I have to say I love it. It will make a great background, or I could use it next time I need a natural-looking texture. Your job is to tell me what it is.
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On my way to my radiation treatment on Capitol Hill, I took a slight detour to see if I could capture the Seattle skyline against a typical sky. Sure enough, parked on Harvard Avenue, I got this shot that stretches from downtown to just beyond the Space Needle, at the base of an area known as Queen Anne. In the foreground is part of I-5, the main north-south highway from Canada to Mexico.
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Tonight, I am exhausted. According to my doctor today, the worst part about radiation for prostate cancer is the constant feeling of needing to urinate. This means I’m up all night, roughly every 45 minutes. I realize that’s more than you care to know, but it’s the reason for my exhaustion. After dinner, Kathleen reminded me that I hadn’t taken a photo yet. I went over to the shelf where my camera was sitting, and I noticed this succulent. I picked it up and placed it near a light source, resulting in this shot, which is much better than I deserve.
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For the last few days, I’ve been trying to find a sign of spring to photograph. A couple of days ago, Kathleen suggested I take a picture of her newly bloomed hellebore plant in our front yard. The only issue on Tuesday, when she suggested it, was that the blooms were still too new and hadn’t yet lifted their heads to the sky. This meant if I wanted a straight-on photo of the flower, I would have to lie in the mud and shoot upward. I really appreciate my photo fans, but I’m not going to lie in the mud just for a shot of a flower bloom. However, today, after getting home from my workout, I noticed that the blooms were finally pointing toward the sky. I like how the photo turned out. It’s almost spring!
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It’s not often (actually, never) that I have the opportunity to photograph a sunrise from anywhere near our house. The primary reason for this is the way our house faces (we don’t see the sunrise until it’s over) and the absence of good spots to shoot from that exclude a bunch of houses from the frame. However, this morning, Kathleen took Keeley out into the backyard and told me I should see the sunrise because it was beautiful. I grabbed my camera and dashed out front (there’s NO way to capture it from our tiny backyard), and it was indeed beautiful, but I still faced the issue of how to eliminate the houses. I really didn’t want to spend hours in Photoshop removing them. But then it struck me. With the trees in the far background much taller than the houses, I could silhouette them right out of the photo. So, I switched to manual mode and exposed just for the sky, which rendered the houses almost completely black. Then, in Photoshop, I added a mask to the houses and darkened them. I like the photo. I wish there had been some clouds, but I still like it.
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Here’s the Keeley of the week. Took it with a 50mm f1.4 lens lying on the floor with her. I love it when a dog tilts their head like they are truly trying to understand you. For Keeley, all I had to do was say one of her favorite words (in this case, it was “ball”), and she gave me the tilt, especially if I used it out of context…like when I don’t have a ball.
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I see this every Sunday afternoon. I shot it with my 60mm macro lens, so you know it’s an ultra-close-up. There’s a moment every Sunday afternoon when Alexa reminds me to feed this mass. Just so you know, many people started this during the pandemic, but I was about two years ahead of that trend. This one is around seven years old, and I feed it every Sunday. Some weeks (not often enough), I use it to make bread. It’s pretty good, but it could be better; I don’t get the bounce I want. And as you’ve probably realized by now this year, when I shoot with the macro, I often don’t tell you exactly what you’re looking at. However, you have plenty of clues this week to give you a good start ?.
Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure. —Tony Benn
by Jim Bellomo | Mar 9, 2025 | Photography
Just keeping you updated if you are following my 365 on an irregular basis. This covers the week behind us, from Monday to Sunday. I hope you enjoy them. My favorite this week has to be the shot of the tiny tow truck loaded with turf that I took on my walk through the Montlake neighborhood of Seattle on Friday. It’s just so whimsical. My least favorite is the picture of my grandmother’s clock. It holds a lot of sentimental value for me, but I don’t find the photo to be technically up to par. And there are more than seven photos because I did a major photowalk around the Washington arboretum and the Montlake neighborhood on Friday.
Remember, don’t forget: if you click on the first shot, you can scroll through using your arrow keys or by swiping. Also, while you are looking at the individual photos, click the small i at the bottom of the page to read the full caption and see my photographic metadata.
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Located on Capitol Hill, you’ll find the very cool Volunteer Park. There’s so much to see, but I must admit it took me over 20 years after moving to the Seattle area before I finally visited. Now, I see it every day when I go for my radiation treatments. The park features the Black Sun, a donut-shaped sculpture by artist Isamu Noguchi. It’s fitting that it’s there because if you look in the opposite direction from where I took this photo, you’ll be in front of the Asian Art Museum of Seattle. And, of course, there’s the “not to miss” shot I got of the Space Needle just to prove that I’m in Seattle.
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This is a face filled with memories. This clock once belonged to my Italian grandmother. Grandma Bellomo was very special to me. When I was nearly seven years old, my mother had a stroke. In those days, you could spend weeks recovering in the hospital. My brother Steve was just a baby, so he went to stay with my mom’s parents while I lived with Grandma Bellomo. I stayed with her for almost a year. On one of my first days there, she told me, “When your mother comes home, she won’t be able to use one of her hands, and she will have problems with one of her legs. So, you will need to know how to take care of things for your family.” She taught me to clean, do laundry, and, above all, she taught me to cook. Since then, I have loved to cook. This clock was in her kitchen, and one day, my father asked if I wanted it. I had to say yes. Now, it sits in my office on top of a bookshelf. We don’t wind it because, being a kitchen clock, it has the most horrendous chime… more like a bong. But I still love this clock. And I still love my Grandma Bellomo.
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Another day, another radiation treatment on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. On the way home with Kathleen—she joined me today since it’s doctor consultation day—I noticed these radio antennas. I loved how they looked against the cool sky.
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Tonight was our monthly Trilogy Travel Club meeting. I took my camera because I wanted to do some candid photography. I’m always on the lookout for a good face—and I found one. He was giving me a very skeptical look, but it had so much expression.
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Since it was Friday and I needed to be in Redmond by 3:30, and I wouldn’t finish my radiation until 1:15, I decided to spend the time in between enjoying a photo walk through the Washington Arboretum. I ended up covering five miles, which included the Montlake Cut (a place I had never visited before) and exploring the arboretum. To get there, I walked underneath the 520 floating bridge. Here are a few bonus shots as well. Since I did this last Friday, I might have to make it a regular habit. Photo 1 is under that bridge, and I love the repetition.
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Then, there were some synchronized swimming by a pair of ducks
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After that, I took a picture of one of Seattle’s houseboat colonies. f you look closely, you can spot the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat where Tom Hanks lived with his son.
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In front of a beautiful home, there was a truck, and I loved how the photo turned out.
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We conclude with a couple in our age group taking a stroll with their dog. It was a great day for photography.
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… followed by a view of the Montlake Bridge with the Cascades in the distance.
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Here she is in all her beauty. The new light of our lives.
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We live surrounded by forests here in Trilogy Redmond Ridge. We have all kinds of trails that wind in and out through our community of over 1,500 homes. I love to walk these trails and see Mother Nature at her best. But sometimes, she shows her worst side. I have been observing a particular downed tree since we were hit by a bomb cyclone back in November. The tree fell due to the wind. Naturally, in that kind of wind, many trees come down, but this was by far the largest I have ever seen in Trilogy (or anywhere else, for that matter). As incredible as it was, I still don’t like the capture I got of it to tell a story. I wanted you to see the front and top of the tree lying on the ground as well as the back (the root ball) of the tree and the whole where the wind uprooted it. That’s the incredible part. I also wish I had brought someone else along to be in the photo, since for something like this, you really need a human for scale.
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Suffice it to say that from the bottom of the hole where the root ball came out to the top of the roots is more than 20 feet. I based that estimate (because I am not going to get muddy trying to measure it) on it being almost four times as tall as I am. Also, when you see the log sticking out of the front, just know that was not the actual trunk of the tree; that has already been cut up because it was blocking the trail. This tree was mammoth.
by Jim Bellomo | Mar 2, 2025 | Photography
This week has been eventful. I started my radiation therapy. It doesn’t hurt when they do it, but it really wears me out. Most of the time, I can walk six to nine miles a day. Now, I’m lucky if I can manage to get through three. Lifting weights is quite challenging, but the doctor emphasizes that I need to maintain my muscle mass as it is.
When it comes to photos, I took quite a few during my radiation visits. I have to drive to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle, which is about a 35-minute drive from our home in good traffic. Fortunately, I get to pass through some interesting areas, and my photos this week showcase those spots. On Friday, I went for a five-mile walk across the 520 floating bridge with my camera. That’s why there are more than seven photos—I just couldn’t decide which one was the best.
Remember, don’t forget: if you click on the first shot, you can scroll through using your arrow keys or by swiping. My favorite this week is the cormorants from my Friday walk across Lake Washington.
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This is your weekly Keeley shot. She is my best model. Kathleen bought her that thing on the floor. You had treats or her food in and under the parts, and she tries to find them. It’s supposed to be a challenge. She usually finds whatever we hide in less than three minutes, using her teeth, her tongue, and her paws. She is an awesome dog. We were told when we got her that she was a certified support dog (not a service dog), and she certainly is. I’ve been feeling kind of down about my lack of strength due to the radiation and hormone therapy. She understands that and will come and sit in my lap when I’m feeling down, just letting me hold her. From time to time, she will look up and give me a wet kiss.
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It’s another beautiful day (though the rain returns tomorrow), so I decided I needed blue skies in my photo. And clouds. And green trees. So here you have all three for a wonderful March day.
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Today, after my radiation treatment, I took a long walk across the 520 floating bridge. I saw lots of things, including these cormorants…
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This heron…
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Some swans swimming by…
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Two young women soaking up some sun…
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These ducks (which I love for their reflections)…
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And the start…
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and finally, two canoeists.
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and a few minutes of a rowing race (just practice)…
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And now for something architectural. This is a building that sits on the back side of Seattle’s Capitol Hill. It is an all-girls school that I used to work with when I was doing yearbooks. In fact, it was my favorite school. Part of the attraction is this building. The school was founded in (ready for this?) 1896. Yup, it’s almost 130 years old. But inside and out, this building is gorgeous. As I was driving home from my radiation treatment, I thought that on this beautiful, almost spring day, it would make a great architectural shot.
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After two days of landscapes, I decided to come indoors and focus on close-ups. I put on the 60mm macro lens and photographed a small section of a pencil cup on my counter. It features a great pattern, which reminded me that my favorite photography guru, Scott Kelby, is hosting a month-long photo contest with a theme centered on texture. I really appreciate the texture in this shot.
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On the way to my radiation appointment today, I passed Lakeview Cemetery. It sits high on a hill with an incredible view, kind of like the one I showed you yesterday. I’ve been to this cemetery before to see the tomb of martial arts guru and actor Bruce Lee, as well as his son Brandon, both buried side by side. When I visited before, I wondered why it’s important for the dead to have such a great view, especially with today’s wonderful weather.
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Today was a fun day (said sarcastically) as I began radiation treatments for my prostate cancer. The treatments don’t take long, but since we are Kaiser members, I have to drive to the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle. It takes about an hour. Since today was my first day, I left early, unsure how long it would take me to get there. When I reached the back side of Cap Hill, there was a panoramic view looking back toward the Eastside across Lake Washington. It’s been a couple of weeks since I took an outdoor shot, so I thought this might be a good opportunity with Lake Washington in the foreground, part of the 520 floating bridge showing, and the snow-covered Cascade mountains framing it all up.
by Jim Bellomo | Feb 23, 2025 | Photography
Here are seven more shots from this week for all of you who are skipping the daily upload. Hope you enjoy them! Remember, don’t forget: if you click on the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. I almost forgot. I’m going to start naming my favorite and least favorite shots of the week. This week, my favorite photograph is the night shot from Bellingham. I love the light I captured. My least favorite is the photo from today of Keeley under a blanket. I really didn’t have enough light to get the shot I wanted.
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We’re starting and ending the week with Keeley’s pictures. We shared one at the beginning of the week because she looked so adorable while being fed, but today’s photo focuses more on yesterday. When Keeley travels, she feels excited (and a bit anxious), which makes her pretty hyper while we’re away. Once she’s home, she collapses and sleeps through just about anything (except when I’m rattling her treat container ?). That was the case today. She was so exhausted that when the blanket on the couch fell over her head, she didn’t even bother to move.
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Tonight, we are in Bellingham, Washington, which is about 90 minutes north of our home. We came up to meet our forever neighbors, Jayesh and Lisa, to see “An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes and The Princess Bride.” Jayesh and I share a passion for the movie The Princess Bride, and we were thrilled to see the film in a theater (which is unusual for a 35-year-old film) and then participate in a Q&A with Cary Elwes, who played Wesley. Afterward, we went to dinner, and when we returned to the AirBnB where we had left Keeley, I realized I had forgotten to take a photo. So, I went for a short walk and captured this shot, which was much better than I deserved. I love the shot—it’s all about the light.
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This year, in my 365, I haven’t done any street photography. So, I remedied that today in downtown Redmond. This friendly gentleman was walking down the street with his umbrella and phone. It’s unusual because not many of us in the Seattle area use umbrellas. I do carry a big one like this when I take long walks on rainy days.
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I have been searching for ideas for what to shoot in this 365 project. Yesterday, I came across something from DPS (Digital Photography School) that suggested incorporating a piece of your camera’s tech that you don’t use often as part of the project. Another article recommended using equipment you typically overlook. A third article proposed various types of self-portraits. I combined all three ideas and created a self-portrait using my tripod (which I rarely use) and some of my camera’s technology by utilizing Nikon’s SnapBridge app to remotely snap the shutter. I’m pleased to be relearning how to use SnapBridge, and it was great to reconnect with my old tripod. Regarding the self-portrait, I have no comment except to say, “Man, am I old!”
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This morning, I was watching a fantastic photography course online from Kelby One. Scott Kelby (my favorite photography teacher) was conducting a class titled “10 Things I Wish I Knew Sooner.” The first point he made was, “Nailing the technical aspect of a photo is not enough.” He presented some amazing photos of flowers that resembled this one, but vibrant spring flowers rather than this wilted hydrangea. His argument was that you need a beautiful flower. You can master all the techniques in the world, but if you have a mediocre flower, your photo won’t stand out. I wondered, what about a dead flower? That could move beyond the technical, in the opposite direction.
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Back in 2002, we embarked on our first international trip to Europe. Our initial stop was Venice, which felt magical. To remember this wonderful city and the enchantment of Italy, we purchased a full-size Venetian Carnivale mask. It has hung on the Italian wall in our home ever since. It’s a beautiful piece of art—completely made of leather.
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Want to see what waiting looks like? This is it. Every time Keeley gets fed, Kathleen sets her bowl down, and she waits until Kathleen gives her the go-ahead before she touches it. As much as I would love to say we taught her this, it’s something she has done since before we adopted her.
In a world and a life that moves so fast, photography just makes the sound go out and it makes you stop and take a pause. Photography calms me. —Drew Barrymore.
by Jim Bellomo | Feb 16, 2025 | Photography
Well, we have reached the end of week six. It’s been a month and a half. This week was significant and busy. The snow has stayed with us until today, and I spent much of the week preparing for our Travel Club Annual banquet, which took place last Thursday. Today, we went to Olympia for our grandson’s 14th birthday. And yet, here’s this week’s album. Enjoy. Don’t forget: if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. Alternatively, you can return every day to see them on the page labels 365 above in the menu bar.
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We drove to Olympia today to celebrate our grandson’s 14th birthday. The family has a pond behind their house, and today, a striking blue heron graced the pond. I took some posed photos, but I wish I had captured the heron in flight. I did get some shots of it in flight, but they weren’t as good as I would have liked, so you get this one instead.
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I used to play chess all the time when I was in high school and college, but I haven’t played much since then. I tried teaching my grandson, but chess can’t compete with Fortnite. It’s just not exciting or fast-paced enough. However, I still have the board, and I thought it might make a nice capture for my macro 60mm.
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In downtown Redmond, I found these chairs. They looked so sad yet so colorful. Colorful because they are, but sad because no one is sitting in them with all those colors. The reason? It’s freakin’ cold. The snow is finally melting, but it’s a different kind of cold. It’s a damp and foggy cold that I hate.
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Tonight was our annual Trilogy Travel Club banquet. We had a fantastic time, and at the end of the night, we played an exciting game of Trilogy Travel Trivia. There were 25 fairly challenging questions, plus a couple of tie-breakers. I took some photos while the answers were being read, and this was a good friend (and my predecessor as club president) who looked perplexed by one of the answers.
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We rarely see decent sunsets where we live. There are too many trees, and we aren’t up high. But tonight’s sunset was beautiful, especially the clouds. My best buddy in Canada always teases me because I love taking pictures of clouds, while he prefers a perfectly clear sky. I believe clouds add character to the sky. I wish this one had more pink, but I still like it, especially with the silhouette of the trees at the bottom.
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When I looked back at last week’s photos, I realized I hadn’t posted one of Keeley. So here, tonight, is our favorite dog, who we’ve had for more than a month. She is settling in so well. We actually had guests on Sunday, and she handled it very well. Now, if we can get her to be friends with other dogs in a confined space, we’ll be all set.
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One type of photo that I take a lot of is panoramas. I love capturing something that I can see, but my camera needs assistance to do so. I never take them with my iPhone, and this one is no exception. This photo was created using 12 individual images, which were then stitched together in Photoshop. I’ve been doing this kind of photography for years and one of my other panos I consider to be the second-best photo I’ve ever taken. This specific one was taken about a mile from our house on a golf course blanketed in snow. The sun was out, it was thirty degrees Fahrenheit, and it was just a glorious, albeit very cold, day.
When a moment in front of me appears to be particularly special, whether it be by beauty or experience, I capture it. I usually find a reason to justify taking that photo – symmetry, or color, or contrast – and it’s my hope that my photography sheds light onto what I see and do on a daily basis. —Connor Franta