by Jim Bellomo | Oct 13, 2025 | Photography
For those following along on our Columbia River cruise, I hate to interrupt, but as you can see if you click the 365 in the menu bar, I am in the middle of a 365 project. That means I take one photo and post it per day. And then, on Sunday night, I usually create a post that compiles all the photos from that week in one place. A note gets sent out about that post, and those interested in my photography get to see it.
These are my photos, numbers 280-286. Enjoy, and let me know in the comments which is your favorite this week.
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We are in Portland tonight at the start of our two-week Columbia River trip with the October Bunch. Only four of us are here so far; the other two are on a plane and won’t arrive until 11:45. So, the four of us went out for pizza at a place our son-in-law says is “the best pizza in the world.” It’s called APizzaScholls, and I might just have to agree with him. We got two, which was way too much, but WOW! Incredible pizza.
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Taking a food tour around Portland today, and as I sat in the middle of a really cool food cart pod, I happened to look up and saw this contrail crossing the sky. I took a shot that turned out to be lucky because I truly love the symmetry of it. It just looks cool.
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My favorite shot. The sun peaked through and turned the water almost blue.
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Today, we left Portland to explore the Oregon Coast. We spent some time touring the Tillamook Creamery, watching them make cheese, and then headed up to Cannon Beach, where I got this shot of Haystack Rock. I tried dehazing it, but there was just too much haze, and I kept getting artifacts. It drove me nuts. I also tried removing the people, but I think they added character.
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Not much of a photo-taking day. In fact, this is the worst day for photography I have ever had while on a trip. We were around a lot of Portland today, but I didn’t shoot anything new. While the rest of the October Bunch (minus Kathleen and me) went to see the Pittock Mansion, I, their faithful chauffeur, parked and read my book. Directly in front of me was this beautiful forest. So I went into the back of our rental van, grabbed my camera, and there you have it—The Forest Primeval.
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We are sailing on the Columbia River and were headed out of the locks at the Bonneville Dam when I spotted this river boat coming towards us.
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We’re currently on a cruise on this ship. Today, we stopped in Kalama, Washington, on the Columbia River. I really like how they get us on and off the boat. When they arrive somewhere, they navigate the bow of the ship into the shore, open the front of the ship, extend a gangplank, and we can walk off through the front. Photographically, it was very rainy, so I had to sneak in shots between rain showers to get this one.
The earth is art, the photographer is only a witness. –Yann Arthus-Bertrand
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 28, 2025 | Photography
I was really happy with this week’s photos. I really love the drummer and bass player, the giant nails and the melancholy Keeley. But my favorite has to be my product shot of my iPhone. The light worked out so much better than I expected or deserved for the amount of time I took setting it up. Let me know your favorites in the comments.
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Another beautiful day here, and while I was out walking, I found myself above one of the holes on the golf course that winds through Trilogy. It makes for some stunning landscape shots.
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We have this red glass poppy sticking out of a planter in our front yard. We have three other pots and have been trying to find three more, maybe in different colors or in red. We originally found it at a Trilogy Christmas bazaar two years ago. Today, I ran into a Trilogy friend I didn’t know worked with glass. She said if I sent her a photo of the one I have, she’d see if she can find who made this one. So, I took the photo today and sent it to her. Then I thought it would make a great photo of the day, so here it is.
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A big week for flower photos. Yesterday, I photographed a glass flower, and today I have three more. The first is from a new hanging basket I bought at Home Depot today. I spent the last two days pulling weeds and removing dead summer annuals from the yards. I also picked up some fall flowers and bulbs to plant for next spring. The other photos of beautiful dahlias are from a lovely bouquet two of our good friends here in Trilogy grew in their yard. Now I have to try and grow some next year—they are so beautiful.
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More flowers
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More flowers
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This photo relates to the fact that next Tuesday I will be teaching an iPhone class here at Trilogy. Over the past few months, a few of us who are more tech-savvy than the rest of Trilogy have been volunteering to provide tech support twice a week in our clubhouse. We have decided to create a series of classes based on the questions we get most often. The first one we are offering is “I didn’t know my iPhone could do that!”—a phrase we hear a lot. Since I was thinking about the phone, I decided to do a product shot, and I am very pleased with how it turned out.
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Walking on a trail I had never taken before, it led me through parts of Bellevue I’ve never seen. Along the way, next to the yard where they park our new trains, is this set of sculptures. I wasn’t quite sure what they were supposed to be until I sent the picture to my best buddy Bob in British Columbia, and he said, “Can you just imagine the size of the hammer and the person using it?” My eyes were opened. Bob saw nails. I almost missed them. But I loved the color, so here they are.
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Off to Saturday Market this morning, and they had an outstanding jazz band playing. I loved the photos I took of the horn section, but this one of the bass player and the only woman in the band, the drummer, was my absolute favorite. They are concentrating really hard here, but they were having a lot of fun. And he was one of the best bass players I have ever heard.
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Time for the weekly Keeley update. Today she’s in her melancholy mood. Not really, but seriously, she’s one of the moodiest dogs ever. Yesterday is a perfect example. She got up and was kinda quiet while we showered and got dressed. Then, while we were eating breakfast, she laid down for a nap (unusual). After that, she wanted to go outside in the backyard. We let her out, and while we were eating breakfast, she did her doggie thing, and when she came back, it was like she was a completely different dog—jumping all over and wanting to play. She stayed that way for most of the day. See what I mean? Moody.
I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them. – Diane Arbus
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 21, 2025 | Photography
Here’s a new bunch of seven. I know that yesterday you saw all the car pics. Now you can check out the rest of the week as well. As far as shooting, the car show was different and fun. Getting Keeley to pose is always fun as well. Enjoy.
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After taking numerous photos of cars and their logos yesterday, I felt like a landscape. This was captured from the highest point in the trilogy of incredible clouds we experienced today. It rained all morning, but after rain here, the air clears out, revealing that beautiful blue. Combine that with white fluffy clouds, and you get what I believe is a great shot.
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Today was fun. Our favorite local camera store, Kenmore Camera, organized a photo walk at the nearby Exotics Car Show. Since it was British Day, I managed to take over 500 photos of cars, people, and logos. I took so many (but don’t worry, I narrowed it down to fewer than 50) that I decided to create this blog post just to share them. If you like cars, typography or people, you might like these shots.
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Driving from Bellevue to Redmond today, I took a bunch of photos. I decided today was a lazy day. I shot 30 photos from the driver’s seat of my car. Every time I stopped at a light, I snapped photos of what I could see out my window. Out of the 60 I took, this is my favorite. It was just a mechanical box on the back of a cement mixer. Then I dropped it into Photoshop and turned it into a photo illustration with the help of a Photoshop filter or two.
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Weekly Keeley is here today. Not sure what she was staring at. It might have been a bird, maybe a plane, or maybe Superman. Or it could have just been the treat I was holding over her head. You get to see her cute underbite in the shot.
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I went over to West Seattle tonight to meet an old friend for dinner at a fantastic Thai restaurant. We had some time before we were supposed to meet, so I thought it would be a good chance to snap a couple of pics of Seattle from the best spot on land to shoot it.
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I had to go into Redmond this morning for a dentist appointment and a haircut, so I took a few minutes to walk to the Sammamish River and take some shots. Just as I was about to leave, I saw a seagull heading straight up the river toward me. I started shooting, and I like this one best.
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This photo is all about the weather. Today was beautiful, yesterday was rainy most of the day, and tomorrow is supposed to reach almost 90. It’s crazy. The trees don’t know what to do, as you can see some are already starting to turn. That’s because of the low temperatures we’ve been experiencing at night. As they used to say on Game of Thrones, “Winter is Coming.”
Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies. – Diane Arbus
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 20, 2025 | Photography
Today was fun. Our favorite local camera store, Kenmore Camera, organized a photo walk at the nearby Exotics Car Show. Since it was British Day, I managed to take over 500 photos of cars, people, and logos. I took so many (but don’t worry, I narrowed it down to fewer than 50) that I decided to create this blog post just to share them. If you like cars, typography or people, you might like these shots.
If you click on any of the photos, they will enlarge and you can scroll through them with your mouse, with the arrow keys or by swiping.
Cars
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An Aston Martin F-1 Series
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All that’s missing is Fernando.
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I didn’t see Marty McFly???
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Today was fun. Our favorite local camera store, Kenmore Camera, organized a photo walk at the nearby Exotics Car Show. Since it was British Day, I managed to take over 500 photos of cars, people, and logos. I took so many (but don’t worry, I narrowed it down to fewer than 50) that I decided to create this blog post just to share them. If you like cars, typography or people, you might like these shots.
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Car Logos
As a graphic designer, I love putting together logos and type. Automoible logos are some of the best.
Car Show People
Of course, there were tons of people at the car show, and they made great subjects for street photography.
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We know who’s the coolest guy here.
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He reminds me of a character actor.
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Tell the truth. This guy could be in the movies.
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These two were so cute.
A fun photographic experience. Hope you enjoyed them.
Life is too short to drive boring cars. – Elvis Presley
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 14, 2025 | Photography
This was a pretty fun week. Two Keeleys, a few landscapes, some beautiful blue sky, lots of sunflowers, and street photography. I have to say, because I love my dog so much, the Keeleys will have to come first for me. Have a great week. BTW: More travel is on the way. The October Bunch will leave for Portland on October 6 for a few days, then take a river cruise down and back up the Columbia River, ending in Clarkston, Washington. So, if you enjoy the photos of the week but are more interested in travel, your turn is coming soon.
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Yesterday I showed you a lake. Today, you get a lake that is partly a lake and partly a bog. The lake from yesterday isn’t in Trilogy, but this one is. We have so many great trails. I’ve taken this shot before, but today was especially beautiful, and the last time I photographed it was in late spring when it was still fully a lake. I also shot it in January when it was completely frozen. Pretty much every time I’ve seen it, it has been beautiful.
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Last week, I forgot to take a photo of Keeley. I thought that was okay, but people have been asking about her and want me to do two photos this week. I’m not sure if I’ll do two, but I will keep the one with her showing total happiness for last week. I love the shot because I had just given her a treat and a pat on the head to get her to pose. She was very happy.
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Today was another beautiful afternoon. Lately, we have been starting off cloudy and ending up with this kind of sky in the afternoon. Today, I decided to try some new trails on the other side of Redmond Ridge. These trails were obviously less traveled than the ones closer to Trilogy. The vegetation was encroaching on the paths. As I turned a corner, I saw something else that indicated the trails weren’t very used—a black bear. He was about 30 yards from me, standing in the middle of the trail. No, I didn’t get a photo of him. I was too busy trying to yell, hold up my hands and my walking sticks to make myself look big and scary. And sure enough, he turned and ran off into the woods. Whew! But from that point on, it was back to the streets where I got this photo.
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Looking for some easy color today, and this coleus in our front yard just caught my eye. Not sure why our landscaper didn’t include any when they redid our yard because we love them, and they grow like crazy without much effort.
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Today, I went down to Kirkland and drove through town doing street photography. I got a bunch of shots I liked, but Kathleen helped me narrow it down from six favorites to just one. I think we both like it because it tells a story—there’s a mom and son sitting outside a restaurant, with the mom typing on her phone next to a sign that says “Order ahead and skip the line.” So there they are, ordering ahead. ?
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I took my walk in Duvall today because it was a beautiful morning, but the sun was shining brightly, and I knew it would be hot to walk in. In Duvall, there is an awesome trail for walking and biking that is about 90% shaded in the summer. When I was driving out there, I saw a beautiful field of sunflowers, so I decided to go back after my walk and take a few photos. I took about 30 pictures and narrowed them down to 10 or so, then asked Kathleen for her opinion. She and I really liked three of them, so you get all three today. This first one is an overall view we liked because of the wild flowers in the foreground and the blue sky.
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We picked this second one because of the lone orange sunflower.
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And this is my family photo. The big guy in the middle is Dad. On the left is Mom, and on the right is the troubled teenage daughter. The little guy to her right is her 8-year-old brother.
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I warned you that since I didn’t have a Keeley last week, I might take two this week. And it has happened. Not only that, it’s an ussie with her dad (me). I just happened to catch us when I was talking, and she was bored to tears. That yawn could be used for a dental exam. I have owned eight dogs in my lifetime, and she is by far the best. She is the most empathetic dog I have ever seen or heard of. If I raise my voice at all about anything (like a Mariner home run or a website that won’t work), she is right next to me, licking my ear and trying to sit in my lap to calm me down. Her usual resting spot is on one of our laps.
If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera — Lewis Hine.
by Jim Bellomo | Sep 7, 2025 | Photography
Another week, another seven photos… or maybe a few more. The crazy flower I found in our friend Judy’s garden in Chilliwack, BC, is really cool. Not too happy with the flags from Monday. It was just an exercise to see if I could remember how to do certain things in Photoshop. I just realized I didn’t do a weekly Keeley. Shame on me. I’ll have to do two next week. Until then, enjoy.
PS: Don’t forget you can click the photos and see them enlarged.
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As you can see, I did something quite different today. I did take a photograph with my Nikon. Since it was Labor Day, I was out driving to the grocery store, and many houses had flags displayed in front to celebrate our national holiday. We have one as well, but ours (unlike the rest) is made of metal. I wanted to do something somewhat patriotic today, so I took a photo of our metal flag, duplicated it several times, and used different neural filters in Photoshop, dropped in a background, and there you have it. Not just a photograph, but a photo illustration. It’s been so long since I used Photoshop in that way that it was kind of fun to remember the techniques.
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Woooo! I was just lucky that I took this photo on my iPhone and sent it to my best buddy while I was on my walk yesterday. Otherwise, I would have broken my streak of taking a photo every day. This is the only thing I captured yesterday. It’s not one of my favorites, but it’s a photograph. I did six miles, starting in downtown Redmond and heading out on the beautiful Redmond Connector trail. I’m so thankful that I try to always send my Chilliwack, BC friend, so I had this picture to keep my 2025 journey going.
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We are in Canada visiting two of our good friends, and one of them is a Master Gardener! She makes my sad attempt feel even more feeble. She grows from seeds. This flower is amazing. It’s called celosia, and it’s awesome. It feels fuzzy. Just a fun plant.
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We had our monthly Travel Club meeting tonight, and once again, it gave me a chance to capture some interesting faces. These individuals were completely absorbed in the attention to our speaker, Kevin from Overseas Adventure Travel. He was there to describe our upcoming Travel Club trip to Scotland, England, and the Orkney Islands. The group was entirely captivated by Kevin’s presentation.
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Out for a walk today, and it was HOT in the sun. So I cut through the forest, and along the way, I took this shot. I just love the trails and the beauty of the greenery. Trilogy is such a beautiful place to live. This shot is just a few hundred yards from our home. It’s so great to live in a place this beautiful.
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Visited the Redmond Saturday Market today (because, well, it’s Saturday ?). Since the season started, these mushrooms have caught my eye. They are very interesting, and there are so many types. The problem has always been that they are very popular, and I couldn’t get close enough without someone getting in the way of my shot. But today, the booth was without customers, so I got a chance to photograph the tiny world of mushrooms for the first time this year.
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On my walk today, I took a photo of some horseback riders on the Tolt Pipeline Trail, and a little later, I cheated. If you’ve been following along since the first of the year, you know I have been taking quarterly photos of Welcome Lake on this walk. My next one isn’t due until October 1, but as I crossed the bridge at the end of the lake today, I couldn’t help myself and snapped this shot. That lake is pretty all year, but summer is best.
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On my walk today, I took a photo of some horseback riders on the Tolt Pipeline Trail, and a little later, I cheated. If you’ve been following along since the first of the year, you know I have been taking quarterly photos of Welcome Lake on this walk. My next one isn’t due until October 1, but as I crossed the bridge at the end of the lake today, I couldn’t help myself and snapped this shot. That lake is pretty all year, but summer is best.
Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second. – Marc Riboud
