by Jim Bellomo | Apr 6, 2025 | Photography
Spring got me a few great shots of flowers and trees and, of course, my weekly Keeley. And even a food shot, too. My favorite is easy. I love the series I took of people at our Thursday night Travel Club meeting. It’s the yearbooker in me. I just love shooting people…with my camera ?.
Here are my weekly photos from my current 365 project for those of you who are not following along every day. I have a few more people in my shots this week, which makes me happy. As an old yearbook photographer (for more than 50 years), I much prefer to shoot photos of people, especially the four I captured tonight. By the way, that’s my favorite—one of my favorite girls.
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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Last week, I took a food shot of a fish stew I made. I enjoy cooking fish. When I returned to cooking after Kathleen and I got married, fish was not part of my repertoire. However, since then, I have discovered that not only do I love cooking fish, but I also love eating it. I have eight fish recipes that I rotate on Monday nights, and this is one of my favorites: One-Pan Roasted Fish with Cherry Tomatoes. It’s delicious. Send me a note, and I will share the recipe with you. It’s one of the easiest fish dishes I know. You can expect another food shot tomorrow, as we have guests coming in from out of town, which means more cooking.
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Way back on January 1st, when I started this 365 project, I took a photo of Welcome Lake. I also mentioned in the caption that I would return here every season to take another photo from the same exact spot. So, my first one was on January 1. Today is the second, and as you can see, spring is definitely here. Unless you live in Washington state, in which case, April 1 is just Mother Nature and the calendar fooling you.
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I love me some layers. We have guests with us for a couple of days, and we took them on a tour of Trilogy. Bonnie wanted to see the best view in Trilogy, and this is it. It looks out to the foothills of the Cascades. With the weather we had today, it provided me with some great layers as I passed each set of foothills with my lens.
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And even more. We are a talkative bunch
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More discussion.
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Two other friends who are officers in our garden club talking about their meeting next Monday.
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A good friend who travels even more than we do.
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A discussion outside the doors.
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Prior to the meeting, we display impressive travel photos while people are chatting. That is what she is observing.
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Tonight was the April meeting of our Trilogy Travel Club. The Travel Club is the largest here at Trilogy. When I learned that, I realized we had moved to the right place, and I joined immediately. That was two years ago. Now, I am the president, and we meet once a month to either discuss an upcoming trip or hear a report on someone else’s trip. I wasn’t doing the main presentation tonight, so I took my camera along to capture some of the club members before the presentation on Kenya started. When I processed the photos later, I couldn’t pick a favorite, so here are my favorites. I love photographing people. It’s a kind of street photography, but indoors.
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Spring has arrived. These two trees, especially the one on the right, are perfect examples of that. There are so many trees blossoming that people with allergies are intentionally staying indoors. That’s sad, but it has left more of this incredible beauty, not far from our house, available to those of us without allergies. ?
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This is Kari’s Bog. It’s about a three-block walk from our house to the trail that leads to the overlook where I took this photo. The Kari’s Bog Trail runs alongside Trilogy property for a good distance, and about halfway between our house and the end of the trails is this overlook. In the winter, you can see more of the water, but by July, it will be mostly covered in lily pads and other flora, making it look more bog-like.
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It’s time for your weekly Keeley. This time, I’m using my 50mm for a close-up while she sleeps. Naturally, I woke her up, and she gave me the stink eye. But in case I haven’t mentioned it, she is truly the most awesome dog in the world. Throughout our lives, Kathleen and I have owned at least 10 dogs between us, and we’ve decided that Keeley is the best.
Photography acts as a teaser, suggesting we can know something that we can never know. And the more we can’t obtain it, the more we want it. —Alison Jackson
by Jim Bellomo | Mar 30, 2025 | Photography
I wish tonight were the 31st so I could wrap up all of March. But you can’t just change the calendar. So, this is still the last big batch in March.
Here are my weekly photos from my current 365 project for those of you not following along every day. I have a few more people in my shots this week, which makes me happy. As an old yearbooker (for more than 50 years), I much prefer to shoot photos of people, especially the four I captured tonight. BTW: that’s my favorite. The one of my favorite girls.
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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The aftermath of my radiation treatment has left me feeling low today, so here’s a photo from my office. These two figures have been in my office for over 20 years. I can’t remember where I got them, but they’re among my favorite cartoon characters—Rocky and Bullwinkle. If you don’t recognize them, I recommend searching for them and watching a bunch of episodes. However, I’m not pleased with the photograph. I took it with my 50mm f1.4 lens, and when shooting at f2.0, it shortens the focal length so much that even though Rocky’s face is in focus, Bullwinkle’s is not.
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We have some owls in the backyard. Until today, it was hard to see them because they were covered by dead hydrangea blooms that needed pruning. But today was the day! With highs in the 70s and a beautiful blue sky, Kathleen went out after lunch, pruned the blooms, and lo and behold, our owls appeared as colorful as ever.
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I’m trying something new with a food shot—a very tight crop. This dish is cod, celery, and potato stew with coconut and herbs. It’s absolutely delicious. You make the stew and then poach the fish on top. So good! Searching for a photo for tonight, I shot the pan on the stove while the fish was poaching. I captured the entire pot, part of our stove, and some utensils. However, when I reviewed it during processing, I wasn’t satisfied with the composition. But when I ran it through a program I use to sharpen and enhance my photos, it cropped closely in the preview of the shot. I really liked what I saw. If you would like the recipe, let me know, and I will send it your way.
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Tonight was Supper Club, a once-a-month event when our wonderful Chef Andrew here at Trilogy prepares one of his amazing dinners. We get to gather with several other Trilogy members for a lovely meal. I decided to bring my camera along to capture some casual portraits. One thing about our age group is that we all have so much character in our faces. This delightful lady was a joy to dine with, and she is just one of the many friends we have made here at Trilogy, which is one of the big reasons we love this place. Plus, I had the opportunity to take this great photo.
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We had to be out of the house today while some work was being done. I picked up Keeley and Kathleen, and we drove around Redmond, Kirkland, and Totem Lake. We took some photos downtown. I asked Kathleen to help me choose one, and this was the one she liked. I took it in Redmond’s downtown park, where there is a very spaceship-like stage with mirrors underneath the open-air roof. I just happened to look up and took this self-portrait.
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Here’s what many of you wait for every week: it’s the Keeley of the week. Today’s post features a fun shot of her beautiful face. I have an online photography friend who is also doing this 365 project with me. He uses professional models because he is that kind of photographer. I have Keeley. His work is awesome. You can see it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/TroyChildsPhotography/
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I don’t often get all my favorite girls on one couch. Our new favorite, Keeley, is in the lap of my amazing daughter, Jenna, who is sitting next to my wonderful granddaughter, Maylee, who is beside her BFF, Livie. They are all here tonight for a Spring Break Ladies Tour while my grandson, Mason, and son-in-law, Joel, are at Disneyland, where Mason’s band is playing. They stopped here for tonight and will move north tomorrow to spend the night at Joel’s mom’s house.
With photography, you zero in; you put a lot of energy into short moments, and then you go on to the next thing. —Robert Mapplethorpe
by Jim Bellomo | Mar 23, 2025 | Photography
This was the week I finished my radiation therapy. Twenty weekdays in a row, and it felt like FOREVER! I would go into details of why it sucked, but no one really wants to know that much ?.
This week’s pics even include a couple of shots of the place where I spent time with the giant machine and another of the awesome people who took such great care of me. Beyond that, there are just a bunch of other pics I got this week. I have to say that my weekly Keeley is going to be my favorite this week because Keeley is pretty much my favorite every day. She has significantly improved our lives and our general mood. I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but she is a certified support dog. Her previous owners had to get her that distinction to be able to fly her to Singapore inside the plane. But we believe it. She knows when we are feeling down, and she (all 35 lbs of her) will climb into your lap and cuddle with you. There’s no way to be down when this dog is doing that to you.
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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I love clouds. I love photographing them. When some people think about clouds (you know who you are ?), all they envision is rain. I enjoy those great big clouds with plenty of blue sky surrounding them. Maybe it’s just the blue sky I adore. Here in the Seattle area, after we’ve had rain—as we did in the early hours today—and it starts to clear up, you get the most stunning blue sky, and the clouds appear huge, puffy, and bright white. That, to me, is the sky just screaming—“TAKE MY PICTURE!” So I did. I should add that I did nothing to this photo. That blue is right out of the camera. I left the tree because I wanted to connect to the ground.
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Spring is nearly here. I know that it officially begins on Thursday, but here in the Seattle area, we are seeing the daffodils sprouting, along with overnight temperatures in the 30s. Either way, our last two days have been only partly cloudy with that beautiful blue sky I showed you yesterday. Today, those lovely flowers caught my attention.
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Both Kathleen and I are huge Muppet fans. We always have been. Since I am the cook in the family, I have my very own Swedish Chef. Therefore, it became clear that an hour before going to bed, I realized I had not yet taken a photo. As particular as I am, I have to take a photo every day this year.
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On my second-to-last day of radiation at Kaiser-Permanente on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, I was driving through Volunteer Park again. I realized it would be wrong to take just the Midnight Sun sculpture (a few weeks ago with the Space Needle in it) without capturing a shot of the Volunteer Park Conservatory. The conservatory was built in 1912 from, believe it or not, a kit; it houses some amazing plants. Maybe later in the year, the interior will appear in my photos. You never know.
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Today was my last day of radiation for my prostate cancer, so I had to get a photo of my technicians as well as the technology they used. This will be one of the few shots I take this year with my phone. It’s a very unusual image because the part they’re in turned blue. I couldn’t see that on my phone when I snapped the picture, but when I opened up all three copies I took, there was a blue hue on them and the machine. As you can see from my previous shot, there’s no blue present there. That in itself is kind of scary. I wanted to share this because it has been a HUGE part of my life for the last four weeks.
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Saturday night is the time for our weekly Keeley. She should be worn out because, to celebrate my finishing radiation, we did a 4.56-mile walk today. I think I overdid it. It was a long and busy day. She usually perches on our recliner when Kathleen is sitting in it, but I was going for the hawk-looking-for-prey vibe.
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My oldest and dearest friend in the world (we’ve been friends since 5th grade) sent me a beautiful bouquet to celebrate the end of my radiation treatments. I only wish we had stayed in touch (there was a time when we lost contact) when she went through the same ordeal and beat cancer herself; I could have sent her the same beauty. Thanks, Randy.
Photography to me is catching a moment which is passing and which is true. —Jacques-Henri Lartigue
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.