Brian Xavier Photography

The Little Things

The small things that also show up in spring. Little tiny moss flowers.

New Life Appears

Our family went on a hike along the Cedar River this afternoon. The beauty of early spring is now all around. The new and living greens are appearing everywhere against the backdrop of the dead browns of last year. Today is the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, and on this day we remember that the Bible says, "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." In the spring, as surely as it must have been at the beginning, His creation seems to be the most beautiful.

1951 Studebaker Champion

Looking quite futuristic and perhaps torpedo powered, the shapes and shiny chrome on this Studebaker Champion really caught my eye. From a 5 foot 8 inch perspective I think this car looks rather passive and quirky. No offense to anyone who feels otherwise. In the light and point of view of this image I think I captured a different personality; aggressive, powerful, and blinged out. This car is in the line-up at the America's Car Musuem in Tacoma, Washington.

Sunny Tops and Icy Skirts

It was a gorgeous sunny day, but it was crispy and cold too. The trees on the flanks of these Cascade Mountains are covered in frost and light snow, but the late afternoon sun shone gloriously on the mountain tops! This end of the lake is free of ice because the sun reaches it enough hours of the day to mellt it, but the south end of Gold Creek Pond is covered in thick ice already. This is a tripod shot, 0.6 second exposure a f/20, 11.5mm using the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 wonder. I took two shots and merged them in Photomatix Pro 5 so I could pull the frosted trees out of the shaded areas on the flank of the mountian.

Colorful Wheel

I went with a few photog friends to Seattle the last night of November. The wheel was doing a great light show so while we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive, I took a few shots. Rain was predicted for this evening, but thankfully it didn't come on time.

Stars Reflected in Tipsoo Lake

This is a stitch of 6 photos, then enhanced in Lightroom to emphasize the stars and the reflection in the lake.

Misty Morning on Reflection Lake

I had hoped for a colorful sunrise reflected in this peaceful lake with a view of Mount Rainier in the background, but the fog had other plans for me this particular morning. So instead I found beauty in the shapes of the trees, the intersection of the shorelines, and the glassy stillness of the water. To accentuate those elements of the scene, I have made this a black and white image; just for this one time, color will not be a distraction.

Frosted Leaves

A black and white does a better job of highlighting the delicate, furry frost on these leaves. The shape of the leaves and the pattern of the veins along the leaves caught my attention.

Friends at the Park

Two women sit together chatting while I include them in my Seattle panorama. It was a quite Sunday evening with sunset just minutes away. The view is showing part of the Victor Steinbrueck Park in the foreground. In the background are the Market Place Tower on the far left, and Market Place North, the sloping building next to it. This is a stitch of 6 shots and then corrected for skew and cropped.