Tag: plants

Snow Days January 2020

With a few extra snow days, I have started getting some practice in using my new Nikon D3300 DSLR Camera. See some of the photos below and check out the stories behind each photo!

This past week has been filled with snow days, meaning classes at Western have been cancelled. This has given me a lot of extra time to get out play in the snow and take some photos with my new Nikon D3300 camera. It’s been awhile since using a DSLR. Remembering how to adjust the manual settings correctly took some getting used to and took more time than I thought it would. While these photos aren’t necessarily my best work, I am proud of the shots I took and can’t wait to get some more practice in as time goes on.

Here are some photos of my first day out in the snow (1/13/2020). I was walking and pausing to take photos on the trail I normally walk to get to school when all of a sudden two deer ran out in front of me. Luckily I had just finished figuring out the correct light settings for my camera and was able to take a few photos of them. It amazed me how used to people they are. They could hear the shutter of the camera, but they would casually look up and continue doing their own thing. I also was able to get a cool photo of a bird sitting high up in a tree.

On the second snow day we had (1/15/2020), I decided to go explore Sehome Arboretum on WWU’s campus. The trails were pretty snowy, but I was able to get some cool photos of moss and leaves. There was a lot more people out on the trails than there was on Monday. This made it a little more difficult to take photos, as it felt like people were constantly passing me.

I am proud of the photos above, but am excited to get some more practice with my new camera and get faster at switching the settings based on the environment around me. I started to realize how important lighting is when taking photos manually in the snow, especially how the light reflects off of it.

The Amazon Spheres

Killing some time before going to the Lion King performance at the Paramount in Downtown Seattle.

The outside of the Amazon Spheres: look how green the inside looks!

Over break I got the chance to go into the Amazon Spheres in Downtown Seattle. In order to get into the main part of the domes you need to be with an amazon employee and that’s where my boyfriends family comes in! His older brother and wife both work there and were able to get us in to see the many wonders of the Spheres.

When first entering, we were hit with the hot, humid air that fills up the spheres to keep all the plants alive in an environment like the ones they came from. It was amazing to see the walls of this place covered with greenery and full of life. These Spheres were the perfect mix of nature as well as a coffee shop kind of feel with all the many places to sit and eat. There was a coffee stand and a place to get donuts, along with other places to eat (these weren’t open so I’m not quite sure what was in them). The donuts though were AMAZING! Definitely some of the best donuts I’ve ever had. They were fluffy and filled with a vanilla cream, but they weren’t too sweet which made me hungry for more. I really wish I would have gotten a photo of them before devouring it.

After donuts, we meandered our way through the four levels of the spheres seeing countless flowers, trees, and places to sit and talk with friends. Check out some of the photos below of the different plants I thought were interesting as well as the ambiance this place embodied…


  • A coffee shop kind of feel within the Spheres…
  • Some of the plants within the Spheres

The Amazon Spheres were a really fun way to cut down on the time we had before getting to the Lion King performance. It was pretty humid and sticky, but all the flora was really interesting to see. The layout and decorations of the Spheres were beautifully thought out and all the common space made the entire Sphere feel welcoming.

Another plant I found in the Spheres