Category Archives: Landscape and Nature Photography

Giggsters One of Tacoma’s Best Landscape Photographers in 2021

January 6, 2022 by admin | 4 Comments

Hi Friends.

It’s no secret that the Pacific Northwest is home to some of the most majestic scenery in the United States. Breathtaking coastlines, lush forests, and gushing waterfalls lie around every corner, offering plenty of inspiration for landscape photographers. As a result, Tacoma and Pierce County is home to some of the best in the business, who have made documenting natural scenes their mission.

We are happy to report that I made Giggsters list as “One of Tacoma’s Best Landscape Photographers” for 2021. Quite an honor to be sure.

Head over to their page at this link to see: https://giggster.com/blog/landscape-photographers-tacoma-wa/

And as always, check out my landscape portfolio page or scroll through this blog to see some of my work.

Blessings,

Chris.

Also posted in General Tagged landscape, landscape photography, photographer, pierce county photographer, puyallup photographer, tacoma photographer |

It’s Another Snow Day 2021

December 31, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Happy New Years my Friends,

If you live in the Puget Sound region, you are well aware that we had a bit of a snow event that kicked off on Christmas Day. As I mentioned in my last post it wasn’t quite the white Christmas that we always dream about but it was close enough for us not to complain. That event kicked off the week with a number of inches and as it continued into the week picked up a few more inches.

So I took the drone out for a couple of flights as the weather allowed. First around the neighborhood and surrounding areas and then down to a local lake for a bit of a flyaround. I tried the another lake yesterday and I was able to unlock the drone and get it airborne-something that I hadn’t been able to do in at that location for a while. I got a few interesting shots and compiled a bit of video for your enjoyment.

Enjoy the video. I’ll post some of the pics next week.

Blessings,

Chris.

Also posted in Drone Photography Tagged aerial photography, drone, landscape, Pierce County, puyallup photographer, snow, washington state |

It’s a Snow Day 2021

December 28, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Greetings Friends,

And Merry Christmas / Happy New Years to you.

If you live in the Puget Sound region, you are well aware that we had a bit of a snow event that kicked off on Christmas Day. It wasn’t quite a white Christmas for us but it was close enough for us not to complain. Overnight we accumulated a number of inches and for this area it means catastrophe, meteorologicly speaking. And in continued into Sunday and subsided yesterday.

So I took the drone out for a bit of a flight. First around the neighborhood and surrounding areas and then down to a local lake for a bit of a flyaround. I tried another lake but I couldn’t unlock the drone and get it airborne due to my own mistake with the coding. Nonetheless, I got a few interesting shots and compiled a bit of video for your enjoyment.

Enjoy the video.

Blessings,

Chris.

Also posted in Drone Photography Tagged aerial photography, aerial videography, drone, landscape, Pierce County, puyallup photographer, snow, washington state |

Drone Launch Aerial Photography Contest 2021 Finalist!

December 17, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Hello friends,

I’m so happy to report today that one of my photographs (see below) was one of the finalists in the Drone Launch Academy’s 2021 Aerial Photography Contest.

Earlier this year, I was out flying my drone in the Mt. St. Helens area attempting to find a good vantage point of the volcano while still maintaining the legal ability to do so. When I was done and working my way back home, I decided to take the scenic route and find areas to fly around and shoot some photographs and video.

When low and behold I came across a lake that I knew had an incredible view of Mt. Rainier on one side, but it was inaccessible. Fortunately for me, I had the drone and was able to position it in an area to capture the photo. Luck was on my side, too, as it was during the golden hour and the light falling on the mountain gave me an incredible site to behold.

Anyway, you can find their post on their blog at the following link: https://dronelaunchacademy.com/dla-photography-contest-2021-finalists/

As always, thank you for your support and for being my friend. And if you want to view some more our my work, visit some of my portfolio pages.

Chris

Blessings and Merry Christmas to you.

Also posted in Drone Photography Tagged aerial photography, drone, drone photography, landscape, mt. Rainier, photo contest, Pierce County, puyallup photographer |

Photos of Mt. St. Helens in Summer

October 28, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Hi Friends,

So in one of my last posts, I shared about a road trip I recently completed to Mt. St. Helens, specifically to Windy Ridge. Of course I brought my camera and drone and got some photographs but unfortunately they are not ready to share yet.

So as an alternative, I thought that I would share a few photos from a trip I took to the other side of the mountain a couple of years ago. These pics are from the Johnson Ridge side of the mountain. Looking right down into the crater is an amazing sight and one that everyone should take the trip to witness.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy these pictures.

Blessings to you.

Chris.

Tagged johnson ridge observatory, mountain, mt st helens, puyallup photographer, volcano, washington, washington state, windy ridge |

Some of my Aerial Drone Photographs Around Kona, Hawaii

October 23, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Aloha e na makamaka (Aloha my friends),

Last month I finally made it back to the big island of Hawaii. We have been trying to get back there for two years, but something called Covid kept getting in the way (you know, travel restrictions, testing, quarantines, etc.). But thanks be to God we got back for a week of diving and some relaxation. Ok, well not much relaxation but definitely some diving.

One of the things that I was able to do this time was bring the drone with me and get out flying a little bit. I managed to get it into the air more than once or twice and flew a little bit outside downtown Kona, on a lava field east of the airport (with FAA permission and all safety precautions taken, of course) and another close to South Point, around the Kona Small Boat Harbor, around Puako, and more sites along the south end of the island. And yes, the blobs are old lava fields.

I have to say that I am really enjoying the challenge of aerial photography. It is providing me some things to learn, new places to photograph, and new perspectives to see. It is not easy but it is something that I really enjoyed on this trip.

Lana koʻu manaʻo e hauʻoli ʻoe i kēia mau kiʻi paʻi e like me ka hauʻoli i ka hana ʻana iā lākou (I hope that you enjoy these photographs as much as enjoyed working on them).

Mahalo.

Chris

P.S. Want to see more of my aerial photography content. Click on the portfolio to see more. Thanks.

Also posted in Drone Photography, Travel Photography Tagged aerial, boats, hawaii, kona, landscape, mountain, Ocean, puyallup photographer, travel photography |

Shot of the Day, October 3, 2021

October 3, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Good morning Friends,

For today’s photograph of the day, I am choosing another aerial photo that I took last week.

I had some extra time to myself on Friday, so I decided to get into the car and drive. Once I loaded my car with my camera (of course) and the drone, I just set off without a destination in mind. I figured I would just let the car guide where and I was just going along for the ride.

Well, it wasn’t too long before the car decided that it wanted to head into the mountains. Headed south, it ended up near Mt. St. Helens past Randle, Wa. Well, not to belabor the point I got a chance to fly the drone on the outside of the no-fly area before heading back down and stopping at a few places along the way to get some more photographs.

One such place was at Mineral Lake. I used to fish there decades ago so I was somewhat familiar with the view, but the clouds and such were such that I knew that if conditions were such I would have a lovely view of the mountains. I launched the bird and off I flew to the other end of the lake, composed my photograph, and snapped away.

This stop did not disappoint. And the photograph didn’t disappoint either. In fact, its my favorite of the year so far (not that that is saying much with all the Covid crap going on) but still it far outranks all the others.

I hope that you enjoy this photograph as much as I do.

Blessings,

Chris.

Also posted in Drone Photography, Shot of the Day Tagged aerial photography, DJI, drone photography, drone pilot, landscape, licensed drone pilot, mavik 2 pro, mineral lake, mt. Rainier, puuallup, puyallup photographer, washington, washington state |

Shot of the Day, July 11 2021

July 11, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Hello again friends,

Today is a busy day for me. Well, you know, this will be my 2nd blog post of the day. Of course, nothing else in my life is going or right now. Haha. Or is it?

Yesterday, I had to drive out to see my friends at YSS Dive in Hoodsport, Wa. I like to get out to Hoodsport and dive occasionally (some great diving in in Hood Canal), and if not to dive then to just visit. And yesterday was a social visit more than anything else (no dives planned). So off I went but brought Tweetie-bird (the drone) with me to see if I could get some shots of the area and whatever else might have come up. When the visit was over, out came the bird and up I went.

So for today’s 2nd post, I am going back to a shot of the day. This photograph is a high aerial image looking down on the Hoodsport Marina and part of downtown Hoodsport (the YSS Dive shop is in the photograph just off to the left of the pier). At the time I took this image, low-tide had just occurred so the water level was really low. You can also see some of the algae bloom going on right now as the water warms up and things in the water start to grow.

I hope that you enjoy the photograph and it somehow enriches your day. And if you enjoy my posts, please don’t hesitate to comment or head over to my Instagram page to follow for more pictures.

Blessings,

Chris

Also posted in Drone Photography, Shot of the Day Tagged aerial photography, dive shop, drone, drone pilot, hoodport, landscape, low tide, marina, puyallup photographer, washington, water, yss dive |

Video over Pierce County, July 4, 2021

July 11, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Hello friends,

So if any of you follow my Instagram or Facebook pages and posts, you’ll know that I took the drone out for an extended flight on Independence Day last week. I flew over Thea’s Park in Tacoma, some of Commencement Bay, the Puyallup River, and some of the old fields in Puyallup, not to mention over the neighborhood fireworks once the sun set (click on the word “firework” to be taken to that post).

What I hadn’t done until now is post video of those flights. Here is short compilation video (click the play button in the center of the screen to view).

Click on the tile to view that video. I hope that you enjoy some of the footage. And please call me if there is anything we can do to help you with your business or personal project.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out my other YouTube videos and follow me on Instagram.

Blessings

Chris.

Also posted in Drone Photography Tagged aerial photography, commencement bay, drone, drone footage, drone pilot, Pierce County, Puyallup, puyallup river, Tacoma |

More Cool Pictures from the Florida Keys – Underwater

July 8, 2021 by admin | Comments Off

Hello again friends,

So as promised, I am now posting the underwater photographs I took while I was in the Florida Keys last month.

While the weather and visibility conditions were not favorable (in fact, 50% of our dives were canceled because of high winds and extremely rough seas), I still managed to get off a few shots and got some cool shots of a variety of fish, coral, sponges, and even a photography of my buddy/cousin Walter who was OW certified on this trip.

I ran across a HUGE nurse shark on one of my first dives there but wasn’t able to get a shot off before the individual I was diving with at the time took off on me and I had to give up on the picture to follow her (she obviously didn’t listen to my brief on the boat deck before we got in the water and didn’t understand what an underwater camera is for). Just a reminder to all to all my diver friends….always stay with your buddy. ALWAYS! But I digress. That shark was one of the most beautiful ones I’ve ever run across and her image will forever remain etched in my mind.

We dove with two operations while we were there. One was based in Marathon and the other in Islamorada. While both were exceptional, the one operating out of Marathon was severely overpriced and I will not dive with them again when I return. Not only were they severely overpriced, but they had the gall to automatically include a 20% gratuity when they charged me. Now I am an exceptional tipper, but I want a tip to be my choice and an expression of the exceptional service I may have received. If it’s automatic, it kind of defeats the purpose of a tip-right? So, 1) what motivation do those that are working have to do a good job if the risk of being stiffed is removed and 2) how do I even know that the tip is going to those that its supposed to? Ok, now I’ve digressed again. Sorry.

So the operation that I highly recommend is Islamorada Dive Center out of Islamorada, Florida (link embedded in the name). They were awesome and did everything to make our experience memorable and wanting to go back. I am sorry that we didn’t get more of a chance to dive with them.

I hope that you enjoy these photographs as much as I do taking them and sharing. As always, please feel free to provide a comment or two and share the blog with your friends. And if you want to see some of my other pictures from this trip, click the link below.

https://chrismckennaphotography.com/2021/06/my-cool-pics-of-the-florida-keys-2021/

Blessings,

Chris