Bellingham Washington – Jolene's Life in Focus

The Red Umbrella Mystery

January 27, 2016Posted in BellinghamTagged Bellingham Washington, cellphone photography, photography, rain, red, Umbrella1 Comment

When I went to lunch this afternoon, I found this abandoned umbrella, slightly damaged, lolling in the middle of the sidewalk. Of course, this begged the question – why was it there?

Perhaps the owner went into The Underground, where you get a free straw with every drink. Who could say no to that?!

Or, perhaps the owner was so overjoyed by a brief period of sunshine that she cast off the umbrella and went skipping off down the sidewalk, thinking she’d never need it again? (Sorry to say, a half hour later she did…)

Maybe it was ripped from its owner’s hands by a gust of wind, flying far across Bellingham?

Or, could it be that it is owned by no one? It’s an enchanted umbrella, appearing before a storm to warn residents of an impending downpour. Everyone knows that TRUE Pacific Northwesterners don’t even use umbrellas…

Stop and Smell the Agave

April 18, 2015March 30, 2017Posted in BellinghamTagged Bellingham Washington, photography, tequila, tequila flights, The Crossing Guide2 Comments

Sitting at Jalapeños in Barkley Village, I watch bartender Maribel Rivas pull out an iron flight caddy and fill the first of three cascading shot glasses with Silver.

I’m a little nervous. After my first Irish whiskey flight years ago, I booked an airline ticket to Dublin. So, as Maribel pours Reposado into the second shot glass, I wonder how I’ll handle my tequila and if the weather is nice in Mexico. Have I kept enough of my New Year’s resolutions to feel comfortable in a bikini?

Deciding that I have not, I put away my smart phone and watch her pour Añejo into the third glass. Besides, I’m no longer a college kid drinking indiscriminately and making careless decisions. It’s time to discard old habits and drink like an adult, to stop and smell the agave. The sophisticated drinker can identify the different classifications of tequila and appreciate their color, aroma, and taste…without a hangover or unwanted airline tickets…

You can read the rest of my article on The Crossing Guide, and then impress your friends with your knowledge of tequila. (Throw out terms like reposado and añejo, and you’re sure to gain a little respect.)

Here are some additional photos from my tequila trips to Jalapeños, The Cantina at Silver Reef Casino, and Frida’s.

Winter on Lake Padden

January 13, 2015Posted in BellinghamTagged Bellingham Washington, Blackandwhite, D800, dock, fog, lake, Lake Padden, Nikon, Pacific Northwest, photography, Winter9 Comments

This scene on Lake Padden (south of Bellingham, Washington – a place without snow) is winter to me: the naked trees, the fog, the way the neglected dock slopes into the water.

What is winter like where you live?

Canopy of Light

December 16, 2014January 10, 2015Posted in BellinghamTagged Bellingham Washington, Canopy of Fog, Chuckanut Drive, D800, fog, Nikon, photography19 Comments

The clouds that settled over Bellingham Bay on Sunday morning began drifting into the Chuckanut Mountains by early afternoon. I was driving south on Chuckanut Drive at the time, through the place where the sunshine met the fog, breathless at the beauty of it and desperate for a place to pull over with my camera.

When I finally found a safe place, I thought, “The only thing that could make this shot better is a subject – a car or a bicyclist, maybe – driving through the light.”

Not even 60 seconds later, a car pulled up and a man said to me, “Great lighting! Do you want to use my girlfriend as a model?”

“Umm…yes…” Even now, with the picture as proof, I can’t believe that really happened.

Sometimes a prayer, a wish, or some seemingly insignificant request whispered up to God, does get answered.

When the Fog Rolls In

December 8, 2014December 8, 2014Posted in BellinghamTagged Bellingham Washington, black and white photography, D800, fog, Lake Padden, Nikon, photography, when the fog rolls in4 Comments

Redefining Happily Ever After

August 18, 2014August 18, 2014Posted in TravelTagged being single, Bellingham Washington, D800, divorce, Happily Ever After, Nikon, photography, sunset7 Comments

I got married 18 years ago yesterday. Through some odd twist of fate in the Skagit County Clerk’s office, I was granted a divorce exactly 10 years to the day later. In the time since, I’ve literally flown around the world looking for that special someone. The only person I’ve found is myself. I’m pretty happy with her.

My dad doesn’t believe me. He called a while back, telling me how he prays every day that God will bring a man into my life. I told him not to pray for a man. If he’s going to pray for anything, pray that I’ll be happy, that an editor from a travel magazine will call and offer me a job. There was a quiet sigh on the other end of the line. I’m sure he’s still back in Minnesota praying for my future second husband.

When I pitched my Ireland memoir to a literary agent last summer, she asked me, “So, did you end up with the man?”

I replied, “Do you see a ring on this finger?”

She said, “People want happy endings. They want to escape their lives and imagine a better one.”

“Well, those aren’t my readers.” And, I thought, you’re not the right agent.

Does happily ever after mean you must end up with someone? I think every man and woman should spend some time alone before answering that question. Not a week. Not a summer. You need enough good, quality time with yourself to fall in love with your life. Your life. Not someone else’s. Know that you can actually take care of yourself if you have to, that you can have fun on your own, that you can walk into a restaurant at a table set for two and not grow red with embarrassment when the server removes the second setting. Keep embarrassing yourself until you don’t give a shit about saying, “One for dinner please.”

Yesterday evening, I tossed my new camera in the passenger seat of my car. (I call him Nathaniel George, or Nat Geo for short.) As I drove around looking for a place to capture the sunset with Nat, I thought – I have a good life. Today I’m Bellingham, Washington. In a month I’ll be Ireland. If I meet a man, fine. If not, that’s okay too. All that really matters is that I’m traveling the world with my camera, and that’s cool to me. That’s my dream.

Happily ever after can mean whatever you want it to mean.

The World Around Me

July 22, 2014October 20, 2014Posted in BellinghamTagged Bellingham Washington, D7000, Lummi Shore, NDx400, Nik software, Nikon, photography4 Comments

I write about the world to understand it; I photograph the world to appreciate it.

Revisiting Angel Eyes

October 22, 2013June 5, 2014Posted in BellinghamTagged Angel Eyes, angel monument, Autumn, Bayview Cemetery, Bellingham Washington, D7000, ghost, Nikon, photography12 Comments

Waking up to another foggy morning, I decided it was time for an updated shot of ol’ Angel Eyes – especially because there seems to be so much interest in her this time of year.

I first posted pictures of Angel Eyes three years ago on my blog:

Her Angel Eyes are Haunted

Happy Halloween

Perhaps a spirit has attached itself to this monument? If so, it’s certainly a friendly one. I’ve never felt anything except peace while walking the grounds of Bayview.

A Walk in the Park

November 3, 2012Posted in BellinghamTagged Bellingham, Bellingham Washington, HDR, nature, Photo walk, photography, Photoshop, Whatcom Falls Park11 Comments

I had to deviate from my Ireland posts to show everyone what a beautiful fall day it is in Bellingham, Washington…and also ask a question about HDR photography. Recently, I found the HDR Toning option in PhotoShop. I’ve used it on a few of my photos, with some manual fine-tuning. I’m not sure if I like the results yet or not. I haven’t yet tried the traditional method of taking several photos and using software to combine the images into an HDR image. Any thoughts on methods that work well or produce a good result?

Growth

June 24, 2012Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bellingham Washington, books, chuckanut writers conference, D90, finding an agent, getting published, Jolene Hanson, memoir, photography, pitching memoir, the parting glass, writing17 Comments

I attended the Chuckanut Writers Conference this weekend and pitched my book, The Parting Glass, to 3 different agents. All three expressed interest. Two requested a couple of sample chapters via email and one wanted a completed manuscript. So, now I have the challenge of actually finishing my book. I’ve been so focused on perfecting every last sentence I write, that progress has been slow (although I am about 25,000 words in). Some valuable advice I got was to set a minimum writing goal. Each day, for example, maybe I write 15 minutes at an absolute bare minimum or maybe 2 pages. I can perfect it later.

I know many hours of writing and self-promotion are in my future, but that’s okay. It will all be worth it when I see my book on the shelves of Village Books. It will be worth it when I can actually do what I love for a living. I’ve never wanted anything so badly in my entire life. And to think (as my friend Sherry pointed out), I almost took a political science class last fall instead of Laura Kalpakian’s Memory into Memoir class. Sometimes one decision can change the course of your entire life.

GP Destruction

February 18, 2012March 14, 2012Posted in UncategorizedTagged Abandoned Building, Bellingham Washington, building demolition, georgia-pacific property, GP Demolition, Nikon D90, photography, port of bellingham, port of bellingham GP tour4 Comments

Last year the Port of Bellingham offered tours of the old Georgia-Pacific property, the last opportunity prior to its demolition. See Port of Bellingham – GP Photography Tour post. See also my Facebook photo gallery.

Demolition is now in full swing. Since I had the day off, I thought I’d walk by from a legal and safe distance, and snap a few photos. Now I want to destroy something. This looks like fun!

Tracey2 — Tracey standing in the Danger Zone last August. The section behind her was destroyed today.

Silhouettes on the Bay

September 6, 2011March 14, 2012Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bellingham Washington, Labor Day Weekend, Marine Park, photography, sunset11 Comments

I’m at the end of a nice, WARM, and relaxing Labor Day weekend. Here are some photos taken at the start of my mini-vacation at Marine Park in Bellingham.