Comments on: Cold…but Awesomely Gorgeous in Seattle

By: Jason Brown

Jason Brown — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:31:28 +0000

It’s already that time of year again — let’s see some fall photos!

By: Get Ready to Sell with ARDELL - Part 1 | Rain City Guide | A Seattle Real Estate Blog...

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:17:11 +0000

[...] So Step 2 for me is to hire a professional photographer to take view shots. For the cost of $400 to $500, Harley will come over on the day HE feels best, to take those view shots. Don’t leave photos of the view to chance. Get the photographer set from the beginning, and also snap photos on your own, at every opportunity. I already know that while I may be The Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World…or not , that Harley is much better equipped to take those view shots. Mother Nature may not cooperate when you get to the day you need those photos. So get the photographer in gear now, even though he likely will have to come back again when you are ready to list the home, for the inside shots. Give him a key to the house and say “Come by whenever you think it’s a good day for those view shots.” I have a West facing view, and I also want night shots. So the cost might be double at $800 to $1,000, but money well spent to highlight your #1 Home Feature. [...]

By: Freddie

Freddie — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:45:57 +0000

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing them.

By: Carol Williams

Carol Williams — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:10:52 +0000

ARDELL,
Before you complain about the cold, remember to check Wenatchee on http://www.Weather.com !

By: ARDELL

ARDELL — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:06:35 +0000

The kicker is that the days are also getting longer at the same time. It’s been absolutely fabulous! Nothing excites an agent more than the daylight hours getting longer and longer

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:49:07 +0000

I’ll take cold and sunny vs. slightly cold and rainy/cloudy any day of the week. This week has been nice!

By: Harley Lever

Harley Lever — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:41:02 +0000

Hi Ginger and thank you,

I use two Nikon D200’s. One has a 12mm-24mm lens which I use for interior shots and panorama shots. The other will either have a 70mm – 200mm for real estate listings with views or a 55mm – 70mm for tighter shots.

I use two cameras because of timing issues. Real estate with views are time critical shots because of what Nature brings to the table. The moon peaking over the mountains came and went in a matter of 2 minutes. Having the camera ready to go allowed me to take test pictures and adjust for lighting while capturing a couple of “keepers”.

There are less expensive options. The Nikon D80 and the NikonD40X offer the same 10.2 mega pixel sensor, but with less performance options and plastic bodies. I am extremely hard on all things electronic (you should see my cellphone graveyard) and need to have metal bodies.

The other major cost consideration are the lenses… the 70mm-200mm is a $2000 lens. While this is on the higher end of what you will use don’t be surprised to pay $600-$800 for each lens. Lenses are the only thing I will not compromise in quality otherwise you have a “Garbage In and Garbage Out” scenario.

By: Why would you not… « 1031 Like-Kind Exchange Blog

Why would you not… « 1031 Like-Kind Exchange Blog — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:25:21 +0000

[...] would you not… Jump to Comments want to live in Seattle? Thank you Ardell andHarley! [...]

By: Ginger Sala

Ginger Sala — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:02:19 +0000

Ardell, Harley, The photos are exquisite!!! What camera did you use Harley?

By: Harley Lever

Harley Lever — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:06:54 +0000

You will find that the there is some distortion in every lens that you use. Telephoto lenses as represented in pictures 1,2, and 4 have what is called “Barrel-Distortion”. These are seen in lenses that have large ranges in magnification from 18mm – 200mm they are the “All in One Lens”. The trade-off is that as you zoom in our out the edges appear to be slightly curved.

When you have super wide angle lenses such as picture 3 the trade-off is “fish-eye distortion” . This is caused by the spherical nature of the lens and has the opposite effect of Barrel Distortion in that the center becomes slightly squished and pushed further away as the edges remain focused and generally perfect. In picture 3 you will notice that the edges seem perfect, but Bellevue and the mountains seem further away and much smaller than they really are.

The good news is that distortion can be compensated for. Barrel distortion can be compensated for by caring a series of lenses 18mm-35mm 35mm-70mm and 70mm-200mm to cover a focal span. This minimizes the distortion by breaking up the focal lengths and allows for more true representation. Fisheye distortion can be compensated for through software such as Photoshop or certain filters.

After returning today and re-shooting Mt. Rainier I would say number 2 provides the most accurate representation of the proximity of Bellevue and the magnitude in size of the mountains.

The great news is that I like the new shot of Rainier better than the old one! I would like to thank Mother Nature for another spectacular show!!!