Until recently, it had been raining for nearly three weeks straight. During the gloomy weather, I upgraded my primary camera to a Panasonic Lumix G95. It was a long time coming, and I've been having a fantastic time getting familiar with my new camera. Despite the rainy days-- which are my favorite, anyway-- I headed up into the mountains for my first ~ actual ~ hike with my G95. It's probably obvious from the shift that's happened on this blog, but I've been taking my photography a lot more seriously and I've been really focused on learning, experimenting, and practicing every single day. That said, I'm excited to share these photos with you! I had such a great time on that hike, and despite the tick I found crawling on me on the drive back, I can't wait to get back out there... just, maybe with some bug repellent next time. 

Author's note: This blog post is best read while listening to Bella's Lullaby. 

This is one of my favorite photos from this hike.

I decided to mainly hike trails along the waterfront and I really enjoyed shooting the same subject from many different perspectives.

Spray and pray worked out that day.

Honestly, I'm only including this photo because I'd never seen a log bench in real life. I'd only ever seen it in Animal Crossing lol. So here's confirmation that they exist!

The clouds were hanging low and heavy for the majority of my hike, and this photo perfectly encapsulates it.

I was a good way into the trail when I decided to look up. This was one of the most disorienting things I've ever experienced, but I stood there and just stared at the sky for several minutes. I was equally relaxed as I was on edge.