Art Gallery Violet's Photo Album

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
This may come as a surprise to people.
With my most recent leave from the beach, which lasted a bit longer than I would have liked it to, I thought a lot about what to do with the photo blog, as I hadn't updated it for months, and wasn't entirely motivated to make the more emotional posts tied to the entries I uploaded.
I never saw the blog as a bad idea, in fact, I see nothing I've done here after January to be a bad idea. But maybe I just thought I've moved on from that point. A lot of what I have to say isn't necessarily for everyone's eyes now that I feel like I've gained a reputation with some people, and how my own feelings affect how I see and think about others.
I thought of a Photo Album as a way to compromise. This doesn't take away what little activity I had on the beach, while still being able to manage things by myself with who I need to. I'll be taking photos regularly and posting them here, but I won't really have the emotional blog entries to go with them. Just art.

I love photography. I hope what I can do will be considered art, and less of some apathetic ice queen crying onto the shoulders of people she doesn't even really know.
I wanted to say thank you, and not neglect what anyone here has done for me. I think that a lot of the time I'm thankful for what people think of me and the way I am. I'd love to talk to people, but I'm not really someone who should be talked to in group chats, for my own personal reasons.

If you followed the blog when I updated it, thank you. Especially those who gave me motivation to post, and those who responded to the words I had said. I'd... like to have more of it, on whatever I post.

Hello! My name is VioletValkyrie, and photography has recently become one of my favourite art forms! Whenever I travel, anywhere from two steps outside my house to another country, I like to take photos of the places I visit. I think the world looks beautiful and it's a fun idea I had to share the world I experience with the people here!

I have a bunch of old albums from my photo blog from earlier this year, so it's not like I'm starting an empty thread. Expect this to be updated somewhat regularly, especially when I go on larger trips!

If you have suggestions on what you want to see or what you think could be a cool photo idea to take, or any places you think I could take good photos of, let me know. Some days it's nice to have a goal of where you want to go, and sometimes you can't think of that yourself.

Enjoy!


New Albums (2017):
Album #12
Taken on August 16th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

For context, I travelled to Boise, Idaho this summer in order to meet someone important to me. These photos were taken on the first day of my 4-day trip.
I have a tradition of thanking people when I post new albums, for various reasons, and I'd like to continue that.
I'd like to thank @Vracken, @double o squirtle, @PikaMasterJesi, and @NinjaPenguin. The first three have always been there to help me with any problem that I've had to overcome in these past few months and I wouldn't have these photos if it weren't for them. Ninja Penguin, however, has been my main motivation and inspiration to continue taking photos and to upload this album. I want to thank you specifically for how much interest you've taken in my work and the appreciation you've given not only for my photos, but for me. Thank you to each of you.
Album #13
Taken on August 17th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

My second day in Boise. The photos I'm most proud of are the first three, as I've seen multiple photos of that one area taken by other people and I thought I should take my own pictures there as well. It's at the second floor of this building downtown with a couple restaurants and this really cool escalator I should have taken a picture of, but at the balcony is that view of which I took a left, center, and right-facing shot of. The American flags are probably my favourite parts about those shots. But there's also the one picture underneath a tree, where I wanted to focus on the single orange leaf in a large, otherwise green and brown picture.
A quick shout out to everyone who's seen, but especially who's commented on this thread. I'm glad to know people like my work.
Album #14
Taken on August 18th and 19th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

This is actually a combination of photos from Days 3 and 4 of the trip, as I didn't take many photos during Day 3 and want to save an entire album for one specific spot to have an entire album for. I was told the spot where I took the first photo is a popular spot to take photos due to the view of the entire city, although I was in a rush so I could only take that one photo quickly without being able to set it up nicely, and the other two photos of the park surrounding the area before I had to leave. After that, the next few photos are in a park I went to at the start of Day 4, which contained a giant hill I had to climb, but the view of practically the entire city from the outskirts was worth it, and I had to take photos there. A quick photo of a small lake I got to enjoy, and a couple more photos of the downtown area, and that closes the album.
A quick shout out to you, reading this. Thank you for taking interest in my photos.
Album #15
Taken on August 19th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

This was the one place I wanted an entire album devoted to. This was the last place I was able to visit in Boise, before I was dragged away to return home. As funny as it sounds, I had actually heard stories about this river and I had always wanted to see it. When I was told I had one place I could go to before I leave, we knew where we were going. Across the bridge and down under it along the river, and it was one of my favourite places to visit on the entire trip. It was one of those places that it doesn't depend on how nice it looks or how proud you are of the photos you take, but the place means something to you because of the experiences you've had there, and who you share those experiences with.
Thank you to the person who I traveled to see, my motivation for this entire trip, and who I got to share all of these experiences with. This trip and even who I am as a person would be nothing without you by my side. Thank you once again.
Album #16
Taken on an unknown date, during September 2017, in Vancouver, BC, Canada

I honestly don't know how to feel about this album. It was taken at a time where I believed a lot of things had gone wrong in my life after returning from my summer vacation, and I believed it was my last chance to be able to take photos before returning to school for fourth year. I have a lot of negative memories of the time the album was taken, but a lot of positive memories of the photos taken. There was one photo taken inside the Supreme Court, as I walked in the building for the first time, took a photo, and then immediately noticed a sign stating photography was not allowed in the building.
I had a good day that day. Thank you to those I shared that day with.
Album #17
Taken on November 9th, 2017 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

This was a really nice album I just decided to take on a whim. I visit Downtown very often and there's a lot of it in the albums, so what I wanted to do this time was visit new places or take new shots that were completely new or different from what I'd done before. My favourite shot by far is the eight photo, of the orca reflected off the glass of the convention center. In my very first album, I took a shot of Vancouver's old Regionals venue, although a lot of it was hard to see due to the glass. I saw the opportunity and thought I would turn my past failure into a new success. While the shot could be a lot better in my opinion, it's certainly better than what it was, and taking photos with mirrors or even slightly reflective glass is a really interesting approach and one that you don't see often. It's really creative. The last photo is honestly more of a joke shot I took that people ended up really liking. Ever since the last album people have been talking about how they liked the photo of the pigeons, and I went around Downtown for about twenty minutes trying to find a single pigeon to take a photo of. I found more than one.

I had a conversation last night with someone, where we both spoke about how we agree with the idea that experimentation in someone's life is very important and leads to improvement of ourselves and who we are. I want to thank that person specifically because the idea for this album directly lines with that idea. It's almost a funny coincidence.
See you hopefully next Sunday?
Album #18
Taken on November 15th and 17th in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

I don't like having the same location for an album three times in a row. Downtown was my go-to place for pictures and I wanted to once again take a different angle and go around a location I haven't been to very often and take pictures there. What ended up happening was taking a few shots around whatever sports stadium we have here, and some shots around Main Street, and I'm actually pretty proud of the water shots around Science World.

The last shot is somewhat of a joke. I went to a cafe with my parents recently and they told me to take a picture of the drink I got before drinking it. I found it in my phone gallery and decided to upload it here.
Enjoy! See you next Sunday?
Album #19
Taken between November 24th and 26th 2017 in Burnaby and Vancouver, BC, Canada.

It's finally an album that doesn't take place Downtown!
I'll admit that this album was lacking a theme, it ended up being more akin to "Take some photos and put them together", since that tends to happen with albums that take place over multiple days. Because of that, I don't have a lot to say about this specific album, or more specifically, the first half of it.
The second half is really nice. We're getting to that point in the year where the big city and important buildings in the smaller cities put up decorations, lights, and the ground covers with snow. It's my favourite time for taking photos, and I have a small benchmark to improve myself and challenge myself with the photos from early this year when snow fell then, too. Unfortunately we're stepping on a bit of thorns right now before coming up roses, as there's been a deluge of rain for the past weeks. It's typical of November, but I'm hoping for things to change soon and for some snow to fall. I'm excited to show off some nice photos soon.

Consider this one (and maybe the next few) a placeholder due to all the rain and lack of snow. But I think I'm going to try finding some public buildings with decorations (things like malls and libraries with christmas trees inside) to base my albums off of before we can start making some snow albums.

See you next Sunday!
Album #20
Taken on December 10th, 2017 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

This is another album shot downtown. But it's not like the others. To explain, Vancouver has this Christmas Market set up in Downtown every year, and my family has made a tradition to go each year. I agreed to go this year, but on one condition: We have to arrive during the day, and leave after dark. Considering the sun sets at around 4:30pm around this time of year, it wasn't too much to ask. And what I was able to do with that condition was fantastic.
I want to draw a large amount of attention to the fact that you can see time progress as the album goes on. The album starts around noon, when it's still bright and lively outside, and ends around 5pm, when it begins to become darker and the atmosphere changes.
I really want to step things up for this month, and I think that this was a fantastic start. I would go into further detail about these photos, but I'll save that for if people have any questions.
As for thanking people directly, I'd like to thank Autumn from the Discord Chat (I'm not entirely sure if you have a forums account) and @NinjaPenguin for the continued support, and @Lord o da rings just for our interactions in the past few days, I've enjoyed them a lot. Thank you.
Album #21
Taken during the week of December 3rd-9th, 2017 in several cities in BC, Canada.

So since we've had no snow during the entire month, indoor photos of christmas decorations will have to do, with a small amount of dark/sunset photos at the end I thought were really nice and didn't have enough for just a full album for them. I actually traveled to places I wouldn't normally for this album so I'm happy it's a bit unique in that aspect. Not much else to say about this one.
2017 has come to a close and it's been a fantastic year for photography for me! Now that the year is over and I have submissions from people, it's time to finally release the collaborative album I've been putting together with people. I couldn't have made this without you guys so I'm incredibly thankful for both your support in me to continue taking photos, and your submissions to create this beautiful work of art together with everyone else!

The PokéBeach 2017 Collaborative Photography Album
Taken in the year 2017 in many places around the world by several people.

I want to give incredible shoutouts to the people who submitted. Thank you so much to @Neurowolf, @double o squirtle, Winter#8620, and @mirdo for your contributions to this album. It couldn't exist without you.
Instead of giving my thoughts on my photos like I usually do this time, I want to give messages to those who submitted, and finally, to everyone else.

@Neurowolf: I want to thank you for accepting my invitation to submit for this album. Your photography and your interest in it is what made me want to create this album and to only continue to work harder with my own photography. Yours is so many levels above mine and I never once was deceiving when I've told you that your photography is nothing short of amazing. I hope that you can continue to be someone of inspiration that I can continue to look up to.

@double o squirtle: I want to thank you not just for submitting photos for this album, but for how amazing you've been to me for this entire year since we've known each other, and how glad I am that we can act as inspiration for each other, whether it be creating interest for each other to try something new, or even going down to more personal things. I'm glad that we can both have this effect on each other and continue helping each other with growth. I included the second- and third-last photos because I just really liked them when you showed them to me, and I couldn't pass up the picture of the giant duck.

@Winter: I want to thank you for taking interest in my photography and always being eager to see my next album's release. One of my favourite things about having this thread is being able to hear what people think about my photos and get praise or feedback from people. It's been so motivating to always release an album and get a message from you hours later saying you enjoyed it or thought it looked nice, and it's been an incredibly nice thing to have, to know that when I make an album, someone will see it and say that. I hope that my albums can convince you to try more photography for yourself, as I really like what you submitted.

@mirdo: I want to thank you for taking interest in the collaborative album, I didn't even know you took photos. It's been really wonderful getting to talk to you a lot more recently, and I'm glad I've had the opportunity. Even if the submission was kind of later, I'm still really glad to have had you add your photos into the album! I'm always happy to connect with newer people through my photography as it's something I really enjoy, and your photos seem very similar to the ones I would just take for fun if I was on a trip somewhere.

Although he did not submit, I also want to thank @NinjaPenguin for being my biggest motivation by far throughout the entire year. I always enjoyed uploading albums to see what you would think about my photos or say about them. I think it's safe to say you're the biggest contributor to this album, even more than I am in some cases, if you really think about it. If there's anyone I should ever be thankful towards for this album, this thread, and my entire interest in photography now almost lasting eleven months, it's you. Thank you so much for your support.

I also want to thank anyone who had taken interest in the collaborative album but chose not to submit, for whatever your reasons were. I can only hope that you continue to take interest in my photography, and that you take interest in submitting for any possible future collaborative projects like this one if or when they may happen.

And I finally want to thank those who have even just taken one look at this thread. At any album I may have made, who even just acknowledged its existence. I often find myself thinking that this thread doesn't get any attention and that no one sees it, but that thought is always shattered when I see just how many times people have viewed this thread. I'm glad that what I do doesn't go unnoticed and people even acknowledge its existence.

I'm going to once again state that 2017 was a fantastic year of photography for me. I started taking photos in early February and I didn't look back. I tried new things and even made ideas for what I wanted to do with albums. I kept it going even if I had to stop and take breaks for a while. I can't promise that 2018 will have a perfect upload schedule or that every photo will be better than this year's. But what I can promise is that they're my photos. And they'll continue to be my photos, that I will enjoy taking and showing to you all.
See you next week, for our first album in 2018!

New Albums: (2018):
Album #22
Taken on December 22nd, 2017 in Tsawwassen BC, Victoria BC, and even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!
This one was excellent. I've been waiting to talk about it. In December, my family organized a trip to travel to Victoria, a city I've heard a lot about but never been to. For those who don't know, Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, the province I live in, but is actually located on Vancouver Island, a fairly large island just off the west coast of most of the province. You actually have to travel through several cities to Tsawwassen to take a ferry to Victoria if you live in Vancouver. This was yet another fantastic opportunity my family granted me to take more photos before the end of the year.Want to get creative after taking so many photos in one city? Go to a new one! Want to get creative after taking so many photos on land? Take some on the water! And that's exactly what I did.I'm actually really pleased to mention the fact that I've been able to take photos from being on the Pacific Ocean, because while I've been on boats and at the beach, I've never taken photos on a boat and never really travelled to a destination on one. This was a strange first for me, not to mention having a personal fear of drowning made something like a ferry better for taking photos on.After the fifth photo you can start to see buildings and people, this was when we actually ended up in Victoria. I thought this was another day where I wanted to try scaling the photos from daytime to night time, as you can see the first few photos are when we arrived, walking down some of the bigger streets, then at night time where we explored and travelled to one of the malls downtown.This was the more simple of the two days I spent in Victoria, and next album is filled with more photos from the trip.
I'm going back to giving shoutouts again because I want to give a shoutout to someone new, being @TheR3DX for giving me the motivation to finally post this. I'm honoured to hear someone else follows my photography. I'd like to thank some friends too, most of which who won't see this, so people will just go unnamed, just know that if you're who I'm thinking of, you'll probably know it.
Album #23
Taken on December 23rd outside and inside the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC, Canada.
This was our sightseeing day, and it was great. The Museum was one place I didn't know I wanted to go until we got there, and actually just ended up there on a whim. The surrounding area included the Victoria Conference Center, which is the building in the first photo, the Parliament buildings and Legislature, featured in the second photo, and the museum and theatre (which are in the same building) in the next three. I'm really proud of the spiral staircase shot, and as we approached the building I ran across the street knowing that it was a shot that I needed to take. It was.
I'm usually not the kind of girl to enjoy museums, and didn't think there would be much opportunity for photos, but wow, this place definitely proved me wrong.The building has three floors, the first having the lobby, theatre, and a couple cafés, then the second had the Natural History Museum, consisting of things like environments, ecosystems and animals, which we went to first. I only wish I could explain how great the Micro Climate Theatre was, as well as the room the next five pictures were taken in. The eighth shot in the album with the birds on the rocky coast has to be my favourite. The backdrop looked perfect and so real that it's like they knew I was coming in to take a picture and set it up just for me.After taking a break in this one spot on the second floor leading up to the escalator upwards, taking some great photos there, the third floor consisted of the Human History Museum, which was divided into two sections. The first included a lot of things like aboriginal or first nations tools, survival skills, shelters, and things like totem poles, since those are very big in British Columbia. The other section focused on things like the origin and beginnings of the province, things like the Gold Rush and how it affected the province, and things more related to society in the 1900s, from what I could tell. Once again, I'm not an expert or interested in these things too much. From the last five photos, there was this one section of the museum that was set up to look like what seemed just like a city straight out of a steampunk novel, with an old train station, a hotel, and even what looked like a shady club that was blocked off. This is definitely the best museum I've ever been to, and I'm interested how I can take even better photos the next time I come around.

As for shoutouts this time, I'd like to give them to @mirdo for being a big influence for taking pictures of the birds in the museum, I took them especially for you and I'm glad you liked them when I showed you the day I took them. I also want to give shoutouts once again to the people who have been following this thread, but specifically those showing visible support. Liking these posts, writing any comments, messaging me telling me my photography's good, any of that. Hearing or seeing the vocal or visible support for what I do keeps me going, and I wouldn't be taking more photos if it weren't for that. I'm grateful.
Album #24
Taken on December 23rd, 2017 at Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, BC, Canada.
I'd be lying to say this wasn't half the reason I wanted to go on that trip. A great photo opportunity, not to mention the first time I've visited an actual real-life castle. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to kick everyone out and rightfully claim my place as a princess inside of it, but it balances out if I was able to take photos like these.Funny thing, this is only about one-third of the total photos I took in this building. I was having issues uploading this album for what I partially believe to be an issue of having too many photos, and that was after cutting half of the photos I had taken already. I'm hoping I captured the very best of them to show you.You may recognize the first photo, I won't give an official source of how you may know it, but know that it comes from potential discussion between @TheR3DX, @Lord o da rings, @GekkisaiDaiNi and I.
All in all, this was a new and unique opportunity for more photos and I was able to be really creative with it, and I'm so proud of how it turned out, and won't forget the experience. This was fantastic to be able to have.
For shoutouts, I want to give them to the already mentioned TheR3DX and Lorde, as well as GekkisaiDaiNi. I already alluded to this, but I'm incredibly honoured hearing someone not only follow my photography, but want to actively use for a project, whether or not that project ever faces the public, and having support and people to join in on this said project, because its existence truly makes me laugh and enjoy myself. I'm glad to have it. I'm glad my photos can directly tie into what's at the very least an inside joke, and at the very most something funny we'll remember.
Album #25
Taken on January 26th, 2018 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
"Another Vancouver album? Seriously?" Well, this one's different. Once again, if you find yourself in the same city over and over, find a new place to take photos.
For those who don't know, Downtown Vancouver is sort of cut off by the ocean in every direction except the east, where the train lines run, and there are several bridges in the south and north connecting it to what's essentially the rest of the area. In the south, there are three of these bridges, and this was one I walked across. I think my favourite part about this album is how it starts at one end and progresses to the other end of the bridge, allowing the large buildings of downtown to come closer into view as the album progresses.


The bear statue's kinda cute, too.

I want to give thanks to the people I call friends. I'm stating a lot that my albums are being pushed back off their normal uploading schedule due to personal reasons. And these people are the ones that keep me stable and allow me to keep updating this thread and posting more albums. It's all worth it in the end.
Sub-Album [Sunsets and Chocolate]
Taken over several days in Vancouver, BC Canada.
So you'll notice that this is too short to be a full album, and divided into two main themes, like I said before. Those being Sunsets and Chocolate, which I think gave this album a cute little name.There's an event in Vancouver known as the Hot Chocolate Festival that's held... annually, I believe. Different stores or cafés will create different kinds of hot chocolate to sell and people in the area will travel to different participating cafés for these kinds of hot chocolate.I want to bring special attention to both the first and last photos of this album. The first photo is possibly my favourite sunset photo I've ever taken, and I almost missed it. As I was walking by in a rush, I wondered if I should even stop to take that photo. I did, and I don't regret it. Just how the sky transforms from a cloudy gray to a bright orange and yellow into the blue sky is amazing and I've never had a photo like it.The last photo is just silly. At one of these cafés, I ordered a hot chocolate that was made with avocado, and it stuck with me just because of how much better it was than expected, and how unique it was. The middle photo is actually from the same café I received that drink from, and I just wanted to take a picture of how those cute boxes of chocolate were colourfully arranged.I think if nothing else, this is a cute aesthetic album that just combines and showcases either fantastic ways to take photos, or just silly themes I had fun with.This isn't my best work, but it was something new I decided to try and have fun with.
Now for shoutouts! I've been getting back up on my feet getting work done and being able to continue updating this album thread. Sometimes I say a vague thank you to people as a group of just "those who helped me out", but I'm going to give shoutouts mainly to @Lord o da rings, @mirdo and @NinjaPenguin for helping me a large amount with getting back up and helping me through things.
Album #26
Taken on March 23rd, 24th, and 25th 2018 in what's mostly Portland, OR, USA.
Portland is a city I've been to several times and while it's not as high-up in the list as something like Seattle where I constantly adore going, it's a frequent travel spot my parents and I enjoy going to, and it helps having friends who live there. I actually went for their Regionals, and wanted to show off the venue they had it at, which you can see in the fifth photo. I intended to take more photos of the venue, but seeing as the inside was typically filled with large amounts of people and how busy I was playing for the day, I wasn't really able to. If I ever get the chance to go back there for whatever reason, I'd like to take photos, because the inside was really pretty as well.After performing very poorly in the first day, I decided to drop out and go shopping for the rest of my time, so the rest of the album is filled with photos of the two malls I went to, and some of the spots I walked by one night either going somewhere to eat or coming back to the hotel I was in.

You guys really have some cool stuff. Ice rinks and spiral staircases in your malls... I'm pretty jealous. But I'm really fond of spiral staircases for photos and I think both the level and upwards shots of the spiral staircase might just be my favourite shots from the album. They're always fun to take pictures of.

Thank you to several people both for inspiring me to go on this trip, take more photos, and finally upload them. Probably the most notable shoutouts go to @bbninjas and @GrandPanacea, so thank you.
This one means a lot, and my writing for this one will be a lot more personal. Please bear with me, and enjoy the photos I took.

Album #27
Taken on August 5th in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Pride Month happened in July. However, we had our pride parade at the start of August. As soon as it came up, I knew I wanted to go, as it's something that really means a lot to me, and for obvious reason. For those who don't know, I'm lesbian, and that part of my own self-identification means a lot to me. Along with myself, I know a lot of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, some who are pansexual or aromantic and if there's anything I want out of my friendships with these people, it's for us to feel loved and valid for who we are together.

I want us to all be able to grow and be loved by each other, and I strongly believe that everyone is valid and should be treated with respect regardless of how they identify, straight or gay, cisgender or trans, whatever. Everyone is the way they are and we all just want to be happy in our lives. I want to do my best for people who are struggling with their identity, or are facing hateful comments or actions because of who they are. It's important for me to stand up for those people and inspire them into being happier with who they are.
When I talk to some people about how I identify, I'm asked if I had any trouble with coming out to people, and with people's acceptance of who I am. I'm incredibly happy to be able to respond truthfully to those questions by saying that I've had almost no problems and that those I've formally come out to have always accepted me regardless of my sexuality. I want others to be able to know the happiness of never having to hide who you are, and never being treated as less simply for who you want to be, who you love, or anything in-between.


On that note, I feel I should mention something. Close friends of mine will know this, but those who follow this thread may not.
While I haven't had many problems with coming out and am very open about my sexuality, PokéBeach is the first place where I have had someone actually voice a homophobic comment towards me. This was done secretly though private messaging, and while I believe it was dealt with responsibly and appropriately, it's definitely something that's going to stay with me for a while. However, while it still stays in my mind at darker points, it's something that I can use to keep myself going and keep my head up.
I wanted to share this to tell people that this is something that happens sometimes. It's a pain, but we're strong enough to get through things like this, because we're more than what people think of us and we won't be weighed down by hatred.


I took 102 photos at Pride this month. All of them are special. However, that's a bit big for an album, so I hope you enjoy the small amount that I picked from the group to share with you all. I hope you enjoy them, because I'm proud of them.
Album #28
Taken on August 27th and 28th around Seattle, WA, USA.
So these past few days I've been in Seattle, Washington again and it makes me incredibly happy to say that. Seattle is a beautiful city and I really wish I was able to live there. Be sure to see more of it in the future, as I'm nowhere near done with that place, trust me on this one.During the trip I went to buy things for school, mainly new clothes, so I went to a shopping district (which you can see as the first three pictures of the album) and I think those pictures might be the ones I'm most proud of, maybe even just in general, especially the second one. The lighting and the way the shadow from the tree leaks into the middle of the plaza is really nice.After that we were back on the road and on our way to Downtown Seattle. Specifically, Uwajimaya Village in the International District. If you're ever in Seattle, check it out, it's one of my favourite places. I'm a bit sad I missed a picture I really wanted to take. In the International District, or at least a specific part of Jackson Street, the street signs and names are written in English and in Japanese. I'm going back there eventually, too.In Uwajimaya Village, there is a bookstore named Kinokuniya, and it's a wonderful place. They sell not only books and art supplies, but an extensive selection of manga, both in English and Japanese. They even sell things like Pokémon cards and plushes. Unfortunately I didn't have several hundred dollars to spend though, but I really would have spent that much if I had it. It's forever going to be one of my favourite bookstores.The last picture of the album is actually very meaningful to me. At a rest stop along the I-5 Highway, there's this large cedar tree, which was cut as such and turned into well... what it is now.This spot means a lot to me because on the way to a Regionals many years ago, I had stopped at this same spot. This was way before I started photography, but more importantly, it's way before I became the person I am today. I thought back to that time years ago when I was there, and how much about myself had changed. I mention quite a bit that I'm not very fond of who I used to be, that I hated so many things about myself. And going to this same spot, I realized just how much I've improved as someone and how I see myself. I took a photo not just because I recognized this spot, but to commemorate the growth I've achieved as a person. And one day, I'll go back. I'm not where I want to be yet, I'm still working on myself and trying to improve. But I'll go back one day and I'll be happier. And I'll stop here and think "Wow, I was pretty stupid back then, wasn't I?"

The album's getting fuller! But the rest of the pages are empty...
 
Last edited:

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
"I'm going to make a photo album", she said. "Expect it to be updated somewhat regularly", she said.

I deeply apologize to everyone who has been waiting for anything in this thread.

Here's the link to the first album, individual photos will be posted later.

Album #12
Taken on August 16th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

For context, I travelled to Boise, Idaho this summer in order to meet someone important to me. These photos were taken on the first day of my 4-day trip.
I have a tradition of thanking people when I post new albums, for various reasons, and I'd like to continue that.
I'd like to thank @Vracken, @double o squirtle, @PikaMasterJesi, and @NinjaPenguin. The first three have always been there to help me with any problem that I've had to overcome in these past few months and I wouldn't have these photos if it weren't for them. Ninja Penguin, however, has been my main motivation and inspiration to continue taking photos and to upload this album. I want to thank you specifically for how much interest you've taken in my work and the appreciation you've given not only for my photos, but for me. Thank you to each of you.
 
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bbninjas

Ready or Not!
Advanced Member
Member
I like how you've been capturing beams of light from the various sources - it gives quite an interesting effect! Do you use a specific setting or filter to capture that?
 

NinjaPenguin

Always standing out from the crowd.
Member
This might just be my favorite album yet! Once you get to the capital building (and before too, but especially there), there's such a beautiful sense of lines to lead your eye that make your pictures really pop. My personal favorite from the album (and maybe even of all of your photos) is the one with the staircase that you can begin to see rotating around. I don't quite know why, but I love it. There's also something quite lovely about the ones with vertical symmetry and that dimly lit one. I could easily see any of those photos being put on a website for promotional purposes.
Keep up the great work!
 

Surfbay

COLLECTOR
Member
This may come as a surprise to people.
With my most recent leave from the beach, which lasted a bit longer than I would have liked it to, I thought a lot about what to do with the photo blog, as I hadn't updated it for months, and wasn't entirely motivated to make the more emotional posts tied to the entries I uploaded.
I never saw the blog as a bad idea, in fact, I see nothing I've done here after January to be a bad idea. But maybe I just thought I've moved on from that point. A lot of what I have to say isn't necessarily for everyone's eyes now that I feel like I've gained a reputation with some people, and how my own feelings affect how I see and think about others.
I thought of a Photo Album as a way to compromise. This doesn't take away what little activity I had on the beach, while still being able to manage things by myself with who I need to. I'll be taking photos regularly and posting them here, but I won't really have the emotional blog entries to go with them. Just art.

I love photography. I hope what I can do will be considered art, and less of some apathetic ice queen crying onto the shoulders of people she doesn't even really know.
I wanted to say thank you, and not neglect what anyone here has done for me. I think that a lot of the time I'm thankful for what people think of me and the way I am. I'd love to talk to people, but I'm not really someone who should be talked to in group chats, for my own personal reasons.

If you followed the blog when I updated it, thank you. Especially those who gave me motivation to post, and those who responded to the words I had said. I'd... like to have more of it, on whatever I post.

Hello! My name is VioletValkyrie, and photography has recently become one of my favourite art forms! Whenever I travel, anywhere from two steps outside my house to another country, I like to take photos of the places I visit. I think the world looks beautiful and it's a fun idea I had to share the world I experience with the people here!

I have a bunch of old albums from my photo blog from earlier this year, so it's not like I'm starting an empty thread. Expect this to be updated somewhat regularly, especially when I go on larger trips!

If you have suggestions on what you want to see or what you think could be a cool photo idea to take, or any places you think I could take good photos of, let me know. Some days it's nice to have a goal of where you want to go, and sometimes you can't think of that yourself.

Enjoy!

Album #12
Taken on August 16th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

For context, I travelled to Boise, Idaho this summer in order to meet someone important to me. These photos were taken on the first day of my 4-day trip.
I have a tradition of thanking people when I post new albums, for various reasons, and I'd like to continue that.
I'd like to thank @Vracken, @double o squirtle, @PikaMasterJesi, and @NinjaPenguin. The first three have always been there to help me with any problem that I've had to overcome in these past few months and I wouldn't have these photos if it weren't for them. Ninja Penguin, however, has been my main motivation and inspiration to continue taking photos and to upload this album. I want to thank you specifically for how much interest you've taken in my work and the appreciation you've given not only for my photos, but for me. Thank you to each of you.

The rest of the pages are empty...


Hi VioletValkyrie

Enjoyed your post. Found it very interesting.

What cameras are you using to create your photo shots.

Be seeing you.
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
I like how you've been capturing beams of light from the various sources - it gives quite an interesting effect! Do you use a specific setting or filter to capture that?

Funny thing, something's actually kinda off with the lens of the camera I've been using and it's been making my photos look like that on accident. I haven't used any filters on my photos, and it's just happened without me wanting it. It's cool to know someone likes it though, thanks! @bbninjas

This might just be my favorite album yet! Once you get to the capital building (and before too, but especially there), there's such a beautiful sense of lines to lead your eye that make your pictures really pop. My personal favorite from the album (and maybe even of all of your photos) is the one with the staircase that you can begin to see rotating around. I don't quite know why, but I love it. There's also something quite lovely about the ones with vertical symmetry and that dimly lit one. I could easily see any of those photos being put on a website for promotional purposes.
Keep up the great work!

Thanks a lot! I'm especially proud of the photos inside the capital building. I don't often have very many opportunities to take pictures inside of buildings, especially a building meaning so much to an American city. I got some opportunities to pull off some shots like those and I'm super proud of them. @NinjaPenguin

Hi VioletValkyrie

Enjoyed your post. Found it very interesting.

What cameras are you using to create your photo shots.

Be seeing you.

Thank you! I'm glad someone new enjoys my photography!
So far I've actually been using the only camera I've had on me, due to thinking photography wasn't something I would be passionate enough about to spend money on yet. The camera I've been using is the one built into my phone, which is a model Samsung Galaxy A5.
Stick around for more! I'll actually start updating regularly now that I have pictures to upload into the album! @Surfbay
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
Trying to still regularly update this thread! Album #13 is out!

Album#13
Taken on August 17th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

My second day in Boise. The photos I'm most proud of are the first three, as I've seen multiple photos of that one area taken by other people and I thought I should take my own pictures there as well. It's at the second floor of this building downtown with a couple restaurants and this really cool escalator I should have taken a picture of, but at the balcony is that view of which I took a left, center, and right-facing shot of. The American flags are probably my favourite parts about those shots. But there's also the one picture underneath a tree, where I wanted to focus on the single orange leaf in a large, otherwise green and brown picture.
A quick shout out to everyone who's seen, but especially who's commented on this thread. I'm glad to know people like my work.
 

Neurowolf

Biology extraordinaire!
Member
Hey Violet! So glad I finally got to check out your gallery! This is some beautiful stuff and I hope to see you do more. My favorite out of the albums is album #6 because it reminds me of the area I live. My favorite photo is the snow bridge, I love snow scenes and that one really captures the essence of winter. This has inspired me to some day open my own photo thread, for I'm not good at drawing or text based fakes. Majestic stuff!
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
Hey Violet! So glad I finally got to check out your gallery! This is some beautiful stuff and I hope to see you do more. My favorite out of the albums is album #6 because it reminds me of the area I live. My favorite photo is the snow bridge, I love snow scenes and that one really captures the essence of winter. This has inspired me to some day open my own photo thread, for I'm not good at drawing or text based fakes. Majestic stuff!

Thank you! Winter's a great time to take photos because of the snow on the ground you won't see for another three quarters of the year, and it can make a lot of usually uninteresting areas or places look fantastic. Something special you won't see anytime else. I'm glad I inspired you to open your own thread! Once you do, send me a link, I'm very interested. I'll admit I started photography because I didn't think my drawing skill was the best and I was uninterested in fakes.
Hope to see your work soon! @Neurowolf
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
Enjoy another album!

Album #14
Taken on August 18th and 19th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

This is actually a combination of photos from Days 3 and 4 of the trip, as I didn't take many photos during Day 3 and want to save an entire album for one specific spot to have an entire album for. I was told the spot where I took the first photo is a popular spot to take photos due to the view of the entire city, although I was in a rush so I could only take that one photo quickly without being able to set it up nicely, and the other two photos of the park surrounding the area before I had to leave. After that, the next few photos are in a park I went to at the start of Day 4, which contained a giant hill I had to climb, but the view of practically the entire city from the outskirts was worth it, and I had to take photos there. A quick photo of a small lake I got to enjoy, and a couple more photos of the downtown area, and that closes the album.
A quick shout out to you, reading this. Thank you for taking interest in my photos.
 

Vracken

Just a Ghost of the Past
I feel like I have seen some of these before Violet, but not all of them :/
You been holding out on me again?
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
Trying to upload weekly!

Album #15
Taken on August 19th, 2017 in Boise, Idaho, USA.

This was the one place I wanted an entire album devoted to. This was the last place I was able to visit in Boise, before I was dragged away to return home. As funny as it sounds, I had actually heard stories about this river and I had always wanted to see it. When I was told I had one place I could go to before I leave, we knew where we were going. Across the bridge and down under it along the river, and it was one of my favourite places to visit on the entire trip. It was one of those places that it doesn't depend on how nice it looks or how proud you are of the photos you take, but the place means something to you because of the experiences you've had there, and who you share those experiences with.
Thank you to the person who I traveled to see, my motivation for this entire trip, and who I got to share all of these experiences with. This trip and even who I am as a person would be nothing without you by my side. Thank you once again.
 
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VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
As I am currently not as lazy as I was, have an update!

Album #16
Taken on an unknown date, during September 2017, in Vancouver, BC, Canada

I honestly don't know how to feel about this album. It was taken at a time where I believed a lot of things had gone wrong in my life after returning from my summer vacation, and I believed it was my last chance to be able to take photos before returning to school for fourth year. I have a lot of negative memories of the time the album was taken, but a lot of positive memories of the photos taken. There was one photo taken inside the Supreme Court, as I walked in the building for the first time, took a photo, and then immediately noticed a sign stating photography was not allowed in the building.
I had a good day that day. Thank you to those I shared that day with.
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
While I wanted to keep updates going every Sunday, certain circumstances tomorrow means I won't be able to. So I'll give you an album a day early.

Album #17
Taken on November 9th, 2017 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

This was a really nice album I just decided to take on a whim. I visit Downtown very often and there's a lot of it in the albums, so what I wanted to do this time was visit new places or take new shots that were completely new or different from what I'd done before. My favourite shot by far is the eight photo, of the orca reflected off the glass of the convention center. In my very first album, I took a shot of Vancouver's old Regionals venue, although a lot of it was hard to see due to the glass. I saw the opportunity and thought I would turn my past failure into a new success. While the shot could be a lot better in my opinion, it's certainly better than what it was, and taking photos with mirrors or even slightly reflective glass is a really interesting approach and one that you don't see often. It's really creative. The last photo is honestly more of a joke shot I took that people ended up really liking. Ever since the last album people have been talking about how they liked the photo of the pigeons, and I went around Downtown for about twenty minutes trying to find a single pigeon to take a photo of. I found more than one.

I had a conversation last night with someone, where we both spoke about how we agree with the idea that experimentation in someone's life is very important and leads to improvement of ourselves and who we are. I want to thank that person specifically because the idea for this album directly lines with that idea. It's almost a funny coincidence.
See you hopefully next Sunday?
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
Not much to say besides having the weekly upload schedule on Sundays. Hopefully that stays for a while.

Album #18
Taken on November 15th and 17th in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

I don't like having the same location for an album three times in a row. Downtown was my go-to place for pictures and I wanted to once again take a different angle and go around a location I haven't been to very often and take pictures there. What ended up happening was taking a few shots around whatever sports stadium we have here, and some shots around Main Street, and I'm actually pretty proud of the water shots around Science World.

The last shot is somewhat of a joke. I went to a cafe with my parents recently and they told me to take a picture of the drink I got before drinking it. I found it in my phone gallery and decided to upload it here.
Enjoy! See you next Sunday?
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
To make up for the lack of update last weekend, here's the next album! It's a bit of a sour time right now, but updating is better than not!

Album #19
Taken between November 24th and 26th 2017 in Burnaby and Vancouver, BC, Canada.
It's finally an album that doesn't take place Downtown!
I'll admit that this album was lacking a theme, it ended up being more akin to "Take some photos and put them together", since that tends to happen with albums that take place over multiple days. Because of that, I don't have a lot to say about this specific album, or more specifically, the first half of it.
The second half is really nice. We're getting to that point in the year where the big city and important buildings in the smaller cities put up decorations, lights, and the ground covers with snow. It's my favourite time for taking photos, and I have a small benchmark to improve myself and challenge myself with the photos from early this year when snow fell then, too. Unfortunately we're stepping on a bit of thorns right now before coming up roses, as there's been a deluge of rain for the past weeks. It's typical of November, but I'm hoping for things to change soon and for some snow to fall. I'm excited to show off some nice photos soon.

Consider this one (and maybe the next few) a placeholder due to all the rain and lack of snow. But I think I'm going to try finding some public buildings with decorations (things like malls and libraries with christmas trees inside) to base my albums off of before we can start making some snow albums.

See you next Sunday!
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
This is a large one. I promised this one would be good and I don't think this is a disappointment.

Album #20
Taken on December 10th, 2017 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

This is another album shot downtown. But it's not like the others. To explain, Vancouver has this Christmas Market set up in Downtown every year, and my family has made a tradition to go each year. I agreed to go this year, but on one condition: We have to arrive during the day, and leave after dark. Considering the sun sets at around 4:30pm around this time of year, it wasn't too much to ask. And what I was able to do with that condition was fantastic.
I want to draw a large amount of attention to the fact that you can see time progress as the album goes on. The album starts around noon, when it's still bright and lively outside, and ends around 5pm, when it begins to become darker and the atmosphere changes.
I really want to step things up for this month, and I think that this was a fantastic start. I would go into further detail about these photos, but I'll save that for if people have any questions.
As for thanking people directly, I'd like to thank Autumn from the Discord Chat (I'm not entirely sure if you have a forums account) and @NinjaPenguin for the continued support, and @Lord o da rings just for our interactions in the past few days, I've enjoyed them a lot. Thank you.


Now, I have something important to ask.
Are you a fan of this album thread? Have you considered taking your own photos to show people? Do you already consider yourself a photographer?
Do you want to contribute to this thread in a group effort that shows everyone's experiences through photography?
On the last Sunday of the month (That's December 31st, 2017) I'll be hosting a collaborative group album, and taking submissions from everyone, regardless of how "good" you think you are at taking pictures.
If you send me any photos you've taken throughout this year before the deadline of December 29th at 11:00PM (Pacific Standard Time), I'll select my favourites and those photos will be placed into the album together.
My goal for this is to bring together the people who have been following this thread, inspire people to start taking their own photos, and to really show off what PokeBeach can do in an art form that isn't one of the most popular.
You can send me photos (preferrably through an imgur album like mine are) through PMs on the Beach, or through Discord DMs, at Violet#4548. Just remember to tell me you're submitting for the album.

Thanks! Hopefully this album will be a good one with your help!
 
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VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
This is pretty much my "christmas album" for next week.

Album #21
Taken during the week of December 3rd-9th, 2017 in several cities in BC, Canada.

So since we've had no snow during the entire month, indoor photos of christmas decorations will have to do, with a small amount of dark/sunset photos at the end I thought were really nice and didn't have enough for just a full album for them. I actually traveled to places I wouldn't normally for this album so I'm happy it's a bit unique in that aspect. Not much else to say about this one.


I'm taking the next Sunday off for a break, I don't have any photos left in a buffer to just upload instantly and I don't see myself taking any soon. This hopefully helps get photos in for the deadline for the collaborative album (which people hopefully haven't forgotten about) and lets me rest for a week to prevent weeks without updates for a while. Thanks!
 

VioletValkyrie

You're out of your mind.
Member
2017 has come to a close and it's been a fantastic year for photography for me! Now that the year is over and I have submissions from people, it's time to finally release the collaborative album I've been putting together with people. I couldn't have made this without you guys so I'm incredibly thankful for both your support in me to continue taking photos, and your submissions to create this beautiful work of art together with everyone else!

The PokéBeach 2017 Collaborative Photography Album
Taken in the year 2017 in many places around the world by several people.

I want to give incredible shoutouts to the people who submitted. Thank you so much to @Neurowolf, @double o squirtle, Winter#8620, and @mirdo for your contributions to this album. It couldn't exist without you.
Instead of giving my thoughts on my photos like I usually do this time, I want to give messages to those who submitted, and finally, to everyone else.

@Neurowolf: I want to thank you for accepting my invitation to submit for this album. Your photography and your interest in it is what made me want to create this album and to only continue to work harder with my own photography. Yours is so many levels above mine and I never once was deceiving when I've told you that your photography is nothing short of amazing. I hope that you can continue to be someone of inspiration that I can continue to look up to.

@double o squirtle: I want to thank you not just for submitting photos for this album, but for how amazing you've been to me for this entire year since we've known each other, and how glad I am that we can act as inspiration for each other, whether it be creating interest for each other to try something new, or even going down to more personal things. I'm glad that we can both have this effect on each other and continue helping each other with growth. I included the second- and third-last photos because I just really liked them when you showed them to me, and I couldn't pass up the picture of the giant duck.

@Winter: I want to thank you for taking interest in my photography and always being eager to see my next album's release. One of my favourite things about having this thread is being able to hear what people think about my photos and get praise or feedback from people. It's been so motivating to always release an album and get a message from you hours later saying you enjoyed it or thought it looked nice, and it's been an incredibly nice thing to have, to know that when I make an album, someone will see it and say that. I hope that my albums can convince you to try more photography for yourself, as I really like what you submitted.

@mirdo: I want to thank you for taking interest in the collaborative album, I didn't even know you took photos. It's been really wonderful getting to talk to you a lot more recently, and I'm glad I've had the opportunity. Even if the submission was kind of later, I'm still really glad to have had you add your photos into the album! I'm always happy to connect with newer people through my photography as it's something I really enjoy, and your photos seem very similar to the ones I would just take for fun if I was on a trip somewhere.

Although he did not submit, I also want to thank @NinjaPenguin for being my biggest motivation by far throughout the entire year. I always enjoyed uploading albums to see what you would think about my photos or say about them. I think it's safe to say you're the biggest contributor to this album, even more than I am in some cases, if you really think about it. If there's anyone I should ever be thankful towards for this album, this thread, and my entire interest in photography now almost lasting eleven months, it's you. Thank you so much for your support.

I also want to thank anyone who had taken interest in the collaborative album but chose not to submit, for whatever your reasons were. I can only hope that you continue to take interest in my photography, and that you take interest in submitting for any possible future collaborative projects like this one if or when they may happen.

And I finally want to thank those who have even just taken one look at this thread. At any album I may have made, who even just acknowledged its existence. I often find myself thinking that this thread doesn't get any attention and that no one sees it, but that thought is always shattered when I see just how many times people have viewed this thread. I'm glad that what I do doesn't go unnoticed and people even acknowledge its existence.

I'm going to once again state that 2017 was a fantastic year of photography for me. I started taking photos in early February and I didn't look back. I tried new things and even made ideas for what I wanted to do with albums. I kept it going even if I had to stop and take breaks for a while. I can't promise that 2018 will have a perfect upload schedule or that every photo will be better than this year's. But what I can promise is that they're my photos. And they'll continue to be my photos, that I will enjoy taking and showing to you all.
See you next week, for our first album in 2018!
 
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