Bethany J. Mitchell » Artwork

Love Candid Photos of Kids

Bethany — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:30:43 +0000

Happy to be Here

While I can appreciate a lovely posed photo of a baby or child, my favorites are always the candid shots. The ones where the child is caught in the act of loving what they are doing, contemplating life, being silly, or just hanging around.

It may take hundreds of shots to capture that perfect moment but I believe the results are worth the effort.

Here we have a fantastic photo I took of my 2-year-old nephew as we waited in line to ride the ponies at Remlinger Farms last weekend. I doubt he knew exactly what we were going to do…I think he was just excited to be at a new place with his favorite people surrounded by other kids laughing and having fun.

Do it Your Way

Bethany — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:19:48 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about doing things the right way versus doing it YOUR way. When you’re learning something new, be it a recipe or a musical instrument, you usually start by doing it the right way: following the directions, working with a teacher or looking at examples. That makes sense when you’re learning. But don’t you find that once you’ve done it the right way a few times, you’re reading to start doing it YOUR way? Adding your own individual flair? Mixing it up a bit?

And, when you think about it, aren’t most new ideas the product of looking at old things in new ways or trying a new way of doing something? Some of my best meals have emerged from substituting a missing ingredient or adding a bit of extra spice (or cheese!). Some of my best photographs have emerged from viewing the scene at a totally different angle. And some of my best conversations have emerged from approaching a topic in an unexpected way.

Beautiful Day for Animal Photos

Bethany — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:03:57 +0000

Egg Hunt at Woodland Park Zoo

The whole fam spent the day at the Woodland Park Zoo last weekend for the annual Easter celebration. Our fellow Seattleites were out in force, enjoying the beautiful weather, the egg hunt and the other activities.

The animals also seemed to be enjoying the beautiful spring day with plentiful sunshine and glorious blue skies. We captured some great shots that day including this close-up of a sleeping flamingo surrounded by his loud and smelly neighbors and a shot of the wolves hanging out in the sun (taken by my 12-year-old nephew).

Wolves Enjoying the Sunshine

Kermit and Fozzie Bento

Bethany — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:18:20 +0000

Muppets: Kermit and Fozzy Bento by ~mindfire3927 on deviantART

TOP: Kermit (kiwi, asian pear, nori details), rainbow (pickled radish/food color), shredded carrot.

BOTTOM: Fozzy (riceball, unagi furikake, radish/nori details, potato hat), sauteed brussels with pecans.

Penguins Celebrating Winter Cake

Bethany — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:36:20 +0000

Penguin Cake by ~sparks1992 on deviantART

There is so much to love about this wonderful winter cake: the igloo, the diving penguins, the snowballs…it’s all fantastic!

Jolly Becomes Creepy with Ambient Lighting

Bethany — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:48:51 +0000

During our annual holiday trek around downtown Seattle this month, I shot a few photos of my niece in the low light of the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. With the flash off, a little creative staging, and the ambient lighting calling the shots, we managed to turn a jolly holiday scene into something a bit more creepy.

The Muppit

Bethany — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:14:02 +0000

Muppets Tolkien Mashup by *andyjhunter on deviantART

Penguin Wars

Bethany — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:00:12 +0000

Penguin-Wars by ~Mad-Hatter-LCarol on deviantART

With a family full of Star Wars enthusiasts and a personal appreciation of the Penguins of Madagascar…I so love this fan art!

Some Art of Harry Potter

Bethany — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:24:11 +0000

So, like many folks out there, we recently saw the last Harry Potter movie and loved it! We’re all big fans of the books and movies. Of course, we thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit at the Pacific Science Center last fall that featured actual props, models and costumes from the films. Our favorite parts of the exhibit: the lovely costumes from the ball in the fourth movie, the Quidditch team uniforms, and the little details like the Marauder’s Map and the various wands.

Have you visited the Harry Potter store over at Zazzle.com yet? It includes hundreds of different items featuring a wide assortment of photographs and artwork from all 8 movies. They’ve created some fantastic artwork on binders, poster, iPhone cases, t-shirts, mugs, greeting cards and more. We’ve included some of the cool items we’ve found recently (and added to our wish lists!):

Gryffindor Crest Gold and Red by harrypotter
Get a vinyl binder at Zazzle

The Deathly Hallows by harrypotter
Browse more Deathly T-Shirts

Fred and George Weasley by harrypotter
See more Fred Posters

Dobby 4 by harrypotter
Browse more iphone 3 cases

Harry Potter Collage 7 by harrypotter

Nothing to Fear – Nothing to Hide by harrypotter
Browse other Nothing T-Shirts

First Impressions Sketch

Bethany — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:02:35 +0000

First Impressions by *burdge-bug on deviantART

In honor of my niece’s birthday this month, I found this lovely sketch of Miss Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy over at DeviantArt.com. She a huge Jane Austen fan especially Pride and Prejudice. Of course, I’m a big fan myself so I can totally appreciate this piece…love their expressions and the clothing!

If you’d like to support the artist, you can purchase a print of this art here>>

Yoshi Made of Skittles?

Bethany — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:14:39 +0000

Skittle Yoshi Kart by *mattmcmanis on deviantART

Love this fan art piece of Yoshi on his cart! The various versions of MarioKart have consistently been my favorite Nintendo games. And, I always knew playing with your food could be fun but this is just amazing! (For those Skittles fans out there, the white pieces are Yorks not Skittles…no new Skittles colors to report!)

Sunset on the Ship

Bethany — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:04:23 +0000

Sunset on the Ship

I love the shadows created by the sunlight streaming on the ship’s deck in this photo I took on my way to the Antarctic Peninsula in 2001. At the top of the photo, you can see the bottom of a lifeboat and down the left side is the mechanism for lowering/raising the lifeboat.

Taken as a lovely sunny summer day was heading towards sunset. The deck was deserted–quiet and peaceful. I enjoyed wandering around the ship at all hours…looking at the view and watching the crew work. I find it fascinating to be on a large ship out at sea.

I’m quite pleased that I captured this particular view and moment in time.

Amazing Cat with Butterfly Pencil Drawing

Bethany — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:24:52 +0000

Cat by ~TeSzu on deviantART

Found this stunning pencil drawing over at DeviantArt.com. The detail of the fur, whiskers and wings is incredible. When I first saw the thumbnail, I thought it was a photograph, it all looks so realistic. You can view more of TeSzu amazing art here>>

Harry Potter Clay Figures

Bethany — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 22:21:29 +0000

Harry Potter by *Shiritsu on deviantART

Found these cute Harry Potter clay figures over at DeviantArt.com today. Love the minimalist style that portrays so much. I think Snape may be my favorite of this set of figures. They are made of FIMO clay by Shiritsu…very cool.

Robot Monkey Terrorizes Seattle

Bethany — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:26:41 +0000

Michael Porter’s Robot Monkey

As recent transplants to Seattle (many years ago), we lived, worked and played downtown. The Space Needle was always our primary geographical point of reference in our wanderings and the subject of many a photograph. We still love to see how other artists and photographers capture this iconic landmark!

Recently I stumbled across this cool poster of a robot monkey taking a bite out of the Space Needle and terrorizing downtown! I really love the little details like the folks falling out of the Needle, the Seahawks and Sounders hats on the fleeing monkeys, and the cloudy skies.

The artist, Michael Porter, is a Seattle-based illustrator and writer. You can find his robot monkey poster and much more at his etsy store.