Iron Constellation

During the recent Fremont Fair in Seattle, pedestrians had the rare chance to take over the Fremont bridge, a wonderful piece of ironwork with great photographic interest. The Fremont Bridge was opened on Friday June 15, 1917 at a cost of $410,000. The first of four city bascules to cross the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the Fremont Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is also a designated city landmark.

One of my favorite comments about this photo is: "Like an iron map of constellations, with two flying saucers."

Sometimes the world strikes a pose

I was walking along looking at the sunrise and other things this morning, when I saw these three crows. When one of them stuck out a wing, I knew I had an interesting photo! Seems like he's giving directions to the others. "Really, I saw a gigantic juicy roadkill right over there! With a spilled container of french fries right next to it!"

Is a photo of a piece of art a piece of art?

I've been retained to sell some artwork on eBay, and it's been interesting learning to photograph objects with wildly different characteristics to best capture their personality (and, yes, make the best impression to get the best price). I've been shooting in my macro studio, and finding that highly reflective glass objects are very difficult. Here's one that I have just listed on eBay -- I used several lights to minimize any one major reflection, and even stuck a tiny LED behind the vase to show the transparency of the art. I'll post photos of some of the other objects soon, including some very interesting masks.

Photo Fun in Fremont

The Fremont Parade and Fair in Seattle last weekend provided a prime photographic outing. Sure, the parade is known largely for the procession of naked bicyclists, but there's a lot more to it, including this marionette man, samba drummers, and even a group of chefs and women dressed as 10 foot tall pink layer cakes. See more of my Fremont photos here.

The Clouds of June

The cold, cloudy weather we've been having this spring may not be great for gardening, but there have been some great afternoons for photography. The above photo was taken last week in downtown Olympia on part of 5th Avenue that was closed for a street party, part of a celebration/fundraiser for KAOS radio (celebrating its 35th year on the air). It was also my first chance to photograph the Capitol Theater since the marquee was removed, exposing those little round stained glass windows that were hidden beneath.

Below is another cloudy shot, a bit more post processed. And I'm also spending more time experimenting with indoor studio shots in this weather, so despite what the wimpy tomatoes may say, it's not all bad. Still, I'm ready for a little more warmth and sunshine...

Monochrome Jazz

Jake's Bistro in Steilacoom is a pleasant little place and they have great food, but their stage lighting leaves something to be desired. I took a number of shots in the dim red light, and wasn't pleased with the result. But a little work in Photoshop to desaturate the image, and this shot of singer LaVon Hardison became something much more interesting. A little grainy, but full of the energy and style she exudes in her performances. I suppose the black & white also evokes a time past in some now-forgotten jazz dive...but I don't miss the thick layer of smoke that would have overlaid that scene.