Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Shooting with Gene
A couple Friday's ago, photo-bud-Gene and I went shooting. We started at the Edmonds ferry terminal and waterfront. It was raining the whole time so we eventually gave up and went to Pike's Place Market.
Snowflake Lane
At the Bellevue Square Mall on Bellevue Way in Bellevue, WA, there's an interesting 'show' that happens on the sidewalk most nights in December. It's called Snowflake Lane. They blast holiday music and dress up a bunch of 'young people' that either give you candy canes (whether you want them or not) walk around on stilts, or bang on drums along with the music. Kids seem to love it.
Anyway, I found out I know one of the drummers so I shot him. Twice. On a Monday and a Tuesday.
Winter in Issaquah- 2008
I spent a couple hours walking around at night (between midnight and 5am) in the rare Issaquah snow trying to stay awake. More comments under each photo...
I got 'lucky' and had a car trip the lights during a 10 sec exposure, but not show up in the photo.
The neighbors appear to have moved away and left a light on. 
Someone trying to get out of the parking lot.
My version of a self-portrait.
A treacherous looking path.
The view down Dogwood St. from Newport Way.
I swear I've lived here for years and never seen that sign.
Someone put a collar on that streelight to keep it from shining in their windows. I thought it made a nice spot light on the street for another self-portrait. And then I thought it looked better in mostly red.
In the middle of the night an 8 sec exposure shows quite a bit. But white stuff on the ground and in the sky helps too.
Lights on the roof melting snow.
This tree is huge. I have no idea how they got all those lights up there. I was tempted to sit on the bench for this photo.
Metal sculpture horse across from the theater. 
The old train station under an almost dramatic sky. 
Sidewalk lights at the hatchery are interesting. 
A 15 second exposure just before dawn at the fish hatchery.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Mukilteo Shipwreck
I was browsing google maps a few months ago and saw something interesting along the Washington coast. from the satellite photo, it looked just like a shipwreck, but I couldn't believe it was real, so I checked it out.
First I googled "Mukilteo shipwreck" and found two helpful things. The first is that the property was/is an old salvage yard for ships. And looking at the satellite photos again I saw what look like a few more boat carcases underwater near the shore. The second is that Microsoft's live maps' birds eye view of the area is an excellent resource and the best looking picture of it.
I found a public park a mile south of the shipwreck called Picnic Point. From there I could see that there really was something there. So I drove the tiny road out to the property but stopped when I saw thousands of no tresspassing signs at the driveway entrance. From there the trees are too thick to see anything so I went home. After more google mapping I found a road and some houses about a half mile north of the wreck that looked like they may have a good view. I parked at the large office building outside of the development and walked the trail along the perimeter to the edge of the cliff. There may also be a trail that goes through the dense valley of trees to the beach? At the lookout point a hundred or so feet above the beach I could only see trees. But as I inched closer to the cliff I saw a rope tied around a tree and a steep path down the cliff. Eventually the steep path turned into stairs carved into the cliff. It's not as treacherous as it sounds. From the beach the view was very clear and the wreck looked less interesting than the aerial view. There were enough no tresspassing signs stuck to the ship to make it less photogenic than I'd hoped. getting any closer would require walking along or beside the train tracks. No trains came through while I was there but those tracks are used heavily. If a train comes from the north there would be very little warning. From the south there would be just enough time to get out of the way. There's water on one side and a cliff on the other so it would not be a pleasant experience.
If I felt like getting any closer, which I don't because it's not as interesting or photogenic as I'd hoped, I'd take a boat and stay offshore.
It does look interesting in infrared with some stormy clouds. But most things would.
First I googled "Mukilteo shipwreck" and found two helpful things. The first is that the property was/is an old salvage yard for ships. And looking at the satellite photos again I saw what look like a few more boat carcases underwater near the shore. The second is that Microsoft's live maps' birds eye view of the area is an excellent resource and the best looking picture of it.
I found a public park a mile south of the shipwreck called Picnic Point. From there I could see that there really was something there. So I drove the tiny road out to the property but stopped when I saw thousands of no tresspassing signs at the driveway entrance. From there the trees are too thick to see anything so I went home. After more google mapping I found a road and some houses about a half mile north of the wreck that looked like they may have a good view. I parked at the large office building outside of the development and walked the trail along the perimeter to the edge of the cliff. There may also be a trail that goes through the dense valley of trees to the beach? At the lookout point a hundred or so feet above the beach I could only see trees. But as I inched closer to the cliff I saw a rope tied around a tree and a steep path down the cliff. Eventually the steep path turned into stairs carved into the cliff. It's not as treacherous as it sounds. From the beach the view was very clear and the wreck looked less interesting than the aerial view. There were enough no tresspassing signs stuck to the ship to make it less photogenic than I'd hoped. getting any closer would require walking along or beside the train tracks. No trains came through while I was there but those tracks are used heavily. If a train comes from the north there would be very little warning. From the south there would be just enough time to get out of the way. There's water on one side and a cliff on the other so it would not be a pleasant experience.
If I felt like getting any closer, which I don't because it's not as interesting or photogenic as I'd hoped, I'd take a boat and stay offshore.
It does look interesting in infrared with some stormy clouds. But most things would.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)