Seattle Public Library

Escalator at Seattle Public Library - a very interesting and unique library.
Curves adjustments made to image.

Seattle Skies

Rarely do you see Seattle skies like this. These two guys had to take a moment to stare out into them.
I took this picture from the backseat of our car as we were stopped at a traffic light. Another one of those pictures that just happened to be right time right moment. We pulled up to the light as it turned red. I looked out the window and saw these two guys standing up to look out at the water/sky. There were crowds of people everywhere but I was able to wait for the right moment to let them pass out of the frame. I thought it turned out pretty nice and had a nice isolated feel for these two gentlemen.

Safeco Field

Safeco Field- another ballpark to check off the list. I think I'm up to 7 now (not really that impressive). Still, it was a wonderful night for a game. Mariners lost (of course- worst record in baseball right now) but there was some excitement when their pitcher was thrown out of the game for arguing a call at first base.

Seattle Ferry Ride

I just got back from a wonderful trip to Seattle so the next few posts will probably contain pictures from that trip. I wanted to start off with this one that I really liked.
While in Seattle, there were so many beautiful views of the cityscape it was hard to not constantly want to photograph it. I snapped the above shot as we were exiting our car (to go upstairs) on the ferry to Bainbridge Island. I liked this image because it had more of a story and personal feel to my trip rather than just a cityscape of the Seattle- I was on the ferry and this was how I saw it. However, I did get a panoramic shot from West Seattle of most of the cityscape (a more traditional image but with no personal touch to it). Nevertheless, panoramic images are fun to make and I think I'm learning how to do them pretty well.
Seattle was a wonderful experience and we got lucky with the weather while we were there (no rain, yay). More pictures to come...

Smart Cars

I just wanted to make a post about how cool I think Smart Cars are. In France, we saw them everywhere. It made sense- small cars fit on small streets. But to my surprise, after coming home from France I started noticing them in San Francisco (they recently started shipping to US). They seem to be catching on here as they are extremely convenient for parking on the streets of San Francisco. So many times you will see a parking spot in SF and find that it's just too small for your car. With the Smart Car, you can really fill in those tiny spots located all over the city. Also, you can park them perpendicular to a curb if you want. Good to see that these are starting to catch on. Big cities need small cars. They feel much more appropriate for city life than all these huge SUVs everywhere.

The image above was taken in Avignon, France. Smart Cars are made by Mercedes Benz.

Gem at Fort Point

Sometimes the unexpected happens and it just turns out brilliant. I took this image a few months ago at Fort Point (beneath the Golden Gate Bridge) in San Francisco. I set out this day wanting to get a cool shot of the bridge from underneath but everything I took that day was just not very satisfying for me. I've seen so many photos of the bridge, mine just seemed cliche.
But on this day, my girlfriend and I were exploring the rooftop of Fort Point and I went inside this old little lookout tower space that was dusty and the stairs seemed like they might fall apart soon. I looked out the window and the light was just right and I snapped several shots of this window.
This is what I really love about photography.. when you see something that you know will not last, it is perfect in the moment and you capture it forever. The best shots are often the ones you do not set out to get. The ones that 'just happen'. So, much to my surprise I got this gem unexpectedly and it was my favorite shot of that day. AND it still has the Golden Gate Bridge laid out in the background of the shot (and part of the bridge that is not often photographed- the crazy structured support where the bridge meets the land).
Mostly what I like about this shot is the story it tells, all the different people that visited it, the feelings they chose to share with whomever was next to find this space, and the contrast of warmth of the bottom set of window panes and cool tones in the top set (not photoshopped).
The only adjustments I made to this image were curves adjustments for added contrast.