Photographing Seattle

[adrian_stone1]

<p >I am a keen British photographer and I will be staying in Seattle in June and July this year. I am a photographic judge and lecturer with the East Anglian Federation of Photographic Societies here in the UK. I judge competitions and also select images for annual exhibitions for about 80 clubs and societies throughout the year. </p>

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<p >I hope to produce a travel lecture on the Pacific Northwest during the course of this trip. My aim is to go beyond a standard portrayal of tourist destinations. In the past I've tried to capture the spirit of the area I'm visiting. It will include landscapes, candid street scenes, portraiture, and images which display the daily life of the residents, including workplaces. </p>

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<p >I would like to make contact with photographers in Seattle beforehand as I imagine their experience and advice would be invaluable to me. </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Any advice regarding unusual photographic subjects would be just great. I will be using public transport. </p>

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<p >Many thanks for reading this message.</p>

<p > </p>

<p >Adrian Stone</p>

[colin carron]

<p>Adrian, I suggest you look at the portfolio of Wilson Tsoi.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=198623</p>

<p>have a good trip.</p>

[stephen_cysewski]

<p>Check out my web site <a href="http://www.cysewski.com/seattleweb/">www.wanderinginseattle.com </a>there are many photographs there, none of them are commercial. The originals are in the Tacoma Public Library and also in the University of Alaska library.</p>

[ralf_h]

<p>If you'd like you can contact me at pbrimages@gmail.com. I'd love to give a few suggestions</p>

<p>Stephen, your downtown images brought back some serious memories. Thanks for posting the link.</p>

[mark_olwick]

<p>Hi Adrian,<br>

I'm a travel and fine art photographer based in Seattle. I'd be happy to be of any assistance. You can contact me at olwick at hotmail.com<br>

Mark Olwick</p>

[adrian_stone1]

<p>Thanks very much for all your responses. It's very encouraging to hear from photographers with local knowledge.<br />Colin: thanks for the link to Wilson's work. He demonstraes real flair in introducing vibrant colours and movement to architectural shots.<br />Stephen: Your images are very strking. You capture the energy and of the city. The intimacy you have captured reminds me of Bresson's work. Great tonal range, and bold vantage points. Is your preference for monochrome influenced by the weather? I could make a strong case with your work of the importance of the photographer's character and personality in creating photographic images. Thank you for sharing them with me.<br />Ralf and Mark: Thanks for your email addresses. I'll be in touch shortly.</p>

[adrian_stone1]

<p>Thanks very much for all your responses. It's very encouraging to hear from photographers with local knowledge.<br>

Colin: thanks for the link to Wilson's work. He demonstraes real flair in introducing vibrant colours and movement to architectural shots.<br>

Stephen: Your images are very strking. You capture the energy and of the city. The intimacy you have captured reminds me of Bresson's work. Great tonal range, and bold vantage points. Is your preference for monochrome influenced by the weather? I could make a strong case with your work of the importance of the photographer's character and personality in creating photographic images. Thank you for sharing them with me.<br>

Ralf and Mark: Thanks for your email addresses. I'll be in touch shortly.</p>

 

[stephen_cysewski]

<p>Tacoma is near Seattle and is also worth exploring. It is easy to get there by train and bus. There is interesting architecture and many places with personality. Please feel free to contact me for ideas and sharing. I will send my email address to you or you can get it in my profile.<br>

Steve</p>

[Jerry_]

<p>...and be sure to pack your rain gear for the trip. Some of the weather in the Pacific Northwest can be fine, other times it tends to be less good for anything but ducks!</p>

<p>If you do a Google search on the area, you will find a number of places that are "in the area," from 14,000 feet mountain(s) to northernly rain forests on the Olympic Pennsula.</p>

<p> </p>

[joshroot]

<blockquote>

<p>...and be sure to pack your rain gear for the trip. Some of the weather in the Pacific Northwest can be fine, other times it tends to be less good for anything but ducks!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Anyone who visits washington state between October and July without packing raingear is a fool. Anyone who visits the other months without packing raingear is just a looney risk taker.</p>

<p> </p>

[adrian_stone1]

<p>Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions. Regards Adrian.</p>

[lance_delo]

<p>+1 on the rain gear suggestion. Fred Beckey (famous WA climber of a previous generation) wrote in the forwards to his famous Cascade climbers guides something like: "Weather prediction in the Cascades [edit: and by extension Western Washington] is easy: It is either raining or it will be shortly."</p>

[stephen_cysewski]

<p>Actually during June and July it can be beautiful, in the Fall and Winter it can get pretty grey, but the idea of Seattle weather being always rainy is sort of a myth. <br>

See this link <a href="http://www.beautifulseattle.com/clisea.htm">http://www.beautifulseattle.com/clisea.htm</a><br>

" Summers in Seattle are usually warm, dry, and sunny, with long days and cool nights. The driest time of year in Seattle is the last half of July and the first half of August. During this time period, Seattle will often go ten, twenty, or thirty days without any measurable precipitation. The warm, mild weather often continues into fall, with cooler temperatures at night --- the rainy season in Seattle doesn't officially begin until October 1. Winter is the wettest season in Seattle. Spring in Seattle is mild and green, but it can be very wet at times."</p>

[davidmeiner]

<p>Adrian, Stephen offers excellent weather input. While I would consider June somewhat unpredictable, the last half of July can be downright hot some days. Think 40 degrees Celsius! Seattle had a few days in a row of that kind of heat in July 2009. Granted, it's rare to get that hot. But late July through part of September is the ideal time for dry weather in the area. Have a great trip, and I wish you excellent weather!</p>

[robert_k1]

<p>During my Seattle trip, I took the underground tour. It caught me by complete surprise, and I was not equipped to photograph it well. Check with the local experts to find out more.<br>

On the streets, the java culture would also make a good subject.<br>

BTW, I am so glad to see local photographers offering their help, and hope to see more here. There are many sites that offer housing exchange, etc. for travellers. What we need is a site that is dedicated to on location photographer guide/help exchange around the world.</p>

[robert_k1]

<p>And if you should feel homesick, take a day trip to Victoria. Have high tea at the Fairmont Empress, and a pint or two at the pubs. That should make you feel right at home. After that, take a stroll at the Buchart Gardens.</p>

[lance_delo]

<p>I second the notion about Victoria, been there a number of times and always enjoyed it. There's a fair amount of photogenic stuff up there, and if you take the Victoria Clipper it's not a bad trip...<br>

The Underground tour is not what it used to be and is pretty much a touristy thing, but I suppose being somewhat unique it would be interesting and perhaps photogenic, though I've not been there in long enough to even remember.<br>

The Pike Place Market is the classic place in Seattle to take photos, the fish mongers playing catch with big fresh-caught salmon, all the sights and people and little hole-in-wall shops and bigger-than-life personalities and so on.<br>

Unless you're with a local who knows their way around, stay out of Pioneer Square at night. It's not that you're likely to get mugged, but it seems there's frequently (enough) gangbanger gun play or what-have-you down in that area.<br>

Tacoma could be interesting, but is also an armpit of the greater Pacific Northwest in terms of (again) gangbangers and those types. Parts of it are pretty rough and are to be avoided.<br>

</p>

[lance_delo]

<p>Oh, and the ferries, very classic photo stuff.<br>

Either taking pictures of them plying to and fro or, weather permitting, jump on one of the Seattle ferries (to Bainbridge Island, for example) and take pix from the deck. Just be sure to bring a heavy tripod and vibration-reducing lenses, these are boats after all...<br>

And also Fremont (one of Seattles' hippie neighborhoods), the Fremont Troll under the bridge, etc.<br>

And there's a park in (northern) West Seattle that's at least locally famous for it's "sunset picture of Seattle" potential, though for the life of me I'm not dredging up the name...</p>

[joshroot]

<blockquote>

<p>Actually during June and July it can be beautiful, in the Fall and Winter it can get pretty grey, but the idea of Seattle weather being always rainy is sort of a myth.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Betting on June as a dry and sunny month is for people who like to double down on a pair of 3's in blackjack. Please make sure you note the word "<strong>CAN</strong> " in the quote above. When the summer weather gets nice, it is real nice around here. Middle of July to the middle of august are safer bets. But still, see my raingear quotes above.</p>

[robert_k1]

<p>I forgot to mention the resting places of Bruce Lee and Jimi Hendrix. Oh yes, also Kurt Cobain's. Who's he?</p>

[adrian_stone1]

Thanks everybody for all your great advice. I think Ive got the message that I need to plan for inclement weather. We may check out the underground tour, and Victoria sounds interesting. It sounds like there's a lot of photogenic stusff in Seattle itself, and we need to be sensible regarding where we go at night. I'm nuts on boats, so the ferries will feature for sure.

 

If everyone we meet in Seattle is as helpul as you guys we're in for a great trip. Thanks for giving up your time to get me up to speed.

 

All the best.

 

Adrian