Saturday, July 31, 2010

Pirate!


Pirate!
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
Since 1949 Seattle's Seafair Pirates have had a lot of fun dressing in elaborate period costume and delighting crowds while swashbuckling their way through all the city's summer festivities, but this little pirate doesn't look a thing like Johnny Depp yet captured my heart with with his great smile and home-made hat. Are we having fun yet? You bet! Tonight (Jul 31) is the 61st Seafair Torchlight Parade through downtown. 300,000 people are expected to line the route to catch glimpses of local grand marshal Apolo Anton Ohno, a star athlete from last winter's Vancouver, BC Olympics, and the newly crowned Miss Seafair and the Seafair princesses, the famous Seafair Clowns, the elaborate floats, the Seafair Commodores, all sorts of civic organizations and personalities, marching bands, and, yes, the grown-up Seafair Pirates and their booming canon menacing the streets and delighting the children.

Friday, July 30, 2010

A Lovely Pastoral Scene @ the Gum Wall


A Lovely Pastoral Scene @ the Gum Wall
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
I've shown you many gum wall shots over the years. The ever evolving participatory art installation that the Market Theater Gum Wall in Post Alley has become is currently sporting these monumental snow-capped mountains beneath a brilliant sunny sky. A happy human takes a sroll along a river that turns and cascades into a waterfall. There is a striking red heart outlined in black above, while below to the left the declaration, "No one's gonna love you more than I do" is spelled out in stretchy gum letters. Anyone care to guess how much time it took to chew all the gum used in this pastoral mural, and how many individuals participated. I'm thinking if it was just one or two people that they were standing there the better part of a day to create this. I shot this late at night.

Update 8/6/10: Okay, don't blame me for not giving. . .ah. . . a "closer" inspection or, (ew!) touching it to find out, but looking at this again now I'm thinking someone cheated and used plastic modeling clay-- you know, the bright kid's clay that smells of petroleum and never dries. At least I don't THINK anyone would spend the money for Fimo or Sculpty for such a space. The more I think about someone chewing that much gum and the specific colors used, the more I'm thinking someone "cheated." Ah, evolving art! We need a curator to inform us what subtle and not so subtle changes this space undergoes :-). Or maybe a 365 Gum Wall Project or a web cam to know what really goes on.  -K.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

iPhone Wednesday #53: Counterbalance Yellow



Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
My daughter and I were hanging out at Counterbalance Park enjoying the light show at dusk when it occurred to me to see what the Hipstamatic iPhone app might make of the bright colors. I used a random shake to determine the "film" and "lens" choices, and the LED lights at the park were constantly changing color. So, it was totally random that the yellow park chair and the yellow lights were a main emphasis while most other color was washed out.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Warm Days & Summer Footwear


Warm Days & Summer Footwear
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
This circle of friends was chatting on a shopping street in the warm evening, and I noticed the variety of summer footwear. Hope you (in the northern hemisphere) are enjoying warm summer gatherings and great times outdoors in the evenings

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday Bridge Series # 14: Great Northern Railroad Bridge


Sunday Bridge Series # 14: Great Northern Railroad Bridge
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
Several out of town photographers as well as local fellow blogger Chuck Pefley have featured this railroad bridge before in Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridge Series. It may well be the most featured bridge in the series so far :-). It really is a landmark and one of the most recognizable ones that immediately says one is in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. The Great Northern (or Burlington Northern) Railroad Bridge is one of the five bascule (French for teeter totter) bridges that cross the Lake Washington Ship Canal. It is just west of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Salmon Bay, and you can read a brief history here. The bridge remains in the open position unless a train is coming, which makes it a highly visible and identifiable structure. Here it is closed, and you see an evening train heading south across it. More bridges in the series this week can be seen at Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridges here.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Osprey Nest


Osprey Nest
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
Here is the nest high up in an electrical cable tower near the railroad bridge. One osprey has just taken off while another is perched on the nest.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Skywatch: Osprey With Salmon Aloft


Skywatch: Osprey With Salmon Aloft
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
This is one of a nesting pair of osprey's I recently saw. It flew above me with a salmon dangling in its grip. A couple who lives in the Magnolia neighborhood pointed out the nest to me. It must be four or five feet wide and is perched on top of a tower near the railroad bridge within sight of their house. The couple told me the ospreys had displaced some eagles that had nested nearby in years past, and that the eagles had moved further west and could now be seen hunting across from the renovated old Azteca location next to Ray's Boathouse. There are wonders to see and stories being told if we will just look up :-). Tomorrow I'll show you the nest, but today it is Skywatch Friday. Many more interesting skies to be seen by clicking here.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Closing Time


Closing Time
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
I just liked this shot of a rather mundane scene. A vendor at Pike Place Market is finishing his closing time routine after a full day of serving the public. It is the height of Seattle's summer tourist season and that means a happy jumble of people from all over the world wandering through the colorful market. The Space Needle recently featured a flag that read "Tourism Matters," and it is certainly true.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Love Lock Near the Locks in Seattle


Love Lock Near the Locks in Seattle
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
I've finally spotted it happening here in Seattle. Just one, mind you, but the moment I saw it and the setting it was in, I knew why a lock was fastened to this cable. In dozens of cities all over the globe people are fastening locks on bridge railings and public gates and fences and throwing away the key. The phenomenon is dubbed "Love Locks," and I first heard about it via Paris Daily Photo last month. Eric posted a photo he took of hundreds of locks fastened to the fence along the Pont des Arts, a pedestrian bridge in Paris. I have since read about it happening in many cities large and small. Apparently it is a declaration of undying love inspired by the actions of a character in a 1994 novel and subsequent 2004 movie. A couple European cities contend that the practice started there first, before the novel. How romantic. I've been on the lookout for any Love Locks here in Seattle and just came across the first example I've seen: a lone lock discretely fastened to the cable fence of the new Salmon Bay Natural Area overlook. And, wouldn't you know it, within sight of the famous Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. I imagine the person who placed it there threw the key into the waters below. If you've seen this taking place elsewhere in Seattle, please let me know. 

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Endless Summer Seattle Style


Endless Summer Seattle Style
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
I watched a dozen paddle surfers heading swiftly out the ship canal between Magnolia and Ballard and thought nothing much of it except to wonder if the people were in a class or a club. A few minutes later looking west I saw the group silhouetted as they stood at the mouth of Puget Sound. It made an unusual sight. Time to cue up The Ventures (a local band back in the day, by the way, and we just lost one the founding members Bob Bogle last year). Come to think of it, this group's theme song might be "Get Up, Stand Up!" rather than "Wipe Out." Well, maybe Surf Rider will do (added for your listening pleasure below).
(Hey Brad, I'd check the sets for you here, but, ah. . . there aren't any ;^). )


Monday, July 19, 2010

A Sailish Welcome


A Sailish Welcome
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
This is the new public art sculpture by Marvin Oliver, 2010, installed just last Saturday at Salmon Bay Natural Area, a little developed overlook along the ship canal just west of the Locks. Oliver, a prolific artist in many media, is Professor of American Indian Studies and Art at the University of Washington, and serves as Adjunct Curator of Contemporary Native American Art at the Burke Museum. This bronze sculpture is of a stylized welcome figure/indigenous person in generic Sailish style hat and ceremonial robe holding a salmon wheel crest of two salmon forming a ring of life around beautiful art glass eggs, representing the life cycle. Look carefully and you will see a stylized blue salmon with intricate cut outs, and a red one following it. This welcome figure welcomes the various kinds of salmon which are currently making their way from the ocean through Puget Sound, entering the ship canal and going up the fish ladder by the Locks to Salmon Bay and tributaries beyond. Their offspring will reverse the journey and repeat the cycle in their amazing dance of life.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Sunday Bridges #13: Double Helix Pedestrian Bridge


Amgen Double Helix Pedestrian Bridge
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
As promised, another view of the pedestrian bridge that crosses a railroad corridor to link 15th Ave NW with the Amgen campus and the waterfront and pier beyond. The design takes its inspiration from the double helix of DNA chains. I thought the pairing of something usually seen under an electron microscope with the constellation of stars visible above, usually seen best through a telescope, was in interesting pairing of the wonders within and outside ourselves. What a universe! :-). Lots more shots at my Flickr site. You can see many more interesting bridges around the world at Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridge Series here.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

LoVE & LoSS





























© 2010 Kim-Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved, including reproduction or republishing.
The interlocking words and symbols of Roy McMakin's "Love & Loss" sculpture at the Olympic Sculpture Park captivate hundreds of people with their simplicity and melding of quirky landscape design and conceptual art. This is my love's hand resting on the "O" that joins the words LoVE and LoSS into a sculptural acrostic. I took this shot a month before his death three years ago. The glossy red neon ampersand turns on its spindle, elevated high above the rest of the work, aglow night and day. People toss coins in the well of water the "O" forms, while the "V," literally a v-shaped tree trunk with a section painted white, silently and slowly grows, like love emerging or disintegrating. Or, like the tree everlasting, going on into infinity. LoVE & LoSS being forever joined together, we might wish for very different things during different chapters of life as we tossed our coin into the pool. My coin would drop in with ripples of thanks. What would you wish for today?

Friday, July 16, 2010

Summer Night on Elliott Bay


Summer Night on Elliott Bay
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
A Washington State Ferry makes its way past the lights of Harbor Island to the waterfront ferry terminal on a warm Seattle summer evening. Hope this is the start to an adventure filled weekend for you!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Double Helix Pedestrian Bridge


Double Helix Pedestrian Bridge
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
This is the pedestrian bridge from 15th Ave NW over the railroad tracks in Interbay leading to the Seattle campus of Amgen, a global biotechnology therapeutics company, and the beach front and pier beyond. The design is inspired by the double helix found in DNA. I'll show a different view for Louis la Vache's Sunday Bridges series.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

iPhone Wednesday #52: Hey, It's Been a Year!


See-Through Stairs To The Beach (Hipstamatic Contest Entry)
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
It's my "fabulous 52" edition of iPhone Wednesday, where the image is taken and edited with the iPhone using one or more fun apps. This is where i have my panic attacks, on these see-through stairs from the pedestrian bridge that crosses the railroad tracks down to the beach at Carkeek Park. Right about where that guy is standing. We went tide pooling on the beach yesterday morning with a park naturalist. Looking down we saw crabs, anemones, kitons, barnacles, and roly polies. Looking up we saw eagles and crows. The whole park had been taken over by the happy noises of hundreds of children enjoying summer day camps in view of all of Puget Sound and clear to the Olympics. That's where I keep my eyes when ascending and descending the see-through stairs, cuz if I look down, I'll just freeze in place, right about there :-). (Happy La Fête Nationale to those of you in France! Seattle salutes you in many Bastille Day celebrations here today.)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Tangerine Skies


Tangerine Skies
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
The blueberry color of the Olympic Mountain Range and the twinkling lights of dusk meld with the tangerine sky after sunset.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Maldives Live @ Seafood Fest


Maldives Live @ Seafood Fest
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
Ballard's own Maldives band played a wildly appreciated set in the late afternoon Saturday at the Ballard Seafood Fest.The talented alt/roots mega group featured violin, accordion, banjo, guitars, bass, and drums in a well-received set that had the audience swaying and hanging on every lyric.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Milk Carton Derby "UP!"


Milk Carton Derby "UP!"
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
This was one of many fun entries in the annual Seafair Milk Carton Derby at Greenlake on Saturday. The crew of entry with an "UP!" theme and another entry had a close encounter during the parade of boats. It is not evident from the photo, but all the Derby entries float on hundreds of milk cartons or jugs, which in this case are under the platform they built. Others were constructed with cartons visible. It was a hot day, so being out on the water was even more fun. More shots at my Flickr site.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Seafair & Ballard Seafood Fest


Salmon
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
It's that time of year when the sky is still light at 11 PM and a Seattlite's fancy turns to fun on the water and eats in the streets. Seafair is a multi-week, multi-event festival that Seattlites have adored for 60 years. This year the huge Ballard Seafood Fest where alder smoked salmon is cooked right on the street is taking place a couple weeks earlier than usual, making for an even more jam packed first day of Seafair events today. The Seafair Pirates will land at Alki Beach. There will be a dedication at the Fisherman's Memorial, a popular kiddie parade in Wallingford with decked out wagons, strollers, and family dogs. Over at Greenlake it's the annual Milk Carton Derby with $10,000 prize for the most creative floating vessel constructed from hundreds of milk cartons. Meanwhile in Uptown/Lower Queen Anne there is a mobile street food chow down. And yes, there will be dancing in the streets in Ballard. The Seafood Fest runs today and tomorrow with plenty of live music, food and drink, arts and crafts, and fun family activities, like this giant salmon with an interior mural showing the life cycle of these lovely fish.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Skywatch: Seattle Summer Skyline


July 7, 2010 Seattle Skyline
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
Nothing but blue skies as the sun was setting on a warm summer evening. Its reflection was leaving a last bit of glimmer and gleam on the glass and metal surfaces of the downtown's growing core of tall buildings. If you compare skyline shots from just a year or two ago with this, you'll notice the addition of several new high rises, like Olive 8 with it's very blue roof line. If Tinkerbell could string an imaginary wire along that two dimensional slope from tall tower to lowest bright building, that would be quite a sky ride. You can see some spectacular sky shots at Skywatch Friday, or join us by posting a shot of your own.

Thursday, July 08, 2010

SDP's 4th Blogoversary


SDP's 4th Blogoversary
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
July 8th marks the 4th anniversary of my first post to Seattle Daily Photo. This lovely little "Cherry Kiss" cake is from Seattle's own Parisian Star Deserts. Since Paris Daily Photo was the inspiration for this and hundreds of other Daily City Photo Blogs, and since Washington state cherries are phenomenally good this time of year, I thought it would be a perfect treat for this celebration. I share this with love and heartfelt thanks to each of you for visiting. Some of you tell me you once lived in Seattle and check in for a little view of home. Others say they are anticipating moving here and want to see more of the Emerald City before arriving. Many of you also publish daily photoblogs and enjoy photography and sharing your experiences. Some have made me blush by sharing SDP inspired you to start your own photoblogs. Your friendships havebroadened my horizons and understanding, and I've really enjoyed your great good humor and appreciated your many kindnesses. Some of you drop in daily and comment frequently, and others are occasional readers. I've had so much fun wandering the neighborhoods of the city with camera in hand, and you've made it so much more fun with your views and responses to the images. I've loved meeting folks when they've visited here and when I've been in their cities. Thanks very much for the richness of experiences and interactions I've enjoyed with you all these past four years!

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

iPhone Wednesday #51: WAllingford Sign


IMG_2242
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
It's my iPhone Wednesday shot for this week, where the image is taken and edited with the iPhone and available apps. I took this shot of my computer screen as I was reviewing several shots I'd taken of the exterior of the remodeled QFC store on 45th with its remounted WALLINGFORD neon sign, itself a throw back to the FOOD GIANT store sign it replaced when the Wallingford neighborhood lobbied to keep some vestige of its beloved landmark. I had taken several photos at QFC isolating groups of letters in the Wallingford sign to form new words of abbreviations. . .a fun version of Photography Boggle to try :-). WA is the abbreviation for Washington state. I also got ALL, FOR, OR, IN, and if you look at this particular iPhone view which cut off the W, it sort of looks like NA, as in "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, good bye." Hey, it's summer here. REALLY, FINALLY summer, so some silliness is quite in order to say goodbye to the gray skies. Carry on :-).

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Scootin Around


Scootin Around
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
Must be summer for college students. No socks, plaid cargo shorts, tee shirt, messenger bag with a very light load and the wind in his hair as he's scootin around on (what I think is) his Honda Elite 50. He breezed past me on Queen Anne Ave N, heading toward Seattle Center.

Monday, July 05, 2010

Les Seattlennes, Summer Edition


Summer in the City
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
The summer wardrobe starts to make its appearance with Seattle shoppers on Ballard Ave. now that July is in full sunny swing. Ballard Avenue's businesses and residence hotels once catered to sailors, fishermen, railroad and mill workers, and for the past ten or more years has become a very popular shopping, entertainment, and dining destination for natives and summer tourists alike.

Sunday, July 04, 2010

The Schooner Adventuress


The Schooner Adventuress
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
Part of the Northwest Schooner Association's newly formed Windjammer Fleet, the beautiful schooner Adventuress took part in the 2010 Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, giving folks a taste of sailing on this classic 1913 vessel. I also saw the Zodiac, and they were among several in the fleet present on Lake Union. The Adventuress hosts an educational program called Sound Experience, and some of the other schooners can be chartered for private events. For the Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival the Adventuress was boarding passengers for cruises around Lake Union and hosted a July 4th Fireworks viewing from her decks, complete with Lopez Island Creamery ice cream.

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Ships With Living History


Ships With Living History
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
During the Center for Wooden Boats Festival, July 4th weekend and July 10th & 11th, historic tall ships The Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain are docked in South Lake Union. The public is invited to board and tour the vessels, and they will take folks for a battle sail or even an evening fireworks sail on Lake Union. Their working crews dress in period costume and they share their enthusiasm for their ship's history and expertise in manning a classic wooden beauty. They sailed down from Bellingham, a group of school age children helping man the vessels with the crew. All great fun. This crew member was working at something while hanging off the bow.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Skywatch Friday: Evening in Early Summer


IMG_2267
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
An iPhone shot of the evening sky while out on an evening walk. It Skywatch Friday at the start of a holiday weekend. Wishing everyone a lovely beginning to a restful weekend. Visit Skywatch Friday for spectacular skies from all over the planet.

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Theme Day: Reflections


Theme Day: Reflections
Photo & Text © 2010 Kim- Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved; no use, alteration, reproduction or republishing in any media.
I had never noticed this phenomenon before. On a very sunny day the eerie pink waves of reflected light that the Purple Haze wall of the the Experience Music Project scatters everywhere had a concentrated spot on the undulating silver roof adjoining it. The Purple Haze Wall is made of highly reflective colorful metallic shingles that look purple, pink, or orange depending on where one stands and the available light. It mirrored a reflection of it's own reflection, making this sort of Rorschach image of what I assume must be an Iron Butterfly. Okay, groan now if you must :-). This was in late afternoon, and the shot below was on another day in the morning. It is the first of the month theme day among City Daily Photo Bloggers all over the planet. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.