Seattle Daily Photo: December 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

MOHI Grand Opening

This weekend marked the long anticipated grand opening of Seattle's Museum of History and Industry, now ensconced in its new venue, the old Naval Reserve Armory building in Lake Union Park. I was driving along Westlake last night and saw it lit up and glowing and just had to stop. Wonderful exhibits, beautiful space, a great cafe, and the Center for Wooden Boats right next door. A great destination, and its open tomorrow (New Year's Day) for a family day. Congrats to MOHI for realizing this goal! It's a beautiful renovation.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Last Chance

Tomorrow may be your last chance to indulge before those resolutions kick in. Cupcake Royale is making it easier to give in to temptation. They've added their own line of ice cream at four locations to their already decadent line of baked treats and espresso drinks at all six locations. Their newest storefront on Pine opened last summer and is the first to have a sign reflecting the triple threat line up. Their New Year's celebratory cupcake is vanilla cake spiked with champagne, topped with Skagit Valley strawberry frosting. The little Seattle cupcake shop that could keeps on chugging into new territory. So what are you going to order?

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Unicycler

This was the first time I'd come across someone riding a unicycle around Greenlake. He's well equipped for an unexpected dismount :-). The popular almost 3 mile path around the lake usually boasts an abundance of walkers, runners, bicyclers, roller bladers, dogs being walked, and strollers being pushed. I guess its safe to say he's unique in his choice of workout equipment today. But there are lots of unicycle riders around Seattle, and they do meet up at Greenlake, I've just not run into them there (lots of other places, though). Are you starting to think about fitting more movement into your new year's routines? What activities might you like to try to spice up your workouts? This will NOT be one for me, even if I wore the protective gear. Give me two wheels, thank you very much :-).

Friday, December 28, 2012

Not a Whole Lot Going On

But there's a sign to let you know there is a rich history to this alley. Below is a shot of how quiet the apartments and businesses seem compared to those that once occupied the alley. If you are a fan of Jamie Ford's book, The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, you might like to visit Canton Alley off of King Street between 7th and 8th (you can learn more about that here).

Today we took advantage of the dry weather and took down our Christmas lights from the eves, took down the tree, cut it up into the yard waste bin, tucked away all the dear little ornaments, boxed up the decorations, and cleaned house. Then we had yummy Cantonese food for lunch: hot and sour soup, chicken, and noodles. . .and fortune cookies, of course! Made me homesick for San Francisco.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Prediction for New Year's Day

The Seattle forecast says we can expect this sunny view on the first day of 2013 (I took this awhile back, and NO it is not currently sunny). That's a nice way to ring in the new year! Are you planning some resolutions? One of mine is to do more photowalking, especially when the light is so nice.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Driven to Abstraction Wednesday #8

The familiar not so familiar, pattern upon pattern.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Bon Noël

Joyeux Noël to SDP visitors wherever you might be celebrating it around the globe! The old Bon Marché building facade in downtown Seattle bears this simple Christmas greeting from the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. The Bon was founded in the 1889, but these decorative motifs on the 3rd and Pine building date from 1929. Last night we enjoyed the candlelit Christmas Eve lessons and carols service at our church which was also built in 1929. Below are photos from last night.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Listening for Angels

Watching for Angles by Seattle Daily Photo

It's Christmas Eve and Seattle streets seem pretty empty. That busy vibe has slowed down (at least from what's visible outside the homes--and I've not gone near any shopping areas) :-). And some people are quietly watching and listening and waiting. Especially some little people. Well, perhaps not so quietly. Here's a little song for you today, written and performed by Rob Mathes.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Flash Cab

Late night speed. Tried to get a move on. End of the world averted. Slow down, breath, feel the cold air on your cheeks, the uneven bricks beneath your feet, soak in all that rain-washed color and the fresh clear air of the season.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Extinct or in Suspended Animation?

I guess this sign says it all. A streetcar ran along the Seattle Waterfront for over 20 years. Historic cars from Melbourne, Australia carried passengers along the popular line. It stopped service at the end of 2005, a year after its visionary and champion, Seattle City Councilman George Benson, died. The SAM Olympic Sculpture Park construction demolished the streetcar barn and plans to address damage from the Nisqually earthquake to the adjacent viaduct also developed. I don't know if there are plans for incorporating the streetcar into the new waterfront plan once the Alaskan Way Viaduct is removed and a new traffic corridor is reestablished, sometime around 2018. Right now the #99 bus line has replaced the streetcar route. Meanwhile, the old streetcars are covered in shrink wrap and stored out of sight, and their route signs are wrapped in vines.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Getting Ready

Some light was reflecting from upper windows onto this group of women walking together along Pike Place on a very gray day. I love when that happens. Lots of shoppers are enjoying the atmosphere and wares in popular Pike Place Market, getting ready for Christmas day. The Market is decked out in its usual holiday finery (that's a wire strawberry under the clock which will be more clearly delineated when its miniature lights turn on at dusk, and you can tell that's a carrot next to it). What always decorates the market and makes it so appealing are the fresh foods, flowers, art and handmade gifts, the sights, sounds, fun and smells that attract locals and visitors alike.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Felix Fish

Fish and art, both abound in Seattle. So I guess it's only natural to find fish art while out and about. I found no information on this whimsical sculptural installation but thought it was fun to view out along the waterfront. We're all about fish in Seattle, with maritime industries that are multifaceted and a fishing fleet that provides much of the nation with salmon and cod.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Driven To Abstraction Wednesday #7

A little Seattle Christmas lights abstract for you today. Which reminds me to tell you that one of my workmates, with the help of her dad, was excited to create a holiday lights display which she has synchronized to music a piano teacher friend recorded for the occasion. You can drive or walk by with your radio tuned to 102.1 FM to enjoy the festive and creative musical light show on N 48th Street (between Whitman Ave N and Woodland Park Ave N which is two blocks east of Aurora and two blocks south of N 50th Street) in the Wallingford neighborhood. You can also check out a friend of hers' display in the Ravenna neighborhood on NE 68th Street between Ravenna Ave NE and 23rd Ave NE.

She was inspired to try this after seeing the GreenlakeChristmas.com synchronized musical light display near 57th and Latona and the WestSeattleLights.com display at 3908 SW Charlestown in West Seattle. A new animated Christmas spirit is joining some of Seattle's favorite traditional neighborhood displays at Candy Cane Lane in the Ravenna neighborhood, Olympic Manor in Ballard (look for the lighted spinning 1950s Santas atop the OM sign at the main entrance to this large neighborhood), and the over 200,000 lights and over the top displays at 5605 Beach Drive SW in West Seattle. There's something about gray skies and very short winter days that brings out an abundance of cheery lights and festive music all over Seattle.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Quite a Castle

This was one of the entirely edible elaborate gingerbread palaces on display at the Sheraton Hotel's 20th Annual Gingerbread Village. Donations by visitors go to fight juvenile type 1 diabetes. The theme was Once Upon A Time and featured storybook characters and settings. There is enough candy decorating the sheets of gingerbread on this castle to stock a candy store. Truly magical. Can you imagine the number of hours of patient construction to make this? Below are some details of the Alice In Wonderland tableau. I think most of the characters are made of marzipan.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Entrepenurial Santa

I spied this red suited, white bearded gentleman about a block away from the downtown Nordstom Santa Land (where there can be long lines to get photos taken with Santa). So, he's taking the opportunity to fill a niche market for quick street shots with Santa--you provide the camera and say cheese with him. No, he's not doing a karate move here a la Mr. Miyagi. He's actually offering candy canes to passers by and waving, "Ho, ho, ho."

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Cold Winter's Day Kayaker

I was walking around some working docks in Ballard along the north shore of the ship canal when I spotted some ducks and some lovely reflections of boats and pink clouds. I tried to capture a shot on my iPhone, but the ducks were unnerved by my presence. I was concentrating so much on them that I completely missed seeing a kayaker heading into shore until he was nearly there. He hauled his craft out and I noticed it had wheels at one end and a handle at the other, and he just pulled it along the street behind him to his vehicle a block or so away. What an ideal easy set up. I think even I could manage to launch and haul out a kayak like that one by myself. It was super cold out, so kudos to him for the dedication to get out there on the water and paddle down the canal.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Civic Center Area

downtowntiltshift by Seattle Daily Photo

This shot was taken with an iPhone Friday afternoon from a height of 25 stories. Starting at the far right is Seattle's City Hall complex, then moving left is Columbia Center (the city's tallest structure), to it's left and behind it is the Seattle Municipal Tower, and front left is the red brick structure of the historic Rainier Club. Behind that is the domed old First United Methodist Church building, now an historic landmark known as the Daniels Recital Hall. The blank lot next door to the right of it will someday become another shiny highrise, the Fith & Columbia Tower.
It's mid December and the city trees lining the street are still ablaze with autumn colors.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Snow Is Back

While we've all pulled on our wooly caps against the cold this last week, the Brothers, a peak in the Olympics, is sporting it's own very snowy cap. We had such a lovely long warm Indian Summer that those peaks became very bare. That's Bainbridge Island across Puget Sound in the foreground and low clouds catching the last light of day on the Olympic Peninsula. As you can see below, I wasn't the only one out in Sunset Hill Park shooting the last rays of sunlight hitting those low clouds below the peaks. As I turned to go I noticed this photographer take several shots that included me in the frame, then go nonchalantly along. So, I returned the favor :-). Odd being on the other side of that equation.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

It's That Time of Year

The Downtown Nordstrom Santa takes time to connect with a couple siblings that came to pay him a visit and have their photos snapped. I caught this shot as I passed by one evening. It's fun to watch these encounters from the sidewalk through the window. A few mornings later my daughter was doing just that with the little two year old she cares for. As they looked through the window a store representative came out and invited her to bring the child in to sit with Santa and have a photo snapped from her iPhone for free. I love Nordies for that kind of Christmas spirit. The two year old was thrilled and just beamed away from Santa's lap, and no pressure to get the commercial photos taken. You can see Santa was all about helping these brothers feel at ease and really listened to them.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Driven to Abstraction Wednesday #6

I passed by this glass panel door in the International District which was sporting color blocks in fading and chipped paint that allowed some view through to a striped pattern. It's this Wednesday's abstract street shot, the 6th in what I think will be a year long series.

Hey, enjoy 12/12/12!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

No Mouth, No Mouthpiece

During some downtown window shopping I spied this mannequin outfitted with an instrument as a prop. There's a koan in there somewhere. Maybe you could write it. What is the sound of no breath blowing no reed? What would yours be?

Honestly now, what working sax player have you ever seen wearing a Brooks Brothers suit? it's an odd pairing. Perhaps a window dresser's take on "when worlds collide." :-)

Monday, December 10, 2012

Casting Shadows

The year of the dragon will yield to the year of the snake at lunar new year, but until then he's doing his best to cast good fortune and flex his muscles. Who knew dragons were into pole dancing? :-)
Seattle's International District's various boundaries are marked by several of these dragons. It's a great area to shop and eat inexpensively, which is exactly what I was doing there.

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Models in Downtown Photoshoot

Models and Photoshoot by Seattle Daily Photo

I literally took this while driving by, which I don't often do, but it was all too compelling not to whip the camera out the window while stopped for a light. The women were standing by while the photo crew reviewed the shots in camera. There were big lights and and reflectors set up and I think they were going to shoot some more. I expect we'll see them in a Nordies ad in near future.

Saturday, December 08, 2012

No Gum This Side

Since about 1994 when patrons of the Market Theater started adhering coins to the east wall of Post Alley with wads of gum, the gum wall has remained solely along the theater's brick walls. This year the sticky tide has flowed to the west side of the alleyway (and this sign appeared). It would seem there is a rebellion underway. What I find unfortunate is that gum stickers knowingly or unknowingly have defaced the south portion of the free wall where street artists regularly post posters, stickers and large paintings. I wonder how the artists feel about the encroachment, if they mind or not. They certainly can't post over the large gum blobs like they have previous layers of flat street art. You can see (bottom right photo) that the layers of gum on the theater side have grown very thick compared to almost six years ago in this photo I showed you in January 2007, so a clear wall must seem more inviting.

Gum Defacing Street Art Free Wall on West Side of Post Alley

Alibi Room Entrance and Gum Now Encroaching Quite a Bit on the West Wall

Friday, December 07, 2012

Elf in Season

Last night was the official opening night for Elf the Musical at Seattle's home for musical theater, the very beautiful 5th Avenue Theatre (click the link to see photos of the historic Chinese Dome built in 1929 and twice the size of the one in the Forbidden City). Buddy and all his North Pole colleagues will be dancing their way into audiences hearts all season long.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Rachel the Red Nosed Reinpig

She's leading her posse in Christmas spirit along the roof top Pike Place Market.
So, do you leave carrots out for a pig on Christmas Eve, or what? THIS little Reinpig would like you to feed her something else, something she can in turn use to help bring home the bacon for a lot of Seattlite families this season. If you don't know about our beloved Rachel, click here to learn why she's so important to Pike Place Market. Rachel is all about giving at all times of year, so please feed her when you visit the Market (and if you're interested, click here if you'd like to see how to contribute through her on-line piggy bank).

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Driven to Abstraction Wednesday #5

No, you are not seeing things. These trees ARE bright blue. And, no, Dr. Souse and I did not create these through the magic of some photo process. They are the work of Australian artist Konstantin Dimopoulos. He has installations of blue trees in several nations now and is trying through these works to draw attention to the global problem of deforestation. The blue hue is not paint, but a wash made from water and a crushed blue stone called azurite. Over time the the blue is expected to fade and wash away with the rain. This installation took place in April, and the bark is still very vivid. Seen with the seasonal lights, its quite a surreal tangle. It's my Driven to Abstraction offering for you this week.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

It's Christmastime In the City

Downtown Seattle is decked out in it's Christmas finery, but I was surprised to see things have gone a bit tacky compared to years past. The tree at Westlake Center is artificial this year (after 23 years of real ones from this, the Evergreen state). The carousel a couple years ago changed out it's golden-hued incandescent bulbs for LED lights, which is a good thing, except for the unattractive cold bluish-purple light they give off--not as lovely in photos. The merchants have turned off the water feature of the plaza sculptures and draped them with ill fitting and unattractive blue cloth graphics that advertises the carousel and its sponsors (honestly, they look like poorly printed sagging bus clings). And the signage barricading the bottom of the huge artificial tree has giant lettering that adds eye clutter to already inharmonious elements. The blue banners flying above it all on poles are wordy and unattractive. More like ads than decorations. It's still all festive, mind you, just not done with the same level of design savvy seen in years past. Shoppers and kids don't mind at all. It's probably just those of us out looking for eye candy with our cameras that are finding it is slim pick-in's.

Monday, December 03, 2012

Typical Seattle in Motion

Looking down on Elliott Bay and across to West Seattle while a ferry comes into view and shoppers take a moment to look out on a lovely, if cold, evening.

Sunday, December 02, 2012

Take Your Flicks From Pier 66

A bit of the Seattle waterfront as evening descends as seen from the rooftop area of Pier 66. This is a great vantage point to view a sunset over Bainbridge Island and West Seattle or look back on the city skyline.

Saturday, December 01, 2012

Theme Day: My Street

My street photography is nothing new to frequent visitors, but today I'm going to use it to share with you a little film location factoid from Sleepless In Seattle. See that little patch of clear sidewalk just below the red "K" for Kim which marks this as my street (evil grin)? If you and I were standing just there we could look down the sidewalk a few steps and see the exact place Tom Hanks bends over and says to Rob Reiner, "So, how's my butt? . . . Is it cute, though?" Now, I bet that's something you always wondered about, right? :-) The red arrow in the photo below points to the exact spot. These shots are looking down Pine at 1st Avenue, a street featured in many films and postcard photos, and perhaps some photos of your own (like the folks below are busy capturing). It's My Street Shot for you today. To see how other Daily City Photo Blogs have interpreted the December 1st Theme, My Street, click here to see all participants.

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