Seattle Daily Photo

Friday, October 16, 2009

Blooming in the Bright Alley

This 60 foot mural, Whale vs. Squid, was just completed at the end of August by artists Karl Addison and Pixel.Tron. I don't know if the artists planted the variety of sunflowers in front of it, but all that intense color works together to brighten this alley off Cherry St. between 25th and 26th Ave. That is where you will find the entrance to the Twilight Exit, a very popular dive bar. The Twilight moved from its old location on Madison to its new digs at the beginning of the year. I think they now occupy the space vacated by JoAnna's restaurant and jazz club, but am not sure.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Magnificent Elm

I went exploring in the Central District recently and was rewarded with street after street of fall foliage on a blue sky afternoon. I came upon a towering elm that dominated the corner where it grew and dwarfed this tall section of the Islamic School of Seattle building that stood beside it. The Islamic School of Seattle provides bilingual, Montessori-based education. It is housed in very lovely historic buildings which once served as a Jewish day school.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

iPhone Wednesday #14: Drains To The Bay

Water runoff from Seattle rains flows into a system of drains that often lead right back to the open waters around us. In the dark portion of this shot under the puddle where you can't see it is a spray painted reminder about this to encourage people not to dump anything into the drain, like motor oil or paint or other toxic substances. Some neighborhoods, commercial developments, schools, and homeowners have begun to build "rain gardens" to help filter storm runoff through rock, plants and soil before it eventually makes its way to the ponds, streams, lakes, and the sound in its down hill journey.

It's my iPhone Wednesday shot for you this week, taken and edited with the iPhone. Well, Gourmet magazine may have stopped publishing, but today we can go check out the iPhone shots of what Chuck and Ming the Merciless' snapped from their groaning tables, and there is even a wonderful recipe to try :-). We City Daily Photo Bloggers do what we can to fill the gap!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Pumpkin Tide

The Red Apple Market in the Madison Park neighborhood featured some goliath pumpkins and a variety of smaller sizes. Most of the huge ones had "sold" signs on them and I wondered if people had to borrow someone's truck to haul one home. They weren't something I could imagine lifting in and out of a car trunk. I took this shot just before the cloud cover and cold of our current rain storm descended upon us and thought the bright scene might cheer those on the US west coast which seems to be one very rainy region in the world from SoCal to Canada :-). It's been a dry year, so my spring bulb garden, which I've just spent a bit of time getting in order, is thankful for the rain.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Hing Hay Park

This International District park looks fairly deserted from this angle, yet even at night nearly a dozen folks are sitting or standing around conversing. In this case they are just out of sight to the right of the picture frame. This is one of those urban parks where not a blade of grass is to be found. I think that may reflect not only the setting but the purpose of this 1970s era park as primarily a gathering place and quiet lunch spot. This pavilion, built in Taiwan in 1974, has been very well maintained, and if you look closely, you'll see figures in a painted mural on the multistory building behind. The paintings tell some of the history of Chinese people in the Pacific Northwest. I'm used to walking around urban areas at night that some folks consider kinda sketch, and this is not a place I would recommend most folks to wander around after the restaurants start to close. There are a lot of street people and some will approach you for help, a hussle, or just for conversation. Just a block from here a couple guys 15 feet in front of me made an exchange of drugs for money, and last year a mentally ill guy got kind of aggressive toward me when I was in the area past midnight with my tripod trying to get some shots. During shopping and dining hours there is a bustle on the street and none of that edgy feeling.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Historic Chinatown Gate

This beautiful huge gate spans S King Street near 5th Avenue S and will be two years old in February. It marks the western boundary of old Chinatown in Seattle's International District. More funds are being raised and it is hoped that a matching gate can be constructed at S King Street and 12th Avenue S. You can read more about it here.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Amazon.com la Nuit

Day or night, Amazon.com's world headquarters dominates the scene at the north end of Beacon Hill. I had taken some handheld night shots a couple years ago and revisited last night with my tripod. The setting and distinctive Deco architecture of this former ~~military~~ Marine Hospital building always makes a big impression from almost any vantage point. Close ups in daylight are here.

Friday, October 09, 2009

Skywatch: I See The Moon

". . .and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me." A nursery rhyme our little daughter said nearly every night on seeing the moon. This was Seattle's view of last night's waning gibbous, as seen from our driveway. This is a color shot, and I had to wait several times for wispy clouds to pass. It's Skywatch Friday, and here is the link to enjoy skies around the globe.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

A Window Into So Many Lives

I thought I'd share one more window shot with you this week. I've been thinking a lot about a buddy who loves cycling, did a lot of BMX competitions as a kid, and has admired Lance Armstrong for many years. For the past eight months he's had a whole different reason to appreciate Lance. I am wishing him well today. I spotted this gigantic poster of Lance high up in a downtown Seattle window, and the riders below just taking off after waiting at a light had just passed him. I have no idea if they are Critical Mass or just the Cascade Bicycle Club :-), but they had their clothes on, unlike a bunch of other cyclists seen around Seattle this summer and caught by our own Chuck's lens down by the Market ;^).

I will leave you with this entry from my friend's blog yesterday after he completed round 12 of a particularly brutal regimen of chemotherapy (most with his diagnosis only have the strength to make it through 8): "In the midst of my chemo fog I am rejoicing this morning. I will be disconnected from the last of my chemotherapy at 11:30 today. It's hard to believe that it is coming to an end...it seems surreal. I am imagining myself as a Tour de France rider pedaling his way into Paris onto the cobblestone streets of the Champs-Élysées, taking those final turns and striving for the finish line. I'm looking back on all the mountains and valleys I've come through, the exhilarating downhills and grueling uphills. I'm thankful for all the domestiques, those who have pulled me up the hills and guided me through the treacherous stretches. I'm thankful that my body, though not the one I started with, is intact and will get time to recover. What an amazing journey this has been." . . .Big, huge congrats!!! And my best wishes for healing and safe journey go out to all who are coping with similar health challenges. This hope's for you.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

iPhone Wednesday #13: Happy Window

I'm following up yesterday's shot with another window. The brick arch of this small floor level window caught my eye at Gorditos in Greenwood. Someone had decorated it with colorful art glass shapes and beads. Through the seeded glass the light is framed by a wrought iron cross. This is the 13th in my iPhone Wednesday series where the image is made and edited using the iPhone and apps. Lets see what delicious things Chuck and Ming shot with their iPhones today.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Happy Man

Sometimes you glimpse someone from a distance and feel glad for having seen them in a candid moment. I used to see common scenes like this a lot when I lived in San Francisco, except the apartment buildings were usually turn of the last century wood frame Italianate three stories or, if newer, were more often stucco rather than brick exteriors. Here in Seattle the older apartment buildings do usually tend to have brick facades. There is something happy about a lighted window on a fall night.

Monday, October 05, 2009

Previously Owned. . .

. . .by the Smurfs or Cookie Monster? I've had my eye out for unusual bar stools for some friends whose breakfast counter in their new house turns out to be above standard height for most seating out there on the market. These custom stools I saw in a consignment shop window may not fill the bill for height, but if it were just the coolness factor they were looking for, this foursome might do nicely. I'm thinking these come from someone who subscribes to the Archie McPhee school of design :-).

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Betty Bowen Viewpoint Newly Restored

This is a setting I enjoy often and from which I've made several photos to show you in past years here and here. It is a viewpoint within small Marshall Park at the west end of West Highland Drive. In 1977 Seattle's famed architect Victor Steinbrueck headed up the effort to create an art installation as an homage to deceased writer and arts patron Betty Bowen, a life long Queen Anne resident. She had long been involved as an advocate to develop little Marshall Park into an attractive gathering area where residents and visitors alike could enjoy the beauty of the Sound and enjoy the open green space where sunset over the Olympics is the highlight of the day. Steinbrueck organized the creation of a seating area surrounded by a curved cement path in which are embedded mosaics created by himself, Guy Anderson, Harold Balazs, Kenneth Callahan, Richard Gilkey, Morris Graves, Charles Stokes, and Margaret Tompkins. None of the mosaics were signed, and after 30 years, the installation was in need of some cleaning and restoration. That volunteer effort has just been completed and celebrated with a gathering and installation of a plaque that finally tells visitors which artist created which mosaic and credits the many friends who helped in the viewpoint's completion.

This iPhone shot features the view rather than the art work (underfoot of a woman and her dog out for a sunny afternoon walk). You can see a huge cruise ship in the new Smith Cove cruise ship terminal in Magnolia, the Magnolia bridge, Bainbridge Island across the Sound, and beyond that the rare view of a snowless Olympic range.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

In Fall our Fancy Turns to Yarns

With the distinct chill to the October air and a mission to find a special birthday gift for my sister-in-law, I was inspired to pop into Hilltop Yarn, now located across the street from its old huge location in the tiny diggs vacated by a fave creative boutique, Bouncing Wall, which recently closed after two years on Queen Anne Ave N. My friend Chris had made several pair of wonderful colorful socks last fall and winter, so that influenced my choice of some self-striping sock yarn, needles, and a sock pattern. Which skeins among these colorful soft beauties might you gravitate toward?

Friday, October 02, 2009

West Through the Trees

A view of the marina and cruise ship docks looking west from Queen Anne Hill to the Magnolia neighborhood and across Puget Sound at sunset.

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Theme Day: Contrast

That "International Yellow" work rig against that blue sky caught my eye when I came to a hault at this intersection in the Interbay area. Those crossed wires looked interesting and dangerous, too :-). I loved the contrast of the blue and yellow. Like yesterday's shot, this was taken with my iPhone and edited with an iPhone app called Best Camera (see yesterday's post for more info).

City Daily Photo Bloggers around the globe today are interpreting the theme "Contrast." Click here to view thumbnails for all participants. This was a challenging theme for me and not my most creative response. I thought of contrasts on the color wheel and this was the result I came up with. Yesterday's shot was also a contender and featured basic contrast of dark and light values. I'm sure you'll find shots to amaze and astound, and perhaps some humor, too, when you take a peek at this theme through other lenses. Enjoy your world tour, and be sure to leave us a comment when you drop by.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

iPhone Wednesday #12

I was photographing a curvaceous classic Airstream trailer when I spied this couple on their tandem bicycle across the street. They were just about to cross some railroad tracks (bump bump!!). I took this shot with my iPhone and edited it with a brand new app that, although limited in function compared to my fave all-around iPhone photo editor, Photogene, still does some pretty cool stuff and is super easy and intuitive to use. The intended focus of this new app is its ease of use and all-in-one quick editing and direct upload to email and social networking sites. The app also has its own new photo sharing site exclusively for camera phone shots using this app. It is called Best Camera, and the name comes from a catch phrase by its creative source, Seattle photographer Chase Jarvis, who said, "The best camera is the one that's with you." It's a great app, and I think it will be really great in about two upgrades when they hopefully will add sliders to control the intensity of each of the filters offered, and add more choice and control to functions like crop and frame. It's a very slick app for what it does, it has no glitches or crash problems like some. But, several of the filters really blow out the highlights (as you can see in my shot above) and there is no way to moderate that. Chase Jarvis has just published a book of his iPhone shots, and it is also titled "The Best Camera is the One That's With You."

I met Chase Jarvis once while I was out photo walking a year and a half or two years ago. He was just a guy out on the street with a camera in hand like me, we noticed each other's cameras, said hi, he asked what I was shooting, I said I was just photowalking and usually had my camera with me, he said he did too, we introduced ourselves and then went on our way. I had no idea who he was at the time, just seemed like a nice guy out shooting street, not a mega famous photography/video guru who is widely known for his fashion, ad, Xtreme sports photography, and for his media and marketing savvy. After our family converted to iPhones last year I started taking photos with mine, just as I had been accustomed to doing for the six years before that with my Palm Pilot. The quality wasn't great, but I used it daily in my work. Early this year I read something that mentioned Chase, and remembered the name, and still later in the year I saw a short video he'd done about using his iPhone, at the end of which he gets hit by a car while he's photographing in the street. . .(humor). I also noticed a couple pro photographers were making some incredible iPhone shots, so asked one of them, Matt Shumate, about it, and he shared his work flow with me and told me about his fave apps. Now that there are a plethora of iPhone photo apps, the quality of a good or even an okay shot can be greatly enhanced and even with the crummy ones (like above) you can come up with some novel treatments so the shot is not a total write off. My iPhone Wednesday buds, Chuck and Ming the Merciless have more iPhone fun for you today, too.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Fall Evening Ballard Avenue

People hanging out between sets at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard. The umbrella belongs to one of two Dante's Inferno Dogs sidewalk hot dog stands that cater to folks wishing to dine on foot in the pleasant months when night life spills out onto the sidewalks from the many taverns, restaurants, and music venues along Ballard Avenue.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Rockabilly Hot Rod

There were a few vintage cars to be seen along the street near the Shake the Shack Rockabilly Ball at the Tractor. A Hot Rod car show was part of the 22nd annual event, and was held in the Lake City neighborhood last Saturday. It reminded me of some of Steffe's photos of a restaurant that Swedes with similar interests like to patronize in their classic cars. Apparently Sweden and the USA are the two countries which have the largest number of street rod enthusiasts.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

A Crowd at the Loft

Weekend nightlife was in full swing at every establishment along Ballard Ave, including this lively crowd enjoying socializing at the Ballard Loft, a popular pub.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Bradley's Guitars

The KEXP 22nd Annual Shake the Shack Rockabilly Ball was taking place across the street at the Tractor, and I saw a few folks wander over to Bradley's Guitars at 5200 Ballard Ave. to check out some vintage guitars and amps. Hanging in the window were some cool Getsch models.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Smith Tower in Autumn

A beautiful, crisp autumn day view of Smith Tower, the city's oldest sky scraper. From 1914 for nearly 50 years this was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. The three story vaulted pyramid unit at the top, dubbed "The Lighthouse" once housed the building's water tower but was converted ten or fifteen years ago into an amazing living space which has been featured in several magazines (check out some photos here). At its center hangs a giant glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly, a friend of this unique condominium's owner. The Chinese Room and the 360 degree public observation deck sits just below and is a popular place for wedding receptions and to take in city and Sound views. The 12 floors below that had been office space but I heard last year that they are being developed into condos, each occupying an entire floor. The remaining 24 or so floors below those will remain office space, I believe. Maya, our photobug friend from Maya Photography: A Day in the Life, worked in Smith Tower for many years, and you might find some great interior shots in her archives. Would you believe each of those double hung windows really opens! Some of my favorite features are the cool elevators manned by operators and the vintage patterned white and blue tile floors upon which the floor numbers are noted and you see them as you ascend and descend. Hope you enjoy this photo of another Seattle icon. To see other autumn skies, check out Skywatch Friday.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Two Trains Moving

Two trains were passing in the railroad corridor that runs along the waterfront and through the Olympic Sculpture Park. Looking uphill past the roofs of the moving cars you can see Calder's Eagle and the city's iconic Space Needle. Alexander Calder made this 39 foot tomato red metal sculpture in 1971. The people of Seattle really seem to love this piece. Not long after its installation some local architects had some anonymous fun and fashioned tiny copies of the red abstract bird and placed them in a large nest underneath. Eagle has quite a checkered past, having been in Fort Worth, TX for many years, then temporarily loaned for one year to the Philadelphia Art Museum (which will soon open its own permanent Calder gallery across from it Rodin gallery). The generous Shirley family of Seattle purchased Eagle for about $10 million on behalf of SAM as the centerpiece of its Olympic Sculpture Park. It is clearly visible from West Seattle and always looks fabulous against a blue or gray or sunset sky.

The Seattle Art Museum's long anticipated "Alexander Calder: Balancing Act" exhibit will open on October 15, and run through next April. Our family have long been fans, especially of his mobiles, so I will be excited to see it. Calder hailed from Pennsylvania and was a college trained mechanical engineer from a renown artistic family and one of the most influential and innovative figures in 20th century art. What Calder pieces reside in a museum or public space near you?

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

iPhone Wednesday #11: First Day of Fall

Temps were in the mid 80s F here in Seattle yesterday, the first day of autumn. Leaves are beginning to turn on trees as well as the vines clinging to the exterior of the brutalist architecture of North Seattle Community College in the Licton Springs neighborhood. This shot was taken and edited last evening on my iPhone.

Looks like Ming the Merciless in Bangor, Maine, and Chuck here in Seattle are joining me this week for iPhone Wednesday.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ruby Tuesday

There is always photo fun to be had at the Purple Haze Wall of the EMP. The colors from ruby red, to violets, to orange, plus the distortions and reflections are very alluring. This beauty was just finishing a shoot with some friends, her reflection and she parting ways as she stepped away from the wall. There is another shot at More Seattle Stuff if you'd like to see the pose she and a friend struck.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Skyline Painter

I asked this artist if he would mind me taking a photo over his shoulder as he worked on a painting of the Seattle skyline across Lake Union. I thought his work was quite nice, and thought it ingenious how he used the back of a small tin as a pallet. We will have a few more days of barefoot weather this week. Wouldn't you know it would be that way just as college students begin their fall quarter at campuses around the Sound. Happy Monday everyone!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

My Sentiments Exactement

I saw this bag in a Seattle shop window and knew many of you would enjoy seeing it as much as I did. Seems like a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Which character might you like to be in this scene? And what's your fave Seattle or Paris brasserie called? Cheers to Eric at Paris Daily Photo, the blog that inspired me, and so many others, to post one photo a day from our cities.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Solar Trash Compactors Now on 3rd Ave

I noticed something new on a recent downtown walk. The Metropolitan Improvement District has installed 20 "Big Belly" solar powered trash compactors along 3rd Ave between University Ave and Stewart. How cool is that! But, the MID cleaning folks have their work cut out for them in educating the public about their use. People just aren't getting it. Rather than place trash in the new compactors, folks seem to be tossing trash along with recyclables into the recycling bins. Maybe better signage would help, like a big TRASH label painted just above the compactor's opening. The MID keeps downtown clean and provides helpful foot and bike safety patrols for downtown visitors and businesses. I showed you this photo of one of their ranks here in this November 2006 photo.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Girlie Board

I'm imagining that phrase recited by California's governor :-). I watched this young woman skating at the bowl with friends one evening. I was admiring her ankle tatt when she turned her board slightly and I noticed a motif on the deck bottom inspired by Where the Wild Things Are. I looked up the artwork and found that it is sk8tr icon Benji Galloway's face instead of Maurice Sendak's Max on this wild thing, and that Golloway's name has been covered over by a painted heart at the bottom. Usually I see things like skulls on boards like this. It had a bright pink nose on top, too. :-) A few more shots of this skater and other in action are at More Seattle Stuff. So, were you a child raised on Where the Wild Things Are, and will you be going to see the Spike Jonze film version next month?

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Les Seattlennes Evening Edition

I love observing fashionable folks out and about in Seattle. I've shown you Les Seattlennes Weekend Edition, Weekday Edition, and here is an Evening Edition. These two young women were just leaving a special occasion at a restaurant along the waterfront and waiting for the light to change when I noticed their darling outfits and snapped this candid. I happen to really love fabric, so seeing two interpretations at one time of this summer's fashionable black and white print dress and accessories was fun.

When I took this shot earlier in the summer, the woman on the left's hair style reminded me of a young Mary Travers from the cover of a 60s Peter, Paul, & Mary LP my mom had. When i posted yesterday's shot with the title of a song I learned from that very album, I had no idea that Mary Travers, now age 72, was leaving this life. Her passing Wednesday is very sad, and I'm thankful for the musical gifts she shared and the commitment she and her partners, Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey, showed to social justice throughout their years performing together and separately.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

iPhone Wednesday #10: Hammering Man Stopped

I thought you might like to see the Seattle Art Museum's 48 foot high animated "Hammering Man" as a follow up on yesterday's "Coffee Drinking Man." Hammering Man actually hammers four times a minute except at night when he rests. He also gets Labor Day off every year, but this year he's been broken for the last month or so, so is getting a good sabbatical and just taking in the view, posing for photos and the like :-). There are other Hammering Man installations around the globe. The one in Seoul is the tallest at 72 feet, and there are many others of varying sizes in Frankfurt, Basel, Dallas, NYC, Gainsville, Minneapolis, La Jolla, and Los Angeles. This is the 10th in my iPhone Wednesday series, where I take and edit the shot using just the iPhone and its applications. The fun lettering is a photo app called "Nabbed."

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Coffee Drinking Man

It was bound to happen in a city that loves whimsy and caffeine. You've seen "Hammering Man," either the giant articulated iron worker sculpture here in Seattle in front of SAM (I showed you part of him in an iPhone shot here) or in one of his other incarnations across the US. Well, meet Coffee Drinking Man, the logo that's been translated into a new 14 foot high sign that went up above its small Pike Street coffee roaster in mid July. He is quite a hit with everyone in the neighborhood, and marks the location of Seattle Coffee Works, who moved digs this year from 111 Pike to its current shop at 107 Pike.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Fishing on Elliott Bay

As summer winds down and the main boating and fishing season comes to a close, I thought this reminder of the quiet warm light of early morning would be a fun way to say farewell to what has been one of the loveliest summers ever in Seattle. After the very long, harsh winter that had even seasoned Pacific Northwesterners whining "uncle," it was a most welcome and glorious season. I showed you an earlier shot of this Seattle skyline view from West Seattle, but actually ended up liking this shot better.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Muralist at Work

It was a perfect sunny day to be painting a cheery advert on the side of Squirrel's Buy & Sell recycle shop in Greenwood. This is artist and illustrator Adam Rosand at work. I happened to be walking by on an errand and asked if he would mind me taking a few shots. Adam works in industrial arts, set design, mixed media, digital images, portraits, as well as murals and signs. He is a student at Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts, where performing and visual artists from around the globe come to study. The squirrel reminded me of my Flickr friend Erik who lives on Capitol Hill near Cornish and often features the cute squirrels around his home in his photos.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Penguin Auction

These two sisters were hoping their bids would win on Friday night. Woodland Park Zoo held a silent auction of the remaining artful sculptures created by individuals and sponsoring businesses that were displayed throughout the community during their summer March of the Penguins celebration of the new Humboldt Penguins exhibit. The auction took place in the Greenwood neighborhood and featured live music, improv and comedy from Taproot Theater actors, the grand opening of Mud Bay pet supply store in its new location, face painting and children's activities sponsored by Top Ten Toys. More dazzling penguins at More Seattle Stuff.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Skywatch Friday: Clear Seattle Skies

Remembering all the families who lost dear ones in the violent attacks eight years ago and the courage shown by so many that day.
For other Skywatch Friday shots, visit here.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Street Youth

A young woman and her cat were sitting at a downtown corner and I was amazed at how calm the cat remained despite traffic sounds and people moving all about. I have a similarly handsome black cat, and he would have been cowering under the nearest available shelter if he'd heard even a smidgen as much noise. She told me she had hand raised her cat since it was a small kitten and that he was very used to the downtown bustle. His name is Cybin (as in Psilocybin), and he wears a little sweater harness and leash to keep him safe. It's obvious why he is a very contented companion with such a sweet person caring for him. A moment later his eyes were closed in a very contented expression and he was purring away. Info on help for Seattle's street youth is here, and Katia, a photographer I have admired for years who loves and works with street youth has this blog and uses donations for direct aid.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

iPhone Wednesday #9: Three Girls Bakery

A second location for Pike Place Market's historic and popular Three Girls Bakery, established in 1917, has opened in a small Ballard neighborhood store front on 15th Ave NW. A friend had let me know of it and I popped in to get a variety of treats for a meeting. None were left after the meeting! The bakery also featuresits famous house-made deli sandwiches and soups, which ought to become a fave of the nearby high school's students. The staff was enthusiastic and said business had been great and they were meeting lots of neighbors. It was busy while I was there, but these two smiling women were kind enough to stop a moment while helping me and let me take this iPhone shot. It's my 9th iPhone Wednesday shot, where I take and edit the shot using the iPhone and use iPhone aps. Chuck is on a road trip this week and posting with his trusty G10, but Ming has his 5th iPhone Wednesday shot up here.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Frank Turco Memorial Newsstand

I heard that this rebuilt newsstand, "Turco's Last Stand," was holding its grand reopening yesterday, Labor Day, as an homage to Frank Turco, the one legged labor activist who opened the original stand 87 years ago on this site at 3rd and Pike. (More photos at More Seattle Stuff.) Turco was head of the Seattle Newsboys Union Local 621 and ran the 24 hour newsstand for 47 years. The current owner has built a new kiosk, thought to be the last newsstand in Seattle. Apparently he has invested in the new sleek structure in the hopes that "if you build it they will come," because as late as last month, he had no vending contract with any major newspapers and his stock for the past few years had consisted mostly of free local weekly and monthly publications along with beverages and snacks. He does carry copies of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights for $5 and his dream is to draw attention to Turco's legacy and Seattle's considerable progressive history and to carry a wide variety of publications for sale, apparently not easy in the day of dwindling newspaper publication. The new stand had already closed for the day when I went by at 4:30 yesterday, but it does look like his dream has started to come true as it appears from signs on the kiosk that The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Seattle Times can all be purchased there now. You can read about the stand, Frank Turco's very full and principled life, his involvement in Seattle's historic general strike, and his run for congress in articles here, here and here . Wishing you only good news this week!

Monday, September 07, 2009

Romantic City

This beautiful scene just unfolded in front of me on a rise at Gas Works Park and melted my heart. This couple, so in love, was taking photos and enjoying the inspirational beauty of a Seattle sunset on a perfect evening, then shared a kiss. This weekend as I was sorting through the candids I had taken of the couple, I thought of all the joy and beauty of finding myself in love with the love of my life and suddenly remembered that our first kiss had been on a Labor Day weekend, a goodbye kiss as I was getting in the car for the 400 mile drive home from a long weekend visit my friend Sheryl and I had made to see him in another beautiful city. That Labor Day goodbye kiss seemed to last in my mind for the whole 8 hour drive home, and he proposed soon after. It always makes me glad to see that kind of joy in others' lives, too. After I had taken several candids of them from a distance I walked up the hill and introduced myself to this couple and showed them this shot in the camera viewer. April and Morgan were visiting Seattle from elsewhere, and just so sweet.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

The Paramount

The musical Wicked just opened at Seattle's historic Paramount Theatre last Wednesday. I can't believe how many American cities have a theater named Paramount and wonder if they were connected with Paramount Studios. Originally named the Seattle Theater, this one was built in 1928 as a movie theater and vaudeville stage, and boasts a mighty Wurlitzer organ and America's first convertible floor that allowed the main seating area in the nearly 3000 seat venue to be converted to a ball room. The interior is lovely in the grand old style, and a fun place to see a show. I took this shot on Thursday night after patrons were already inside enjoying the performance. I liked seeing the lighted sign reflected in the windows.

Some of my friends who have seen Wicked report they go around humming tunes from this show and that they loved it. Did you read the book or see the musical? I've never gotten over the nightmares the Wicked Witch of the West gave me as a child :-).

Saturday, September 05, 2009

September Moon Over Gas Works

On this first day of the US Labor Day weekend, heralding the end of summer and celebrating America's labor force, here is an industrial site that ceased its labors years ago and which is incorporated into a city park developed on its site at the north end of Lake Union. It's almost a full moon coming up over Gas Works Park. I was having an outdoor sunset dinner and wasn't aware of the moon phase, looked over, and there it was rising. I think September 3rd was the full moon. I liked the repeat of the 3 circular shapes.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Seattle Health Insurance Reform Rally

Congressman Jim McDermott and Rev. Leslie Braxton addressed supporters who turned out at the Westlake Center rally for health insurance reform last night. Their speaking was more pep rally than informative. There was a moment of tribute to the late Senator Edward Kennedy and his long advocacy for change to the current healthcare system, and a gentleman shared with the crowd his young son's fight with lymphoma and their fears and frustrations in obtaining needed treatment. Listening was a wild coalition of young to aged, socially conservative to progressive, rich, middle class and poor, faith-based and humanist, gay and straight, union members and management, and many ethnicities. Everyone in the crowd, no doubt, had their own story or knows someone personally who has a similar story of worry, frustration, financial hardship, and suffering. It's why they were all there. Across the street was a smaller gathering of people demonstrating their concerns that the US healthcare system not be run by the government or follow a socialized medicine model or dictate who can receive what care when or be used equally by non-citizens in the country illegally. Some had clear contempt for the president. I don't think they want to deny other citizens fair health coverage, but they have concerns they want addressed, and they don't want something railroaded through. Meanwhile, political factions stir up the sloganeering and no one is listening to each other, just blathering on what they hear on talk radio shows. It seems to me if all citizens could unite in holding the congress accountable for getting out of this partisan divide and putting a team of the brightest and best among them to work diligently now on a health insurance reform bill that is thoughtful and addresses the concerns of all the people, eschews party politics and the influence of big money, we would have a win-win solution.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Sounders FC Passion

Like a lot of folks last evening, I was having dinner outdoors and enjoying the sunset at Gasworks Park. I noticed this couple dressed in Sounders FC regalia and holding aloft a huge flag. The woman took a few pictures then joined the man in facing the setting sun, eyes closed, arms outstretched, Sounders flag and neck scarf furled in the wind. I wondered if there might be someone in the distance somewhere they were posing for, but saw no one. They stood that way for about 10 minutes, oblivious to anyone around as if in a prayer of thanksgiving :-) (I read today Seattle had a 2-1 victory over DC). This is a sports town, for sure! Another shot of them is at More Seattle Stuff.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

iPhone Wednesday #8: Comfy Couch

Looks comfy enough at first glance, but you might think twice before plopping down too hard on these pieces of furniture. No, not because they are wet with rain, but because they are cast in concrete. This is a clever and whimsical public seating area at Ballard Corners, a new pocket park developed by community members who solicited grants and raised the funds to create a fun park where there once were vacant buildings. They preserved the existing mature fruit and nut trees of the long vacant residence that was torn down at the south end, and created a rain garden (a meandering sunken area lined with river rock between the street and winding sidewalk where water runoff can filter naturally through rocks and soil to the aquifer, helping to reduce some of the run off pollutants that make their way to Salmon bay through street run off. Years ago there had been a small stream between the the buidings on the park property and the houses next to them, coming from a spring further up hill near much larger Salmon Bay Park. The little park also features a small play area with a very cool climbing and spinning structure. Soon to come is the park's final touch, a small homage to the corner store that occupied the north end of the property from 1904 to 1954. Two guys were working on that area with shovel and pick ax (photo at More Seattle Stuff) when I was there yesterday.

It's my 8th in the iPhone Wednesday series where I feature a shot taken with my iPhone. Chuck has Market flowers on a summer day and Ming the Merciless found a cool vine clinging to brickwork to share in their iPhone Wednesday shots today too.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Theme Day: Big

Leave it to me to forget it was the first of the month and therefore our theme day, BIG. City Daily Photo Bloggers the big wide world over have joined in. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

I call this shot Tiger in the Grass. This is the ginormously tall Grass Blades sculpture by John Fleming at Seattle Center casting shadows behind itself in early morning. It suggested tiger stripes to me. The installation was commissioned to create a filtered visual separation from the adjacent parking lot for Memorial Stadium yet allow physical access and some visual connection between the spaces. Designing transitional spaces must be challenging, and was met creatively here. We are just between seasons in Seattle, summer still here but school beginning soon. One day starts out gray with a marine layer and folds itself into a dry warm day, the next there's a drip of rain and gray, then a sunny day. Today it is on and off rain showers. This transitional area reminds me of this "between time." I'm wondering if the little "You Might Also Like" widget below will pick 3 of the many other photos I've shown you of different aspects of the Grass Blades over the years, or come up with something else. It seems to be doing a good job pulling something relevant from the thousands of posts buried in the archives. Of course it will be a surprise to me that I won't see until after this post goes live. :-) What do you think?

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