Seattle Photographer Daniel Sheehan

Smoke engulfs Launch Pad 39B as the Ares I-X test rocket takes off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:30 a.m. EDT Oct. 28. (NASA/ Sandra Joseph and Kevin O’Connell)

October 28th, NASA launched its Ares I-X prototype vehicle, the first launch from Kennedy’s pads of a vehicle other than the space shuttle since the Apollo Program’s Saturn rockets were retired. NASA’s Constellation Program’s 327-foot-tall rocket produced 2.96 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and reached a speed of 100 mph in eight seconds. The Big Picture blog has the coverage of 28 photos documenting its creation.

NASA’s Ares 1-X rocket lifts off from launch pad 39-b at the Kennedy Space Center October 28, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A cone of moisture surrounds part of the Ares I-X rocket during lift off Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, on a sub-orbital test flight from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-B in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara

GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND, With SPECIAL GUEST MIGUEL ZENÓN, under the direction of Clarence Acox, opened the 2009 Earshot Jazz Festival Friday night to a packed house at the Triple Door. What a great vibe to begin the festival. It is amazing to see some many talented young musicians coming up here in Seattle. What a fantastic show. Miguel and all of those student sax players were a delight to hear.

Miguel Zenon was back smokin at the Triple Door  on Saturday night with his Esta Plena Quintet.

Allen Toussaint was  at the Triple Door Sunday with his quartet and they were all in the comfortable New Orleans style rhythms and blues. It is amazing how many great songs he has put out over the years and how comfortable his feet must be in those open sandle shoes.
Composer, producer, pianist, singer, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Allen Toussaint is a living legend. His work in the 1960s and 1970s helped define the sound of R&B, soul, and funk as we hear it today. Penning such songs as “Working in the Coal Mine,” performed by Lee Dorsey, “Ruler of My Heart,” by Irma Thomas, and “Mother-in-Law,” by Ernie K-Doe, Toussaint’s contributions to modern music extend far beyond what is commonly acknowledged. Combined with the easygoing charm and style of his home city of New Orleans, Toussaint has established himself as a true joy of song and culture. Continue reading at Earshot Festival Guide

I had to photograph a chair for a furniture designer and importer for a marketing campaign and decided to approach it much the same way I would approach making a portrait of a person. I wanted to show off its best side and have some of its personality come through. Both the client and I were happy with the resulting picture.

A Bella Baby Picture – Walter @ 3 Months -

Although I am not a full time professional baby photographer, I had to make a portrait of  Walter,  the first born child of good friends Laurie and Jason Dix whose wedding I photographed a couple of years ago.  As a professional photographer in addition to corporate and editorial assignment  I also do a fair amount of portrait photography and nothing is more fulfilling than a portrait photography session with a baby.
What a fun and interesting portrait session with baby Walter. He has a great personality which was  so apparent but surprising at such an early age. Laurie, your son was such a fun subject to photograph and what could be more cool than be born with a mohawk haircut. I also really enjoyed the new baby smell of a 3 month old. I had almost forgotten.

I heard this story from the Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie on the danger of depending upon the single story and it hit a nerve. Listen to her on this video from TED.

A giant of photography Irving Penn has passed away. What an incredible gifted, hardworking influential master photographer.
“Irving Penn, one of the 20th century’s most prolific and influential photographers of fashion and the famous, whose signature blend of classical elegance and cool minimalism was recognizable to magazine readers and museumgoers worldwide, died Wednesday morning at his home in Manhattan. He was 92.
His death was announced by Peter MacGill, his friend and representative.
Mr. Penn’s talent for picturing his subjects with compositional clarity and economy earned him the widespread admiration of readers of Vogue during his long association with the magazine, beginning in 1943. It also brought him recognition in the art world; his photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries and are prized by collectors.”
Continue reading the NY Times article By ANDY GRUNDBERG – Irving Penn, Fashion Photographer, Is Dead at 92

Turkish and Armenian Rapprochement: A Region Grows Up

Given the players and the history, a deal is still a long shot. But that traditional antagonists Armenia and Turkey have continued their talks this far — at least by appearances, they are within three days of an accord re-establishing diplomatic relations and opening their borders — is already a sign of an until-now missing maturity in the deeply suspicious region.

The main flashpoint between the two countries has been Turkey’s 1915 massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians. Turkey refuses to acknowledge responsibility for the carnage, and permits pseudo-scholarly denials of the well-establish history itself. A second issue is the two-decade-long dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the status of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan in the dispute, has insisted that the issue be settled as part of the rapprochement with Armenia.

Continue Reading at Steve’s blog Oil And Glory

Claire and Ema were out enjoying a sunset cruise on Michael Craft’s beautifully restored 38′ long 1958 Chris Craft “Seneca”.
Seems we do get some beautiful evenings every now and then here in Seattle and out on Lake washington and Lake Union is a fine place to cruise and enjoy the light and sights..

One of my favorite assignments is photographing large groups of people for corporate clients or wedding clients. Here is a recent wedding panorama taken at the wedding of Kerri Higgins and Graham Sheldon at McCurdy Park and the Museum of History and Industry, MOHAI on August 15th.  Everyone in attendance lined up on the waterfront where the ceremony had just taken place for a large group portrait.The light was perfect and the setting was fantastic with Lake Washington and the Montlake cut in the background.