Seattle Photographer

So this weekend spring finally seemed to arrive after a very wet winter. Discovery Park was grand fun for family and dogs.

Recently I had an assignment to photograph Marco Abbruzzese, an executive with Wells Fargo Bank. Although we were 40 stories high up over Puget Sound, there was no view of Elliot Bay since we were completely fogged in. I had been hoping to use the view of the Bay but instead discovered that I actually like the intense studio quality of the  pure white light coming in through the fog.

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After covering an event assignment last week in Phoenix, I took a couple of days to hang out and absorb some desert environment. the weather was perfect with a high of 78 F and it was a nice break from the rain in the Pacific Northwest. This shot was taken with my iphone 4s and I will have more after the  film from my panorama camera is processed.

I made a portrait of Mo;y and Alice when Molly when she was 9 months pregnant on a Sunday and then the next Tuesday the Harper came arrived into the world. Now that she just turned 2. I got to photograph them all again. Harper loves playing “Where’s the baby” with me. What a sweet child.

Above is Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess being interviewed by a local TV station on Yesler Way Tuesday night, outside City Councilwoman Sally Clark‘s election party at Merchant’s Cafe. Burgess was  commenting on his re- election victory and the passing with a strong margin of the Families and Education Levy which he supported. I had an excellent time yesterday on election night,  following around Seattle City councilman Tim Burgess who cruised to victory in his re-election to another 4 year term. The first results were announced around 8:15PM. They indicated he had the lead with 81% of the votes over opponent David Schraer.

Earlier in the evening, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Tim Burgess and other Seattle officials supporting the Families and Education Levy, gathered at Elysian Fields. Since there was not a dedicated TV broadcast concerning the election results the had to  and search on their smartphones for the first word on the first results of the election being announced which was supposed to be at 8:15PM. Members of the media were assembled in the restaurant waiting to hear their reaction to the results.

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This month the third album by the country singer Luke Bryan,  “Tailgates and Tanlines” made its debut on August 9th as number 1 on Billboard’s country charts and as of today is still stuck there. His single “Country Girl”  is at number 5.

Luke Bryan was in Washington State on tour and playing at the Gorge recently but took some time out to go fly fishing with his writing buddy, Jay Clementi, on Puget Sound at  Seahurst Park in Burien. I was asked to come along and take some pictures for him. He and Jay were a lot of fun to hang out with. Lets just say it was not the most successful day for hauling in the steelheads but it was still a great time fishing in the Puget Sound.  

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.

Luke was working with expert local fly fishing guide Dave McCoy from Emerald Water Anglers above in red jacket with Jay in the background.

 

Luke, Jay and Dave.
To watch the  Luke Bryan  episode of RAM Country TV, Click   to watch Luke’s fly fishing video!

The final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis marks the end of an era. I remember the first launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981. I was still in graduate school at Ohio University. Shortly afterwards I got my first newspaper job at The Tampa Tribune. It was while working there that I began to be assigned to cover Space Shuttle launches. I continued to photograph launches when I moved a couple of years later to the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville, Florida and then even after moving to New York at Newsday I was sent down for a few launches.

I covered the first launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger STS-7, and was scheduled to photographer it again on the day it blew up. I was pulled at the last minute, but then after watching it blow up from the newsroom my AME sent me to catch the first flight down to Florida to cover the aftermath. My old negatives are filed away and I will have to try and find them.

The picture above was made by my old friend AP photographer Dave Martin, who has probably covered as many launches as any photographer. The Boston Globes blog The Big Picture has this and 40 more pictures about this historic event. Check it out to see the rest of the pictures. I only wish I could have been down there to see the last launch.

Last night, the 8th grade class of Salmon Bay School had their graduating ceremonies at Ballard High School Auditorium. What an event. Very few parents and teachers in the audience did not need a kleenex. My daughter Ema was one of the students who gave a speech with her friend Amelia.
Here are a few highlights of the evening. There is also a web gallery with a more extensive set of pictures. Click on Salmon Bay 2011 Graduation to view the remaining 480 (or so) images.

And, again – to see a lot more pictures  here is a link to view the entire web gallery.

A Mother Goose feeds her baby chick on a pier on Lake Union Seattle, WA. She had made her nest in a coil of rope at the end of the pier on the north shore of the lake.
I was on an assignment at the waters edge and watched her feeding her chicks before they jumped into the water and paddled off. Another sign of Spring here in the Pacific Northwest.