Confession...I've been a photographer for awhile...

I know it's crazy...but I actually shot film for many years!  Remember film?  I still have some in my freezer!  Do you remember the darkroom...not the digital one, but the one that smelled like chemicals and had that ever-present sound of running water?  And Velvia slide film!  Oh, I loved the saturation of Velvia!
Anyway, that's where I began.  In a darkroom, with black and white photography, then onto color slides...which is what these images were, until I scanned them for use in our digital world.  If you ever shot film you may remember being really selective about when to click the shutter, 'cause you only had 24 or maybe 36 images on the roll.  Nowadays it is easy to shoot through a 4 GB card (a couple of hundred images in RAW) without much thought.
One of the most important things I learned, as a film user, was how important is was to be selective about your composition.  Sure, you could crop into a photo to eliminate extraneous elements, but there was no easy "bandaid" for spot healing or "clone stamp" for erasing things you may or may not have even realized were a part of your image.
My style, maybe as a result of trying to eliminate all of the "noise"...became one of simplicity.  I prefer the simplest version of an image, whether it be a sweeping landscape, a personal portrait, or capturing a sense of place...my style usually reflects a sense of simplicity.  It isn't right or wrong, that is certainly not the lesson here, it is, instead, that you have to find your voice, in everything you do.  Make it your own. 



More Seattle...

So, once you've wandered around Pike's Place Market, catch a ride over to the University area (yes, Husky grounds!) where you can rent a kayak (Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club) to paddle around Portage Bay, into Union Bay and through parts of the Washington Park Arboretum. If it's a warm day, it will be the perfect afternoon activity and a unique experience of being in the city and yet removed from the hustle and bustle as well...and, lots to see (beautiful waterfront homes and houseboats, the Montlake Draw Bridge, particularly friendly water fowl, and lots of people hanging out in and near the waterfront). Upstairs from the Paddle Club is a great little Mexican Cafe...yummy food and perfectly blended drinks!



If you want to spend more time outdoors, and like to people watch, the evening hours are fun at the Seattle Center. From downtown, it's a quick ride on the Monorail which ends in the heart of the Seattle Center. Between the Space Needle, the amusement park, the live music almost always happening there and the International Fountain, there is always a steady stream of entertaining sights and sounds!

Seattle! Pike's Place Market!

The best way to start your morning in Seattle? Head down to Pike's Place, grab a cup of Starbucks' coffee along the way or at their very first store (there are 416 Starbucks in the greater Seattle metropolis!), and find this little place, the "Daily Dozen Doughnut Company" for a fresh batch of cinnamon donuts! (I asked them if I could move in, but, they didn't seem interested...something about profit margins plummeting...!)
Then, after a sufficient amount of fat and sugar...head to one of the many produce stands and pick out your favorite fruit (the best peach I've ever eaten...and yummy cherries...and raspberries...and, and, and...!)...like I said, pick your favorite...you can't go wrong!
If you are lucky, this gentleman will be serenading you as you walk along the market...and the fish will be flying...and the sun will be shining all day, as it was when we visited Seattle this past weekend!

Don't forget to re-visit the market in the evening hours...