I kind of love photos where you have a hard time determining where you are or what time period you are seeing. It’s sort of like a puzzle to me I guess and things I don’t immediately understand often spark my interest. The other thing I loved about this is the reminder that there are tumbleweeds blowing across the highway in Washington and Oregon!
When I think of Pike Place market I think of a mess. Not because it’s unclean, no more than any open air mall, but because is the wild sense you get when visiting. There are 100 different and strong smells vying for your attention. Fish mongers throw fish, flower sellers clip stems for bouquets. Vendors hawk their wares, candy, nuts, fruit, pasta, flowers, fresh fish. The Puget Sound is right outside. All is chaos here, but its also alive and vibrant. The chaos can overwlems, but it also is exciting and wonderful.
My travel locations tend to be to places most everyone has heard of…Tokyo, Paris, London, Shanghai. These are my personal travels, but I also occasionally travel for my desk job. These places tend to be smaller locations that fewer people have heard or, Berne, Friendship, Palmerton, Spokane (ok…most everyone has heard of Spokane, WA). I also take my camera on these trips because you never know what you are going to find. While we were visiting downtown Spokane, we found this huge hydroelectric power plant! It was cold and a bit of a walk to get to where I took this photo, but it was well worth the frozen fingers.
A few things are significant today. First it’s the start of a new travel year! There are so many places to go, but Southeast Asia (yes I realize its the rainy season) is high on my list for the first part of 2015. This is also my 300th blogged photo! When I happen to notice how many photos I have processed over the years for this site, I am always taken aback. Maybe it’s because processing is SO FUN, it doesn’t seem like work.
On my first trip to Seattle I met up with a few friends. My buddy Justin took me several places to photograph. I had almost forgot about these crazy sculptures by the Ballard Docks. I don’t work with black and white enough, and Justin specifically always says I should more, so this photo seemed like a perfect opportunity so work in tones.
When you travel, you sometimes have preconceived notions of a way a place is or should be. Often you find a place or its people are nothing as you imagined them in your mind. Something quite different emerges that takes you completely by surprise. I gave away the surprise with the title of my post, but looking at today’s photo would you think it was along the highway somewhere in middle Washington State?
When I used to think of Washington I envision Seattle (or maybe something out of the Twilight novels), but like California, all of the Western Coast of the United States is WILDLY diverse. Would it surprise you to also learn during this same drive I saw my very first tumbleweed? The scenery just kept changing as we drove from the coast to Spokane. I try not to let my paradigms and prejudices color what I expect, but even after all this travel, things continue to surprise me.
I love mechanical things and rooms full of junk. There is a certain order one can find in chaos…it’s not something you can fully grasp, but little hints of order in the mess sometimes make you feel better about your own messes. I have also always loved taking things apart to see HOW they work.
When you stop and notice something, when you are drawn to look or look again, TAKE A PHOTO! Seriously. There is something there, if it keeps grabbing your attention. I probably looked at this old bank vault timer 10 times before I finally took a photo! Even it you just snap a quick shot with your mobile, get it…you never know when it will come in handy as inspiration!
If you have been to Seattle’s Pike Place Market, you undoubtedly know this sign. I used a bit of creative license to make it my own. I did a similar thing for the Can Can Kitchen and Cabaret Sign also conveniently located in Pike Place Market. I wanted today’s photo to have a bit of an underwater, but out of place feel. It was shot during the day, but you would never know it. It is a bit whimsical, but then again I like such silliness.
In the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Market is a little sign for the Can Can. I didn’t visit, in fact I have no idea what they do here. What I do know is I immediately fell in love with this sign. It’s rough and not well maintained, the walls around it were in need of paint, but there was a character that stood out amongst all the tourists and fish. I am forever saying I need to get better at shooting details, those little elements I love and remember long after I have left a place. This little sign falls squarely in that category.
I find the carvings of totem poles at the same time interesting and slightly terrifying. Perhaps it’s because I don’t fully understand their purpose, largely because each has a different meaning. This is effectively much like other forms of art or artful forms of history telling. This part of a totem is in a Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington. I found myself just staring into his eyes a bit lost in wondering. I think he needed to be on the blog so today here he is.
Pamela and I have been really lucky this year in our travels. I am not referring to how extremely lucky we feel to GET to travel (this applies triple for me), but moreover I am referring to how lucky we have been with weather. It hasn’t all been fantastic, but our trip to Seattle this year is a shining example. Normally when you fly into Seattle, you are doing good to see Mount Rainier…much less the other mountains. We had a ridiculously clear view of everything! When the captain announced we were flying by, I was also lucky enough to find myself on the left side of the plane. I snapped this photo of Rainier on a virtually unheard of nearly cloud free day in Seattle, Washington!
