Photograph: Panasonic TZ5 (point and shoot), 15sec, f3.3, ISO100 On a Seattle night, with stars cloaked in stratocumlus clouds, when the only sight is a wisp of a rowing scull slithering under the University Bridge, the houseboats sit reflected and polished in the waters of Lake Union. I shot this near Eastlake, on Portage Bay,…
Sea Lions, Salmon & Seal Bombs
Note: Taking into account my title … no sea lions were harmed in the deployment of these “seal bombs.” There is, however, one dead salmon — a sea lion’s meal. I’m a relatively new witness to the conflicts in the Pacific Northwest between humans, sea lions, salmon, tribes, dams, fish ladders, and fisher people. As…
Flying Into a Half Moon
It’s thematically appropriate that our move to Seattle — Jet City — inspired my first aircraft-on-moon shots. I’d just photographed the Wolf Moon at the Space Needle … layering two exposures to bring the moon into focus. On the ride into the city, I then noticed that this winter whopper of a moon tracked behind…
Osprey: From Pairing to Fledging
There are three Osprey nests within three miles of our place … one is a pile of branches, marine rope and police tape, layered on a new platform over Commodore Park. The platform was built after Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) removed an ages-old nest on an even older communications tower on a railroad bridge….
What We Are …
The post title derives from a Flickr friend who wrote this comment below my photo: “A sobering reminder of what we are . . .” I will add that what we are doesn’t necessarily foretell what we become. 🙂 Against a scrim of Northwestern mist, the barge SeaLink Rigger chugs toward a scrap metal yard…
Bird Noir: Sacred Pigeon Geometry
Urban pigeon walking a Seattle labyrinth: From the Labyrinth Society: “In a nut-shell, Sacred Geometry is, ‘the use of a handful of ratios to create forms that help the seeker to resonate properly to achieve their desired spiritual goal ….’ …. Alex Champion’s Definition: ‘Sacred geometry is the contemplation and utilization of the archetypal geometric…
Here He Comes to Save the Day …
This is part of my loosely-formed Coffee Break methodology. I take my coffee, my camera, and sit in my favorite spots. Sometimes things happen. Sometimes they don’t. Yesterday, this happened: :: First sign of trouble … Caspian Tern colony in Interbay flushes over the Magnolia Bridge … … signaling alerts. :: In the distance, over…
A Kind Turn for Local Gulls
In April, I posted about a gull I’d found ensnared in deterrent wire on a warehouse in our neighborhood. At the time, I contacted a local wildlife hospital and met a person who, in turn, contacted a local wildlife agency about the issue. A couple of months went by and one day Hugh was coming…
The Crow Patrol
Our apartment sits above Interbay in Seattle — what used to be a thriving salt marsh and tidal flat, replete with shellfish, marine life and waterfowl. It was a foraging ground for Native Americans of the Shilshole tribe, who made their home in present-day Ballard, just north of Interbay. At the turn of the century,…
Seattle Sky Electric
:: They’re tendrils of light, wicked with amperes, coulombs and megajoules … :: A vision in voltage that sparked my night and then my morning, :: Cracking the sky into pieces until it murmured, then crumbled into a cup of reverie. I was awake for this 2am electrical storm over Seattle … one that didn’t…
