Last Day of Summer 2010

Only in Western Washington could the last day of summer 2010 look like the first day of January...

Granted, the weather got way better by the end of the day. The morning - through about 11:00am looked much like what you see below.










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Shadow As Reality

The first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this photo was something philosophical.

That's right; construction workers standing behind a construction curtain reminded me of philosophy's golden age of Plato, and a story called Allegory of the Cave. In the story, a group of prisoners have been chained their entire lives inside a cave facing a wall. Behind them, life moves back and forth in the form of people on a walkway. Beyond that there is a large fire. The shadows of life are projected onto the wall in front of the prisoners. Because they are unable to see the actual figures making the shadows, the prisoners consider the shadows themselves to be the reality.

Plato went on to say that being released from the chains and having the ability to turn around was similar to being a philosopher.

He felt that reality revealed itself once the brain was stretched. Probably right.

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WSU Study Article
Allegory of the Cave - On Wikipedia




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Something In Common - The Ballard Locks

The Hiram Chittenden Locks in Ballard have been operational for nearly 100 years. I have been visiting them since I was seven years old; a couple of times I was able to go through them on boats. Watching the salmon is one of my favorite activities there.

Here are eighteen different photographs of the location, from seventeen different sources. It was a great experience putting these together in the same blog post, because I was able to see this one location from so many different perspectives. I think this collection captures the facility quite well.

All photos here are in Creative Commons.


Premshree Pillai


Circa 1920 - UW Digital Collections


jeffwilcox


Fashion Bigot


Travis S.


aboyandhisbike


djwudi


akseabird


sonofabike


bochalla


Curtis Cronn


Jonathan Caves


Photo Munki


Circa 1917 - IMLS DCC


mr.hodgson


Paul Beard


liquidnight

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About the Hiram Chittenden Locks

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240 Seconds on Lake Union

Lake Union & Seattle, originally uploaded by Atomic Taco.

What can you do in four minutes?

Many things can be accomplished int he 240 seconds that make up four minutes on your clock. In our house, we can eat breakfast with enough time to catch the school bus. I can walk into a 7-Eleven, get a Slurpee, pay for it, and be back on the road in that amount of time. What does Atomic Taco do?

Takes a stunning picture with a tripod.

This time-lapse photo has an "exposure setting" of 240 seconds. The resulting photo gives of an amazing glow, long reflective colors, and effect on the lake that I've never seen before. Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Heck, why not view it for about 240 seconds? It would be attention well deserved!

Lines, Angles, and Portals

King County Administration Building, originally uploaded by Boy27wonder.

If anything, the design can be considered bold.

Others consider it just plain ugly. Built in 1971, the King County Administration Building is a structure that embraces the ambitious designs of what some call "The Malaise Era." In 2006, County Executive Ron Sims wanted it replaced with a tower (it was shot down because of costs).

I've added it here because, despite the argument over ugliness, the lines are very interesting when the camera is trained on the side. This building has been on my radar now for as long as I can remember; it was only after looking at this picture that I noticed the hex patterns in the diamonds. That is the beauty of photography - bringing out something that you haven't seen before.

And for some, they'd rather not see this building ever again.

Japanese Garden at The Arboretum

, originally uploaded by m33gs.

Can anyone be uptight after looking at this scene? I think not. The colors and the quietness take my blood pressure down a few clicks.

Cheers to M33GS for capturing the serene view for everyone!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/m33gs/

Angle Lake - SeaTac WA

Angle Lake, courtesy of Micheal B

From this picture one might think these folks are fishing far from any civilization.

In fact, Angle Lake is in SeaTac and less than a mile from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The precursor to Sea-Tac's runways was actually called Angle Lake Airfield.

I know what it's like to shoot cloud pictures around here, and getting this shot is not an exact science. If the photographer wants drama in the cloud cover, then sacrifice must be made in the foreground. In short, if one is exposed correctly the other will be either dark or light. Here, Michael B struck the right balance between drama and detail. I love these clouds, puffy and happy. It's nice to see them over the slate-grey skies we are all accustomed to around here.

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