The Smith Tower

I was about to lose it with the short daylight, rain and gray and then the sun broke through the clouds and saved me. Seattle had the most beautiful weather this past Saturday. I had a day out with my nephews planned and the sun made it all the better. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, spent a few hours at Gameworks and then went for ice cream at The Smith Tower. Ian was a sweetheart and tagged along. He even joined in on our occasional shenanigans.



My nephews are pretty much my own babies. I was there hours after they were born through all the milestones up to this point in their lives. I cannot believe how quickly they’ve grown. Time is going by so fast reminding me to savor moments like these.

Since they were little I would pack them in my car and take them out for what we’ve coined, 'a fun day'. We’d go get lunch, catch a movie or go the arcade.  No fun day was complete without a stop at Toys "R" Us. I’d return them happy, exhausted and asleep. 



Visiting The Smith Tower is worth it. The 35th floor of The Smith Tower was under renovations and closed for what felt like a long time. It reopened in 2016 and is one of our favorite spots to grab a drink and watch the sunset. The observation deck has a gorgeous 360 view of Seattle. If you stand at the corner facing the Great Wheel there's a sweet spot you can see the Space Needle. That is my favorite spot to see my three favorites: the water, the Great Wheel and the Space Needle.

Pioneer Square

Here in Seattle I think we have some of the most perfect summers. The sun can rise at 5am and set at 10pm providing an abundance of light and making it a photographer’s dream. After a long day at the office, my beau and I love going out to eat and taking our time walking to dinner. Some of our favorite places are in our neighborhood but lately we’ve been spending more time in Pioneer Square. Here's a Friday afternoon in Pioneer Square with photographs of a few favorite places, mostly right down Occidental.




The London Plane // OK, you know how obsessed I am of photographing this place! It's just so picturesque with it's wild flowers and clean interiors.



The Estate Wine Room // Our latest great find! We first stumbled across this tasting room while prefunking for a Sounders game. They do tasting flights of red and white wines and champagne. They also sell decently priced wine by the bottle.




Elm Coffee Roaster // I’ve blogged about this coffee shop before and I still stand by how much I love it. It is a little out of my way for a coffee run so whenever I am in the neighborhood I always treat myself.




King Street Station // Someday I’m going to take the train or so I keep telling myself. It will be a hop on a train to Vancouver BC or Portland. As for right now it's just too convenient for me to jump in my car and drive.

Clementine // During my Urban Fashion Network blogging days I attended an event at Clementine. At that time they were located in West Seattle. They've now moved to Pioneer Square next to The London Plane.

I purchased a pair of Melissa jelly sandals that reminded me so much of the ones I used to wear as little girl.

Cafe Umbria // Although I've mentioned the one in Ballard a few blog post before, this was the first Cafe Umbria I knew of. 

Waterfall Garden Park // This park closes early in the afternoon around 4pm. I had to squeeze my arms and my camera through the fence for this photograph. It's a good place to read a book or enjoy a quick bit.

The view of the city from King Street Station. 

Union Station

It was the last week of July and I had the luxury of time on my side. I was in between jobs and taking a well deserve break. Most of my days I spent wandering around the city with my camera, something I absolutely love doing. I made my way to my favorite places buying things I didn’t need and lingering around for the perfect photo opportunity. Time goes by quickly when you’re enjoying yourself and before I knew it, dinner was approaching. I started making my way to meet up with my beau in Pioneer Square when I walked by Union Station. I’ve passed it a number of times always in a rush but with my luxury of time, I decided to take a peak.



Union Station is in the middle of two busy transportation hubs: the train station, King Street Station and the transit tunnel, International District / Chinatown Station. I learned it once was a train station. Today it holds the headquarters of Sound Transit. The grand hall remains empty during the day and from playing bridesmaid, I know this place is available to host weddings. The empty space all on its own is already so beautiful, imagine it decked out.

I make my way into the building through the entrance on Jackson street. I’m quickly made aware of a couple of things. First, I noticed the quick change in temperature; the cool AC breeze on my sweaty skin. This is a great place to seek shelter from the summer heat. Second is the silence. The sound of the congested traffic and people chattering is faint. As I make my way inside the grand hall walking around and observing it all I quickly take notice of the sky light illuminating the space. The shiny mosaic tiles make a statement on their own. The old school furniture reminds me so much of grade school. People are scattered sitting on a bench or at a table, buried in what seems like a good book, reading in silence. This is definitely my kind of place.



I had been wandering around the city all day and along the way photographing things here and there. I was on my last roll of film and had seven exposures left; I had to pick my shots wisely. During my walk around the grand hall, I was also imagining all the photographs I would take. Lately I’ve been trying to see an image the way my camera would frame it. There will be times I will look at a space mentally photographing it only to find, when my eye is in the view finder, that choice in composition doesn't really work. I just don’t know how to see the way my camera does. This is something I’ve been more mindful of.

I use my last seven exposures here and was sadden by this limitation. Each frame was carefully thought out. I took my time playing with my composition and metering for the shadows and then doing it all over again to confirm it’s accuracy before hitting the shutter. Everything was slow and purposeful. Here you have it, all seven frames.

Seattle - Bainbridge Island Ferry

One gorgeous Saturday afternoon I found myself wanting to appreciate my city and the amazing weather we were having. I decided the best way to do so was to go on adventure where I can admire its beauty while enjoying the sun. I packed my Hasselblad and off to the ferry terminal I went.

One of the great things about living in the city is the ability to walk everywhere; I love being able to do so. I walked from downtown to the ferry terminal to catch the Seattle to Bainbridge Island Ferry. I think it's much easier to ride the ferry by foot.

After purchasing my ticket, I waited for the ferry, along with motorist and walk on passengers, by enjoying the view. The Puget Sound water stretches out as far as the eyes could see with the Washington Islands in the distance, the Olympic mountains to the right and wrapped along the side and behind me is the Seattle skyline. In the middle of Elliot Bay the ferry slowly makes its way towards us. Soon enough the ferry approaches and we all make our way to our designated entrances.

Once on the ferry the view is amazing! On a day this beautiful I don't bother going into the main cabin, instead I make my way up to the upper deck where there is plenty of seating and open space to photograph the city skyline. 

A double exposure on accident // Lately my Hasselblad has been getting jammed mid shutter. The last time this happened I wasn't able to remove the magazine back. I took it to Camera Techs. A very kind Technician was able to take it apart and put it back together within minutes. He also showed me how to remove the magazine back if it ever gets stuck again. After a quick assessment, he gave me some feedback on my Hasselblad and sent me on my way at no charge. If you're looking to get your camera serviced in the Seattle / Ballard area, I highly recommend going to Camera Techs. 

While I was trying to capture a photograph of the water, I gently pressed the shutter and that's when I got it jammed. I realized I wasn't pressing my shutter hard enough. I inserted the metal slide back into the Hasselblad, removed the magazine back and then I was able to wind the camera fully through. This meant the film missed being advanced. I decided to photograph the deck over the photograph of the water. 

Things to do on Bainbridge Island // Walk over to downtown Bainbridge; this is about a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal. Coffee is always first on my list. Stop by Blackbird Bakery for a cup of coffee and a pastry. Cross the street over to Cafe Nola and enjoy a Salmon sandwich with a glass of sparkling wine. Walk off the calories by going over next door to Salt House Mercantile; they have an amazing variety of home goods. Pick up some reading materials at Eagle Harbor Bookstore. Treat yourself to some dessert across the street at MORA Ice Cream. 

Off Duty Details

I came across this blog post and it inspired me to dust off my Diana, load her up with some Kodak film and take her out for a night out around town. I forget how easy she can be: light as a feather, simple to shoot and extremely low maintenance; I can quickly toss her over my shoulder and off I go. If you've been following along on instagram, you'll notice I did this all of last week. While off duty I brought her along to capture details of my evenings. Last week was also the perfect week to do so; we had temperatures in the high 80's which meant lots of time spent outdoors walking around the city, dining out and drinking delicious summer drinks such as bubble tea!

Notes on Double Exposure

I love shooting double exposure on the Diana after this beautiful mistake. You aren't quite sure what you'll get which builds much anticipation while waiting to get your scans back from the lab.

A double exposure is exactly what it sounds like: exposing the same frame with two different images. The first image I consider the base or foundation, is shot on a setting lower than I would normally shoot (under-expose) to capture the shadows. I will make a mental note of the shadows for the next image and this is important because the shadows or darker areas of the first photo will allow details on the second image to come through; I will usually over-expose the second image.

My favorite photo is the following double exposure of me and the Seattle Great Wheel. My beau took the first photo me against a red brick wall and when we reached Victor Steinbrueck Park, I took the second photo of the Seattle Great Wheel over his image. When I showed him this photo, he said, 'this is a great representation of a girl in the city', (among other inappropriate observations I will not mention on here). 

Notes on *Camera Setting 

The Shutter Speed Switch located on the top of the Lens has two settings: "N" and "B". Use N mode when you are shooting in sunny conditions or switch the B mode when you are shooting indoors or in low light.

On the bottom of the Lens is the Aperture Setting. This controls how wide the shutter opens. There are four settings available. Three of them match the outdoor weather conditions: sun, partial clouds and full clouds. The fourth one, "P," is for pinhole shots.

*source: http://microsites.lomography.com/diana/getting-started/ 

My hands are not steady enough to shoot on bulb mode. Most of the photos I shot on bulb turned out blurry - not in the cool retro sort of way either - more as in, did a two year old get a hold of my camera? way. I think I will keep my shutter speed on Normal from now on. 

The more I spend time shooting the more I realize how natural it is for me to observe my surroundings or moments through photography. It makes me so happy to be able to roam around the city with my camera in hand. There is always that little voice inside me nudging me to pick up my camera. The more I listen to it, the stronger it gets and the stronger my ability to do only those things I love become. 

Developed and Scanned at Panda Lab