Commuting to the city - photographic nirvana

I'll have more to say in the next couple of days but.. it's been a real joy to commute into the city for the last month. It's a very short-term contract (I'm a little adverse to commitments these days) but I get the feeling I'm going to miss these daily runs on the boat and the photo opportunities they offer.

Here are a couple of pics I just yanked out of the thousand or so I've shot over the last month. These are not the best, and certainly not the worst.. just the ones I had handy on my desktop at the moment. I hope you see something interesting or they inspire you to try something similar, or maybe totally different. Isn't that what Art is about?


Sunrise over Seattle, WA. Shot from the bow of the MV Kitsap as we entered the main body of Puget Sound late in February. Lights were still on along the waterfront and some of the office buildings. The photograph simply cannot do the vibrant colors of that morning their justice.

Morning light on the Olympics (facing west).

Here is an experimental image taken as we departed the city early in the evening. Using my wide angle lens and A LOT of digital memory cards I tested some ideas regarding creation of a hyperspace effect with the lights of the city. There are likely better shots in the bin yet to be re-sized for web use but I've not pulled them yet. A ship vibrating under acceleration, the waves of the sounded adding to the motion of the boat make using a tripod or monopod an impossibility. All things considered I think the effect was executed with some success.

Another amazing sunrise. This one showing the full golden light (that shows as pink reflecting off the glaciers and snow fields fo the Olympics in a previous shot). Another wonderful morning in the Northwest.

One final 'effects' shot. Taken off the fantail of the MV Kitap as we departed Seattle, city light reflected in the ship's wake. It was actually very dark but the long exposure used to capture the moment in the ships' wake (and also the mechanical vibration of the ships steel decks) gives the effect of a daylight shot, which it certainly was not. I've been playing around with these effects more than the hyperspace effects as of late.


As I shoot, process, destory, archive more images from my daily commute I'll post those that strike me the most at a given time, here for any visitor to see.

Thanks for dropping in. I really should make a better effort to keep this updated. And of course, don't forget to brrreeeport!