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Category: Seattle
Scrap Sculpture
Sculpture made of scrap metal that stands in the Pacific Place Mall in downtown Seattle.
Orca
From the back of the ferry boat I was able to watch and shoot a pod of Orca moving south. Apparently there were 7 Orca in this pod that were feeding on the salmon that were running a week or so ago. I was only able to spot 3 of the pod. With a 70-200mm lens this is as close as I could bring them in. A 400mm lens is beyond my budget, but I was happy to catch what I could and better yet, just to witness the pod moving and feeding was amazing. Please click to get a better view.
Skywatch Friday
Commercial airliner coming in for a landing at Sea-Tac Airport. Typical NW gray skies.
River Traffic
Marine traffic along the Duwamish. In the background is the very old Boeing Plant II. Used to be the Sheet Metal Shop until that moved to Auburn many years ago. I have a feeling the buildings are empty as Boeing and the City of Seattle have come to some agreement as to what to do with the land and how to deal with the environmental issues. A lot of history in this Plant. Boeing’s footprint in the NW Region is getting smaller and smaller as the company continues to outsource.
Brick and Fennel
Tall fennel along the path near the 14th St. Bridge. Distinctive red brick of original road in South Park.
View from Below
There is a trail of sorts along the west bank of the Duwamish River that takes one underneath the 14th St. Bridge. Along the trail you can see 7 foot tall fennel and the remnants of homeless hangouts; the odd assortment clothes, food packaging and charred wood. In these photos you can begin to get a sense of the level of disrepair on the bridge. Link to the Bridge Project webpage is here.
Related Articles
- Funding OK’d in South Park bridge project (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Some South Park businesses now suffer after bridge closing (westseattleherald.com)
- A neighborhood prepares to lose its bridge (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- The joke, alas, is on South Park (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Pilings
What’s left of a pier or dock along the Duwamish River.
14th St. Bridge
The beginning the demolition of the 14th St. Bridge. I’m going to try to document this event as best I can over the next few months. The next few posts regarding the bridge will focus on the neighborhood ( South Park ) adjacent to the bridge/river. When I was around 4 years old my family lived a stones throw from the river and bridge. Our family doctor’s clinic was located in the heart of South Park so I had continuous ties to the neighborhood for years. The doctor and clinic are long gone. A side story: Our doctor was probably typical for his time, but I remember he always lit up a Camel non-filtered cigarette after he entered the exam room. I remember the clinic having this odd odor of cigarette smoke and alcohol or some cleaning solution. Those were very different times.
Bridge
Bridge, part of the nature path at Carkeek Park in Seattle.
Feathery Visitor
On a more positive note, I had a curious visitor while I was shooting on the shore of the Duwamish River.
Duwamish Waterway
Switching locations. A stark reminder that this river is still suffering from pollutants, probably from industrial discharges.
Mood on the River
A section of blue sky reflected in the river. The mood along the river seemed to change suddenly. A partially cloudy morning turned into a steel-gray morning with the wind causing ripples on a calm river. Despite a few garbage cans close by trash seems to accumulate. To me the cement blocks are more of a reminder of an earlier time when pollution of every sort could be found in and around the Duwamish River.
Company
I had company this grey morning. Fellow photographer patiently waiting for a pair of osprey that apparently liked to feed at this stretch of the Duwamish River.
Duwamish Waterway Park
The Duwamish River was one of the first EPA designated Superfund sites, in the early 1970’s. The river doesn’t seem as polluted as it once was, but I am not sure just how or if those ‘funds’ were used. In the 1960’s and 1970’s many of the bottom fish like flounders had odd growths on their bodies and were hard to look at let alone consider to be edible. For a short time in my childhood we lived just south of the 14th Street Bridge, about a blocks distance from the river. I remember playing on the river bank and fishing with a tree limb and string. Across the river was Boeing’s Plant 2, one of the many causes of the pollution of the river. A very odd mix of residential, commercial and industrial shared usage.
Conservatory Images
Three film images shot in 2006 at the Volunteer Park Conservatory (Seattle) in May , 2006. While I am in the process of through the 500+ photos I took the past few days in New York I thought I would share some items from the archive.
Bluestar2012's Photoblog 
