--11_22_2008_assignments to drool for--

--11_22_2008_assignments to drool for--

Well, no matter what the assignment is, as long as there is a cool dog present it pretty much makes for a great day.

Anyone who knows me knows how much of an animal person I am, especially dogs. So naturally whenever one is around I usually make time to become friends.

This is Rocko, he's a giant 3 year old Saint Bernard that was running around outside playing with trees, I mean sticks, and loved to drool all over the place. I left him alone though after the decided to go swimming in a pond.

Thanks for looking.

Be well,

Brad

--11_21_2008_Debit card down_bv--

--11_21_2008_Debit card down_bv--

It's never a good time to lose your debit card. A couple days ago when I was filling up for gas at the shell station on Mercer I must have been so caught off guard by the possibility of getting 88 cent gas I dropped the card and didn't even notice. (I did not actually get 88 cent gas, the display must have just been broke)

I proceeded to drive into the Cascades and shoot an assignment requiring a little mountain climb in some very muddy conditions. After finishing my shoot (see prior post) I stopped off at a gas station to grab a coffee and cheetos for the trip back. As I went to pay I couldn't find my card, luckily I took out some money just before losing the card and had enough to cover the snack. I figured my card slipped out of my pocket in my car, but as I was tearing my car apart looking for it I figured the only other place I could have lost my card was on that mud covered mountainside.

Just before heading back to the mountain to scour (most likely aimlessly even if the card was lost there) I got a call from my parents saying someone had called my bank said they found my card. My bank said thank you, please destroy the card, and then deactivated my account. After talking with the bank and making sure that my last transaction was actually mine I was finally relieved.

So, thanks kind stranger.

Here are some random photos I made that day, some while I had my debit card, one right at the point where I lost it, and one afterwards.

Thanks for looking,

Brad

--11_21_2008_The best things in life--

--11_21_2008_The best things in life--

On Friday while working on an assignment around downtown I was so hungry and tired. I was shooting some and wandering around looking for better angles and areas when I decided I would swing by Dog in the Park, a little slice of heaven hotdog stand on 4th and Pine set back into a building on Westlake park. Something just sounded so right to me about a kielbasa with a toasted bun slathered in cream cheese with hot peppers, cabbage, and seuarkraut. Ya know the works.

Well turns out not to many people have the same cravings.... at 9:30 in the morning because the shop was still closed up and lifeless, not to mention dogless. I was however greeted by something even better. Free food. There was a weird verizon publicity event in the park and Starbucks was giving away free oatmeal and coffee.

I'd never tried it, but oatmeal covered in dried cranberries with a hint of brown sugar is terrific.

Great little energy boost for the little mountain climb I did later that day. It was pretty cool going out into the mountains just as they are starting to get covered in snow. When I went out there was a very prominent snow line dancing across the higher elevations.

Thanks for looking

Brad

--11_18_2008_News in the air_bv--

--11_18_2008_News in the air_bv--

I'm sure everyone has noticed these at least a few times in your life. Maybe outside of a major sporting event, car crash, riot, or just next to your everyday kxbtv(why)y news person talking about something important about town.

I for one love them. I love covering events and knowing exactly where to park my car... oh, over there, next to the six different curling radar dishes reaching for the clouds. These little dishes give the tv stations the ability to transmit live footage over the airways and back to their headquarters to be forwarded to the world live, straight from the scene to you.

Thanks for looking,
Brad

Television.


Newspaper.

--11_16_2008_Recap of the (not so) perfect home season--

--11_16_2008_Recap of the (not so) perfect home season--

Last night was the last home game of the 2008 for the University of Washington Huskies. The Huskies have struggled a bit this season, currently they are 0-10 heading into their last two games on the road @ Washington State and @ California.

Here are a few of my favorites from the 4 Washington games I was able to cover in Husky Stadium.

Thanks for looking,

brad

--11_12_2008_Hyperhydration--

--11_12_2008_Hyperhydration--

Flooding has started to occur in many different places outside the Seattle area. On Wednesday we dispatched quite a few photographers to different areas to cover the rising flood waters. I was sent about an hour south, southeast of Seattle to a small town called Orting and the surrounding area near the Carbon River and Voights Creek.

I was there until dark and the Carbon River had not crested over its banks. The smaller Voights Creek had inundated a Washington State fish hatchery however about 3 miles down the road from Carbon River. I went back and forth between locations until it was dark and then I had to leave to transmit back to the paper.

Here are a few of the photos I made while roaming around on damp ground and in water up to 2 1/2 feet deep or so.

Stay safe if you're in those areas.

~brad



**Rules of evacuating a flooded house.
#1. Evacuate family first, keep child dry.


#2. Evacuate hound(s) second, also keep hound dry.




Good luck lighting your cigarette.

--11_11_2008_Veterans Day--

--11_11_2008_Veterans Day--

I photographed a Veterans Day assignment at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Seattle.

Here are just a few shots from the day.

Thank for looking
~brad

--11_08_2008_It gives you teeth--

--11_08_2008_Leaving Forks--

Well, they give you teeth... when you order the vampire burger.

You can take the boy out of the vampire town, but you can't take the vampire town out of the boy.

It was a great two days exploring highway 101 and the small town of Forks. Definitely looking forward to making my way back out to the Olympic Peninsula and exploring even more new territory.

~cheers
-brad

If you're reading this sign... ahhhh


Currently, Forks only has a little under 6 feet of its expected 11.5-12.5 feet of annual rain.


I hear vegetarian style is the best.




Waiting for the ferry back to Edmonds.

--11_08_2008_Beautiful Lake Crescent--

--11_08_2008_Beautiful Lake Crescent--

A tip from a friend left me excited to get a chance to come across a lake named Crescent during my Olympic Peninsula excursion. Lake Crescent resides right off of Highway 101 in the Olympic National Park on the way to and from Forks, Washington. Friday morning as I was making my way towards Forks it sorta snuck up on me, the lake pretty much comes out of nowhere. You pass a sign letting you know you're entering Olympic National Park, come over a slight rise and then down the hills and all of the sudden a large majestic body of water forms pretty much out of nowhere.

Crescent is a large, deep body of water caught on the outskirts of the Olympic Mountain range. I stopped wherever I could on the narrow two lane highway and took photos. I'd really love to come back to this area during the summertime and see the lake on a partly cloudy perfectly still day.... I can just imagine how glassy and reflective the water becomes.

cheers
-brad



Very, Very clear water.... also very cold water.






From natural to natural... with a little man made in between.

--11_07-08_2008_Welcome to Forks Washington--

--11_07-08_2008_Welcome to Forks Washington--

Over the past 48 hours or so I have learned a lot about the town of Forks, and 'Twilight' the teenage love story between a vampire and human. Forks was chosen for the book because it is the darkest / most overcast place in the continental United States. While there, I did not see the sun and it rained the entire time except for maybe a total of 10-15 minutes.

During the two days in Forks I followed the Twilight tour twice. The first time I road along with three friends as they quickly toured as much of the area as possible to make sure that they could get back to Bremerton in time for the reason why they were in Washington, a friends reception for the upcoming wedding. This worked out pretty well since it was sort of the regular tour on a huge dose of caffeine. Plus it was a different way of seeing the tour instead of just the usual van ride along... which I did the following day with a group of 11 others, from a 13 year old celebrating her birthday, to a pair of women from California who made the trip just to see Forks for it's tie to Twilight.

The town has really embraced this strange influx of tourism with open arms. Talking with local shop and restaurant owners it seems that Twilight fans have pumped new life into the local economy. Forks depends on fishing tourism to fill the hotels, eat the food, and buy the merchandise during the peak fishing season. But with this new source of ever increasing tourism the times of the year when the fishing traffic dwindles down Twilight traffic keeps the town busy.

Thanks for looking
Brad









Yea, Forks is in a temperate rain forest... it rains a lot.


My camera had enough salt on it to cure a moose after shooting next to the ocean for 20 minutes in 40 mph wind gusts. Awesome time.


I had the bella burger, it was great. The burger consisted of pretty much everything on a normal burger and then a non fried pineapple on top. Sounds strange, tastes good.


Garden State?