--12_31_2008_Portfolio story: Historic house move_bv--

--12_31_2008_Portfolio story: Historic house move_bv--

At the beginning of my time here at the P-I, which only feels like yesterday, I had the opportunity to work on one of my favorite assignments of my entire time with the paper. I turned the regular daily assignment into a little story for my portfolio.

This is the final piece of my 2008 portfolio. I hope you enjoyed the images and as I said, I'd love to hear opinions and thoughts about the images that I have posted here.

2008 went quickly. Here's to a fantastic 2009.

Cheers,

Brad Vest

--12_31_2008_Solos_bv--

--12_31_2008_Solos_bv--

Here are my single, editorial, non sports images. Choosing portfolio images is one of the toughest things for photographers. There are images that mean a lot more to me emotionally so I feel more attached to them even though they're not my best images, those are the hardest cut out. I was fortunate enough to have members of the P-I staff look over my images many times and it has helped me imensly in narrowing down my final pics. Of course, no matter who you show your portfolio to, even if the first person loves every single image there will be people who just hate them. It's tough, but for now here are my single images in my short 3 year photojournalism career so far.

Again, any criticism and comments are extremely welcome.

Thanks for looking.

-Brad Vest

--12_31_2008_a little farewell and the portfolio thus far--

--12_31_2008_a little farewell and the portfolio thus far--

Since it's the end of 2008 and the end of my time here at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I figured I would throw up my current portfolio, as it stands now at the end of 2008. Note, these all were not shot in 2008 this is my complete portfolio. I figure it will be nice to look back at this and see how much it changes come 2009, 10, and so on. I'll split each section into different posts so it's easy to follow and separate out the different sections.

I think I have improved quite a bit this year and the Post-Intelligencer has been a huge part of that. I'll continue to wok on improving every aspect of my work in 2009 and we'll see where it leads.

Today is my last day of interning at the P-I. It's been a fantastic experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've grown as a photographer and a human being by being around such an amazing staff of photographers, editors, and writers. It'll be hard not coming through the P-I doors anymore to grab assignments that took me all over this wonderful city and parts of this state. I'll miss so much of my experience here and most of all the wonderful people I had the opportunity to work with each day.

In a few days I'll be leaving this amazing place and heading home to visit with my family and friends in Illinois for a little more than a week. Then I am off to my next internship in quite a different place than Seattle Washington, Hutchinson Kansas. I'll be working for Hutchinson News, a smaller 30k circulation paper in Hutchinson which is pretty much in the center of Kansas. It's sort of strange right now only staying in towns for 4 months at a time before moving onto the next opportunity. However, I enjoy the challenges that come with change and all the opportunities that follow closely behind.

Thanks to everyone at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, you made my first internship an amazing and unforgettable experience.

I'll post the portfolio in a few different blogs. Here are my sports images. It's a little long and I'll probably cut a few here or there depending on who I would be sending the portfolio to.

Best,
And have a great New Year.

-Brad

--12_15_2008_Withdrawing from a family Pt. 2_bv--

--12_15_2008_Withdrawing from a family Pt. 2_bv--

The Seattle area happened to go through a cold spell while Joy and her family's heater was on the fritz. When the local American Legion heard of the family living in the cold they paid for them to stay in an extended stay hotel through the cold spell and until their heater could be fixed or replaced. I met up with Joy and her daughters early one morning to follow the beginning of their day from the hotel to school and dealing with the cold.

I have great respect for anyone in the armed services or any sector of work that forces you to be away from your family for long spans of time. I couldn't imagine leaving a family and being thousands of miles away for over a year. Not to mention all while putting your life in danger. No matter your views on any war the highest amount of respect should be given to those who volunteer and sacrifice so much.

Thanks for checking in.

Best,
Brad Vest


Joy Mack catches a quick break after brushing her daughter's, Megan, 6, hair, inside their room at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


Joy Mack prepares her daughters lunches as Megan, 6, gathers her clothes to get dressed while at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup. The American Legion is paying for their stay during the cold spell since their homes heater isn't working properly.


Joy Mack shares a moment with her daughter, Megan, 6, at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel before starting their day on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.


Joy Mack and her daughter Megan, 6, wait outside the bathroom door while Mack's older daughter Kori, 11, cries inside of their hotel room bathroom because she didn't want to go back to the family's home and wait in the cold for her school bus, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup. The American Legion is paying for the family's stay during the cold spell because of the faulty electricity and heating in their home. Joy Mack allowed her daughter, Kori, to skip school and spend the day with her at work on Camp Murray.


Joy Mack and her daughters Megan, 6, and Kori, 11, step into the cold to head to work and school respectively leaving their room at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.


Joy Mack, center, and her daughters Megan, 6, right, and Kori, 11, left, take the elevator down to their car at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.


Joy Mack and her daughters Megan, 6, and Kori, 11, prepare to leave the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.


Joy Mack holds her daughter's, Megan, 6, hand as she drops her off for daycare at Camp McChord Air Force Base before heading to work at Camp Murray on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.


Joy Mack kisses her daughter, Megan, 6, goodbye while dropping her off at daycare before heading to work on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.

--12_14_2008_Withdrawing a family Pt. 1_bv--

--12_14_2008_Withdrawing a family Pt. 1_bv--

Recently I had the opportunity to follow a family of three dealing with problems leading up to the deployment of the mom, Joy Mack, for an 18 month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Many people in the local community are volunteering to help her in these last few weeks before she was set up to ship off to the Middle East.

Mack lives in Puyallup Washington with her two daughters Kori and Megan. Members of the local American Legion along with a volunteer from the Seattle Seahawks, the NFL team based in Seattle. Here are some photos from my first visit with the family. I was sent to cover the volunteers helping the family. On this day a few volunteers came over to help clear the yard of the overgrown blackberry bushes and other debris that the family obviously could not find time for in the rush to get prepared to go off to war.

The younger daughter Megan, was pretty much in love with my camera. It's always tough in those situations to shoot accordingly. As a photojournalist the most important thing I strive for is capturing real moments that would have happened as if I were not there. So whenever she would do goofy things, obviously just because I was there I would take a few photos to make her happy and then just sort of filter away into the background letting her do her own thing. Usually while shooting regular assignments it's tough to really 'disappear' and have the subject fell totally comfortable with you there. That's why it is great to get into longer term stories, where you become something of the norm and the subject becomes comfortable with you around taking photos.

Here are some of my favorites and a few examples of how hard it is to just blend in and shoot in a new environment.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Falling down, Oasis


Joy Mack is an Army Specialist being deployed for training in January before being sent for a tour in Afghanistan sometime in March, Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup. Mack is receiving a lot of help from the American Legion and other volunteers before being deployed.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


Joy Mack, left, along with volunteer Mike Flood, the Vice President/Community Relations & Special Projects for the Seahawks, help clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


This is a photo I've taken hundreds of times. I shoot the person straight on with a little of their clothing showing and then record an audio clip with their name and information for my captions. Sometimes they turn out to be great portraits even though I am just shooting them randomly and quickly moving from subject to subject.


Army Specialist Joy Mack, left, kisses her daughter's, Megan, 6, injury from a blackberry bush while working outside with volunteers to clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


The daughters were very into drawing and other forms of artwork. They spent a lot of time showing my their artwork. Again, it is sort of hard to work and make pictures when you are obviously having an impact on being there. It was fun how open the family was and accepting they were to having me there documenting their lives.


Megan gets her boots on to go outside an help her mother cut back some of the blackberry bushes that have overgrown their lawn, Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


Megan puts her hat on to go outside an help her mother cut back some of the blackberry bushes that have overgrown their lawn, Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


Army Specialist Joy Mack, left, helps her daughter, Megan, 6, with her gloves while working outside with volunteers to clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)




Joy Mack gives Mike Flood, Seattle Seahawks Vice President / Community Relations & Special Projects, a hug after he helped clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup. Mack has seen an outpouring of support for her and her family in the last few weeks before heading off in January for training and her upcoming tour in Afghanistan.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)


At some point in time I was attacked while taking pictures outside. It is tough to blend in, especially around kids sometimes that always just want to play and have fun. You just have to let them do what they do and eventually their interest in the new guy with a camera will fade.

--12_25_2008_Merry Christmas and happy holidays --

--12_25_2008_Merry Christmas and happy holidays --

Well, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. It was my first time away from home for this occasion and it was relatively weird. But it also sorta just didn't feel like a holiday so I wasn't affected much I suppose. After all I'll be home in just a couple weeks so I'll have plenty of time to catch up with family and celebrate, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Either way, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with anything that you celebrate. Be safe, have fun, and be thankful for everything.

Here are a few way random images from my walk / bus ride home from after a little potluck at work.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Sneaker Pimps, Blue Movie

--2008_12_19-22_Seattle on Ice_bv--

--2008_12_19-22_Seattle on Ice_bv--

In the last few days Seattle has been rocked by an epic (in Seattle standards) amount of snow. This city shuts down after only a couple inches of snow. As a matter of fact, Seattle canceled all schools for this past Wednesday just at the mere threat of snow. Well, as it turned out, it didn't snow on Wednesday. It did however snow Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Accumulating a total of 8-10 inches of snow in the Seattle metro area. This is quite a bit of snow to fall at once even in Chicago standards. What makes it much worse here though is the face that Seattle has very few snow plows, no salt, and an enormous amount of very steep hills. These, along with 10 inches of snow, combined to pretty much shutdown the city.

Since I personally live on a giant hill, Queen Anne, my car has been out of action for the past 4 days and I've been hoofing it all around the city gathering photos. It's been great seeing the way most people here love the snow. Since they don't get it every winter and barely ever get this much it seems to bring out the kid in everyone.

So, the count. In the last 4 days.... I've gone through 12 pairs of socks, 8.67 gigs of hd space, plenty of coffee and tea, and around 30 miles of walking around from Queen Anne to Capital Hill and back multiple times along with some side treks. One of the many reasons I am going to intensely miss this city when I leave in about two weeks, the fact that when it snows and the biggest hill in the city shuts down it turns into a big party of sledders, skiers, and snowboarders. What an amazing place. It has really gone by way to fast.

Here are a few more of my favorite photos from the past few days building from the ones I've already posted here. Thanks for keeping me busy with your curve ball of weather Seattle.

Thanks so much for looking. If it is snowing where you're at, stay safe, go out, and have some fun.

Best,

Brad Vest

This says it all. Do not enter... my entire neighborhood. Risky.




I began to feel like one of these guys after treadging around in the snow for 4 days straight.




































Cheers to you Seattle, it was a great few days of playing in the snow.

--12_19_2008_Sledding Denny_bv--

--12_19_2008_Sledding Denny_bv--

Since my car is stuck on the side of a steep hill surrounded by nothing but ice I walked from my house in Queen Anne to a friends in Capitol Hill gathering photos along the way for an online slideshow. With no way back to Queen Anne we toughed it out on Capitol Hill by putting together a mini bar crawl... slide. Of course we had to swing by City Market to pick up a few supplies and found they were giving some local love to the gov of my home state, Illinois.
We ended up heading back to the apartment on Bellevue but couldn't pass up the opportunity to cruise down denny on cardboard boxes along with other local revelers of the snow.
It was tough to make photos cruising down Denny but I figured I would share these to let everyone see how much of a phenomena it is to have a lot of snow in Seattle. Everyone comes out to enjoy it. It's not just a regular pain as people view it in the midwest and east coast.
Many more photos to come. After Thursday's storm we have gotten an additional 10 or so inches and it is still snowing outside. Who knows when I'll be able to move my car again.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

Listening to: Solo Impala, The Fashion

Gotta love those City Market signs.

--12_18_2008_S(n)O(w) it begins--

--12_18_2008_S(n)O(w) it begins--

An epic snowstorm his Seattle this past Thursday. Well, epic for Seattle standards. Due to the fact that Seattle pretty much has zero snow plows combined with more hills than MTV. With those two factors it's a mixture to paralyze a city. Just to let you know how scared Seattle is of snow, on Wednesday there was just a chance that it may snow.... cancel school, everything. It didn't snow, it was pretty funny. Then of course the snow came on Thursday with a vengeance.
Due to the fact that I live on Queen Anne HILL I haven't been able to move my car in two days. If you don't have chains in this neighborhood don't even think about it. So I've been walking miles a day up and down the slopes of Seattle making pictures along the way.
It's great here to see how the kids react to snow since they don't usually get to see it, let along 6 inches of it. Everyone seemed to be having a great time as long as they weren't trying to get anywhere.

Thanks for looking.

Stay safe out there,

Brad Vest

Listening to: Flying Lotus, RobertaFlack (feat Dolly)

Apparently this snowman has no interest in the great view from Kerry Park. I guess he could have just been posing for a photo. Only in Seattle have I found snowmen with eyes made from coffee beans, fitting I guess.


The storm parted for an instant and the sun bathed down on Eliot Bay for a brief instance.




These kids were catching some massive air cruising down 11th Avenue in US Post Office boxes. Even the parents got into it. It was great hanging out for a while.


There are a lot of these little berry trees all over Seattle. The deep red really popped out against the stark white snow.




Pretty much every bus trying to get into my neighborhood was stuck on a hill, somewhere. Luckily this morning on my way back from a friends the bus was running all the way up. Actually the first one to go up the hill was the bus that I caught, I know lucky. They had just sanded the hill and the buses were outfitted with chains around their tires. Here a resident asks a driver if he wants anything to drink or eat while he was stranded in his bus waiting for a tow off the hill near the end of the storm.


All the hills make for fantastic views. I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe having chains for my car.






Snowman numero dos.

--2008_1218_The Emerald City goes White_bv--

--2008_1218_The Emerald City goes White_bv--

It's cold and snowy. Plenty related photos on the way.

--12_14_2008_8mbs worth of memories--

--12_14_2008_8mbs worth of memories--

One of the best parts about being out here at this certain nexus of time is the fact that one of my greatest friends is living out here also. She just happens to be one of the people that I was with when I was introduced to this amazing city during a summer of revelry. (oh and the other is coming out for a few days around new years... amazing) The three of us came to this place green in every way regarding the northwest with high hopes of obtaining jobs, making enough money to pay for the entire trip, and pretty much breaking even when we returned home to Illinois for the fall semester at the University of Illinois.

As it turned out, we didn't find jobs and we ended up exploring the city and meeting new people every day to the wee hours of the night while having an amazing and unforgettable time in the emerald city.

While hanging out last night we just happened across an old camera that she had picked up from our roommate at the time near the end of the trip. With the tiny bit of battery life that the camera had images from the end of the summer flickered to life. What an outstanding and surprising find.

Here are just a few images from the tiny 8mb card that was stuck into what may be the largest digital point and shoot camera that is still functional. It's scary how fast technology has evolved since then. They are all from my last night in Seattle before heading home to the midwest. We took a ferry out to Bainbridge Island to grab some dinner and caught the ferry back right at sunset. Epic night. It's sad that I'll be repeating this process in some sort of similar way come early January. Time to head out of this wonderful place and move on to the next internship. Will I be back? definitely. Will it be soon? Only time will tell.

Side note: Things I wish I still had..... That hair, the weather, and the 3 years of college I had yet to complete at the time of this picture. Oh the memories.

Cheers,

Brad Vest

I could use a few of these cards.... They would pretty much hold only one photo.


Olympic Mountain range.


A nice photo from a nice stranger.


I've seen photos like this a lot after we took this. Hmmm, copycats? Probably.

--12_12_2008_marching in the rain--

--12_12_2008_marching in the rain--

A sophomore basketball phenomena Tony Wroten has recently been ruled ineligible and has not been allowed to attend Garfield High School any longer. The school district ruled Wroten ineligible after completing a investigation using private detectives to determine that Wroten lived outside of the Garfield district rendering him ineligible.

On Friday, day's after the ruling Garfield high students walked out in protest of the ruling that removed Wroten from their school. The students marched about 3 miles from the high school to the Seattle Public School's main Administration center.

Here are a few images I made along the way. I think my shoes are still drying out after being soaked to the bone following them around and hopping through puddles in attempt to get the best photographs.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

--12_11_2008_Santa Moose_bv--

--12_11_2008_Santa Moose_bv--

On Thursday I headed over to the Seattle Ronald McDonald House for a little get together between some of the kids and the Mariner Moose. The Moose, along with a couple retired Mariners players, came to the Ronald McDonald House to give out souvenir gifts and hang out with the kids for a while. A few of the younger children had to warm up to the giant furry Santa Moose at first, but in the end everyone seemed to have a lot of fun during this special opportunity.

--12_05_2008_4A State Championship--

--12_05_2008_4A State Championship--

On Friday I shot the 4A State Championship football game for Washington state high school teams in Tacoma, WA, at the Tacoma Dome. There is always something great about covering non-pro playoff or championship athletic events. The best of the best fighting it out, not for money or fame, but just for the love of the game and the passion they have for their team.



Apparently they were broadcasting the game on the moon. Viewership wasn't very high though.


I sorta struggled during this game to get great action shots. I don't know, it seemed like no matter where I was the action was either at the other end of the field or I had referees blocking my shot. I usually fair pretty well when it comes to sports but I left this game feeling a little jaded after shooting 7 gigs of shots and walking away without anything anywhere near spectacular.

I always fight with myself over how much to shoot during sports games. I consider myself a stingy shooter and usually do not over shoot games like I did with this one. After all, nothing is worse than being minutes from deadline and sitting at your computer waiting for hundreds of shots to download.

Working press only... and some random popcorn eaters.


Either way, it was nice to shoot high school football under lights that were brighter than a couple kitchen table candles.

Here are a few shots that I found away from the action, since that's where I seemed to find myself during most of the game. As always, thanks for looking.

Be well,

Brad Vest





Okay, I snuck one action shot in. Where the heck are all the other players at? I like the epic looking dive for the ball with the two players battling it out on the field, alone.

--11_28_2008_Close Call--

--11_28_2008_Close Call--

On my sisters last day in seattle we didn't have any major plans. She was going to sleep in while I cover black Friday madness at 4 in the morning. After I got home at around 10-12pm we were going to catch lunch, hang out around the city a tad, and then head out to the airport so that she could catch her 5:30pm flight back to Chicago.

Everything was going as planned until right after I got home and sent off my Black Friday photos I was called in on a bus crash that occurred on I-5. Turns out the Bellevue Football team's bus crashed on the way to the playoffs after a ladder fell off a truck in front of the bus which caused the crash.

A couple friends were able to use a Zip car and take my sister to the airport as I ended up covering the crash for quite a while. Luckily no one was seriously injured in the crash and in the end the game was just postponed. Turns out the team was actually wearing all of their football pads on the bus, that may have made the difference between an interesting story to tell their friends and a tragedy.

Thankfully I was able to meet my sister at the airport before her flight out.

As always, thanks for looking. Feedback welcome, have a great night.

Best,

Brad Vest

I had to fight through a jillion thorny bushes to get this picture. As I balanced with one foot clinging to the wet hillside and the other holding down a vicious raspberry bush I only got off about 5 frames before being herded back down the hill by Seattle's finest worried about my safety... I think it was worth it though, gotta get that overall shot somehow.

--11_24_2008_Topping out--

--11_24_2008_Topping out--

No trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to the top of the Space Needle. Yeah, it's pretty much a useless structure with an observation deck but it's iconic to Seattle. Even with the observation deck coming in at a stubby 520 feet, the panoramic view created by the 360 degree deck is tough to beat.

I've been there multiple times, it's never the same each time you go up. Luckily enough while my sister was here Seattle experienced some great weather and on one of the very clear days we made our way up to the top to enjoy the view.

Thanks for coming sis! I'm so glad you had the chance to come out and spend a week with me in this wonderful city, it was a blast!

cheers,

Brad

--11_25-27_2008_'Wild Animals'--

--11_25-27_2008_'Wild Animals'--

While my sister was here we had time to explore and meet a few of the wild animals that inhabit this area. From the Woodland Park Zoo to the Seattle Aquarium with a few not so lively animals in between.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest









Giraffes?


That's a full size VW bug under his hand.


terradactyl?

--11_27_2008_Helping to discover a park--

--11_27_2008_Helping to discover a park--

One of my favorite parks in Seattle is Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood. Discovery park is a large park that used to be a military base for the United States. However, with the base gone the public has been left with a huge swath of land that hugs the Puget Sound just miles north of Seattle. Discovery is not your usual big city park. If one were dropped in blind folded it would be easy to forget that you are only 15 minutes away from one of the US's larger cities, Seattle.

My sister Colleen and I explored the park early on Thanksgiving day before heading over to a friends for a great Thanksgiving party later that day.

Here are just a few shots from the park.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

--11_26_2008_Very adhesive wall--

--11_26_2008_Very adhesive wall--

The first time I came to Seattle was in the summer of 2004 after my freshmen year at the University of Illinois. A couple friends and I decided it would be an amazing idea to pack our bags and head out west for the summer, Seattle. We found a cheap place in the University District and spent the summer looking for jobs. After not being too successful we pretty much spent the summer hanging out and roaming the city everyday.... It was an amazing trip and introduction to a city that I have come to love.

One my favorite places in the city is this little crack that runs along 1st avenue known as Post Alley. It's a strange little back alley that houses a comedy club, brewery and is a backdoor to Pike Place market. It's usually pretty dark, smelly, and a little filthy. But the thing that draws me there time and time again is the giant gum wall that has formed on the east side of the alley near the market.

The wall was supposedly started in the early 90's while patrons waiting for the comedy show stuck their chewed gum to the wall. The first time I came in touch with this colorful wonder it was maybe about a 1/2 the size it is now. Just goes to show how quickly things change. It's fun to see how many different people have happened across the gum wall. However, it's nice to know that I had gum up there years ago, when it was just a wee baby of a gum wall.

Maybe the next time I come through Seattle the entire alley will be covered in gum. Although hopefully after I leave in January I'll be back quicker than it will take to accomplish that feat.

Thanks for looking,

Brad

--11_20's_2008_Reworking the space--

--11_20's_2008_Reworking the space--

Seattle is best known for a few things. Being green in every single way, the rain, coffee, and of course the space needle. I have been shooting it wherever I see it. I am always looking for new angles and different ways to capture something that is photographed thousands of times a day. While my sister Colleen was here we were out and about near the needle quite a bit and I came away with a few new shots that I like and I think are relatively unique for something so regularly photographed.

At the end of my time in Seattle I'll probably revisit this subject with my final edit of favorite shots that I will leave this amazing city with.

Hope you enjoy.

Best,

Brad Vest

--11_24_2008_Pike Place--

--11_24_2008_Pike Place--

While in Seattle one must visit Pike Place market at least once. No matter how many times you go to the market it is always different. Yeah, a lot of the same vendors, tourists, and the works. However, the market is like a living organism, always changing, breathing, and in different moods. In the 6 months combined that I have lived in Seattle I have been to the market numerous times, to be shown around, in the summer, the winter, to show people around, to buy produce, and just to go and make pictures.

It's tough to beat a relaxing day taste testing jams, olive oil, and all sorts of fruit while meandering through such a vibrant and lively area.

Thanks for looking,

Brad

Umm, oh, the last one is not of the market. It's sorta close, but I just love all the orca murals around this wonderful city.

--11_24_2008_Breakfast with a view--

--11_24_2008_Breakfast with a view--

I had to take my sister to the Athenian restaurant at Pike Place market after getting to know its greatness, amazing food, and view with pat traylor, http://cuzpatsaysso.blogspot.com/ , in September on our first fresh day (and pats only day in seattle) after arriving in Seattle from the 2,200 mile drive.

Yeah, the restaurant is in the super touristy area and is usually pretty crowded. But nothing beats seafood mixed with breakfast food, a great selection of local micro's, and Tapatio hot sauce.... oh and the amazing view out over Elliot Bay and the Olympic Mountain range.

Be well,

Brad

--11_23_2008_Strange weekend--

--11_23_2008_Strange weekend--

I've got a lot of updates coming your way, I've just been a tad behind since my wonderful sister, colleen, came to visit for the week. I have a ton of new shots I'm itching to show so there should be some updates over the next few days.

--------

After interning at the P-I for a little over 3 months and being called on only a few spot news calls, the week that my sister is here I actually get called in on two. One, on the second night she was in town.

Seattle is a pretty safe city, and it's usually pretty quiet. However the weekend of November 22 things were pretty scary for this usually tranquil city. Over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there were 6 shootings that left four people dead and seven wounded. One being a very brazen attack inside of the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila where one teen was killed and wounded another.

I was called in for a shooting in South Seattle where two teens were wounded by gunfire. The shooting may have been a retaliation for the Southcenter shooting.

Thanks for looking,

Brad