Inspired in Seattle: Part 1

Finding a place that hasn't been photographed to death isn't always easy. Especially in a city as interesting and photogenic as Seattle. I was searching for a nice skyline viewpoint and with a simple Google search I found Kerry Park in the Queen Anne neighborhood. I figure if a place is that popular it must be good or easy... or both. Anyway, when I'm new to a place these are often good places to start.


The view from Kerry Park is the classic shot of the Seattle skyline. It has all of the elements of a post card; the Space needle, Elliott Bay, hi-rise buildings and an occasional view of a big snow-capped volcano. It's been featured in TV shows like Frazier and Grey's Anatomy. It is an incredible viewpoint and upon arrival you'll find a hundred other photographers shooting the same scene. Evening is a popular time and on clear days the place gets very crowded as Mt. Rainier is revealed in the background.

Seduced by the view, I went ahead and joined the crowd and captured the quintessential Seattle skyline. It was great, but I knew there had to be something else here. I just hadn't seen it yet. I decided to fall back behind the art sculpture that is the centerpiece of the small neighborhood park. There it was. Something a little different. The shot I was really looking for.

This shot was taken from across the street where the hordes of photogs and gawkers stood. I carefully composed the shot through an 80-200mm 2.8 lens trying to eliminate the line of humans and parked cars. The telephoto lens helped to crop out these distracting elements as well as compress the sculpture against the buildings in the background. I did widen up again for a few frames with people and cars too, just to show the other part of the story.

It seems to work out this way quite often for me. Just when I thought I was done and heading back to the car, a look back and there it is. Photography is cool like that. There's always another perspective, you just have to find it and shoot it.

Gear: Nikon D300 / 80-200mm 2.8 lens / ISO 400 / 4 sec. / F11

As always, click any image for the larger version. TR