Seattle

Seattle

A visit to the Emerald City gave me an opportunity to explore the city and do some street photography.

January 14, 2025

Tags: Travel, Photography

Earlier this month, my wife and I drove to Seattle for a bit of a getaway. It had been almost a year since our last visit there, and we were due for a return visit.

In particular, I was keen to do some street photography around town. Although I packed my Nikon FM10 and some rolls of Kentmere Pan 400 in case I wanted to shoot part of the trip on film, I ended up sticking with my Canon EOS R8 the entire time. As much as I enjoy shooting film, the fact that I took over a thousand photographs and ended up keeping about 40% of them is proof that digital photography has its place, too.

Not long after arriving in Seattle, I got right to it. On a misty and foggy night, I went out on my own for a nighttime photo walk in the South Lake Union neighborhood.

Psychedelic Lens on 6th Avenue North and Thomas Street.
Left: Through the bare tree branches on a hazy night, the Space Needle looked particularly compelling. Right: The Civic Hotel at 7th Avenue North and Harrison Street.
Skyglass Apartments as seen from the ground on Thomas Street.

On my last visit to Seattle, I shot the trip in black and white on Ilford FP4 Plus film. For the most part, it suited the city in late winter. The one place I found myself wanting color on that trip, though, was at the Pike Place Market.

I was glad to have my Canon EOS R8 in hand this time around. Shooting with a digital camera, I could easily switch back and forth from black and white to color.

Left: Sosio’s Fruit and Produce. Right: Ramp to lower-level shops.
Left: Sosio’s Fruit and Produce. Right: An observer takes in some urban grit in Post Alley adjacent to the Pike Place Market.

In spite of all the occasions when I’ve strolled through the Pike Place Market, one thing I had never really gotten a close look at was the famous Gum Wall. It was both fascinating and revolting. I understand that it’s actually been cleaned up several times since it became a thing in the 1990s. The most recent round was actually just a few months ago. Based on what I saw, however, I would never have known it.

The Gum Wall.

In Belltown, I often found myself looking up at the tall buildings. Using the shortest focal length on my zoom lens for maximum wide-angle effect, I think I succeeded with capturing a bit of what the experience was like.

Left: 4th Avenue and Blanchard Street. Right: Coffee shop in a faceless steel and glass office tower on 4th Avenue near Blanchard Street.
More steel and glass on 4th Avenue.

One day late in the afternoon, I took a walk through downtown towards Pioneer Square. My journey lasted into the early evening hours, giving me another opportunity for some nighttime street photography.

1st Avenue South near Pioneer Square.
Pike Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.

Night has become one of my favorite times to do street photography.

On prior trips to Seattle, I had never really bothered to investigate and explore the city beyond the downtown area. I made sure to remedy that mistake on this visit. Using a combination of this very helpful article and Google Street View to do my research before our trip, I got a sense of what was out there. I only had so much time in Seattle, and I wanted to narrow down my list to neighborhoods that seemed worth checking out. Capitol Hill, Wallingford, Columbia City, West Seattle, and the University District made the list.

Left: Big Mario’s Pizza in Capitol Hill. Right: Fuel Coffee on North 45th Street in Wallingford.
Tutta Bella on Rainier Avenue South in Columbia City.
Late afternoon sunlight streamed into Easy Street Records on California Avenue Southwest in West Seattle.
Call A Chicken on University Way Northeast in the University District just off the University of Washington campus.

Sometime in the future, I hope to see other parts of the city I didn’t have time to explore this time around.

No visit to Seattle would be complete without a stop at Kerry Park. If I am to be perfectly honest and consistent, then I ought to confess that my prior visits were indeed incomplete because this was the first time I visited the park. I plead ignorance. I only learned about it after a photographer friend of mine mentioned it not too long ago. With this suggestion in mind, it took only a quick internet search to identify its location.

The view from Kerry Park just before sunset.
The view from Kerry Park at night.

At Kerry Park and elsewhere, I was reminded of my past realization that taking candid photos of people is much easier in a bigger city. It helps that my 24-105mm zoom lens has a fairly long reach for its size and enables me to get close without getting in people’s face. But I also find that people tend to be in their own little worlds more in bigger towns than smaller ones. I can often snap away without being noticed at all.

I have little doubt that countless selfies taken at Kerry Park that day ended up on social media.

Who knows? While I had my camera to my eye, maybe other people were taking candid pictures of me and posting them on their websites.

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