Tag: seattle
In the summer of 2013, Andreea came by to visit for a little while. This was her first time in the USA, first time in WA state, first time in Seattle. The weather was the perfect example of summer in Seattle, even though it was already middle of September.
BTW, funny story, Andreea arrived on a Friday and I was supposed to switch apartments over the weekend, so our first weekend together in 1 year was spent … packing, unpacking and moving the furniture around (it was only a move between floors, but still a move).
So, after we settled in our new apartment, on a sunny weekend, we took a tiny break from day to day activities and went around the city. First stop was University of Washington where we went into the amazing Suzzallo Library – I believe I have some other pictures from inside, will add them some other time. This inscription though is what stays above the cafeteria… (“Books well read fine tutors make”)
We walked a bit outside, went to the fountain…
After that, we decided to go to Gas Works park in Seattle – this park has an interesting story and a nice view of the downtown area. The park was initially a coal gasification plant – and you can still see the remnants of the factory / plant around. As to the view…
Last, but not least, there were two people doing a “color” photo-shoot that seemed to enjoy themselves a lot.
After the park, we went to the place where one takes the most iconic picture of Seattle: Kerry Park. From here, on a nice, sunny day, you can view the downtown (with the Space Needle, EMP and all the skyscrapers), while the backdrop is beautiful Mount Rainier. So, we took the opportunity to promote our university 🙂
See you sooner this time!8
Hi
Of course having no sleep is good for you, what are you talking about?
So, on a bright early Sunday morning, I decided to wake up at 6AM and head over to Kerry Park – see the sunrise. Half-asleep, with my mind set on a hot coffee waking me up, I managed to get there around 6:30AM. And while I was expecting 1-2 people with cameras … there were like 30 of them.
In any case, people are not why I’m here, so let’s try to get some photos.
Why sunrise? There is a concept in photography called the Golden Hour (or the Magic Hour) – it states that at sunrise and sunset, the colors given out by the sun are warmer and with a shade of red / pink. Why? The angle of the sun relative to the Earth (very low) means that light travels more through the atmosphere (therefore, the light scatters more so you have indirect light). The atmosphere filters out the blue color, resulting in more red. At noon, the reverse is true – the rays of the sun travel at a straight angle and therefore, there is less scattering and more blue sky.
So we have Seattle, in an orange / pink / red “shirt”, with Rainier barely visible in the background.
The morning dew and fog helps at this time as well, as you can see below (this is fog on top of Lake Washington, looking towards Bellevue and the Cascades).
The city is mostly sound asleep, so no background noise, just the lonely buildings.
And why golden? Look below.
And now with a broader view towards the Cascades and East Side.
Slowly, but surely – the sun starts rising, the orange starts fading and turning to just yellow.
Good morning, happy people, the first rays of light hit an apartment building. We can also see the Ferry’s wheel and the Centurylink field in the background and KeyArena in the lower left
The first rays of light start hitting places close to us as well.
Once the sun is out, the pictures start looking more and more bland, so decided to head back home. On the way back, I stopped by this blueberry farm – where the fog was playing a cool game.
And that guy on the trail …
Over and out,
/cd
It’s been a while since I actually posted since life and work and summer caught up with me. But, last night I got home before midnight and in a flash of boredom, I decided to take a trip to one of my favorite places in Seattle – Kerry Park.
First and foremost, the weather is a bit odd in Seattle right now – in the sense that the temperature was around 20F (-5C) and it’s been dry for a couple of weeks now, while “usually” we are treated with higher temperatures and a bit more rain (“usually” because I only experienced 1 year here and that’s what I expected the weather to be like). Also, it’s almost Christmas time, so the Space Needle gets “decorated” with Christmas lights.
Even in this weather, Kerry Park was quite popular past midnight. When I got there, there were about 10-15 people present, some of them just hanging around, admiring the city, while others were enjoying the view and green “stuff” from the comfort of their running, heat producing car.
View of downtown
I like the view from Kerry Park at night – you can see the city, close enough if you reach out your hand to grab it, but at the same time far enough so you can admire it peacefully. And it’s not just me thinking this – a nice house on the hills of Queen Anne with a view of Downtown Seattle starts at about 1 million USD (ouch!). In addition to that, there is the harbor with many lights (to the right in the picture below) and the ever-running ferries between Downtown Seattle and Bremerton and Bainbridge Island (I like ferries, but the seagulls that usually populate them and me don’t go along well).
Solitude
One more thing I should mention about Kerry Park is that I don’t find it to be a real park – it has a surface of 1.26 acres (to put this into perspective, an ‘merican football field is about 4 acres). But this park is mostly appreciated and preserved for the view of Downtown Seattle and the Puget Sound. So you can sit on the bench and admire the city as long as you want…
Last but not least, the view from Kerry Park is impressive at night, but it’s even more impressive during the summer, at sunset on a cloud-free day (and we get plenty of those during the summer). You get to see Downtown Seattle with the Space Needle, Columbia tower (the tallest building in Seattle) and in the background, the absolutely amazing view of Mount Rainier at sunset. I know that the image is pretty cliche, but I was there, saw the sunset and was able to take the picture.
Downtown Seattle and Rainier in the background
Off to bed now. Take care!
/cd