Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place & home

Posts tagged ‘Puget Sound’

Space Needle, that tower again, Alki Beach, West Seattle, Seattle, WA, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: native Seattle, Alki Beach Park

For a late-winter afternoon in West Seattle, Alki Beach offers a quiet and breezy respite from the hustle and bustle of the downtown area which as the cityscape (and the presence of the Space Needle) shows is only a few miles away. The differences come as no surprise: the pace is slower, the sensibility is uncomplicated, outlook and livelihood directed by the adjacent waters of the Salish Sea (Puget Sound).⁣⁣⁣⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣Perhaps it’s the latter what the indigenous Duwamish and Coast Salish people were pondering when a group of white settlers in the Denny party came ashore in November 1851. With his own group, Chief Seathl (siʔaɫ, Si’ahl, Sealth) of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes arrived to meet the strangers from the sea. Today, a monument and various plaques around Alki Beach Park highlight how the Denny party attempted to start their new life in what is now West Seattle, before they pulled up stakes and moved the following April onto the high ground next to the muddy flats of what is now the Pioneer Square District. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣In its place, the city might have once been called “New York Alki” by early white settlers, but eventually, the growing city would take the name of the indigenous chief.⁣⁣⁣⁣ The intervening decades would see competing views of “place-stories” to fit future dreams and mourn the apparent loss of the “pristine past” without any acknowledgment of responsibility; both could and would be used to sell the image of the city.
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I acknowledge my visit to the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish (Dxʷdəwʔabš) People past and present, and honour with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe (src). I made the photo above on 6 March 2020 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the following settings: 1/60-sec, f/11, ISO 800, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-h9L.

A Salish Welcome, Marvin Oliver, Shilshole, Duwasmish, Salmon Bay, Puget Sound, Salish Sea, Ballard, Seattle, WA, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: native Seattle, A Salish Welcome

The western edge of present-day Ballard where Salmon Bay meets Puget Sound (Salish Sea) was once a lively place for local indigenous people, near k̓iłalabəd (“hanging on the shoulder”) and šəlšúlucid (“mouth of Shilshole”). The Chittenden locks would have been near or at the location of the former indigenous village of šəlšúl for the Shilshole people. The 2010 wood statue, “A Salish Welcome” by Marvin Oliver, stands facing Salmon Bay. With support from Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle Office Of Arts, the accompanying plaque for the statue reads:⁣⁣

‘A Salish Welcome’ blends traditional Salish forms with contemporary media to create a sculpture that honors the local indigenous people and celebrates the abundant and vital life on this restored salmon habitat. The Welcome Figure traditionally stood in a prominent place in a Salish village to welcome guests. It is intended to mark and enhance this gathering place for contemplating our rich cultural heritage and connecting with the native landscape. This monumental Salish figure in ceremonial robe greets us and reminds us that we are stewards of this evolving living landscape for new generations of salmon and people alike. The disk of salmon represents the vital life cycle of the Pacific salmon, creating a timeless ‘vision’ for future generations.

⁣Marvin Oliver who was of Quinault and Isleta-Pueblo ancestry passed away on 17 July 2019 at the age of 73.

I obtained place names from ⁣⁣from “An Atlas of Indigenous Seattle” by Coll Thrush and Nile Thompson with maps by Amir Sheikh, appearing in Thrush’s book “Native Seattle” (2nd edition, 2017).

I acknowledge my visit to the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish (Dxʷdəwʔabš) People past and present, and honour with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe (src). I made the photo above on 5 March 2020 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the following settings: 1/1000-sec, f/8, ISO 1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-h9C.

Rainbow Bridge, Fidalgo Island, Swinomish Clannel, Salish Sea, Skagit County, La Conner, Washington, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on Fidalgo Island: Rainbow Bridge

The following monthly series is based on a trip to the annual tulip festival in northwestern United States.

In northwestern Washington State, Fidalgo Island is located in the waters of the Salish Sea, about 14 miles (23 km) west from Mount Vernon and 38 miles (61 km) south from Bellingham.

At the southeast corner of Fidalgo Island, Rainbow Bridge completed in 1957 crosses over man-made Swinomish Channel and connects the Swinomish Tribe and Reservation on the island (left) with the mainland and town of La Conner (right). The view in the image above faces northeast.

I made the photo above on 19 April 2017 with a Canon EOS6D mark 1 with the following settings: 1/160-sec, f/14, ISO200, and 24mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-g1i.

Clark's Point, Bellingham Bay, Lummi Island, Samish Bay, Puget Sound, Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest, PNW, Bellingham, Washington, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Samish Bay from Bellingham Clark’s Point

This post is the fifth and final March Fotoeins Friday from the Samish Bay area in northwest Washington State (USA). Samish Bay is a small body of water in northern Puget Sound, itself a part of the larger Salish Sea.

This southwest view is dominated by Lummi Island (centre-right) with Eliza Island in the foreground, and Cypress Island at centre-background. The view includes a line-of-sight to Anacortes, but the city is hidden by Guemes Island. Coming to this viewpoint, I thought about what the indigenous population must have thought of these waters and what they brought to their home, and about what sailors in the Spanish Navy must have thought when they saw these waters for the first time in the late 18th-century. After all, these islands are called the San Juan Islands.

I made this photo on 21 April 2017 with the Canon 6D, 24-105 glass, and the following settings: 1/500-sec, f/18, ISO500, and 32mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-aLi.

Larrabee State Park, Samish Bay, Puget Sound, Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest, PNW, Bellingham, Washington, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Larrabee State Park, Samish Bay

This post is the fourth of five March Fotoeins Fridays from the Samish Bay area in northwest Washington State (USA). Samish Bay is a small body of water in northern Puget Sound, itself a part of the larger Salish Sea.

The afternoon sun pokes through low-lying marine stratus on this early-spring afternoon in Larrabee State Park, down the road from Bellingham. We saw a woman and her child enjoying a quiet afternoon on the beach, and while the child was just up the shore, I caught their mother in “spotlight.” That’s the beach, there’s the waters of Samish Bay, and those are the San Juan islands in the Salish Sea. The Spanish names to various geographical features in the region acknowledge the voyages into these waters by the Spanish navy in the late-18th century.

I made this photo on 18 April 2017 with the Canon 6D, 24-105 glass, and the following settings: 1/640-sec, f/22, ISO500, and 24mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-aLy.

Taylor Shellfish Farms, Samish Bay, Puget Sound, Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest, PNW, Bellingham, Skagit Valley, Washington, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: low tide on Samish Bay in the PNW

This post is the third of five March Fotoeins Fridays from the Samish Bay area in northwest Washington State (USA). Samish Bay is a small body of water in northern Puget Sound, itself a part of the larger Salish Sea.

We’ve come to this place by design, but if you don’t already know, you can easily miss the turnoff from Chuckanut Drive. The one-lane road gently descends the cliff to the rail tracks and the water’s edge. On the shoreline in Skagit County is the Taylor Shellfish Farms where the big thing is oysters. It’s low tide, and the waters have backed out for hundreds of metres. Visible at centre is a farm employee in hip waders on the mudflats and inspecting the farm beds. It almost feels as if you can walk clear out to the islands in the distance. Almost.

I made this photo on 18 April 2017 with the Canon 6D, 24-105 glass, and the following settings: 1/800-sec, f/22, ISO1000, and 47mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-aLr.

Guemes Island, Samish Bay, Salish Sea, Larrabee State Park, Washington, USA, Pacific Northwest, PNW, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: all that glitters is (not) gold, Samish Bay

This post is the first of five March Fotoeins Fridays from the Samish Bay area in northwest Washington State (USA). Samish Bay is a small body of water in northern Puget Sound, which is part of the larger Salish Sea.

It might not be gold. But it’s both warning and shimmering sight.

Driving south from Bellingham, we pull off Chuckanut Drive to a viewpoint by the side of the road. Surrounding us high up on the shoreline are tall evergreens in Larrabee State Park. The afternoon sun pokes out from behind low stratus clouds, dark and ominous with a threat of rain. Where the sun shines, the waters of Samish Bay sparkle in the light with Guemes Island behind in silhouette. Parked in the bay and waiting to refuel in nearby Port Angeles is the crude-oil tanker “British Regard” (IMO 9683063, MMSI 235108532).

I made this photo on 18 April 2017 with the Canon 6D, 70-300 zoom, and the following settings: 1/640-sec, f/20, ISO500, and 300mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie on fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-9Vn.

Morning fog, autumn fog, Seattle P-I globe, West Thomas St Overpass, Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA, USA, fotoeins.com

Seattle: the Sound and the Silence

“Fog”, definition: “a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth’s surface that obscures or restricts visibility (to a greater extent than mist; strictly, reducing visibility to below 1 kilometre).”

Fog isn’t atypical for autumn or winter in the city of Seattle or in the Puget Sound region. While less effective than snow, the damping by fog on light and sound can still provide a modest visual and auditory sensation of silence. That is, until headlights and foghorns pierce the temporary cloak and illusion.

Morning fog, autumn fog, Seattle P-I globe, West Thomas St Overpass, Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA, USA, fotoeins.com

740am, West Thomas Street Overpass (20171211).

Morning fog, autumn fog, Seattle P-I globe, West Thomas St Overpass, Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA, USA, fotoeins.com

751am, West Thomas Street Overpass (20171211).

Morning fog, autumn fog, Seattle P-I globe, West Thomas St Overpass, Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA, USA, fotoeins.com

830am northwest, into Sound fog (20171211).

Morning fog, autumn fog, Seattle P-I globe, West Thomas St Overpass, Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle, WA, USA, fotoeins.com

840am southeast, as the sun burns through (20171211).

I made the photos above on 6 January 2015 on board the WSDOT Ferry MV Kaleetan from Bremerton to Seattle, and on 11 December 2017 near Myrtle Edwards Park. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-aYc.

Puget Sound, Salish Sea, WSDOT Ferries, MV Kaleetan, Bremerton, Seattle, Washington, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Seattle emerges from Puget Sound fog

The late-morning starts out suitably winter grey, as the ferry leaves Seattle to traverse Puget Sound to Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula. On the return ferry to Seattle on board the MV Kaleetan, the fog and low stratus hang over the entire Sound, and I’m resigned to seeing a grim grey cloak for the entire trip. From the corner of my eye, I see something shimmer: it’s reflected sunlight from the Seattle skyline. The fog parts enough for a view of familiar landmarks from the television broadcast towers on Queen Anne Hill (left, north), the Space Needle (center-left), to the Columbia Center and the Smith Tower (right, south), as the early-afternoon sun casts a warm glow over the entire skyline. In the distance, WS Ferry MV Puyallup is about to dock at the Seattle ferry terminal.

I made this photo on 6 January 2015 with the Canon 6D, the 24-105 zoom, and the following settings: 1/400-sec, f/11, ISO500, and 24mm focal length. This post appears on fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-6nk.

Puget Sound from Waterfront Park, Seattle, WA, USA

Fotoeins Friday: WSDOT ferry

Among many things, the American city of Seattle is known for Pike Place Market; the coffee (lots of coffee and cafés!); her sports teams: Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders; and the home city headquarters for Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks. A visit to Waterfront Park confirms another important and defining aspect of Seattle: her proximity to mountains and water. A number of WSDOT ferries go up and down and across Puget Sound, serving various communities in neighbouring San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula; some boats cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, Canada.

I made this photo on 10 February 2012 with the Canon 450D, 50 prime, and the following settings: 1/50-sec, f/2.8, ISO400, and 80mm effective focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-56a.

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