Ballard Locks Photo Workshop

This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on August 2, 2004). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

So yesterday was the big photo gathering at the Locks. Prairie and I picked up her sister Hope and then headed out, eventually getting there about an hour into the event. As I’d never been to the Locks before, I wasn’t entirely sure where to go at first, so we just started following the paths and wandering around. It wasn’t long before we stumbled across a fairly large group with a higher-than-average ratio of cameras…

Myk spotted me when I wandered in and we spent a few minutes chatting, idly wondering what could potentially get him into more trouble with Homeland Security: organizing the event, or taking a wild leap into the water in an attempt to escape should anyone try to arrest him. Of course, nothing along those lines happened, and the day was quite nice, just a lot of people gathered to talk and look for some decent shots.

Many photos were taken by everyone, of the Locks, boats, and — of course — all the other photographers. A representative from the ACLU was there (complete with an old 110 pocket camera, which I hadn’t seen in years), along with a photographer from the Seattle P-I, some people who’d read about the event in the Stranger, and many who’d read about it online. I’m afraid I didn’t end up meeting very many of the people who were there, but seeing the turnout was great.

After milling with the crowd for a while, Prairie, Hope and I decided to go wandering around the area for a bit and see what all was there. There were a fair amount of activities going on in addition to the photographer’s gathering, including a flower show, a band playing on the grass, and many tourists wandering around the grounds. Prime people-watching, in other words, which we took full advantage of.

There were a couple of attempts at group photos during the gathering, one of which I was around for, but I think I missed a later one set up by the P-I photographer. Still, at one point he made sure to come by and get my name, so I suppose I must have made it into one or another of his shots. Who knows, maybe I’ll have another appearance in a local paper sometime this week? It’s getting hard to keep track of all my press…;)

Anyway, all things considered, it was a very pleasant time, and many thanks to Myk for organizing the event. There are rumbles of a similar workshop day being set up at some point later on from a different vantage point (after it was pointed out that Ian was taking his photos from Commodore Park, rather than on the Locks themselves). Should that come through, I’ll definitely see what I can do to attend that one, also.

I’ve uploaded the majority of the photos I took yesterday to my gallery, as always.

Other writeups and photo collections:

iTunes: “One Too Many Mornings” by Chemical Brothers, The from the album Exit Planet Dust (1995, 4:13).