Hempfest 2004

Skull

I spent some time today wandering around this year’s Hempfest. I’ve avoided this particular Seattle festival for the past few years I’ve been down here, mostly because of my personal opinions regarding pot. Today, though, I had nothing else planned, and figured it might be worth wandering down with my camera for some peoplewatching.

As for the event itself…well, I can’t honestly say I was very surprised by the attendant crowds. Virtually every stereotype imaginable when dealing with the hemp/pot communities was there, plus all the requisite political hangers-on. Stoners, hippies, thugs, freaks, wierdos, Democrats, Libertarians, Socialists — you name it, that subculture was represented somewhere. Not to mention the ultra-right-wing religious proselytizers.

You poor sick miserable bunch

Is it any wonder so many people have such a dim view of Christianity when these bigoted idiots are the most visible representatives of the religion most of the time? I’ll give them points for perseverance, but that’s about it.

I didn’t bother to listen to any of the speakers I passed on the various stages, and for the most part, none of the few bands that were playing when I wandered by caught my ear enough for me to stop and listen. I did manage to catch a few minutes of a bellydancing performance on one of the stages, though.

Bellydancing

I only ended up sticking around for a couple hours, though, as — speaking of stereotypes — today’s cloudy skies finally started raining. It wasn’t enough rain to really be that much of a bother, but as I didn’t have anything along with me to protect the camera, I decided it was time enough to find my way home. Besides, walking through another thick cloud of marijuana smoke every few minutes was starting to get to be a bit much for me.

All in all, not a bad afternoon, though. Had the weather been a bit better, I probably would have stuck around a bit longer and taken a few more pictures. I’m trying to get over an ingrained resistance to taking pictures of random people, and festivals like this can be a good place to work on that. It’s not an easy thing for me to do, as I’m always at some level afraid that whoever I’m aiming the camera at will get offended, or make the assumption that I’m some sort of creepy voyeuristic freak, or some such thing, but as “still lifes” and buildings get a bit boring after a while, I’m going to keep working on it.

Dancers

iTunes: “My Mind is My Enemy (20,00 Volts of Stimulation Focused)” by Khan, Praga from the album My Mind is My Enemy/Luv U Still (1998, 4:12).

Ballard Locks Photo Workshop

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…

Photographers at the Locks

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.

A nice medium-format camera

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.

Wave Sculpture

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.

Children at the Fish Ladder

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).

Ballard Locks photo workshop today

Just a reminder — today is the day of the Ballard Locks Photo Workshop organized in response to Ian Spiers’ experiences while photographing the Locks.

Sunday August 1st, 2004

1PM – 4PM

We’ll meet at the front gates at just before 1PM, if you’re late, just look for the gaggle of tripods inside the property by the locks.

As word of this event quickly spread across the Seattle blogosphere, the organizer felt it would be worthwhile to clarify the intent of today’s gathering.

My event was meant to just be a day of photography where photographers could get together and just be photographers; to show everyone that photographers care about our rights, and to show Ian how many people support him.

I initially called this a workshop, not a protest, as that is the vision I had – and BTW still have. So, even if in your mind this may be a protest, please keep in mind that the event itself is NOT a protest. I’m just encouraging people to go and take some pictures.

That having been said, I feel a need out of fear to be very clear about the vision for this event. We will not be getting in the faces of other people there; be they event participants, police, security, tourists, or any other group for that matter. There will be no rally, there will be no speakers, there will just be a bunch of people taking pictures and discussing the issue at hand amongst themselves as they meet.

Sounds good to me. I’ll be there, camera in hand.

iTunes: “Gödel” by Phoids, The from the album Marianne Doesn’t Know Yet (1996, 4:47).

Photographers Protest at the Ballard Locks

How wonderful. I can’t claim total inspiration for this, as all I did was point to the article regarding Ian Spiers’ run-in with Homeland Security while photographing the Ballard Locks, which brought it to the attention of Myk O’Leary of Life, it is a Travesty. After reading that article, however, Myk is organizing a peaceful protest at the Ballard Locks.

In response, I will be trying to organize a photo shoot at the Locks as a means of protest. Anyone else who cares about our rights as Americans to photograph interseting PUBLIC subjects are welcome to join me. If you are a photographer in Seattle, please consider coming.

If you are hesitant (and this is fair given what already happened) at least pass this on to others you know who may want to come along. Feel free to post the link to any and all boards that may have folks who would come (I’ll be posting to dpchallenge in just a few minutes after this post goes live.)

DETAILS: Sunday August 1st, 2004 1PM – 4PM We’ll meet at the front gates at just before 1PM, if you’re late, just look for the gaggle of tripods inside the property by the locks.

I’ll do my best to be there. Thanks, Myk.

iTunes: “Ya Mama” by Fatboy Slim from the album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (2000, 5:38).

It’s illegal to photograph the Ballard Locks

That is, it’s illegal if you look like a terrorist.

Being a Ballard resident, the Ballard Locks seemed like the best available subject for my project. I knew I’d be able to set up my tripod and work under fairly consistent conditions. Having spoken with the park ranger in charge of the facility on Monday, I also knew that I had every legal right to photograph from that location. So, I went to the Ballard Locks, in the rain, found the best location I could, and waited for passing trains and boats.

Within about thirty minutes of my setting up my tripod I noticed a lone security officer coming down the hill to ask me a few questions. Well, no…that’s not exactly accurate. He wasn’t politely asking me questions. He’d accessorized his ensemble with a ninety-pound German Shepherd, and was talking at me in authoritative and degrading tones. He wanted me to know that he was an authority.

[…]

I gave the cop my ID, and it was quickly whisked away by one officer to the top of the hill. I went on to express my sense of helplessness, shame, humiliation and anger about the confrontation. I insisted that I was a photography student and that I had done absolutely nothing wrong. I acknowledged my constitutional rights. I pointed to curious bystanders, and pointed out that they had cameras, but that none of the police were interested in them. I identified a man with a canvas and easel, standing directly underneath the train bridge, and asked why no one was asking him for his ID. In retrospect, I realize that I still wanted someone to say it to my face.

The police officer had failed to rebut my arguments, but he was definitely being a lot nicer now (which was quite welcome). He’d been explaining how the SPD are required to investigate all calls, which I said I understood, but I was still looking for some real accountability. That’s when one of the three non-uniformed men stepped forward, brandishing his badge, and began talking at me with his own rendition of the voice of absolute authority.

“I’ve listened to this for over five minutes. Look here. You see this?” Special Agent McNamara said, producing his badge. “This is a federal badge. We’re not with the rest of them. We’’re federal agents from Homeland Security…”

Meanwhile, of course, many other people — residents and tourists alike — are happily snapping photographs of the locks. But then, they’re not dark-skinned, so they don’t look like terrorists, and are safe.

This kind of crap is absolutely ludicrous. It’s exactly the kind of behavior that Bush and company are encouraging with stunts like Ridge’s recent “there’s a threat, but we don’t know what, where, or when, but it’s dangerous, but we’re not raising the alert level, but something could happen to somebody somewhere” stunt. And it’s so disturbingly close to Gestapo-style “let me see your papers” policing that it frightens and saddens me.

In some sense, I’m lucky, as a fair-skinned, red-haired caucasian. Much of the racial profiling that has become so apparently popular these days, I’m never going to have to deal directly with. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t see it, it doesn’t mean that I’m not upset by it, and it certainly doesn’t mean that I’m about to turn a blind eye to it.

(via Arcterex, Boing Boing, seattle.metroblogging, and others)

Orchids

One thing I stumbled across this weekend that I’d never seen before was the Volunteer Park Conservatory, which has five different sections filled with all manner of plants, from cacti to orchids. I’ll definitely want to head back up that way again and try to get some better shots, but for now…

Orchid

Orchid

Orchid

Orchid

Orchid

iTunes: “Pale Your Mind” by La Morte De La Maison from the album German Mystic Sound Sampler Vol. I (1990, 4:21).

Seattle Pride Parade and Festival 2004

All the recent attention on gay rights, marriage, proposed constitutional amendments and the like have directed enough attention on the gay community to allow the Seattle Pride festivities to expand to two days, and I spent some of yesterday and much of today wandering around and enjoying the show.

As always, I took a ton of pictures — 364, in fact, most of which are from today’s Pride Parade. I’ve uploaded the entire kit and kaboodle to my photo gallery — you can start at the beginning, or just click on Miss Broadway to jump straight to the beginning of the parade. Kick back and enjoy!

Miss Broadway

Update: Nose to Signal also has a Pride gallery up.

Update: Another gallery, from Nina Forsyth.

iTunes: “Tripnotized Vol. 3 (Part 2) (full mix)” by Various Artists from the album Tripnotized Vol. 3 (full mix) (1996, 1:03:43).

Fremont Solstice Parade 2004

2005 Update: In case you’ve come here from a Google search looking for more recent pics, all my shots from the 2005 Solstice Parade can be found right here.

Read on for my original post about the 2004 Solstice Parade…


I got back a while ago from spending the day at the Fremont Solstice Parade and Festival. I had a wonderful time — the weather was incredible, and the parade was a blast. I’m hot, tired, and a bit sunburnt (next time I head out I’ll need to remember to bring the sunblock with me, rather than just putting some on before I leave), but it was very worth it.

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WAThe Fremont parade has quite a few things going for it that put it a step above most other parades I’ve been to. Specifically, three things: no corporate sponsorship, no motorized vehicles (human powered contraptions only), and lastly, apparently all it takes to be part of the parade is deciding you want to and showing up with whatever costume, show, or gimmick you want. It’s wonderful.

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WAOf course, one of the most notorious aspects of the Fremont Solstice parade is the annual kickoff group of naked cyclists. They were certainly out in full force this year, most wearing nothing more than body paint, and a few eschewing even that minimal level of coloring. The bodypaint work was often incredibly well done, to the point where some of the cyclists looked far more like they were wearing full-body skintight bodysuits than actually naked. Bold splashes of color, racing stripes, flowers, animal prints, or just full-body solid colors abounded.

Of course, the most amusing side effect of wearing naught but body paint was obvious anytime one of the cyclists stood on the pedals. They’d raise up off their seat, and suddenly you’d get a quick flash of bare skin as the bodypaint stuck to the seat of the bike and left their suddenly unpainted rump standing out in the midst of the rest of the paint.

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WAMembers of the Utiliklan were part of the parade, too. A group of seven men in kilts strode down the parade route to the whistles and admiring cheers of the crowds lining the road. Every so often they’d pause for a moment to work the crowd, egging on the cheers and yells, until finally, when they deemed the time was right, they’d line up facing one side of the road or the other, bend down…

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WA…and with a quick flip of the wrist, they quite handily answered the age-old question of just what a real man wears underneath his kilt.

Of course, when I got up this morning and saw the weather, I’d donned my kilt for the day’s festivities. Not long after I’d arrived in Fremont I’d shucked off my shirt as well, just wearing a light vest and my kilt. When the Utiliklan made it down to where I was standing, it didn’t take long at all for them to notice me standing there — and the next thing I knew, I had all of them plus a few of the people around me on the sidelines declaring that I was to join them in the street.

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WAI had to do it. Obviously, I couldn’t get any pictures of my impromptu foray into mooning a few hundred total strangers — probably a good thing, too — but given the number of cameras around that day, I may have some ‘splaining to do should any pictures surface during my eventual presidential candidacy! ;)

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WAAs the parade went on, the revelry, music, and general weirdness continued unabated. A troupe of bellydancers came by, with four dancers preceding them dancing with some long red scarves. Suddenly I realized that one of the first dancers I’d seen before — she’s friends with Don and Chad, and had done a private interpretive dance at last Halloween’s party at Don and Chad’s house. I don’t believe she saw me, and she may not have remembered me even if she did notice me in the crowd, but it was fun to realize that I actually recognized her.

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WAI’m not sure at all what the deal with the dancing bananas was, but there they were, complete with gorilla bounding around from one side of the street to the other. Does there really need to be a coherent reason?

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WASome of the floats that appear in the parade are just incredible to see. As there are no motorized vehicles allowed in the parade, everything has to be either foot- or pedal-powered, and more than a few contraptions used a combination of the two.

Fremont Solstice Parade, Seattle, WAAnd eventually, after about an hour or so, the parade came to an end. Or, really, the official parade came to an end, as it ended up picking up a huge crowd of former parade watchers tacking themselves on to the end of the line as it proceeded down the street and into Gas Works park. I spent the next couple hours wandering around a good five square blocks (I think, I didn’t explore the entire area) of Fremont had been closed off and turned into a street festival area, then proceeded back down the parade route down to Gas Works Park.

Eventually I decided that I’d had enough sun, and found my way back to a bus route and came back home. Now that I’m showered, slathered down with Aloe lotion, and have tossed this post up, I’m off to grab a nap for a couple hours, as I’ve got a concert to go to tonight: Sister Machine Gun at the Fenix!

The rest of the parade photos are right here (some are NSFW).

iTunes: “Destillat (VNV Nation)” by Das Ich from the album Re_Laborat (2001, 6:08).

Folklife 2004

A few shots from wandering around the Folklife festival at Seattle Center today, since our “mostly cloudy” day soon turned into “mostly sunny” and it seemed like a good way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Folklife 2004 #1

Gold old down-home Americana — The Kitchen Syncopation.

Folklife 2004 #2

What’s quickly becoming a cliché in my photo subjects: children playing in the International Fountain.

Folklife 2004 #3

Two little girls learning how to dance (or if not actually learning, having a lot of fun doing their best).

Folklife 2004 #4

He was just sitting on the bench, watching the world go by. I’m guessing his owner was somewhere in the vicinity.

Folklife 2004 #5

Lots of creatively dressed punk/alternative teens were collected on the lawn by the International Fountain.

Folklife 2004 #6

And one last “playing in the fountain” photo to wind things up.