I desperately wanted to take advantage of the fading summer evening light, so Allison and Ian kindly met me at the Olympic Sculpture Park for a shoot. Allison is an artist extraordinaire and she's also our box office manager at SAM. It was a little intimidating taking pictures of another photographer, but this couple is so laid back and fun they put me at ease.   I've included some information about the art from the SAM site below. Serra's work is especially nice to experience. Walking through, I always feel like I'm moving through a school of fish. Richard Serra, Wake, 2004

For Richard Serra, space is a substance as tangible as sculpture. He uses materials and scale to alter perception and to engage the body, encouraging consciousness of our relation to space. The towering, curved-steel forms of Wakewere achieved with computer imaging and machines that manufacture ship hulls, including a demilitarized machine that once made French nuclear submarines. Wake is composed of five identical modules, each with two S-shaped sections positioned in inverted relation to one another—gently curving serpentines of convex and concave parts that suggest tidal waves or profiles of battleships. The surface of acid-washed, weatherproof steel reinforces this industrial effect. Wake’s powerful silhouette belies a complex configuration of parts; the whole cannot be known at once, but can only be experienced with movement and in time.

The breeze was giving Ian a styling new 'do. In July, the admissions department took a tour with the park's gardener. (Hands down, the best staff meeting yet!) Bobby described the challenge of keeping the grass looking lush, despite park's all-organic mandate and the hundreds of dogs relieving themselves at the park each day. Not easy. He does a fantastic job, though, and there was nary a suspicious brown circle in the grass at the amphitheater.   The tall di Suvero in the meadow is one of Allison's favorites. Mark di Suvero, Bunyon’s Chess, 1965

The criss crossing steel beams of Mark di Suvero’s Bunyon’s Chess operate like broad brushstrokes drawn in space, a vocabulary that was radically new in sculpture at the time it was made. The artist’s first private commission, Bunyon’s Chess was created specifically for outdoor presentation in Seattle and makes wood a prominent element—a counterpoint to the structure of stainless steel. Di Suvero’s interest in sculpture’s kinetic qualities, inspired by Alexander Calder, and the artist’s use of found objects have remained constants in his career. His numerous public and private commissions, often monumental in scale, are sited worldwide.

And here's the gazillion-dollar view. It's amazing that this prime piece of waterfront real estate is now a public sculpture park -- with free admission. The Calder's one of my favorites: it looked great when it stood in front of the Asian Art Museum and it looks just as lovely silhouetted against these Puget Sound sunsets. Alexander Calder, Eagle, 1971

A third-generation American sculptor, Alexander Calder studied mechanical engineering before studying art. While in Paris in the 1920s and 30s, Calder developed two distinctive genres of sculpture: mobiles, or sculptures that move, and stabiles, which are still. Eagle, created at a time when Calder was recognized as one of the world’s greatest sculptors, reveals the artist’s distinctive combination of pragmatism and poetry. Architectural in its construction and scale, Eagle displays its curving wings, assertive stance and pointy beak in a form that is weightless, colorful and abstract.

Thanks, Allison and Ian, for being such awesome models (after a long day at work, too). Hope you enjoy these pictures!

I met Olivia and Billy for a sunny shoot at the Olympic Sculpture Park, one of my favorite places in Seattle. Their wedding will be held at Benaroya Hall; Olivia's dad worked on the building's construction. It's a place where she'd always thought she'd like to get married.     I love the geometric pattern of Olivia's dress against Serra's Wake. Doesn't she have the prettiest eyes? Congratulations, Billy and Olivia!

Our cousin Kristin is getting married this August! We couldn't be happier for Kristin and her fiance, Memo. I met Kristin and Memo for a shoot at Seattle Center. There is so much warmth and love in these pictures you would never think it was a 58 degree day in July. (Yay, Seattle.) Believe it or not, there were tons of kids in bathing suits running around the fountain. Brr! They look absolutely perfect together. A fragrant sprig of rosemary at the base of the Space Needle.    LOVE Memo's glasses.

I did the quintessential Seattle photo shoot for Monica and Jason's engagement pictures. The gum wall in Post Alley (even grosser close up). Victor Steinbrueck Park, with a view of West Seattle. The fountain at Westlake Plaza. Rachel, the bronze piggy bank at Pike Place.   By 7 p.m., Pike Place was emptied of its usual hordes of tourists. Love the texture of the brick road. Monica sweet-talked us up to a rooftop deck with a perfect view of the market.  Congrats, Monica and Jason!

Monique and Tedd introduced me to the best secret dim sum place in Seattle. Secret, because it's a little-known hole-in-the-wall where we never have to wait for a table. (I loved you, Jade Garden, but really, an hour in line?)

The tricky part of this shoot was getting Tedd in the frame with Monique.

 

 Monique has the best smile, and she uses it often!

 

After making these pictures, we headed to -- where else? -- dim sum.

Karen and Blake are friends of a friend, and I'm so excited to photograph their wedding next week. They are the cutest couple and most obliging models. Thanks, too, to Reza, for letting me shoot at the Jambool office.


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