Going to Seattle, WA

marlof

End of September I'll spend a few days in Seattle. My schedule is filled with non-photo stuff, but I might manage to sneak in a few moments for myself. I'll be staying in downtown Seattle and won't have a car. Any special photo opportunities? And is there a good camera store where I might even find Olympus E-system stuff in stock?

ChrisJ

Photo opportunities abound, especially if the Mountain is out (Mt. Rainier). Buses are free in the downtown core (until 7pm I think), so getting from one end to the other after a good walk is relatively painless.



Definitely hit the Waterfront. Maybe take an elevator ride up the Columbia Tower (called something different now, it's the tallest black skyscraper) or the Smith Tower (formerly the tallest building West of the Mississippi).

Pike Place Market of course, one of my favorite places in the world:



If you're ambitious, take the bus up Queen Anne blvd to Highland Drive. You can get the postcard shot of Seattle from there. Space Needle, Downtown, Mountain, Waterfront...



The new Seattle library is kind of odd looking, but definitely worthy of a look if you're there. In a similar vein, the EMP (Experience Music Project) is another Frank Gehry creation.



These aren't the best photos... I didn't have a digitial camera very long in Seattle, so most of my better ones are still on film.

There's also an excellent art museum, concert hall, and several theatres which you probably won't have time for.

<sigh> Now I miss Seattle! I lived there for about 10 years and will probably move back some day.

colourbox

marlof wrote:

And is there a good camera store where I might even find Olympus E-system stuff in stock?

Don't know but try Glazer's Camera. For example, there were some Chicago people in a thread here complaining that they could not see Crumpler photo bags in person anywhere in the huge Chicagoland area. Yet Seattle's not that big and Glazer's has Crumpler. It's no B&H, but it's downtown so it's worth a shot. Or call them first.

marlof

95Mcaj wrote:

Photo opportunities abound

Thanks for your detailed reaction, it's a good help.

colourbox wrote:

Don't know but try Glazer's Camera.

Thanks! It looks like Glazer's is carrying some lenses at least.

Bu11dog

Olympus E-1 in Fry's
I saw Olympus E-300 and Olympus E-1 on display in Renton Fry's 2 days ago.

Renton is about 30 minutes drive from downtown Seattle.

The price is not so attractive. $1399 for Olympus E-1 kit.

I hope when you are here, the Sun is still around :

marlof wrote:

End of September I'll spend a few days in Seattle. My schedule is filled with non-photo stuff, but I might manage to sneak in a few moments for myself. I'll be staying in downtown Seattle and won't have a car. Any special photo opportunities? And is there a good camera store where I might even find Olympus E-system stuff in stock?

Mike Lane

Glazer's is definitely the camera store for you. They have a massive rentals store where you can get stuff super cheap (e.g. you can get a Canon 70-200L f/2.8 IS USM for $25 and you get it from after 3:00PM Fri to before 10:00AM Mon cheap). I'm always just there for the canon stuff so I don't know for sure about oly but I'd bet they have it.

They have this great big thing in Seattle called the "Space Needle". You may want to see if you can't find that and take a picture or two. Special note: there is a ferris wheel right by the needle that is going somtimes at night that makes for a pretty cool shot.


(this shot isn't necessarily one of those "cool" shots and I have no idea what posessed me to selectively remove the color from everything but the ferris wheel.)

If you're a bit morbid, you can check out Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee's grave site. They are buried side by side in Seattle. Maybe stroll to the most overrated photographic spot on the planet, the Fremont troll statue thingy.

Aw screw it, just go to pike's market. The vendors pack up early so don't dilly dally.



More of my Seattle stuff here.