Yesterday, a rally and march was held in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in commemoration of 75 years of resistance in Palestine. The event was organized by @falastiniyat & @samidounseattle, with support from @ilps.seattle.tacoma, @gabrielaseattle, @anakbayanseattle, @resist.seattle & @jvpseattle. It was an inspiring day with many moving speeches and moments; I can only share a couple here. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. x x x
I’ve been testing out a new and ultra-affordable (relatively speaking) pancake lens from TTArtisans that I’m really falling in love with. You may have noticed how much brighter things looked at this concert in comparison to those at Substation from a couple weeks ago, where I used a vintage Nikkor lens; it’s wild what a difference a stop and a half can make. This lens is fully manual, so it’s a little fiddly to get used to, but it makes for great off the hip and on-the-go captures. It’s also a very weird focal length, which forces me to go … Continue reading “TTArtisan Concert Photography” →
By chance and circumstance, I ended up marching alongside the PNW People Over Profit / Anti-APEC contingent in last Monday’s May Day demo. They’re a lively and highly organized coalition of young activists affiliated with @ilps.seattle.tacoma, @anakbayanseattle, @gabriela.usa, @resist.seattle, and @internationalwomensalliance, and carried themselves with infectious energy and what felt like a very real ethic of care. I’ve seen BAYAN and ILPS flags in protests before, but I must admit that I wasn’t aware of the breadth of this transpacific movement beyond the little I’d gathered from Bambu’s lyrics. Listening to their speeches and reading their flyers clued me in; this is a whole antipode … Continue reading “May Day 2023” →
I took these on my walk to work on Good Friday. Their existence was realized for me because of that context—I hadn’t even noticed that fledgling blossom I’d been walking past all week until that moment, when it revealed its full glory and called me by name to say: “behold.” That’s one way we make “art.” We see two needles in a cup of water and we say: Behold! Instruments of the Passion! We see an American flag with an upside cross painted over it and we declare: Behold! The veil is torn. I didn’t make any of these things; … Continue reading “Behold” →
I took the last one in this series with my back turned to a picaresque family unit taking selfies in front of the Discovery Center as they chanted “Bill Gates eats babies” to the tune of “say cheese.” It’s funny what a hockey stadium can attract. x
Today, Christine and I went “scouting” for locations again. I was surprised by how friendly and welcoming the staff were here, like it was absolutely normal to be walking around with a chunky camera in a place like this; maybe they already knew how pretty it really is here, when you stopped and actually looked. x x x
The other day was the second time in a row that I’ve heard a dig made at Seattle by a band on tour, and the first time was pretty direct: “if you’re born and raised in Seattle, that sucks for you.” That time, I laughed and waved my middle fingers in the air as the crowd cheered. This second time, the frontwoman was actually starting to say something nice, recalling how they’d recorded two albums and lived here for a month each time: “Seattle’s nice,” she offered, but voices in the back started to jeer and say “it’s alright…” Everyone … Continue reading “Seattle: “It’s a City”” →
I haven’t been to a Cornish BFA exhibit since “Expo 2019,” which wasn’t long after I first moved to Seattle. Back then, I took any opportunity to push myself to write, so I wrote about what I found there, and I still follow the artists whose art I wrote about. Now I write all the time, but I’m still here sharing what I’ve seen; except now I’m pushing myself to take photos any chance I get instead. x x x x
I’ve never been to UW to see the cherry blossoms bloom and was definitely not expecting to see hundreds and hundreds of people gathered to do the same thing. The longer we lingered and watched, the more surreal it all felt. I love these goofy rituals we get ourselves into when the planet turns a certain way. x x x x x x
I spent the day yesterday at a conference asking: “is Christianity worth saving?” All I knew about it was that it featured Brian McLaren, a post-evangelical theologian I’ve admired, & that it would have 3 sessions answering that question in 3 ways: “no,” “yes,” “what now?” I was surprised to find a very non-traditional format for the event. Instead of a panel with a series of talks and Q&As, there was a circle of thinkers & doers from around the city taking turns to ask Brian questions that began with: “I’d be curious to know.” This was a full circle, … Continue reading “Is Christianity Worth Saving & Other Frustrating Questions” →