Washington Archives - Ed O'Keeffe Photography

1 November 201323 April 2017

Seattle Space Needle

Photographing cities is often above finding view points that are high up, this can be from the top of a tall building or a high area of land. Queen Anne Hill is the highest point in Seattle at 520 feet (or 120 metres) above see level. About a mile north of Space Needle observation tower it is the perfect lookout to photograph this dominating building. Behind this tower are the more ordinary looking tall office buildings. Just out of the frame to the right of this is the seaport and Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. The bright lights in front of the Space Needle are from Memorial Stadium.

31 October 201323 April 2017

Fremont Troll

Also known as The Troll or the Troll Under the Bridge this is one of the larger sculptures I have photographed. He lurks under the George Washington Memorial Bridge, clutching an actual VW Beattle, as if he had just swiped it from the highway above. Made in 1990, the sculpture is 18 feet (5.5 metres) high and weighs about 6 tonnes. He’s made of steel, wire and of course concrete. Made from such materials the sculpture isn’t particularly colourful so a processing to black and white seemed to be most fitting. I think it makes him look more intimidating. Happy Halloween everyone.

30 October 201323 April 2017

Pike Place Market

When travelling to new cities apart from looking for skylines and architecture to photograph, markets can also be a great source of photography. Especially close ups of the traditional displays of fresh fruits and veg. Pike Place Market is a little different. I first saw the bright neon signs on my walk from the train station to my accommodation, noting that I had to come back at sunset with my tripod. Being on the waterfront in the heart of the city centre overlooking Elliott Bay it is very crowded. Thinking about coming back at dawn there would still be cars or vans parked in front of the sign unless I was very lucky. This photograph was taken about half an hour after the sun had set.

29 October 201323 April 2017

Gas Works Seattle

One of the more unusual and unique landmarks of Seattle is the Gas Works Park. This was originally the Seattle Gas Light Companies gasification plant. It is located on the north shore of Lake Union, about three miles from the downtown area of the city. What we see in this photograph is the main remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification planet in the US. It operated from 1906 to 1956 and became a park in the mid 60’s. The park is much bigger than this photograph suggests. On the other side of the towers of the main plant is a large play barn and picnic shelter. These were originally the pump house and boiler house but the machinery has been painted bright colours which looks pretty funky.