30 Reasons why I love doing photo tours in Seattle

Many know that besides my Studio and many other things that I do, I work for a small Seattle-based start-up company called Shutter Tours. The premise is very simple: you visit Seattle and we walk with you for 3 hours (Pike Place Market, Downtown and the Waterfront), while we talk about our city and photography. From toy cameras to brand new Nikon D3s, we have had a broad array of photography lovers (professionals and amateurs) coming from different countries, as well as Americans and Seattleites.

No matter the level of expertise or where our participants come from, it's always a great opportunity to meet people, to teach and to learn from others.

And maybe one of the things I find most useful--in this case for me--is that because of Shutter Tours, I get to go out, keep my street photography fresh, keep current with our wonderful city's changes, and make and cultivate friendships along the way. I lost the count of how many photos I have taken since I'm working here, but I can assure you it might be around 2,000 photos JUST during the tours. Sometimes it's to explain a concept or because the photo winks at me while passing by. Other times, it's just an exercise that might come out as a portfolio shot. Perhaps, it's just a quiet moment I don't want to forget.

More reasons? Oh, yes.

I get to hang out with cool people like James (and photograph them)

I get to have second-timers (like Joan), who bring their friends. Also, I get to do portraits with "grafitti aura"!

I get to photograph great light fixtures, and quirky art

I get to photograph the seasons of Washington's beautiful produce, and the fun guys who sell them. I also get to become friends with them, print their photos to give them away so they can send them to their moms (I'm serious!)

Yes, of the 2,000 photos I have, perhaps 500 are of the Gum Wall and the Post Alley sign. Lots of space but it helps with practicing perspective!

I enjoy the quiet moments. They are sheer beauty.

And often, I am amazed by how Seattle's landscape can look different just based on the "daily serving of clouds" or...when some bizarre moments can create a "platform" for the Market's sign (intense message et al).

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The rest of the photos that make the 30 reasons are here: portraits, smiles, adventures, still life, on so on. Please enjoy these images as much as I do when capturing them.