Sun-Starved

Our Vitamin-D deficient adventures in Seattle (and elsewhere)
 

Flowers burst, people in love and happy visitors: Spring is here!

Spring holds hands with a gentler sun. The length of daylight jumps on the clock hands, pushing them further. There is a burst of curvy colors and lush, sinewy leaves. I feel I want to touch every velvet-like texture nature gifts us with during this Season. I'm not a flower or a landscape photographer; what I am, is a fervent enthusiast of Spring and birth, of green, pinks and maroons. As a perennial sun-starved, I feel I bloom during this time of the year. Yes, I feel like a plant. Or a flower. Or both.

The sun played coy and winds marched around town yesterday in Seattle. Still, there's nothing that can be done to prevent the new season to be welcomed into our town. I'm celebrating it by making images
and gathering music. 

This music selection ranges from an "opening dream" to a "happy dance".  All the musicians featured are dear to my heart. Please, enjoy this tunes while the photos tell you about my day yesterday.

¡Feliz Primavera!

 


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[Insert a big smile]

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One of my favorite guys in Pike Place Market. Caught him on his day off. He works for Choice and Produce Pepper, one of the produce vendors at Pike Place Market. He confessed me this was his first time at The Gum Wall!

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...and that he cares for this pretty gal!

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Parts of Post Alley are my favorite "Industrial Sublime" corners of Seattle

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Welcome, tulips!

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My student Meghan, visiting from San Antonio, TX, and loving Seattle

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Primrose. Victorian Lace. Stunning. 

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Ah, green!

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English Daisy

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Hearts made of flowers

 

All the photos were taken at Pike Place Market, Seattle.

Get to know the musicians featured on the playlist:

I Monster

New Buffalo

Hot Chip

Goldfrapp

Kings of Convenience

 

Filed under  //   Flowers   Mix Tape   Photography   Seattle   Shutter Tours   Spring   Street Photography   Valentina Vitols   music  
Posted March 21, 2011 by Valentina Vitols 
// 0 Comments
 

Seattle, the photogenic one

I believe my most photographed subject is Seattle.  I have visited many cities as a photographer, but it's my current hometown, this lush Emerald City, the one I find the most photogenic.  Accesorized with quirkiness, breathtaking landscape and colorful people, Seattle is easy on the eyes and to walk around. I wanted to share a few photographs I made these past two days on a several special Shutter Tours we are giving to the attendants of the National Arts Education Association Convention. We have been enjoying a generous, golden sun and crisp days. This is a small sample of what it has been like. 

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One of the tour attendants, an art teacher working in Beijing

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Benaroya Hall's 2nd Ave facade. Beautiful during the Winter

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Pike Place Market sells Harina P.A.N. That means we can make and eat arepas at home

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Pansies at Pike Place Market

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One of the main attractions at the Market are the stunning flowers

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One of the characters that makes Pike Place Market a magical place

Filed under  //   National Arts Education Association   Seattle   Shutter Tours   Street Photography  
Posted March 19, 2011 by Valentina Vitols 
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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.

 

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I get to hang out with cool people like James (and photograph them)
 
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I get to have second-timers (like Joan), who bring their friends. Also, I get to do portraits with "grafitti aura"!
 
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I get to photograph great light fixtures, and quirky art
 
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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!)
 
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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!
 
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I enjoy the quiet moments.  They are sheer beauty.
 
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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.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Filed under  //   Photo Tours   Photography   Seattle   Shutter Tours   Street Photography  
Posted July 27, 2010 by Valentina Vitols 
// 4 Comments