Back from a (short) sabbatical
So I guess you can’t call it a real sabbatical but I did take a few weeks off to clear my head and enjoy time with family and friends. Only things is, I never stopped taking pictures! So I’ve got hundreds to be processed and many to share with you all. I’ll start with this set which has been up on my flickr for a bit, but has a nice story behind it.
Setsuko, a good friend from Japan, came to visit me last week. We had some great weather, so on the last day before the forecast predicted cloudy skies I took her to see the sunset at a beach park in northwest Seattle called Carkeek Park. It’s smaller than some of the other West Seattle parks but it’s nice, and some rail road tracks run through the park so you can catch some freight trains running through if your timing is right.
Since I’ve just returned home I’ve been looking for new spots to take and my brother recommended it as an alternative to Golden Gardens. Going to the beaches at night a few times in Mie with Kazuyo, I’d been really attracted to the sound of the waves and the majesty of the ocean: it’s breadth and how it stretches on farther than the eye can see; and how the sound of the waves is so periodic and almost melodic in it’s repetitive-ness.
We got there right after the sun had dipped below the Olympics in the west but the light was still very pretty.
You can see faint rays of light from behind the mountains, and a small sail boat as well.
There was a nice thin layer of clouds low in the sky, and it looks like the mountains are piercing through.
Three trains in a row passed through right after we got there and we had a great up close view of all of them. There was a high walkway and staircase which offered a good vantage point for taking a few snaps.
The first train coming north. When they blew their horns to the waving crowd I thought my ear drums would burst!
The colorful freight cars really made this picture for me.
This train is almost the same model/paint job as the first train!
The 100 L got me close enough to see the driver.
A little girl watches on in anticipation of the next train.
Te last train, headed north.
After the trains passed we finally headed down to the beach. The sun had sunk lower and it seemed like we had shot more of the trains than the sunset we came to see! Nonetheless it was a beautiful day and not cold at all; we sat on a log together and watched the couples and families who had also come to enjoy the end of another summer day.
A little boy watching the waves.
I tried to get a low angle with live view. Mike fixed the awful distortion for me in LR - thanks Mike!
At this point a couple and their dog walked by; the wife was throwing a stick into the ocean and the dog would run and drag it back time and time again. I asked if I might take a few pics; I had some ideas that I wanted to try involving silhouettes. I was rewarded with these:
Swimming with the stick. The light reflecting off the water was so pretty.
Made it to shore!
Frolicking 🙂
Nice and wet!
Finally, on a whim, I swapped out to a wider lens and caught some of the bold colors and silhouettes.
There is some heavy sky vignetting going on!
This is a nice shot of the couple and their dog, whose name is Daisy.
A parting shot - the waves, the light, everything was pretty magical.
That’s all for this post. I needed a short post to get me back blogging – but I’ve got tons more pics to come! I think trips around Seattle will be up soon, stayed tuned! 🙂
Brian Chu Photography 
Great photos Brian!
The shots of the train are awesome! I like the shot of the little girl too – you can see so much anticipation in her face! Ah, to be a kid again.
Great colors in the sunsets too – hopefully I’ll be able to get some nice sunset shots while I’m in Saipan. All dependent on the weather!!