Camlann

I knew that my Sunday assignment a couple of weeks ago was just filler for the paper, which is a little bit discouraging when there is so much to shoot. In situations like that, to make myself actually work hard on the assignment, I have gotten used to envisioning a gallery online, which these days will be seen by more people than the single photo on the back page of the local section. So for this assignment about Camlann, a Medieval village and "living history museum" in Carnation, I wanted to do a series of diptychs, with a portrait and a detail side by side. I wasn't sure if this would be something that could go online, and to my disappointment, it wasn't (though I was not surprised in the least). So Erika Schultz, who was standing in that day as editor, encouraged me to put the diptychs up on my blog. Well, I didn't have a blog, but now I do. Thanks Erika. Here they are. You can also see the full gallery at The Seattle Times (un-diptyched) here.

Janelle Bighinatti (cq), of Seattle, shows off a shoe that she made during a festival at the Camlann Medieval Village, a living history museum, in Carnation on Sunday, August 15, 2010. Bighinatti plays the role of Elizabeth, a shoemaker in a rural English village in the year 1376.

A crown of flowers made by Ashley Swanlund (cq), of Duvall, hangs on display in her shop during a festival at the Camlann Medieval Village in Carnation on Sunday, August 15, 2010. As part of her year 1379 character, Swanlund sells flowers, herbs, and medicinal charms.

Rory Linden (cq), a blacksmith, a hook that he recently made during a festival at the Camlann Medieval Village in Carnation on Sunday, August 15, 2010. Linden demonstrates how to turn iron into nails and hooks to visitors. Outside of the village he is a knife maker.

Diana Peterson's (cq), of Duvall, sits in her shop during a festival at the Camlann Medieval Village in Carnation on Sunday, August 15, 2010. Peterson, of Duvall, plays Diana atte Wells, the village scribe.

Michelle Hansen (cq), displays a candle during a festival at the Camlann Medieval Village in Carnation on Sunday, August 15, 2010. Hansen plays the character of Lucy, the village Chandler.

An Awkward Interaction

When I arrived at the White Center Jubilee Days parade at 10:00 on a dreary Saturday morning, I grimaced. Where is everyone? There were probably dozens of people lining the half-mile long parade route through white center. I don't like to complain about assignments, but this looked bleak. However, this bizarre situation made for one of my favorite photos of the summer. I think this interaction is fairly indicative of what I perceived as an overall sense of awkwardness that prevailed over the sparsely populated parade. I think the parade's theme of "Embrace Our Differences, Come Together" makes it that much better.

A man on a Segway dressed as Ronald McDonald speaks with motorcycle riders before the White Center Jubilee Days Parade on Sunday, July 18, 2010. This 87th White Center Jubilee Days is celebrated with the theme "Embrace Our Differences, Come Together".

End of in internship

Today is my last day at The Seattle Times. It is a nerve-wracking thought to get tossed out of the safety of consistently daily work. This is not so much of a monetary concern (though it should be), but more of an issue of "what now"? Personally, I like getting handed a different assignment every day. It is a chance to peer into lives that I never would otherwise. This is what makes the job fun. Of course there are the days that I look at my assignment and think, "this is the least relevant news item and I am sick of it." So I am left to do whatever I want to do, and that can be the toughest thing. An example of this on a smaller scale is the "LO" (lines only), also known at some papers as wild art. On a slow news day I will be expected to come up with some sort of interesting photos. It is incredibly open-ended which seems like a blessing, but I find it terribly stressful. However, given a bit of guidance, or a theme or suggestion for an LO, I find these the best assignments. An example of this came late on weekend afternoon. The sky had developed a yellow haze from forest fires in the area. This became my new assignment. I quickly thought of interesting locations to illustrate this, and I decided that with a bit of patience, something might happen on the Jose P. Rizal Bridge between Beacon Hill and the I.D. The skyline brought me there because it would give this hazy sky a sense of place, and from there it just took some waiting for some sort of pedestrian or cyclist. The first image I made had a woman wearing headphones, and with the silhouette, she looked very iPod commercial. It was too passive though, so I kept waiting, and along came a bike. I was glad to have the cyclist going uphill, since it gave a stronger feeling of struggle against the choking air (though it was not that dramatic of a haze).

A cyclist crosses the Jose P. Rizal Bridge under a yellow-tinted sky on the way to Beacon Hill on Sunday, August 1, 2010. The yellow sky is an indicator that there is smoke in the air from a fire nearby.