The World Famous Pike Place Market

One of my favorite places to photograph that I keep coming back to is Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA. The market itself is always full of life and vibrance. I particularly enjoy the variety of colors that it exhibits. Being back in Seattle for school, I was able to visit Pike Place once again. As always, my camera was in hand. 

My favorite street to enter the market is off of Pike Street. Coming this way, you're greeted by the famous "Public Market Center" sign with the clock. Heading into the market, there are so many different vendors that bring various types of fruits, vegetables, crafts and just about anything you can think of. 

While the produce is full of color, I also really enjoy checking out the art and crafts that different local artists have produced. 

One thing that I personally enjoy about Pike Place is being able to see people interacting with one another. Even the street performers give enjoyment to people just passing along. This time, right out in front of the original Starbucks Coffee, there was a group of blue grass musicians performing. I had seen guitarists, pianists and people playing both of those plus a harmonica at once, but never a full blue grass roots band. 

This street performer named Emmitt is very popular around Pike Place. He is most well known for being able to play guitars (yes, guitars plural), the harmonica and hula-hoop all at the same time. 

Two tourists take a photo-op with the world famous flying fish. Unfortunately, not many fish were taking flight today.

The photo immediately above is perhaps one of my favorite photos. I believe that it shows the happiness and joy that the vendors have when helping out their customers. 

For many, they don't head down into the lower levels of the market that includes Ghost Alley. This is one of my favorite locations for photos of the market because it features the gum wall. This wall is covered with literally thousands of pieces of gum and counting! The most creative proposal that I've seen is the one that is written on the gum wall. If you look closely, you can make out the words "Will you marry me..." Unfortunately, the name has since been covered up by other pieces of gum. It's pretty cool that that still is there after all these years.

Every time I head to the market, I always try to get something new and different with my camera. I absolutely love coming here for the variety of people that it always brings. While it is the same, there are always new ways to look at the market and that's what I love about Pike Place.

UW vs. Illinois Football Game

For a long time I have wanted to have the opportunity to shoot sports. Some of the downsides are that the gear is expensive and it's hard to gain access to the events. Luckily, I am fortunate enough to attend one of the top universities in the nation and a university that values involving their students in many aspects. I recently joined one of University of Washington's photography teams as part of their Student Life division. We cover all kinds of events, but our team is privileged enough to have access to top of the line gear and access to many of our sporting events to cover the action on and off the field. 

This past weekend, UW played Illinois at home in the second part of the home and home series. Last year, Washington beat Illinois 34-24 in Chicago. This year, I was able to be on the field for all the action. 

It was a beautiful sunny day and Husky Stadium was gorgeous and had to grab a photo of the stadium with the camera on my iPhone. I didn't have a wide angle at this time, so I was unable to capture the entire stadium with my main lenses.

For the action on the field, I made sure to gear up with everything I thought I would need. I was lucky enough to have access to a couple of Canon's sports bodies, the 7D, and the Canon 300mm f/2.8 and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8. Both these lenses were phenomenal. The autofocus was quick and the lenses are some of the sharpest lenses that I have ever used. These made capturing the action much easier. 

The game started out loud and the stadium was packed. Unfortunately for UW, the academic year does not start until a couple weeks after the start of football season, so not all of the students were able to make it. Needless to say, a lot of them came to see their Dawgs play at home. Part of the game experience was capturing the student body. It was easy to do with such an engaged crowd. 

Spotted my good friends Eric and Jake up in the stands. Still can't believe I was able to find them.

I made sure to get there a little bit early to try and figure out settings. One thing that is tricky about shooting in Husky Stadium is that there is uneven lighting during the day games. This meant that I had to rely on shooting in aperture priority. Shooting in manual, I would have either had to properly expose for players in the shadowy part or the sunny part, but not both. I made sure to keep my ISO around 400 to ensure a quick enough shutter speed to freeze the action. One feature that I wish the 7D had was a minimum shutter speed function that I could set. Hopefully this is one of the new features on Canon's newly released 7D Mark II, which is a tempting camera with the announced specs.

Head coach Chris Petersen wishes his players good luck before the game during team stretches.

Diante Cooper (6) points to the student section to make sure they're loud right before the opening kickoff.

The game started out quickly. Jesse Callier (24) converted a touchdown on the opening drive after a 54 yard kick return by John Ross III. 

Jesse Callier (24) walks in for a touchdown on the opening drive.

Cameron Van Winkle (48) attempts the PAT.

One thing that I was not expecting was the speed of the players. I often found myself dropping my 300mm and picking up the 70-200mm when the action came barreling towards my side of the field. Especially with John Ross III, he took off one play for a 75 yard touchdown pass. It came so quickly that all I was able to capture was his smile after a long catch and run. 

The rest of the game was a blowout. The defensive effort by Washington was incredible. Shaq Thompson came away with two touchdowns on an interception and fumble recovery. 

Shaq Thompson (7) runs away from Martize Barr (9) after picking up a loose fumble.

Shaq Thompson (7) reaches the ball over the goal line on the fumble recovery for a touchdown.

For the remainder of the game, it was all about trying out different spots on the field and trying to capture a variety of shots.

Travis Feeney (41) communicates with the defensive coordinator.

Andrew Hudson (93) and Hau'oli Kikaha (8) celebrate after sacking Illinois QB Wes Lunt (12).

Jarrod Clements (99) is able to catch Cyler Miles (10) and force the fumble on the QB scramble.

Cyler Miles (10) attempts to grab the loose ball after being caught from behind and loosing the football.

John Ross III (1) is dragged down by Illinois linebacker T.J. Neal Jr. (52).

Cyler Miles (10) slides for the first down to avoid being hit.

Zane Petty (21) knocks the ball away from Darrell Daniels (15) on what would have been a Washington touchdown.

After being up for a while, Washington took their starters out and they were able to cool off under the fans blowing mist on them. This provided for some cool photos.

At the end, Washington was able to walk away with a 44-19 victory. It was finally the first game that we looked good as a team. Overall, there was nothing that could compare to the unrestricted field access and being down their amidst all the action. I hope to be able to cover many more football games throughout my next couple years here.

Washington gathers as a team by the student section to celebrate their victory.