Two Views of Spokane

Back in the early 80s, Mom and Dad and Sean and I went on a road trip through Spokane and Seattle. Here are a couple of images I shot of Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane. Before this trip, I knew the city only via its PBS affiliate, which served Edmonton back in the early days of cable television. 

Somewhere in Seattle...

I don't remember where this was taken - does the Space Needle have an open catwalk? Is it that close to Puget Sound?

One thing I do recall about this trip: it was the last time we used the Super 8 camera. I shot some footage of our trip on the ferry. 

Seattle Ship Seasick Slick

In 1983 the Woods family went to Seattle. While on a ferry I shot this photo of another ferry. It's a completely unremarkable shot except for the multicoloured stain near the bottom of the frame. I'm pretty sure that the stain is actually just an artifact of negative discolouration captured by the scanner, but it does look a little bit like an alien oil slick.

Spokane Askew

During our trip to Washington in 1983, I shot this oddly-angled photo of Spokane. This was probably the first time I'd experienced that feeling tourists get when they visit someplace famous: "Oh, I saw this on TV!" I saw Spokane on TV all the time because its PBS affiliate was the one picked up by cable systems in Edmonton. During the pledge drives the PBS spokespersons would often make special mention of supporters in Alberta. I was too young at the time to donate, and yet I felt unjustifiable pride.

USS Oklahoma City and USS Missouri, 1983

While browsing through my recently scanned photos in thumbnail view, I suddenly realized that two consecutive shots formed an accidental panorama. I doubt that's what my 14 year old self was attempting on that day back in Seattle, but just to amuse myself I threw the two photos together in Photoshop to see how they matched up. Not bad at all, and I'm sure with more than five minutes' work I could make the transition a little more seamless. Click to embiggen!

USS Oklahoma City, 1983

I far prefer photos of people over places and things, but I'm shy about photographing my friends and family members for fear of being too intrusive. This admission may surprise the many people aggravated by my lens over the years, but it's true; the only reason I have so many pictures of people is because I force myself to be a little annoying about it. I value the people in my life tremendously, and I enjoy having photos of them. Sometimes I wonder if that's a little creepy, but I cling to my frozen photons tenaciously.

My early photos are far more likely to feature landscapes and objects than people. That's why I'm so pleased when I run across images like this. It's not a great photo, just a standard shot of the USS Oklahoma City on a visit to Seattle in 1983. But on the right, I captured my parents and brother walking along the dock, Sean looking up to ask Mom a question. I wonder what he was asking, and how she replied. I'll never know, unless Sean or Mom happen to miraculously remember, but I take comfort in knowing the question was asked. Sometimes that's enough.