by Scott Schaefer

On Friday afternoon (Feb. 19th), it was such a spring-like winter’s day that I decided to take a long walk around downtown Burien and go on a “photo safari.”

Armed with my trusty yet tres’ portable Olympus DSLR E-450, with my fave 50mm prime lens mounted, I set off and started shooting.

Some of you may have even seen me out and about, as I recall being honked at by at least two cars (hopefully they were both friendly honks and not “get the flip out of the way” ones).

After returning to our office and unloading the camera (I took 126 pics in about 1.5 hours’ time) and reviewing the shots, one kept popping up at me – of Kim David Hall’s “Art Clock” on SW 152nd, with the reflection of Vino Bello’s sign from across the street in the face:

While the reflection may look superimposed, it’s not – and if you look closely you can see how the clock body itself is out of focus and overexposed. That’s because the camera’s metering system latched onto the reflection, and both focused and set the exposure for that. Pretty cool.

For all you photo nerds out there, here’s some of the pic data:

• Camera: Olympus E-450
• Exposure: 1/4000 sec
• Aperture: f/2.0
• Focal Length: 50 mm
• ISO Speed: 400

(and BTW, yes Michele…you have my permission to display this print in your wine bar! Oh, and be sure to go to the Animals First Foundation fundraiser and see Woodrish there tonight!)

Okay, since I’m in a photo mood, here are some others I shot today around downtown B-Town – click on images to see larger versions:

Cherry blossoms bloom at the NE corner of SW 151st and Ambaum Blvd.

Why are there directions printed below a fire alarm?

The loading dock behind Bartell's Drugs, looking creepy after some Photoshopping.

Obviously there's something very important stored behind this fence. And a serious razor wire fence requires black & white, doncha think?

So…do YOU have any interesting photos you’d like to share with our readers on “Photo Friday”? If so, either email them to us here, or upload them to our Flickr Group here.

As a public service, and because we’re givers (give give give we say…but hopefully not H1N1), we here at The B-Town Blog have decided to open up our Flickr digital archives from this weekend’s first-ever Burien Brat Trot, and allow everyone full, FREE access to all the photos we shot.

To start, we’ve uploaded 578 photos of race day (Pub Crawl pics are coming soon…), including dozens of runners crossing the finish line. That’s right – there may be a photo of you crossing the line, or in at least one case, about to hurl chunks as you cross it. And hey, if you’re not in there, we apologize…um, just as you crossed the line we ran out of film…yeah, that’s right…

All you have to do to access the pics is join our new “Burien Brat Trot” Flickr group here, then browse photos, click on them, view ‘em, upload your own, and if you see something you like, you can order prints right there (Flickr charges a fee), or download the photo for no charge, then print it yourself or make it your new desktop/screensaver.

HELPFUL HINTS:

• Join the “Burien Brat Trot” Flickr Group here
• Browse photos at will
• Click on a photo to view it
• If it’s something you like, click on “All Sizes” directly above the pic (it has a magnifying glass icon)
• You can then download “Large Size” or “Original Size” from the next screen for FREE right to your desktop
• If you find something you dig, be sure to send your positive vibrations to both Michael Brunk and Scott Schaefer, our race-day Photogs

Starting around 11:30am Monday morning (Dec. 29th), we’ve noticed numerous major wind gusts blowing all sorts of loose garbage and recycling all around Burien.

We don’t remember reading any Weather Advisories on this, so we just checked the NOAA Weather website for live conditions at Sea-Tac Airport, and here’s what we found:

WIND GUSTS UP TO 43 MPH!

Here’s a screenshot from the website:

And here’s a live feed from a webcam at the airport – if there’s no image, or if the airplanes in the image are on their sides, that means the wind gusts are even worse (refresh the page to see the latest image):

The good news from this sudden windstorm?

Kiteboarding’s up at 3 Tree Point!

Please either email us your windstorm pics or add ‘em to our Flickr Group so we can share them!

Nice way to wake up to Winter Solstice huh?

Between 3-5 inches of powdery, icy new snow, on top of the previous 4-5 inches…perfect day to play outside and enjoy this rare event.

Some interesting tidbits about last night’s storm:

• The snow is very crunchy, due to its heavy ice content.
• Some roads have been plowed and sanded, but please don’t try to drive unless you really must.
• To see live road conditions via webcam feeds, go to our Webcams page and refresh the page to see the latest images.
• According to the National Weather Service, a record low was tied at Sea-Tac Airport: “A record low temperature of 14 degrees was set at Seattle-Tacoma Airport yesterday. This ties the old record of 14 set in 1990. A record snowfall of 3 inches was set at Seattle-Tacoma Airport yesterday. This breaks the old record of 1.7 set in 1951.”
• Metro and Sound Transit buses are operating on a very limited schedule Sunday – about half their usual service. However, there will still be runs to today’s Seahawks game (including the Sounder trains which are experiencing NO delays), which should be fun as long as they leave the snow on the field. Check Metro’s regular website, their Seahawks Shuttle one, or Sound Transit’s for full details.
• Sea-Tac Airport travelers had many problems due to the storm, ranging from delayed or cancelled flights to being stuck in the airport with no available hotel rooms. KOMO News says: “A miserable combination of cancelled flights, hazardous weather conditions and heavy passenger volumes added up to one giant migraine for many travelers at Sea-Tac International Airport on Sunday. Thousands of people arrived at the regional hub airport only to learn that their flight had been cancelled, then couldn’t find transportation back home.”

Also, here’s the latest Winter Weather Advisory (downgraded from a Winter Storm Watch):

… Winter Weather Advisory in effect until 4 PM PST this afternoon… Winter Storm Warning is cancelled…

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a Winter Weather Advisory… which is in effect until 4 PM PST this afternoon. The Winter Storm Warning has been cancelled.

Snow showers will continue today over the area. Intermittent freezing rain from Everett southward this morning will come to an end as a front moves through the region. An organized band of showers will move across western Washington late this morning into the afternoon hours. Up to two inches of new snow is possible by late this afternoon. In addition… this morning ice accumulation up to a quarter of an inch is also possible.

A Winter Weather Advisory means that periods of snow or freezing rain will cause travel difficulties. Be prepared for slippery roads and use caution while driving.

Have any cool snow/ice photos to share?

Please either email us or add ‘em to our Flickr Group so we can share them!

Then, some dangerous icicles threatened our skull from above our back porch:

And to top it all off, a great snowy slideshow from BTB Flickr friend Michael Brunk:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Have some great photos to share? Please either email your snow photos to us or add ‘em to our Flickr Group so we can share them.

From Flickr Photog Dougerino comes this great Burien-related pic, which he describes as:

Those golden arches were the place to hang out in ’74, during the short-lived streaking fad.

Have a Burien-related photo you’d like to share with our BTB Readers?

You can find it by clicking here.

Once at the Group page, either Sign In if you’ve already regsitered or Sign Up as a new User. Once you’re all logged in, you can upload your general Burien-related photos to the Group, look at the ones we have up there, make slideshows and share them with others.

We then hope to feature photos from our Group Pool on this here blog, with prominent credit given to each Photographer, as well as respect for all copyrights.

Now comes word that the fire’s origins, while a mystery for the last few weeks, was indeed arson, according to Chief Meyer of the SeaTac Fire Department.

Here’s a great Flickr slideshow of the blaze, taken by Photog “Cave Canem”:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

The school building was constructed in the 1930s, and had been unoccupied (other than transients, who are suspected in the arson) since 2005.

SOURCE:

• KIRO-TV