The days are getting longer, the sky brighter, flowers are starting to bloom, bugs are coming out and its Photo Friday – what better way to celebrate the coming days of Spring than by celebrating with a stunning “Springtime In Burien” photo slideshow by area Pro Photographer Francis Zera?
This set of amazing macro nature photos is Exhibit A in why we love Photography – through the eye of a talented artist like Francis, one can see things that you normally might not notice, and see it in a beautiful new way.
According to Francis, who shot these pics Wednesday:
Today’s brief spell of late-afternoon sunshine got me thinking about spring, and I had an opportunity to wander around a private garden on the east side of Burien.
The plants and trees were just starting to bloom, and I found some pretty interesting stuff, including this insect that was swimming around in a dewdrop that was poised on a new tulip leaf.
This little guy appears to be a Hypera zoilus Kaldari, aka Clover Leaf Weevil, swimming in a dewdrop. According to the Wikipedia entry, they seem to prefer dry places to wet, so I’m thinking it might have been simply unlucky enough to have been nailed by a big raindrop and subsequently trapped inside the droplet by the surface tension.
It was still alive when I photographed it, and was moving around within the confines of the droplet.
For those technically inclined, I was using a Canon 5D Mark II with a 180mm f/3.2 macro lens.
Here’s Francis’ stunning spring slideshow:
Francis Zera is a professional architectural and commercial photographer, as well as Co-president, Seattle/Northwest chapter, American Society of Media Photographers. See his portfolio at http://www.zeraphoto.com or follow him on Twitter here: http://www.twitter.com/zeraphoto. Francis can be reached at 206-659-ZERA.
Story & Photos by Scott Schaefer
On the busy 12400 block of Ambaum Blvd., a quiet, makeshift memorial stands as a tribute to Mikarah Nasabreo Sanders, the 15-year old girl who was shot and killed by her 16-year old boyfriend on New Year’s Eve, who later shot himself.
Sadly, Sanders died from her wounds and the male suspect is still being treated (and guarded) at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle (read our previous coverage here). King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has said that the suspect will likely be charged as an adult with murder in connection with Sanders’ death.
The most recent reports we’ve heard are that the suspect was upset with something he read on Sanders’ MySpace page. Other reports say that the couple argued frequently.
Like most temporary memorials, this one’s got photos protected by plastic sleeves, melted candles and notes, as well as some odd and ironic items like a mysterious, open, black umbrella (we’re not sure of its significance – anyone know? UPDATE: Occam’s Razor called and told us that it was probably placed there to protect the shrine from rain), and an empty peach vodka bottle lying next to stuffed animals – all as a tribute to a life lost way too early.
Scott Schaefer stopped by Thursday morning (Jan. 7th) and shot this Photo Slideshow:
On a personal note, we’re getting kinda tired of seeing these memorials all around the Burien area. Let’s get along peeps!
On Halloween (Saturday, Oct. 31st), the annual “Boo In Burien” took place, where children went trick or treating from business to business, dogs (and kids) in costumes paraded, and wiener dogs raced against each other.
This year’s event was sponsored by Discover Burien, Prudential Northwest and Grocery Outlet.
The B-Town Blog was there of course, and Photographer Michael Brunk captured these photos:
If you see yourself (or your dog or child) and want to download a FREE high-res version of the photo suitable for printing or emailing, click here and browse the photos on Flickr. Once you find something you like, download it by clicking on “All Sizes” just above the image, then right-click and “Save As” the JPEG in whatever size you prefer (Large and Original are best for printing).
Fall has definitely fallen unto our area, and to celebrate the refreshing, crisp air and colorful leaves, we present to you a very zen-like Photo/Audio Slideshow created at Seahurst Park by Photographer Michael Brunk:
Click to Play Michael Brunk’s Zen-like Autumn SoundSlideshow
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob is an Englishman and Burien resident who is currently in Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of President Obama. This is his second in a series of exclusive reports for The B-Town Blog; his first was filed Sunday morning.]
1/18/09 – THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION
Today was the day of the Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. I arrived on the National Mall at 8:40 am to join a line near the Washington Monument waiting for the gate to the west end of the National Mall to open. Once it did, we all moved in quickly and I rushed along the south side of the reflecting pool to a place not far from front. There I stayed in the freezing weather (it reached a balmy 37 degrees) through to the end of the show at 4:30 pm.
Around 10 am we were treated to some rehearsal activity followed by clips of the performers in the waiting area and various videos. We were fairly certain that the large military helicopter that made a low pass in front of the memorial before the show was the Obama and Biden families checking out the spectacle on their way to the venue.
The show itself started promptly at 2:30 pm. The size of the structure built for the television production and ticket holders meant that it was impossible to see what was actually happening on stage from my position but I did have three large screens not far away and was surrounded by so many enthusiastic people that the atmosphere far outweighed the lack of a clear view of the performers. There were many great moments.
U2 were excellent, as was Renée Fleming singing You’ll Never Walk Alone, and Master Sergeant Caleb Green of the US Army singing the Star-Spangled Banner. He was great during the show but he was even better during the rehearsals. It was a real treat to see Pete Seeger performing more than 45 years after he played at the same location as part of Martin Luther King Jr’s March On Washington. He encouraged the crowd to sing This Land Is Your Land with him and they didn’t let him down. The spoken parts of the show were very well delivered, especially when accompanied by historic scenes.
In many ways, Barack Obama’s speech was not unusual. We’ve come to expect him to provide an incredibly inspiring performance and he did exactly that. The crowd loved it and are unlikely to ever forget it.
All in all this was a very special occasion. I don’t know exactly how many people attended but I could see people as far back as the Washington Monument. Apparently there were also people most of the way back to the Capitol too, which is really quite amazing.
But, that may be nothing compared to the two million or more people expected on Tuesday.
Here’s a photo slideshow of some of the scenes witnessed by Bob Sunday:
Fall officially begins at 8:44am PDT today (Monday, Sept. 22), and what better way to celebrate the season of spiders, colorful leaves and pumpkin slingshots than by taking a look back at summer through this exclusive B-Town Blog slideshow:
Some scenes from Saturday’s annual Artwalk (videos coming soon):
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Courtesy BTB Contributing Photographer Gary Parvan comes this entertaining slideshow of photos taken at last Saturday’s “Hot August Nite” in Olde Burien:
Flickr slideshow (by Brian Bundridge) shows Soundtransit’s moving of a train to the Tukwila station:
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
Relive last Saturday’s Daddy/Daughter dance without having to hassle with building your own time machine:
UPDATE: Got word that the slideshow wasn’t embedding properly, so here’s a video recap instead:
SOURCE:
Courtesy of Michael Lafreniere, Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services for Burien Parks comes this excellent Flickr slideshow of artwork around B-Town:
