Seattle Times Pictures of the Year
Last night, I took myself to another Seattle Public Library event, at the Central Library downtown: "Seattle Times Presents Pictures of the Year." I get notified of events like this on Facebook because I "liked" the Seattle Public Library Facebook page; otherwise I would never have known about it. I learned when I was there that apparently this is not just an annual event, but "one of our most popular." That much was very clear: I thought I was doing well by catching a bus down Madison at 6:21 for this 7pm event and getting there at about 6:30. That was when they had just opened the doors, and I had to walk to the end of a line that wrapped all the way back and around behind the escalators that go up to the 5th Avenue level.
Luckily, I did get inside when there were still seats available, and honestly the spot I got, about 2/3 toward the back of the room and near the center, was a pretty great vantage point. They opened the back wall to create an "overflow area," packed with plenty more people who could watch from a bit further away.
Still, I really should make a point of coming even earlier to these kinds of events, especially when they are free at the library. This particular program began with a short talk by the Photo Editor at the Seattle Times, then a slide show of the "Pictures of the Year" (2019) by Times photographers, of which there were three present, each of whom got up to speak: a nature/wildlife photographer; a videographer; and a sports photographer. That last guy got the most airtime, I think, but even as someone with no interest in sports, it was still really fun to see him talk about how he got several different great shots that had run in the newspaper.
There was some talk about the expensive camera equipment they get to use, and I found myself wondering how they budget for that, and how the newspaper's revenue compares now to when people actually used to read physical newspapers. I don’t even read the Seattle Times online most of the time, I must confess; like most city newspapers anymore, you get two or three articles per month before you begin getting hit with a paywall. The only newspaper for which I do not have to worry about that is the Washington Post, which is the only newspaper for which I pay for an online account. As was the case when I used to subscribe to the New York Times, I actually prefer coverage of Seattle-based news in national publication over that of our own newspaper, which is just plain inferior in terms of editorial content. I actually do think newspapers are important, but I can't pay for them all . . . and I would pay for the Seattle Times if it were, you know, better.
Based on this event, however, it does appear they have published a lot of great photos. Surely that could be said of any daily newspaper, really; they run dozens or maybe even hundreds of photos in every paper so some of those are bound to be great.
My favorite was a shot of the Space Needle upon the opening of its newly renovated observatory. Even though that actually opened in mid-2018, the shot was from March 2019. I was trying to find the shot online and discovered, oh hey! All those photos from the slideshow we saw projected large on the wall at the library are also found online, right here! The page was posted at the end of December, which actually makes much more sense; I'm not sure why they waited four weeks to do this event at the library. Anyway, the Space Needle shot I'm talking about is there, along with a bunch of other great ones, including that first one of people celebrating the last night the Alaskan Way Viaduct was open.
That event basically took up the bulk of my evening last night. I did walk home from work, listening to the Pet Shop Boys the whole way, although I caught a bus at Broadway to ride the last six blocks. I then got out and went into Central Co-op to buy some deodorant. When I got into the condo, I had just under an hour to make some dinner, and I made a macaroni casserole.
You know what? I just remembered I have sample bread crumbs in my desk drawer at work and I could have used that. Damn it! Next time, then. I did not actually bake this dish; I just made macaroni and cheese as normal with veggie chicken and vegetables added. I should do a baked version sometime soon, though, and use the bread crumbs. I haven't done that in years, probably more than a decade. Note to self!
Anyway. I barely made it over to Madison to catch that bus back downtown to the Central Library, and when the event was over, it was not the best timing for when nearby transit was headed back up Capitol Hill. I went down in the University Street Station and caught Light Rail. I still had half a mile to walk home from Capitol Hill Station, and the #11, which I thought was too long a wait were I to walk over to Pike and Fourth to catch it, still beat me to my building by about two blocks.
By that point, it was after 9:00, as the event had gone from 7 to 8:30. I finished putting away the last of the laundry I had done on Wednesday night, and then got ready for bed. I didn't actually fall asleep until 10:05, but I was truly zonked out. I expected Shobhit to be home from work at any second by that point, but I have no memory of when he came in the door. He was just there in bed when I woke up.
[posted 12:22 pm]