The Pacific Northwest

I embarked on my 2nd trip to Seattle this past April, flying Alaska Airlines. We were nearly there by the time I remembered that they offer free WiFi. Streaming a movie would have been a much better way to pass the time, rather than counting people as they got up to use the bathroom. It seems like just as soon as the mandatory seatbelt light goes off, everybody wants to move freely about the cabin. We are 30,000 feet in the air, and hours away from our destination y'all; let's just chill.

Anyway, my Kindle was loaded with 3 new books, and I brought a journal with me. The plan was to get a few chapters read, and my thoughts down on paper, but I just kept counting the people in the aisle.

After about 5 hours, the plane landed at the airport where I met up with Zaria. I’m glad she could take time away from her busy schedule of saving lives to spend some with me 😄.

The cameras I brought along were my Fujifilm X-T5, and a point & shoot camera, the Olympus Trip 35 AF-C. Which images do you prefer? The gallery at the bottom of the page are all photos captured on film.

Key Places Visited:

Fuji Bakery - I'm usually big on sweets, but for the last few months I've been trying to slim down for my trip to Thailand. Being back in Seattle, however, I had to make an exception for trying my first Malasada. It’s a Portuguese pastry best described as a cream filled donut with more of an exotic taste. The flavors featured here were ube, matcha, passionfruit, yuzu and even adzuki (bean paste). The matcha and ube were my 2 favorites. From the photos you can tell that I enjoyed several 😄
La Cocina Oaxaqueña - I would have never expected to find such a place. The last time I had a Tlayuda was actually in the Oaxaca Valley. I must say that the ones served here were very much like the ones served there. The tortillas are always kept warm, and with bonus chapulines if that's your thing. 🤷‍♂️

Misses:

Deceptively Expensive Rooftop Taco Bar - The food was good, but there were only 3 different tacos to choose from, each around $7 a piece. Prices in the DMV are known to hit you over the head, but this was a higher degree of assault, based on premeditation. Maybe things would have been better if it were on the first floor instead.
Timezone Shifts & Jet Lag - There isn’t very much to say about this. The feeling of having lost time coming back east from the west coast is something else. If time really is money, then we lose with the addition of a multiplier.

Places pictured below:

Pikes Place Market
Belltown
South Lake Union
Capital Hill
Lower Queen Anne

Thoughts on the Olympus Trip 35

As mentioned earlier, I brought the Olympus Trip 35 point & shoot, loaded with Fujifilm 400. I know that I'm quite new to the whole analog film club revolution, but I think that these shots turned out great. There were also new instances of anticipation while waiting for the film to develop. I had no way of knowing whether or not the images would have the proper exposure. Digital cameras provide an unmatched level of instant gratification, but I appreciate the process of a point & shoot camera.

There isn’t as much room for overanalyzing, or searching for the "perfect shot" amongst a pile of similar looking photos. It makes me think of the way a barber can spend too much time going over a hairline; sometimes it only ends up looking goofy. Imperfection is perfection in that way.

This camera meshes well with the type of person I strive to be. Having less choices frees up my mind enough to focus only on performance. With more practice, I can apply this process to other aspects of my life.

Existentialism aside, the Trip 35 feels like a camera I could carry every day, simply based on the way it fits into my pocket. There is a zone focusing feature that automatically gauges distances, keeping the composition in clear view. I will try and always have a P&S camera with me from now on.

I hope you enjoy the photos (and ramblings).

I would like to give a special thanks to Zaria, who happened to be behind the lens for most of these shots.