Poo-Poo Platter

Anyone who’s lived in the Seattle are for any amount of time knows that the weather here has a tendency to stay cold, gray, and wet for a good 6 months out of the year. Last week was the beginning of that gray period, as each day was pretty much cold, gray, and (sometimes) wet. It was dreary. It was depressing. And it put me in a really pissy mood. Some frustrations at work didn’t help, but that’s beside the point. I was totally enjoying the wonderful summer we had, and now it’s all gone. Fall has arrived in full force.

Then, to my surprise, it was sunny and clear all day yesterday. The sky was blue. The sun was shining brightly. And everyone was happy. It was still kind of chilly outside, but no one cared. It was an absolutely gorgeous autumn day at the end of October, and there was no rain in sight. I spent most of the day bouncing back and forth between different parks in Kirkland and Bellevue, and every where I went, people were cheerful and in good spirits. It was wonderful.

The good moods all around put me in a great mood. I was smiley and chatty when I was getting my hair cut. (Side note: The Shop in Kirkland is a cool place to get your hair cut. Small, intimate feel. Not at all like a fancy schmancy salon. Friendly people working there. A bit spendy at $18 for men’s cuts, but the service is totally worth it.) I smiled and said “hello” to people I passed while walking around. I struck up several small conversations with people as I was taking photographs (usual comments about beautiful fall colors, surprisingly good weather, etc.). I helped some high school kids in formal wear take pictures at the lake (that’s a new one for me). And even the long lines at Starbucks and Jamba Juice didn’t bother me.

With the good mood and good weather around me, I decided to try a fun self-portrait for 365 Days. The pond at Bellevue Downtown Park had been emptied for the fall and winter seasons, and I thought it might be a neat thing to do a jumping portrait in the middle of the empty area. I set up the self-timer on my D70 (forgot the remote at home) and timed my jumps to be at the peak when the shutter fired. It took me at least 20 or 30 tries to get a decent shot, and each time I had to go reset the self-timer from normal shooting mode (one of my pet peaves about the D70). It must have looked pretty odd for everyone at the park to see me prop my camera on my camera bag, walk about 5 feet away from it, stand still for 10 seconds, jump in the air, and repeat the process over and over again for about half an hour. Not a single person stopped to ask me what I was doing. I probably looked pretty insane. Regardless, I’m happy with the final shot I got. Now that I have a better idea of how to time the jumps, I’m going to have to try more jumping photos elsewhere. I just have to remember to bring my remote and maybe a small tripod.

It’s been a wonderfully relaxing weekend, and I expect today will be no different. I’ve got my coffee and a bagel and free wi-fi at Tully’s (where I am right now). I had an extra hour of chilling time last night/this morning. The sun keeps popping in and out from behind the clouds, but at least it’s not raining. And I’m still in a good mood from yesterday. Life it pretty good.