The Museum of Flight - Seattle

 

In mid-February, our younger son, Drew, and I spent a short weekend in Seattle to attend a family memorial service for my mother's last living cousin. 

During the 40 hours we were on the ground, when not sleeping or participating in the family gathering we visited a number of iconic Seattle institutions, the most notable of which was the Museum of Flight, located at the south end of Boeing Field (officially, the King County International Airport) south of Seattle.

The museum opened at its current location in 1987, and is the largest private air and space museum in the world.  Its primary attraction for my family is the Lockheed M-21, a specialized version of the better known SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft.  Drew and his brother, Owen, have been fascinated with the plane since they were little.

Most importantly, the museum also has the cockpit section of an SR-71 in which you can sit -- as close as it's possible to come to that childhood dream.

Besides the M-21/SR-71, the museum's main indoor exhibit area (the Great Gallery) is filled with historic aircraft.

We visited the museum twice -- on Sunday and Monday mornings.  On Sunday the Great Gallery was hosting the annual Northwest Scale Model Show on the floor beneath the M-21/SR-71:

There were hundreds of scale models of airplanes, cars, and the Millennium Falcon, along with scores of hobbyists.

But the scale models weren't what we were there to see . . . and, in my case, photograph.  The stories of the aircrafts, and their place in aviation history, were all interesting, but for me the attraction was visual.  Some examples, beginning with details of one of the engines of the M-21/SR-71 (most of which worked well in black-and-white):

Details of other aircraft also worked well in B&W:

I also noticed a common feature of many early jet aircraft:  Don't get sucked in.

Speaking of "intake," the other iconic attractions we enjoyed were late-night burgers at classic Seattle burger joints Pick-Quick and Dick's . . .

This was the scene at 10:30pm on Saturday night.

The burgers were OK, but none as good as a New Mexico green chile cheeseburger.

We also had breakfast Monday morning at Blazing Bagels, which claims to have the best bagels "east of New York."  I'm not sure what that implies about the quality of bagels between NY and Seattle, but I have to say the bagels were superb!

Jalapeno cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, onion, and tomato on a poppy seed bagel -- perfect!  (Makes my mouth water just writing about it.)

Monday afternoon we headed home via SeaTac Airport and Alaska Airlines . . .

. . . enjoying the views from above . . .

. . . and a gorgeous "welcome home" sunset at the Albuquerque airport.

If you would like to see these images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Winter Road Trip

It doesn't snow much in New Mexico (except at higher elevations 8,000 ft. and above), so when the snow gets down to the level where we live (5,000 - 6,000 feet), it's a beautiful sight -- as long as I don't have to shovel it.

On February 15, there was snow in the northwest quadrant of the state, so my friend, Alan, and I hopped in the car with our cameras ready.  There was just enough snow to cover the ground but leave most of the scrub and grass visible, and the roads were passable.  We headed for the Black Place -- a Georgia O'Keeffe favorite about 110 miles from Corrales -- which we have photographed many times before . . . but only a couple of times with snow.

En route the mountains and mesas were beautiful:

By the time we reached the Black Place, more clouds had rolled in, and it was about 22 degrees and snowing again:

We only stayed about an hour, but got some nice snow shots:

As we made our way back to Corrales, the skies were clearing and the mesas were once again looking good:

And the Sandia Mountains were pretty too:

If you would like to see these images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Enjoy!

The Eyes Have It

 

Back in February I photographed the dress rehearsal for Opera Southwest's production of Rossini's Le Comte Ory, starring Christopher Bozeka and Lindsay Ohse.  The opera is Rossini's only French-language comic opera, and it is hilarious.  You can read a brief synopsis of the opera here.  Suffice it to say, however, that Rossini's musical brilliance, coupled with a typically French comedy plot, make for a rollicking good show.  

Le Comte Ory is a lecherous but somewhat clueless Count who invents ridiculous schemes to win the preeminent object of his lust, the virtuous Adèle.  In Act I he poses as a phrenologist who offers counseling (and, implicitly, sexual satisfaction) to the women of the town . . . including, he hopes, Adèle.

By the end of Act I, Ory's identity is eventually revealed, much to the disgust of the women he has "counseled."

In Act II, Ory disguises himself and his men as nuns to gain access to Adèle's residence.

Needless to say, after lots of hijinks, things don't go well for the Count . . .

. . . and Adèle is united with her true love, Isolier, the Count's page.

In the course of reviewing and selecting the best images (from over 3,000) to document the performance, I began to notice a common feature of many images that seemed to capture and illustrate the wacky spirit of the opera:  namely, broad facial expressions and, more specifically, the eyes of the performers -- not just the principal singers, but others as well.

These expressions might be visible to people seated in the first few rows, but for those further back in the hall perhaps not so much.  And the looks are fleeting -- they appear and disappear in (dare I say it?) the blink of an eye.

But with my proximity to the stage -- roaming from side to side along the empty front row of seats, immediately adjacent to the orchestra pit -- and my camera's ability to stop time, I was able to capture some of those looks that might otherwise have gone unnoticed and unappreciated.

Some obvious examples:

And some not-so-obvious (and perhaps more interesting) examples.  Check the woman on the far left . . .

. . . and the man standing in the background:

Many looks of astonishment or surprise:

A few sidelong glances:

And lots of other emotions appear throughout:

Last but not least, a crucial ingredient of any comedy:  plenty of faux surprise and faux innocent faces.

Now of course the enjoyment of an opera in real time doesn't arise from stopping to note a gesture or a look. It's a holistic experience that relies primarily on the music and the singing; the action and staging; the costumes; the lighting; and the sets.  As Alexander Pope wrote in his An Essay on Criticism,


                    'Tis not a lip, or eye, we beauty call,
                    But the joint force and full result of all.


After the fact, however, photography gives us the ability to see and appreciate some of the details that contribute to the "joint force and full result of all."

If you would like to see these and many more images from the complete dress rehearsal, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.
 
Enjoy!