In many regards, April was a very refreshing month of the year. It was the first month of 2014 when I didn’t travel internationally, meaning I had 4 consecutive weeks of staying in one place. While wanderlust was hard to overcome, it was made easier by my discovery of a coworking group that I now meet with weekly for social and work purposes. April also marked the end of federal tax season, which was a bit brutal when I made my annual tax payment, but was also a relief because now I know more or less how much money I should be budgeting each month.
Photography-wise, April was a pretty light month in terms of paid photography work. I was lucky to get a bunch of my interior photography images licensed by architecture firms, but events-wise, there was only one big corporate event to cover this month. Fortunately, I was able to offset my losses by scoring a freelance public relations job, which is beneficial not just for extra income, but in gaining more work exposure in the PR field.
I’ll dive into specifics in future blog posts, but for now, here are some visual highlights for April 2014.
Concerts
Music-wise April was actually fairly exciting. There were some pretty fun names rolling through town including soul singer Sharon Jones, rising pop star Ellie Goulding, British indie rockers Franz Ferdinand, ukulele wiz Jake Shimabukuro, and the Dogfather himself Snoop Dogg on 4/20.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings @ Showbox
Ellie Goulding @ Paramount Theater
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa @ WaMu Theater
Jake Shimabukuro @ Paramount Theater
Restaurants
April was a quiet month for new restaurant openings, but there were two highly anticipated new spots that opened in town: Taylor Shellfish’s new oyster bar near the Seattle Center in Queen Anne, and Corretto Trattoria and Coffee Bar in the old Pan e Vino space on Capitol Hill. I’ve had the pleasure of trying out both spots and can verify that Taylor Shellfish’s new locale certainly serves up the fresh, tasty oysters they’ve become famous for. As for Corretto, while I haven’t had a chance to try their food, I can say that their corretto coffee drinks are the best tasting coffee-booze combinations I’ve had.
Another opening of sorts in Seattle was the debut of Parchment, the latest pop up project from pastry chef Laura Pyles. If you have a chance to go to her next pop up, be sure to get there early–she sold out just several hours into her first pop up at Brimmer and Heeltap in Ballard.
While not a new restaurant, I also had the privilege of checking out one of Seattle’s lesser known pizza joints, Humble Pie in Seattle’s Central District. With Humble Pie’s unique, earthy space and spacious outdoor seating area complete with a chicken coop, this is a fantastic place to grab a fresh pie and chill out with friends on a warm summer day.
In addition to restaurant openings, there was also a closing: Piecora’s Pizza, a beloved family owned pizza joint in Capitol Hill served its last pies on April 15. The space is closing down to make room for yet another shiny condo project.
Event Photography
April was quiet on the event photography front, but there were a few fun happenings. The first was a private event held by Travelers Insurance; while those photos are also private and unavailable for sharing, the event itself was a seminar for small business owners. Being one myself, I ended up having a ball photographing the event and tuning into the seminar speakers to soak up all of the advice they had regarding small business challenges and solutions.
Another event photography opportunity came on the anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death. While hardly a cheerful subject, there was a great panel held at the EMP in Seattle where panelists including Charles Cross, shared their memories and personal stories of Nirvana’s late frontman.
The final event photography for May was covering the Seattle University Divestment Protest. I admit I had to look up what divestment even meant, but the protest (if one could even call it that) had a pretty decent turnout of students and faculty.
Hi Suzi, I love your work. Thank you for your freelancer series as well, can’t wait for the next iteration!
How do you deal with permissions for private individuals with some of your street and event photography? I’m in Australia and I think we have some slightly different privacy laws but I am interested about how you deal with this.
Also, I know I need to build up my courage and attempt to ask people if I can take their photos before just snapping away, as a courtesy, but I’m never really sure what to say. Do you offer people a copy of the photo as a sweetener?
Gem
Thank you so much for the feedback! If you have any ideas for future content or topics in the freelancer series, please let me know.
Speaking of, your question regarding street photography would make a great blog entry! Let me give it some thought, and I’ll publish a blog on it soon.
Hi Gem,
This is an excellent question, and yes, I am sure the rules are slightly different depending on where in the world you are. Here in the United States, it is my understanding that as long as individuals are in public areas, we may take their pictures without their explicit consent or permission. However, we cannot sell these images without a signed model release form. I may shoot candid shots of people in public places without asking, for the sake of capturing them in natural poses, but if I want a posed photo, I will always ask their permission first.
I also agree that it takes quite a bit of courage to approach people for their photos, and photographers have all sorts of ways to build up courage. My advice is to just give it a try! The next time you see someone you want to photograph, don’t think twice about it–just approach the person and ask for their photo. If they want to know why, tell them it’s because you like the shirt they are wearing, or that they have a beautiful smile. Be honest about what it is that drew you to that person, as it is usually a compliment, and many people will respond positively to this. Also, be prepared to explain what you will do with the photo–a personal project is always a good, logical answer. If you feel it appropriate, you can also offer a free photo as a sweetener, but it isn’t always necessary. Just feel out the situation and do what feels right!
I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.