On Sunday (March 21) I took the ferry over to Bremerton to meet with a couple whose wedding I’ll be shooting in a couple of weeks. It was a typical March day: scattered rain showers, clouds, and the occasional sun break. I broke out the camera so that I’d have something to do on the hour long ferry ride in each direction more than anything else, but it’s always fun to try to capture an interesting photo with flat, boring light.
I took this shot as we pulled out of Seattle, obviously. What grabbed me were the warm colors of the rust in the back of the ferry contrasting with the greens of the water as it was churned up. The cloudy Seattle skyline was just so typical, it made a nice simple background. OK, not a fascinating photo…but I like it nontheless.
The ferry ride itself was pretty quiet. Actually, it was pleasant: hardly anyone on board, no screaming kids, nobody seemed to be pre-occupied with the impending work week and making loud and important plans on their cell phones. There were some teenagers sitting behind me discussing their weekend exploits on their way back home from the big city. I did hear a lot more about vomit that I’d have liked.
I shot the second photo from my seat towards the front of the vessel. I liked the curves of the ship, but not enough to want to get up and really try to make something out of it. The resulting photo actually captured the mood of the place pretty well.
I met with the aforementioned couple about 10 minutes after arriving in Bremerton and had a cup of tea with them at the ferry terminal’s Starbucks. They were both very nice, down to earth people, and we were quickly able to decide on a photography strategy that would be feasable for me (working alone) and would fulfill their needs as well.
After a quick walk around the waterfront, I found myself back on the ferry bound for Seattle. On the return trip, there were some sunbreaks which I hoped would hold out until I got to Seattle, but the clouds rolled in again before I was close enough to make any use of them. I did see a couple of sea lions, but the rest of the trip was much like my previous crossing.
Pulling into Seattle, I saw a pattern that I liked in a couple of buildings, and took this shot.
