Erika Schultz's Photography Blog

New Blog = New Photos

2010-10-30T15:06:00.001-07:00

Well, it's true. It's been a long time since I've posted any new work. It was a busy spring and summer.

A lot of my time and energy was focused working on a fellowship to document issues and stories surrounding family homelessness. It was a great learning experience, but a few things fell to the wayside while juggling the project, daily work at the paper and spending time with my favorite peeps.

To get a fresh start, I started a new visual journal.

Come visit: www.erikajschultz/blog

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My Aunt Trish's 50th Birthday Prom

2010-04-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Last year, my Aunt Trish told me she was thinking about throwing a prom for her 50th birthday in our hometown of Riverton, Wyo.

Trish never attended her high school prom. Years later, something inside of her yearned for that special experience.

So, after mustering up some courage, she made plans to throw a bash. The party would mark a new chapter life, and celebrate her good health after fighting breast cancer.

She rented a small hall, and invited her friends and colleagues from the Middle School where she works. She wrangled my Uncle Rex into a tux. She granted my little cousin Paul the wish of wearing an orange one. And, cousin Kristin, (oh, my goodness!) looked absolutely stunning.

I wouldn't have been able to take these photos if Manuel didn't loan me his camera. (Thank you, M!)

Aunt Trish

Cousin Kristin and Aunt Trish applying makeup

Special 'do for the special night

My little cousin Paul, the ham

Uncle Rex

My uncle rocking the Wyoming coozie

Regan, the best dance teacher in Riverton.

Aunt Trish and Uncle Rex's first dance.

Cousin Bill and Dawn

Mom and Dad

Boxing Gym

2010-04-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

Awhile back, I tried to put together a small photo package for the paper on a South Seattle boxing gym. The club has wide range of boxers— from young boys and girls to professional fighters. I wanted to do the story because the gym is an asset to the neighborhood— a haven where people of all ages can be safe, feel apart of a community and push themselves to new goals.

One young teenager said he learned discipline, and how to shrug off negativity from his peers at school. (Before, that was hard to do.) One single mother said she felt at ease knowing her two young daughters were training while she worked into the evening. Some of the older boxers were fierce, but lended a hand to their younger teammates.

The story ended up falling through near publication. (A bummer.) But, a friend encouraged me to share some of the photos. I think it's been good to revisit them before shelving the project and moving forward.

Mercy Flight

2010-01-20T22:27:00.000-08:00

Enette Dumerin holds her two twins Carlebre Dumerin (left) and Jeff Dumerin (right), 3, in a C-17 Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 on route from Haiti to Orlando.

Click here to view The Seattle Times story written by Hal Bernton.

A man rests on a seat among 186 evacuees Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 on a C-17 traveling from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Orlando, Florida.

Men unload equipment that will be used to help repair the damaged Digicel mobile phone network Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 at the Port-au-Prince Airport.

A man walks in the Port-au-Prince Airport Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 where some countries are flying in aid and relief workers.

A long cue of evacuees wraps around the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince Jan. 17, 2010 in Haiti five days after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

A full bus of passengers sits at the Port-au-Prince airport Sunday, January 17, 2010 in Haiti.

A woman who recently had a stroke is transported from the Port-au-Prince airport Jan. 17, 2010. Evacuees were transported to Orlando on a C-17.

Leanne Civil(cq) is comforted by her son inside of a C-17 Jan. 17, 2010 at the Port-au-Prince airport. Around 186 evacuees were transported from Haiti to Orlando on the aircraft.

A tear rests on Kefler Ashley Zephyr's eye, 3, as he and his mother are transported with 186 evacuees from the Port-au-Prince to Orlando on a C-17.

Inside a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, 186 evacuees are transported Jan. 17, 2010 from the Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Orlando, Florida. The aircraft departed early Sunday morning from McChord Air Force Base in Washington, then stopped to load extra supplies at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia before landing in Haiti.

Rose Carmelle Henry(cq) holds her daughter Chloe Michaelle Henry(cq), 3 months, while being transported with 186 evacuees inside a C-17 January 17, 2010 from the Port-au-Prince to Orlando.

Michele Germain and her daughter Neyssa Germain, 9, rest while being transported with 186 evacuees inside a C-17 from Port-au-Prince to Orlando. Germain said she works with World Vision, and was in the office when the earthquake hit. “The city is so devastating,” she said.

Police transport a woman out of a C-17 with other evacuees Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. Around 186 individuals were evacuated from the Port-au-Prince airport on the mission.

Airmen from the 62nd Airlift Wing help finalize the takeoff early Sunday morning of two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from McChord Air Force Base, near Tacoma. The C-17s will pick up cargo and deliver it to Haiti and return stateside with evacuees.

Master Sgt. Chris Haylett, a media escort, sleeps while flying from McChord Air Force Base towards Virginia Sunday, Jan. 17th, 2010 on one of two C-17 Globemaster III transports. The aircraft is delivering relief cargo to earthquake victims in Haiti.

We departed McChord Air Force Base at 2 a.m. Sunday, strapped inside the belly of a roaring C-17. Veteran Seattle Times reporter Hal Bernton sat nearby, as well as the familiar faces of a handful of Northwest journalists. We were all following an Air Force humanitarian mission, designed to assist Haitians affected by last week's 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Feeling the shake of takeoff, I was a little nervous, unsure of what was to come.

We knew the aircraft would pick up supplies from Virginia's Langley Air Force Base and deliver them to Haiti. But it wasn't until later the Air Force confirmed our mission also was to evacuate a group of Haitians with ties to America, either through citizenship or residency.

While flying from Washington state to Virginia, we reached for our blankets and sleeping bags inside the cold cargo bay, hoping to catch a few hours' sleep. When we arrived at Langley, the first of our four stops, crews loaded more than 100,000 pounds of equipment and a team of Army soldiers into the aircraft. A few hours later, at sunset, the C-17 landed on the Port-au-Prince tarmac. The crew started to unload the cargo. We peeled off our layers, inhaled the hot, humid air and went outside.

Directly in front of us, dozens of men swiftly unloaded supplies from Digicel, a major mobile-phone company in Haiti that was damaged in the quake. In the other direction, I was stunned to see a line of hundreds of people that snaked around the Toussaint Louverture International Airport.

Under a red-and-white-striped tent, we met a mother in a wheelchair clutching her baby. The woman had been buried for three hours in rubble, and lost four family members in the earthquake, including a son and her own mother. Around her, families comforted their children. A young woman gently poured liquid into her sick father's mouth. The bluish mountains in the distance turned to black as night fell.

We spent less than just a couple of hours at the airport before evacuees were lined up to board the plane. Crew members carried and wheeled up the sick and elderly. I met a son and his injured mother, Leanne Civil, when they were trying to find her seat belt. Leanne's head was wrapped in white gauze, and both of her feet were injured. Her son accidentally bumped her leg. She groaned. He apologized profusely, wiping his mother's face with his T-shirt. I'm not sure if he was wiping away dirt, sweat or tears.

More than 180 evacuees filled the plane. The seats were saved for those who needed them most. The rest of the evacuees sat in rows on the floor of the cargo area, banded together with a thick white safety strap. To move from the back to the front of the aircraft, I carefully tiptoed thought a sea of people. I found an open spot near the front of the cargo bay, where I had enough room to sit cross-legged.

Behind me, Lucnie Gustave held her two children, daughter Luznie and son Chris Ryan. Gustave, who is studying medicine, said she was in a classroom when the earthquake hit. Her home was damaged, but she had access to food — a banana tree in her back yard.

"I lost many things," she said. "I don't have money now."

Her children are American citizens. Gustave wasn't sure when she will return to Haiti. Maybe in seven months, she said, to repair her home. She asked if I was on Facebook. Since returning from the trip, I've sent her a friend request and we've been trading messages online.

This experience floored me. Going into this mission, I was not sure how much we would see or how long we would be at the airport. It was the first time I had met people who may have been suffering with thirst and hunger. Crew members told us not to chew gum or take out any food and water during the flight because we did not have enough to go around. A couple of evacuees asked if there was water available. It was difficult to respond when I knew there were two or three unopened bottles in my backpack.

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Covering this story also reminded me that now, more than ever, we're a global community, that America and other countries have a vested interest in what's happening in Haiti.

This is a catastrophe of massive scale. As of now, the death toll is estimated at 200,000 -- more than 100 times that of Hurricane Katrina, and approaching the loss of life caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

I think it's important to keep following Haiti's story, to help and give where we can, and not turn our gaze as time goes on.

I'm writing this back in Seattle, late at night, in my bed. And, I'm thinking about all the people in Haiti who weren't lucky enough to get on that C-17.

Wyoming

2010-01-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

One of my closest childhood friends grew up on a farm outside of Riverton, Wyoming.

We spent many days swinging below giant cottonwoods that surround their farmhouse, exploring the fields with her younger sister and jumping off the nearby railroad bridge into the Wind River.

Halee always ran around barefoot. Could corner carp between sandbars, and cradle them with her arms. Loved snakes, owned tarantulas and is one heckuva artist.

I usually catch up with her once or twice a year. It’s one of the best parts of going home.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago, while taking a few portraits of her outside of her new digs in Riverton.

Halee, Riverton, Wyoming

Dad, Sinks Canyon.

Rabbit tracks, Sinks Canyon.

Sinks Canyon.

Limestone Cliffs, Sinks Canyon

Fran's journey to find a home.

2009-12-14T14:43:00.000-08:00

It was her husband's death. A pink slip. Then, a severe illness.

Forces out of Fran McKinzie's control left her without a home at the age of 56.

She called The Sophia Way, the only staffed overnight women's shelter in East King County. The program, just starting its second year, provides a structured path for women to gain overnight shelter, support services and a subsidized apartment until she is ready to be on her own.

The process takes time, and is a journey for its participants.

Wrapped in a wool blanket, Fran McKinzie, 56, rests while on the bench outside The Sophia Way overnight shelter at the Bellevue First Congregational Church. Between the few hours when the day center closes, and the overnight shelter opens, McKinzie sometimes waits for hours in cold, trying to keep warm.

Fran McKinzie, 56, holds a blanket given to her by a loved one inside her temporary room at a home for women provided by The Sophia Way. The program briefly placed McKinzie into a room of her own to help her recover from a serious illness.

Fran McKinzie felt mixed feelings returning to the overnight shelter, although there are plans to soon place her into an apartment of her own.

A room of Fran's own provided her with privacy, something she desired, even if it was only temporary.

Fran McKinzie touches her swollen ankle inside her temporary room at The Sophia Way house for women. Along with multiple illnesses, Fran sprained her ankle and needed a walker to transport herself around the house and Bellevue.

Fran McKinzie walks onto the porch of one of The Sophia Way homes for women, where she stayed in for a few weeks recuperating.

The Sophia Way model provides opportunities for homeless women to make sustainable changes for their future. The women in the program come from a variety of backgrounds— widows, domestic violence victims, those with illness and the working poor.

Fran McKinzie rests while on the bench outside of The Sophia Way overnight shelter at the Bellevue First Congregational Church.

The Sophia Way overnight shelter is based in the heart of downtown Bellevue. Located across Lake Washington from Seattle, Bellevue is known for it's wealth and business sector.

Fran McKinzie pushes her walker near the Symetra Financial Center, located across from The Sophia Way in downtown Bellevue.

Fran McKinzie visits the Symetra Financial Center when she needs to warm up, use the restroom or find a smoke. Fran said spending time in the building, sometimes watching a little television in the lobby, feels luxurious.

Exhausted after a long day, Fran McKinzie, rests in the lobby of the Symetra Financial Center. McKinzie sometimes visits the building, and sits in the lobby to warm up from the cold. Wanting to respect the occupants of the building, she tries to not stay for too long.

Inside the Bellevue First Congregational Church, Reghann Redlin, with Seven salon, styles Karen Paige-Dash’s hair during The Sophia Way hair and fashion night. Three stylists from the salon volunteered their time and talent to provide The Sophia Way women with new hairdos. Fran asked for a Christmas tree to be shaved in the back of her head.

The women at the overnight shelter keep some of their belongings in lockers.

Fran McKinzie carries down her mattress before going to bed at The Sophia Way overnight shelter in downtown Bellevue. Before coming to The Sophia Way, Fran stayed with friends and family members.

Fran McKinzie prepares for bed at The Sophia Way overnight shelter in downtown Bellevue. The shelter serves eight women at a time so each woman has personalized attention.

Fran McKinzie, 56, wraps herself in blankets before going to sleep at The Sophia Way overnight shelter. The Sophia Way is the only staffed overnight shelter in the Bellevue and East King County area that provides for single adult women. Fran said she looks forward to one day having an apartment of her own.

Click here to read Nicole Tsong's article about The Sophia Way for The Seattle Times.
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Four Lakewood Police Officers Killed

2009-12-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

Early Sunday morning, four police officers were shot and killed at coffee shop in Parkland, Washington while working on their laptops. A massive manhunt ensued through Tacoma and Seattle until Maurice Clemmons, the suspect, was killed by police Tuesday in South Seattle. The officers, three men and one woman, were in their late 30s and early 40s. They leave behind children, and grieving families.

This story is complex and tragic. I've been proud how our paper has followed this story, online and in print.

Below, are some images from the last few days.

Cadet Baz, with Pierce County Sheriff’s department, checks people in and out of the crime scene Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland, Washington where four police officers were shot to death Sunday morning inside Forza Coffee at 14401 Steele Street South.

An individual walks near the scene of the crime near Parkland, Washington where four police officers were shot to death Sunday morning inside Forza Coffee. Different agencies vehicles were parked on Steele St. S, leading to the coffee shop.

Officers talk near the corner of Steele St. S and 112 St. S. Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland after four police officers were shot to death.

Tacoma Police Officers wait outside of a gas station on the corner of Steele St. S and 112 St. S near Parkland. The officers said they were off-duty, and came to help. They said they will likely help escort the bodies out of the crime scene.

Tacoma Police Officer John Parkes talks with other officers outside of a gas station on the corner of Steele St. S and 112 St. S near Parkland. The officers said they were off-duty, and came to help. They said they will likely help escort the bodies out of the crime scene.

Christina Hood, 29, and her boyfriend Josh Horton, 30, watch officers investigate Evergreen Self-Storage Sunday, Nov. 29th near Parkland. They are residents of The Willows apartments, located across the street from Evergreen.

Armed sheriff officers investigate Evergreen Self-Storage Sunday, Nov. 29th near Parkland.

Residents of The Willows apartments watch armed officers investigate Evergreen Self-Storage Sunday, Nov. 29th near Parkland.

Pierce County Sheriff officers turn onto on Steele St. South Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland.

Individuals watch armed officers investigate Evergreen Self-Storage from The Willows apartments Sunday, Nov. 29th near Parkland. (From right) Trudie Overby(cq), 44, and her mother Lee Stanley(cq), 61, both residents, said they were shocked and sad to hear about the shooting.

Norma Africa, who lives nearby the scene of the crime, watches fire trucks prepare for the procession that transported the bodies of four slain police officers Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland, Washington.

Beverly Elhare(cq) waits for the procession for the four slain police officers to begin on the corner of Steele St. S and 112 St. S. Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland

Fire fighters put up a large American flag for the procession for four Lakewood police officers Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland, Washington.

Merissa McCreary, 19, and her fiancée Matthew LaLonde, 19, wait for the procession to begin for four slain police officers to begin on the corner of Steele St. S and 112 St. S. Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland.

Fire fighters prepare to raise the flag for the procession for the four slain police officers Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 near Parkland, Washington.

Central Pierce Fire and Rescue Captain A. Dulas(cq) salutes during the procession that transported the bodies of four slain police officers from where they were killed in Parkland, Washington to the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office in Tacoma. The procession includes police, fire and medical examiner's vehicles.

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Gudrun Olsen(cq), 93, watches police activity from behind the gate of her home Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 in Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood. Officers continued to investigate a home on East Superior Street, a few houses away from Olsen, connected with the Maurice Clemmons manhunt.

An officer exits the home on 3804 E Superior Street connected with the Maurice Clemmons manhunt Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 in Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood.

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(On right) Deputy Paula Bates, with the King County Sheriff Department, visits the memorial outside the Lakewood Police Department Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009.

Correction officer Champion, with the Fife Police, walks toward the memorial outside of the Lakewood Police Department after helping with the procession Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 that transported the four slain Lakewood Police Officers from the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office to Mountain View Funeral Home.

(from left) Todd Roggenkamp and other members of the Mercer Island Police Department bring flowers to the Lakewood Police Department memorial to show their solidarity with the police community and their support for the slain officers.

The flag flies at half-staff Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 outside of the Lakewood Police Department. Father Tryphon, of Vashon Island, came to the memorial to show his support for those affected by the tragedy.

“This has impacted every police department in the country,” Father Tryphon said. “None of these people are going to feel like they can relax anymore.”

Jennifer Whetstine tears up while writing in one of four notebooks memorializing the four slain officers Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 outside of Forza Coffee, where the killings occurred last Sunday morning. Whetstine said she knew all four officers.

Individuals, including Monica Hart, (in front in white) pay their respects to the four slain officers Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 outside of Forza Coffee, where four officers were killed Sunday morning. Notebooks lay out for people to write down their thoughts and prayers.

From Bottom Left, going Clockwise: Ronald Owens, Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Greg Richards.

Jeff Burch, and his son Ben, pay their respects to the four slain officers Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009 outside of Forza Coffee, where four officers were killed Sunday morning.

Nutcracker Ballet Partial Dress Rehearsal

2009-11-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

Liora Reshef, 21, and fellow dancers warm up backstage before performing in a partial dress rehearsal Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at McCaw Hall. The Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker will run from Nov. 27 until Dec. 30.

Within a dimly-lit backstage, dancers prepare to perform in the partial dress rehearsal.

Maggie Mullin, 20, bobby-pins her hat to her hair before dancing.

A ballet dancer moves from off to on-stage during the program.

Shamber Goldstein, 12, and members of the tan infantry, prepare backstage before dancing

At the end of the Act 1, dancers perform in the snowflake scene, seen backstage, during a partial dress rehearsal

Jim Gable, who works in props, sweeps up the fake snow after the snowflake scene during a partial dress rehearsal at McCaw Hall.

Dancers wait for their time onstage in the wings of McCaw Hall.

Mice costumes are stored backstage in McCaw Hall during the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker. The sets and costumes were designed by Maurice Sendak.

Laura Gilbreath, as the Peacock, watches the performance behind the curtain at a partial dress rehearsal of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker.

The peacock dances during an evening dress rehearsal of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker.

Young performers watch other dancers during an evening dress rehearsal of the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker.

Dancers leave the wings of the backstage.

Backstage Red

2009-11-17T00:33:00.000-08:00

One of the cast members of Seattle Semi-Pro applies her lipstick in the basement of a Capitol Hill club before the show.
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Earlier this year, I photographed the Seattle Semi-Pro wrestlers on the closing night of their show circut. For several years, they performed in Capitol Hill circles, creating a small, but dedicated cult following. A disgruntled banana (a former wrestler upset with the troupe) eventually called the state's Department of Licensing. The DOL ruled the wrestlers were defined under "sports entertainment," and were subject to safety regulations, high fees and needed medical personnel at the shows. Seattle Semi-Pro argued they were not "real" wrestlers, but "fight-cabaret," more theater than athletics. Will the band of wrestlers return in another form? Recently I heard it might resurrect in another form, but time will tell.

Wheat Harvest Blossoms

2009-11-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

Earlier this autumn, The Seattle Times sent business reporter Melissa Allison and I to a small town outside of Spokane, Washington for an article about our state's wheat farmers.

Fred Fleming's wheat farm and 32 other Pacific Northwest farms banded together a few years ago, calling themselves Shepherd's Grain, to capitalize on the growing interest in locally produced food.

They market their flour directly to area bakeries and others, bypassing the global commodity market's unpredictable prices.

The Shepard's Grain farmers practice no-till farming, meaning they don't plow to kill weeds and aerate the soil. They plant on top of stubble from the last harvest, saving tractor fuel and giving the topsoil something to hold onto when the rains come.

Ever tasted one of Cupcake Royal's little frosted wonders? They're made with Shepard's Grain wheat. Familiar with Hot Lips Pizza in Portland? They were Shepard's Grain first customer.

For a Wyoming girl, this kind of assignment is a small slice of heaven. The rural towns east of the Cascades remind me of home. The pace is a little slower. The horizon stretches for miles on every side. Light is bright. The land is arid. The farmers are kind. I am able to breathe a little deeper.

Garrett Ziebell, 19, helps unload wheat during the harvest this month at E&F Farm, owned by Fred Fleming, near Reardan in Lincoln County. Fleming helped start Shepherd's Grain, an alliance of Pacific Northwest farmers who practice sustainable farming.

A road cuts through the countryside of wheat farms near Reardan, Washington.

Wheat is transferred to the silos at Nollmeyer Farm.

Garrett Ziebell, 19, rests during the wheat harvest at Fred Fleming's E&F Farm near Reardan, Wash.

Jim Nollmeyer walks toward a combine while harvesting near Reardan, Washinton. Nollmeyer changed to sustainable farming after witnessing the soil erosion caused by conventional farming methods.

Wheat fields are pictured at E&F Farm near Reardan, Wash.

Clifford Abell, 19, helps unload the wheat from the transport trucks near Reardan, Washington.

Soft White Spring wheat, a class of wheat, pours into a bed of a transport truck near Reardan, Wash.

Wheat fields can be seen out the windows of an abandoned farm house near Reardan, Wash.

Connor Palmen, 5, plays at Fred Fleming's E&F wheat farm during a dinner break in the fields near Reardan, Wash. His stepfather Jason Echelbarger, will likely take on the next generation of wheat farming at E&F Farm.

A truck rumbles down the road, transporting wheat from the combines to the storage facilities during harvest near Reardan, Wash.

Jim Nollmeyer, a longtime wheat farmer, climbs into a combine.

Click here, to read Melissa's story on The Seattle Times' website.
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Northern Arizona

2009-11-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

Grey Mountain, artwork by Chip Thomas

Copyright/Chip Thomas

Chip Thomas, a self-taught photographer and a long-time physician on the Navajo Reservation, has been documenting rural Arizona with his camera for more than a dozen years.

Thomas’ interest in guerrilla and public art sparked during his sabbatical to Brazil earlier this year.

When he returned from the trip, he debated how to introduce street art to an indigenous culture with little tradition in public art.

Since last June — Thomas and a few friends have been wheat-pasting huge, photocopied, printmaking prints and photographs of Navajo iconography. They attached them to old buildings and water tanks.

Now, in quasi-public spaces you can see elders, code talkers, sheep, corn and coyotes. There are images of a wedding, bronc buster, and, even peyote flowers in bloom.

During a recent visit to Flagstaff, photographer Gary O’Brien invited me on a drive to Grey Mountain to see Thomas’ artwork. O'Brien, with the Charlotte Observe, creates amazing panoramic photo composites. (Below, there is a link to his work.)

To see more of Chip Thomas’ photos and Navajo guerilla art:
www.speakingloudandsayingnothing.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8883932@N02/4027649839/in/photostream/
Bitter Springs: Time lapse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRltQIMJ70Q
http://www.chipthomasphotography.com/
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Gary O’Brien: http://garyobrien.com/

Grey Mountain, Sheep and Photographer Gary O'Brien

Grey Mountain

Wupatki, looking towards the Painted Desert.

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Returning to Flagstaff and to NAU feels like coming home. For a few days, I was invited to help with Peter Schwepker's photojournalism classes and their homecoming project. For me, that's a huge honor. Peter has been the heart and soul of NAU's photo-j program. And, without a doubt, he's the reason why I'm a photographer today.

He's the type of professor that will stay up helping his students until the wee hours the morning. He will write his students dozens of letters of recommendation. He believes documentary photojournalism is done with the heart, as much as the eyes. There are many of us grads who are thankful for his efforts.

Highway 89, hills.

Wupatki, brush.

San Francisco Mountains, looking south.

Cuba

2009-10-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

In central Havana, old American autos called "maquinas" pass through a popular corridor where Cubans pick up rides and avoid the crowded city bus system.

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Click here for The Seattle Times link.

It was midnight when we finally arrived in Havana this past March, not sure what to expect. Two journalists, my partner and I had come to Cuba to see what life is like for the average person now, half a century after Fidel Castro's communist revolution.

While thousands of Americans have been coming here illegally through Mexico, Canada or the Bahamas, we joined a stream (more than 47,000 in 2008) who received special licenses from the U.S. government to go to Cuba despite the restrictions imposed on the country in the aftermath of the revolution.

We traveled light — staying in the homes of ordinary Cubans who pay heavy taxes to be in a highly regulated government program to house foreign visitors. And we counted our money carefully, because credit cards are not really an option for Americans, and banks can close for hours at a moment's notice.

In the city, we joined rivers of people on the streets in a cacophony of singing and shouting, laughing and chatting. We drank coffee and ate greasy "cajitas" of pork, rice and tomatoes. In rural areas, it seemed calmer. People waved, smiled and stared. At a splendid beach, a man watched our bikes, then took us home to eat octopus and read our fortunes from shells. In a small village near a river, fishermen fed us rum and fresh fish.

What we discovered was a Cuba both charming and jarring, a nation of vast contradictions. Of splendor and decay, energy and torpor, hope and cynicism.

In the teeming capital of Havana, beautiful chunks of its architectural history are falling into ruin. Despite some restoration efforts, especially in the old part of town, the city's skeleton of intricate stone and concrete is crumbling from time and weather, neglect and lack of money.

Yet, the city pulsates.

The sounds of music, pirated television and the banter of multigenerational families pour out from balconies and windows. At dusk, the drumming and singing of Afro-Cuban Santería followers spills into the street — the hypnotic beat filling the warm spring air. They dance to Yemayá, a goddess who represents life and the sea.

Across town, classic American cars cruise down Havana's narrow, crowded corridors, puffing out heavy, black fumes. At the right corners, fleets of those big cars — Cubans call them "maquinas" or machines — form a cheap alternative to government transit systems.

Here, life seems to be lived in or within view of the street, with few barriers between citizens and the curious eyes of foreigners. Some Cubans, the hustlers, take full advantage of that.

Psst! Psst! "Do you need a room?" . . . "Want to buy cigars?" . . . "Go on a horse ride?"

Others take it even further. At a dingy diner late at night, three Australian tourists — middle-aged men with faded tattoos — buy drinks for Cuban women half their age. The girls accept.

Across the street, on the fabled Malecón, lovers canoodle.

There is very little advertising. Only billboards reminding people of the revolution and its many "victories" for the nation. Still, the economy is fragile. People seem to rely on an informal mix of bartering, part-time jobs and making a few pesos off the tourists to provide for their families.

Cubans boast that literacy rates are high, and that college and health care are free and housing is nearly so.

But shortages, breakdowns, blackouts and long lines are common. The wife of one foreigner living in Havana complained potatoes were not available for three months.

Yet while people sometimes go without, no one starves.

The country is also secure. Unlike Mexico or many Central American countries, drugs are not ravaging the land; it feels safe to stroll the streets, even at night.

In March, Cubans were eager to hear about the new American president. Many asked if he would lift the restrictions, saying that could help them earn more money.

President Obama did open the door, lifting the limits on both how much money Cuban-Americans can send home and how often they can visit.

Will more change come? Who knows?

Castro has survived American sanctions, Soviet abandonment and more. But time is something he cannot escape. When he and his brother are gone, Cubans will face the task of setting the course for the next 50 years.

One thing seems certain: their resilience and resourcefulness will abide.

***

Friends dance at the Valmaceda family's house for their daughter's 23rd birthday party in Trinidad. The girls danced for hours to the deep, pulsating, urban beat of reggaeton. Music is everywhere in Cuba — from traditional folk songs to Mexican rancheras and Cuban hip-hop.

At the Casa Templo de Santería Yemayá, in the town of Trinidad, followers celebrate their saint's anniversary. Drummers and dancers surrounded a large altar adorned with cakes, fruit, cigars and rum. The Santería religion — a blend of traditions from Catholicism and West African beliefs — is widely practiced in the country.

In the small town of Casilda, men line up to refill beer in their plastic bottles. On the streets, it's often BYOB, as in bring your own bottle, to fill with beer or lemonade.

White cloths hang to dry in an apartment complex in Havana Vieja, the old part of town. Throughout the country, linens, sheets and dresses wave in the breeze.

Yenisey Lopez, 32, left, and Arletis Oliva Juvier, 18, sway in rocking chairs at a Hogar Materno in the town of Trinidad. Earlier this year, 26 women with high-risk pregnancies or special needs were living at the maternity home. Their care is free of charge; they stay until their children are born.

Arletis Oliva Juvier, 18, rests with her nephew at the Hogar Materno in Trinidad.

Two young members of a wedding party wait in the entrance of the Palacio de los Matrimonios near the Prado promenade in the capital of Havana. Until the recent worldwide economic downturn, newlyweds received gifts of cake, rum and a honeymoon hotel room from the Cuban government.

The José Martí Memorial offers 360 degree views of Havana. Old and Central Havana are shown, above.

The Ministry of Interior Defense Building displays Che and the slogan "Hasta la Victoria Siempre." The Vedado neighborhood, where American East Coast mafia reigned before the revolution, can be seen, behind. The neighborhood houses the The University of Havana, the Plaza de la Revolucion and Havana's most renowned cemetery.

There is very little advertising in Cuba. Instead, there political messages are scribed across the countryside commemorating the country, its leaders, people and its history.

In central Havana, neighbors watch the Cuban national team play Japan during the World Baseball Classic this past March. In this baseball-crazed country, Cubans have tuned into their television sets to watch their beloved players compete with teams from around the world. With beer, tobacco and rum in hand, these fans say they've watched every game Cuba has played.

A television broadcasts the World Baseball Classic this past March.

(From left) Anna Crespo, 72, greets Anna Videl, 82, in Havana Vieja.

Teenage boys play basketball in their school uniforms at a playground in Havana Vieja.

Bus station, Trinidad. The bus from Havana to Trinidad is about a six hour journey by bus.

A man smokes in a second-story balcony in Havana Vieja. The neighborhood is the oldest in the city, with a population of around 70,000 people.

Clothes hang to dry in Havana Vieja.

Santería worshipers dance during their saint Yemayá's anniversary at the Casa Templo de Santería Yemayá in Trinidad. Drummers and dancers surrounded a large altar adorned with cakes, fruit, cigars and rum. Yemayá is the goddess of life and the sea.

A sign for the CDR, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, is displayed in Central Havana. The CDR began in the 1960s as a neighborhood watch network aiming to unite grassroots support for the revolution. Today, it still plays an active role in Cuban society.

Juaqina Pinillo poses for a portrait outside her apartment in Havana.

Cubans play soccer in Havana with makeshift goals. Although baseball shines as the national pastime — volleyball, handball, soccer, basketball and martial arts can be seen practiced throughout Havana.

Old American classics can be seen throughout Cuba. Many have modern stereos rigged inside, blaring beats.

A portrait of Cuban mason is taken inside of the room where he keeps his building supplies. We saw a handful large renewal projects during our visit. Havana Vieja was added to the Unesco World Heritage list in the early 1980s. However, many buildings crumble because of time, weather, neglect and lack of money.

Bus station, Trinidad.

Rocking chair in doorway in Havana Vieja.

At certain corners and corridors, Cubans can pick up an inexpensive ride across Havana in "maquinas" or machines.

This fleet of old American cars form a cheap alternative to government transit systems.

A batter stands at home plate during a baseball game outside of Trinidad.

A group of young men play baseball on the outskirts of Trinidad.

A group of young men play baseball on the outskirts of Trinidad.

Pedestrians walk through the town of Trinidad. Numerous buildings in the small town have been preserved with UNESCO funding.

Young girl, in Trinidad,Cuba.

Trinidad, Cuba.

Trinidad, Cuba.

In the evenings, it seemed that Cubans often gather outside their homes or stores to shoot the breeze. In the tiny fishing town of Casilda, with one main road, dozens of people chatted away, including these little girls. The town was rocked by the 2005 hurricane season.

A truck with workers drives through the arid Sancti Spiritus Province.

Adriana Gonzales, 8, swims near her hometown of La Boca. Her uncle, a fisherman, works by boat early in the morning and then again in the evening. Her home is modest. Yet, many members of her immediate family live within a few houses. She smiles and sings often.

Fisherman prepare their nets for a night of fishing outside of La Boca, in the Sancti Spiritus Province.

At sunset, fishermen prepare for an evening of fishing at the mouth of a river in the Sancti Spiritus Province. With lanterns, the men fish late into the night.

***

Thanks to photographer Laura Gordon, of SFO, for all of her help and expertise. Laura has helped me and other shooters gain access and navigate Cuba. Also, luvs to my boyfriend Manuel, for being my travel partner, writing-coach and interpreter extraordinaire when my Spanish is terrible. Also, big thanks to the ladies at 'Pacific.

Manuel on a rural beach.

A friend took us home to feed us octopus and read Manuel's fortune with shells.

Manuel gave out disposable cameras to Cubans — moms, children, fisherman, masons— during our travels.

One little girl looks over his shoulder.

Dairon Amaya Berrio begins to photograph

Juaqina Pinillo grabs a camera, too.

All images and text copyright Erika Schultz and/or The Seattle Times

Burundi Refugee Farmers

2009-09-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

What do you do as a refugee in America with few career skills? The Seattle-area Burundians, including Adirine Ntirabampa, turned to the land. She and others pick bean leaves, which some African cultures consider a delicacy.

Ranito Simbagoye weeds the corn crop in late summer. With many hands pitching in for the good of the community, corn will soon be ready for harvest.

Workers often spend their days in stooped labor at the Hope Burundian Community Cooperative farm in Kent. At night, some go to dish washing jobs or take classes in English as a second language. Others, unable to speak English, haven't found paying jobs.

Celestine Sibomana, farm manager, works with potatoes at the Hope Burundian Community Cooperative Farm in Kent. The land has not been certified organic, but the workers are using organic methods.

Njambi Gishuru, a Kenyan immigrant, helped the Burundians adjust and resettle here. "I can't begin to tell you where we started," she said. "There was a lot of fear, hopelessness."

All day trucks rumble past the Burundians' farm, a plot of agricultural land in a sea of warehouses in the Kent Valley. Celestine Sibomana, farm manager, works in the field.

Members of the Hope Burundian Community Cooperative harvest potatoes in Kent.

Farming on the urban fringe may seem odd. But any further away, and the Burundians would have a lot more trouble getting there. Farm manager Celestine Sibomana travels every day by bike. Others come by bus or walk. Only a few members of the community own cars.

Hakizimana listens to farm manager Celestine Sibomana (at center) during a community meeting, held every three months. The refugees work together to solve group problems. If someone can't make rent, others will chip in to help.

(from left) Serges Hakizimana(cq), 29, shakes hands with Barutanzaro Ntahondi(cq), 70, after a Burundian community meeting at a Tukwila apartment. Serges lead a ceremony that honored farm workers with gifts for their hard work and dedication. Most of the workers received soap, while one man received a bike.

The Seattle-area Burundians view themselves as a family, making plans and trying to solve problems together. Speciose Barera braids the hair of Phoebe Niyongabire, 4, during a community meeting this summer.

(From left) Jenifer Niyishobora talks with Grace Nyabenda, vice president of Hope Burundian Community Cooperative. Nyabenda is also the leader for the women in Burundian community.

Grace Nyabenda, vice president of the Hope Burundian Community Cooperative, listens during the community meeting while holding her daughter Josephine Nishobora, 3.

At a recent community meeting, children quietly played while the adults discussed business. Here, Odax Manirakiza takes a break to cuddle with his daughter Mary Manirakiza, 4.

The Burundian community meeting closes with a prayer.

With temperatures topping 100 degrees in August, the Burundians struggled to keep the crops alive, spending hours watering their acreage by hand.

Beans, planted scattershot instead of in rows, were somewhat of an experiment. Adirine Ntirabampa collects the leaves, which will mostly be used for family consumption.

During the heat wave, it looked for awhile like the crops might not make it. Earlier this summer, Domisio Baragenya waters by hand.

Members of the Burundian "Hosanna" Choir, including Diana Ndayahundina (second from left) and Violet Mfisumukiza (third from left), sing during their weekly practice at the Angle Lake Neighborhood Church. The group performs for some Sunday services.

Serges Hakizimana, leader of the Hope Burundian Community Cooperative, leads a meeting after the choir practice. Hakizimana said he would like to become a spiritual leader sometime in the future.

The Seattle-area Burundians are Pentecostal Christians who worship at the Angle Lake Neighborhood Church in SeaTac. Clockwise from right, Violet Mfisumukiza, Diana Ndayahundina and Serges Hakizimana pray for Roger Kabura, bottom right.

Violet Mfisumukiza carries her baby while practicing dance steps and songs with the Burundian "Hosanna" choir.

Mary Manirakiza, 4, carries her doll like Burundian mothers, wrapped on her back.

Finally, it's harvest time. Hakizimana digs up one of the farm's first potatoes, in mid-September. But with a potential for thousands of pounds of produce, they still have no way to haul it to the farmers markets.

With experience as an agriculture supervisor, Celestine Sibomana was chosen to oversee the farm.

(From left) Adirine Ntirabampa and Speciose Barera pick some of the beans at the farm in Kent.

After helping to set up the produce stand, Odax Manirakiza rests. Manirakiza works at the farm and at a West Seattle Goodwill.

Under the shade tree they jokingly call "the office," Roger Kabura cleans off his feet after a day's work. Their aim is to be self-sufficient next year.

To read Maureen's written story about the Burundian farmers: http://tiny.cc/Nma9z

North Cascades National Park

2009-09-07T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sitka Valerian blooms in heather meadows on the trail to Cascade Pass in North Cascades National Park.

Tree canopy opens up midway on the trail to Cascade Pass.

Bronze bells, on trail to Cascade Pass

Footbridge in lush lowlands, at the start of the to Easy Pass

Columbine, on route to Cascade Pass.

Easy Pass, North Cascades National Park.
(The name of this hike is misleading. Strenuous Pass or Kick Your Ass Pass would be a much more appropriate title.)

Devil’s club leaf grows in the lowland forests on the trail to Cascade Pass

Talus Fields, like this one near Easy Pass, provides habitat for pikas.

Cascade Pass summit, North Cascades National Park

Ravenna Kibbutz

2009-08-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Clustered around Seattle's North End synagogues, there are three intentional living communities for young Jewish adults.

The Ravenna Kibbutz started in 2007, inspired by other local cohousing arrangements as much as the socialist Israeli collective farms of old, the kibbutz has rapidly become a magnet for Jewish young adults moving to Seattle.

The houses are located just a few doors down from one another. The residents host weekly meals, as well as coffeehouse nights where friends play instruments. Rent is inexpensive so residents are able to focus on volunteering or other civic work.

It's about building community. It's about sharing their lives, and faith.

From left, Dane Kuttler, Larissa Brown and Kelly Hanna carry plates and bowls between the Ravenna Kibbutz houses preparing for the potluck Shabbat dinner held every week.

To read the article in The Seattle Times: http://tiny.cc/jEQ4j

Vava and the Japanese Antique Sale

2009-08-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Vava (my almost in high-school, diva-amiga) and I visited the Georgetown neighborhood in South Seattle. Every couple of months, we get together to catch up and explore Seattle with our cameras. After hitting a record shop/comic shop, we peeked into the old Rainier Brewery, now a labyrinth of weird working spaces and artist lofts. Inside one dark space, two men were unloading crates of Japanese antiques for an upcoming sale. Above, are a couple of photographs of tattered newspapers that were fixed on to the back of an old store counter top. A photo of Vava, and her fabulous wild hair, is in the middle.

Holga Dog Surf

2009-08-17T22:37:00.001-07:00

Awhile back, my boyfriend and I celebrated our two-year anniversary with a trip to the Oregon Coast. During our travels, we surfed for a day an Indian Beach at Ecola State Park. There, we met a wave warrior and his dog. The pup was pretty skilled, and likely stayed on the board longer than either of us. Above, are a few Holga frames of inspiration.

A big mamma tree, photographed through a lens baby.

Families exploring Seaside, Oregon.

Manuel number one, with a lens baby.

Manuel number two, with a lens baby. Isn't it fun to use his wonderful Christmas present?

Forest in Ecola State Park, with lens baby.

Ecola State Park viewpoint, looking north towards Indian Beach.

Purple wildflowers in Ecola State Park.

Perils and Pleasures of NW Picnicing

2009-08-10T12:14:00.001-07:00

From left: Melissa Geiss, 18, Theresa Hoey, 17, Anthony Galvan, 17, and friends roast marshmallows at Golden Gardens Park. With vistas of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound, the beach's fire pits are a popular hangout throughout the summer well into the Pacific Northwest's colder months.

Golden Gardens group, more likely focused on drink than food.

The Climbers Picnic includes the elements of picnics across America: meat cooked on an open grill.

Kate Berreth and Evan Anderson, right, cuddle near the grill in a shelter at Seattle's Golden Gardens Park with friends Allison Van Horn and Zach Davidson. The friends say they picnic often, but especially when it's nice out.

Allison Van Horn, 22, prepares her toast for a hot dog while grilling with friends at Golden Gardens.

Kate Berreth savors that picnic classic, fresh watermelon, on a cool May day.

Amelie Millard, 4, plays among the petals in the park next to the Columbia City Farmers Market in the Rainier Valley. Her family and friends join many others who picnic and play there in all kinds of weather.

Brooke Gerber-Perham, 6, and her father, Bruce Perham, snack on ice cream at the Columbia City Farmers Market, where the neighborhood festivities extend into the adjacent park.

Father Satish Devani, son Aakash Devani, mother Aarti Devani, grandmother Lilawati Kothawade and daughter Ketaki Devani picnic at Seward Park along Lake Washington. The family, originally from India, say they used to travel 50 miles outside of Mumbai to find an uncrowded place to picnic. Satish surprised his wife with the picnic after Aarti told him she wanted a day to feel close to nature.

Dan McComb and Lara Feltin picnic on the banks of Lake Washington at Seward Park, less than 50 feet from where they were married 4 and a half years ago.

To read Karen Gaudette's story, on picnicking culture in the Northwest visit:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2009407608_pacificpicnic05.html

Rattlesnake Lake

2009-07-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hannah Hale, right, holds Emma Mirka, 1, as her mother Brittney Heck takes a full-body plunge Monday evening in Rattlesnake Lake. The two best friends took Mirka swimming, because it was "too hot to do anything, but come to the lake," Heck said. The friends removed Mirka's diaper after it became waterlogged.

Alyssa Bristol, 8, of Snoqualmie, climbs on a tree stump Monday evening at Rattlesnake Lake. Bristol, her parents, grandmother and dog left their home to find some relief near the water.

Joey Beres, 21, and Devorah Gautschi(cq), 23, break while swimming in Rattlesnake Lake, near North Bend. Numerous stumps and logs can be found above, and below the surface of the lake.

Sunday evening the neighborhood

2009-07-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening, I had some time to myself.

So, I chilled with my chickens. Soon, hopefully, these 5-month old creatures will be laying eggs. My real goal, eggs aside, is for the girls to feel comfortable next to humans.

The man who sleeps in the park, next to our backyard fence, did kind of a neighborly act last night. He introduced himself. Asked about our two hens. Mentioned he fed them pork and beans. (Um, thanks?) But, thanked us for not calling the cops while he and his friends camped out for awhile.

A cobweb hands in chicken coop. Brave spider.

Chris retrieves a ball from the bamboo and vines during 'superbadassball' at the tennis courts.

Indian Beach Bride

2009-07-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ecola State Park, near Cannon Beach, Oregon, on a cloudy day.

Gemini Kelly's ice cream truck

2009-07-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

You hear Gemini Kelly's So Icy ice cream truck before you see it, the tinny music-box melodies ringing out like clarion calls to the people of the South Seattle neighborhoods on her route, jarring them off sofas and porches to form tight clusters in the street.

Because Kelly's rounds take her through stretches plagued by poverty, gang violence and broken homes, those sugar-rush-inducing tunes and dollar treats bring moments of much-needed levity.

The 33-year-old Kelly, a single mother of three whose own youth was a succession of hard knocks, can relate.

Kids refer to her warmly as the Ice Cream Lady, but she relishes her alternate role as curbside big sister.

"When they see this truck, they're smiling and laughing, but then they come up to you and they start crying: How do I tell them, 'Baby, it's gonna be OK?' " Kelly says. "I've had times that I've had to get out of the truck and cry with them."

"I give out a lot of hugs," she says. "I keep a box of Kleenex for the tears."

She also keeps freebies on hand for kids whose parents approach the truck with sad eyes that tell her, even before a word is uttered, they can't afford items on the menu.

"You have to go back in that house and carry the weight of the world, but for that one moment, you'll have one aspect of being a kid," Kelly says. "I remember running for the ice cream man. I remember what my mom went through when she wasn't able to get ice cream for me."

Kelly sees her job as not just a way to make a living but a kind of crusade.

And if sinking teeth into the cold depths of a Col. Crunch Strawberry Shortcake, her top seller, redeems one afternoon in a kid's ho-hum life, more power to Popsicles.

The Ice Cream Lady's motto is, "Restoring smiles, one Popsicle at a time."

By the end of the day, though, the biggest smile may be her own.

-By Tyrone Beason

Zombie portraits

2009-07-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

A few days ago in Fremont, a neighborhood near my casa, there was an attempt to secure the Guinness Book of Records largest zombie walk.

At first, I heard they didn't make the record. They were a few hundred shy. But, a friend recently posted they may have won the title.

I'll try to find out more. In the meantime, attached are a few zombie portraits.

These first ones— of Ally, 9, and Tanya, a Jem Zombie— I played around with blowing out my exposure. The next couple are shot with a fairly correct exposure against a white wall next to the registration line.

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And... the last image is a candid image from Fourth of July. I met up with a group of good friends, on Stone Way, to watch the fireworks over Gas Works Park. Before the explosions started, a group of kids tied down another with tape. It was too funny to pass.

Sports Fix

2009-06-29T23:10:00.001-07:00

During the last month and so, I've photographed quite a few more sporting events than usual for The Seattle Times. (I'm working the evening shift these days.) It's been good to have some challenges and variety. Below, are a few selects from the Rock 'N' Roll Seattle marathon, the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Sounders, and others.

Seattle’s Nate Jaqua (21) jumps into the crowd after scoring the second goal during the first half of game against the D.C. United.

Seattle’s Nate Jaqua(cq) (21) celebrates after scoring the second goal of the first half against the D.C. United.

Nate Jaqua(cq) (21) battles Andrew Jacobson (8) for the ball during the first half of the game against the D.C. United.

Seattle’s Sebastien Le Toux (9) drives the to the goal during the first half of Wednesday evening’s game against the D.C. United.

Sounders react to D.C United’s first goal in the first half.

Seattle’s James Riley(7) fights Chris Pontius (13) for the ball near during the first half of Wednesday evening’s game against the D.C. United

(second from right) Osvaldo Alonso (6) and teammates celebrate after he scored the first goal of Wednesday evening’s game against the D.C. United.

Jose Lopez (4) outs, then looses his balance as Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton (23) tries to make it to second base during the ninth inning Wednesday’s, July 8, 2009 game, at Safeco Field in Seattle. The Mariners lead most of the game, until the Orioles came from behind in the ninth inning and won the game 5-3.

Rhianna Clausen, 18, practices in Woodinville with Hot Dog USA, a world-renowned youth jump-roping team.

(from left) Colleen McCary, 23, Courtney McBroom, 20, and Stephanie Meece, 17, practice their double-dutch, 3-person freestyle.

Adrian Beltre (29) catches a pop fly resulting in a third-out during the San Diego Padres game Wed., June 24, 2009 at Safeco Field in Seattle.

Ichiro Suzuki (51) hits a single to left field during the second inning against the San Diego Padres Wed., June 24, 2009 at Safeco Field in Seattle.

Seattle’s Yuniesky Betancourt (7) hustles back to home plate as Adrian Gonzalez (23) catches a throw from the pitcher during the sixth inning Wed., June 24, 2009 at Safeco Field in Seattle.

Yuniesky Betancourt (7) slides into home plate and is called out during the second inning against the San Diego Padres Wed., June 24, 2009 at Safeco Field in Seattle.

UW’s Ashley Charters (11) celebrates an 11-3 win over ASU Saturday afternoon at Husky Softball Stadium. Charters is a two-time All-American, and she extended her hitting streak to 15 games.

Prairie teammates, of Battle Ground, react during Friday’s 3-A quarterfinal game against Mount Rainier in Tacoma. Mount Rainier won in nine innings 6-2.

Adam Peistrup, of Beaverton, Oregon, walks toward a long line of a portable toilets before the start of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon that began in Tukwila. Peistrup said the wait in line took around 10 minutes.

(from left) Jim Schaeffer and Matthieu Marescaux warm up before Saturday morning’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon that began in Tukwila.

Maria Rico, 28, dances with Zaphara’s Middle Eastern Belly Dancers at the starting line of Saturday morning’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon.

Melissa Dallman, 39, of Janesville, Wisc., takes a quick break before start of the Rock 'N' Roll Seattle marathon in Tukwila.

Runners wait in line for portable toilets before the start of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon that began in Tukwila.

Runners wait in line for portable toilets before the start of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon that began in Tukwila.

Meko Lawson(cq) dances and waves to runners during the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon. Lawson made a Jackson tribute with pictures, dancing and music near her South Seattle home on the marathon route.

Sheila Hildebrand, 47, of Brighton, Iowa, claps her hands to a Michael Jackson song while running through South Seattle during the Rock 'N' Roll Seattle marathon.

Runner Shannon Krueger jams with Dustin Shirley, of Creme Tangerine during the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon

Cups cover the ground at a hydration station on the route of Saturday morning’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon that began in Tukwila.

Robert Witham, of Port Angeles, watches for his wife on Saturday morning during the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon. Witham, waiting near Lake Washington, said he passed the time by people watching, listening to the bands and reading while his wife and daughter made it through the route.

Graciela Jones, 7, cheers on the runners who raced through her neighborhood with her mother, father and brother Saturday morning in South Seattle.

DJ Nphared jams with rapper Grynch, Rockwell Powers and 10th & Commerce Saturday morning on Lake Washington during the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon.

DJ Nphared jams with rapper Grynch, Rockwell Powers and 10th & Commerce Saturday morning on Lake Washington during the Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon.

Joe Poole rests before Saturday morning’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle marathon that began in Tukwila.

Hops

2009-06-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

Crecencio Estrada, at Champoux Farms.

Crecencio Estrada sharpens his machete while harvesting hops at Champoux Farms outside of Toppinish, Wash. The hop harvest begins in August and closes in early October. Washington is the largest supplier of hops in the United States, with 75 percent of our nation's hop acreage located in the Yakima Valley. Washington farmers increased their hop acreage by 25 percent in 2008 to meet a shortage from the previous year.

It's been months since my afternoon with Estrada and the fields, but I revisited the images and decided to post a few. It's fascinating to learn where things come from and whose hands have touched them before the finished product is distributed to the masses.

During the harvest, workers (mostly Mexican) use machetes to cut off the base of the hop vine. By unsecuring the plant, a tractor easily plucks the vines from a web of wires, held together by a forest of poles.

2009-06-02T23:38:00.001-07:00

Tai climbs to his bedroom with his blanket.

Volunteer Park Conservatory

Freeway Park sketch class

UW Rock Wall

Firefighters extinguish a fire at the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center in Everett.

Video

2009-05-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

In the last six months, I've had the opportunity to learn and produce a number of short videos for the The Seattle Times. It's been an awesome to experiment with different storytelling methods— combining video, audio, photographs, etc. I love, love, love the power of still image photography and photojournalism. That will never change.

But, it's been challenging and rewarding to shake up my world with some movement and sound. I'm still pretty new at all all of this, but, I'm starting to post several of my favorite videos. Most of the pieces are shot and produced within a day or two.

The historic Paramount Theatre presents silent movies with house organist Dennis James.

An all-female troupe of aerial performers practice in heart of Fremont.

Mak Fai Washington Kung Fu Club, led by Grand Master Hin Fai Mak, performs for the Lunar New Year celebration in the Chinatown-International District.

The Ruby Room

2009-05-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

Volunteer Charla Pereira, 32, gazes at Krystal Baker, 17, as she walks out of the dressing room and exclaims she found the perfect prom dress Saturday afternoon at The Ruby Room. “I tried it on and looked and myself and it was perfect,” she said.

It's the peak of prom season at The Ruby Room, a Capitol Hill nonprofit boutique where low-income teens can shop for free formal dresses.

A steady stream of high-schoolers, each matched with her own personal shopper, scoured the racks of gowns, shoes, purses, wraps and jewelry for the perfect ensemble.

By the end of the season, as many as 200 gowns will be given away.

"We treat these girls as clients, and their shopping experience is like any experience they have if they are shopping at Nordstrom," said Ann Tran, a volunteer personal shopper. "Deep down, we all want to feel like a princess or a movie star."

(center) Ann Tran helps Francheska Route (right), 18, find the perfect necklace to complement the dress Route will wear for her senior prom Rainier Beach High School. Tran, a volunteer, worked Route’s personal shopper in the boutique. After trying on strings of pearls, Route finally decided on a delicate gold chain with a small diamond.

Chelsey Kimball, 17, matches necklaces to prom dresses as her daughter Trinity Humphrey, 10 months, and her foster mother Mary Aykens watch alongside Saturday afternoon at the Ruby Room. Kimball, a senior at Discovery Alternative High School in Port Orchard, visited the Ruby Room for the first time this weekend. Volunteer and personal shopper, Ann Bensley, helps Kimball with her accessories.

Folklife

2009-05-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Each year, the Northwest Folklife Festival draws huge crowds — this year organizers were expecting 250,000 or so. One hall is dedicated to contra, square, zydeco, etc. Attached it an image from the contra crowd swinging to the tunes of Spare Thyme.

Found this image, taken months and months back, from a car-free day at Alki Beach.

Cherry-blossom trees at the beginning of their bloom.

Paul Bentley Wederski

2009-03-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

I have my very own Billy Elliott.

His name is Paul Bentley Wederski. He's the son of a directional oil driller. Lives in the country, 10 miles outside of town. He's one of the only a handful of boy ballet dancers in Fremont County, Wyoming.

He's sometimes shy when you first get to talking. But, soon you'll learn he wants to be an actor. A dancer. A world traveler. He played Elvis in his last school production. And, don't forget, he's going on 12 in May.

I found this picture from my last trip home. Love you, cuz. Keep on being you.
*

floods

2009-01-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

Buddy Chambers walks through the side door of his flooded mobile home earlier this month. Chambers, is long-time resident of the Wheel In Mobile Home Park near Tacoma, and drives trucks for a living. He lives with his partner Kelli and their cats.

Many towns throughout Western Washington were flooded the second week of January. Our photo staff was sent to several counties to cover sandbagging, evacuations, rising water and the aftermath. The first day out, my DOP Barry Fitzsimmons sent me to River Road, a stretch of unincorporated Pierce County outside of Tacoma and Fife. There, I met Buddy and Kelli. They own a mobile home, next to Clear Creek and the Puyallup River.

Buddy and Kelli went back to their flooded trailer to rescue their cats and grab a few clothes. It was Kelli's first time being flooded. Buddy said they do not have flood insurance because it is too expensive. Their neighbor Kurtis Wolfe helped them transport their pets by canoe.

x

***

The next day, in the town of Pacific, a flooded backyard didn’t deter Gianna Guerra, 10, (in red) and friends from jumping on the trampoline Friday at White River Estates. Guerra’s father transported her and her brother Christian Guerra Jr., 7, (behind in black) to the Hernandez home where they met their friends, including Chris Hernandez, 12, and Karina Hernandez, 10.

Snow

2008-12-22T14:52:00.000-08:00

Red. A grey day outside sometimes needs a little color.

2008-12-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

This was an image taken at the Ringling Bros. circus in Everett a few months ago.

*

black tie, behind the scenes

2008-12-11T17:54:00.000-08:00

- couple of photos that didn't run from the last PONCHO gala

Toes

2008-12-08T23:48:00.000-08:00

Portrait of Elisha

2008-11-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

Elisha Lancaster was the first child in Washington state to be "adopted" as an embryo. She is seen atop the family horse, Oso, who she often rides with her mother.

Cedar Park Assembly of God Church in Bothell is starting a new "embryo adoption" service, where couples who have gone through in vitro fertilization donate any leftover embryos to infertile couples. While that practice is, in itself, not particularly controversial, the question of what's to be done with some 400,000 frozen embryos in storage nationwide touches on some of the most controversial issues of the day, from abortion to embryonic stem-cell research.

Click here, to read Janet Tu's story and view our multimedia piece.

Elections 2008

2008-11-21T01:09:00.000-08:00

Rally for Sen. Joe in Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.

Gov. Christine Gregoire in the Governor's Mansion in Olympia.

Election Night

Street celebration on Capital Hill

Day after election, UW's Kappa Kappa Gamma house's traditional campaign sign prank.

All images Copyright Erika Schultz and/or The Seattle Times

Stumps

2008-10-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Vava, Manuel and I visited a nearby lake that has beautiful old tree stumps on its banks.

Leafs and Glaciers.

2008-10-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Today, Manuel and I hit the road for the North Cascades to hit a day hike above Marblemount. Gorgeous country. Beautiful day. Big Peaks that still have glaciers. We had a bit of a surprise learning last three miles of road to trailhead was closed. (C'mon NPS, update your website.) But, we'll revisit more of this area another time.

Sigur Rós

2008-10-22T01:31:00.000-07:00

Luke Mathis and Cyra Hobson walk into Benaroya Hall for the Sigur Rós show.

Sigur Rós vocalist and guitar player Jónsi Birgisson

Sigur Rós guitarist Georg (Goggi) Holm

Sigur Rós drummer Orri Páll Dyrason

Southwestern Nicaragua

2008-10-03T10:34:00.001-07:00

GRANADA

Purísimas procession travels outside of the Cathedral of Granada. Floats and fireworks travel through the city several times a day during the end of November and early December tributing Granada's patron saint, the Virgen Concepión de Maria.

The streets of Granada, Nicaragua. The city was founded in 1524 by Francisco Fernández de Córdoba.

Virginia Barrera Reyes, in red, sells fruit with family members at the municipal market in Granada. Their family have been fruit vendors for around 40 years.

The Granada cemetery, used in the late 1800s and 1900s, is the resting place of six Nicaraguan presidents.

Granada cemetery.

A young girl prepares to leave her spot on a float during an evening Purísimas procession in Granada.

Orlando Pena Vargas, right, talks with friends outside his home in Nicaragua. Vargas lives in both Granada and Miami.

(From right) Daniel Lerrera Cisnero, 35, Ruddy Enrique Molina Garay, 22, Christian Martines, 25, and Oscar Alberto Chavarria, 17, talk and laugh one evening in Granada’s Parque Colón. They say there is not a great amount of acceptance for open homosexuality in Nicaragua, a fiercely Catholic country. However, they said, it seems to be getting better.

Cathedral de Granada from the belltower of Iglesia de La Merced.

Iglesia de la Merced in Granada looking the opposite direction.

Juana and son Bernardo walk past the Granada marketplace.

A woman on the streets of Granada.

Light hits the eyes of Jenny Angeles Morales, 23, a meat vendor in the Granada marketplace.

Streets of Granada.

Manuel.

Nicaraguan flag flaps on a boat traveling through Las Isletas, a set of islands on Like Nicaragua. Volcan Mombacho is in the distance. Some of the islands are home to monkeys and birds. Some are homes to the wealthy.

Volcan Mombacho from Las Isletas.

LOS PUEBLOS BLANCOS

After a few days in Granada, Manuel and I jumped on a bus and toured Los Pueblos Blancos. Many of rural communities are located on Meseta Central and around Laguna de Apoyo— a huge crater lake encased in jungle.

The towns are said to have their own special artesians or folklore. Catarina, a small Spanish-colonial town, is known for its tropical plants and views of Apoyo.

My guidebook said the town of Diriomo hails to be the “Witch Capital of the Meseta.” So, Manuel and I decided to take a look around, and see if we could meet one of its folk healers. And, we did.

Andrea Peña Aguirre, a folk healer, is pictured inside of her home in Diriomo. Aguirre, a great-great grandmother, works out of her home. She practices natural medicine, purifies homes, reads cards and creates potions.

Laguna de Apoyo, Catarina.

Diriomo, Los Pueblos Blancos.

Jose Flores, 50, weaves baskets in Catarina, Los Pueblos Blancos.

Three-wheeled taxis (motorized and peddle-powered) ride past a memorial dedicated to fallen soldiers. I am not certain, but think the memorial tributes the dead of the Nicaraguan civil war between the Contras and the Sandinista-led government.

RIVAS

A bicycle taxi rides through Rivas, a rustic town and regional travel hub on the Pan-American highway in southwestern Nicaragua.

Genesis Veronica Alvarado Jimenez,10, swings for the piñata during her first communion celebration at a fire station in Rivas, Nicaragua.

Raquel Lanza Espinoza, 11, rides the bus with her brothers and mother on route to their home in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

Man in poolhall, Rivas, Nicaragua.

First communion procession in Rivas, Nicaragua

PACIFIC

Playa Coco at sunset.

Baby turtle headed for the ocean.

A group of Nicas our age showing off their flips. The beaches were nearly deserted, except for a few locals farmers, ecotourists and a few camps of turtle poachers. One of the boys we met, said he risks breaking the law (and risks being being shot at) to sell the eggs (for consumption) in the cities. Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Flor is nearby, and is a laying ground for turtles.

Mama turtle having a difficult time returning to the water after laying eggs.

A section of trees on the beach.

Horse on Playa Coco after sunset.

2008-09-18T17:59:00.002-07:00

Point of the Arches, Olympic Peninsula

2008-09-18T17:59:00.001-07:00

2008-09-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken at the Ksitigarbha Temple, one of the larger Buddhist Temples in the greater Seattle area. The temple recently celebrated the opening of a new hall and the revealing of a new statue. More than 1,000 people attended the ceremonies. Three monks, visiting from Taiwan, blessed the temple and statue, and conducted the ceremonies. Thich Thanh Man, the head officiating monk from Taiwan, is between the two umbrellas before the unveiling of the statue.

Beacon Hill Playground

Grace Crunican, Seattle Director of Transportation, walks through the King Street Station clock tower.

(from left) Becky Benton and Brittany talk before walking in the finale of Friday’s fashion show at the 19th annual Esprit transgender conference in Port Angeles. If you've ever wondered about the transgendered spectrum, please give a look to Marc Ramirez's article, "Logging town welcomes Transgendered Group."

“Kinderkarate” class at the Filipino Community Center.

Edith Woods, right, walks with her sister, Vida Lidge, after attending Sunday service at the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church.

A Pacific Northwest Portrait, written by Tyrone Beason

Edith Woods has attended services at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Seattle's Central District since she moved to the city in 1962 — and her sister, Vida Lidge, has been going even longer than that, since the congregation was founded nearly 60 years ago.

Woods is 74 now and Lidge is 92. They are church ladies, tried and true, pillars of stability, portals to history and wearers of fantastic headgear.

Woods has assembled quite a church-hat collection, "about 20 or 30" by her count.

Her big sister, Vida, buys them for her from vendors at Baptist Church conventions around the country.

Not that Woods is vain. She insists she doesn't need anything fancy, "just one that fits my head."

But the hats and the churchgoers who wear them represent something more to the rest of us.

Woods, who now lives on Beacon Hill, has seen crime go up in the Central District and watched it go down. She's seen blacks flock to the neighborhood, back when it was Seattle's de facto African-American enclave, and watched their exodus when the cost of living there grew too high.

The church's congregation is morphing, too.

"New people are coming in, but a lot are dying out," Woods says.

But at least now, when Woods walks through those honey-colored church doors, she can gaze out on racially mixed 21st Avenue and see a "Barack Obama for President" sign tacked to a house across the way.

The more things change, amen, the more things change — except when they don't, except when we wander past church on a Sunday afternoon and glimpse grand ladies in bright dresses and big-brimmed hats and thank goodness that some things in this city on the move, in these historic times, stay the same.

Continuity may be one of our lesser appreciated civic virtues, but Woods and Lidge remind us of its place.

They are the last surviving siblings among five sisters. "She's the oldest, and I'm the baby," says Woods.

She has raised eight of her own children in Seattle, all of whom live within their mother's venerable field of vision on Beacon Hill.

"I can point a finger, and they could all see it and be right here," she says with a giggle and pride.

Summoned by family, our Sunday best and a long view of time, community finds a way to endure.

San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica

2008-04-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

San Marcos de Tarrazú is small, but bustling coffee town. Thousands of small, family farmers live in and around the town, which is surrounded by a set of steep, dense mountains. In old, sturdy trucks, farmers haul down their picked beans to mill. Together they form the second largest coffee co-op in Costa Rica— Coopetarrazú.

A link to Manuel's story:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004315159_starbuckscoop30.html

Marcella Pineda, 21, picks coffee with her husband, not pictured, at Roberto Naranjo and Victoria Zúñiga Naranjo's coffee farm outside San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica. The Pineda's and other seasonal workers at the farm are indigenous Panamanians from the Ngöbe Buglé tribe, of Panama's Bocas del Toro province. They travel and work as families, and return each year to the farm for work.

(From right) Victoria Zúñiga Naranjo, 37, walks with her son Martin Naranjo, 12, on a road of their coffee farm outside of San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica. The hills of their family's farm are steep, and dense with coffee plants and other vegetation, including shade, plantain, lemon, avocado, and banana trees. The various plants reduce soil erosion and protect the coffee from sun and rain. Naranjo said she and her son Martin are best friends.

Pancho Guerra carries a sack of freshly picked coffee, weighing almost 100 pounds, up a steep hillside at Roberto Naranjo and Victoria Zúñiga Naranjo's coffee farm outside San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica.

Coffee plants, trees from the banana family, and shade trees cover a steep hillside at the Montes de Oro coffee farm outside of San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica.

Aníla Morales, 18, picks coffee at Roberto Naranjo and Victoria Zúñiga Naranjo's coffee farm outside San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Morales and the seasonal workers at the farm are indigenous Panamanians from the Ngöbe Buglé tribe, from Panama's Bocas del Toro province.

Maribel Quintero, 13, (wearing red) and Matilda Quintero, 15, carry the plastic buckets they use to pick coffee at Roberto Naranjo and Victoria Zúñiga Naranjo's coffee farm outside San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Most of the seasonal coffee field workers are not Costa Rican, but Nicaraguan or indigenous Panamanians. The workers at this farm are mostly families, who travel together for work from Panama's Bocas del Toro province.

Betilda Abrego, 16, washes garments at the Montes de Oro coffee farm near San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Abrego and other seasonal workers at the farm are indigenous Panamanians from the Ngöbe Buglé tribe of Panama's Bocas del Toro province. They travel and work as families, and return each year to work at the farm.

Roberto Naranjo checks the tanks that supply water to his workers' homes at his coffee farm in the steep hills outside of San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Starbucks requires farmers to provide potable water to their workers.

San Marcos de Tarrazú, in the central highlands of Costa Rica, is a coffee town, producing millions of pounds every year. The town is located near mountains where high-altitude, gourmet beans grow well.

CoopeTarrazú, Costa Rica's second largest coffee co-op, has its headquarters in San Marcos de Tarrazú. The co-op provides services including a gas station, credit union, a grocery store and farming supplies depot.

Aurelia Abrego, 6, wearing traditional clothing of the Ngöbe Buglé tribe, walks along the roadside at Roberto Naranjo and Victoria Zúñiga Naranjo's coffee farm, Montes de Oro, outside San Marcos de Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Indigenous Panamanian workers travel to coffee farms as families every season.

Marcella Pineda, 21, picks coffee with her husband, not pictured. The Pineda's and other seasonal workers at the farm are indigenous Panamanians from the Ngöbe Buglé tribe, of Panama's Bocas del Toro province

Santa Eduviges

2008-04-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

Rodrigo Vargas' company, Santa Eduviges, is one of the largest single-family owned operations in Costa Rica with 32 farms, totaling more than 3,900 acres of coffee fields spread out on the hillsides of the active Poas Volcano.

This year, Vargas, a third-generation coffee farmer, will sell 70 percent of the more than 7 million pounds of beans harvested on his farms to Starbucks.

Vargas believes that Starbucks, purchasing huge quantities of specialty beans and requiring a set of regulations called Cafe Practices, saved the coffee industry in Costa Rica.

Manuel Valdes' story:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004315134_starbucksmain30.html

Seasonal coffee workers unload their baskets of coffee cherries into a transport truck at the end of the day at Rodrigo Vargas' coffee-farm, Santa Eduviges in Costa Rica. Workers receive plastic tokens worth money for each basket they deliver.

Rodrigo Vargas' family founded the Beneficiadora Santa Eduviges in Costa Rica's Alajuela Province. The family manages more than 3,900 acres, where 200 permanent staff members and 2,300 temporary workers harvest coffee November through February.

Rodrigo Vargas looks over a field once owned by his grandfather. Vargas is the third generation of his family to grow coffee. Its operation, Santa Eduviges, is one of the top single-family owned coffee-production companies in Costa Rica.

Joel Martinez, 28, of Managua, Nicaragua, picks coffee berries early in the morning in the Santa Eduviges fields.

Coffee plants at Santa Eduviges are examined. From left, Edgardo Alpízar, an agronomist at Santa Eduviges; Carlos Mario Rodríguez, director of agronomy at the Farm Support Center (FSC); Peter Torrebiarte, FSC general manager, in center; Chris von Zastrow, Starbucks general manager Africa (in vest); and Orlando Mora, an FSC agronomist.

Workers walk through one of the fields at Santa Eduviges. A variety of banana trees are planted among the coffee plants to help soil quality. These trees help meet Starbucks' standards for soil conservation and shade-tree requirements. Workers use plastic buckets, called "cajuelas," to collect the coffee cherries. While picking, they tie the buckets to their waist, a practice that has not changed in more than 100 years.

By late afternoon, tractors and trucks file down the farms' dirt roads to be loaded with the day's harvest. Most seasonal workers that pick coffee in Costa Rica are Nicaraguan or indigenous Panamanians. Even though Santa Eduviges provides free day care, children sometimes work side-by-side with their families. Above, a young boy watches a man fill a cajuela with coffee before it is unloaded unto the truck behind them.

Workers, including Ignacio Rodriguez Castro (in red hat), spread out coffee cherries just hauled in by the field workers, in the bed of a transport truck.

Wilmer Flores, a seasonal worker from Nicaragua, cashes in his plastic tokens at the end of the week. Workers receive one token for filling one basket, or cajuela, of coffee. In December, one token equaled 700 Costa Rican colones, or around $1.40. The value of a cajuela varies throughout the harvest season. Starbucks requires workers are paid the minimum wage set by the Costa Rican government.

Maixcol Ibarra, 20, cuts hair outside a row of worker housing at Santa Eduviges. Permanent workers pay for electricity, and no rent. Seasonal workers do not pay rent or utilities. "We really need those people," said Norman Alpízar, a supervisor at the Santa Eduviges mill. Many Nicaraguans migrate to Costa Rica to pick coffee due to harsh economic conditions in their home country.

Martha Lopez, 36, of Granada, Nicaragua, cooks rice and chicken by fire inside her home at the end of the workday.

A worker carries a bag through a Santa Eduviges field.

Mauro Zelaga, 46, said pay and overall conditions have improved at Vargas' farms over the years. Zelaga, from Nicaragua, said he has come to work in Costa Rica for 20 years. Due to harsh economic conditions in their home country, many Nicaraguans migrate to Costa Rica for jobs.

Seasonal coffee workers in Costa Rica unload their baskets full of coffee into a truck at the end of the day. The process is called "medida" or "to measure."

Workers unload their baskets of coffee cherries into a truck at the end of a busy day at Santa Eduviges. Rodrigo Vargas, whose family founded the company, said "Starbucks saved the coffee industry in Costa Rica."

All images copyright The Seattle Times

Mas fotos.

2008-03-03T18:16:00.001-08:00

Xin Pei Zhang, 42, serves tea to a friend inside of his Chinese medicinal store/tea shop Yuan Sheng Hang in the Chinatown. Zhang, his wife Ya Mei Xie and a friend shared several types of hot tea, including a 100-year-old Pu'er black tea.

Concrete, WA.

Jonathan Warman, of Emerald City Guitars, holds a 1955 Fender Stratocaster guitar priced at $75,000.

Surprise on my car one morning.

Alley.

Pathway outside Leavenworth, WA.

Leaves in the Cascades.

Construction worker twins. Super nice guys. Unfortunately, I lost their contact info. But, I do remember they said they had matching camaros as teenagers.

Twins Emma, left, and Nora are part of an increasing number of children born with the help of egg donors. They and their mother have a special, and very rare, relationship with the girls' ''egg mom.'' Most egg-donor children are unable to meet their half-siblings because of privacy issues. They sit outside their egg mom's house in Bellingham, Washington.

Isabella Ariel celebrates the New Year a little early- 3 p.m. Dec. 28th -when performing with the Astoria Combo during a New Year's party at the South County Senior Center in Edmonds. The Astoria Combo has been performing ballroom dance music since 2005. "We play for wakes, and weddings and every fancy ball," Ariel said.

Courtenay Pearce smiles at me while dancing and his wife Connie Pearce(cq) at the South County Senior Center.

Duke Kang toots on his blower during a New Year's celebration-the afternoon of Dec. 28th -at the South County Senior Center in Edmonds. Seniors danced to the music of the Astoria Combo, who performs there every Friday, except the third Friday of the month.

Ron Coble tips his hat while performing with the Astoria Combo during a New Years Party, the afternoon of Dec. 28th, at the South County Senior Center in Edmonds.

Enumclaw cheerleaders cheer during the 112-weight match where Hornet Jason Gray sparred against Auburn Trojan Kelly Maughn at Auburn High School. Gray pinned Maughn later in the match.

Kennedy High School teammates applaud junior Nikki Vetterlein, center, during the Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly during the Girls State Swimming and Diving Championships.

Garfield’s LaNiecia Weatherspoon, 1, reacts after a foul is called on her during a against Ballard High School.

Dwight Smith, 24, pursues wide receiver Darrell Jackson, 82, during the Minnesota Viking vs. Seattle Seahawk game at Quest Field.

Butterfly room.

Seattle Fire Fighters walk through the bottom unit of an apartment building that was damaged during a fire in Whitecenter.

Eloise Evans, right, and classmates massage Vava Cole's head during Seattle Girls' School campout and bike trip on Lopez Island, Washington at the end of their sixth-grade school year, spring 2007. Cole was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma earlier in the year, and was given an 85 percent chance of surviving through high school. Evans is cancer-free, but survived 10 months of intensive treatment when she was a toddler. The two have become closer friends since Cole's diagnosis.

Celeste

2008-03-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

Her name — the one on the right — is Celeste.

She works as the fashion correspondent for a San Francisco television station. Because of her profession, she dons the newest and most unexpected getups.

A lime-green wool blazer with fuchsia stripes. Pink and black houndstooth miniskirt. Fishnets. Black legwarmers. Suede pumps.

Celeste, who is reporting on the city's fashion week, is about to escort her three closest girlfriends to one of the celebration's top-shelf events.

To Willie Freitas, visual merchandiser for the Red Light shop in the University District, each month is a new episode in his West Coast version of TV's "Sex and the City." Freitas has invented names, jobs and identities for the four mannequins displayed in the shop's front window. The characters help him find inspiration. Each month their story changes. So do their outfits.

Celeste is the trendsetter. Her friend Jackie is a district attorney and a lesbian. Athena works as an art gallery owner. Daphnie slings drinks as a barista/bartender. She's trying to become an actress, but struggles. She is one of those "I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-life friends."

Freitas tries not to play favorites. He wants each of his mannequins to look equally good, but distinctly different. That way, different types of girls can identify with one of his four fashionistas.

But casting a set of characters sometimes creates challenges.

"If something doesn't look right to me, I feel like she hates it," Freitas says. "Sometimes they stress me out because I want them to look perfect."

BLUMEADOWS

2008-02-26T02:09:00.002-08:00

"I wouldn't call him a normal person," says Jeff Andrew, former manager of Tommy's Nightclub — but definitely one of those people who's "just born to perform." Andrew is talking about guitarist BluMeadows. Also known as Maurice Mitchell Mills-Culpepper. And as Looking Bird in Blackhawk County, Iowa, where he was born.

With a wreath of buffalo teeth, bells and deer hoofs around his neck and a black suede hat with Macaw feathers on his head, BluMeadows stands out in a crowd. So does his voice as it drifts through the dark corners of a nightclub and out into the afternoon rain. A crowd watches him from an open window. Some begin to dance.

When BluMeadows performs, it's almost as if one of Seattle's guitar gods has risen from the grave.

Almost.

BluMeadows and Jimi Hendrix are alike in some ways. Both have called Seattle home. Their ancestors were black and Indian. Their musical love, the guitar. Played left-handed.

Hendrix was, in fact, a big influence on BluMeadows. But BluMeadows says he doesn't suffer from a case of hero worship. He just respects and covers the legendary guitar anthems.

Lamar Lofton, who sometimes plays bass with BluMeadows, says his colleague is able to connect to different types of crowds by playing a few tunes, seeing what moves people and then performing those songs well.

BluMeadows has played jazz, funk, reggae, blues and rock with musicians like Bruce Hornsby, Branford Marsalis and Dave Lewis. He says he's toured with various groups through five continents. This past year, he played on tour with Jamaican reggae star Eek-a-Mouse. He also creates his own music, which he describes as "consciousness rock."

Wayne Rabb, a longtime Seattle professional drummer, took a few minutes trying to sum up his friend: "Words can't quite describe that gentlemen . . . He's a colorful artist, that's for sure."

For his part, BluMeadows says he's "just a visitor among all living things," going his own way. "I try to look through my eyes and no one else's."

As for his passion, "One lifetime isn't half enough to get into music. You are just scraping the surface."

Welcome to the Shoreline

2008-02-20T00:29:00.000-08:00

Last autumn, I was approached to photograph a story about the north Seattle suburb of Shoreline.

At first, it seemed like an ordinary, everday Seattle suburb. But... the writer had some good ideas and from there we started talking about:

What makes this place different? Completely ordinary? What is the heart of a neighborhood? Does Shoreline have one? Can a neighborhood, built around cars, evolve into something else? Who lives here? Who first lived here? Are they old? Young? Caucasian? Asian? Latin American? What do they like about where they live? What are the schools like? Where to people come together? How is the neighborhood changing? How might it change? Oh yeah, where is the good food?

It's good to be reminded to keep my mind and eyes open. Keep talking and meeting people. Keep going back.

Below are some of the images from the story:

To read Paula Bock's story: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=pacificpthere09&date=20071209&query=shoreline+and+bock

(Thanks PB for the help.)

Luis Bandala and his 7-year-old daughter, Miriam, finish dinner inside Taqueria El Carreton, on Aurora Avenue North in Shoreline. The Mexican eatery is housed inside a school bus lined with stools where customers can sit, watch Spanish television and enjoy a horchata. Shoreline's Latino population, now 5.5 percent, is growing fast.

Else Gerber, 4, walks with her father, Mike Denlinger, after attending pre-kindergarten at the Evergreen School in Shoreline. The city is known for its highly regarded public, private and parochial schools.

Patrick Hartley and Cindy Libengood tease one another in privacy before the start of the movie "Transformers" at the Crest Cinema Center, home of the $3 movie. The two Shoreline Community College freshmen met at the film early to catch up. Right now, there aren't any cafes open at night within walking distance. Some hope that will change as the neighborhood develops

Sooho Lee (center), an elder of the Korean Zion Presbyterian Church, talks with elders and deacons after the morning service. Sunday services draw around 200 members of all ages each week. The congregation, formed in 1985, has been in Shoreline since 1994. In Shoreline, nearly 1 out of 5 residents is of Asian ancestry.

A driver waits at a stoplight at the corner of 185th and Aurora Avenue North. Shoreline's piece of Highway 99 carried about 45,000 vehicles per day as of 2000, and more are coming. The neighborhood is about 15 miles from downtown Seattle and is split by three major thoroughfares: Interstate 5, Highway 99 and 15th Avenue Northeast. Shoreline's proximity to Seattle and public transit make it desirable for redevelopment.

Drummers in the Shorecrest High School Highlander Marching Band perform during their homecoming half-time show. School spirit in Shoreline is such that parents continue to attend home games years after their kids have graduated.

A car whizzes along Aurora Avenue, a tunnel of strip malls, casinos, ethnic restaurants and car dealerships.

According to King County's Metro Transit Trip Planner, you can hop a bus at 5:10 p.m. on a Tuesday at Third Avenue and Pike Street and make it to the intersection of Shoreline's North 145th Street and Aurora Avenue North in 32 minutes. The bus stops at that intersection about to cross into Shoreline.

Ahmed Ahmed, a 15-year-old Shorecrest High School student, walks past a long row of shopping carts lining the front of a soon-to-open Goodwill store on the corner of 15h Ave. NE and NE 155th St.

Aurora Avenue North both divides and unites the Shoreline. The commercial corridor bisects the neighborhood with busy traffic, strip malls and casinos. However, residents are drawn to its convenient shopping and ethnic eateries. The Taboo Video sign peaks from behind a sandwich of other boards.

Alberto Ortiz decorates a Day of the Dead alter inside his sister’s Mexican grocery store, Lupe’s Tienda. The three siblings, whose family originates southwestern Mexican state of Michoacán, celebrate the return and union of their deceased loved ones souls each November. They crafted an alter— decorated with fresh flowers, pictures, skeletons, saints and sugar skulls — for the last four years in the Shoreline shop. This year’s commemoration was a chance for the family to cope with the death of six relatives, and also to revisit their family’s history.

Ray Thacker is nervous around traffic. In June, a drunken driver hit Thacker when he was walking with his best friend, Blake Nelson (pushing wheelchair) to a Richmond Beach grocery. The accident left Thacker with a broken arm, wrist, leg and fractured spine. Thacker, his girlfriend Melinda Wheeler (above) and Nelson favor taking the bus, and using Shoreline's Interurban Trail.

Ron Fulgham mows around his backyard gazebo in Shoreline. Ron and his wife, Carrie Fulgham, married for 50 years, have lived in the neighborhood since 1969.

Ricky Zambrano, 9, fishes out his soccer ball while playing with his sister and cousin in their Shoreline cul-de-sac. The family moved to Shoreline from an Everett duplex around two years ago.

Families circle around the parking lot in a hayride at a pumpkin festival in Shoreline.

A couple walks in a neighborhood on the border of Shoreline and North Seattle.

Evening fades on the Aurora strip.

Before the Aurora Cooridor Project, sidewalks were only available along about 20 percent of Aurora Avenue North. Today, a section of Aurora between North 145th St. to North 165th St. is more pedestrian friendly.

Maurice

2008-02-12T01:04:00.000-08:00

Queens. Quarterbacks. Quiet.

2007-09-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

Rodeo Queens- Beauty n' Boots

Eight girls in snowcone-colored Wranglers and matching cowboy boots gallop full-tilt around a rodeo arena, one hand on their horses' reins, the other raised in the open-palmed salute of a beauty queen on parade. Clots of mud arc and burst in a horse's thundering wake, and a saucer-size golden belt buckle glitters in the sun.

At first, it seems a strange marriage of cultures: Rough-riding cowgirl and glitzy beauty queen, one in the same? But it's not. It's just the nostalgic carnival of Western rodeo at its best.

Welcome to the Miss Rodeo Washington Pageant 2008, the 45th annual horsemanship and beauty competition, during which both Miss Rodeo Washington and Miss Teen Rodeo Washington will be chosen and crowned.

To read more of Miss Haley Edward's article:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003882708_rodeoqueens160.html

***

During a break between lunch and dinner— Rana, a kitchen helper, Sabi S. Dhoat, one of the owners of the Tandoor Restaurant, and Balginder Singh, second cook— talk inside of the University District business. The restaurant, which specializes in North Indian cuisine, has been open since 1986. The Dhoat family has owned the Tandoor Restaurant for the last 12 years. Dhoat and Rana— originally from India’s Punjab region— said they lived in nearby towns and used to ride motorcycles and pick mangos together as boys. Singh is the uncle of Dhoat’s wife.

A Tsimshian Haayuuk dancer dresses to perform for Honor Day. There is not a federally-recognized holiday honoring the contributions of Native Americans. But there is a movement for that to change. (http://honorday.org)

Harry Jefferson, 34, hugs his daughter Zenobia Jefferson, 2, outside of his apartment in Skyway. Jefferson credits the Clean Dreams Project— a small social service agency based in Rainier Valley— with helping him get on his feet after prison and start on a pathway towards a college.

WSU V. SDS
((Thank you Rod))

early sunny morning

dunes.

lady ashley.

dude.

August Update

2007-09-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ellensburg, WA

Mike Moore, of Kankakee, Illinois, competes in PRCA Xtreme Bulls Tour Saturday evening at the Ellensburg Rodeo. The Kittias County Fair and the Ellensburg Rodeo, featuring Posse Night in the Arena Sunday evening and Ellensburg Rodeo Finals Monday, will continue through Labor Day weekend.

Lucas Martinez, 25, is the father of Diosely, 5, Juan Carlos, 4 and Abigail, 7, who are pictured inside their home at migrant farm worker camp in Burlington. Martinez is a seasonal worker from the small village of San Martin-Itunyoso in the western mountains of Oaxaca. More than half of the village's 4,000 residents leave every year to work, according to a Mexican census.

Teenager From St. John the Evangelist Church carry Our Lady of Guadalupe during a procession before mass.

Rafael Francisco, 4, bundles up for a nap after lunch in a preschool classroom at the Washington State Migrant Council Kulshan Center in Mount Vernon. Francisco and other children at the center have parents who are migrant and seasonal farm workers— many them from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The majority of children speak the indigenous languages, such as Triqui and Mixteco, as their first language. The preschoolers in the class are learning Spanish, English and other skills while their parents work in the Skagit Valley’s fields. During the summer, Youth Migrant Project volunteers help out at the Kulshan Center and other organizations that aid farm workers.

Rafael Francisco, 4, bundles up for a nap after lunch in a preschool classroom at the Washington State Migrant Council Kulshan Center in Mount Vernon. Francisco and other children at the center have parents who are migrant and seasonal farm workers— many them from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The majority of children speak the indigenous languages, such as Triqui and Mixteco, as their first language. The preschoolers in the class are learning Spanish, English and other skills while their parents work in the Skagit Valley’s fields. During the summer, Youth Migrant Project volunteers help out at the Kulshan Center and other organizations that aid farm workers.

Contestants wait during a national casting call for CW's America's Next Top Model in Lynnwood.

Participants wait in line next to a poster of Tyra Banks, the creator of America’s Next Top Model, during a casting call Tuesday at the Alderwood Mall.

Salimah Tucker, 24,

Keena Haynes, a Cypress Farm trainer, watches Carly Nicefaro practice with “Gone with the Wind” before Wednesday’s level one jumpers competition at the Evergreen Classic Horse Show outside of Carnation, Washington.

Amanda Davidson (cq) releases her dachshund "Cleo" during the preliminary matches of the "Kent and Alan Wiener Dog Races at Emerald Downs" Thursday at the Seattle Center. Five heats of dogs raced at the North Fountain Lawn to get a chance to compete in the Emerald Downs Wiener Dog Championship Races on Friday, August 17th at Emerald Downs.

Sydney Campbell, 4

Nalini, left, helps her student Gigi secure her veil before performing at the Dance for Peace and Social Harmony concert at Alki Beach Park.

Mallory Fry, 20, styles Jeremiah Swagger’s hair Monday afternoon at Rudy’s Barbershop in University District. Swagger said his last cut was nine months ago. Fry trimmed off a few inches, to ready Swagger for his new job hunt. Rudy’s Barbershop operates in seven locations in Seattle and Bellevue. The first store opened in January 1993 on Pine Street in Capital Hill. Stores are also located in Portland and Los Angles.

Dan Lewis, 71, has lived with three other roommates in the Whispering Hills Apartments in Federal Way for the last 15 years. At the end of August, Lewis and his friends— two of whom are over the age of 60— will be evicted from their home. Their apartment complex is being turned into condominiums. A portrait of Lewis is captured in his living room last week.

Dan Lewis, 71, helps his roommate Robin Kissel, 61, carry packages up to their apartment after she returns from her job as a shuttle driver at the airport. At the end of August— Lewis, Kissel and their two roommates will be evicted. Their apartment building will be turned into condominiums. Lewis said, although they have the money for monthly rent and utilities, they lack the financial resources to cover moving expenses, a deposit and a credit check. They also need help moving their belongings, and cannot afford a professional moving company.

Dan Lewis owns an iguana named "Spike."

Dan Lewis walks down the hallway in his Federal Way apartment. Lewis and his three roommates will be evicted from their home in the Whispering Hills Apartments at the end of August. Their building will be turned into condominiums. Lewis believes that local elected officials have turned their backs to senior citizens, as well as the disabled and low-income populations, by not supporting a bill that would have increased the amount of relocation assistance cities could require developers to pay low income tenants facing condo conversions.

Robin Kissel, 61, rests in bed after getting home from her job as a shuttle driver at the airport. Kissel gets up for work at around midnight, and returns to her Federal Way apartment in the afternoon. Kissel and her roommates are facing an August 31 eviction from their apartment complex, and are unsure how they will acquire a new home with limited financial resources.

To read Cara Solomon's article:
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=seniorrenters13m&date=20070813&query=dan+lewis

Wedding of Edward Le and Kayly Nguyen

2007-09-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

Edward Le, 32, clutched a bouquet of white stephanotis early in the morning, while walking with his family to the home of his fiancée Kayly Nguyen, 25.
At the beginning a traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony, the groom and his family bear an assortment of gifts, covered in red cloth, which are offered in a procession to the bride’s family at their home.
Le’s family presented a cooked pig, and trays of sticky rice, tea, wine, cookies, liquor and cakes.
Firecrackers exploded at Nguyen’s doorway, initiating the early morning ceremony. The bride’s family granted their future in-laws permission to enter the home and greet the bride. Both set of relatives gathered inside the Nguyen’s dining room.
The bride, wearing a traditional Áo dài and headdress, followed her bridesmaids down her stairs. She met her groom in front of both families. The couple paid respects to their ancestors, and served tea to their bride’s family in hierarchical order. The bride’s kin offered advice, blessings and gifts to the newlyweds.
After a light breakfast, Nguyen left for her groom’s household— which signified her departure from her parent’s home. There, similar ceremonies were repeated at Le’s parent’s home.
Both families are first generation immigrants, who mainly follow Catholicism, the second most practiced religion in Vietnam. Because of their faith, they also exchanged vows and prayers at St. Thomas Church.
Le and Nguyen ended their festivities with a reception at the China Harbor Restaurant on Lake Union. The last hours of their all-day celebration included a live Vietnamese band and karaoke.

Five minutes to August.

2007-07-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

CRITICAL MASSIVE- "THE BURNERS"
((Thank you all)) ((Thank Miss H))

Link to Haley's article: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003766750_critmassive290.html

CHIEF TAHOLAH DAYS.

Members of the Quinault Indian Nation gathered in their coastal homeland to honor a different independence alongside the Fourth of July.

On July 4th and 5th, the Quinault celebrated Chief Taholah Days, which commemorate the signing of the Quinault Treaty on July 1, 1855.

On that day along the Quinault River, U.S. government officials met with Chief Taholah and other chiefs and tribal members to sign the agreement that designated land for exclusive tribal use.

Guy Capoeman, vice chairman of the Quinault Tribal Council, said the treaty established the right of the Quinault to govern and regulate themselves.

The treaty represents "the backbone of our government and the backbone of our people," Capoeman said. "It's a celebration of the foresight of our ancestors in guaranteeing that we would be able to live our ancestral ways. Without that document it would be hard to live those ways and protect our land."

The festivities took place in the town of Taholah, the tribal headquarters, north of Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor County.

Capoeman said the celebration has been held for more than 100 years.

Isaiah Curley(cq), 7, celebrates during Chief Taholah Days Tuesday evening in Taholah, the tribal headquarters of the Quinault Indian Nation. The festival commemorates the signing of the Quinault Treaty on July 1, 1855 at the mouth of the Quinault River— near where Curley was lighting his fireworks.

Horton Capoeman and Hannah Swift carry their daughters Zah-Mya Capoeman and Aleece Capoeman while buying fireworks Tuesday afternoon in Taholah.

Carly Sansom, 15, dressed in traditional Quinault regalia, holds her paddle before dancing Tuesday afternoon at Heritage Park in Taholah.

Angel Ancheta, 2, and her father Steve Ancheta walk past a row of firecracker stands Tuesday evening during Chief Taholah Days. They were traveling home to pick up Angel’s mother for the boxing match held at the community center.

Guy Capoeman, (right) vice chairman of the Quinault Tribal Council, watches his son Anthony Capoeman, 14, break during the James “Crowbar” Bryson Boxing Memorial at the Taholah Community Center. Larry “Bear” Bradley, the head Taholah boxing coach, said Taholah has had a long history of boxing that can be traced back before the 1930s. Boxing is a popular event at Chief Taholah Days each year.

Shireen Kalama, 15, watches the outboard cedar canoe lap races on the banks of the Quinault River.

Participants in the consolation round of the cedar canoe lap race competition speed down the Quinault River. The hand carved canoes are 22 feet long and 24 inches wide, and powered by a 25 horse power outboard motors. The canoes can reach up to 50 mph. Rich Underwood, who was manning one of the support boats Tuesday, said the Quinaults have been racing motorized canoes for around 50 years. He said the sport began by racing up the Quinault River to Lake Quinault.

Celena Edwards, a Miss Teen Quinault contestant, rides in the Fourth of July parade in Taholah.

SUMMERJAM

ODDS AND ENDS

Mount Rainier- After the Deluge

2007-06-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

At the time, driving a bulldozer into Mount Rainier's wilderness seemed like a good idea.

A storm starting on Nov. 6 had dumped nearly 18 inches of rain on the mountain in 36 hours. Rivers poured from their banks and sliced through road after road throughout Mount Rainier National Park.

Sunshine Point Campground was mostly gone. The Carbon River Road had become part of the Carbon River. An 80-foot-deep gash cut across Highway 123. It was the most destructive natural disaster in the park's history. For the first time ever, the entire place was closed to visitors.

To read more of reporter Warren Cornwall's story: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=pacificprainier24&date=20070624&query=mount+rainier

These images were taken this spring after the autumn floods. This is a regional story, but it also has a wider context. Many of our many of our National Parks face a similar dilemma— How do we protect wilderness and still serve the public?

Ryan Cyphers, a National Park Service trail crew worker, walks across a logjam in the former Ipsut Creek streambed. The Carbon River and Ipsut Creek flooded in November, causing massive road and trail damage in the northwest corner of Mount Rainier National Park. Park Service and Washington Conservation Corps crews have been working in the Carbon River area to make it safe for hikers. Crews will be working throughout the park this summer, and possibly for many seasons to come, repairing flood-damaged areas.

Paul Kennard, a National Park Service geomorphologist, wades into Tahoma Creek to obtain a cross-section of the waterway. Kennard and two other Park Service scientists collected data to try to predict when the channel will flood. Kennard said the creek has flooded every year since 2003. During November’s deluge, the creek cut into the woods, flooded Nisqually Road and ultimately destroyed a section of Sunshine Point Campground. “It’s going to continue to flood in the future,” Kennard says. “The question is how often.”

An Alpine Ascents International guided expedition climbs toward Camp Muir in early April. While the park remained closed to the general public for flood-damage repairs, the National Park Service, always sensitive to the demands of businesses that depend on the park, found a way to get the guide services in.

Pictured through the window of an airplane, majestic Mount Rainier casts its alluring spell in the setting sun.

In the dwindling evening light, a red fox yawns on a snow bank near the main park road up to Paradise. Park Service ranger Glenn Kessler says he has seen the fox before and thinks the animal has become accustomed to being fed by tourists. The main park road was closed for six months this winter, and Kessler says the animal likely had been looking for a handout.

Ben Wright, a biologist for the Park Service, snorkels and searches for bull trout in Falls Creek, a tributary of the Carbon River. Wright and fellow scientist Heather Moran searched for the endangered fish in the new deep pools created by November’s heavy rains.

During November’s floods, Tahoma Creek ran over its banks and cut into old-growth forest. The overflow followed an ancient floodway channel that has not held water for hundreds of years. Park Service scientist Paul Kennard believes the current Tahoma channel is filling with debris to the point that the waterway is finding alternative paths — routes that have the potential to close the main park road.

Since November’s massive flood, rust-colored residues have left their mark on the park’s waterways and banks. The coloration is a naturally occurring phenomenon in mountain streams, and is often a result of geothermal springs or storm-caused landslides that bring down soils containing iron. The coloration is widespread around Mount Rainier, and can be seen in Tahoma Creek, Kautz Creek, the Nisqually River and the Ohanapecosh River.

Mike Gauthier, a NPS Mount Rainier lead climbing ranger, arrives at Camp Muir and the Butler Shelter after climbing 4.5-miles and 4,600-feet of elevation from Paradise. The camp is a heavily traveled route for climbers bound for the summit.

Access to the northwest corner of the park is closed to only foot and bike traffic.

Mitch Anderson, a National Park Service carpenter, works at Kautz Creek, installing two 12-foot culverts in an effort to keep the waterway on the same path. The creek diverted in early November when 18 inches of rain pummeled Mount Rainier in just 36 hours. The waterway swept into the forest and crossed the park’s most popular road — bringing into focus long-simmering questions about how the Park Service can protect wilderness and still serve the public.

Jayme Margolin, a geological education specialist and interpretive ranger, performs a pebble count near Tahoma Creek on a drizzly afternoon near the southwest entrance of the park. Margolin and other NPS scientists were trying to determine how quickly water could flow over the riverbed during episodes of flooding, and how frequently the channel will flood in the future. The pebble count indicates the roughness, or the amount of friction, in the channel.

Park Service biologist Ben Wright closes the Carbon River entrance gate after searching for endangered bull trout. Locals, environmentalists and the National Park Service are not in agreement about what to do with the damaged road — and their disagreement is a reflection of the ongoing tension between advocates for more wilderness and those who want the park to be more open for visitors of all kinds.

Water pours off the rocky hillside along the Nisqually Road that leads to Paradise. Christine Falls, one of the park’s most popular attractions, flows nearby.

Two hikers cross a section of the Carbon River Road that now is a segment of the Carbon River. Foot and bike traffic are the only means of transportation through the Carbon River entrance to the national park.

All images/text- The Seattle Times/Pacific Northwest Magazine.