Seattle from the Pier

   This week we're saying goodbye to Seattle (for now) and I wanted to end with a more intimate cityscape image.  I love the really wide, full city view cityscapes of Seattle, but on a computer screen, sometimes they can be a little too wide (and especially on a phone or tablet). 

   One of the evenings that I was hanging out with my cousin Mike in Seattle, we decided to head down and see if we couldn't find a location to shoot the ferris wheel together with the Space Needle.  I had seen some online that I wanted to replicate either during the blue hour, or once it was completely dark.  We didn't find exactly what we were looking for, but we did find this scene.  Down off Alaskan Way, Piers 62 and 63 are a public area with wonderful views of the city from the water.  From there you can see the Space Needle peeking out from behind the buildings (a necessary element for a classic Seattle shot) and you also have a front row view of the big ferris wheel.  This is also a wonderful place to watch the sunset off in distance behind the mountains.

   The whole area was under going a lot of construction, so parking could be a bit of a challenge if you go during a busy time.  A Monday evening turned out to be the perfect time to visit.  By the way, speaking visiting, if you're planning on going to Seattle and you'd like to capture some nice cityscape images (including this one), I've written a blog about some great places I've found to shoot from, and you can find that here.

–Dan Thompson