Amber and Chris

I wanted to do a story about homeless people, because this was the first thing that hit me about Seattle. Tent City is a community of homeless people that live in tents and have their own very strict rules. It is also one of the few - if not the only - shelters that allow couples to sleep together. I wanted to find a couple. After two weeks in which I went there without my camera, I got accepted by the community (by vote) and I've finally narrowed down my subjects. Amber and Chris agreed to let me do a story on them. They have both been homeless for a very long time. They've been together for more than five years. She is six-months pregnant.


Amber and Chris wait around for a truck during an exhausting camp move. Because of City rules, Tent City frequently changes locations throughout the year. Campers have to get all their stuff, pack it, load it in trucks, clean the whole place and build a new camp in a different location.

Seattle Pride Parade

A huge doll sits on a truck on 4th Avenue in Seattle during the Pride Parade, Sunday, June 24, 2007.

A drag queen marches in the parade.

Mister Gay Latino dances in the back of a truck.

People watch the parade go by.

A woman watches as two participants take a break from marching in the parade.

Tribal Cigarette Factory

A few weeks ago, I spent one day at a cigarette factory that is owned by the Squaxin Island Tribe.
Here's a link to the multimedia piece that I did there: Tribal Cigarettes.It's the first time I've had to do captions in a Soundslides show.

Solstice Parade

I've photographed the 19th Annual Fremont Solstice Parade here in Seattle. The parade is most famous for its tons of naked bikers. Which was a bit of a challenge, since you can't show any explicit nudity on AP. I was there from 10 till 12:30, right at the peak of the "Kodak" light.

Candice smiles at the cheering crowd of photographers and spectators.


Julianna Berry joggles in a tent during the 19th Annual Fremont Solstice Parade.


Sydni Warren, a.k.a. Nut, the Sky Goddess.


Garry Golightly fills the street with bubbles.

Streetball hits the court

Ball4Real is a 30-city tournament, where a team consisting of some of the best streetballers in the country challange local streetball teams, on a regular basketball court inside an arena. At the end of the tour, they'll select two players from all the teams they play to join their tour and sign a $100 000 contract each.

They kicked off their tour here in Seattle and I got to shoot both the tryouts and the game. It was amazing to witness. The stuff they did during the game (not set up or anything) was mind blowing. Here's a selection.

Congrats, Ikuru!

Ikuru Kuwajima just got his Banei horse race story published on Mediafax, a Romanian news agency. It is a 26 picture package, designed to give photo editors the possibility to choose. Here it is: Banei

While you're at it, click here to check out the other stories and essays as well. It's worth your time!

Last dance

Marlene Jones Wallace, a retired ballerina, watches one of the last rehearsals of Seattle dance legend Patricia Barker, Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at the Pacific Northwest Ballet center in Seattle. Barker will retire at the end of this season, after 26 years on stage.

Fencing 2

I went looking for that black background. They didn't use it, so I still didn't get what I came for.

Fortunately, I found a big ladder and climbed on it. Unfortunately, there were 5 minutes left in the competition by the time I got there, so I took 15 frames before the whole thing was over. Here's one of them.

Wang Yung (left) and Mark Lundberg duel for the gold medal in the men's individual sabre fencing final match during the Epee Practice-Open at Salle Auriol in Seattle, Sunday, June 3, 2007. Yung won. He is a member of the US national team for 50 years old and up.