Sometimes the most interesting things are what you see everyday.  Well, it's not necessarily the most interesting, but there are things I've been missing right around Front Street, very close to where I work everyday.  I never go out there on weekends since I spent my whole week in that "old town" area of Issaquah, but I've been meaning to take a few shots of the small, but unique town.  So, I brought my camera to work one day and  I wandered around town during my lunch break, and snapped a few.

This is right by the Issaquah public library.  The columns being bound by these twisting vines caught my eye.   I composed to maintain the repetition of the columns and to crop out portions of the scene that took away from the feel of it.  A few centimeters to the left, there was a bike rack, and the furthest portion of the scene was the street, and this would take away from the feel of the shot. There was some nice, but pretty harsh contrast as light flooded in from the sunny street, so I had to be careful to maintain exposure of the incoming light.  It required some recovery to maintain exposure of those leaves in the mid-ground.

I love the combination of rustic wood, iron bolts, and cement columns.  This structure sits adjacent to the public library in near the parking lot.  I metered for the "skylight" to maintain exposure and detail in the panes.  Normally, this would be a backlit situation, but the panes were semi-transparent and actually softened the light, allowing the wood and underlying structures to maintain properly exposed.  I think more than anything, that's what caught my eye.

This old Shell gas station looks functional, but is more of a "museum", if you will, complete with the old gas pumps, and a garage with antique parts.  I took a couple of shots from different angles, but found this to be the most effective at displaying the sign, and keeping the old lamp post in the composition.  I waited for awhile to see if I could capture the american flag at full extension, but the wind never picked up.

Peering through the garage window reveals a few antiques.  I kind of like the confusion created by  "looking through a window through another window."  This single shot creates 3 layers, and think that's what stopped me, more so than any of the items inside the room - 1. The old theater and cars parked on the street behind me were reflected off the garage window, 2. the old cans and gauges inside the garage, and 3. the backdrop of the autumn trees through the side window.  I metered for the far window to keep detail in the trees, but also wanted to make sure I had adequate exposure of the antique parts which were clearly more important. 

What's up Ethyl?  Do you think this name was intentional? Ethyl seems like a name from the past, but what's even more interesting is Ethyl alcohol used to be an additive in gasoline. Am I just reading too much into this? Creepy mannequin, stop looking at me!  I used my circular polarizer to minimize some of the reflection to better capture Ethyl, but still wanted to see that "shell" pump in the background.  I had to duck low so I didn't appear in the photo.

Maybe I should fill up here! 26 cents per Litre baby! Circular polarizer removes my reflection from the photo (mostly - you can see my left shoulder and can make the outline of my head towards the left).

Ah yes, the "vintage porch with the old can and beaten up chair casting long mid-day shadows shot".  Really, that's what it's called.

Buddy Holly's tourbus sits outside of Triple X Rootbeer - a vintage diner that serves burgers and dogs of outrageous proportions sure to leave your belly and your toilet full! A good place to go after snowboarding at SnoQuo.