Volunteer Park Engagement Session – Tatjana + Brady

Seattle can be a little dull to look at during certain times of the year. The city is rather grey and the clouds seem to the match that most of the time, but there are small pockets of colorful explosion in the form of flora to be found if you know where to look. Volunteer Park is one of the oldest parks in the city and it is a taste of nature within the heart of the historic Seattle neighborhood of Capitol Hill. If you can ignore the nonsense that has overtaken the Hill in the past few years (it’s not the same, man) you can surely admire the sights and quiet of the park on a cool spring stroll.

Before we started our shoot I met Tatjana (Tot for short) and Brady at a bar in the 15th St area of the Hill. Much to my surprise the bar we went to was rather well stocked and I was able to order a Rusty Nail (a classic cocktail that is a Jones family tradition; Scotch and Drambuie for the uninitiated). We sipped our drinks and chatted for a while just to get warmed up, I find that no matter what the first 10-20 minutes of any shoot is mostly about working the kinks out and making my subjects feel comfortable. Drinking a little booze certainly doesn’t hurt, it loosens most folks up and then we can get down to business!

After finishing the last drops of my Rusty Nail we made our way to the park and shot in the Conservatory first since it was to close for the day shortly. There were quite a few people working their way around the massive plants that call the green house home, we were able to avoid interfering with anyone’s enjoyment of the greenery while we took our photos. We shot in the humid tropical rooms as well as the arid desert room.

I did some more multiple exposure shots and also some more free lensing during this set. Practice makes perfect!