I haven't posted in a while mostly because I have not been any place too interesting. Fair enough. Finally got a chance to take a weekend away, so we headed west to Port Townsend, WA. I grew up there until the ripe old age of 5. Since I live in Seattle which is close, it's a short enough trip that we opt to go a lot. I have some great memories in the area, so the trips just mean a lot. I brought my color film camera and my Holga loaded with B&W Ilford HP5 Plus. As always, I learn more about the Holga/film combination with every print I see. So here are a few of my favorite shots.
1. Tower
Easily my favorite, the lifeguard watch tower is right on the salty Pacific Ocean. The shot I took of this with the Minolta just doesn't have the personality that the Holga grabbed. To me, the Holga asks more questions of odd structures than it answers.
2. Parking
This old car with the stark background touched a part of my memory of my childhood here. My parents had a 1965 Mercury station wagon, and I recall a few shots in front of our own house in town which I remember had a similar garage door. Our car was, obviously, much cleaner.
3. The Quarantine House.
(The house is currently being used as the Northwest Maritime Center Wooden Boat Foundation office. Check it out: my old house is on the main page at
http://www.woodenboat.org/ !!!)
My dad owned this house for quite a few years back in the 70s. Historically, it was a quarantine station back in the 1930s. Around the corner from it is the quarantine officer's house. From the front porch and with a good arm, you could throw a rock across the street and hit the inlet where the boats and crab nets were. To the right of the photo about a block away is more Pacific ocean and a sandy beach where I used to throw more rocks. In the field to the right of the photo, I drove a neighbors go-cart once. I had no idea that there was a brake, so i just floored it. All I remember is that my dad was running behind me trying to get me to slow down. We still laugh about that.
4. Farmhouse
One more piece of history: this is the farmhouse my father grew up in. It was built in 1931 and still stands today. I estimate the house is probably 400 sq ft total, with an attic (yes, there really is one.) Out front used to be a 1930-something Ford Truck that everybody in the family wanted, in spite of the incredible rust. My uncle, a true "car guy" got it and went through hell updating it. The property that the house stands on used to be 40 acres until grandpa sold off 20 acres further back and kept the 20 closer to the road. There was a story that the original 40 acres were bought into the family from the Indians, but I don't know for sure. I can look at this photo and still smell the berries that grew behind where I stood to take the photo. Sorry for the contrast. Dark, late afternoon.
5. The Star Polaris
Port Townsend is a small port, but it houses more boats than you can shake a barnacle at. A large number of them are in drydock, getting repaired or painted or left to rust. The Star Polaris is a pretty good size, and a nice reminder of how beautiful wooden boats can be.
6. Flipper's.
When we would drive home from Port Angeles where my grandparents were to Port Townsend, one of the last restaurants we noticed as kids was Flipper's. As a child of the 60s, I'm sure I would have expected Flipper the fish to somehow be in the restaurant, maybe even serving us food on his nose. My sister and I would plead and hope that we could eat dinner there before going home. I don't think we ever did, but I can still hope to some day.
