I like the juxtaposition of the industrial/maritime with the distant ridge line of the NE Olympic Mountains in the background. The Port Townsend Paper Mill is the single largest employer in Port Townsend, WA … (the maritime industry is larger, but made up of a lot of smaller businesses).
Several years ago I was living in Olympia and got up early and drove to Seattle in time for the sunrise. I went to Alki Beach and took a series of photos of the Olympic Mountains intending to create a panorama of the range. Early morning was ideal, since with the sun would be behind my back and the haze would be at a minimum. There was an unexpected problem, however. When I created the panorama, in order for it to be a reasonable height for viewing, the length would be over 10 feet.
But on the way out of West Seattle, I was caught in rush hour traffic. I was in the outside lane on the bridge and traffic was stopped. I have left my camera sitting on the passenger seat with the telephoto lens still mounted. I rolled down the passenger window and took this shot looking over the industrial area. I never processed this image, because I was distracted by the image that was zoomed in on Rainier. Just a reminder to review your past images for overlooked gems.
In my last post, I mentioned a new typewriter sales and repair shop opening up in my home town. I was able to take some interesting photos there, including this one from the underside of a unit that was being repaired and was out of its case. I liked the quasi-abstract industrial design.
I was surprised to find a new store opening in Port Townsend that sold and repaired old typewriters. When I talked to the owner, she was surprised at the demand … she sold 12 typewriters in just a few days and had a stack of machines along the wall awaiting repair.
Port Townsend is an area that has a higher than normal percentage of retirement aged citizens. (One bumper sticker says: “Port Townsend: where retired people move to be close to their parents”)
Port Townsend Paper is the largest employer in the town, so it is usually just referred to as “the mill”. In this image you can see the northeast corner of the Olympic Mountains in the background.