Night shooters, the Spokane night photography season has commenced

Night shooters, the season has commenced

At least for me.

I spent two evenings in RFP shooting the 2010 Indian Pow Wow, and I scheduled those shoots for the evening dance schedules. This event has been on my schedule for the past 4 years, and 2010’s version was the first time I shot it at sunset. A total blast.

As the sun began to set on the first night, I was joined by Josh Burdick for the evening. Josh is a terrific shooter, and is also one of the great technical photogs that shoot with us for all of the Honor Flights that leave GEG each month. That program involves about ten or eleven very good photogs, and our impact on the WWII veterans and their families has been well established. More on Honor Flight, on another occasion.

On the first night of the Spokane Pow Wow, Josh and I shot the opening ceremonies, and then wandered through the park as it got dark. The Ferris Wheel was inactive, and suffering mildly from half the rides lights being out. I asked the RFP employee if she would turn the ride on for us so we could get the lights in motion, and capture the profile in the process. She gladly offered to help out, and I was able to shoot two strings of images, about 30 minutes apart. The Ferris Wheel was able to create the circular pattern I wanted, even though only half the lights were lit that evening. When the camera is viewing with a timed exposure, the turning lights make it appear that ALL of the Ferris Wheel lights were illuminated. Josh shot a different angle of the turning Ferris Wheel, but neither of us could have gotten any shots without the nice young lady running the ride that evening.

Ferris Wheel adjacent to the Sugar Shack

On the second evening in RFP, I was joined at the Pow Wow by my wife Cheryl. She tends to not hang out with me normally when I spend hours out in wacko conditions throughout the fall and winter months. Someone in my family has some common sense….but on this evening occasion she came out when the cameras were also on my shoulders. After Pow Wow opening ceremonies on their final 2010 evening schedule, we wandered the park as Josh and I had done the evening before.

We headed to the area of the Post Street bridge to inspect any changes in the flow of the Spokane River as a result of Avista’s test on the modifying the base of the north river channel. As I set up my equipment for a Monroe Street bridge shot, some passersby recommended another location for me to take my cameras. I wasn’t very happy with what was in my rear screen viewer anyhow, so off we went to the area of the Canada Island footbridge recommended by the earlier passersby.

Cheryl found some shots she liked, so I l set them up, and took several image series at different locations.

Post Street bridge, looking west

Washington Water Power Upper Falls Power building (SE corner of the Canada Island Footbridge).

What we noticed from the Canada Island Footbridge was exactly as we had been told by the earlier passersby. Water was almost totally absent from the north river channel. I shot that scene, but as of this writing it is not uploaded to the web yet. Later today, or perhaps tomorrow.

At any rate, it is ON now, and I’ll hit the streets twice a week to see about reshooting some older shots at local targets. I won’t begin taking out small groups of night shooters until later in September, but I’ll start now with two hours in the evening schedules set aside for night shoots, twice a week.

Interested in joining up with my night groups? I can add you to the night shooters email list. Targets aplenty, throughout Spokane.

John D. Moore, CPP
Spokane Night Scenes
Spokanenightscenes.com
photos@spokanenightscenes.com