Walking on top of Spokane

My night season is beginning to wind down in 2012, and it has been the most productive season I have EVER had.   I think I’ll remember this season as being the busiest and most fun of them all.  I have been working on the National Trust for Historic Preservation project since March of 2011, and this project resulted in a number of rooftop shoots during daylight, and many of those also occurred after dark. 

Gaining access to these rooftop areas has been complicated at times, but nonetheless it has been incredibly fun.  Shooting from a rooftop allowed me to get some very good technical photogs to climb the roofs with me.  My standing rule for a night rooftop visit was to have a minimum of two shooters, for safety reasons.  A normal shoot included photographers, Chris Thompson, Paddy Hoy, and Josh Burdick.  We began to shoot on top of so many places that we became known around downtown as “the roof rats.”  True, we scurried about on top of one place or another.  Mostly we had to hurry to meet the time schedules of the building engineers and property managers and their staffers.  Almost invariably our night shoots concluded at or near 5:30PM so the building staff could go home and not have to work a lot of overtime for us.

I suppose I have mentioned this before, but for a night shooter…shooting always at ground level has a number of difficulties.  Chiefly, the main problem is high intensity light sources.  High pressure sodium, Metal halide, even fluorescent lights can create HUGE obstacles after dark.  So, early in 2011 I began to work on getting myself above ground level to shoot in daylight, as well as after dark.  NTHP provided me with a list of their targets to shoot, but it was my intent to shoot Spokane with views never before seen.  To do that I had to get on top of the tallest buildings downtown, as well as some of the “shorter ones.”

I have been on top of rooftops before (after dark), such as the City Hall building, the Doubletree hotel, the Davenport Hotel, as well as Spokane’s Clocktower in Riverfront Park.  So the value was not lost on me about what the potentials could be by getting all over downtown Spokane, by walking all over the rooftops downtown.  

At some point, when I have time, I’ll write a lot more about the experiences I had on these rooftops.  Here is a list of the shoots from elevations/buildings that I have had thusfar.  I will try to include a link or two shot from each of the locations.  Right now my total of visits to Spokane “above ground” locations stands at 32 buildings.  

Old National Bank building (2)

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/seaonb.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/west2.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/onbeast.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/inb.htm

Chase Bank building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riversidedwtn.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ponb.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/bbboa.htm

Riverpark Square Mall (2) RPS Parking garage (1)

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/cowlespaintgray2.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/chase1024.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp29.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/clocktowereast.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/leaning.htm

Small Business Resource Center building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/riversideeast2.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/lincolnwest.htm

The Davenport Hotel (2) and the Davenport Tower (1)

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/davwest2.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/southview2.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/foxsigng.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/rid.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ciau.htm

Knitting Factory

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp45.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp84.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp94.htm

Montvale Hotel (3)

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp18.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp31.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp65.htm

Spokane Club (2)

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp27.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp28.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/amc21024.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ourladyof.htm

Peyton building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp23.htm

Holley Mason building
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp101.htm

Hutton building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp102.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp55.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp56.htm

Bank of America building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/wtb1024.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/bct.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/davenportcrosby.htm

Sherwood building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp70.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp86.htm

Fernwell building (3)

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp81.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp3.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/boa1.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/onb1024.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/onbfernwell.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp47.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp48.htm

INB Performing Arts Center

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp38.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp40.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp42.htm

The Paulsen building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp50.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp71.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nthp98.htm

The Clocktower in Riverfront Park

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/clocktower7.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/westerndwtnpanorama.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/clocktower1.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/clocktower3.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/clocktower5.htm

Spokane City Hall

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/nordstrom.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/courthouse.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/courthousepost.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/monroebridge.htm

Wells Fargo building

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/wellsboa.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/onbbldg.htm

Doubletree Hotel

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/potter3.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/npano.htm

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/harrypotter.htm

Sacred Heart Hospital Parking Garage

http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/northbynorthwest.htm

Deaconess Medical Center Parking Garage
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/lincolnstreetofframp.htm

Northtown Shopping Center Parking Garage 
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/ntwn.htm 
http://www.spokanenightscenes.com/regal.htm