Spokane Skyline
In which Dan remembers to look up and see the less-seen.
I used to live in Spokane. Cool town.
The town made its money in mining and logging, and that money shows in many of its buildings from that era. A gew are newer but they still do a good job of filling the skyline.
I’ll double-check but most of these buildings are on the Spokane Register of Historic Places. I’m a sucker for places on that list.
Columbia Plateau Trail - Cheney, WA
Here there be monsters! ... and bikers and strollers and puppies.
OK. I have no excuse for the tardiness of this post. I took this brief trip to Columbia Plateau Trail just shortly before my move to San Antonio and never got around to completing this post.
That's a shame because I had a blast and I'm sure that I had some wonderful and witty things to say. Or not!
The 130-mile Columbia Plateau State Park Trail is one of the state’s hidden riches; explorers who find it are rewarded with big eastern Washington skies, rolling landscapes and unforgettable journeys.
So sorry (not really sorry) for the delay. In brief ... Go!
Snakey Snake!
Artist Spotlight - Sarah Miller
"Frankly, I didn’t think I was good enough to do professional theater" - Sarah "Wrong!" - danscape
Since I first met Sarah in the Spring of 2013, she's portrayed folks that are English, Irish, French and German. She's been a sweet mum to a hero, a filthy pirate, a sensual/psychotic air stewardess and, um ..... well, a french prostitute. It's fair to say that she's not daunted by the task of being diverse.
I put Sarah into that category of person that, if you don't like her, there's something wrong with you. Ask anyone that's ever worked with her and they'll agree that she's more than just talented. Her positive character elements shine through. I first met her in the Spring of 2013 while working on Spokane Civic Theatre's production of Treasure Island. We were filthy pirates together but she also had additional roles that kept her running backstage to make her quick-changes and to find the mental space needed to transition from one character to another. It was impressive to see her make that leap every night of the show.
Since then, I've been pleased to maintain a friendship with her and to continue to work with her on a few occasions. She's always a peach to shoot when she's on a stage but recently, she took on the challenge of stage managing the Modern-CDA's production of The Last Five Years. It was her idea that spark perhaps my favorite image from that show. I'm grateful for the idea that provided an image that so wonderfully captured the essence of that show. Again, she proved the diversity of her talents.
From Sarah:
There was a period of time in my twenties when I was finishing up college and starting my career in finance. I worked a ton of hours per week and, in my limited free time, found myself focused on a young marriage, a church, and little group of friends. I didn’t perform. Not to any great extent. Instead, I worked really hard at my company. I worked to advance! And artistry had to become a much smaller part of my life. I did a little backup harmony for our worship team. I put on little plays for church services. Though these were small projects, they were very special. Spiritually satisfying without a doubt, this creative outlet was an artistry life-line and I was grateful.
In college, I spent a lot of time doing theater and loved it. Transitioning away from the stage wasn’t easy and my heart broke when I decided to pursue a non-theater degree. Frankly, I didn’t think I was good enough to do professional theater and, even if I was wrong or feigning humility at that time, I feared I wouldn’t have the guts to make a career out of it anyway. I worked my early finance career and spent 5 or 6 years watching my college friends shine on stage and in film instead.
I hadn't been totally out of the creative community, though. I was crazy lucky to make friendships with other artists who like to dabble on side projects: low time commitment, high reward. That is where I’ve been keeping my skills sharp while not working on official projects. I’ve “dabbled” in any theatrical or artistic avenue that scared me:
- Home acting groups to “geek out” over various acting styles and methods, finding and experimenting with different exercises, experiencing the freedom to “be bad” at things in order to get better.
- Singing 1930s and 1940s music. I was asked to lead with Six Foot Swing for a season and, because I have terrible nerves when it comes to vocal performance, I took lessons from the brilliant Kathleen Cavender to handle my nerves enough to do it afraid.
- Creating the Writer and Actor Collaborative with Emily Hiller and Rie Lee so we can play with and help develop new scripts, finding an audience (which is scary, too!) by dreaming up off-the-wall events (or participating in events like Get Lit! and Terrain).
- Hanging around with 50-Hour Slam filmmakers (Film is my next Everest!), mostly to do PA work and get inspiration for future creative experiments.
- Tons of other random stuff…all with safe and supportive artists (too many to list by name).
The process of learning and exploration for a new role is fascinating. In the decade since college, I’ve been lucky to be in a production every 2 years or so at Spokane Civic Theatre, the former Lake City Playhouse and Spokane Children’s to stay in touch, but I’m now ready for more. My work life is more balanced now and my goals as an artist are to keep dabbling on side projects while trying for larger, more eclectic roles. For example, my most recent was Gretchen in The Modern-Spokane’s Boeing Boeing. Hence, the blonde hair!
I never want to lose sight of how lucky I am. I have great artist friends and we support each other as we develop. I’m nothing without them. And there are hundreds of incredible performers in our region who can fit into any role I might get and do the role amazingly. I am one of a large community of actors and musicians and I want to pour my best work into any project I’m lucky enough to be invited.
My hope is to be a day-professional that works in financial services and a professional artist that performs at night. Ultimately, I want to try everything. If I could look back forty years from now and see myself as one of the most versatile performers in our area, I’ll be elated. Although, I have a feeling the forward thinking I apply to improving my craft, won’t give me a whole lot of time to look back.
In my role with the Modern Theater, I'm privileged with the knowledge of all the upcoming casts for the 2015-16 Season and I'm very excited to announce where Sarah (and all our other wonderful talent) will be fitting into the season. For now, suffice it to say that you WILL be seeing more of her at our theaters and with as active as she is in the local community, don't be surprised if you see plenty more of her on local stages and screens.
2016 Lilac City ComiCon
Come for the comics. Stay for the information on eCommerce, order fulfillment and drop shipping!
My disclaimer ... I am not a fan of comics. I like the superhero movies and I used to collect the books when I was younger but I lack the fervor for them that the attendees of the 2016 Lilac City Comicon have. I come to these (and it's only my 2nd such 'con) because I'm a fan of devotees, artists and entrepreneurs that put so much effort and vigor into making this culture fun and vibrant!
Rebecca Cook was here to chat up the super cool web-series of which she's a part. Music of the Spheres, a live-action Virtual Reality series.
Several of my friends and acquaintances either had booths here or participated in the various discussion events. It's always cool to see friends engaged in the furthering of their art and passion!
Karl Schafer, the top guy from Z Nation made a fun announcement during the discussion. He said that in addition to the show still being filmed in Spokane, Season 3 will actually show the characters in Spokane in the show.
Shaun Springer leads a discussion with folks from Z Nation. Russell Hodgkinson (Doc), Karl Schafer (Z Nation Show Runner) and Kevin Cook (Z Nation Gaffer)
My dear friend, Jeremy Whittington, was here showing off both his cool originals and the Fan Art that has his distinct look and feel. Additionally, as he's the creator of all the season artwork for The Modern Theater's 2016-17 Season, he had all those posters displayed and he did a fine job of telling folks about all the upcoming shows.
Jeremy works on a piece of commissioned art for a Comicon patron.
In addition to the artists that I already knew and follow, I found a few new ones that I really liked.
Travis Bundy from Creator's Edge
Antonio J.B. Dela Cruz
Noah Kroese
These guys and their art leapt out at me. In a sea of great comic art and design, their work had a simpleness and cleanliness to it that I found appealing, Noah's especially. I was only able to chat with them for a few minutes but it's cool to see folks get animated when they talk about what they love doing.
Plus, Adam the Woo was there. That was unexpected! He has such cool videos and is a super successful YouTuber!
My inner nerd did make an appearance, after all. It wasn't for all the cosplay girls or cool costumes or characters. It was, oddly enough, in finding out all the different ways that artists are monetizing their work. All of them sold items at the convention. That's expected. What impressed me, though, was all the various ways that they sold their goods online. There are many different ways to do it ... and some of the folks seem to do it quite poorly, but others had their stuff together.
I found a few with sites that handled all the ordering, printing and shipping. All the artists had to do was set up the initial printing and sales parameters and all the rest was handled by a third party. I admit that that's a silly thing to geek out about but it's a topic that near and dear to me because of the changing landscape of photography and how to succeed in that world. A very illuminating day!
Anyways ... I'm a dork! Thank you very much to Nathan OBrien, the Founder of the event, for being such a cool host.
A Visit to Northern Quest - Revisited
Located in Airway Heights, WA, Northern Quest has so much going on! They're done a wonderful job of filling the space with beauty!
By request, I've gone back and re-edited some of the photos from my visits to Northern Quest Casino and Hotel. The main reason for my visits there was to capture imagery from the cool concerts they had going on during their Summer series and, me being me, I strolled into other areas to find pretty things. Yes, as I have time, I'll get those cool concert images, re-edited and reposted, too.
Yes, I had permission to go into the closed areas, but you know me. Wherever I go, I'll something pretty to shoot ... even a lonely vase in a corner.
This was my first real foray into interior photography. I think I did well!
Bing by iPhone
Spokane is lucky to have such a spectacular gem in the heart of its Entertainment District! Every corner of it is stunning!
The Bing Crosby Theater in Spokane, Wa has a spectacular history. Though it’s previous owner allowed it to get run down a bit, the current owner, Jery Dicker, has spared no expense to bring the place back to its full glory. In addition to just upgrading infrastructure, the new team has added so many flourishes of art and color and style. I dare say that The Bing is more glorious now than it has ever been. I’m lucky to have been allowed the chance to visit the place during off hours in order to capture these images.
It seems that you can’t go anywhere in the building without finding a beautiful angle or color or shape. A walk around the exterior of the building will show you plenty of texture and detail of the bygone days. Lamps, stairways and even walls seem to capture light and shed color in return. Oh, and they have concerts, too.
Do yourself a favor. Go to their event page, find a show you’d like to see and arrive early. Take a walking tour of the place and look for more hidden gems.
The Geometry of Snow
The Geometry of Snow
We live in a beautiful portion of the country. From any part of Spokane, you're just a few minutes in any direction to being in the wilderness, the prairie or the rolling farmlands. Mountain streams and the hidden valleys abound. With this heavy snow, even a walk through the South Hill becomes an escape into nature.
Reason to be Pretty and The Modern Magazine
Neil Labute's Reasons to be Pretty is a great show but it's a tough one to sell in Spokane. It's harsh, tight dialogue is well-crafted but difficult for many viewers to digest. The play deals with the topics of beauty, perceptions of beauty and how we defend ourselves when our self-images come under scrutiny. It doesn't always go smoothly for the characters onstage and it often, by design, leaves the viewer questioning his or her own perceptions and flaws.
How do you highlight a piece like that? Well, you play into stereotypes and how the normal person views celebrities. Celebrities with numerous, unseen flaws. What may in reality be a heartbroken, bitter wreck of a person may, with the right spin and marketing, appear to be a font of lifestyle advice. What, to a sane person's eye, appear to be a shallow, fearful bully may appear on our newsstands as a paragon of manhood.
I've grown to be very fond of Molly, Ryan, Nich and Jennie for both their acting prowess AND their ability to incorporate these flawed characters into their own persona. It's a difficult piece to perform and they did so marvelously well.
Reasons to be Pretty finishes its run this Sunday. For tickets and more info, click HERE!
Break Dancers at Huntington Park
With the chill in the air, Summer is but a memory. But what a fine memory!
The Storm over the 'Storm over Garland' - updated
Here's the iPhone pic that started it all.
I'm doing some Event Photography and Social Media work for the good folks in the Garland Business District and their upcoming street fair. It's always a popular event and our goal was to get it a bit more attention and to have a number of great images captured so folks can remember the experience. In preparation for it and to build up a bit of buzz, I've driven and walked through the area a couple times recently to capture a few images for our Twitter feed.
On Tuesday evening, after a full day at work, I visited again hoping to get a few sunset images of the area. Just as I parked, I got a weather notification regarding a potential storm. Almost as soon as I got out of my car, I saw the skies to the south looking crazy dark. I also noticed that the town smelled of earthen dust, a very unique smell. It was the haboob being pushed by the storm. I took a few pics with both my phone and my DSLR and captured a few winners that I Tweeted out. They got a bit of buzz from a few friends and news sites but nothing too big. There were a lot of folks tweeting some really cool pics and weather updates.
I continued to walk around and captured a few more images including this winner of the Quinn Marketing building. As the storm got worse, I packed up my gear and was about to head home when I saw, to the west, the best ever cloud formation. I parked and grabbed my iPhone. It was raining too much for me to risk my good camera and there were too many cars for me to get to where I wanted (the middle of the street) so I just got the best vantage point that I could and took 3 pictures, including the one above.
Almost immediately, I knew that it was a great one, even for an iPhone pic. I quickly posted it on my Twitter feed, @danscaper, and the Facebook page of the Garland Business District. I'm familiar with how to monitor Facebook stats and I could see that the image got very popular, very quickly. It was going very well in Spokane but once KXLY Radio shared it on their page, it went crazy from there.
It almost died down when another popular local station, 92.9 ZZU, shared it, too. More sharing and liking ensued, the likes of which I haven't been involved with before. Really cool stuff and a great way to highlight both me and the Garland Street Fair.
What threw a wrench in the works is that KHQ posted the pic on their Facebook page as a submission from one of their followers. They admitted that they didn't know who took the pic but admired it enough to post it anyways. Not the way I would have liked but I'm pleased that they enjoyed it. It quickly got tons of play (571 Likes and 69 shares as of this writing). Again, I'm pleased but those are stats that I can't track because the images wasn't shared properly.
After a quick note to KHQ, they were happy to tag me and danscape photography and I'm grateful for it. Any attention is good attention and they certainly meant no harm. Plus, they threw in a plug for the street fair. Where it got screwy is how a few folks claimed credit for it in the comments section and another few folks doubted who actually took it. One guy went so far as to copy the image and then share it on his page. He said that he did it to make certain that proper credit was given so I guess he meant well. There, it went on to get more attention (268 likes and 25 shares as of this writing) that I couldn't track because it was now a copy of a copy. After a friend of mine reached out to him and let him know whose it was, he sent me a friend request and tagged the image. Again, I couldn't track it but it was still nice of him to share it and give credit.
So were are we at now? Many lessons learned about the etiquette and power of sharing, LOTS of positive attention, several new followers and friends and a fantastically popular image.
Oh ..... that image! I took it home, spent some time with it in Snapseed, Lightroom and Photoshop and came up with this ......
I'm working on a few different ways to make it available in print or poster form and I'm planning on using it to raise funds for a local charitable group, a civic organization that helps out those that have troubles helping themselves.
Spokane, thanks for the positive experience and the opportunity to take and share such a fabulous image of our town.
A screen cap from the fella that shared the image. Basically, my suspicion was correct, that he totally meant well and just liked the image and wanted the proper artist tagged.
Just further proof that if you're looking for cool folks and good stories, you'll find them. Thank you, Shauk.
The Little Captains
Another Hoopfest image that I'll treasure. Team Miami Baller, keeping the streets ..... and 'Merica, free!
