Looking Back
Ready-to-hang gift idea
>In partnership with my friends at How It Works, I just received a collection of 20 ready-to-hang photographs like this shot of Indian Paintbrush blossoms at Deception Pass. A “Pro Lam” treatment results in a wood-mounted, laminated enlargement that is ready to hang. Eliminated from the picture (no pun intended) are the expensive, time-intensive elements […]
Dramatic changes on waterfront
> It’s hard to see detail on a photo this size, but even so, changes on waterfront property owned by the Port of Anacortes are obvious. I got some help from Harbormaster Dale Fowler, who scanned this late 80’s photo and recalled the Anacortes of yesteryear. In this photo taken from Cap Sante, you’ll note […]
Sweet bluegrass
> This is one of my favorite images from a collection of slides taken during the first Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in 1984. As far as I know, Sedro-Woolley’s Ernest Queen is still at it, entertaining his audiences with the sweet, all-American sound of Bluegrass.
Looks can be deceiving
> As a photographer friend recently noted after sending me an “edited” wildlife image, you can’t necessarily believe what you see in today’s high-tech/digital world. This photo of a U.S. Navy A6 aircraft is a case in point. The “retired” jet is part of an eye-grabbing static display on Highway 20 in Oak Harbor, just […]
Park Row 1952
>A Labor Day treat for me was an hour and a half spent watching “Park Row” on the Turner Classic Station with my mom. At age 12, film director Samuel Fuller got his first job as a copyboy on the New York Journal. At 17, he was a crime reporter for the San Diego Sun. […]
Seventy years ago
> It’s a lousy copy of a newspaper article, but the headline is clear, and the story’s a great one. It was 70 years ago this season that the Anacortes High School Seahawks football team came through with a season-ending “upset,” tying Sedro-Woolley 6-6 for the Skagit County football championship. My dad, Buehl Berentson, served […]
Washington Pass
Pesky barriers were in the way, so I pushed my camera through a space in the bars Sunday for this shot of Diablo Lake in the North Cascades. I was fighting the sun, too, but it was a glorious afternoon for stops along the highway at Washington Pass.
Sun damage
> Only a few hundred feet from the golf course at Desert Canyon in Orondo was this sun-bleached relic, a wooden chair with caning smashed and spilling onto the hot sand. Hints of color still remain on the two exposed legs.
East side killdeer
> The killdeer is named for its frequently heard call. This weekend I’m on the east side of the Cascades, where there are many such birds in the neighborhood. Spotted a coyote the other day, too, but didn’t have my camera handy.
Anacortes Marina
> A birdseye view of Anacortes Marina on Fidalgo Bay.
Band of blue
> The Guemes Channel, which separates Fidalgo and Guemes islands, features prominantly in this aerial photo. Note the contrast between Anacortes’ busy shoreline and the rural character of Guemes, referred to by many as “Dog Island.”
Public facilities
In this photograph you can find Island View Elementary School, Anacortes Middle School, Island Hospital, Anacortes Police Department/Municipal Court and the National Guard Armory/Boys and Girls Club. All within walking distance of each other.