Two Very Big Arts Weekends Approaching

Arts Shows

​Summer 2016 weather in the northwest has finally arrived. It's been a crazy busy Spring and Summer for me and Puget Sound Photography Underwater. Almost every weekend since mid-April I have been either at an Arts Festival, Waterfront Festival, or Arts & Crafts event of some sort. The response to my beautiful, very unique and local underwater photography has been overwhelming. Every week I meet so many people that appreciate my local 'Made In Puget Sound' Fine Art. Through my art, I believe many people are gaining a deeper appreciation for what we have in our little part of this big world, and how fragile it truly is. A substantial part of my weekends are spent not only selling my artwork, but also educating people about our waters and life it supports. I continually stress the importance of reducing pollution and preserving the health of our local and global environment.
 
This weekend I will be at the Alki Arts Fair in West Seattle. More than 100 artists will have their work on display and for sale. Please come out and support the arts and artists of the great northwest. Enjoy a wonderful time in the sun, on the beach.

Next weekend, July 29, 30 & 31, I will be at the Bellevue Arts Festival. This is a very large and very important annual event. Hundreds of local, national and international artists will be in attendance. My booth is C33 at the 6th Street Fair, located across the street from Bellevue Square. I will have some new, cool and amazing art on display. Please come out and support the arts in Bellevue next weekend.

---

Salmon Photography Project

This month I began work on my second year of an incredibly difficult, but important project. I am working to learn about and report on the health of our local salmon populations. My goal is to do whatever I am able as a photographer and environmentalist to save and promote our local salmon. Overall, the outlook is not good. Chinook, or King Salmon populations in our local waters are in serious decline. There are far too many reasons to list in this Blog about why one of our most important resources is in distress.
 
In the coming months I will be posting shots of salmon from a few of our local rivers. My primary focus is Chinook. These powerful animals move at lightning fast speeds. They spend four years in the open ocean dodging and avoiding predators like Sea lions, Salmon Sharks, Killer Whales and others. This makes for quite a challenge to me as a photographer.

So many species in the food web depend on the entire life cycle of King Salmon. For instance, the Southern Resident Killer Whales, the J, K & L pods, consume King Salmon almost entirely. Without them, those pods will be forced to spend their time and energy in other waters, outside of the Salish Sea and Puget Sound in search of food. A huge multitude of animals, birds, insects, plants and more depend on these mighty creatures. Long after they have spawned and died, their carcasses rot and decay on the local rivers banks and sand bars. Predators like eagles, insects and others consume the remains and the circle of life goes on.
 
As always, I welcome input, feedback and comments on this and all of my Blog subjects. Watch this space for future posts and images.