The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

The conditions were such that I simply had to take some photographs. February Seattle was being treated to unseasonably spectacular weather, it was the weekend and I just adopted a new member into the Explosion family… a Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. After enjoying a literal boat-load of sushi on Friday night, I got a phone call from UPS around 9:30 PM saying that my new hunk of glass was at their Seattle hub. Sharat and I bombed down to Georgetown in the Explorer and picked it up just before Josh, the UPS customer service rep, called it quits at 10 PM. Since I knew Saturday was going to be as clear as Friday, I made up my mind to be at a particular spot in West Seattle as the sun came up. Sharat quickly translated my proclomation into reality by iPhoning an almanac: surise at about 7 AM. The best light of a sunrise occurs in the hour before the sun becomes visible. This meant getting to my spot around 6 AM, which called for a 5:30 AM wake-up time. On a Saturday. I know.

I noticed a lookout point on Admiral Way when I drove over to West Seattle earlier in the week to meet a couple of friends. The photographer bell went off in my head and I began thinking about how I could shoot it. Immediately I settled on shooting a sunrise because the silhouetted buildings with their lights might look great against the mountains and morning sky. With the convergence of the weather, the weekend and new gear—Saturday was going to be my moment of truth.

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I was not sure where I was heading, I just knew I needed to cross the Puget Sound and head west. After catching a boat to Bremerton, I headed north on 3, caught the 104 to the 101 and eventually cruised along the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the 112. Five hours later the Explorer pulled into a campsite in Ozette, WA. For the next few days this secluded plot would serve as our base camp as Caitlin, Sharat, Emily and I explored the very western edge of the United States. Above is Emily jump standing on the coast of the Pacific at the Dungeness Spit.
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The George Washington Memorial Bridge is not in this picture. My camera, a Nikon D300, is hanging over the edge of the aforementioned structure, better known as the Aurora Bridge. I bolted the camera to a tripod, tilted it against the rail, and extended the center post so that the camera hovered some 160 feet above the ground. With a remote shutter release clenched tightly in my fist, I fired off frame after frame. The result is the latest addition to my “Scene from 99” series. In this entry, I captured the George Washington Memorial Bridge from the air (above), land and sea (below).

“Scene from 99” is an ongoing series exclusive to the Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000 that features images and commentary about Seattle’s iconic Highway 99.

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I snapped this photo on an exceptionally warm day for early March. Temperatures in Washington DC climbed into the high 70s and hints of the coming summer humidity permeated the balmy swamp that is our Nation’s capital. Scott Zaleski, who was visiting from Chicago, and I had been wandering around the FDR memorial. I eventually ended up on the bank of the Tidal Basin. The setting sun cast a warm light on the Washington and Jefferson memorials. When I looked west towards the Potomac, I noticed that passersby were pleasantly silhouetted against the golden sky. I creeped out, zoomed my lens to 200mm and grabbed a few shots of people as they walked (or biked) by the sunset. (continue reading…)

Mount Baker from Lynden, Washington.
August 16, 2008. 8:39 PM.
Nikon D300. Nikon 18-200mm VR lens @ 112mm.
Program Exposure. 1/4 sec @ f/5.3. ISO 200.

Here are few shots of Mount Baker from Uncle Jim & Aunt Sharon’s house in Lynden, Washington. We were just sitting down to dinner when my cousin, Derek, noticed the moon coming up. For this exposure, I used my dad’s classic technique. I dialed in ISO 200, threw the D300 in P mode, pointed straight up into the sky, half-pressed the shutter release to get a metering, tapped the AE-lock button, recomposed on the mountain and fired.

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