William Rugen Photography

If It's Fall It Must Be Fair Season

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:06 -0700

Despite Autumn being the harbinger of the gloomy weather we will endure for the next 6 months here in Seattle, I must confess I have bit of a secret crush on Fall. But only because it is Fair Season. If it weren't for the corn dogs and scones with jam and lemonade and bratwurst and roasted corn and deep-fried twinkies I would look at Fall as the taxi cab to depression season.

See you in line at the elephant ear stand.

Well Good Morning To You Too

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:47 -0700

The morning of the Rapha Gentlemen's Ride, all the riders were loading up on fuel for the day while I was just trying to wake up. I am not much of a breakfast person. No, wait, that is a blatant lie, I love breakfast. I just don't want to eat it in the morning. The old stomach takes a while to warm to the idea of food so I like to eat my breakfast at a more civilized time of, say, 11 am. Or even 10 am. But not so much at 6:30 am.

I knew I had to eat something (and drink a bit of coffee, as the empty creamers attest) as it was going to be a long day so I got a light breakfast: a bit of protein, some salt, some carbs and some sugars. You know it is gonna be a good day when your breakfast looks you right in the eye and says, "Eat me!".

RGR 2: Curse You Sun

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:29 -0700

I did not see one solitary cloud all day. Not a high haze, a small little poufy puff ball of white, not even a contrail. Really, I cannot imagine how folks toiled away for the 8-10 hours.

But there were 6 folks who decided to take it to a whole new level. They rode tandem bikes. Really. While in theory this might seem alright because you get someone to share the load, more leg power, faster on the downhill, etc., what it really means is 3 people had to stare at someone else's sweaty ass for 126 miles. Um, no thanks.

Are These People Defective?

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:21 -0700

Seriously, who would ride their bike 126 miles on a sweltering hot summer's day, over country roads, open highway and up and down tire-popping gravel roads for no apparent reason? Well I can't speak for everyone at the Northwest Rapha Gentlemen's Ride, but as far as the Motofish Racing team is concerned, I think they just like the challenge. I was happy to play driver to six crazy cycle-heads as they rode through what has to have been one of the hottest days yet this year in northwest Oregon. Someone reported a bank clock reading 182 degrees. It may have been wrong, but not by much. Needless to say there was a lot of sweating and liquids consumed, and that was just me in the van (please insert a rim shot here. thank you.) Out on the course, there was hardly any shade, and what was available was on steep climbs up gravel roads that ate tires like a fat man at an all-you-can eat donut buffet. Crazy.

In the end only 7 of the 27 team completed the full route with a full team, but everyone met up at the end for some beer and some grub. Oddly, even after a day of torture like that, the late night run back to Seattle was full of laughs and high spirits. And Burgerville shakes. Thanks for having me along.

Dim Sum Sampler, Jade Garden, Seattle

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:55 -0700

Just perusing my food pics and found something else that made me hungry. Working on some post productions stuff so no time for taking other pics right now, but looks like I will be shooting a bit the weekend of the 14th so perhaps there will be some new stuff after that. Until then, looks like just food and other flotsam from the archives.

Still Consuming

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:27 -0700

So when I said I didn't have any new photos to post, I really meant I didn't have any new non-food photos to post. I am still plugging away at taking a picture of everything I eat this year and posting them every week or so over at Consumed, my personal food rolodex. Take a peek if you haven't seen it already and be sure to stop by the tag cloud to get an overview of my year in gastronomy. Oh, and it even comes with a manifesto! Fer cryin' out loud, what are you waiting for? Go! Now!

Maybe One More

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:58 -0700

Sorry for the glut of aerials but I haven't gotten out with the camera lately. I have been too busy assisting or being lazy. Figure I will get out in the coming weeks/month to start back on a couple of longer term projects.

In the mean time here is another strange looking image from near Las Vegas. For better or worse, it really doesn't look like anything else I have seen recently.

Lunar Landscape or Vegas Baby?

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:09 -0700

Well you may have guessed that it is in fact near Las Vegas, Nevada, as I have not hitched a ride on any lunar satellites lately. It just always amazes me how different it all looks from above, and in this case with loneliness of the space and the imperfections of the airplane windows, how alien and unfamiliar it can look. For some reason a bunch of the aerials I have taken lately have also had a sort of uneasiness to them, a vague sense of dread, that I like. Obviously some of that comes from the post production on the digital files, but it really feels as it is there from the start and that is why I took them.

Don't Stare At the Sun

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:51 -0700

...or else your sensor might get fried. Or so I have been cautioned by a friend.

Even though I appreciate the advice, I gotta say, I really don't care.

I have a camera (well a bunch of them really) to take the pictures I want. If I worry so much about the camera that I don't take the picture, then why even have a camera in the first place?

p.s. I really love the contrails in the picture, it looks like a rocket headed for space.

Self Portrait

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:38 -0700

The reality of taking aerials from a commercial jet is that it is often cloudy and there is nothing to see, but I love it when the shadow of the plane appears on a cloud and it has that little sun halo.

If you want to see more pictures of the ground you can go down to Lighthouse Roasters in Fremont (400 North 43rd Street, 98103), get yourself a cup o' joe, look at eight of my prints and think about doing some traveling yourself.