Brisco PointA summer's sunset in south Puget Sound Washington

Brisco Point Sunset

Located in south Puget Sound, Washington just north of Olympia, this image was taken  in 1974 looking west toward the Olympic mountain range and captured on Kodachrome 25 film, with a silver-bodied Nikon F2 camera and 50mm lens, my prize possession at the time. The original 35mm slide image cast a slightly orange glow with rich dark blues for the late evening sky. This late July evening photograph was captured from my in-laws' 16 foot runabout sitting quietly in Dana Passage, south Puget Sound. My younger brother-in-law skippered the boat and was also a casual photographer. We both sat eagerly awaiting some kind of dramatic sunset. His photograph of the same sunset was taken with a different film camera, an Olympus, and with Ektachrome 100 film. If you know anything about the bygone era of film you would know that Ektachrome film captures a different color rendition 'feel' of an image than Kodachrome 25 film. I always preferred Kodachrome due to its softer orange, richer blues images, almost an elegance of subtle color which worked especially well with sunsets and dark skies. My father and uncle were also Kodachrome 25 photographers so it only followed that I would be also. Ektachrome 100 was a faster film, had less expensive processing costs and was quicker to get back from the lab but always had a slightly bluish-green tint that I just did not care for. I guess it was a matter of personal taste. I know that it was a favorite of National Geographic photographers in the day.

The following week, my brother-in-law submitted his photo of his sunset to the Daily Olympian newspaper. His photo was published, much to my amazement. My photo never has been published until it appeared as the cover of my wife's first novel in 2007. See her website here: http://elizabethlonsethnovels.com  So you can say its kind of ironic and exclusive at the same time, even though some 33 years late. Lesson learned: patience. Brisco Point is still there today but will never look like this again. The flat area above the Point is now developed with housing, and the large trees sitting so majestically above the cliff are long gone. . .