Elf Sternberg

Christine Gregoire, the governor of Washington state, does not photograph well. I've just filtered through about a hundred photographs of her at a pep rally for field volunteers for the 33rd District Democrats, and it was very hard to find one where she doesn't come off looking like Senator Palpitane's long-lost sister. Who let her website use that picture, unshopped, for her campaign website? It's unfortunate, because I think she's done a pretty good job and is far more qualified than her Republican opponent, Dino Rossi.

( A brief aside on Dino Rossi. )

Shay Schual-Berke (WA District 33 Pos 1) was an easy subject for the camera. Tina Orwall, Shay's successor, photographs pretty well except when she knows there's a camera on her, then she tries too hard. Dave Upthegrove (WA District 33 Pos 2) photographs great. A bad pic of Dave is almost certainly due to a lazy photographer. Karen Keiser (WA District 33 Senate) is another who photographs easily. (And hey, she's still using my photography and art! Right on.)

I know these are very shallow considerations on which to judge a candidate, but for the past six months it's been my task to photograph these people, and I know when I get a block of Gregoire I'm going to spend at least an hour looking for the one I'm going to use for an article.

It no longer amazes me that there's such a blatant toystore on first avenue right across from Pike Place Market. The place has been there so long we've all gotten used to it, despite the impression it must give to any visitors from out of town, and the Market definitely gets a lot of visitors.

But recently they upgraded their mannequins, and apparently the new ones are as anatomically absurd as the cyborgs that appear in the movies they sell.

I'm supposed to take one a day. Sometimes, that means just pulling out the camera on the way home and snapping a photo of the first interesting thing you see.