Elevator goes TV....

In case you didn't hear, the story was picked up by the local TV news and they did a dramatic piece with a short interview, video here-

http://www.king5.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=382351&shu=1

I went back today on my way downtown and this is the current state of the elevator-

Light Rail in Seattle!

Well, this is a big post.... My 7-year-old and I covered the the debut of the new Sound Transit Link Light Rail line in Seattle for the Rainier Valley Post, equipped only with an iPhone and a bottle of water. Here is some of the Rainier Valley Post coverage. It felt awkward leaving my big camera behind, but the iPhone was a fantastic tool, enabling me to shoot, edit, process and upload images directly to the post in mere minutes! I even used the video feature to record our adventure. And what an adventure it was, we were included in the Seattle Times newspaper coverage because we were trapped in the Beacon Hill Station elevator 160 feet underground until the station architect came and told us how to escape! I made a video of the whole thing which you can see in the link below. It is scary for me to watch the video now because I came close to losing a few fingers....



Stuck in the Elevator from Stardust Cowboy on Vimeo.

And here is a funny interview I did with Lisa Quinn and the Feet First Chicken-

Othello Station Chicken from Stardust Cowboy on Vimeo.

The story from the Seattle Times-

Elevator stuck at Beacon Hill

UPDATE: 12:50 PM | The elevator at Beacon Hill is out of service, and the people stuck inside for about five minutes are out. Three elevators are still in service.

Will Austin and son Zane, 7, were stuck in the Beacon Hill Station elevator for about five minutes. The front door was about two inches open and wouldn't close, he said. The back door opened, but they didn't want to go there and get lost.

He didn't push the red security button, but was talking to people through the gap, and they alerted others. Austin tried to force the door open through the two-inch gap and it slammed shut. He got his fingers out in time.

A station architect told them to go out the back door to the service area, and he led them from there back to the surface.

Austin's there taking photos for the Rainier Valley Post and took video of the experience, and he'll probably post shortly.

There are elevator attendants today at Beacon Hill, but no attendant was inside the elevator when it became stuck.

— Lindsay Toler

More photos, and here is the link to the entire gallery-

Sword Fern

A very common plant in the Pacific Northwest, the Western Sword Fern makes a lovely photo subject. I made a mirrored collage out of one shot here.

Independence Day Weekend

What an amazing weekend spent with so many friends and family, it was so fun and we were wiped out on Sunday night.

Most of these are iPhone shots. Here is the complete gallery on my website.

Fireworks over Lake Union-


Water Balloons-


Hollyhock-


Pond at the Gold Creek Trout Farm-


Letting him go in a pond (Pacific Tree Frog)-


The old tack room on the property where I grew up-


Swim bag-


Firework flower (I don't know what it is really called)-

Smim Day iPhone shots

I love my new camera, oops- I mean phone....