How We Got That Shot

For this month’s Bars Feature, photographer Sarah Flotard and I tackled a lot of weekend, well, barhopping. Now, six bars in three days might not sound like a lot for your average nightlifer. But when you’ve got a long shot list of specific scenes to photograph and models and tangled, often conflicting, schedules for those models? We lucked out on the cover shoot, though, thanks to a coincidence. We were at Shorty’s in Belltown as the sun was setting perfectly on an uncommonly warm Saturday afternoon on February 20, and Flotard wanted to capture the moment before it slipped from our grasp. The problem? Our models hadn’t arrived yet, so we patrolled the bar. That’s when I saw her: One of the patrons was my former Starbucks barista. We asked her and her friends if they’d like to try modeling. Lucky us, they were naturals and continued to enjoy one another’s company while we photographed. Sometimes the most natural shots end up being the best shots. 

Published in the Best Neighborhood Bars issue of Seattle Met.