Covering Sakura-Con was a very different experience.  Thousands of Japanese anime fans invaded the Washington State Convention Center for the three-day event. Most of the crowd was in full costume and some in full character as they listened to speakers, got autographs signed, bought merchandise and socialized  Seeing all these fantasy characters roaming around was surreal. I tried to focus on magic realism when I made these photos.

This weekend I photographed the final hours of the Alki Tavern, a West Seattle institution. The tavern was open for 38 years across the water from downton Seattle. On Wednesday, the bar held an auction for memorabilia allowing regulars a chance to buy a little piece of their beloved tavern.

The final night was packed full of friends and family of the bar, reflecting on their passed memories. A man pointed out a note on the wall where a woman wrote that she met her husband, "Look I'm not the only one that met their spouse here." The bar's connections with people ran deep.  

A developer bought the tavern and six adjoining lots for over 3 million dollars.

Early Monday morning I saw that the Aurora Borealis was picking up due to a large coronal mass ejection from the sun a few days earlier. I pulled up to Alki Beach in Seattle and set up my camera. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could see the slight green glow of the Northern Lights. After a while they dimmed and I headed down the road to photograph the city then down to Lincoln Park.