SB Hopper

Music

Bremerton is the Wild West

My friend's band, Filth is Eternal [https://filthiseternal.bandcamp.com/album/love-is-a-lie-filth-is-eternal], had a show at The Charleston in Bremerton a few weeks ago. I forgot about the show until the day of. Tick tock, tick tock. You're not going to make that ferry. That bummed me out; tough to

On the Road

Et Tu, Sacramento?

I'm behind schedule and tired. And still here. I must be due for a site renewal soon. If the site goes down, it just means I've missed an email. I was about to write that I've been driving through California's Inland Empire on the way to Oregon. That's partly correct,

Lensatic Essays

Left turn at Portland

I need to hear someone pronounce The Dalles. I think that every time I'm in Portland. I also think 84 towards The Dalles sucks every time I'm in Portland. The traffic on 84 is always terrible. It turns into the start of a beautiful drive after you've put some miles

Travel

Seattle to Phoenix

I left Seattle for a Phoenix visit in early June. I say visit, but it's a combination of things. I wanted to work on a small photo essay. You know the kind - dude with camera posts 50 photos and makes grand, sweeping comments about places he visits for 48

Lensatic Essays

The Cosmos Giveth...the Cosmos Taketh Away...

No buried ledes tonight. I got my first Pfizer vaxx today. I'm relieved and grateful. I understand vaccine hesitancy, and I think we could all use an added dose of empathy and humility when it comes to people's decisions about the vaccines one way or another. I'll try to practice

Photography

On Photography

It's late. I'm tired. A friend dropped off a Ham Jam care package in memoriam of a friend. I'm no Hunter S. Thompson. A Ham Jam combo does not make me more lucid. (Accurate words or prescience - I fell asleep not long after writing that opening and some of

Lensatic Essays

A walk in the park

[Note: Updated after move from Squarespace to Ghost.] I’m not above rambling off unproven assertions based on my biases and projections. People are craving outdoor spaces and nature right now. I know I am. My generalized claim is based on anecdotal observations and an internal cry of get me

Bremerton

Letteras from Washington

I hit the road yesterday. Pre-COVID I would have considered it a quick day trip. In May 2020, it felt like a grand adventure. I went to Bremerton, and I was reminded yet again how beautiful the Pacific Northwest is. And how much I like riding the ferry. Why Bremerton?

AG23

Doggerland, in the mail

In October 2019 I shot photos in the UK and Ireland related to Brexit and Extinction Rebellion. I haven’t posted many of the photos. I wanted to go through the process of thinking about them as a whole, a visual essay, with a zine as the result. I learned

High Desert

All's Wells That Ends Wells

I’m in Wells, Nevada. It was a long day on the road. I left Yakima this morning, drove through Oregon, part of Idaho, and went just far enough into Nevada to find a place to sleep. I chose the Super 8. I’ve always taken the interstate system for

2020

Seattle to Phoenix, Leg 1

I left Seattle today at about 1400. Much later than I planned. It’s always the way with me. Procrastination + obsessiveness makes for a lot of missed start times. I hesitate to use the word obsessive; I don’t want to discount or trivialize OCD. But if there’s a

California

Paradise

I went back to Paradise, California, recently. Businesses are open and people are returning. Some never left. I talked to one resident who said he wasn’t sure how many people will return. The Camp Fire wasn’t their first major fire. I wrote a little about the visit and

Capitol Hill

Projects: Seattle DJs

I took a photo of a DJ at Bait Shop in June 2017. I didn’t have the appreciation for DJs then that I do now. I just like taking photos. I shoot a fair amount of live music, and I wanted to branch out to other parts of the

Capitol Hill

On the Streets: Capitol Hill, Seattle

It’s that grey time of year again in Seattle. I go back and forth between dreading it and loving it. No matter how wet, cold, or dreary it gets, there are loads of places in my neighborhood – Capitol Hill – where you can warm up with some good food and

Lensatic Essays

Go 4th and tell stories

I’ve wanted to start a site dedicated to visual essays for a while. There are a lot of really good ones out there already, so it’s nothing new under the sun. But the bar for entry to those is, understandably, pretty high. Those of us who are interested