Dakota

Dakota received a call from a talent agency requesting that he update his resume and photographs. He applied more than a year ago, so I guess his file was out of date. So far he hasn't gotten any acting jobs, but that didn't stop us from launching into an extended photo shoot in downtown Spokane. Opportunity is much more likely to find Dakota if he maintains a current file.

The sun appeared in the afternoon sky and the temperature rose to a balmy fifty five degrees. After such a dreary winter filled with freezing days, overcast skies, and sporadic illness, the pleasant weather created a wonderful setting for an outdoor photo shoot.

The river roared to life with a magnificent, rushing torrent of spring run-off. Feeling inspired, I spoke to the water and said, "qʷamqʷmt x̣est łu ntx̣ʷetkʷ..."

Dakota asked, "What does that mean?"

"The river is beautiful and good." I answered. This is the place our ancestors called sƛ̓x̣etkʷ... fast water.

These two photographs were taken under the Monroe Street Bridge.

Some of the pictures were serious, but we also took a few whimsical shots. For this picture, Dakota lay over a Sherman Alexie poem embedded in the sidewalk, while the sunlight reflected on one of the polished tiles.

The Otis Hotel in downtown Spokane looks abandoned, but I'm not sure. I love many of the old brick buildings around town.

The top of a pillar on the front of the Inlander Building.

This photograph was taken near the Abraham Lincoln statue by the Spokane Public Library.

Many of the brick alleyways in downtown Spokane are popular places for senior pictures. By the time Dakota graduates, he'll probably have hundreds of these photographs.

This photograph was taken across the street from the Old Spaghetti Factory, in a place known by local street kids as "Glass Alley." We only know this because Anthony once mentioned this place as the setting for one of his many fights. The alleyway certainly lives up to its name. The ground literally sparkles with broken glass, and as you can see, the walls are covered in graffiti.

Glass Alley is a cool backdrop, but we didn't wait to see if anyone else might show up.

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In the end, we had a very enjoyable day, and hopefully Dakota also got a few usable pictures for his portfolio.