my big gay weekend

The Seattle neighborhood I live in is called Capitol Hill, which is affectionately called "the hill" by locals. It's an eclectic area that grows more and more trendy as the years go by. Immortalized by Sir Mix A Lot, Broadway no longer resembles the place he sang about. Taco Bell is gone, replaced with yet another high rise condo building and there is a dwindling population of the street kids that were so instrumental in the grunge era; however the LGBT community remains a strong force on the hill no other weekend is better to see that influence than the kick off for Pride Month.

The Stranger had a list of activities for the weekend so the tall one and I began wandering around, checking out the Capitol Hill Pride Festival first where I saw the first of many a pair of bare cheeks in chaps. There was supposed to be a 40th anniversary celebration of Stonewall at Volunteer Park so we headed that way, however nothing came of it and we ended up spending a few hours playing with my camera, lounging on the grass and watching the pretty girls. A nap was in order, and then we met up with the tall one's friends for dinner and a movie. It was an excellent Saturday, but honestly I haven't had one bad weekend with him.

naked man
"naked man"

To continue my education of Seattle events, he brought me to the Gay Pride Parade downtown. We pre-funked at his friends car and then headed over to the festivities. I was super, super excited to try out my new camera and it didn't disappoint. The area we decided to stand in was under trees and thus very shaded so as the parade passed the people would wander between the shade and the light making for difficult shooting conditions. I also have no filters yet for my lens since I spent all my money on the darn thing. A polarizer would have been a welcome addition to the day, but I managed to pull out a few excellent shots.

oh my
"oh my"

There was also a bearded vagina wandering around. Wonder if those two ever got together...

rat city ttv
"rat city ttv"

I haven't purchased a 50mm yet, so any ttv for now will have to be fake. Although the tall one did spot another photographer with a contraption while we were up on the hill Saturday. I love how he's embraced photography with me, learning terminology and freely playing with my new toy. Before we go out for the day he'll even remind me to charge my battery and format my SD card. He's so great...I'm gushing, I know.

princess
"princess"

Despite the nudity there were quite a few children there. Every so often the tall one would exclaim "Baby!" and point out the most adorable little ones. Typically I'm incensed when I see children at political events, holding signs that their little minds can't even begin to understand. I wondered to myself why I didn't mind seeing children here, was it because it was a cause I believed in? I think it was more so the entire weekend was a celebration of love, understanding and acceptance. But perhaps I am a little biased.

beauty
"beauty"

If the above one does not show, please click through to the flickr page as there is nudity. Of course the naked bikers were there and since I missed them at the Fremont Solstice Parade I was ecstatic that they were a part of this event. This woman was my favorite, so beautiful and graceful, the light hit her just perfect and I considered converting this shot to black and white but I absolutely love the color of her skin.

I left the post-funking for a quick bus ride home and a long nap. An excellent end to another weekend of firsts.

Comments

Lee Ryan said…
Whoa!! That's some weekend adventure!! Yeah - I liked the last picture the best; but that's just me.
Melissa said…
Ha ha, I had my picture taken with the roller skating penis a few years ago. Will have to see if I can find it. I missed the parade this year, boo :( I thought it was Saturday, when I was working. By the time I found out it was on Sunday, I had just woken up and it started in 45 minutes. I just can't move that quickly.

As always, I love your pictures!
stacy marie said…
Lee, I'm not surprised :) and hi! welcome to the blog.

Oh my golly you need to find that picture!! I totally wanted my picture taken with him, but that penis was fast!

I think I'm getting the hang of my camera. Let's try for an outing next weekend!
Melissa said…
"That penis was fast!"

Aren't they all...
Lee Ryan said…
Thanks Stacy! Good to be here.