Scenic Seattle: Touring and Photographing The Emerald City Review – The "Must Have" for Every Visitor

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Category: Books

Published on Friday, 02 March 2018 16:23

Written by Janet Walker

Scenic Seattle: Touring and Photographing The Emerald City, by Joe Becker, is the authoritative guide to Seattle, Washington, complete with scenic, historic, city, and neighborhood sites and maps, tourist and photography value charts, and suggested itineraries.

A Schiffer publication, Scenic Seattle: Touring and Photographing The Emerald City opens with a double page photo of Bell Street Pier and Harbor in the afternoon. It is a breathtaking and seductive photo with beautiful gold tones and mirroring images on the harbor. The book closes with a stunning, second double page, photo of a Sunset over Lake Union from the Lakeview Boulevard Bridge.

Those two images are magical passports to the contents which allow those who have never experienced the charm, and awe-inspiring natural beauty or the man-made wonders of Seattle to feel at ease.

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The handy guidebook narrows the visitor’s choice to neighborhoods and desires. The author separates Seattle and the region into fifteen chapters: Seattle, Seattle Center, Pike Place Market, Seattle Waterfront, North Downtown Seattle, South Downtown Seattle, North of Downtown and South of Lake Union, University of Washington, East of Downtown, South Magnolia Hill, Northwest Seattle, North of Lake Union, South Seattle and West Seattle.

Partitioning Seattle into these subdivisions, the author pulls from each area "must see" sites, with the tourist and photographic value.

The number one destination for visitors who only have one or two days starts early at Pike Place Market, with a stop at the original Starbuck’s and views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, the morning couldn’t get much better.

Seeing Seattle for day trippers Becker suggests walking from the market down to the Seattle Waterfront, taking in the Bell Street Pier and Harbor, ride the Great Wheel, enjoy a snack from Ivar’s Fish Bar and possibly riding the Bainbridge Island Ferry to view the city skyline from the water.

Another suggestion would be a visit to Seattle Center, and like most large tourist cities, the Space Needle, a monument synonymous with Seattle, has long lines and amazing views of the city and region. Arriving early allows for this must visit attraction to be concluded before mid-day.

Few attractions in Scenic Seattle: Touring and Photographing The Emerald City are awarded five stars in both photography and tourist attraction value or equal value.

So here’s a few that hit four and five stars: The Space Needle, EMP, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Pacific Science Center, Pike Place Market (Main and North Arcade), Washington State Ferries, Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Art Museum, Pioneer Square, Center for Wooden Boats, and Seafair Indian Pow-Wow Days.

Scenic Seattle: Touring and Photographing The Emerald City is filled with so many man-made wonders, testaments to the imagination of city planners, past and present, and to the diversity of cultures, past and present, who have migrated or found their way to the Emerald City.

Any visit should be researched well enough not to miss Chinatown or the Waterfront or seeing Mount Rainer from Lake Union or another magical vantage point.

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Seattle is an enchanting and exquisite city, with nature a plenty, where the land meets the ocean and the historic meets the contemporary.

Scenic Seattle: Touring and Photographing The Emerald City has 126 stunning, color, hope my pictures come out like this, photos and maps. It is a well-researched tourist "must see" destinations with best times, and out of the way, off the beaten path, wouldn’t have known about it, extra attractions.

Scenic Seattle: Touring and Photographing The Emerald City is available at better bookstores and Amazon. It’s a beautiful find, a quick read, and lots of interesting fun, facts and pictures.

For more on Joe Becker or to purchase Scenic Seattle

Joe Becker is an award winning freelance photographer living in Tacoma. His images have been published in the National Geographic Society and well as in book and magazines around the world including EOS magazine and Northwest Travel magazine.