TIA INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY'S INVENTORY

Ladies and gents, I am very excited to share that my good friend, Canadian author Kirk DeMatas, has had his second compilation of poetry, “Conversations with Skeletons”, published and released in July 2012. This project was a very personal, challenging, frustrating, yet enlightening and rewarding experience that took Kirk more than three years to complete. I am also very pleased to present this intriguing gallery of images as a special feature to all of you in a genuine effort to help Kirk -- who has essentially been like a younger brother to me -- promote his work. I want him to be very successful in his creative endeavors, just as much as I know he wants me to be successful with mine. TIA International Photography was selected by Kirk for an exclusive photo shoot in Toronto in September 2011. These images are a sample of the photography that was published in “Conversations with Skeletons” to complement several of Kirk's thought-provoking poems. To celebrate, TIA will join Kirk and his friends to co-host his official book release party in Toronto on September 15, 2012. Very proud of you, Kirk! ;o) You can order “Conversations with Skeletons" from your favorite online bookstore retailer today!

In the summer of 2021, TIA was hired by the Friends of Waterfront Seattle organization to photograph the public Waterfront Block Party at Pier 62! The Waterfront block party was a scheduled event to augment Seattle's long-term revitalization efforts in the downtown district as well as the waterfront's concurrent redevelopment. Pier 62 is one of the latest attractions of the waterfront to be renovated, reopening to the public in 2020 after nearly four years of reconstruction. You can read more about the waterfront redevelopment efforts here: https://waterfrontseattle.org/waterfront-projects/pier-62

In the summer of 2021, TIA was hired by the Friends of Waterfront Seattle organization to photograph the Bollywood Dance Workshop at Pier 62! This energetic and entertaining workshop was an event to augment Seattle's long-term revitalization efforts in the downtown district as well as the waterfront's concurrent redevelopment. Pier 62 is one of the latest attractions of the waterfront to be renovated, reopening to the public in 2020 after nearly four years of reconstruction. You can read more about the waterfront redevelopment efforts here: https://waterfrontseattle.org/waterfront-projects/pier-62

In the summer of 2021, TIA was hired by the Friends of Waterfront Seattle organization to photograph the Wababa Korea Festival at Pier 62! This lively, colorful, and multicultural festival was an event to augment Seattle's long-term revitalization efforts in the downtown district as well as the waterfront's concurrent redevelopment. Pier 62 is one of the latest attractions of the waterfront to be renovated, reopening to the public in 2020 after nearly four years of reconstruction. You can read more about the waterfront redevelopment efforts here: https://waterfrontseattle.org/waterfront-projects/pier-62

In the summer of 2021, TIA was hired by the Friends of Waterfront Seattle organization to photograph a Whacking (or Waacking) Dance Battle at Pier 62! This expressive and exhilarating battle of dance moves was an event to augment Seattle's long-term revitalization efforts in the downtown district as well as the waterfront's concurrent redevelopment. Pier 62 is one of the latest attractions of the waterfront to be renovated, reopening to the public in 2020 after nearly four years of reconstruction. You can read more about the waterfront redevelopment efforts here: https://waterfrontseattle.org/waterfront-projects/pier-62 You can learn more about Waacking here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/nyregion/waacking-nyc-club-dance.html

In the summer of 2021, TIA was hired by the Friends of Waterfront Seattle organization to photograph the DropSound Yoga class at Pier 62! This wonderfully executed, early morning workout was an event to augment Seattle's long-term revitalization efforts in the downtown district as well as the waterfront's concurrent redevelopment. Pier 62 is one of the latest attractions of the waterfront to be renovated, reopening to the public in 2020 after nearly four years of reconstruction. You can read more about the waterfront redevelopment efforts here: https://waterfrontseattle.org/waterfront-projects/pier-62

In the summer of 2021, TIA was hired by the Friends of Waterfront Seattle organization to photograph the Zumba Master Class at Pier 62! This high energy and invigorating morning class was an event to augment Seattle's long-term revitalization efforts in the downtown district as well as the waterfront's concurrent redevelopment. Pier 62 is one of the latest attractions of the waterfront to be be renovated, reopening to the public in 2020 after nearly four years of reconstruction. You can read more about the waterfront redevelopment efforts here: https://waterfrontseattle.org/waterfront-projects/pier-62

TIA was cordially contracted by the Seattle Parks & Recreation department to photograph approximately half of Seattle’s 500+ city parks in the Summer of 2015! The department plans to overhaul and refurbish its official website to feature new and updated images of its parks, playgrounds, golf courses, boat ramps, bike trails, community centers, swimming pools, and public events for the millions of people who visit Seattle’s parks each year. The new website will launch in early 2016. TIA took more than 20,000 photos for this project and submitted the best 4,000 images from that set to Seattle Parks & Recreation. Needless to say, it was extremely difficult to select 30 favorite images to feature in this gallery! If you would like to see more of these images, please visit Seattle Parks & Recreation’s official website at: https://www.seattle.gov/parks/allparks#/1 and their Flickr site at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seattleparks/albums

In Summer 2017, TIA was elated to be contracted by the Seattle Parks & Recreation department for a project to support and promote its Park District initiative (http://www.seattle.gov/seattle-park-district). In this project, TIA had the opportunity to travel to different sites in Seattle to photograph several subject matters, including multicultural events, recreational activities, and park restoration efforts. This particular project enlightened TIA about the City of Seattle's determination to promote inclusivity in its many neighborhoods, and to emphasize the benefits of physical activity, fitness, and wellness. In addition, TIA developed a profound appreciation for the maintenance teams that sustain the upkeep of the city's community centers, and the volunteers who invest their time to clean, restore, and preserve the natural beauty of the city's hundreds of parks. On a more personal level, TIA enjoyed photographing the interaction of children from diverse backgrounds at the different events, and witnessing their youthful energy, enthusiasm, and exuberance. TIA captured approximately 3,000 photos for this project and submitted the very best 750 images from that set to Seattle Parks & Recreation. As usual, it was quite a challenge to choose approximately 40 of my favorite images to feature in this gallery!

In Spring 2019, Seattle Parks & Recreation department hired TIA for its annual Park District Initiative (http://www.seattle.gov/seattle-park-district), similar to the work TIA contributed back in 2017. TIA, once again, had the terrific opportunity to travel to different sites in Seattle to photograph several subject matters, including multicultural events, recreational activities, board meetings, and park restoration efforts. The City of Seattle has a determined objective to promote inclusivity in its many neighborhoods, and to emphasize the benefits of physical activity, fitness, and wellness. Since 2014, TIA is grateful to still be a part of Parks & Recreation's agenda to inform residents about the department's efforts to maintain and sustain the upkeep of the city's community centers, as well as the contributions of volunteers who invest their time to clean, restore, and preserve the natural beauty of the city's hundreds of parks.

Seattle Parks & Recreation Strategic Plan Project (October 2019). Parks & Recreation hired TIA to photograph the following (featured in this gallery): 1) Recreational activities at the city's different parks and community centers; 2) Landscapes of specific natural spaces in Seattle's parks bordering Union Bay & Lake Washington; and 3) Landscapes of Seattle's newest urban parks.

A few months after completing the photo project for Seattle Parks & Recreation, the department asked if TIA could photograph the annual Denny Awards in December 2015. The answer was a resounding, “Yes! Of course!" Seattle Parks & Recreation hosts this very special awards ceremony each year to acknowledge and honor all the city’s volunteers who contribute to the maintenance, development, and operations of Seattle’s parks -- an incredibly immense and ongoing undertaking. Of the volunteers, a select number of groups and individuals are chosen for their distinctive voluntary contributions towards the success of the parks. In 2015, the Denny Awards were held at the magnificent Museum of Flight. Both Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle Parks Superintendent Jesús Aguirre gave heartfelt speeches of gratitude to commence the ceremony. Please enjoy a sample of the images captured from this event. To see all the images, please visit Seattle Parks & Recreation’s Flickr website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seattleparks/albums/72157659647017543

TIA was very enthusiastic to be contracted by the City of Seattle’s Department of Information Technology for a special internal project in the second quarter of 2016. The theme of the project was to display an intimate and beneficial engagement between individuals and devices representing access to information (i.e. laptops, cellphones, website pages, etc). Additionally, some of the images were intended to demonstrate the playful and entertaining aspect of the interaction between people and their contemporary gadgets. Please enjoy a small sample of some of the images that were captured during the photo shoot. It was a lot of fun to meet all the people who volunteered to be models for the different scenarios we enacted for the project. What TIA enjoyed most was the synergy that ensued as a result of how collaborative the models were. The more they understood the purpose of what the department was trying to achieve, the more involved they became, thus making the entire photo shoot incredibly entertaining and, in many cases, informative and educational.

When the City of Seattle’s Department of Information Technology commissioned TIA for a second special photo project in September 2016, TIA was ecstatic to engage. The theme of the second project was to showcase how information technology is utilized by Emergency Response Teams, the Seattle Fire Department, and the Seattle Police Department. For TIA, it was an enlightening learning experience to discover the level of detail and attention required by these departments to accomplish their objectives, especially when the information compiled and response time could very well make the difference between life and death. By the end of the photo shoot, TIA had developed a new appreciation for the amount of concentration these departments need when using information technology to perform their duties from minute to minute. Please enjoy a small sample of some of the images that were captured during the second photo shoot.

TIA was approached by Seattle Parks & Recreation to photograph the re-opening of Denny Park in May 2017. Denny Park is Seattle's first and oldest park. It's natural landscape provides a very charming, inviting, and recreational contrast to the built-up, urban expanse of the encompassing South Lake Union district. The park recently went through several renovations. This ribbon cutting ceremony was a public commemoration of the revamping efforts. With the sunny weather on our side that day, the event was a very pleasant and cheerful occasion for families. Many speakers shared their thoughts and remarks at the re-opening, including Mayor Ed Murray, Seattle Parks & Recreation Superintendent Jesus Aguirre, and members of the Denny family! TIA is very proud to call the City of Seattle a regular client after working with them for the past two and a half years.

In the Summer and Autumn of 2016, TIA had the pleasure to be commissioned by the City of Bellevue, the lovely city and community across Lake Washington east of Seattle, to capture new images for its new and refurbished website, scheduled to launch in 2017. Bellevue, in its own right, is a charming and enticing city with plenty of attractions for its residents, visitors, adults, children, and families alike. TIA had the opportunity to thoroughly explore Bellevue and photograph many of its annual and weekly events. (On a separate occasion, TIA visited and photographed all nine of Bellevue's fire departments in one day as it was the only day the weather cooperated)! In addition, TIA had the most amazing opportunities to capture many different perspectives of Bellevue's elegant city center and skyline. (That was a LOT of fun). Please enjoy this small sample of images submitted to the City of Bellevue.