Galleries > Exteriors

Exterior Hotel Photography

HOTEL: Mayflower Park Hotel

LOCATION: Seattle, Washington

SUBJECT: Hotel Exterior

The Mayflower is an outstanding hotel to shoot for a number of reasons, foremost the rich history and the elegant architecture. The downside for shooting exteriors is the somewhat dubious chance of sunshine appearing in Seattle on any given day. This was such an instance, where the gray skies and rainy weather stuck with us on the day we were supposed to capture a decent exterior. The answer? Wait until dusk. With a little water on the ground, everything looks good at dusk. It picks up the reflections in the lights nicely, and you have more chance to manipulate the gray skies to a decent blue or magenta.

Another element we decided to capture in this image was the streaks of light of cars passing by. It took a very symmetrical shot and added a bit of imbalance to it. Since the evening was a bit drab, it also added some much needed color to the image.

The hardest part about the shot was moving the hundred pound stand in front of the stairway. The stand was used for valet parking attendants, but took away from the look of the front entrance. So off it went, with two large bellmen dragging just off camera left, past the Andaluca awning. Speaking of which, if you're in Seattle, not only should you consider staying at the Mayflower Park Hotel, but the accompanying restaurant, Andaluca, is has fascinating takes on Mediterranean cuisine.