El Centro de la Raza's 2014 Gala

This year's gala for Seattle's El Centro de la Raza was a smashing success.  There were about 900+ guests, the greatest band, an engaging auctioneer, and the Seahawks mascot.

There were about 100 volunteers.

Estella greeted hundreds of visitors, often getting them to have their photos taken with her.

There was a silent auction with hundreds of interesting items, rows of tables.

The Seahawks' mascot generously came for many photo ops.  Seattle is clearly a Seahawks city, all the more so since they were champions last season and doing quite nicely this season.

The Mexican-style band led the guests from the silent auction into the banquet hall.

The guests then took their seats at their banquet tables.

The live auction went on for the entire banquet, carefully arranged with spotters placed throughout the large room.  The auctioneer actually gave up the evening--his wedding anniversary, so we all wished her a Happy Anniversary over his cell phone.

There were scholarships awarded to very deserving students.  This celebration capped off the evening.

The whole hall rose to its feet to congratulate the winners.

Paris, Street Photography around Nation

These photos were taken while walking around the vast roundabout at Nation on May 15th.

Paris, Street Photography (9e-2e)

On an overcast bright afternoon, I tried using only a 35mm lens to capture activity on a few streets.  My walk began at one of the métro stops for République and continued into the 2e arrondissement.  Because some colours were washed out by the bright sun, I decided to use black and white, giving an older feel to the exercise.