People take a lot of big scenery pictures of Tacoma. It’s hard to pass up a view of the Narrows, when Mt. Rainier comes out to play, or even downtown from high in the sky, but Instagram user Where.is.Willis has taken to looking at the city from a closer perspective.
Check out seven of his images and see how many areas of Tacoma you can identify. (Answers at the bottom of this post!)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
“I think it’s fun to turn something ordinarily unsightly, like a rusty pipe or weathered door, into something artistic,” Willis tells Grit City Magazine. “If you see some strange guy crouching down over a storm grate with his phone, there’s a good chance it’s me.”
Willis’ texture images generally feature four slim shots from one particular neighborhood or area at a time. The style was stumbled upon by accident.
He explains: “I was playing around with a collage app on my phone and zoomed in some photos from a hike at Mt. Rainier. I normally like distant landscape photos, but the close up nature was really interesting to me and I think gives a completely different perspective on a place.”
Encouraged by positive feedback Willis, who transplanted to Tacoma in 2015, continued the style to capture our area.
“There’s something unique about Tacoma that I really enjoy — the history, the natural beauty, the charming grittiness, etc.,” he went on to share. “I’ve made some great friends and feel like part of a community for the first time in a while.”
You’re welcome to follow Where.is.Willis‘ account to see more, plus bonus photos. As he humbly puts it: “I post a lot of photos of my travels and animals too, so if you’re a fan of weird little dogs or artsy landscape shots, I’m an OK account to follow.”
Got your guesses in? Here we go:
1. Pacific Lutheran University
2. Point Defiance
3. Salmon Beach
4. UW Tacoma
5. North End
6. Broadway
7. Tacoma Art Museum (Zhi Lin exhibit)
Images by Where.is.Willis
