Name: Karina Joule

Occupation: Customer Support Director / Social Media Manager

Can you sum up Seattle? Seattle is beautiful beyond belief! You have this huge, booming city with an unbelievable art and music scene while at the same time, access to scenic highways, parks, trails, and mountains only minutes away! It’s the perfect balance of city and nature.

Can you sum up the people of Seattle?  The people of Seattle are doers. With the tech industry driving crazy emigration, the city is booming with a melting pot of creatives: artists, musicians, designers, engineers and entrepreneurs. It’s a large, diverse, community of people who love learning and inventing.

Tell us about the photos you shot for this project: I wanted to capture families in the places that they naturally gather. I stayed local to the central area of the city, where families enjoy activities of all types including picking up fresh produce at Pike Place Market, shopping, walking down the Waterfront, riding the Seattle Great Wheel, feeding ducks, and letting the kiddos interact with the different art installations, games and sculptures found around the city.

Why is Seattle a family-friendly city?  Seattle a diverse community, direct access to the most beautiful parks and hiking trails in the nation, activities and adventures that span the widest of age groups and interests and endless opportunity – do I need to go on?

What are the best family friendly activities in Seattle?  Definitely take the kiddos down to Pike Place Market, pick up some flowers, and stop by Piroshky Piroshky. It has the best authentic Russian pastries.

The kids go crazy climbing up and down the Fremont Bridge Troll (pictured above)!  Go to the Seattle Aquarium, the Woodland Park Zoo, ride the Ferris wheel on the Seattle Waterfront, or take the ferry to Bainbridge Island.

Go camping! Seattle is blessed with dozens (maybe hundreds) of camping spots within 2-3 hours of the city.

What is a perfect day in Seattle? A perfect day in Seattle would include a local hike (Rattlesnake Ledge is a hot spot), sandwiches at The Other Coast Café, window-shopping in Ballard, an evening bonfire at Alki Beach, and lots of coffee (take your pick, there’s a café on every corner).

What do you love about Seattle?  Everything. Honestly. The people, the diversity, the food, the weather, the nature, the Puget Sound, the ferry boats, the community, the opportunities, the mountains, the coffee. Truly, the Pacific Northwest can’t be beat.

What would be surprising about Seattle to an outsider?  It doesn’t rain as much as you anticipate it will – until it does. And then you just embrace it.

Can you give a couple tips to aspiring Instagram photographers? Do what feels right to you, and don’t stop shooting.