On a sunny March 31, Gary from Spokane decided to treat himself to a new experience – a shoeshine from Willie Shine.

Gary said he was having a nice time in Ballard and saw Willie Shine set up on the corner of Market Street and 22nd Avenue Northwest. He said he had never had his shoes shined by someone else, and today was the day.

Willie Shine said he plans on setting up his shoe shining station as long as there are shoes to shine.

He said there are no jobs out there and he's trying to stay out of trouble. Shining shoes allows him to help society instead of being a burden on it, he said.

Ballard Big Picture is a new column of scenes from around the neighborhood. If you would like to submit a photo for use on this site and in the Ballard News-Tribune, please send it to Michael Harthorne at michaelh@robinsonnews.com. Be sure to include your name and information about your photo.