Photo of the Day

Almost Got Away

2010-09-04T03:18:00Z

I’ve always liked carnivorous plants. On our deck are growing a few post of pitcher plants, sundew and venus flytrap. This insect triggered one of the traps and was almost able to escape. But the plant had closed on its abdomen. After that, the bug never had a chance.

Cloud Gate

2010-08-24T06:17:00Z

While I was in Chicago this past spring I noticed a few things that had changed since the last time I was there. The most impressive new feature I saw was the sculpture Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor. Located in the middle of Millennium Park, the huge mirrored form reflects the city all around it like a huge fish-eye lens. It has an infinite quality to it and appears to have a completely different shape depending on from which angle it is viewed. Not only does it capture a distorted image of the city, but it also captures the images of the people looking at it.

Salt Lake City

2010-08-23T04:37:00Z

About a week ago I ended a trip to Salt Lake City. I was there for a few days doing some commercial work. When I had a moment, I made it a point to get out and see some of the local scenery.
The Great Salt Lake has an average size of 1700 square miles but is only 30 feet deep. There are no fish but lots of brine shrimp as I witnessed. The photo above was taken about 20 miles west of Salt Lake City and was shot digitally in infrared.

Infrared Again

2010-07-15T05:31:00Z

After years of wanting one, I finally got a digital infrared camera. Ever since the late 1980’s, I have been a fan of Kodak’s High Speed Infrared film. Sadly, this, like so many other great specialty films, is no longer produced. For a while I’ve had this original Canon Digital Rebel sitting on a shelf. Finally this spring I decided to reintroduce infrared into my photographic vocabulary. The Rebel was sent off and was converted—sensors in digital cameras are just as sensitive to infrared light as they are to visible light—it’s a filter built into the camera that keeps the infrared part of the spectrum from showing up in your photos. Now there are several services around the country that will remove the IR filter and replace it with a filter that blocks the visible light and allows only the IR light to pass through.
The images don’t look quite like Kodak’s great film, but the tonalities are very similar, and with a few post-production tweaks you can get a picture with great atmosphere. How I’m going to use this newly modified camera, I have not yet decided.

New Business In St. Johns

2010-07-14T06:18:00Z

Well, it’s not really that new now. The Sultan Hookah Lounge opened a couple of months ago. I wrote a short piece about it and took some photos for the Sentinel, which is still online for the moment, but maybe going dark soon—hopefully to be replaced by a larger news venture.

The smokers I spoke to said they love the hookah. It seems that the lounge is pretty busy on weekend evenings. Personally, I find it hard to breath there. Though the shop might seem controversial (they also sell a lot of smoking paraphernalia) I think at this point, with so many vacant storefronts in the neighborhood, people are happy to see anyone make a go of a new business.

Wedding at David Hill Winery

2010-05-18T03:46:00Z

This was a wedding from last summer at the David Hill Winery—located in Forest Grove, it is a beautiful location for a wedding, Good weather is a necessity, as the house is not large enough for big events, but there are great rooms upstairs for people to use to get ready.

Beer in Chicago

2010-04-30T05:02:00Z

Earlier this month I spent a few days in Chicago to photograph the Craft Brewers Conference. It’s a conference of beer brewers from all over the world converging for seminars, a trade show, and this year, the World Beer Cup—The Olympics of beer!
I was lucky enough to stay at a hotel in The Loop right along the river. The conference site was just a few blocks away, so I was able to walk to my assignments. The first few days there, Chicago was cold, wet and foggy—just like spring in Portland. As I walked across the Michigan Ave bridge I could almost hear the theme song to the Bob Newhart show. That dates me to be sure, but I could recognize many of the buildings from the opening scenes.

I used to always think that Superman’s Gotham city was based on New York. Now that I’ve spent a few days in The Loop, I know that the writers were thinking of Chicago. The towering walls of concrete and steel were unmistakable. Even the huge gothic skyscraper that houses the Chicago Tribune looked to be ripped from the comic books.

conquering the on-camera flash

2010-03-31T04:54:00Z

I teach a fair amount at the New Space Center for Photography. One workshop I usually teach each quarter is Conquering the On-Camera Flash. The idea is to help students understand how to control compact Speedlights. This is a beginning class and many people come in with flashes they have just purchased and are learning to use them for the first time. It’s always fun to watch as people get the concepts of “manual” vs. “Auto” vs. “TTL” I always wished I had had someone to explain those things to me when I was starting out.

Spring Is Here!

2010-03-21T04:31:00Z

My Favorite season. In Portland it actually started in late february. Often that is the case, and then it lasts through June before the hot summer weather really sets in.
The flower pictured above actually bloomed a few weeks ago. The first flowers were starting around february 20. Now everything is really in full bloom and many of the trees already have leaves!
Today it was 70 deg. It’s suppose to be cool and rainy again tomorrow.

The End of the Sentinel?

2010-03-20T03:23:00Z

The little newspaper I worked for has published its last print addition this month. The photo above was used as an illustration for our February issue found here: Here.
For the time being, we are continuing to operate online. There are a few people around this city that are trying to start a not for profit news agency. We’ll see how it shakes out.

Balam (pictured above) is the Director of Circadia Arts—A non-profit arts organization. I hope it’s doing well. Non-profit arts firms are having a rough go of it. Read about the IFCC here: http://bit.ly/9GDy8v

I hope they are able to come back. The IFCC has meant so much to North Portland over the years.

Poking the blog awake again.

2010-03-09T05:13:00Z

My family and I went to the fish hatchery last Saturday. I decided to make this fish a bit hyper-real.

From a wedding last year

2010-01-29T08:40:00Z

Looking through last season’s wedding photos I see some really beautiful moments. I thought I should post some here.

World’s Smallest Watermelon?

2010-01-27T06:47:01Z

The Cloud and the Cell Tower

2010-01-26T04:25:00Z

Best of 2009 Gallery Now Online

2010-01-20T21:24:01Z

Much of my editorial work is done in service of the Portland Sentinel, a news service covering the north half of Portland. This has served as a duel purpose for me. While it provides me with a steady stream of local reportage assignments, my Sentinel work has also been part of a personal project of mine documenting life in my own neighborhood. These assignments have taking me inside the churches, cafes, homes and shops that comprise the unique communities of North and Northeast Portland. I’ve just gone back over the past year’s work and selected some of my favorite images. A “Best of 2009” gallery has been put online here