Photo of the Day

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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.