Chapman School, Portland, Oregon. The Vaux's Swifts pour into the chimney at Chapman School. For two weeks every fall, they provide an amazing spectacle. I highly recommend attending if you never have. Picture just don't do it justice.

First Thursday brings out the circus....

I walked around as the local first thursday art fair broke up and just clicked off a bunch of shots at f/5, IS01600. It seemed a reasonable approach for someone without much time to devote to thinking about photography lately. I really liked some of the images that resulted.

This one really grew on me. It's been sitting around until I found it again tonight. It reminds me a lot of this photo from a while back.

A lucky evening encounter after some go and beer at the lab.

I'm not so sure I like this one, but here it is... Just a quick click...

A composite of statue man doing one of his patented moves. I'll be trying for a shot tomorrow too, but just in case, heres wishing everyone a Happy Holiday!

A special Christmas Eve rule breaker today, as I usually restrict width to 750px. To retain some of the detail on this one, I pushed it out to 900px.

This statue guy performs all the time downtown, standing perfectly still for long periods, occasionally breaking out some glass ball juggling trickery. He's very good.

Yep, this is right across the street. And they start at 7am. At least for the moment they've put away the jackhammers.

So I went and missed the first birthday of this site, which should have been November 6th. I started a new job this week, so I know now I will officially not have much time for lots of photography for a while. Expect posts here and there but not so frequently.

This was caught last night on the roof. Last week they constructed a very large crane across the street, which looked kinda cool at night. It took two other cranes, one small, the other medium, to construct the large crane. Interesting to watch.

Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday to my dad!

In order of appearance, the Steel, Broadway, and Fremont Bridges. Similar to a long ago pic seen here.

My thoughts go out to those in the hurricane zone. Please donate if you can.

Okay, so the focus is a bit soft on this one, but I like the colors so much I'm postin' it anyway.

I'll get over it.

Went to the local minor league game last night. After the game, which the Portland Beavers lost in a 10-0 rout to the Tacoma Something-or-others, we got to hear some fabulously cheesy music and blow stuff up.

Site Update: I've implemented tag/categories to my photos now. If you check out the verbose page, you can now see the photos listed by tag by selecting from the tag list at the left. I did this mainly to help myself revisit older photos that were similar, but thought visitors might like to use it as well.

One of my favorite haunts and spots to get good beer cheap is the Lucky Lab. This is a normal calm day, but this month it turns crazy for Tour de France coverage. I'll be trying to get a good shot of the crowd this week for a compare/contrast.

This shot was from a week or two ago, before I went RAW. This is from the high quality JPEG.

More art from Mike King covering the walls of Ringler's Annex.

Another shot from this same location, besides yesterday's, can be seen here.

Went out to play go tonight, and found that they entire basement bar of Ringlers Annex had been covered in telephone pole poster art by a local artist, Mike King. The sign reads:

"These are flyers I created for shows in the Portland area over the last few years, there are a little over 200 different flyers. Many of them repeat at least once. These are not the original flyers, most of them were printed on colored paper or with colored ink. These are black and white reproductions.

Thanks to Ringlers Annex for letting me cover their place with paper and to Fritz for helping me put them up.

Thanks, Mike King
mike@crashamerica.com"

Updated 06/24: As of 06/22, my home server is down due to a power outage caused by a lightning strike nearby! I guess this will finally force my hand. I've been meaning to rebuild it for quite some time, as it is a very old Debian Linux installation. There's no real problem, except I can't reboot it. I never finished installing the bootstrap, and was booting from a crufty floppy disk. A floppy disk that since the last time I booted (more than 400 days ago), has ceased to be successfully read by my even cruftier floppy drive.

One the plus side. I'll be installing another 200G of space.

Wish me luck.

I'm posting a few different shots of the storm last night over the next few days. There are so many dramatic moments it is difficult to choose.

Too bad I caught no lightning. Tried many 5 to 10 second exposures hoping to get lucky, but it never happened.

A large thunderhead moved up the Cascade range. Our view from Portland offered a couple hours of photo opportunities. Difficult photo opportunities.

The naval ships arriving in Portland is cause for the spewing forth of much water. With and without colored dye. And so goes another Rose Festival. I bet it will rain. I was riding back from pints at the pub when I came across the Burnside Bridge to see this.

Just another glimpse out the window at the right moment.


Update: I've now added a cookie to store your name/email/url info in the comment form. Sure does make things easier. Let me know if this causes you any problems.

Spring sure is awesome in the pacific northwest. Our weather is constantly varying this time of year, so if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes. Just lucked into this one tonight on the roof.

More attempts at the amazing blossoms out around town these days.

I took this this past Sunday. It was close to 70 degrees and fantastic. I went out trying to shoot the explosion of cherry blossoms on the waterfront, but none of those really turned out so well. You can see them here in the distance. I may post a more narrow angle shot from this vantage point tomorrow.

In honor of the official end of our insanely glorious winter of springlike weather, I found this in the archives. I randomly use shots from my entire archive for my screensaver, and this one poped up on the day we finally got some rain.

Well, after many months of nothing since Mt. St. Helens reawoke, we finally got a pretty nice blow today around 5:15pm. I rushed home but was too late to get photos. Thankfully, Paul was diligent and got a few nice ones from the roof.

Since some have asked for more info, here you go. This was taken from the top of our 8 story building in downtown Portland, Oregon. We are located appoximately 50 miles from Mount St. Helens. The window of opportunity was small, as the upper level winds knocked the plume over in a very short time. This was taken probably 15 minutes after the initial eruption. There was no sound or appreciable earthquakes before or during the eruption. Supposedly there were some small tremors at the mountain preceding the event, but nothing significant enough to call a warning. It is true this could present a very dangerous situation in the case of a very large eruption. Winds carried the ash to the northeast, and there was some ashfall as far away as Spokane, WA. Most of the area nearest the mountain is not heavily populated, so ash is the most likely danger. Since most of the mountain blew away in 1980, there is little chance of another cataclysmic event on that scale.

This was taken on the same trip as this photo. Looks like Jack has been on a successful fishing trip. I haven't had much chance to get out and get new photos lately, so I'm again sifting. My camera should hopefully arrive sometime soon (fingers crossed), so I'll have many more opportunities once we get into spring.

The Portland International Film Festival is running right now, so if you're in town, try to catch a few flicks. The Willamette Week and Mercury newspapers have lots of coverage that can help you choose the gems from the mass of choices.

Stuck in traffic, I stuck the camera up to the window for a quick click. I love the birds, the sky, and patch of blue in the distance. Sometimes instead of planning out my shots, and thinking too much about them, I like to just randomly point and click. It is always interesting to see the results, which are sometimes a nice surprise.

Taken at on the same jaunt as yesterday. I like the way the tower almost disappears into the fog. I usually don't like truly symmetrical composition, but this seemed to beg for being centered.

This was a lucky catch today. I walked downtown to the bank and took the camera just in case. I got another shot you'll probably see tomorrow. I took a few of these, as the painter didn't seem to mind, and being captive, didn't have much choice :-). This is the one I'm happiest with. I like the motion in the brush, the yellows, and the negative space.

This is from last weeks fog outing again. I was considering putting this up third, but forgot about it when Paul gave me the guest shot for Sunday. Anyway... another from a foggy Portland morning.

Another shot from yesterday's Hawthorne jaunt. Something a little different this time. I thought this was a fun variation on the standard street shot.

Site news: I've converted the archives page now, so you can see it under the new layout. It is the page I use most often since it shows all of the most recent comments. As before, if you find issues with the new layout, please let me know.

...is another man's shrine? I wandered around Hawthorne yesterday. It was a pretty, sunny day, perfect for a walk to see all the interesting yards. I'm amazed at some of the, uh, stuff, that people put in their yards. Here's a shrine of some sort, involving the Ace of Spades, a tiny little man, an orange button, a peppermint, and the skull of a deer. Go figure. Weird but interesting.

This was taken about the same time as the fog shots of late, looking down from the Hawthorne Bridge. This was a fortunate shot. I was just experimenting with faster shutter speeds and got lucky on the composition, which, I think, keeps this from being a boring shot of a bird. The pilings and rocks frame the gull nicely, and the vignetting helps as well.

Taken shortly after yesterday's photo. A busy morning commute over the Hawthorne bridge into downtown Portland. Bravo to the cold morning bicyclists! There may have been more bikes than cars while I was taking these.

This is the first shot in a long time that I'm really happy with. I really feel lucky to have caught this just in time. The morning fog was THICK, but was burning off quickly. I hopped in the car and went across to the riverfront esplanade. The fog was still too thick to take any city shots, but helped provide the background for these leafless weeping willows.

I did minimal curves adjustments and a crop to adjust framing.

Is it pronounced 'cooch' or 'cowch'? I suppose we'll never know, but it will forever be a topic of conversation here in Portland. This was taken a month or so ago. I'd never really liked this shot until I stumbled upon it again. I really must get out and get something new, as this archive sifting is getting pretty old.

This was taken out front a local gardening store, 'dig'. I don't know why I like this shot. Maybe all the blue, maybe everything going on behind the window as well as in the reflections. Again sifting through the archives from the last month or so.

Caught this on the same trip as the BN rail bridge shot from a couple days ago. Lots of great opportunities for good photos here. I may return and see if I can get a better version of this, as well as some other ideas.

This shot of the Hawthorne Bridge was taken last summer on a bike ride. Probably for pints at the brewpub. Sorry for all the older photos lately folks. I've not had access to the D70 for a while, but I'm hoping to remedy that soon.

Yes, more old stuff. There sure is lots of it! This is from the Portland Japanese Garden on a pretty spring afternoon, May 2003.

Scooby Doo! Where are you??! I just love this van. I was riding my bike around southeast Portland a couple years back when I saw this van for sale. I pondered the fate of the Scooby gang, and just knew that I had to return and get a photo. I hope the gang is okay!

This is a cozy little restaurant nearby. They serve crepes, crepes, and more crepes. Good stuff. I found this in a batch of older photos from a month or so ago. I haven't had much chance to get out and get fresh shots for a few days.

That's usually what you'll be asking if you get anywhere near this building. For many years this place was a manufacturer of natural fertilizer. This means lots of dead rotting fish. The smell could be picked up for many blocks if you were downwind. Even today, nearly a year since they closed, it doesn't smell so nice, and probably never will. The letters in this photo are from the word 'concentrate'. Indeed.

Shot this last week during that nice sunny day we had. I don't have the camera today so I'm going through some old 'rolls'. Not sure why I like this. I think the trees and the reflection make a boring building photo more interesting.

Who know's, maybe this is the year we begin tapping cleaner sources of energy and move towards giving up our dependence on fossil fuels. I was desperate for a shot today and drove around the area. While I'd rather have some appropriate New Year's Day shot, I don't, so this will have to do.

Happy New Year 2005!

This is a bronze statue of Ulysses S. Grant from the Portland park blocks downtown. I took a few shots here bracketing the exposure, and while this one is kinda blown out from behind, it really adds something that the other two more reasonably exposed photos don't have. I like how the trees and the brightness on the right frame the subject. Also, I was toying with color channels to achieve a more sepia like tone for this one. I'm still learning how to make the best B&W images, but I think this one turned out okay.

After what seems like a couple months we finally got a clear sunny day here in Portland. Took a walk to check on a friends cat, and caught a few keepers along the way. This is the one I'm most pleased with. The winter light this far north is quite excellent even in the middle of the day. Working the last month or so in clouds or fog, I'd almost forgotten how much easier nice photos can be if you have good light.

In site news, I've completely rewritten the the thumbnail page and turned it into a yearly mini-calendar. This is in addition to the archive page that I announced a couple days back. They are two different approaches to showing all the archived photos. The archive page is the most complete list, as the minical will only show you the most recent image for a day if there were more than one posted on that day. This is unlikely to happen in the future, but in early testing days (10/2004) happened frequently. Let me know which you like best. The old thumbs page, while tinier, is still available here.

Yes, I know, more horrible holiday puns, but hey, I gotta try something to keep this interesting right? I originally didn't know what to think of this shot, but it has grown on me. I'm not sure what I think of photographs of other artworks. Is it fair? In windows like this they take care of lighting and making composition a little easier. Still, the only interesting way to capture this seemed like this diagonal approach.

I took a stroll around the neighborhood today just so I could find something to put up today. I'm not totally convinced about this one, but I'm posting it anyway.

Site news - there is a new archive section that I hope people like. I'm still going to be tweaking it, but let me know what you think. Also, I reworked the about page, where I'll also be updating site developments and news. Enjoy.

Maybe this photo should be Blue Christmas. I took this yesterday on one of my shopping outings through the windshield of my car on the Burnside Bridge. No, I don't look through the viewfinder, I just click away. I also went a bit bonkers with the post-processing, applying a couple overlays, one with a gradient to keep the bottom from getting too dark. It was a foggy day, and I really love the blue effect that resulted. There are some artifacts on the windshield from the traffic and street lights, but I don't find that they detract from the shot.

Merry Christmas!

And don't shoot your eye out!

Ho Ho Ho! Her name has got to be Eve. Another holiday reflection taken while I was out doing some last minute shopping. Okay, almost all of my shopping is last minute, but I think it just doesn't feel right when you buy Christmas gifts well in advance. It robs you of the adventure of fighting the crowds.

Continuing the theme of bicycles and digging through old photos, here's another one that I've come to like. Not sure why. It's kinda boring, but feels warm and sunny. I did some toying with saturation and a duplicate layer as a 70% overlay. I like how it feels springlike even though it was taken on a cool fall day with filtered sunlight.

So, which is it, the lock or the bike? I sure would like to know. Sure hope it works out for him because that is some nice bike. This photo was taken a while back. I've been having to dig into older stuff since I haven't had access to the camera for a few days. I didn't like this one initially, but it works for me now so I'm putting it up.

If you've spent any time in downtown Portland you've probably heard or seen this street performer. For the holidays he is always dressed as the trumpet playin' Santa. Blow Santa Blow! I gave him some money so I figured he couldn't get upset if I took his picture.

Thankfully I didn't actually have to be awake to take this shot. My neighbor Paul is todays guest photographer again. He caught this from our roof early yesterday morning.

Another from my attempts at more urban street shots. I'm usually apprehensive about taking photos of people without their knowledge, but here, I figured they can't be upset if they're already getting their photo taken, right? Well, I certainly got caught as this guy is looking at the wrong camera! I didn't notice this when I took the photo as I just clicked, turned, and walked...

After many years living in Portland, it is still hard for me to believe that I can find views like this a mere ten minutes from my downtown industrial abode. Forest Park is one of the largest city parks in the country, streching 7.5 miles by 1.5 miles (4800 acres) along the city's western hills. Portland is actually hiding down behind the fog and nearest hills in this photo, between my vantage point and Mount Hood in the background.

I went looking for some more urban grit this afternoon. I got lucky with some nice light as the sun broke through the clouds occasionaly to provide some nice contrasty opportunities. I hope to sometime come back to get a night shot of Mary's with the sign all lit up. Somehow I didn't think they'd let me take photos inside :-).

Today I tried a few reflection shots in storefront windows. I liked how this one came out. It feels festive without going overboard.

This one was taken shortly after yesterday's photo. I've been eyeing this night shot for a while after driving by this cool green wall a couple times. There was only enough time for three exposures before it started raining, but I'm happy with this one. I slightly corrected for prespective, but colors are untouched result of incandescent WB.

Yesterday's bank trip inspired me to return last night just after rush hour to capture this shot from an I-405 overpass towards Portland's west hills. I especially liked the turn signals and the legible exit signs, where I found my title.

I'm not exactly sure what this says. Seems like City of Urban, which made me chuckle.

I went out to shoot in the streets of Portland today. I'll say one thing, unless you have a longer lens than I do, it is quite difficult to shoot people! I'm still sifting through the results. When I came upon Pioneer Square, I was pleased to discover the annual Winter Ale Festival. A yearly December event, the entire square is tented from the weather in the name of drinking dozens of seasonal ales from as many breweries. This year they've really done it up, complete with skylights made from this translucent plastic. I was happy to get this uncommon version of what is an oft taken shot.

I feel amazingly lucky to have this image to post. Last night, around midnight, I had the occasion to look out the window to view a fog bank engulfing the Fremont bridge. I took the camera up to the roof and was greeted with a spectacular opportunity for some night shots. The bridge was gone, but I did manage to get three long exposures before the fog swallowed the city whole. I experimented with setting white balance to incandescent and found the resulting colors striking and quite realistic. This photo is almost unaltered except for slight rotation and resize/unsharp for the web.

I shot this underneath I-405 on NW Johnson Street in Portland some time ago. I've been meaning to post this one for a while, but it kept getting pushed back. I still like it, so I figure it's good enough to kick off December.

Oh yeah! Thanks to all those that have been checking out the photos, encouraging me, and marking me a favorite over at photoblogs.org. I've been inspired by many of your photos as well!

Today I'm hosting another guest photographer, my neighbor, Paul. It was Paul and Areta's anniversary on Friday so they went out on a photo shoot of some local downtown industrial areas and came back with this cool photo. I notice that this is the second Sunday in a row that I'll be hosting a guest photo. Perhaps I'll see if I have enough interest to make it a regular Sunday thing. I'm always happy to host friends and guests, so don't be shy!

This was taken at Ringler's Annex, on W. Burnside & 13th, Portland, OR. I took a few shots there tonight when I went to play go.

I'm running out of photos to post! I haven't had the camera out for a few days and I only have a few left on the back burner, none of which I'm really happy with. This one is kind of an everyday city shot from my roof, but I did like the dramatic difference in lighting between the city and the clouds.

I don't have a whole lot of images lately, so I'm putting up one from last week. I think the composition might be better, but I do like the basic shapes and colors, as well as the tiny view of the building inside the left lightbulb.

These grapes grow on a restaurant nearby. At first I didn't like the dirt on the window surface, but now I think its the only thing that gives away that the left side is a reflection. This one has grown on me.

I'm not really sure I like this photo. I like the idea of the shot, but the execution could be better. I feel like focal plane should be pushed back just a touch to sharpen up the spring with the rusty bolt on the right. Still, the colors that predominate the background seem to make up for that, and I'm posting it anyway. If this rickshaw is still there I may try this one again.

I called this too deep? because I feel like it would be a better photo with a shallower depth of focus. I might try some blur on the background to see if it looks nicer. Or different curves to get the detail on the anchor to stand out more. This shot might benefit from an interesting sky, but it was foggy on this morning.

Something about this one makes me keep looking. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but probably, it is a combination of the reflections off the glass, and the cold green tile. Oh, and the meat. Weird.

Welcome to the site. This photo marks the go-live date for euphorochrome.com. This wasn't a very interesting photo in color, but I liked it once desaturated.

When we first had the D70, we didn't have anything but a lensbabie lens. It emulates an old bellows style camera, and you must operate totally manually by squeezing the little accordian shaped lens to achieve the focal point and depth you desire. It's tricky, but sometimes it works. If you like it, check out lensbabies.com.

Handheld at night, this was just me toying with the D70 after being put out of the big poker game. I think the little bowties effect is what makes this one fun. I thought nothing of it at the time, but it turned out to be a nice surprise.