Take a stroll through the Portland State University (PSU) campus in downtown Portland, OR USA and you’re bound to come across “Farewell to Orpheus.” I was there yesterday, enjoyed seeing the fountain pool filled with fallen leaves, and wanted to know more about the statue’s history. It was created by former PSU art professor Frederic Littman, a Hungarian-born and Paris educated artist, in 1968. Professor … Continue reading Farewell to Orpheus
I’m making blackberry pies this morning and reminded of a poem I wrote last summer. If You Wish To Make a Pie from Scratch, You Must First Invent the Universe Sunday morning, and I’m picking wild blackberries for a pie with my son. He’s seventeen now, big hands thick and rough as paws, yet gentle, deft around the thorns. We glean fruit along the path … Continue reading If You Wish to Make A Pie from Scratch
I received some street photography advice recently to avoid “shooting from the hip” and to slow down and take more time to frame shots. On the other hand, in a workshop, we practiced shooting from the hip as a way to avoid disturbing the scene and capture life as it happens, without interjecting oneself into the surroundings. I don’t always shoot from the hip, but … Continue reading From the Hip….or Not
As much as I enjoy exploring spectacular urban places, I also love gritty rural communities, left-behind junked cars, and the sound of wind blowing through cracked barn walls. And moonsets over hay bales that nobody sees except for me and a few truckers on a long stretch of highway. ‪#‎landscapes‬ ‪#‎wisconsin‬ ‪#‎Saskatchewan‬ ‪#‎travel‬ ‪#‎photography‬ Photos from rural Wisconsin, Tygh Valley, Oregon and Saskatchewan, Canada. Continue reading Open Roads & Tilting Barns
Imagine landing a photography commission from Converse at age 15 and then having your career explode like fireworks. That’s the story of ultra-talented 22-year-old photographer Olivia Bee, a Portlander (Oregon) who is now based in Brooklyn. In January, she was featured as one of Forbe’s “30 under 30†to watch list of artists and style innovators. Olivia will be back home in Stumptown this weekend … Continue reading Nostalgic For 20 Seconds Ago
I recently discovered the work of Jason Waicunus, a photographer based here in my own back yard of the Pacific Northwest, USA. Jason not only makes stunning landscapes and nature photographs, but is also a travel photographer and teaches classes and leads nature-based photo tours here and elsewhere. Jason is one of few photo guides with a permit to access federal land and is a … Continue reading Touring the Great Wide Open
A brief shout out to Found Poetry Review for their excellent outreach to the “masses” to inspire, inform, demystify and teach the art of experimental poetry. I was notified recently that a poem of mine has been selected as an honorable mention winner in this year’s experimental category by the Oregon Poetry Association. It’s a piece I wrote last year during FPR’s April Poetry Month … Continue reading Lost and Found
I’ve thought about doing an entire street series on Portlander’s freaking out over a sun spotting. The squinting. The jubilation. The luxuriating. But mastering bright light shooting can be a challenge. I found some great advice for handling the “magic orb” as we call it here. Some of these images came out pretty cool. Others need some work. Here are some ideas to try: Put … Continue reading Bring on the Sun!
March 25, 2016 The people came in waves as the light rail trains and buses emptied. It was a cold spring day spitting rain. Some camped out over night, starting at 2 a.m. Most arrived around 8 a.m. #BirdieSanders wouldn’t arrive until almost 1 p.m. The crowd of more than 19,000 wound all the way around the Rose Quarter convention Center. I stood in line … Continue reading Feeling the Bern in PDX
