Designed by Pivot Architecture out of Eugene OR, the brand new Lane County Public Health Center, also in Eugene was recently opened. I photographed the space for Pivot right after the July 4th weekend and the building itself was opened for use shortly thereafter. Aside from dodging cleaning crews who were in there at the same time that we were shooting, the 2 day shoot went off smoothly and without incidence. This particular room is the WIC waiting room and the child play area.

I took Jessica and Stephan down to the area of Skidmore Fountain in Old Town Portland, OR. The wedding is taking place in Laurelhurst Park. I wanted to juxtapose the park like setting of the wedding against a more urban setting for the engagement session. The area by Skidmore Fountain offers a lot of different looks and textures and was perfect for this particular shoot and the amount of time we had. We all agreed that this shot was one of our favorites.

I made this picture, and the previous post about one week apart from one another. I had just come from a cocktail party at my friend’s gallery in NYC  the day before he was to be married. I spotted this couple while taking an early evening stroll on the Highline, showing nothing but pure delight in being with each other. They were great. I’m not sure, but maybe it was the fact that my good friend’s wedding was coming up that my mind was on couples and relationships.

On June 3rd, The Oregon Jewish Museum held an event to celebrate their new home in NW Portland, OR, and to honor 5 members of the Jewish community. I photographed the event which took place at the Mittleman Jewish Center in SW Portland. I made many pictures of these 2 people who were so locked into each other that they never realized, I don’t think, that I was even there…which is just the way I like it. I still don’t know if they’re a couple or if they’re just very good friends. Either way, they exhibited a strong fondness for each other. I thought out of all the pictures I made of them this one told the story best.

Waterfront Park; Portland, OR

This the Reading Room at the Multnomah Athletic Club here in Portland, OR. The club has a long and rich history, having been in existence for almost 120 years. In addition to the Reading Room, I photographed the salon and the whirlpool room for Deca, Inc., an architectural and design firm in Portland. It was a fun room to shoot. The long bank of windows off the frame to the left were both beneficial and problematic. Beneficial because of all the natural ambient light they provided, but balancing all that day light with the tungsten lights in the room was a challenge. In the end I think all the photos came out pretty natural looking.

Taken atop Indian Point on the Herman Creek trail in the Columbia River Gorge, this is probably the best view looking east that I’ve seen of the gorge. The view looking west wasn’t too shabby either, along with other views and sights that were part of this hike. The light that day, and at this particular point was especially striking. Right across the river in Washington, there was a minor storm brewing and the light coming through the dark, misty clouds was spectacular.

Rebuilding Together Portland is an organization that helps low income homeowners who need assistance. Seniors, people with disabilities, families with children. On April 24th, with the help of 1,200 volunteers and sponsors, RTP rehabilitated 63 homes in the Portland area. The homes received extensive repairs such as new roofs, exterior paint, plumbing and electrical issues, new handrails, and ADA modifications. Along with other photographers, I volunteered my time to document the event at 3 different homes, and to also document the before and after shots. This picture is of a lovely lady simply referred to as Ms. Ida who was one of the recipients of RTP. Her home got a fresh new coat of paint and much needed yard work done. They put in a new fence around her yard as well and installed handrails in some key spots where there were none before. I’m on my over there now to shoot the after shots!

I made this shot of the US Courthouse in Portland, OR one evening when I was out shooting street-scapes for CGI Backgrounds, the stock company that I provide imagery for. I shot it straight using a single image at different exposures, and also with the intent of making an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image, which is  3 or more images shot at 2 stop increments, and then blended together to make one single image. I ended up going with the HDR as the preferred shot in this situation although that’s not always the case. Sometimes the straight shot looks better and more natural. In this image, I was able to get a lot more detail and more vibrant colors that an HDR  image can provide without losing it’s natural look.

I was really taken in by this particular stand of pines along the trail to Falls Creek Falls. I loved the contrast between the dead trees and the still healthy ones. They both came together to make a nice little hole in the sky while I waited for the clouds to come into position. This was one of the more beautiful hikers I had been on in a while. The falls themselves were pretty spectacular too.