Saturday, June 30, 2018

Macleay Park in Black and White

According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, "Portlanders have long valued Macleay Park, in Portland’s northwest hills, as a wild oasis close to the city’s core. The nearly 140-acre park has deep ravines shaded by large Douglas-fir and western red cedar trees. Macleay Park also contains the lower portion of Balch Creek, which has a small population of native cutthroat trout. Park trails connect to Forest Park and Audubon Society of Portland wildlife sanctuaries."

I usually photograph Macleay Park in color, to portray its forested beauty. But this time I decided to try monochrome, to emphasize the drama of the scenery and of the underside of the bridge that carries NW Thurman Street over the lower end of the park.












Friday, June 29, 2018

Weathered Wood

In my photographs of the Slabtown district of Portland, I was often drawn to the patterns and textures of weathered wood and plywood, on the walls and doors of old buildings. Here are some examples.















Thursday, June 28, 2018

Shokunin Exhibit at the Japanese Garden

The current exhibit in the galleries at the Portland Japanese Garden is Shokunin, which the website tells us means "artisan". The exhibit features the work of five artisans from Kyoto, each of whom has been trained in a centuries-long tradition and is embedded in a large supporting community of craft workers. Here are a few images from this appealing show.








Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Visit to the Japanese Garden

My wife and I like to walk to the Japanese Garden in Portland. It's a good hike - nearly two miles - from where we live, with about half of it a stiff uphill climb. The vegetation changes with the seasons, the light and shadow change with the time of day, and if the sky is clear there's a good view of Mount Hood over downtown Portland.













Tuesday, June 26, 2018

More Downtown Portland

A variety of scenes in downtown Portland, a few blocks from the Willamette River and just north of the Yamhill Historical District. Appealingly scruffy, to my taste.










Monday, June 25, 2018

Used Bookstore

Portland's bookstore scene is dominated by Powell's, but there are plenty more small ones. Here's one I stumbled across recently, Cameron's (Portland's oldest - founded in 1938), a typical crammed-to-the-gills used bookstore with an atypical frontage and appealing quirks.













Sunday, June 24, 2018

Downtown Portland

I've been walking and photographing in downtown Portland, in the area a few blocks from the Willamette River. It's a bit scruffy, but colorful. In the top photo, the guy is wrapping the largest chocolate chip cookies I've ever seen - and only $1 each!












Saturday, June 23, 2018

Non-aggressive Panhandler

In front of Powell's Bookstore. The skyline of downtown Portland in the background gives this, I feel, an unusual feeling of solemnity.


Thursday, June 21, 2018

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Butterfly Belly

Owner/staff of a recently opened, colorfully decorated Asian restaurant in Northwest Portland, taken this past April.