Japanese Garden Stones

The Portland Japanese Garden uses rocks and pebbles in many ways for purposes both practical and decorative. Here are some examples.

Tree Trunk Textures

Portland has many old, handsome trees lining its residential streets. I like to photograph their textures and subtle colors.

Japanese Pottery Exhibit

On our latest visit to the Portland Japanese Garden, we were able to see an exhibit of fine Japanese pottery from some Portland collections.

Approaching the Japanese Garden

The Portland Japanese Garden is a healthy uphill walk, about two miles, from our condo. Before we reach the Japanese Garden, we have to enter Washington Park and then walk, even more steeply up hill, along a forested path and road, then through the International Rose Test Garden, and past some tennis courts. So it's a varied and virtuous, as well as an aesthetic, excursion. Here are some of the sights along the way.

G. Dan Mitchell (http://www.gdanmitchell.com/) has been posting some very nice photos of the Japanese Garden recently, drawn from his visits from the San Francisco area. Recommended.

Broadway Bridge - Wide Angle

The Broadway Bridge is one of twelve bridges across the Willamette River in Portland. I recently got an extra-wide angle lens, the Lumix 8-18 mm (equivalent to 16-36 mm full frame) to go with my micro 4/3 Panasonic Lumix GX85 camera. I thought that the superstructure of the bridge, and views up and down the river, would make suitably dramatic subjects for the lens, and I was not disappointed.

Our condominium building is just a few short blocks from the west end of the bridge, so it's a good walk to that end and then over the bridge (decent sidewalks for walking and biking) to the east side. Views over the railings to the south and north are different and interesting. Occasionally I'll continue walking east for a few blocks after crossing. The east side of Portland is much larger and more populous than the west side, with a more diverse and generally less prosperous population. Some of the most interesting ethnic restaurants are on the east side, but this pandemic time has forced many of them to close. Eventually I hope to spend more time exploring across the river.

Portland State University Flowers

From a stroll on the PSU campus about three weeks ago.

Portland Federal Courthouse Encampment

Yesterday afternoon I walked to the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, where all the violence has been taking place at night, to see what the place was like during the day. There's a moderate-size tent encampment in the Lownsdale Square across the street, with stations supplying food and water to what looked like a few dozen people. At night, there are reportedly over a thousand, not counting the police and federal troops on the other side of the fence. Here's some of the scene, starting with the graffitied courthouse behind the fence and barricade.

Downtown Portland

Random scenes while wandering with my camera.

The Fields Park

One of a chain of parks in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon, with a fun dog park. and nice vegetation.

Social Distancing at Trader Joe's