Brew Pub

I like the Pepsi sign and the lamp showing through the glass behind this neon sign in one of our local shops.

Squinch

Sean making his "smile" on cue.

Looking Up

My grandson, Sean, peers into my lens.

Ball Blanc II

Another image I made at the Waltz Eclectic end of summer dance in Laurelhurst Park last night.

Ball Blanc

My husband and I have been going dancing a couple of times per week since moving to Portland. We've been dancing with a great bunch of waltz nerds, Waltz Eclectic. We've been taking lessons and plan to take some more. Tonight was the end of summer season dance in Laurelhurst Park complete with proper dance floor, lighting, fancy deserts, full moon, everything! I love this photo because it reflects the ebullient spirit of this kind of rotary waltzing. I also like the swirl of movement my camera caught on a purposely slowed exposure. I braced my camera on a lamp post.

Neighborhood Watch II

My cats in their favorite place again. This only works when the window is open. Dunno what we will do come winter.

Neighborhood Watch

My two cats, Arnie and Malibu, doing their part to keep the world safe from rouge squirrels.

Big Head

My grandson, Zack, mugs for my camera. Sorry, but the cross-eyed one was soft.

Bug

Found this bug on my outside wall while painting test colors for our whole house paint redo. I can't tell if he's waving hello or stand back! He has an awesome tail or stinger! I tried not to get too close (letting the camera do it's job) to find out.

Storms Clouds Over Delta

I took this while waiting in the Cell Phone Waiting Area at PDX. The storm clouds were SO impressive, I couldn't resist. And the Delta shipping containers made a quirky kind of foreground all stacked there in the middle of the field.

Arriving Passengers Only

This is from the lower roadway at Portland International Airport where one picks up arriving passengers. I love the arching roadway and span underneath the skylight at the airport entrance. I shot this quickly as I was waiting for my husband to load his suitcase into the trunk.

Branches

From a walk through Oaks Bottom.
I know I'm the only person who would love this shot--dead branches with cottonwood floaties glowing in the sun--but I love it anyway. The light on these branches cheers and excites me! The odd, random, unsculpted non-shapes intrigue me! The multi-hued green backdrop is so consistent that nothing really stands out as a hotspot, providing a good, uniform backdrop for these odd branches. Gives me shivers!

Web & Spider

From a walk through Oaks Bottom. Neither image is perfect but I enjoyed trying to get the webs to show up in the photo, which was hard since I had no spider web spray bottle with me. I prefer the top photo more, however the bottom photo has more clarity in the spider body.

2007 Providence Bridge Pedal

Most people probably know Portland, Oregon, is a city of bridges. We have ten in all. Once a year all the bridges are closed to car traffic for awhile so bicyclists can ride across them. Providence Hospital sponsors the event. 20,000 people signed up to ride this year! Entrants can choose routes that let them ride 10, 8, or 6 bridges. The 10 bridge route takes the cyclists through Westmoreland right past our house! Here is one of the most crowded photos I was able to get near the end of the ride. Just a few of the 7,000 people who chose this longest route of the day! And yes, that IS a porta toilet parked on the corner across from our house.

Bath Fixtures

I am in love with our new bathroom fixtures! Though it may seem a bit batty to include this picture, given how I feel about our sink hardware, it was inevitable for them to appear here eventually. This photo would likely be a good candidate for Carol Leigh's White on White technique. I haven't unpacked my course notes from her classes yet and I can't remember how to make the white on white effect so this will have to do for now. I love the curving lines of the faucet and the classic details of the water taps.

From When The Dogwood Was In Bloom

When I moved to Portland in early June, 2007, dogwood was in bloom all over my neighborhood. This is from a walk around the block back then. I was trying to see how much DOF I could get with my liittle G6 camera.

Sidewalk Chalk

I found this on a walk around my block! The original was washed out and very light so I applied a watercolor filter in PSE4 and it came out kind of glowy in an unexpected way. Sometimes, PS can be cool! I love the simplicity of this cat rendition and how the head is placed on the body rather than out from the body. It shows a more advanced or more observant child artist drew this I think.

Oaks Bottom In Bloom

There is a wildlife refuge near our new house named Oaks Bottom. It's home to many birds throughout the year. Right now we're hearing a lot of Honking Geese flying overhead. Our house is one block from the bluff overlooking this refuge.

Currently, Oaks Bottom is in bloom with this gorgeous, non-native, purple plant called Loosestrife. It's a detrimental invader, however, so the powers that be will do a burn this week to begin trying to cut back on the plant's influence and hold on the area. Sure is pretty, though. Wonder what kinds of native flora they will put in its place?

This shot is not the greatest photo. The sky went completely white because of the contrast with the dark green and purple. Not that there was much in the sky that day, though anyway. The photos I took without sky, however, seemed to lack perspective or an ability to convey the size of this place, so this is the best of the Oaks Bottom shots for now.

Tree Monkey

Recently, there was a house moving in our neighborhood. The all day affair drew many spectators and was an amazing thing to watch! Part of the process involved careful cutting away of the tree canopy impeding the house's progress up Henry Street. Here, one of the Tree Monkeys waits, hanging in mid-air, to see which branches to cut next. I love how the main branches of the tree frame and support him and how I was able to include the whole person in the shot, especially considering this was a quickie grab-shot.

Sunset At Oaks Bottom

I took this on my first bike ride through Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge on the Springwater Trail. It was near mid-summer and the prolonged sunset was giving the tower and the bird's nest a very warm glow. Luckily, a bird popped head's up just as I was going to take my shot! I have no idea what kind of bird it is.

Chopsticks

These giant cranes are in the building site across the street from Bridgport Brewery in The Pearl District, Portland, OR. We go to the Brewery nearly every Tuesday night to join our daughters and other friends for the weekly pub quiz. The cranes are the most striking near sunset.

Ticket Window, Norse Hall

This Deco grilled ticket window is in the entry to Norse Hall, the place we practice and take lessons from Waltz Eclectic and Scandia Eclectic. I like the quiet simplicity of the entire window portrait, yet I also like the close-up of the grill detail and reflection. Which do you like best?

Eight Twenty-Three--The Neon Clock at Muddy Rudder

This clock was at the bar in the Muddy Rudder, a pub in Sellwood, (Portland) Oregon. I took several shots of this clock but liked this one best because of the neon reflecting on the ceiling above the clock.

The Clock At Bridgeport Brewery

Since shortly after we moved to Portland we've been meeting friends at Bridgport Brewery for the weekly pub quiz. This clock always knocks me out when I'm on the way to the bathroom!

Echinacea At Sunset

My new neightbors have an awesome garden! When the sun sets over the bluff their garden is ablaze with light! The glowing light on one afternoon drew me to this drooping echinacea flower.