growyourwings | Downtown Portland

Ok here are the shots I took as I walked to and from the Chinese Garden. The light ended up being fantastic. I must have recognized it on some level at the time as I took many exposures of this street (but not volumes, thank god.)

I really love these shots. Click any to enlarge.

above :: The fountains in downtown Portland are referred to as Benson Bubblers, named after the man who paid to have them installed a gazillion years ago. I'm always taking photos of them if I pass by one with a camera. These shots are the only cropped ones of this bunch as I wanted to try multiple compositions and exposures. It was before noon on a relative empty Portland street on a Sunday - so the light was good and there were just enough pedestrians to make it interesting, but not crowded.

above :: I played with the color balance on this one - trying to achieve a more stark effect.

above :: black and white this time - again trying for starkness.

above :: I loved the contrast between the golden wall and the bluish shadows on the street. And then that one red leaf blown up against the fountain. Not even staged. :-)

above :: These are in reverse order but I'm too tired to change that. I love the blurred bicyclist in the background of this shot.

above :: non-blurred bicyclist. (moving back through time I guess.)

above :: the same fountain as I approach it. Not the shot the fountain was cropped from however. I had a more close up of the fountain to work with.

above :: this street was among the last things I photographed. The street was empty and the light at the end of the street was mesmerizing. I loved all of these shots - I took several using different exposures.

above :: I would not have recognized this as downtown Portland. Reminds me of a street in Shepherdstown WV. I love how seeing things through a lens gives me a new perspective on things I think I'm already familiar with.

above :: I think this exposure is my favorite. It was technically too over-exposed, but as I examined the light and tweeked it a bit I was in love with the results.

above :: an underexposed shot.

above :: but it played out beautifully in black and white.

above :: the same street, from a different angle. This was on my walk to the garden. The ones above are returning from the garden (reverse order, remember?)