Day 69 – Live Music!
Monday was my last full day in Portland. Yesterday, day 69, was a travel day after which I was exhausted and not in the mood to take photos. In my exhaustion, I think I found a loophole in my “pic a day” rule so that I wouldn’t have to stress myself out about it. Monday night in Portland is Tuesday morning in Cincinnati. Since I ended the day in Cincinnati, I’m using pix from Tuesday am Cincinnati time. How’s that for rationalization for not taking any pix yesterday? LOL!
Anyway, Monday night/Tuesday morning, my brother had a gig at Dublin Pub in SW Portland. He plays there every other Monday, so I try to schedule my visit in order to see him play. His show is a combination of comedy and music, original and covers. He and his friend Jess have a good time and so do the people in attendance.
That night, the bar had a ping-pong table set up, with two people playing–one not so bad at the game, one really bad at the game. Of course, the really bad player had his back to the stage, and the ping pong ball ended up on stage maybe 20 times during the course of Mike’s set. I don’t know how Mike kept the smile on his face, because I wanted to step on the ping pong ball and take the paddle away from the one guy. Sheesh! How rude! But smile he did.
Here’s a shot of the stage with both Mike and Jess. I DO want to know whose idea it is to hang mirrors on the wall at the back of the stage, though. Wreaks havoc on auto-focus.
Lighting at Dublin is an extreme challenge. If I lived in Portland, I’d bring my tripod to every show. Unfortunately, tripods are difficult to travel with–too heavy for the checked luggage (do you know it’s $90 EXTRA if your bag is over 50 pounds?) and too big for the carry-on luggage–so I make due with flash and such. The below shot was taken with the camera set on the table, no flash. I liked the way the few lights they have lit on stage were reflecting off the surface of the table.
Day 62 – Elk Rock Gardens
Today I went to visit my cousins in Washington, but before I did, I made a quick stop to the Elk Rock Gardens in Portland. I know it’s supposed to rain the rest of the week (I’ve NEVER been here when it’s rained so much!), so I wanted to squeeze it in when I could.
I’ve spent a lot of time taking pictures at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville, so that was kind of what I expected here. However, it was quite different in ambiance. It was a more “natural” garden, with gravel paths, rock steps, and close quarters passing through some of the areas where plants had grown very close to the path. It was less structured, more of what I’d call a perennial garden than a formal garden like Cheekwood. I liked it a lot and would like to go back when I have more time and the weather’s better.
This first shot was taken in the parking lot. I think this is a wisteria plant (?) that’s been grown to shade a bench underneath it. It’s very dramatic.
Walking from the parking lot to the visitor’s center, I saw this tree growing against the garage. It’s an oddly cropped photo, but I wanted to remove the vehicles and other paraphernalia that existed to the right of the tree.
This little flower was growing all alone in a sea of hosta.
Here’s a pathway as I described earlier. The nice thing about this (other than the obvious beauty) is that I didn’t get very wet while it rained above me LOL!
This pond is what inspired me to come to Elk Rock. Or, more accurately, a photograph of the lily pads in the pond. My sister-in-law’s cousin’s father-in-law (how’s THAT for relationship chaining ha!) sent her a link to his photo website and included a beautiful close-up photo of lily pads. Well, by the time I got to the pond, the rain had begun to come down in earnest, and the pond wasn’t very sheltered, so I had to be quick about my photo taking here. I’d like to come back some day when it’s not raining and try again, but I think I captured the overall feel of the pond.
Overall, it was 30 minutes well spent. I look forward to returning when the weather is nicer. Hope you enjoyed the photos. Be sure to click on each one if you’d like to see a larger version. And please comment if you have time. I appreciate feedback–even if it’s “I’d have done this differently, and here’s how…” Thanks for reading!
Day 60 – It’s Rainy in Portland, so…
…it’s roses again! This is the rainiest May on record in Portland. When you’re talking rainiest in the Pacific Northwest, that’s a LOT of rain! I’m trying to take photos between rainshowers, and these roses are in the same bed at my brother’s house that the yellow rose was late last week. I took a different view on this first shot–not a close-up, but a view of part of the bed the bushes are in. The second shot is of a new bud on this same bush.
Tomorrow, we’re hoping to head for a few wineries, so I should enjoy some new subject matter then. 🙂
Day 59 – Portland Saturday Market
Today, the family and I went to Saturday Market in downtown Portland. Every Saturday and Sunday between April and November, the area under Burnside Bridge comes alive with vendors, street performers, eateries, and people looking to find bargains while supporting the local economy. I love the Saturday Market and am always glad when the family wants to go with me. 🙂
This first photo is of some star lights hanging from the roof of a booth. I liked the color and texture of the stars, contrasting with the fabric hanging from the underside of the vendor’s tent.
You can buy just about anything at the market, from phone cases, to candles, to clothes, to home decor, to musical instruments. The drums in this picture were from Ghana, and the sign on the side of the booth said something about the profits from the booth were sent directly back to Ghana to help build schools. It was listed as “not-for-profit.” When the vendor noticed my brother’s interest, he invited Mike in to play. Of course, the kids followed like ducklings and started playing too. They’re cute.
As we headed to the food booths, we saw this street performer. He was playing guitar and snare drum, while singing upbeat songs. He had a partner who had set up a drum kit, but he must’ve been taking a bio break. What a great morning!
Day 58 – A Rose by Any Other Name…
I mentioned a couple of days ago that Portland is the “City of Roses.” Well, that’s no lie. Everywhere you look, there are rose bushes. This weekend, the Rose Festival begins, but there’s no reason to pay money to go there. This first rose is another from the parking lot at my hotel. It’s been raining much of the time I’ve been here–a gentle drippy rain that is more a nuisance than anything else. But when it adds the dewy effect to the flower blooms, well, I can’t complain too much. I had to knock some of the water out of the flower so that it didn’t just look like a really wet rose. I like the water drops on this one.
The second is from my brother’s rose garden. He is rightfully very proud of his roses. This one is the blossom that Mike pointed out as his favorite. Thanks, Mike!
I couldn’t resist playing with this one a little. I added 4 black and white layers and set them to “multiply,” then erased the area around the rose in 3 of the three black and white layers so that we can still see the leaf detail, for added visual interest.
Day 56 – Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
After a day of travel, I made it to the City of Roses, also known as Portland, Oregon, to visit with my niece and nephew (and their parents). I’m happy! I have new stuff to photograph! Outside my hotel, there are a few rosebushes. Here are a couple of beautiful specimens.
Once I got to their house, Nathan and Abby had a grand time goofing around for the camera. Here, I let Abby press the shutter release on my camera. She took 4 or 5 photos, snapping, then saying “I wanna look!”
Of course, when Nate saw that, he had to get into the act.
Arguably, I didn’t take those photos, they did, but I aimed, so I’ll take at least partial credit for the shots… 🙂
While Mike was whipping up some yummy beef stroganoff, the kids entertained me by running around the house and jumping down into the living room from the dining room. Nathan had a grand time making faces for the camera. This is my favorite shot.
And if Nathan does something, Abby has to do it too!
At the end of the day, the two kids really get along well. They have their squabbles, but they have a great time playing together.
I’m looking forward to my time here–to hang out with the kids and their parents, and to see some of the sights around Portland. It’s a beautiful city and I hope to photograph some of it!
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