i really want to go outside and make it light all day

i've been trying to force myself to use my 50mm f/1.8 more often. i always see beautiful pictures being made with it, but i'm much more reliant on my 28mm. anyhow, while i was home, i tried to shoot almost exclusively with the 50mm. here are some shots of family over christmas weekend as the sun was setting:


this would be my very own dad.


dad and zack (one of two brothers).




logan (two of two brothers).






from left to right: zack, dad, logan and caitlin. (zack and caitlin are twins, for those who are curious.)

make it perfect and real

i don't take many photos of family. one of the reasons being family is so far away. another reason being my mom really does not like me to take photos of her. this quick polaroid, snapped christmas morning, got a reprieve. my mom is on the left, my brother logan on the right.

life down southwest

i took my trusty new spectra system with me to phoenix over the christmas weekend. i forgot how much i missed a big, clear, blue sky. and homemade tamales. anyhow, the results using 'image' film:

new camera on the block

these are the other shots from my first pack of softone film with the spectra system. the new camera lets me play around with double exposures. well, you can double expose with most any polaroid camera, but it's super easy with the spectra system. i tried a few of them (the last three images in this post). they didn't turn out as well as i'd hoped, but i sort of looked at this pack as a test pack, more or less. since i've been in arizona for the past 24 hours, i've taken some more photos with the spectra system. i'm pretty happy with the results. i'll post them when i get back to portlandia and my trusty scanner. until then, happy christmas!

note about the post title: on my way up to seattle (where a good half of these polaroids were shot!) last weekend, i noticed that new kids on the block was playing in tacoma. they were hooking up with the back street boys. really.

buildings that speak

a recovery center in north portland. (shot with spectra camera on softtone film.)

because i have no self restraint, i recently picked up a new polaroid spectra system camera and a few packs of film to go with it. this is my favorite of the first ten exposures. the rest to follow shortly.

correspondent(ces)

two products of my recent crafting mood:


(1. this one went north via the postal service. for the record, i know there should be an 's' on 'la.' i couldn't find one!)


(2. this one stayed in portland. hand delivered to its recipient.)

(right: reverse side of 'dreamers'; left: reverse side of 'beauty')

disconnected

there's nothing that connects these photos together, really, other than the fact that i decided to take them. also, i like them. here's hoping you (whoever is out there) do, too.


i pulled the car over and made my two friends wait while i took pictures of this. i don't know why, but i knew i had to.


the photobooth at the ace hotel reminds you that 'you are beautiful.' and you are.


santa at xanadu. a different one.


amanda's feet last weekend.

at night, a performance

a few performers made a stage of our home this weekend for the first RECITAL. here are a few pictures:


cello composition.


dance piece.

poetry reading.

about town

clockwise from top left: cold brew in downtown portland (600 film with sx-70);
portland sign on broadway (600 film with sx-70); a house the color
houses should be (600 film with sx-70); santa at xanadu (silver shade with sx-70)

easy listening

some cover art i made for a 'wyjr' fall mix.

our tree lighting

three years ago

i had to head out to vernonia today to cover the groundbreaking of a new school there. actually, i volunteered to make the one-hour trip there. i'd been to vernonia once before in 2008 to cover the one year anniversary of a flood that just really wrecked the small town. i was curious to see what it looked like these days. plus, for whatever reason, i find vernonia pretty charming. here's what i wrote. and here are some photos i took while i was out there today. (they don't really do this town justice.)


since the flood, many homes have been raised up off the ground, like this one.


others have been completely destroyed. their lots put up for sale.


the land where the new school will be located.


one of vernonia's churches.