SotoKoto Magazine Travel Feature

Japan definitely has a yen (pun intended) for Portland.  Lucky for me that means lots of photos of the fair city, most recently for SotoKoto, a Japanese lifestyle magazine that offers tips on leading a comfortable, sustainable and fashionable life. The goal of this lifestyle is balancing the coexistence of individual comfort with the sustainability of the entire society, so very Japanese. Plus, it is also an in-­flight magazine of Japanese Airlines.  Spent a week with a fabulous editorial crew hitting hot spots like Powell's City of Books, Mississippi records, Stumptown Coffee, Spin Laundry Lounge, and the universe that is McMenamins.  Always interesting to see how Portland is viewed by other countries and always fun to see my pics in an international publication, never gets old.

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A Taste of Portland for Feast Magazine

Did a tour of tasty, tasty places for simply scrumptious Australian Food and Travel Magazine, Feast.  This required some intense research, i.e. eating everything I could get my camera on.  The adventure included, but was not limited to:

Bollywood Theater - Ace Hotel - Portland Saturday Market - Mediterranean Exploration Company - Clay Pigeon Winery - House Spirits - Olympic Provisions - Portland Airport -Tasty n' Alder - Raven and Rose - Pepe Le Moko - Pok Pok - Tidbit Food Farm - Tilt - Yard House - Ace Hotel - Saturday Market

Now go forth and feast.

AARP's Sandwich Generation

Spent the day with Janet Martinez and family for a story for AARP.  The story is about the "sandwich generation" adults bringing up young children while also overseeing the care of their aging parents.  Janet, a TV producer, was a joy; funny, honest and open about the balancing act of shuttling her daughter and mother through their daily activities.  After shooting she entertained me with a beer and stories of working on Lifetime Channel Movies.

Alpaca Fever - Latin Magazine

I will go on record as saying that alpacas are adorable.  They look like llamas, walk like camels and act like cats, curious and lovable, but not necessarily affectionate.  Now the reason I have such first hand alpaca knowledge is because The Latin School of Chicago, a co-educational independent day school for students in k through twelve, recently hired me to shoot a profile and the cover for their Alumni magazine.  The man of the hour was '59 alum Barry Bolewicz, who raises Alpacas and sheep at his EasyGo Farm in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Barry and I had a great time tromping through the fields as I snapped away and asked endless alpaca-related questions.

Me: "How long have you raised them?" "Have you ever eaten one? What do they taste like." "What do you use them for?" "There are alpaca shows? That is crazy."

Barry: "More than 20 years." "Yes. Gamey chicken." "To stud, for fleece, and to show." "Yes." "No."

Photographing the alpacas reminded me a bit of dating.  If I ignored them, they would look at me with great interest and immeasurable cuteness.  But as soon as I would get near them or try to approach, they got skittish.  Probably worried that I was about to press for a LTR.

But luckily all of us were able to work out our commitment issues, the weather held, Barry smiled (eventually) and I spent the day surrounded by adorableness.

Discover Portland

Me and Ava Gene's restaurant have found ourselves on the cover of the DiscoverPORTLAND Guide.  Doesn't everyone look so dang happy in this picture? My images from Lardo Sandwiches, OX Restaurant, and The Nines also made the cut of Portland fabulousness. Leading the world to realize we are just a town of non stop eating and drinking.

Whenever friends visit the first question is, "Where for brunch?" and the second is, "Where for Happy Hour?"

At least we all have our priorities straight.

Carmen Peirano for Via Magazine

Via Magazine recently did a story on Carmen Peirano, the badass heir apparent to Nick's Italian Cafe in McMinnville. Pretty easy to take a good picture when your subject is a gorgeous chef, a cool apron always helps too. Question: How many photos can one take of the same space, using different angles?  My answer appears to be at least 4.

As a side note, I am a big fan of downtown McMinnville, it really has that small town, quaint feel, not to mention some great places to eat and shop.  Though maybe I'm biased. Carmen also runs a salumeria next door called Fino in Fondo, making Oregon a burgeoning meat empire.  I personally just like to say the word salumeria.

Portland Corporate Portrait - Lawyer Robert S. Banks Jr. for the NYT's

Popped over to the Banks Law Office to photograph Robert S. Banks for a New York Times article.  Robert was a great guy, and even thought to bring a prop to the shoot (his tres chic Coach brief case).  The tone of the article was pretty serious (his client unsuccessfully opposed the removal of her complaint against her former broker whose regulatory file included 41 customer complaints and a job termination!) and so we needed his vibe to match.  Luckily, he seemed to have the tough lawyer look down.

Pickathon 2014

Spent the first weekend of August how we always do, photographing the amazingness that is Pickathon, a four-day music festival located on the 80-acre Pendarvis farm in Happy Valley, just about 30 minutes outside of Portland. Now in its 16th year with six, count them...six, different music venues, the festival focuses on sustainability and the best part is they have eliminated single use cups, bottles, dishes and utensils and been plastic free since 2010! This year, the New York Times decided to stop by and get in on the West Coast love and being so gracious, we decided to join them.

Ate some great food, did a little dancing, saw more incredible acts then we could mention, though here is a feeble attempt....The Sadies, Nickel Creek, Mac DeMarco, Diarrhea Planet, Possessed By Paul James, Valerie June, The War On Drugs, Blind Pilot and even managed to take a photo or two.

Trust For Public Land

Had the opportunity to photograph for The Trust for Public Land this year.  TPL is a U.S. national, nonprofit organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, natural areas and open space. And who doesn't think that is pretty awesome?  We were tasked with documenting Colwood Park, a golf course that it reinventing itself, and Nadaka Nature Park, a former Camp Fire Girl spot.  So we gathered a group of intrepid volunteers and let them run free, literally.

Seaside Oregon is Cooler Than You Remember

If you had asked me two months ago what my thoughts were about Seaside, OR the three words that would have come to mind were....bumper cars, salt water taffy, and tacky.  Well, turns out only two of those were right.  Was there photographing for 1859 Magazine and I'm not quite sure what happened, but Seaside sure has changed its ways.  Now I'm not saying they have gotten rid of the dreamsicle taffy, the 80-year-old aquarium, or the mechanical great white shark, but the town has a new vibe.  Seaside Brewing Co.has popped up, in, of all places, the old 1914 city jail.  The Promenade is looking rather spiffy and goes for miles.  Maybe it's the new obsession with all things old, or my love of a gold Trans Am but suddenly tacky is looking rather fab.  Or maybe that's just the $1 jello shots from Big Kahuna Bar and Grill talking.