Urban absrtacts

The holidays are great fun but aren’t they time consuming?  It was tough enough having work interfere with our creative efforts, but now that we have our letters off to Santa, the tree up and a menu planned, we can  get back to the really important stuff like our art and our blog.

Abstracts of Fort Stevens

Fort Stevens, with all of its structures, provided extraordinary opportunities to create a variety of abstractions and unique images.

Fort Stevens

Near Astoria is Fort Stevens.  It is one of three forts establish to protect the entrance of the Columbia River.  Since the civil war, the Columbia has had significant roles in our nation’s various war efforts.  Fort Stevens was an artillery facility which means several bunkered cannon emplacements. 

Fort Stevens was the only facility in the lower 48 that was shelled by the Japanese during the war.  Fortunately, the only casualty was the softball backstop.  However, the incident created the inspiration a generation later to create the film, “1941.”

Now, the fort is a state park and a treasure of photo opportunities.  We could have spent several days here just exploring and shooting.  Here is a few of images.

Astoria

We got a little side tracked from our mission of sharing our photo experiences from the trip to Oregon.  After our great experiences with Carol and the group in Central Oregon, we took our time getting back to the airport.

After leaving Tillamook, we continued north along the coast toward Astoria.  The road often turned inland a bit, giving us a view of rolling countryside dotted with family dairy farms.  I became a bit nostalgic because the farms reminded me of the dairy farms of Wisconsin.  I was born on a dairy farm and my 1^st memories are of life on the farm.

As we approached Astoria, fog & mist settled in making the area eerie and just a bit difficult to navigate.  The Astoria bridge suddenly appeared as an awesome apparition looming from the fog.  We found a place to stay, dried out a bit and headed out to explore Astoria at dusk.

We were enormously impressed with our walk through just a couple of streets of downtown.  Most of the older commercial buildings retained the tradition of named buildings.  Downtown has a comfortable mix of architecture from countless decades past.  For those uninitiated, Astoria is the oldest permanent community on the Pacific Coast. 

We know that this is an area that demands a revisit.

Pilot Boat Out of Astoria:  We learned that the waters are so treacherous, that two pilots are required to get the ocean going vessels up the Columbia River to Portland.  This pilot boat is taking a pilot specialist out to a vessel waiting in the Pacific to help it navigate from the ocean through the confluence of the Columbia River which is turbulent, fast moving and full of shifting sand bars.  Then the second pilot replaces the 1^st at Astoria to pilot the ship up to the docks of Portland.

Walking along the Columbia River waterfront, we came upon this great set of rocks and pilings covered with an extraordinary bright green moss.

Garage with float collection:  A wonderful burst of color found on a day of heavy overcast gray lighting.

Honeycomb chinese lanterns and masks in a store window.

The Liberty Theatre in Astoria.

What a great building.  Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to explore the interior but it is certainly on our short list if we return to Astoria.

This theatre, built in a Romanesque, with light Italianate features and a Hacienda, tiled roof style, Greek columns, and a Chinese paper and silk chandelier in the auditorium.  On paper this sounds like jumble of epic proportions. However, in life it works.
 If you find yourself going to Astoria, include the Liberty theatre in your exploration plans. 

Walking in downtown Portland

I worked in Portland for too few years back in the seventies.  My office was in a theatre building right at Broadway and Yamhill.  You just couldn’t be more “downtown.”  Portland had the distinction of always having a vibrant central core, thanks to right thinking city fathers that in my opinion gave politics a good name.

Returning to Portland after too long an absence was a very pleasant experience.  Nearly everything discussed for the future of Portland in the seventies has in fact, come to fruition.  There is a blend of new and old in everything, architecture, population, wealth and not so wealthy, and personal space that really works in this city. 

Elena and I didn’t have as much time as we would have liked, but we took a great walk, ate from one of the many food booths located downtown and vowed that we have to return.  Here are a few random photographs of our time in Portland.

Probably at a purely emotional level, I have always admired the brass letters & numbers used in great buildings.  This brass 320 just jumped out crying “take my picture!”

A vibrant downtown has to be all things to all kinds of people.  This door caught my eye because of the discriminatory phrasing but also, the little parking lot was full of believe it or not, “mini-vans.”  Wish I had the time to see who is coming out of this place.

The joy of studying the buildings in a city is taking the time to let individual elements soak in to your vision.  I walked by several of these light fixtures until it finally sunk in just how interesting the light plays out from the fixture.

 This classic Portland building, built in 1890 has such a wonderful design and history.  Look it up in Google to get the history and overview pictures.  I found this over a side entrance and it seemed to me, to wear its history in all of the holes left by previous awning and sign installations.  This is the building that housed the agency that coined the Nike shoes phrase, “Just Do It”

This is a great old building left from the tear down of the block.  My curiosity was spiked by the window placement in a formerly covered wall.  Very whimsical.

 Downtown Portland near the waterfront, has a vacant lot that is full of little food booths.  Each booth specializes in a food type.  There were some duplicates but all in all, it is like a taste of Portland.  Office workers descend on this location for great food in the open air.  This sign was animated using LED’s and caught my eye.

 I couldn’t pass up the obvious discrepancy in the politically correct nature of Portland. The fire hydrant in the showy part of downtown is so perfect and bright. Then I came across the less than showy hydrant in the Burnside district which still needs a lot of renewal.



Unique fountain at Pioneer square.

Strong shadows and patterns.

Interesting neon sign.

Row of chairs. The shadows saying:"Place your buts here".

Geometrics of a bicycle.

Photography: An Early Social Media

For us, the seldom discussed blessing of spending time in new places, taking pictures of subjects different to our routine is meeting the indigenous people to these locations.  We find people everywhere friendly, open and engaging.  Who knows what they may have thought of us, with our cameras hung around our neck, dragging all sorts of gear, poking our noses into their workplaces, alleys, and landmarks at all hours of the day and night. 

Without exception, a smile and a reassurance that we aren’t as crazy as we look, gets a smile in return with a conversation directing us to something we may be interested in photographing.  We have been directed to many photogenic opportunities in this fashion.

We found coastal Oregon both familiar as our favorite pair of socks and as foreign as a jungle village in Central America.  The 1^st oddity encountered was that you cannot pump your own gas in Oregon.  No one seems to know why but it’s the law.  This presents a location with 2 or 3 employees where you would expect only one.  One to take your credit card, one to pump gas and without exception, you found someone who had time to talk.  Several good leads came from gas stations.

Next, we learned that the folks in Oregon love their coffee just as much as the people in Washington state.  Coffee kiosks, bars and houses are found everywhere.  Elena was in heaven.  Strong, aromatic and hot; easily attainable at all hours of the day.  Unfortunately, these folks were too busy to talk.

We digress, most interesting to us, were the hard working, under difficult conditions but seemingly always in great humor are the fishermen of the central coast. These gentlemen are sailors in the greatest tradition.  Many have worked out ports all over the world and have fabulous experiences to share.  Most interesting to us was how many of these adventures play out in their faces and domineer. 

Here are a few photographic captures of those moments.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the time spent, “on the waterfront.”

Class participants

Ira& Carol: Carol, “our fearless leader” and Ira sharing wisdom. Ira looks like he came from a casting call for “The Old Man & The Sea.” A perfect look for that day.



Deep water fisherman and his dog: You just know they have stories to tell.



 

Eldrid Hamrich & friend:  A sense of humor, warmth and hard work.



Haming it up: Eldrid demonstrating “shared labor procedures”

Fresh tuna every day.

Fresh Tuna: A cool dude…he had me wait until he found the perfect fish



Murals

We see so many murals in our daily experiences which often they don’t make the intended impression.  Or perhaps, we just don’t take the time to appreciate the artists intent.  After all, murals have been an art form, perhaps the very first art form created by humans. 

A quite review from Wikipedia tells us that the 1^st murals are probably the paintings in a cave in southern France dated around 30,000 BC.  (Just a little before my time.)

We were delighted to find many real fine examples of contemporary murals in Newport, Astoria and Portland.  The “illusionary’ style found in Astoria was really exciting to study and photograph.  Newport and Portland presented fine examples of contemporary street art that ranged from humorous to advertising but all of it well done and respected by the communities.

It was great fun to see and to photograph.

Newport, OR

Newport, OR

Newport, OR

Astoria, OR

Astoria, OR



Portland, OR

Words Not On A Page

Another advantage of digital photography is the freedom to snap pictures of anything of interest to us.  In the days of film, we would be too stingy to record things like words, phrases or signage that interest or humor me.

The hotel Elliott, located in Astoria is a 1^st rate hotel that from a marketing perspective, has kept their eye on the ball by announcing to the world from 7 stories up, that they have wonderful beds.  Cool.  It was a bright but heavy overcast day that played havoc with exposure control.  Decided to use a post processing vignette to reduce the distracting white, featureless sky.

We didn’t get to meet the barber of Astoria, but we absolutely love his sense of humor. 

Note the footnote on his price sign, “Mayan calendar predictions apply.”  So, if the world doesn’t end, prices could change in 2013.

This barber has great hours.  We call this “Texas Time.”  What initially caught my eye was his writing, “be back quick,” written on an old record sleeve.   To us this is as irreverent as writing in a book. 

 

The tag, “Perseverance” is the name of the boat owning this part.  However; it could also relate to the patience of the corrosive sea water on the metal or perhaps that the metal still functions in spite of the corrosive sea water.



Hmmmm…Is there something about the air that turns children into zombies, or do the ghosts of this old fort have a fondness for children. 

Now here is a parking sign that attacks your ego.  Well done!