KPW | Portland | 2017 1/40 sec @ f/2.8 and ISO 200
After a six week hiatus I was back in Rose City this week. And amazingly, the weather matched the season, with some beautiful and warm summer days. Despite a fully loaded schedule I managed a small photowalk last evening, just taking my tiny Ricoh GR II that I had brought for this trip and doing a bit of walking through a mild Portland summer evening. I was looking for the famous “Keep Portland Weird” sign that I haven’t seen before, and that set the tone for the rest of my walk. For some more “weird” photographs from PDX continue after the jump… Continue reading “Keep Portland Weird”→
“Instant Inspiration” is my series for you if you feel you suffer from “Photographer’s Block” or simply want to shoot something that you have never tried. Or at least not recently. Read the posts, become inspired, take your camera, head out and have fun!
Episode 19 should inspire you to describe your day’s content with just two photos.
The idea to this inspiration came to me while on my “usual” Delta flight from Amsterdam to Portland. “Usual” ? Well, despite having not travelled to Rose City in the past six weeks, this is already my tenth business trip to the USA this year, and we are not even at the half year mark. And in addition to this trip there will be minimum two more travels to PDX before my summer vacation. And I really like being in the USA. Since my days as an exchange student in Pennsylvania some 33 years ago, I consider the USA my adopted second home country. I have been here countless times for travel and on business. And I liked each and every trip.
The thing is, this short trip is packed full of “road work”. I have meetings lined up from the moment of arrival until I step back on the plane for the return flight Friday afternoon. No time for photography this time. But thankfully there is the archive (I took the two photos during one of my last trips to Portland).
Road Work | Portland | 2017
So how does your day look like? Try to capture it in two photos. Take your camera (or phone) and be creative! I’d love to see your photos – post a link in the comment section.
For all other episodes of my instant inspiration and many more photography tips visit my Learning Center
Frequent readers probably know that I try to meet the Weekly Photo Challenge from Word Press’ “The Daily Post” with one of my Street Photos. This week’s challenge has the theme “Danger”. Now this is easy to match.
Street Photography is a dangerous genre. Not that you get hit by people who don’t like you take their photo. Actually this is not a problem at all.
The real danger in Street Photography is that you constantly expose yourself to the risk of being run over by a crazy driver – or by a normal driver while you try to take a crazy photograph.
I successfully made it through the week and am now looking forward to a weekend in the Pacific Northwest. After work I drove into downtown for some later afternoon and blue hour shooting. Still fighting some jet lag after arriving in Portland two days ago I’m much too tired to post process my photos, but after a quick scan I send all of us into a well deserved weekend with a photo I took on the famous Steel Bridge that crosses the Willamette River and provides great views across the river towards Broadway-and Fremont Bridges in the upcoming dusk.
Tomorrow I head out to the Oregon Shores of the Pacific Ocean. I’m so much looking forward to it!
The above photo was taken with the Olympus PEN-F with the mZuiko 12-40mm F/2.8 Pro Zoom, specs are 1/25 sec @ f/2.8 and ISO 1600, handheld.
Old Warehouse in the Pearl District | Portland | 2017
As the job that pays the bills currently keeps me off the Streets of Nuremberg I can just as well make a virtue of necessity and show you a bit more of my “exile”, the Streets of Portland. And in case any Portlandians ever read this: Rest assured, I honestly LOVE your city already, and the word “exile” isn’t really in place here. So in the coming months the Streets of Nuremberg, temporarily turned Streets of Portland, will introduce more and more of Rose City or PDX, as Portland is also affectionately known. Today I show you some photos I took on my weekend walk through the Pearl District, originally a quarter of old empty brick warehouses, now turned into an urban designer’s dream. To see and learn more continue reading after the jump…
Back in the Rose City, staying once more at the Heathman Hotel on Portland’s Broadway. The week was all work without as much as a chance to touch my camera, but Friday night I took the Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the mZuiko 12-40mm F/2.8 along while going to the Target supermarket in Morrison Street to by myself some basic supplies (there is just no way eating out every night on a two-week business trip). The above photo I took in front of one of the shop windows of the Target. I loved the lady boxer, positioned myself at the rail of the city train station tin my back and then it was just a matter of the right person walking by. I took the image at 1/80 sec @ f/5 and ISO 1000 with 30mm focal length. For a fe more photos continue after the jump…
Sunday is here and time for another of my Street Photography Quick Tips. One of those short, easy to read and easy to use tips that I think could help you while shooting in the streets. Today’s post is about maximizing an interesting street scene. Don’t just walk away when you took one interesting shot. Working the scene from different angles just might pay off. If you want to find out more, continue reading after the jump…
Portland Aerial Tram Upper Station | 1/40 sec @ f/2.8 and ISO 1600
Today is March 1st. Technically we are in Spring now. Although it doesn’t show here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s freezing cold and it’s still raining. As promised in my last post I’m showing a few more photographs I took on Portland’s “Pill Hill” the other night. Marquam Hill, as the real name is, provides for some spectacular views across downtown, the Willamette River with its many bridges and on clear days onwards to Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens. Join me for some evening views of Portland by continue to read after the jump….
Here it is, my first real photo of the Streets of Portland, literally. Last night after work I drove up the South Portland’s Marquam Hill (aka Pill Hill), where the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the Portland VA Medical Center operate large hospitals, whose modern architecture is quite fascinating of its own. But my real target was the upper station of the Portland Aerial Tram, from which you have a stunning view across downtown, the Willamette River with its many bridges and on clear days onwards to Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens. I found free parking behind the Doernbechers Children’s Hospital and walked over to the Tram Station.
I knew that from the station there is this great view of Interstates 405 and 5 merging and crossing the Willamette River on the Marquam Bridge. And this is the photo I really wanted to take. So I brought the Olympus OM-D E-M1, the mZuiko 40-150mm F/2.8 Pro Zoom and my Rollei travel tripod. Temperatures last night where just above freezing and there was a nasty rainfall. Camera and lens are waterproof, so that was more of a problem for me with my thin and not waterproof jacket. The good thing was that inside the Tram Station I was protected by the roof. I put the tripod on the railing at the far end that is open towards city and river, and snapped away. The photo came out just as I had hoped for. Image specs were 8 seconds (to capture the light trails of the traffic crossing the bridge), f/10 and ISO 200. Focal length was the far end of my zoom at 150mm (equals 300mm in full frame) and I used the 2sec self timer of the camera to avoid any shake after pressing the shutter.
This is a good example of a planned shot, where you have in mind what you want to do and then just execute.
I took a few more photos on Marquam Hill, but need time to process and edit, A post will follow. And then of course I need to really hit the Streets of Portland. But due to a full business agenda this might have to wait until my next trip.
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