A brief homage to my friend Scott, who will never live down his association with chairs. From the newly refurbished TriMet Bus Mall in Portland, Oregon, September 2009.
Author Archives: ABC
Ramen, soul of a city?
Anticipation is always deceiving, and nothing is ever as one imagines it. Vancouver, B.C. is both more and less than my mind had envisioned. It is less a futurist’s city, but far more human. This is especially true about the edges, or in the nooks and crannies away from the landmarks.
Denman Street and the West …
Review: Oaks Park Pentimento
Oaks Park Pentimento: Portland’s Lost and Found Carousel Art
Photographs by Jim Lommasson. Introduction by Inara Verzemnieks. Afterword by Prudence Roberts. Oregon State University Press, 121 The Valley Library, Corvallis, OR 97331; http://oregonstate.edu/; 12.5 x 10.5 in; hardbound; 48 pages, 30 color and 9 b/w photos; $25.00
The transitory nature of art has always been fascinating. Photographs …
Overeating in Richmond, B.C.
Storefronts in Richmond have all sorts of interesting things to see.
Recently, I visited the Vancouver, B.C. area. Among a number of goals, I had one that stood out: to sample the legendarily good Chinese food available in the suburb of Richmond.
Interacting with the culture of Richmond was an adventure of its own, especially if that …
2009: Ten Favorite Images
Well its now the end of 2009, and it’s time again for the ten favorite images routine. This year I noticed that although many photos were made near the rail environment, none of them fit a conventional train theme. Instead, urban and built environment subjects are becoming more predominate in my work.
As with the previous …
Photojournalism and respect
At the Lansdowne SkyTrain station in Richmond, B.C.
Sometimes I think that one of the main reasons I feel I am not particularly skilled as a photo journalist is that I’m just not enough of an a-hole for the job. On a recent trip to the largely ethnically Chinese city of Richmond, B.C., I realized that …
The Future of Beaverton?
The Future of Beaverton?, originally uploaded by route99west.
I’ve rather provocatively titled this image “the future of Beaverton” with my tongue only partly in cheek. There are many ways that the pairing of Richmond/Vancouver does not hold as an analogy to Beaverton/Portland. Vancouver, for one, is a true international city, thanks to being the only major …
Bridge within a bridge
Bridge within a bridge, originally uploaded by route99west.
Fall and Winter can be a dual-edged sword for photographers.
On the down side, colors often become muted, and days are shorter thus cutting down how long you can remain outside shooting without the complication of tripods and time exposures or the use of high ISO settings / films.
On …
Review: Vis Major: Railroad Men, an Act of God: White Death at Wellington
Vis Major: Railroad Men, an Act of God: White Death at Wellington
By Martin Burwash. iUniverse, 1663 Liberty Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403; http://www.iuniverse.com/; 9 x 6 x 1.1 in; trade paperback; 480 pages, 15 maps; $29.95
In the late Winter of 1910, the largest avalanche disaster in the history of North America struck the tiny railroad town …
Liquidated
Liquidated, 2009; watercolor on paper, approximately 16 x 25 inches.
Well that took a bit longer than expected.
Liquidated is the second in my 99W Series of paintings. This is a planned sequence of images using the thread of old Pacific Highway West through Western Oregon as a common theme. The road forms a cross section …