portland saturday market

a few days ago, i was perusing meetup.com and found a group called women learning photography together... well, whaddya know?  i'm a woman learning photography!  so, i figured i should join these ladies on their photography field trips!

today was my first meetup with the group and we met at portland saturday market.  this was great for me because i'm in love with street photography, but i'm too chicken s#%t to actually approach people and ask if i can take their picture.  and i'm even more chicken s#%t to take their picture without asking them.  saturday market is nice because there are so many people around and so many tourists, a photographer kind of blends in (or at least, a photographer doesn't look awkward taking photos in places they shouldn't be).

this first photo was taken in an empty lot at 4th and burnside.  it really makes me wonder why there is a table and chair in an empty lot... and why is the window bricked up?

the next three were shot along the waterfront.  the first one (with the words) is of some steps that surround a fountain.  it seems to speak about the people who came to portland, where they came from and how they got here.  

i had to get some blossom shots... spring is here (although the temperature didn't feel like spring today at all!).

and now for the saturday market... 

this woman had the best stall of any merchant at the market (not to mention that her pottery is beautiful).  

hats galore!

this band was pretty awesome.  they were belting out some southern bluegrass for shoppers' listening pleasure.

the band wasn't the only person out there trying to make some money.  this guy was putting on a dance show while his friends played some percussion on 5-gallon buckets.

this woman was drawing some pretty awesome chalk art on the sidewalk.  not sure the point of it, though, since it later rained!!

after the market, i made my way back to my car via 4th street (china town).

there were definitely other people taking photos of this sign at the same time as i was.  they must have an adolescent mind like me - lol!  

photography field trip at omsi

my photography class met this morning at the oregon museum of science and industry (omsi) in portland for a field trip.  monday is our last class, so our goal today was to take 3 - 5 photos to share and explain why they are interesting.

i'm not sure why they're interesting, but here they are.  i must admit that i was feeling a bit uninspired at omsi, especially with such a broad assignment (pretty much anything i wanted to shoot).  that said, i tried panning for the first time and i liked how they came out.  another observation: i also really need to work on incorporating people into my photos and getting over my fear of asking to photograph them. photos with people in them are so much more interesting and dynamic.

this little piggy went to market

i have two very talented friends, bubba and sarah king, who are going to rule the food world one day (soon!).  in attemping to list everything culinary that they are involved in, i'm sure i'll miss something...but here it goes:  canning, cheese-making, gardening, beekeeping, brewing, baking bread, making pasta from scratch, and raising pigs.  yes, there must be more to that list.

they are in the process of putting together a business called the collective and are very excited to have one of their pigs being used at the cochon 555 event in seattle in 9 short days.  yes, one of these pretty piggies will be used at that event - the spotted guy.  sad face.

bubba was gracious enough to let me come out this afternoon and take some photos before the rain starts again tomorrow and before... well... you know... 

without further ado, i introduce you to the pigs of the collective: 

 18mm, 1/60 sec, f/4.5

 58mm, 1/20 sec, f/5

this pic is my favorite!   35mm, 1/30 sec, f/4.5

 32 mm, 1/30 sec, f/4.5

 24mm, 1/60 sec, f/4.5

 28mm, 1/100 sec, f/4.5

28mm, 1/125 sec, f/4.5

28mm, 1/200 sec, f/4.5

18mm, 1/250 sec, f/3.5

 24 mm, 1/30 sec, f/4.5

hazelnut-finished pork = sweet flavor to the meat + other health benefits that other pork doesn't have (i had to google 'hazelnut finished pork' for this line -- you might want to do that, too, to find out more).   32mm, f/9, 1/30 sec

42 mm, 1/60 sec, f/4.8

to learn more about the collective, visit their website or their facebook page. 

life on the farm

i had my first fundamentals of photography class at newspace last night with 10 other students.  the instructor, jason, is a funny guy and, since he's been photographing for 20 years, definitely knows his stuff!  after we introduced ourselves and talked about what type of cameras we all had, we jumped into a discussion of aperture and shutter speed and how these two functions affect depth of field and showing/freezing motion.  thankfully, my friend jessica had already told me about the book understanding exposure, so i had a very good theoretical background in shutter speed, aperture and ISO.  thank goodness because i think if you were starting from scratch, you'd be pretty lost!  

our assignment?  to take a series of photos showing variations in depth of field and we will review them in the next class.  i'll post those as soon as i take them - i already have an idea in mind, which, of course, involves fife!  :)  we'll see if it comes to fruition... 

next week, we're talking about metering, and i think reading the understanding exposure book will have been helpful here, too... but i'm grateful that the holes in my (admittedly little) knowledge are getting filled in.  

on that note, i'm sharing a photo i took from our bedroom window yesterday.  you can see the cows that belong to our neighbor (he's actually the grandfather of our landlord - they live basically on the same property).  

here is case in point about universal focus or lack thereof.  i took this at f/3.5 because i wasn't really thinking and many of the elements are unclear - like the detail in the evergreens.  i was more concerned that the sun was coming up and lighting up the tree - it looked so pretty!  however, it really should have been taken with a smaller aperture to get a clearer image.  or at least that's my (amateur's) critique...  not to even start on the composition conversation...

it's one thing to know what to do in your head.  it's another thing to actually do it.  i'll just have to keep practicing!!

coasties

chad, fife and i went out to cannon beach today for a change of scenery.  i always feel so refreshed when i get back from the coast.  the fresh air, ocean, sand, and sun... well, the sun was there for about 20 minutes... but still, it was so, so nice.  

 i have such a hot hubby!

35mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/4.2

i think this dog wanted to say hello...

18mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/3.5

chad was playing fetch with fife with a football.  it was too cute.  the football was actually a christmas gift for chad, but as soon as he left for nz, she claimed it as her own.    

18mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/3.5 

18mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/3.5

fife was playing in the tide pool, but the tide was coming in!

18mm ISO 100 1/400 sec at f/5.6 

18mm ISO 100 1/250 sec at f/5.6

fife was scoping out some playmates...

98mm ISO 100 1/250 sec at f/5.6 

the tide was coming in around haystack rock

105mm ISO 100 1/1250 sec at f/5.6

a little yoga on the beach?  don't mind if i do... 

105mm ISO 100 1/400 sec at f/5.6

here's fifey girl with her football... my little kiwi likes american sports after all!  

105mm ISO 100 1/1000 sec at f/5.6

chad wanted to join in the photo-taking fun.  i think he did a pretty decent job!  and i have to say, i adore my new crumpler camera bag!