Leica street photography in Portland, OR

David_Manning

David_Manning

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I'll be in Portland, Oregon for a short stay Friday during the day. It's been a while since I've had time to just walk the streets and make photographs with no project in mind...just seeing through a lens. I'm not from Portland, so the cityscape is all pretty new to me there.

If anyone is interested in meeting up for a bit of low-key RF street photography (I'm shooting digital) and good coffee (and maybe a stop at Powell's World of Books for some inspiration), please drop me a note. I'm hoping to get into the city early, and stay until about 3-4pm.

david.manning @ me.com

Hoping to catch someone there.

---David.
 
Dang! I have the day off and need to finish some rolls of film but will be across the river by 8:00 a.m. and won't be back until 6. Otherwise I'd do it.

Stop by Blue Moon Camera on N Lombard Street in St Johns and tell em I sent you.
 
I'll be about 70 miles south at that time. My kid will be in PDX, but what good is that?

Portland is a good place to shoot if you're from somewhere else. The "city" part of Portland is not that big. Roam out from Powells several blocks in any/every direction, but stay on the west side of the river. You'll find stuff to shoot. Back when we had the militia types around the courthouse, it was interesting. Ahhh, it can be interesting almost anytime in Portland.

On the other side of the river, there's good stuff, but not as "city-like". Do try to take in the Doug Fir lounge and Jupiter hotel scene. Across the street is a gallery that occasionally exhibits my wife's work (Black Box Gallery). I do recommend a visit to Blue Moon Camera, but getting to them can take some time. Bus, train, etc. but you'll get there. I mention because it sounds like you're only in town for one day (until 3 or 4 in afternoon?). The NE part of town (where Blue Moon is) is kind of neat --street photography there too I suppose, and there's a decent food scene nearby. I'm blanking on the street in NE with all the food options. Someone will chime in...

Pro Photo Supply is on the west side of the river, just north of downtown. I'm sorry I don't remember the streets. If you're in downtown (around Powell's), they're a more reasonable trek to get film and see/buy kit. There used to be more great camera/photo shops in town, now we have just Blue Moon, Pro Photo, and I hope Hollywood is still alive but they might be gone. There was another neat old photo shop near the convention center but they've closed up. Really too bad. Nicolas' Lebanese restaurant was nearby.

Anyway, there's a few Portlanders here at RFF. They should show up soon. I've met a couple of them and they were sort of OK (just kidding, they're great folks). They actually live in the greater Portland metroplex region and I now live south of town (Corvallis, home of Oregon State Univ.) but visit my son in Portland regularly nowadays.
 
David, I haven't live in Portland since 1969, but I go almost every year. It is a great place to photograph. Even though there are many tourist sites, you might try across the river to North Portland or the old Albina district for something different.
 
If you only have the one short day: Tom McCall Waterfront Park, start down by the Hawthorne Bridge and work your way north. In the park is there are several points of interest including the battleship Oregon memorial and the Japanese/American Historical Plaza. When you reach the fire station, cross Naito Parkway by the Burnside Bridge. This will take to the Skidmore Fountain and some of the older buildings in Portland. Skip standing in line at Voodoo Donuts, the line is slow and you'll waste a lot of time but do get some photos of the exterior. Work your way west (Burnside Street divides the city north and south, the river divides it east and west) along Stark Street to Tenth Ave and that will put you close to Powells which is on the corner of 10th and Burnside. Stroll around Powell's for a bit then head toward N.W. 13th and Johnson for coffee at Nossa Famila. Stumptown is better known but they have better coffee. The streets north of Burnside are known as the Alphabet District, Couch, Davis, Everett,Flanders,Glisan all the way to Vaughn. After coffee walk back towards the north Park Blocks (N.W. Park and 9th Ave) and follow back across Burnside where they become the South Park Blocks. Stroll along towards the Portland Art Museum and maybe through the Portland State Campus. If you send a PM I may be free that day, let me know where you're staying and if we can't meet at least I can direct you from the motel/hotel. The streetcar is cute but you can walk faster.
 
Excellent recommendations above! You'll love your time here.

But Blue Moon is in N Portland. Not NE. Not NW. And it's close to the St Johns Bridge.
 
Thanks everyone, for the great info!

I'll actually be staying in Vancouver WA so I'll be commuting in for the day somehow. I arrive tomorrow night (Thursday night), but won't make it into Portland until Friday morning sometime...depends upon how much later than schedule my flight lands.

Please keep my email address handy (in my first post), in case anything changes for anyone. I'll be watching this thread.

---David.
 
Okay, so I made it (almost)...I'm still trying to get from Vancouver to Portland. I'll probably Uber to the MAX station and ride it in.

If anyone is around, email me and I'll try to meet up. It's a few minutes after noon, I'll probably be out until 5pm.
 
Missing you completely. I won't be in Ptown until Sunday.

I hope it was a great day shooting. Low contrast light today.

Perhaps another time. I like the idea of meeting up with RFFers
 
It was a great day for photography. It would've been better to spend a bit more time, even better with a local. So maybe next time.

I saw some great photo books at Powell's, but I didn't have room in my small backpack to carry anything the entire day.

Thanks again for responses.
 
Powell's is great. But it pays to be a savvy shopper there.

I found a pattern where any book associated with "Leica" received a premium price. For example, I found Sartorius' Leica Lens Book with an asking price of $75. I passed thinking it seemed a bit spendy and checked Amazon some days later; bought it for $15, which was the typical asking price for that title. Just an example.

However, I bought a Koudelka book (Exiles) at Powell's for (I think) $25. Sure, there were a couple dog-ear bent pages among the front matter, otherwise a nice book. Same book was typically priced higher everywhere else. Perhaps $50 or more, used of course.

Anyway, hit us up again next time you're in town. I'd love to meet up and we can head over to "Big Trouble". I mean, its street photography, right? [...someone will ask...]
 
I wish I had seen your post a few days ago. I would have been happy to go out shooting with you on Friday. I could've even picked you up in Vancouver and taken you to Portland.

You may not be interested in flower photography, but June is a great time of year to go to the Rose Test Gardens where hundreds of roses are currently in bloom. After all, Portland is known as the Rose City.

For street photography, though, I've always enjoyed going to Alberta Street, especially during Last Thursday, a street festival celebrating art, food, and community that takes place on the last Thursday of every month. If you're here in Portland again, you might want to check it out. Here's a link:

http://www.lastthursdayonalberta.com

I hope you enjoyed your stay in Portland!

Ellen
 
Glad you had a good time, even if it was short. Hope you found some good coffee while you were walking around. Let us know in advance if you plan to visit again, we could get a group together.
 
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