day twenty-four

"What reinforces the content of a photograph is the sense of rhythm—the relationship between shapes and values."

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Robbie, NW 10th Avenue

day twenty-three

"The process of photographing is a pleasure: eyes open, receptive, sensing, and at some point, connecting. It’s thrilling to be outside your mind, your eyes far ahead of your thoughts."
- Henry Wessel

NE Alberta Street

Mascara, On the Southbound Train

day twenty-two

"Photographing in the street with a Leica doesn’t have much to do with planning. You walk out the door and—bang!—you’re part of the great urban cavalcade. But unlike everyone else, you’re carrying an amazing little machine that, joined with a lot of effort, can pull poetry out of a walk downtown."

- Tod Papageorge 

King Street Station, Seattle

day twenty-one

"I sort of believe that a picture is like a prayer; you’re offering a prayer to get something, and in a sense it’s like a gift of God because you have practically no control."

- Harry Callahan 

Train Window, Union Station

day twenty

"A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there—even if you put them end to end, they still only add up to one, two, perhaps three seconds, snatched from eternity."

- Robert Doisneau

"Sometimes the pictures disappear and there's nothing you can do. You can't tell the person, 

'Oh, please smile again. Do that gesture again.' Life is once, forever."

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

SW Yamhill Street 

SW 3rd Avenue

day nineteen

"I think about photographs as being full or empty. You picture something in a frame and it’s got lots of accounting going on in it—stones and buildings and trees and air—but that’s not what fills up a frame. You fill up the frame with feelings, energy, discovery, and risk, and leave room enough for someone else to get in there."
- Joel Meyerowitz


"The photograph isn’t what was photographed. It’s something else. It’s a new fact."
- Garry Winogrand

NW 21st Avenue

day eighteen

"To take photographs means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning. It is putting one's head, one's eye and one's heart on the same axis."
- Henri Cartier-Bresson

Four Friends, Cannon Beach

Mother and Son, Cannon Beach

Justin, Cannon Beach

day seventeen

Yes. I skipped a day. Did shoot, but came up empty. Now we are in Manzanita, at the beach for a couple days. Sunnier than Cannon Beach, but very windy!

Kite, Manzanita

Bar, Manzanita

aurora, colorado

Amazing pictures published in the Sacramento Bee. Damn, these are heartbreaking photographs.

day sixteen

"It would be mistaken to suppose that any of the best photography is come at by intellection; it is like all art, essentially the result of an intuitive process, drawing on all that the artist is rather than on anything he thinks, far less theorizes about."

- Helen Levitt

SE Grand Avenue

day fifteen

NW 11th Avenue

day fourteen

“Every photograph is a certificate of presence.” 

- Roland Barthes

SW 3rd Avenue

day thirteen

"Photographs are of course about their makers, and are to be read for what they disclose in that regard no less than for what they reveal of the world as their makers comprehend, invent, and describe it." 

- A.D. Coleman

NW 21st Street

a new garden will soon grace the orphanage grounds!

Great news! A generous donor/very good friend of Change the Truth has stepped up to fund the development of a brand new 10,000 square foot vegetable garden at SMK. Here is the description of the project as outlined by the SMK administration:

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Objective is to create a Vegetable garden for the Orphans at SMKOM Kajjansi, Uganda,

1.     Clear and protect the grounds for Vegetable gardening at Kajjansi

2.     Plant, nurture, and harvest vegetable food on a regular basis (every 3 months) to supplement and balance the diet for the Orphans

PROPOSAL

1.     Fence off the land to be used for gardening to stop petty theft of growing vegetables

2.     Plant quick growing vegetables (3 months) for regular consumption for example – Cabbages, Mushrooms, Egg plants, Crawling plants, Vegetables, Yams, etc.)

3.     Improve the School environment by planting flowers, hedges, and trees to provide shades

BENEFITS

The children will enjoy a regular injection of vitamins for their protection against disease

SUSTAINABILITY

A children’s committee (Grade 6) headed by a Teacher shall manage the project, with handover every year to a new team. A part-time gardner shall be employed to assist the children in the management of the project

During the upcoming school holiday, the older children will help clear the land. It is possible that construction of the wall could begin soon. This is exciting news for CTT! This is a sustainable project that will benefit the children in many ways on an ongoing basis. That's just what we love to see! Many, many thanks to this thoughtful and committed donor.

Much more to follow...

day twelve

Courtney, NW 12th Avenue

day eleven

”There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.”

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

I made these photographs today at Oaks Amusement Park, SE Oaks Park Way.

day ten

"From his photographs [the photographer] learned that the appearance of the world was richer and less simple than his mind would have guessed. He discovered that his pictures could reveal not only the clarity but the obscurity of these things, and that these mysterious and evasive images could also, in their own terms, seem ordered and meaningful."
- John Szarkowski

Diners, NW 21st Street

my recent uganda work is featured

Amber Terranova, who reviewed my portfolio at Review Santa Fe, is featuring my work today on the PDN (Photo District News) Photo of the Day blog. You can check it out here.

Thanks, Amber and RSF!

the tie that binds

Two members of Change the Truth Team 4 returned to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage the beginning of July for two weeks. Jeff and Jennifer graciously decided to spend part of their summer vacation teaching, tutoring and mentoring the children they came to love during their visit in 2010.

I received this lovely blog post from Jeff today. It's a must read!

"I don’t remember learning to tie a tie. I’m sure it was a special time when either my father or one of my three brothers taught me, but it does not stand out in my mind. Over the years, as both teacher and coach, I’ve taught some of my students and athletes how to look smart with an appropriate windsor or half-windsor knot. For some, it is a right of passage for young men to learn how to dress in shirt and tie and for a father to teach their son the intricacies of various knots.

Until visiting St. Charles Secondary School, while here in Uganda, due to failure of my own memory and for not being a father I did not know this feeling. It was while visiting CTT sponsored students Scovia, Evalyn and Claire Faith at St. Charles I became not father of a proud son but of a proud daughter. One of the uniforms requires a tie to be worn - it does not matter whether girl or boy. As it turns out, knowing how to tie a tie presented itself as a challenge to Evalyn. It was with distinct honor and privilege I taught Evalyn to tie her tie. Once crafting a careful knot herself she proudly wore her uniform the remainder of the day. She seemed to hold her head just a little bit higher and with an even brighter smile than she had before. Evalyn’s tie has forged a bond between us I will never forget."

day nine

Two Women Watching a Dance Performance, Director Park, SW Park and Yamhill

day eight

“To photograph is to hold one's breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It's at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.” 
- Henri Cartier-Bresson 

On the Northbound Streetcar

day seven

"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know."

- Diane Arbus

Greyhound Bus Station

Three People on Phones, SW 6th Avenue

Three Smokers,  NW 6th Avenue

day six

"I never question what to do, it tells me what to do.  The photograph makes itself with my help."

- Ruth Bernhard

Twins, Union Station

day five

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” 

– Elliott Erwitt

Dave, North Park Blocks

David, Greyhound Bus Station

day four

"At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect - a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of  the biography by which we want to be known."
- Robert Adams, Why People Photograph,

Man on Train, SW 6th Avenue

Art Gallery, NW Davis Street

Sarah, NW 10th Avenue

day three

Michael and Barrett, North Park Blocks

Food Cart, SW Broadway

Street Preacher, O'Bryant Square

Martha, North Park Blocks

day two

Amy, SW Park Avenue

at least one photograph a day: day one

"Why is photography, like the other arts, a kind of intoxication? And a quieter pleasure, too, so that occasionally photographers discover tears in their eyes for the joy of seeing. I think it is because they've known a miracle. They've been given what they did not earn, and as is the way with unexpected gifts, the surprise carries an emotional blessing. When photographers get beyond copying the achievements of others, or just repeating their own accidental first successes, they learn that they do not know where in the world they will find pictures. Nobody does. Each photograph that works is a revelation to its supposed creator. Yes, photographers do position themselves to take advantage of good fortune, sensing for instance when to stop the car and walk, but this is only the beginning. As William Stafford wrote, calculations get you just so far - 'Smart is okay, but lucky is better.' Days of searching can go by without any need to reload film holders, and then abruptly, sometimes back in their own backyard, photographers use up every sheet." 
- Robert Adams, Why People Photograph

My backyard for the next six weeks will be Portland.

I have decided to embark upon a summer project called "at least one photograph a day." I'll be posting them here. I'll make myself get out and work even if I don't feel like it. Even if I don't feel smart or lucky.

I went back to the fountain and made these pictures earlier this afternoon. It is good to go back and dig deeper.

Waterfront Park, July 7