More Photos

With all that’s going on around me lately it seems that this blog has been at the very back of my mind (unlike this time last year, when it was indeed at the forefront of everything I did). However, I’ve been busy with work, trying to more work, bouncing between Coeur d’Alene and Portland to visit my grandpa, not to mention preparing for the upcoming Little League season (more on that later).

Nevertheless, I definitely have been taking photos.

With my newfound obsession inside the wide world of Flickr, I’ve been following other local photographers religiously. It’s especially intriguing to me how others shoot the same landmarks, as their perspective is often times quite different than my own. Long story short: I love my camera again.

As for my recent stuff, I’ve leaned pretty heavy on the HDR and processing in Photomatix and Photoshop CS4 with Topaz Adjust. I think I’m going to try and back off the Topaz Adjust a little bit, however, and maybe try the HDR a little less. I know it looks pretty sweet sometimes, but more often than not the photos just look fake. Even some of the amazing photographers I’ve seen sometimes overdo the HDR. But maybe I’m wrong. Who knows. I don’t really care, as long as the picture looks good.

Lately, though, I’ve finally started exploring parts of Portland I’ve only seen through Flickr. Photographers like Aaron Reed, Andrew Curtis and Zeb Andrews have chronicled some of the best Portland imagery, and it’s by following their Flickr Photostreams that I see where the best views can be attained. I’ve learned a great deal about my camera and how to use it better by attempting to imitate some of their shots before looking for my own.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to lately. Seems I’ve got a love affair with Portland-area bridges:

Underneath the on-ramps an off-ramps of the Fremont Bridge.

Mt. Hood behind downtown Portland.

Looking up from the ground at the bottom of the St. Johns Bridge.

  
Silhouette of the St. Johns Bridge at sunset.

 
From the hillside at the south end of the St. Johns Bridge. In case you can’t tell, I love this bridge!

 
Fremont Bridge just after sunset. I think it looks fake because the sky turned out so incredibly blue. Oh well, what can you do? Not a cloud in the sky…