Portland - Stranger Faces

Travel is defined by the people we meet. We are all defined by the people we know.

I wrote this after my first trip several month ago which was dedicated to meeting, conversing with and photographing strangers I would meet along the way.

"My portrait project has been quite simply life changing, more than I could have hoped for. The people I have met have have had a profoundly positive effect on my life. The people I have had long conversations with on park benches, empty parking lots, busy street corners, under bridges, they all surprised me to be honest, because what I found impressed me. I found little bits of myself in each of them and I found ways that I wanted to be better and saw things from perspectives I had not considered. I see each one of these people that I conversed with as a lens by which they were kind enough to let me see the world through and by seeing the world through their eyes I have come to see mine more clearly as well."

Even in the short while I have been in Portland I have met a surprisingly diverse group of people. Many of the encounters so far have been passing, with only a few minutes to listen and capture. But out all all the people I have met while pursuing this side project, Greg(pictured above) has made the biggest impression on me.

I met Greg in downtown Portland, east side of the Hawthorne bridge. Greg approached me asking for a light and after a few minutes conversation on everything from sailing the Puget Sound to fishing in Alaska, he admitted to being in the process of withdrawing from heroin, which in his case meant sleeping under a bridge until the withdraw symptoms faded. I hardly thought that was a good approach to kicking his habit and apparently it wasn't. As the day went on he kept on becoming more and more agitated, heroin withdraw symptoms include, anxiety, nausea, muscle aches and abdominal cramps as well as a host of other things intent on making sure it's as difficult as possible to quit. He kept on talking about needing $15 so he could get better and make it through today all the while complaining about cramps. I wasn't exactly clear on what his definition of "get better" meant, and if I had stopped to think about it, heroin is the cure for all of his immediate symptoms. But oblivious to this fact, when he offered to sell a couple of locking carabiners (used for climbing and sailing) for $15 I agreed. With the $15 dollars he had earned her asked if I wanted a "tour" which I have to admit turned out to be the most interesting tour I have ever been on.

Greg's tour involved meeting several of his friends(also junkies) who went on to brag about purchasing 8balls, which made me chuckle, I guess every social circle has it's own goals to strive for. The tour also included a run down on the the pushers we past and what they charged. We eventually ended up in the South Park Blocks which apparently has someone willing to sell for $15. After an initial disagreement among his friends over whether or not their needles were clean I stepped back and watched them prep the shot. Greg got his shot ready, his friends left to find their own and I was left with a Greg looking happier than had seem him yet. This is where things really got interesting, even though the shot was prepped and inserted into his arm he couldn't plunge it no matter how hard he tried. The needle was clogged and he started shaking, attempting to transfer the shot to another plunger all the while getting big air bubbles in his syringe, which in spite of everything struck me as dangerous. After his third needle clogged on him he really starting to freak out his voice was quivering as he told me "dude this is like a junkies worst nightmare", followed by a whispered "please God help me" which seemed painfully ironic at that moment. I thought he was about to cry and when he snapped the plunger on his third needle and after throwing it on the ground he did. Up to that point I wasn't sure how bad his withdraw was but seeing him cry definitely brought home the kind of pain he must have been in.

I think off all the strangers I have met Greg has had the biggest impression solely because his view, his uniquely distorted version of reality allowed me to see something different. I mentioned several paragraphs up that I think every person is a lens, with their own focal length and particular distortion brought on by their own experiences and the experiences of the people closest to them. The lens that Greg let me see his world through encouraged me to reevaluate opinions I've held and things I've taken for granted. I can relate to how Greg feels in certain capacities and finding relation with someone who is apparently so different is always eye opening.

Unfortunately I am going to have to leave you with only the faces and not the stories of all the incredible people I have met here in Portland. Otherwise this post will grow to ridiculous proportions!

Check out this cycle tourist, travel writing and yoga instructing girl at http://Elleesyoga.com

Portland - First Impressions - Textures

I was surpirsied when the first thing to catch my attention upon venturing out into portland was the texture. So many things here seemed to have a unique and beautiful texture to them, as if everthing was finely aged to provide captivating details waiting to be explored. The frequent rain seems to create an enviroment for moss to thrive and many of the massive trees that dot the neighborhoods here are covered in it.


Metal texture on a playground that reminded me of the ones I used to play on.

Rivets on the "Steel Bridge" constructed in 1912.


Best of all, spring is in full swing here with more cherry blossom trees than I can count! There is so much to be explored here and I have not even begun to detail the diverse group of people I have met. I have talked about everything from, bicycle tours to learning about v-8 tractors and even hanging with some guys shooting heroin. Aother blog post should be coming tomorrow dedicated to all those people.

The "BIG" Family Project

This weekend will mark the start of the biggest personal project I have ever undertaken!

The image above of my family is to be first of many like it unlike it.

The Idea: I want a picture of the whole Latenser family. (mother's side)

The Concept: What if we could create a book of our family that included every one of my Grandpa's children, their children and their children's children. Moving past the ghastly unwieldiness of children's children's children, what if that book were more than a catalog of faces but instead an expression of individuality, non-conformism, unbridled fun and and the ubiquitous chaos that seems inherent in big families, or maybe that's just us? I have never been a fan of how large groups seem to necessitate conformism. So instead of facilitating the loss of individuality by forcing everyone into a single group, Barbara, the brains behind this operation, suggested photographing each family individually and in their own environment. I loved the idea, and thus The Big Family Project was born.

The Execution: To complete this project, big distances will have to covered, big families will have to be photographed, big coffee fueled brainstorming sessions completed and of course a big book will have to be printed to bring it all together.

So how Big exactly are we talking? Well the concept behind this shoot to to photograph every child, grand child, great grand child and in-laws individually as well as with their respective families. All told equals up to 18 families and about 70 people! With totally round trip distance traveled somewhere north of 10k miles.

So we've covered the big family part how bout big distances?

This family just couldn't stick to the KC area and makes things easy for us. Instead there are families and grandchildren spread all across the country and as far away as London. But we figured if we could hit Portland OR, San Francisco, Omaha Ne, and London we could successfully capture everyone in the family. All this travelling will necessitate multiple side projects as well...more on that later.

This Saturday: kicks off this project in earnest with a 4pm flight to Portland OR where the next two family shoots will happen. Just the concept of Portland has me giddy with all those, bridges, waterfalls and mountains. So be looking for updates to follow this post shortly as this project gets rolling.

Wrapping up:This project transcends simple family photography and is catapulted into the realm of social revolution, or would that be photographic revolution? Every person involved directly or indirectly in this project is a herald for freedom of expression and is assisting in breaking the shackles of oppressive and unwarranted group photography ;) So what you can take away from this is; conformism is bad, and individuality is good. Small diverse autonomous groups free to express themselves beat large awkward groups any day.

Speaking of small groups here are a few awesome families I had the pleasure of sharing an afternoon with this past season.

Marcy + Aaron

There were so many cool things about this wedding! I am not even sure where to start. First the Ceremony and reception were on separate days, which let us focus on photojournalism on the first day and being creative on the next day. But even cooler than the schedule was my couple, Aaron & Marcy, you guys just had this really chill and fun-goofy vibe going that I think is so evident (and cute!) in the photos!

This would probably have to be my favorite dress yet.

This was another cool thing about the wedding. After the ceremony Marcy & Aaron walked down the aisle and just kept on going into the park for a few minutes of alone time. I followed from a distance furtively capturing the moment.











I absolutely love these two photos, especially how I didn't even pose the second one! I saw this in post and just thought, "you guys are awesome!" :)

Brendan + Maria

Ahhh How can you not love these two?! One thing is for sure and that is Brendan and Marie kept me on my toes! I never knew when they would pull something totally crazy and hilarious. Not to mention this wedding came with a new first for me--I got to shoot at a car wash! How cool is that?!



I think this little guy has to rank up there with the cutest junior groomsmen I have ever shot.






For this shot we had the nicest car wash patron I have ever met spray Brendan and Maria with the power washer wand! Seriously who would have thought that's what you would be doing on your wedding. Brendan and Maria you two are so awesome!



Brendan & Maria I wish you the best and I hope you are having a blast in honey mooning in the south!