Downtown on April 8, 2011. Laughing in the sunshine while waiting at the door.

Noticed these two laughing in the sunshine. Here's my take on what's going on. They know each other, work together; they're waiting for the door to open so that they can report to work. She rode to work on mass transit, her entire commute. He rode most of the way on mass transit, then changed to his skateboard for the rest of the way.



This second photo shows the two of them still laughing and obviously still waiting on that door.



The door now open, the lady's already stepped out of sight except for a corner of her purse. He's holding it open for her and, from the shape of his cheek, is still smiling. I believe these two had a great day at work! Since they're entering an unmarked door, I'd be guessing where they work, but at the time I took this photo, I think the downtown Nike store was still in the building to the left of the door. He's wearing Nike shoes. I can't see the sides of her shoes, but I believe there's a swoosh on her jacket. So, I'm thinking they worked in the Nike store in the multi-story building known as the Public Service Building, designed by prolific Portland architect A. E. Doyle, completed in 1927.

2014 Festival of Flowers, No. 5

Not sure why it surprised me, but it did. This man led his rather large German Shepherd right through the potted flowers--to have paid attention to the maze that the flowers designed would have added, what, seconds to his walk. I shouldn't have been shocked because people will do just about anything, anywhere. However, I was so shocked that I missed the photo of them entering and going through the flowers. Couldn't get my finger on the button quick enough. Found out that having my mouth hanging open wreaks havoc on my coordination. Thankfully, the man and the dog seemed to have been coordinated because I didn't see flowers being knocked over. Maybe they managed to walk along the strip cleared for the sprinkler hose. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photo!

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day: Squares

Square grid, made of some sort of wire, covers this window. Inside, a small basketball court. At least I think it's small--I didn't put my face up to the window to check. I needed to get my Zipcar back to its home parking spot on time. This is my photo for City Daily Photo's Theme Day: Squares. I took it on April 18 at 8:18 p.m., purely a coincidence, both those 18s. Seconds before I took the photo, that man had been taking shots at a basket out of sight to the left. I altered this photo with HDR at Befunky dot com.  Click here to see Theme Day posts from around the world.

First visit to Disneyland, Day Two, Post No. 5

The Bubble Gun Story, as photographed by me while in line at Soarin' Over California, a really neat ride that even has scents to enjoy, a favorite for many who visit Disney California Adventure. I made up all of these captions beneath the photos.



The man in the hat reaches for bubbles spewing from the boy's bubble gun, to the delight of the little boy. Meanwhile, over at the right edge of the photo, it almost appears that the other little boy is drinking from his bubble gun. Surely not!



The man keeps his hand out even after all of the bubbles have floated beneath it. Looks sort of like he's saying, "Gimme five!" to the boy in the Athletics' T-shirt.



The boy squeezes the trigger and bubbles spew into the air, catching the sunlight. Meanwhile, over at the right edge of the photo, the other boy's shooting bubbles, too. In between the two boys, there is a young woman who I figure must be their big sister. She looks too young to me to be their mother. What do you think?



Ah, boys will be boys! It's a bubble shoot out! Wait! Has the man said something alarming that the young woman has overheard? I prefer to think that he said, "It's great that they brought the bubble guns with them because watching the bubbles helps me pass the time in this long, long, line."



Yes! Smiles all around as everyone continues to enjoy the bubbles. I say, "Thanks, boys!"

Winter Opposites - No. 8, Who's walking whom?

June 2, 2012, back at sunny Director Park and Teachers Fountain, in downtown Portland. I surmise this well-heeled gentleman loves his dog. Shiny coat. Slim and trim. Bright red harness. Properly tagged at his neck. And the all-important doggy bags attached to the leash handle. That means that the gentleman also respects his fellow humans by following the city's guidelines about picking up after your pooch. I wish I could tell you what has captured the dog's intense attention, but I didn't get it in this photo or the one after it. I know. Let's imagine a pleasing female dog is right out of the photo.

Winter Opposites - No. 6, motorcycle man wears it all well

Somewhere in Portland, riding a TriMet bus, I noticed this motorcyclist. His mustache caught my eye first, quickly followed by his sunglasses, helmet and pony tail. I sat there while the bus waited at a traffic signal, looking out the window on a sunny July 24, 2010, thinking of the times I rode behind my dearly departed husband LeRoy on his British racing green Triumph motorcycle. I thoroughly enjoyed holding onto him as we rode around Kansas City back in the day.

April 10, the movement of pigeons and automobiles. Where have they gone?

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On January 26, 2013, I noticed the pigeons once again swirling above the intersection of NE MLK and East Burnside, at the west end of the used car lot. I've seen them off and on since I moved to Northeast Portland in January, 2011, flying in all directions at this intersection, sitting on the wires between utility poles and on the billboard above the mid-century roof of the used car lot. Once I had seen the pigeons being fed by a man as I stood at the bus/streetcar stop just a few steps to the right, out of this photo. On this particular day, I happened to discover that the man feeding them came out of the office at this used car lot. See several photos on this topic, below.
 

The evening of March 23, on my way home after the members' party at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center which is south of here, imagine my surprise when I saw this sight  from the bus shelter on East Burnside. No used cars beneath the roof, just a few left at the back edge of the lot, far from the street. When had someone moved the cars? Why? A quick Google revealed no online evidence of going out of business connected with this business. A mystery.
 

Here's a photo that I took on March 29, trying to capture the vast emptiness of the lot. I like that the Big Pink towers in the background, several blocks past the other end of the Burnside Bridge, less than a mile from where I stood to take this photo.



Back to the pigeons and their movement. The original billboard, pigeons perched, taken on January 26. 
 

The pigeons take flight because the man who feeds them has come out of the office and is walking west, to feed them across MLK, just south of the bus/streetcar shelter where I had seen once while I waited to transfer from one bus to the other. Can you see him? He's towards the bottom left corner of this closely cropped photo, smack dab between two poles. 



Once he's tossed all of the bird food onto the sidewalk, the man crosses the street and goes back to the office. The pigeons ignore his movement, way more interested in eating  than in following him. I suppose the actions of these pigeons prove that they are capable of learning. 
 

The original billboard, minus the pigeons along its top edge--they're over to the right on the utility wires. I bet they're wondering what's happened to the man who used to come out of that yellow structure with the blue roof, carrying an orange bucket of bird food for them. 



Another surprise. The new billboard, photographed on April 2. One pigeon perched.

Seen either on or from a TriMet vehicle, be it bus or MAX, or maybe even the Portland Streetcar, which is not TriMet

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Straight out of the camera, I took this photo on December 8, 2012, while riding the bus home. The writing on the man's hat and jacket intrigued me.

 

Here the same photo has been altered with Snapseed, an app I have on my iPhone 5. On the hat, you may be able to read some of it. The best I can make out, it says, "Eternal life is in Jesus, the son of God." On the jacket, it says, "Orphans and widows indeed," then lists three Bible verses, Isaiah 1:17, 23; James 1:27, and 2nd Timothy 2:19. 

Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

 
Isaiah 1:23 - Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

James 1:27 - Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

2nd Timothy 2:19 - Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 6

Here's a map for you. I hope it will enhance your enjoyment of today's post, as well as those on the upcoming days. We'll start with Powell's Books, on the northwest corner, and then go counterclockwise from there.



First up, a man in bright red-orange shoes, wearing an orange jacket. He is walking north across West Burnside at the intersection of SW 10th (behind him) and NW 10th (in front of him). You see, Burnside, whether it be West Burnside or East Burnside, divides Portland into its northern and southern sections.

There's a good chance that he's going to Powell's Books which is on the corner he's headed toward. The red post and railing is in front of the store's main entrance. Powell's Books takes up that entire downtown Portland city block.

There's an orange sign on a pole just beyond the woman who has turned to look south, towards me. Although I can't quite read it when I click on the original size, I can see that there is the logo of the Portland Streetcar. Up the street to the north on the man's right, there appears to be a sign on a building which is red and orange.

Lots of matching colors to be found, thanks to the man's orange jacket and shoes. I took this photo on May 1, 2012.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 5

Talk about serendipity! Look at this guy's helmet juxtaposed with the back of that stop sign on the corner of SE Stark and SE 6th Avenue! How cool that I snapped when I did and the camera got that split second in time! Wow! I'm excited about this photo.

Oh, before I get totally distracted by my excitement, look off in the distance, south down SE 6th. See those parked vehicles, many of which are red? They match the man's backpack. There's a north-facing red stop sign, too.

OK. I found something else that matches--there's a teensy bit of bright green there at the corner to the right of the bicycle's front wheel. When I clicked on the original size for an up close look, I saw that it appears to be what's left of a bottle brush, crushed and torn up by traffic, no doubt. And it's the same color as his jacket! Whoopee!

I took this photo on November 9, 2011, on my walk to work.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 3

Last Saturday on the way home from a fine lecture at the Architectural Heritage Center and a rewarding trip to Powell's Books, I got off the bus for the block and a half walk to my apartment building.

On the corner, I noticed these two stacks of orange traffic cones as I crossed to wait for the traffic signal to change at the corner of NE Sandy Blvd. and NE 20th Avenue. "Hmmm," I wondered. "Is tomorrow's Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon coming by here?"

Then I saw the man approaching on the bicycle, wearing, of all things, an orange knit hat covering,  I imagine, a head full of dread locks. I couldn't believe it--orange and orange, right at the same instant that I stood on the corner, camera on its strap hanging around my neck.

Yea for serendipity!

(And more about the cones later on in this series.)

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 2

Another bicyclist, seen downtown on May 5, pedaling north on SW 6th Avenue at SW Salmon. I'd call his bicycle is a muted chartreuse green which nicely complements the big leaves on all of those trees. I also like the orange traffic cone, the orange "Don't Walk" hand on the traffic signal, and in the distance west up the sidewalk, there's another traffic signal with the orange hand and that pedestrian wearing a muted orange, long-sleeved shirt. I like the silver horizontal stripe on the orange traffic cone which is reflected in the stripes on the stone facade of the building on the corner. Plus, there's the yellow Broadway Cab waiting there at the curb, and up the street a block is another yellow Broadway Cab waiting at the opposite curb--several hotels nearby mean cabs nearby.

Are you as curious as I am about what he's got in that wooden basket on front of the bicycle? It looks like a vehicle battery when I open the original size of the image and can get an up-close look. Bicyling the battery to the vehicle--ah, Portland.

Chapman Square, two walkers in the park

November 6, 2008, found a guy on the sidewalk and a crow on the golden-leaf covered grass. The TriMet bus and the red car are driving west on SW Main. The silver-looking cylinders in the background stand guard over the first floor of the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse.

Lownsdale Square, downtown Portland, live saxophone

August 26, 2008, I heard this man playing his saxophone while I was in the park at lunch time. Such a pleasant experience, one that I want to enjoy again once the parks are restored. Those park benches are a whole lotta fun, too. Comfortable to sit on, and you can usually take your pick of sunshine or shade, on sunny days at least.

Early morning walking the dog

Almost two months ago, March 10, the weather started the day a bit wet and warmer. I saw this man walking the dog in downtown Portland, around 7:30 a.m. We can assume that most everyone else in the photo is headed to work or headed home from work. I myself was on my way to work. I walked from one bus to another bus stop, enjoying myself, the sights and the weather.

Who is this man? He’s on the wall of an old building with Meier & Frank above the door. See him there to the right?

This building, which looks to have been a Meier & Frank warehouse used during their years of operation in Portland—they sold out to Macy’s last year--takes up the block between 15th and 14th Avenues; I walk by on Everett--I don't know the name of the northernmost street for certain. One of these mornings, I'll have to leave the apartment early enough to explore.

How, I ask you, could I have walked by without taking a photo of this character? He appears to have been painted or printed on paper, cut out and plastered to the plywood covering the window. He's ended up colorful, exotic, romantic--a mystery.



Is he some character from an opera? A novel? A play? A figment of someone’s creative mind? Who knows? Give me your knowledge, or at least your best guess. Please and thank you.