Red, white and blue, re-do!

Seen-on-the-streets of Portland, vintage vehicles, a patriotic trio.

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.

Primary Color Red #1

July 4, 2010, mostly red fireworks reflected on the Willamette River, downtown Portland. The Hawthorne Bridge is on the left of the fireworks barge--a ramp coming off the Marquam Bridge to the right.


One more fireworks shot, mostly the primary color red. Needless to say, I had a blast on the river with friends on the 4th of July. How's that for a pun? Actually I heard one blast after another, reverberating around the downtown buildings and the river.

Reds

See the various reds I saw, across from the bus stop at NW 21st and Everett. The rhododendrons caught my eye first, then almost instantly I saw the rest of the reds, picked up the camera that hung around my neck and snapped the photo last Tuesday. This was with the new lens I had to buy on Saturday, a Quantaray 18-200. You see, on Friday night after I left 3 Doors Down Cafe, I got off the 20 on Sandy and went to Voodoo Doughnuts to get one for dessert. Naturally, I wanted to take photos--that's when I discovered that the lens that came with my camera, my everyday lens that I've used and used and used was all used up. Surprisingly, I did not panic. I live in a big city, I thought. Surely I can find another lens that fits the Nikon D50, one that will focus for me. Lo and behold, I only had to go to two stores and I found the new one which, thankfully, I could actually afford.

Do you notice any difference in the quality of the photo?

What's black and white and red all over, again?

How's this for another serendipitous juxtaposition of like colors? While there is a good deal of gray in this photo, look at the red lights and reflectors on the parking enforcement scooter (far right, going out of the photo), the man's bicycle helmet, the back of the trailer (or whatever you call these vehicles), the reflectors on the bike and on the trailer, the flag atop the pole at the back of the trailer, and the usual spots on the back of the Volvo, as well as the circle Smart Park sign on the pole.

It was the bicycle commuters that caught my eye. I've seen lots of these around Portland, always flying a tall flag to alert vehicles to the trailer behind the bicycle. And I didn't see anything else of interest until I downloaded the photo.

Someone commented on my first WRABARAO for more Ruby Tuesday posts. post that it would have made a perfect Ruby Tuesday photo, so when I saw this I thought, "Why not? I'll try this Ruby Tuesday thing with this photo."

Look at the Mr. Linky list at Work of the Poet for more Ruby Tuesday posts.

Here's to serendipity and creative fun for all.

What's black and white and red all over?

The scene: I'm sitting on a green metal bench across the river from work, in the park named Chapman Square. I'm on my lunch hour. Beside me on the bench I have my camera at the ready, my sweet ice tea, my half peanut butter sandwich, and half of a plain muffin sprinkled with chocolate chips.
The action: A woman wearing a red helmet, riding a red scooter, passes in front of me at the corner. I grab my camera, take one photo as she crosses SW 3rd, swivel to my left and take the photo you see above.
The serendipity: When I download the photo, I immediately know I could not have planned this photo any better.
The joy: I hope you share it with me as you take in the colors, the juxtapositions, the action.