Waiting. Nope. Saying hello. And a bit with Mama.

At first I noticed just the man in the yellow shirt and the golden retriever, obviously very happy with each other. All of a sudden, the woman appeared and sat down, just as the man in the striped hoodie appeared with the black lab on a leash. The dogs didn't waste any time saying hello.

I took this photo on July 29, 2010. I was inside a Zipcar about to start it up and head right at the corner so that I could circle around to our one way street and pick up Mama for a trip to the Lucky Eagle Casino in Washington. We wanted to play the penny machines. We had fun, although I'm sure we lost some money. Mama thoroughly enjoyed the ride there, the playing, the eating, and the ride back home.


Here we are, later on downtown before we headed out of town. We had stopped by the downtown Zipcar offices for the Grand Opening at their new location. Gosh, it's hard to believe that on that particular day she had only a little over five months left to live.


This is the Zipcar, a Scion xA Artale. My first thought as I pulled out to turn right was "This is like driving a windshield!" Not one bit of the hood is visible as you drive.


And here's Mama, about to get back into Artale after our visit at the Grand Opening.

Waiting, with Resignation. #3

I took three photos--this is the last of the three.


Here's the first photo I took when the dog and I both had noticed each other. What a beautiful glossy coat!


In the second photo, the dog's turning his head to his right, away from me. Seems to be asking, "Are you sure you have to take my picture? I shall ignore you in hopes of discouraging your efforts."


With resignation, "Oh, well. It didn't work." Here's the last of the three again, the original of the top photo in this post. You can see how I altered it using Picnik's contrast, sharpness, and HDR-ish.

I took these photos on October 30, 2010. I didn't have a clue where the two of us were, so I searched through my Flickr Photostream and am convinced that I took this photo on NE Broadway, between NE 15th where I got off the bus and NE 16th where I went into a building.

Waiting, with Loyalty, #2

I noticed just this much visible of the waiting dog. I couldn't resist taking a photo of what I felt represented a fine slice of life. I love how the dog could care less about that nearby orange and red fire hydrant.


A few minutes later, the dog's man came out and they walked north on SW 6th Avenue, downtown Portland.

About the Green Line MAX public art on the Transit Mall which you can see most of there between the woman with the red bag and the man with the black backpack:

Continuation, 2009
ARTIST
Michihiro Kosuge
LOCATION
On 6th Avenue, between Columbia and Clay streets
DESCRIPTION
With the five sculptures that make up Continuation, Michihiro Kosuge reused red granite from an earlier sculpture and fountain installation on the Portland Mall. To create relationships between the sculptures while allowing each one to stand on its own, the artist sculpted pieces with interconnecting visual elements that include repetition, tension and stability.

Waiting, with Loyalty, #1

Downtown Portland, September 27, 2009.

Looking through my older photos taken when I worked in Southeast Portland and lived in Northwest Portland which made for a visually interesting commute twice daily has made me realize I need to get out and about on weekends more, on the hunt for photos to shoot. You see, since Mama died in January, 2011, and I moved, I still work in Southeast Portland, but I live in Northeast Portland. My twice daily commute offers somewhat less variety, especially during the winter. It's good for me to have a goal. How to you operate best? Setting goals for yourself?