Perched girl, smoking.

Disclaimer: I am not promoting smoking by putting this image on the blog. I didn't realize she was smoking until after I uploaded the photo to my computer and could see what was going on. I hope this image does not offend anyone.

I took the photo mainly because I couldn't believe how she was balanced on the stone wall in front of the wrought iron fence. So I clicked.

Then when I looked closer I saw what was coming out of her mouth. So I straightened, cropped, and altered the image at PicMonkey, with a couple of regular and special effects.
  I uploaded the image at Ipiccy, where I straightened, cropped, and altered it with several special effects.

A surprise among the tulips

She bent over, picking up tulips which had fallen to the ground, her shiny, silky tresses mirroring the sheen of each tulip's petals.

I'm guessing those tulips ended up on the ground because a grown-up just might have knocked into the stems while moving along the rows, searching for just the right spot to set down a toddler or two for a colorful photo op.

So, if you haven't already guessed, you're in for a run of photos taken at Woodburn, Oregon's Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm's Tulip Fest.

A multi-tasking walker at Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Wonder if she's ambidextrous? Wonder where she's gonna light and pick that banjo? Curious over here. I like the contrast of angles and lines and shapes in this image, all around the walker and on her herself. What do you think?

Friendship Circle, at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, several views, several ways

Found on the Internet: Friendship Circle The Friendship Circle at the north end of Waterfront Park was dedicated in 1990. It celebrates the sister city relationship between Portland and Sapporo, Japan. The Friendship Circle includes a pair of 20-foot stainless towers that generate electronic tones.

At this link, read a 2007 article about the sculpture and its sound-producing aspect.

A view from above, focusing on the public art known as Friendship Circle. Image altered at PicMonkey.
  The same view--this time the image is altered at Ipiccy and includes some color manipulation. Makes me think of a 1960s postcard.
  A view from river level. Image altered at PicMonkey.
  The same view--this time the image is altered at Ipiccy.
  Folks and their pets, out enjoying the sunshine. Image altered at PicMonkey.
  The same view--this time the image is altered at Ipiccy.

Found at the Regional Arts & Culture Council Web site:
Artists: Lee Kelly, American, born 1932 Michael Stirling
Title: Friendship Circle Date: 1990
Medium: Stainless steel and digital audio
Discipline: sculpture
Dimensions: 1: 22’ x 8’ 2: 24' x 9' audio duration: 35 minutes
Funding Source: Percent for Art-City of Portland, Portland Development Commission, and the City of Sapporo, Japan
Location: Waterfront Park, Parks and Recreation, NW Naito Pkwy. and NW Everett St.

“Friendship Circle” was a collaboration between sculptor Lee Kelly and composer Michael Stirling. Stirling composed a score based upon traditional and contemporary Japanese instruments to emanate from one of the columns sculpted by Kelly. The sculpture commemorates 30 years of the Sister City relationship between Sapporo, Japan and Portland and was primarily funded by Sapporo as a token of friendship. The sculpture subtly echoes the architecture of Buddhist temples.

Found at Portland Parks & Recreation, online:
Historical Information about Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The idea for this park came at the turn of the century when the 1903 Olmsted Report pointed out the need not only for parks within the city, but for a greenway scheme for the riverbanks in order to ensure their preservation for future generations. The 1912 Bennett Plan again showed a need for more parks and river greenways, but instead of reorienting itself to the river, the city's focus was pulled further inland. In the late 1920s, the seawall was built along the Willamette's west bank for the protection of downtown from the annual floods. The seawall not only cut off the water from the people, but the people from the water as well. The construction of Harbor Drive along the west bank in the 1940s continued the trend of isolating the public from the river.

With the opening of the Eastbank Freeway (Marquam Bridge, I-5), Harbor Drive became less important to the traffic flow of the city. Governor Tom McCall created the Harbor Drive Task Force in 1968 in order to study proposals for creating a public open space in its place. In 1974, Harbor Drive was torn up and construction of a waterfront park began. It was completed and dedicated in 1978, gaining instant popularity. In 1984, the park was renamed Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Seen on the walk to work, March 23, 2012, in the Voodoo Doughnuts No. 2 parking lot

If I sit on my first moring bus in a seat behind the bus driver, when we go by the Voodoo Doughnuts, I get a quick glimpse of the parking lot, then the building, then they're gone. Over a week ago, I spied this "monster," an imaginative creation which certainly matches the creativity with which the Voodoo Doughnuts people treat their doughnuts. Ipiccy, cropped, resized, and altered with the effect neon glow, overlay. The base neon color is red, believe it or not. I like what happened with I chose overlay as part of the process! Ipiccy, cropped, resized, and altered with the effect orton. Sort of made every thing smooth and creamy looking to me. I like this version, too. SOOC, Ipiccy, cropped and resized only. So, here's the original image, just for you so that you can compare the alterations with it. And it lets you see that the "monster's" arms, head and body are made from vines! His eyes appear to be plastic tubs with the vertical slits either painted on or drawn on with Sharpie markers. His mouth and teeth must be some sort of plastic, too, or else the rain we've had lately would have already turned them to pulp. Day-glow orange is painted around his mouth. The car which looks as if it has come to either worship the monster or give itself up in sacrifice is some sort of Honda. Enjoy!

The AHC Hard Hat Tour of the Salvation Army Industrial Home, #1

About the Hard Hat Tour, found at Community NonProfit Resource Group--Portland: This Salvation Army building was the District Headquarters for Men's Social services for the state of Oregon, Eastern Washington, and all of Montana. Architecturally it is a GREAT building, designed by Frederick Manson White who came to the US in 1888. With the firm McCaw & Martin, he worked on downtown Portland's First Presbyterian Church, Dekum Building, and the Armory. In his own practice, he designed the Sherlock Building, Imperial Hotel, and the Auditorium Building. Actually, White did not design the whole building. In 1930 he designed the remodel which added the northern building to the southern building. In another post, I've got a special treat of a photograph which supports the fact that the southern building was a Salvation Army building, prior to the 1930 remodel. Our "hard-hat tour" will allow attendees to see the building before all of its restoration is complete. It is an opportunity for a behind the scenes look at the challenges, conditions, and innovative approaches for a superb adaptive reuse project. We're standing inside the southern most section of the Salvation Army Industrial Home building which is actually two buildings remodeled into one. This part, erected in 1893, started as a hay and feed business. It's great that those huge, first-floor windows remained open, allowing the sun the illuminate the huge room for us. Our first speaker, Morgen from the Architectural Heritage Center, set the historical stage for the tour. Then a woman from Venerable Properties spoke of what had been here up to this point in time and about Venerable's plans for the building. One view of the stairs we did not take to the second floor. The staircase is in the southern most section, too. Looking up the staircase. I held the camera out across the red tape, knowing not to put my foot over there on that part of the floor. Wonder what sort of lives were led by the men who laid these bricks back in 1893? This is the exterior, southernmost wall. One of my favorite items found on the Hard Hat Tour, this sign leaning against the wall which separated the newer portion of the building, the northern part, from the older, southern section. The remodel by Frederick Manson White took place in 1930 and gave the Salvation Army just what it needed, much more space to perform their services for Portland. And I don't mean chapel services, but the many ways in which they helped those in need. Here is the photo as altered at Picnik, HDR-ish. You may remember my lament about the April 19 closing of Picnik. I'm still not happy at all about it's disappearance from my photo/blogging toolbox, but I have found Ipiccy and PicMonkey, both of which give me great hope. See yesterday's post for evidence to their effectiveness. Here's the same photo, altered in Picnik with the special effect Gritty. And here it is, altered at Ipiccy, HDR Picture. Seems to me a decent tool, although I will take me some time and some playing around with the tool to get used to this muted look. After April 19, I'll have to be happy with it, unless PicMonkey comes up with something more like Picnik's HDR-ish. Ipiccy's Gritty special effect. I'll bet you're looking forward to April 19 when I won't have all of these alternatives to shower on you! Ha, ha!