Portland Downtown Directory 2013-2014

Just a quick post to say that two of my photos (the top two) on the cover of the Portland Downtown District's 2013-2014 Map & Directory. Available at retailers and restaurants throughout the city.

Ocean Gateway This photo, recently added to my Portland gallery, was taken on the Eastern Waterfront. The Ocean Gateway Marine Terminal is where the majority of the visiting cruise ships dock, and the facility is also for rent for a variety of uses (conventions, weddings, etc).

It is very subtle in this image, but it is a four second exposure, which gave the water a slightly smoother look than usual. This long-exposure (although not very long) before the sun set was made possible by using a neutral density filter. A neutral density filter, depending on its strength, acts kind of like a pair of dark sunglasses and blocks light from entering the camera. The particular filter than I purchased recently, my first foray into neutral density filters, is this Hoya ND400 9-stop filter. Stay tuned for more long-exposure photographs in the future as I learn how to use this new piece of equipment. I'm looking forward to experimenting with more shots around the waterfront and some shots that show the motion of the clouds.

My most recently uploaded photo, Lucky Catch, is from October and was taken on Long Wharf. Although I end up with a lot of photos that just sit on my hard drive and never get edited and uploaded, I do find it useful to occasionally dig into the "archives" and try editing a old photo that catches my eye. For whatever reason, I like this edit much more than my original one which I have not shared. I bet if I were to edit it again a few months from now it may be slightly different again.

Lucky Catch