2007 Oregon Country Fair

The Oregon Country Fair this year was, as always, a great photographic opportunity. I went on both Friday and Saturday. Friday was my day to indulge in abstract photography (patterns, colors, textures) while Saturday was the day to meet friends, enjoy the food, and shop. Unfortunately, the fair gets more crowded each year and it becomes more difficult to get around through the crowds, and there is seldom an opportunity to simply sit and rest for a few minutes. The fair has always been a colorful, chaotic event, but the crowds make it more chaotic and I fear that eventually it will reach the point where it becomes self-defeating.

The good news was that Kathleen the body painter was back at the fair this year and there were lots of people sporting her work. Of course, there were lots of others wandering the fair in their own imaginative paint jobs and costumes. The photo posted with this entry is of a very lovely, happy and enthusiastic young lady dancing at the main stage. She was very happy to pose for this and subsequent photos and she flashed the most dazzling smile.

Yes, I'll probably go again next year, despite the crowds.

New Models

I had the distinct pleasure of working with a new model a couple of weeks ago. Sierra is a lovely young lady who obviously enjoyed posing for the camera. Although she is just starting out as a model, she has a natural ability to move for the camera and to strike poses that show off her lovely smile and physique quite well. I particularly like her eyes and her smile. I am looking forward to working with her on several more projects in the very near future. She has expressed an interest in working with me on my light painting and fairy projects, and we may very well revist Cathedral Park under the St. Johns Bridge (where these photos were taken) when the fall colors become more prominent.

In addition, I met another lovely young lady this week for coffee and a discussion about photography. She's done some pretty good work herself, but she's also interested in working with me on a couple of projects as well. We'll be setting up test shoots in the very near future, I hope. She has some great ideas for us to shoot as well.

Unfortunately, with the onset of the wet Northwest winter, much of my photography will be curtailed. There are very few fairs, festivals and other outdoor events during the wet months, so usually this means I don't take the cameras out much during the winter. This year, though, I'm planning to do more during these months. I have a friend who is building an indoor studio and I'm sure that with my help and the ability to use some of my studio gear, he'll be more than happy to trade me for studio time. I also plan to get out more and do some wet landscape photography, and perhaps even some model photography in the rain or the snow. So, I do have some planning and some work to do this winter.

Wild Thing

Wild Thing

This morning when, at my window I stood,
Sipping my coffe and reflecting on good,
A creature stirred near the edge of the wood,
So amazing and lovely I scarcely could,
Believe my eyes for there in the light,
Stood so quietly; soft, frail and slight,
This unearthly, beautiful sprite.

Slowly and softly from the window I crept,
To the case where my camera I kept,
And gathered my gear and quickly stepped,
Back to the window not daring to accept,
That I might capture an image wild,
Of this lovely ethereal nature's child,
Who had me so easily beguiled.


She moved through the foliage with silent grace,
Clearly not of this world nor of our race,
My heart skipped a beat with she raised her face,
To look in my eye and smile with a trace,
Of sadness so clearly etched in her heart,
That humankind had become so smart,
We no longer believed in the mysterious art,

Of magic and legend and creatures of mirth,
Or spirits and sprites, not of this earth,
Evidence of which, I'll admit 'tis dearth,
But does not detract one wit from their worth.
She looked away and picked a bloom;
I raised my camera, focused and zoomed,
And took this image out of the gloom.

She did not startle, but fled right away,
This wonderful, mysterious Grace of the fae,
Under my mechanical scrutiny unwilling to stay.
And the last that I saw was the grasses sway,
As she passed from the light and into the glen,
And faded from the sight of all men,
Not to be seen until belief comes again.