I’ve been taking a lot of long walks on the weekends making photographs around Portland. This is nothing new for me, but not surprisingly, in the time of COVID-19 and a global pandemic this activity has probably increased about ten fold. After all, what else is there to do? This is not really a complaint mind you. Things are pretty good for me during what is I’m sure a very uncertain time for many. Spending more time just walking around with a camera in hand and looking at the world around me isn’t a bad way to be.
Photographed with a FujiFilm GA645zi and Kodak Ektar film.
One of the things I’ve long loved about the city of Portland is huge amounts of murals all over town. They’re everywhere. Some beautiful. Some abstract. Some pleading for justice. Some with no obvious meaning at all. All are valid and all of them fascinate me. I often have this strange fantasy in my head that I’ll one day be enjoying a cocktail at a bar and I’ll randomly meet and strike up a conversation with someone who is a muralist and created one of the pieces I admire across the city. Wouldn’t that be something?
Photographed with a FujiFilm GA645zi and Kodak Ektar film.
I tend to be a person with simple dreams I suppose. I actually have dozens, maybe even hundreds of images of random murals that I’ve photographed around Portland. I suppose they are less artistic on my part and more for the purpose of documenting them because I have noticed over the years that they do disappear sometimes. Buildings get knocked down. People cover them with graffiti on occasion. Life just simply happens.
Photographed with a FujiFilm GA645zi and Kodak Ektar film.
Though on occasion I will photograph these treasures on black and white film I do find they make a great case for working with color. Kodak Ektar can be well suited for this considering it’s incredibly low grain and the very vibrant way it renders reds and blues. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Kodak Ektar also seems to be the color negative film that is most widely in stock whenever I go to my local brick and mortar store too!
I’ve often considered doing a series of nudes with the murals around town as a back drop. Maybe one day…