Sunday in PDX has taken a gray and wet turn, so i thought it nice to post a little blue sky from last week to remind us all of whats to come... the weather in this burg is such a tease sometimes. yesterday was 70 degrees with a stunner of a blue sky, today yucky as fuck. of course, any Portlander would say its worth it when the light finally decides to shine and show us what the water got busy with.
but, lately, i have found myself with a major case of sky anxiety.
the Mirabella commission had two primary directives - no people, and blue skies. i mean, if you were sexy and 70 living on floor 27 of a luxury retirement high rise in the S. Waterfront of pdx, what would you want to look at every day? easier said than done. we have had about 3 such days in the past month. oyvey. i did my best to capture what i could when the conditions were compliant with my mission, but i developed a bit of a sky hunter's mentality in the process. kind of fun, kind of annoying.
maybe i'm just ready for summer and for the universe to stop with all this teasing. i want change in my life and new places, people and things to frame within my square. i have never been more in love with photography... each picture a spied reflection scooped from my lens and caught like a butterfly pinned to velvet. the grand alchemy of film mixed with sunshine, chemicals and natural instinct makes for some magic that i can't help but believe in.
check out the whole set of sunshine nuggets to see how pretty PDX can be when she wants to be...sigh...
xxxO
ajr
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
i <3 my muses
Most definitely my favorite shoot of the year, some lovely pals accompanied me on a trip through the forest and helped me make some dreamy images to help clear all our heads. Lucky for us, it was a milky stunning day. Thanks to Emily, Sara and Alisha for lending their tremendous beauty and spirit to these photos and to my life...
There are plans brewing to continue this series over the summer and make more fever dreams come to life. CAN'T WAIT!
XXX
ajr
There are plans brewing to continue this series over the summer and make more fever dreams come to life. CAN'T WAIT!
XXX
ajr
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
stunning landscapes in Oregon, gimme
Recently I received a commission to create 36 pieces for a luxury retirement high-rise in the S Waterfront of Portand, OR - called The Mirabella. 10 triptychs of my work will live on the top 5 penthouse floors of the joint, the others on the game floor. SO - i'm making pictures of places, not people - as was requested by my art rep Heidi. I love projects that force me out of my general comfort zone, and into another zone of seeing and being. My instincts are at their best when I am challenged by an interesting mission or unexpected photographic adventure.
Here I go, dreaming of places while I see them, capturing the land and sky in moments that I would love to revisit on days that I can't leave the house or my own anxious mind. I want to make images for this project that capture my own eye and the imagination - and serve as windows to a new story of light and life. Yes, I kind of sound like a hippie here, but this is how I am trying to find my Zen these days.
Sauvie Island was Monday, the mossy forests on the way to Bagby Hot Springs Sunday...this gray weather has been my enemy...so as blue skies and sun come so will more pix...
Please, universe, keep the camera in my hands lots more this year. I have only just begun capturing the world as I see it.
xxx
ajr
Here I go, dreaming of places while I see them, capturing the land and sky in moments that I would love to revisit on days that I can't leave the house or my own anxious mind. I want to make images for this project that capture my own eye and the imagination - and serve as windows to a new story of light and life. Yes, I kind of sound like a hippie here, but this is how I am trying to find my Zen these days.
Sauvie Island was Monday, the mossy forests on the way to Bagby Hot Springs Sunday...this gray weather has been my enemy...so as blue skies and sun come so will more pix...
Please, universe, keep the camera in my hands lots more this year. I have only just begun capturing the world as I see it.
xxx
ajr
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
velvety earth, magic eye
there was something magical about this day in Kauai...and something genuinely free about this particular moment and photograph. the air in Waimea Canyon was crisp and sky so perfectly blue. by the end of session we were covered in red clay... it felt so good. rolling around in the earth was perfectly therapeutic for my then ailing heart.
lately I have been thinking about taking pictures far more than I have actually been taking them. this is meant to change, I know, though my patience gets challenged.
the time i do get to spend with my camera is with both pleasure and purpose. i push past my nemesis anxiety into a state of almost childhood delight. falling into a composition, noticing the way the light is playing with the day, finding the perfect way to frame a fleeting moment. trusting my hunches. its a game I play with myself, with the universe and with my subjects whether environmental or human. it is up to all of us together to document for posterity that which exists around us. it is only each of our unique perspectives that shed new light on what might otherwise go unnoticed.
we are all conduits in this process. may we all be so lucky as to cleverly capture what we create and to consistently engage in this graceful process.
here's to taking more pictures and finding joy in the funny magic of life.
~
your photographer
ajr
lately I have been thinking about taking pictures far more than I have actually been taking them. this is meant to change, I know, though my patience gets challenged.
the time i do get to spend with my camera is with both pleasure and purpose. i push past my nemesis anxiety into a state of almost childhood delight. falling into a composition, noticing the way the light is playing with the day, finding the perfect way to frame a fleeting moment. trusting my hunches. its a game I play with myself, with the universe and with my subjects whether environmental or human. it is up to all of us together to document for posterity that which exists around us. it is only each of our unique perspectives that shed new light on what might otherwise go unnoticed.
we are all conduits in this process. may we all be so lucky as to cleverly capture what we create and to consistently engage in this graceful process.
here's to taking more pictures and finding joy in the funny magic of life.
~
your photographer
ajr
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
the beach that stole my heart
i woke up and walked on this beach every day during my recent vacay on Kauai. this was a magic moment on the day of the tsunami. the ocean was a little scary that day.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Kauai
A collection of portraits taken during my recent island holiday. Thanks to Lake, Bob, Doug, Debbie, Haideen and our lovely hostess Denise for being such wonderful and willing subjects and partners in art. We got down with the mountains, the sky and the ocean - and here's what happened...
Shot on location on Kauai's North Shore, Waimea Canyon and other fancy spots around the island February 2010
Shot on location on Kauai's North Shore, Waimea Canyon and other fancy spots around the island February 2010
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