Taken during Rose Festival a couple of years ago, just an odd little scene. The fascination that warships inspire in people is an interesting phenomenon. I have always found it kind of curious that every year during Rose Festival, a celebration of well...a lot of things: Portland, roses, life, etc and one of the highlights is always the Navy ships that come in. I guess it appeals to the little boy in many of us who still imagines a daring life as a soldier. Maybe not. Either way, I found this shot interesting. I like the posture of the three people in this photo, the sense of longing in the guy at the fence and the relaxed, carefree feel to the two Navy men on the ship.
Taken with my Leica M3 and TMAX 3200, which was subsequently under processed (not intentionally). Had to bump the contrast back up a bit in Photoshop (intentional), though it is still a fairly low contrast image.
I am trying to mix up my stream a bit from the usual landscape/pinscape/macro work that I have been posting. But don't worry there will be plenty more of that too as I just got back from a long weekend in Central Oregon and the Fall colors were unbelievably intense.
Tags: warships Portland Oregon Leica M3 people cityscapes Navy Uncle Sam wants You TMAX 3200 Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera
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This photo is just for fun. I took this last year over Labor Day weekend in the town of Packwood while on a visit to Mt. Rainier. Every Labor Day, there is an enormous flea market/swap meet that attracts crowds of very interesting people. I have been to this for a few years now, always just passing through, but last year I thought I would wander it and take photos. Between battling urges to buy a Tupac Shakur black velvet tapestry and the 99 cent used soap I noticed that an extremely large number of knives, swords, axes and guns were on sell at this thing, both the real version and the toy version. People up here are obviously very concerned with personal defense. I learned this when I stopped to photograph this young boy sitting at a table heaped with plastic weapons of one nature or another. I had barely enough time to focus when his mother noticed me and proceeded to question my intent in a voice that was two parts anger and one part paranoia. I assured her I was taking a picture of the tox axes (quite true actually) when asked why I was taking a photo of her son. Somehow I knew I would not adequately be able to explain the interesting little scene her son was a part of. Apparently she accepted my evasive explanation and I snapped this shot and moved on, best not to anger people with inordinate amounts of sharp objects more than necessary.
Tags: swords axes flea markets Washington people children Packwood Labor Day Weekend toys odd Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera
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Landscapes are certainly one of my favorite things to photograph, but I always carry a camera with me, and my influences in photography have included many photographers other than those such as Adams, Rowell, or Weston. This shot is part of a small unofficial series that I add to now and then about arrows. I saw a shot of Elliot Erwitt's some time ago that dealt with a moving figure and a painted arrow and something clicked in my mind and I really began noticing the number of arrows that dictate the direction and pace of th e flow of our lives. I have often wondered just how much chaos would ensue if we woke up one morning to find every arrow that had been painted, posted or printed to have disappeared. Could we function without them? Probably, we are a fairly advanced species, but nonetheless, when you start looking for them, it is amazing how many of them you find. This one was in the Grotto, pointing me in the direction it thought I was supposed to be going. I thought going against the flow made a slightly more interesting shot here. Pictures like this may lack the flair of an amazing sunset, or the charm of a good portrait, but they have a value in themselves. It is a reminder that photography is just vision recorded. We all see the world a bit differently, and we can be taught to see differently, or rather our vision of the world is not static, it grows and evolves. I like looking for shots like this, not because I expect them to be terribly interesting to many other people beside myself, but because, for me at least, it is almost like exercise. It helps me keep my eyes and mind open. And that is a valuable thing for any photographer.
Tags: Leica M3 Portland Oregon b&w arrows statues The Grotto religious stark contrast TMAX 3200 rangefinder Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera
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I am not entirely sure why I like this image, I think mainly because it is different. Sure, I enjoy shooting scenics, but I never really go anywhere without a camera. So even walking along the sidewalk at night, in this case making the 20 foot trip from the car to the restaurant, I am looking for interesting little segments. Glimpses of life around us. Guess I just like being different sometimes.
Taken with my Leica M3 and TMAX 3200 film.
Tags: Portland urban night Leica M3 TMAX3200 film grainy reflections ABigFave Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera
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I like to keep my photography varied, as varied as possible. Browsing through my stream, one would definitely notice that I prefer to post landscape and other scenic style shots, and honestly, those are probably the ones I enjoy taking the most. In no small part because those are the type of place I enjoy - being - the most. But I like to always keep my eyes open to new perspectives. Interesting and intriguing can come in many forms and be found in many different places, such as a nearly empty parking lot one late evening in downtown Portland, which is when and where I found this.
I definitely see the logic in arguing that a photographer should concentrate his efforts, work on a particular style or subject. There is certainly merit to this, particularly if you want to develop a strong body of work. I think there is merit to keeping your style, and necessarily, your vision, varied. It does promote a much wider body of work, that can lack depth, but the exercise it gives you in seeing is invaluable.
And though I may never print and frame a shot such as this (does not mean I do not like it enough too) I do greatly appreciate the ability, or the desire to practice the ability, to always be on the lookout for the odd and the unique as well as the scenic and the beautiful. I am almost as fascinated in hunting down these little vignettes of life that can be found in the nooks and crannies of our daily life, as I am awed by standing under a certain bridge at sunset.
This shot also has a bit of personal significance. I once worked with a very creative and exuberant photographer by the name of Josey Peterson at Blue Moon Camera. And when you work with someone six days a week in a store as closely knit as Blue Moon is, there becomes little difference between co-worker and family. Josey had a fondness for butterflies and had once purchased a pair of giant butterfly wings, which she was quite fond of. You would have to have known her to understand how well they fit her spirit. This piece of graffiti reminded me of her on this evening two years removed from her untimely (isn't it always) death. It is a shot she would have gotten a good chuckle out of.
I hope I do not sound overly idealistic, but the world needs more photographers. People who will stop, or at least slow down, to notice what is happening in the nooks and crannies, and even more importantly, to make photos that allow others to share in the odd, unique, scenic or beautiful.
This was taken with my Leica M3 and TMAX 3200 film, the combination of which is great for walking city streets at night without a tripod or flash.
Tags: Portland Leica M3 TMAX 3200 butterflies arrows graffiti B&W rangefinder film urban Zeb Andrews Zeb Andrews photography Blue Moon Camera
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