Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Sailboat on the North Sea

No trip to Den Haag would be complete without a visit to the North Sea. It was a calming moment after the adventure of inadvertently walking down Deoublestraat, The Hagues's smaller Red Light District.

243/365 North Sea Beach

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Shopping in The Hague

The big adventure today was to find the local organic store to buy some supplies. This vegetable section is part of a market about a 10 minute walk from where we are staying. Although we had been warned that sometimes the selections were not the freshest in any store when it comes to vegetables, these were quite nice.

Plus, I was able to learn a new skill set. Weigh, use coding machine to print out scan ticket for later checkout.

242/365 Way to Weigh

Monday, August 29, 2011

Off to The Netherlands

We fly across th Pond today leaving for The Netherlands.

See you in a bit. This is the last thing we will see as we board our KLM flight.

241/365

Sunday, August 28, 2011

San Francisco Streetcar

Today is our second day in San Francisco and the second exhibition featuring Gertrude Stein. The transportation option for us has been the F Streetcar taking us back towards Castro Street where we're staying.

240/365

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Resting Hearts

Camera found its way to San Francisco...

Location: Yerba Buena Center
Time: Mid Afternoon
Event: Concert

239/365 Resting Hearts

Friday, August 26, 2011

Pet Peeves

We find when we vacation, the Orange Boys have issues with our packing ...
238/365 Packing with Cats
The Camera will be in places other than Portland ... San Francisco and The Netherlands.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Water Reservoir ~ Washington Park

For many years the water reservoirs in Portland have been uncovered. That may soon come to an end.
They do add to the landscape with their reflections. This image is from one of the ones in Washington Park.

237/365

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Timbers Cut Down Goats ~ Portland Timbers v. ChivasUSA

A late August soccer match was on our schedule tonight. Here's a view of the east stands about an hour prior to the start of the game. Portland scored the sole goal of the evening on a corner kick that was headed in by Eric Brunner, a defender. Go Timbers...
RCTID

Timbers v Chivas

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Sleeping Under the 405

While walking this afternoon, I came across this sign and the sleeping people directly underneath it ~ quite a juxtaposition...
235/365


Only a block away this very elegant Bambi Airstream sits waiting for its next adventure. The people under the sign would quite likely be thankful for it as a place to rest.
Bambi

Monday, August 22, 2011

Portland Farmers Market ~ Monday

Most days there's an active Farmers Market here in Portland. On Mondays during the summer months, the venue is Pioneer Square in the downtown area. For me the most brilliant item for sale was this kale.

234/365

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Dahlia and Bee

A perfect time in Portland to watch bees on flowers such as this dahlia.

233/365 Blazing Bee

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Lotus at the Lan Su Chinese Garden

Where to go on a Saturday morning here in Portland? Start early and you'll have a few quiet moments before the crowds arrive and the weekend program with music starts at the Lan Su Chinese Garden. Enjoy the fish and lotus just about anywhere in the garden.

Three Lotus

Friday, August 19, 2011

Sunny Day in Portland

Out and about in Portland today, I decided to take the Streetcar. The stop at SW 10th and Stark has a covered area for inclement weather but not much shade. I stood back a ways to be out of the sun and saw this reflection.

Waiting for the Portland Streetcar

Earlier I had noticed these eyes on the street. They're on a Food Cart near SW 9th and Washington.
231/365

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Mannequin Head

Three Monkeys on NW 23rd here in Portland is a store filled with interesting objects ~ some useful, some not. This mannequin head may or may not be useful but it's definitely an intriguing take on a stylized head.

230/365 How Did I End Up Here?

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Mona Lisa Here in Portland

Walking down NE Alberta today, I noticed this striking Mona Lisa. She looked as if she was waiting for a letter for Leonardo. Hopefully it will arrive soon and she can go upstairs and have a glass of wine while she's reading it...

Mona Lisa Watches for Letter from Leonardo

Update on 18 August...
Voice from the Couch and I sat around talking about color and black/white. Here's the color view of the Mona Lisa:

We both remembered this dialogue from the old Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.
See the comic here.
Calvin: Dad, how come old photographs are always black and white? Didn't they have color film back then?
Dad: Sure they did. In fact, those old photographs are in color. It's just the world was black and white then.
Calvin: Really?
Dad: Yep. The world didn't turn color until sometime in the 1930s, and it was pretty grainy color for a while, too.
Calvin: That's really weird.
Dad: Well, truth is stranger than fiction.
Calvin: But then why are old paintings in color?! If their world was black and white, wouldn't artists have painted it that way?
Dad: Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane.
Calvin: But... but how could they have painted in color anyway? Wouldn't their paints have been shades of gray back then?
Dad: Of course, but they turned colors like everything else did in the '30s.
Calvin: So why didn't old black and white photos turn color too?
Dad: Because they were color pictures of black and white, remember?

Calvin: The world is a complicated place, Hobbes.
Hobbes: Whenever it seem that way, I take a nap in a tree and wait for dinner.


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

BeerLao in Portland

Out for dinner at Tara Thai, a NW 23rd Avenue Thai/Lao restaurant here in Portland. The other two had a Chardonnay, not Champagne while I opted for a BeerLao reminiscing over the two weeks we spent in Vientiane.

228/365 BeerLao

Monday, August 15, 2011

Drawing in the Open

I always enjoy watching artists create their works whether it be painting, sculpting or drawing. In this case the artist is on NW 21st near Lovejoy. He was quite engrossed in his work and only looked up when I dropped my pen by accident.

Artist at NW21st and Lovejoy

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Chihuahuas and Cockers

Walking the streets of any city including Portland's, you'll find dogs with their owners and waiting for their owners. Today's grouping is this chihuahua and the cocker shown below her. The chihuahua had been rescued by her owner after she had been abandoned on a roadway in California. She may be technically homeless but she always has his jacket to be zipped up into at night or when it's cold.

Street Chihuahua


The cocker, on the other hand, likely has a warm home to go home to whenever its owners are finished with lunch at Jake's on the corner of 10th and Alder.

Waiting at Jake's

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Alberta Street Fair

Another street fair ... this time Alberta Street!

Eating ice cream and watching her father ride away on her bike...
Whose Bike Is It?

Here's a young violinist who wasn't that bad considering her age.
Violinist

Walking along we also saw this mural that's a permanent part of Alberta Street.
Mural

Friday, August 12, 2011

Tanner Springs Park

One of my assignments today was to find an example of "Down to Earth" represented in lines and angles. Down to Earth could be literal or figurative so I decided to use this image from Tanner Springs Park. I chose the black and white format because it seemed to best showcase the angularity of this space.
Tanner Springs Park

Just to the right of that platform for accessing the pond is a grassy knoll for lazing on a sunny day.
224/365 Over Easy and Sunny Side Up ~ Tanner Springs Park

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Garden Walk

Today I took a neighbor to the Japanese Gardens here in Portland. It was a lovely morning and I was able to see one of my favorite maple trees...

223/365 Early Morning

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Finding Life in the Industrial Area

Tonight I was part of a photo class in the southeast portion of greater Portland. Gentrification of the area includes restaurants and bars and galleries such as the one where my class is. As counterpoints to that gentrification are the railroad tracks and street people. So today's photos show both. The first speaks for itself as typically industrial with railroad tracks with bits of nature along the edges...

Industrial Earth

The second is of a fellow who wanted to know what we were doing. In exchange for that information and to have his photo taken with my friend, he let me take his photo. Joe is an extraordinary street person dealing with life. My friend is a wonderful person who humors me.

222/365 The Camera and the Boombox

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Bottle Tree

Blue bottles reign supreme in this fanciful yard sculpture. I can only imagine how much fun it must have been to drink whatever was in those bottles.

221/365 Bottle Tree

Monday, August 8, 2011

Found on Utility Poles

Walking this morning I came across several signs on utility poles. First up is a missing cat poster...
A.W.O.L.

And later the image of this man stopped me in my tracks.
Portrait on a Uitlity Pole

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Hillsdale Farmers Market

Another trip out to the Hillsdale area of Portland. The Farmers Market there is small and compact with all of the fruits and vegetables you could want.

And entertainment. Did I mention entertainment? Today a mandolin and a guitar player.
Mandolin

who kept this little girl enthralled
Child and Doll

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Fremont Festival

Ah, August in Portland. Another weekend with too many choices of things to do. The Fremont Festival out in the Beaumont neighborhood attracted our attention. FF is a family friendly event with parades and runs and just about everything you'd want food-wise, including a Salsa Contest with all the tastes you want for $2.

Fremont Festival

Here's the table of my favorite salsa entrant.
Salsa Contest

Friday, August 5, 2011

More Portland Buildings

Yesterday I shared a photo of the Portland skyline from the east side of the Willamette River. Tonight Voice from the Couch and I went down to the Portland Art Museum to see some of our old friends hanging on the walls and to meet some new ones. Just as we were walking in, I noticed the Eliot Tower had become quite zebra-like.

Eliot Tower with Zebra Stripes

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Lounging on the Willamette River

A ride out towards the Sellwood Bridge here in Portland today took me to a part of the Willamette River where you can walk out on an inflatable dock and lounge in the sun. Or jump in as that one fellow is doing. He did take off his red cap before he took the plunge.

Summer Along the Willamette

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

From Roosevelt to the Timbers

You just never know what's going to happen from one minute to the next. Walking in the South Park Blocks, I saw Teddy Roosevelt being buffed up by these two on the blue mobile lift. Fun times. Even more fun was watching the Portland Timbers trouncing the LA Galaxy in their 3-0 shut-out here in Portland. The photo of the Galaxy was the most composed that team was all evening. Beckham and Donovan seemed quite frustrated the entire game.

Up Close and Personal

Galaxy
215/365 LA Galaxy Before Being Chopped by the Timbers

Timbers
Timbers Huddle Before Trouncing LA Galaxy

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Paradise Boxed and Crated

Early morning trips to the museum can lead to interesting perspectives on what happens when exhibitions change. Here's Anselm Kiefer's "Entrance to Paradise" boxed and crated ready to leave the Portland Art Museum to go only the gods know where.

214/365 Entrance to Paradise

Monday, August 1, 2011

Antenna Sighting

Portland has a reputation for being weird. As a matter of fact, many cars sport the bumper sticker "Keep Portland Weird". Although antenna tops are not unique to Portland, this one seemed to strike a slightly different note.

On My Way