New Bikes, Proud Boys, Photographs From the Past

Wow. He had never seen anything quite as shiny or nearly as beautiful. Even the new Model A Fords that occasionally arrived at the old Niles station where Pop was stationmaster could not compare. And more importantly, this was his. And maybe just as important, it was a gift from Mom and Dad for his 5th birthday. It was big! Standing beside it he wondered if he was even tall enough to get on. Pop, in his wisdom and concern for the family budget, had made sure that it would last him a few years. But at the same time, taking a vicarious joy in what he KNEW his only son would love, he spared no expense in getting the more deluxe model; painted fenders; chromed rims, and tw0-toned enamel frame. This thing not only looked great, it was sure to fly. Pop adjusted the seat as far forward as it would go, and turned the handlebar gooseneck backwards in order to make it easy for his son to reach. The rest of the adventure was up to him. As Bobbie stood beside the bike behind the station, Pop snapped the photo. Mom looked on too; enjoying the moment. Both of them smiling, sharing in the pride of their son, their long evening shadows inadvertantly becoming a part of the photograph. Now, some 84 years later I hold the photograph, looking closely into my late father's eyes, and his tender smile, and have to smile too.

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Do Dogs Get Nine Lives Too?

(...continued from previous post)

Funny, I just remembered that movie my kids loved so much; "All Dogs Go to Heaven". In Lucky's case, she did come out of the grave.

When I got back to the hole in the ground to find her she was staring up at me. She almost seemed a little embarrassed. I don't think she would have deliberately jumped in there; I have to believe that she was running along as she has many times before (oh, there's an old joke about that happening to a drunk...but another time) and the ground suddenly went out from under her feet. I now recall hearing an unrecognizable thud of some kind when I was walking away and Lucky's sudden drop may have explained it.

Thankfully she didn't appear to be hurt, but I felt that haste was in order anyway. (was I worried someone would come along that I had to explain this too?....some grave-robber or Johnny Depp? ) Next to the open grave was a ragged piece of plywood slightly narrower than the opening itself. (a template?) I put down my flashlight and maneuvered the plywood to line up with the grave and then slid it about half way over it. I let the end drop down slowly till it touched the ground below, shining the light again to make sure Lucky was on the right side, then I hopped down in behind her. Yeah, you KNEW I was going to end up in that hole somehow! I gave her a little push on the behind and she scrambled up the slippery plywood ramp and out again and I promptly did the same. Returning the plywood to it's original place we were on our way, pretty sure that if there were any spirits lingering last night, they had a good laugh.

Lucky has not made any requests to go out on a walk tonight.

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"Between the Living and the Dead" or..A funny Thing Happened in the Graveyard Last Night

Okay, I have every intention of completing the thoughts I shared in the previous blog, but felt this was interesting; first, let me be clear; I have a great respect for those of mankind who've passed on, and would never intentionally mess with anything in a cemetary. I don't have any fear of graveyards mind you, and really find them quite peaceful at night.

Tonight around midnight my dog Lucky and I were on our usual walk in the dark. We live off a country road where that late at night cars are few, if any, and Lucky and I enjoy the quiet, the darkness, and the freedom to use the whole road. Midway through our walk we pass a pretty church cemetary and most often don't go in. When we do I see many old family names from our country community and we're careful to respectfully walk between the sites. Tonight as we passed I noticed a change and decided to see what it was; something unfamiliar in the usual "stoney" landscape. As we got closer I saw that there was a large pile of dirt and next to it a perfectly straight, well-cut, empty tomb. I let Lucky off her leash to look around, and crouched down to peer in, turning on my flashlight to take it in....thinking for a moment about life, death, and everything in between.

I don't know about you, maybe it's a guy thing; when we find a big hole in the ground, we naturally want to jump in. Yeah, you're thinking I did, right? No, I thought, this place is for someone else. I will let it remain that way. As I walked away I saw the gravestones of two young men I knew; neighbors whose lives on the earth were far too short. I paused to remember their faces and walked on.

At the place where the grass ended and the road home began I stopped again to wait for Lucky to catch up. She usually plods along, sniffing here and there, and in time I always see her dark shape come out of the shadows. If she is very pokey, as tonight, I may need a call or two, or a couple whistles. A few more tonight and no sign of her as I grew a little impatient. It was about 40 degrees out. I waited a minute longer and started retracing my steps back to the empty grave and sure enough, as I got closer I could hear a soft, muted whimper. Somehow, whether by design, or error, there was Lucky staring up at me nervously from the now not-so-empty hole with no way out.

Dang it! This dog is about 11 years old and weighs around 85 pounds. She is not going to jump out of that grave. The only way she is coming out is if I go in. (to be continued)

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Photography and Faith

Ya know there sure are a lot of things to believe in nowadays. I suppose it's always been that way. You look back a hundred years ago and laugh a little at the things they believed in. For one, they didn't yet believe in the horseless carriage! The roads were rutted and muddy and while riding to town in your horse-drawn buggy, you might pass as many automobiles then as you would someone riding a tricycle today. Even 20 years ago, nobody believed in cell phones, yet how many people can walk 10 feet without one now? (me :-)

But no matter how times and society changes, certain things remain true for centuries upon centuries, and now I want to say a few things about faith. If you are one of those people who recoil from the discussion of God and the things of faith, then I ask you to check out now. No, better that you listen! For beyond cell phones, cameras, cell-phone cameras, politics, and the latest automobiles, there is one topic that you should place above all others; that of your belief in God. More specifically, what does He mean to YOU, and what do YOU mean to Him?

Think about that until I return to talk a little more. Till then, here's a photo I took that gives me just an inkling of what God is like and part of the answer to the latter part of that previous question.

My Mom; 70 Years Ago

I have heard from my sisters that my mom was a bit of a heartbreaker in her younger years. She had me, her 6th of 8 births when she was 30, and by that time had settled well into the life of a housekeeper who worked part time as a secretary. All those years of raising babies could certainly slow a person down, but you wouldn't know it from looking at Mom. She was always ready to go; to meet for lunch (her treat) to spend some time at Capwell's, or to visit someone who might be a shut-in. So no, I never knew of the heartbreaker, and who ever wants to think of their mom that way?! But going through the boxes of photos retreived from her home after her passing I found the photo you see above. I honestly have never seen this photo before, but truly love it. By the date on the back, my mom is only 14 years old, but her charm is so evident.

It's not a great photo in any technical sense; the lighting is a little over-exposed, the angle of view makes her legs look large, but it's a great portrait in that it very much shows her personality, charm, and a little of the element that made my dad fall head over heals in love with her that blind date on Treasure Island in the San Francisco bay. And for that, it is priceless to me.

Portrait Photography Through the Ages

As a modern day portrait photographer and a member of the great digital society, I am sometimes overwhelmed with technology that is too often taken for granted. Because of the ease of digital photography so many photos are taken and relatively few ever get printed, let alone find a deserved place on someone's wall or desk top. I pray that we never forget how important portrait photography is in documenting the brief lives of loved ones' days and years spent on this earth. For many who've gone before us; grandparents and great grandparents, a photograph or two might be all we have to show they walked this earth, and ideally expresses a little bit of who they were.

My mom recently passed away at the young age of 83. Over the past few months I've spent time in my parents' home of 50-plus years. I was elated to find some precious photographs, some with dates and documentation, some with little or no info. Thankfully, my mom's father was an avid amatuer photographer, and many of these photos were the fruit of his passion to document friends, travels, co-workers and his own large family.

I want to talk some more about this in coming blogs, but for now I will post a single photo that I find very charming. It's one Grandfather likely took; I recognize the backyard of their home in Berkeley. It's of my mom and her 5 siblings. She was the youngest, that little smiling gem, and would be 13 years old when this was taken. Without photography, how could I ever enjoy this moment captured 70 years later. God bless! Andy

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Downtown Portland Senior Photography

At Front Street Photo we have numerous outdoor locations for photographing high school seniors and families, but we love the chance to run around downtown and use some of the photographic opportunities in Northwest Portland. Today Pam and I were on 23rd Avenue for lunch at Pepino's - a pretty authentic Mexican food restaurant with very good prices and great fish tacos. While we were walking around enjoying the fresh air I recalled the last time I was there to photograph Canby High senior Charlie Gesik and his charming girlfriend Audra.

It was a beautiful, if not a little cold, day and we took advantage of quite a few locations within about a 4 block area. When we decided we'd got enough shots to work with we took a slow walk back to the car and I handed my camera to Audra to let her scroll through the thumbnails with Charlie looking over her shoulder. Iknew I had done my job well from the several dozen times I heard her exclaim "Oh...I like that one!"

Let us know if you'd like to take an afternoon downtown for your own senior or couple portraits. We would love to be a part of it. To see more of our work be sure to stop by http://www.frontstreetphoto.com/