It's all in how you look at it.

Big Pink and a parking lot sign. The sign is on the southeast corner of SW Broadway and West Burnside. Big Pink is exactly one block east of the sign. I used the tilt feature of my camera so that I could take a satisfactory look from this unusual angle. I've cropped the photo and used the HDR-ish special effect at Picnik. By the way, Big Pink is either 536 or 546 feet tall and is the second tallest building in Portland. I found both heights on the Internet, so who knows. I do know I've been on the 30th floor, which is not the top floor, to the Portland City Grill. See views from the PCG here and here.

Sunday evening, corner of SW Broadway and SW Washington, waiting for the 15

After an excellent, exciting, wonderful SYTYCD live show, we rode the MAX from the Rose Garden into downtown. Leslie got off at the Big Pink--her significant other works on the 30th floor at the Portland City Grill; we enjoyed Happy Hour there before we rode the MAX to the show--and I continued on to Pioneer Courthouse Square where I got off and walked to this corner. I can't count the number of times that I've waited here for the last bus home, the 15, after work, after volunteering, after watching the lighting of Portland's Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving, after walking downtown streets looking for those special sights to photograph.


Looking north at the same intersection. Where I wait is beside Pazzo Ristorante which you can see there on the right corner of the photo. Just out of sight to the right and around the corner on SW Washington, I wait in front of two huge windows which are in the bar section of the restaurant. There's an awning and lots of light at that particular spot, a perfect place to wait for a bus in the evening. The irony of how often I wait here rests on the 11th floor of the white and brick building on the left side of the photo--the one with the well-lighted exterior stairwell. That's the Benson Hotel, the place where Mama and I stayed for our first visit to Portland in 2004, from June 30 through July 9. We never had to turn on the air conditioner, never had to shut the windows AND there were not any screens. No bugs, no mosquitoes, no humidity. I mean I knew I wanted to move to Portland when we got off the airplane and onto the MAX for the ride to the Benson, but the fact that we didn't have to turn on the AC, that we didn't have screens, that we never saw a bug--wow! Totally sold me and planted the seed of moving here firmly in Mama's mind.

Shooting "Leverage" at the Schnitz, downtown

Could you be this laid back high above busy SW Broadway in downtown Portland?


See what I mean by high above Broadway? He's waiting until his next move, ensconced on a crane in front of the building where I've been to see Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain, the Beatles tribute band 1964, and Sting. Here's a bit about the building:
The beautifully restored Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall opened in 1984, and was originally the Portland Public Theatre, built in 1928. The Italian Rococo Revival architecture was said to be the national showcase of Rapp & Rapp, renowned Chicago theatre architects. Visitors are greeted by a 65 foot high “Portland” sign above the Broadway Marquee, which contains approximately 6,000 theatrical lights. You can read more from Wikipedia about the Schnitz at the link in the caption below.


These two lights are trained on the lobby of the venerable building, what many consider to be the anchor of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The Portland sign has 5 foot tall neon letters.

"Leverage," seen on TNT, has filmed all around downtown for its second and third seasons. All I've ever managed to see are equipment trucks, cast trailers, and lights on cranes. I've never been to Boston, but Portland is standing in for Boston on this series.

Conjecture bait.

So what if I'm a slow, 62-year-old woman who sees something very interesting across the busy street and instantly realizes I cannot get across the street in time to get the lowdown. I can get the camera on and up and snap this photo. I might not know what is on the flier he's handing out on SW Broadway, but I can conjecture, not only about the green hat guy wearing the red shoes but also about that huge inflatable monkey. Conjecture, as a verb? To arrive at or deduce by conjecture which means, as a noun, inference from defective or presumptive evidence or a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork. Ah.

Would you be willing to put your conjectures about the scene captured by the D50 and me in a comment? Gee, I hope so. I'll be back in the next few days to share mine.

Sidewalk Shot

Taken in front of The Heathman Hotel and Restaurant on SW Broadway. The street you can see in the background is SW Salmon. I couldn't resist the regal-looking dog and the straightforward message on the sign.

On display, No. 6

In a window at Mario's, 833 SW Broadway, downtown Portland.

Broke Back Chair

The Chair Affair

Here's the explanation for the unique chairs on display.

Forest Throne

Of a Feather

The Great Wave

Anonymous Donation

There were more in the window, but the photos didn't turn out very well.

On display, No. 4

Interesting juxtaposition of undergarment stores, first Jane's Vanity at 521 SW Broadway, then Under U 4 Men at 507 SW Broadway.

What's that about?

Thursday, July 31, 2008 - Trio Tells a Tale

So, walking north on SW Broadway after one of the Music on Main Street concerts, I noticed a young couple step closer to a store window display at Mario's. I looked at what had them looking, then pulled the camera out of the rolling black bag because I know a photo opportunity when I see one. And this one wasn't going anywhere. I took my time, shooting the troop of monkeys, photographically, of course.

Here we have three somewhat traditional-looking sock monkeys. Look closely with your eyes wide open. They're telling you something, and I'll bet you've heard it before.