An Afternoon in PDX

Saturday afternoon Jeff and I found ourselves alone...
Something that is happening more and more as our kids grow older and discover there is a world away from us...

Our youngest had been delivered to the airport at 4:00 AM! And was safely in Ohio...
Our oldest said no thanks I'll take a nap...

I had my camera and Jeff and I decided to venture downtown to visit the weirdness that always comes out in full force when Rose Festival is in town...

I haven't got the courage to point my camera at PDXs most interesting characters but this is what I did shoot...

 They had some of the floats parked down there.  This one, for Alaska Airlines was my favorite!

 I have learned that all the "real" photographers shoot with their tripods all the time...So in my effort to become a "real" photographer I walked around with my tripod, which I find cumbersome, heavy (collar bone is bruised!) and doesn't go with my flow...but I figure practice will help.  Plus it was fun to use the timer and take this picture :)

 Well, hello...thank you for serving our country...

 Black and White?  I'm never sure if I like it or not...

Times have changed my friends...I remember when I was a girl coming down to Rose Festival the river would be full of boaters getting close to the Navy ships...not anymore...they have the Coast Guard with guns ready patrolling the river, very few leisure boats went by and when they did they were escorted...

 I have never been afraid of Portland...but I am smart about it and I know which areas to avoid and I know how to behave when in a section that I don't exactly fit into...These things are much more difficult to accomplish when you are walking around with a tripod and an expensive camera attached to the top of it...  As Jeff and I were taking pictures of the train station someone drove up from behind us (our back to the street) and asked what we were doing...as I turned to look at him he looked normal enough...I notice he was wearing a Providence scrub shirt, my first thought was he was asking for directions...when we told him taking pictures he just paused and stared at us and then asked "are you gonna go by train?" Not sure where this was going I asked him what he was doing to which he replied "driving around talking to f*%#%s like you...and raced off...as he drove away we noticed tree branches dragging under his car and something hanging from the drivers side window... ummm OK

So then we switched things up and headed up to Council Crest but were quickly bored and went out to eat at a yummy Thai restaurant and then ventured back down to take some night shots...

So - In photography news I am moving forward and trying to set up a professional website...which means I need a professional name...I don't think Frychik will cut it in the real world.

Shelly Fry Photography is all I got at this point...

I would love to hear any suggestions you may have.

Frychik