Friends on Film

Sort of the opposite of my ongoing Strangers in the City project, Friends on Film is my attempt to photograph the people that I know through various aspects of my life. It occurred to me that for the thousands of photos I take every year, I have hardly any portraits of my friends. And then it also occurred to me that it's likely because I have no friends haha... but for real, the next time I see you, don't be surprised if I demand that you sit for a portrait. I want to end up with a giant collection of negatives with your mugs permanently fixed to them. None of that digital crap that you lose when your hard drive crashes. I want a physical reminder of how you look so that when I'm a senile 90 year old, I can pull out these things and be like, "Who the frick is this guy?"


The most important of all the folks in my life, Anita, my beautiful wife.




Tytus, my fellow nerdy goof-tard that I wish I still worked daily with. We wouldn't get much work done though...




Gregg, fellow Vegrevillian I've known since Kindergarten. Movie buff, freelance writer, and webcomic creative genius.


Erin, Gregg's prettier half. I feel bad that we ditched her halfway up a mountain a few weeks ago, but she graciously took it in stride.


Jeremy, funniest dude I know. Also the only person I know that is skinnier than me.


Sandie, keeps threatening to neuter my in-laws dog when we're not looking.


Bruce, fellow beer connoisseur and all around handyman.


Yasko (and Aren), once spent 16 hours scrambling a horrendous mountain with me after having met me only the night before.


Ray (and Kai), easy going other half of Yasko. Also a fellow mountain warrior. We miss you guys in Calgary. Move back!


Chris, street photography ninja. Seriously, dude shoots street photos with a hasselblad (not a subtle camera).


Tytus again... with his 'steampunk' goggles. See why I called him a nerdy goof-tard earlier?


Andy, my awesome bro-in-law. The only knock I have against him is his habit of shooting with a Canon. :-/


Scott, fellow photo nerd and beer enthusiast. My two favourite things.


Wing (and Grace), the only man I know that has a bigger obsession with watches than me.


Paul, who recognized me on the street from photo postings in the Film Shooters group before I'd even met him. This shot of him blinking is a reminder of why you should always shoot an extra frame of film.

All black and white photos taken with either the Kiev 88, Pentax 6x7, or Rolleiflex 2.8E, and home developed in Ilfosol 3. Colour shots developed at a commercial lab.

Strangers in the City - Tom from Ambacht Brewing

This is Tom, the brewmaster of Ambacht Brewing, a small craft brewery located in Hillsboro, Oregon. And by 'small' brewery, I mean Tom is also the accountant, shipper, bottle washer, and even toilet scrubber of the business. Tom was serving up free samples of delicious craft Belgian inspired ales at the Beaverton (Oregon) Farmer's Market, and we got chatting about beer styles and cameras. Just one more reason for you to visit Portland - you can get to Beaverton by a short 15min light rail ride, and a stroll through the 'liquid lunch' area of the market (free samples from local craft breweries, wineries, and distilleries) means you will be wasted in short order. And all for FREE!



Photo taken with the Kiev88 CM and Arsat 80mm f/2.8 on Kodak Portra 160.

Portlandia, Part 2

Alright, more photos from Portland. But before we get there, I had a random question: If a feminist is someone who is a vigorous advocate of women's rights, wouldn't that make a sexist a vigorous advocate of sex? If you're dyslexic... or a pervert, you may have read that as 'advocate of vigorous sex' instead.




I loved this girl's tattoo, so I asked to photograph it (I didn't feel like trying to capture it creepishly...)






The Steel Bridge (one of 10 bridges that crosses the Willamette River in Portland)


Georgian (NOT Atlanta, but think Russia) cuisine from a food cart. Cheese breads, dumplings, and eggplant w/ hummus rolls.


I liked the image she had on the back of her denim vest. But I didn't ask this time, and just creeped the shot.




Happy Hour at Dan & Louis' Oyster Bar.




Down the hatch!


Fish Tacos!! Happy Hour - 2 for $4.50


Parmesan garlic fries.




Golden Swiss chard at the Beaverton Farmer's Market.








As if orange and purple cauliflower wasn't different enough, how about this weird unique variation?

Portlandia, Part 1 - Shoes and Brews.

Hey dudes, we've returned from a short 5 day adventure in Portland, the North Oregon Coast, and the Columbia Gorge. Oregon is a beautifully lush state, with a craft brewery culture that puts many to shame, a dining scene that is eclectic yet accessible to mainstream (vanilla) tastes, and farmer's markets that are to KILL for. And Portland, being a biggish city, has a surprisingly small town charm and feel, while retaining city-esque amenities and services. The people, in particular are warm, polite, and friendly, unlike our visits to many other cities where we often feel like isolated outsiders - here, it just feels like we are part of the day to day life in small town America. Highly recommend you go and experience it for yourselves. For the ladies - NO SALES TAX (sorry gents, that means they're going shoe shopping). But that also means you can hit up one of the many local breweries for some tastings and tours to make it tolerable. You could call it the Shoes and Brews trip.

A few photos from our first day or so. Many more to come. Enjoy.


Got in late Thursday night, and Silk was the only nearby restaurant we could see still open. Fantastic Vietnamese joint, serving a broader range of Vietnamese fare than just Pho and Vermicelli.






Banh Canh (Vietnamese crab soup). This was awesome, and reminded me of vintage food from my mom's kitchen!


Turmeric Catfish Vermicelli. The fish was deee-lish.


Bo Kho (beef stew with egg noodles).


Not on the menu at Silk...


We stayed at the Benson Hotel, which was not far from all the action. Including this joint. We did not venture in.


The aforementioned Benson Hotel. Rooms are very classic chic, staff are friendly and attentive, and there's free lemon water in the lobby.




The Union something bank next door.








Brunch at Tasty n Alder. The light coming in through the windows was perfect for some candids of other patrons.




Chocolate potato donuts!


French Toast.


Bim Bop Bacon and Eggs (a slight twist on a Korean dish).