The other real joy comes with “seeing” the minutiae and finding beauty in the mundane, both of which have been greatly enhanced by my beloved macro lens, the AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED. The katydid shots below are a prime example.

It’s been a busy month… In the midst of remodeling our own bathroom, I spent a day shooting professionals remodeling the bathroom of a family in need for REACH Community Development. My volunteer assignment came from a dart game at the Lucky Lab a couple months ago. We met several folks who’d just arrived in Portland for their AmeriCorps assignment, and one of them asked if I’d be willing to do some pro bono work on their behalf. Last Thursday I covered two sites, one with a new wheelchair ramp installation, the other a bathroom remodel and living room window replacement.

The guys from Balfor were all very courteous and accommodating. Some were more aware [and wary] of the camera than others, but that is to be expected. The bathroom job turned out to be much more involved than they had anticipated, so I was trying to stay out of the way and just document their work.

Prior to that I designed a logo for Yoga for Weddings… I haven’t done a lot of illustration, but I must admit I am very happy with how this turned out. I started out by sketching in my notepad, then a more refined sketch on bond paper, which I scanned and brought into Illustrator. The rest was all vectors and some transparency layering.

I also did another portrait shoot, this time of a young family–our friends Andy & Amy & their son, Theo. Three people at once proved much more challenging, but there were definitely a few keepers. I did decide it was madness to attempt to do that without an assistant, though. I much prefer working one-on-one or in a documentary fashion.

Now it’s back to our own remodel…