Photowalking.org

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First off, let me tell you that you don’t have to photowalk at an organized, pre-planned event. Photowalking can and is a great, spontaneous way to get out and just shoot.

Yesterday, 4/12/2007, I hit the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon. I also got some great exercise. I was in Portland for a short trip, and had an afternoon window to get some photowalking done. You can see my feed at Zooomr.

By the end of the day, I had realized that I also got some great exercise and I was a bit tired. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

I took the TriMet bus from where I was staying, in West Linn, and to the south end of the downtown area, near 4th and Market, just around the corner from Portland State Univeristy. I got started there and wondered around slowly migrating toward the Pioneer Courthouse Square. This is a nice central place, many nice locations are close to the square, including the local Apple Store.

Next I headed north toward the Pearl District. This is a really beautiful area, much like New York’s SoHo. The Pearl District was once a run down area, with old and unused buildings. In recent years there has been a resurgence of business and industry. Several great restaurants can be found there. My favorite brewery, Bridgeport Brewery, is located in the Pearl District. There are a few others too. Additionally, you’ll find a number of developers remodeling existing, historic buildings into wonderful urban flats and apartments. I believe that many young, hipsters are migrating to the Pearl District.

It was getting a little late, and I foresaw some light rain, so I headed to my final destination, the Waterfront Park. This park traces the Willamette River’s western bank for most of the downtown area.

One of the great things I have noticed about Northwesterners, is their love of the outdoors. All up and down the Waterfront Park I saw numerous people out running and bicycling. Also, Portland is quite the clean city. I did not notice much trash, even in areas with boarded up buildings.

I had a great day, and am grateful for the short time I had, to fall in love with Portland.

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