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When I moved from Portland to Eugene in the summer of 2006 I wasn't quite sure what to expect, photographically or in any other way. What I found was a groovy small town about a quarter the size of Portland, less densely populated, with much more vegetation and generally less development. I discovered early on that it would be more difficult to do streetwork here. Although there is a mindboggling variety of people, Eugene lacks the general bustle and anonymity required for good close up street work. So I have shifted my focus a bit, less on people and more on general scenery. This shift has also been helped along by the fact that I am in a new place, surrounded by unexplored areas calling out to be photographed.
Around the time of our move, my sister decided she was done with her Mamiya 7 and passed it on to me. This seemed to dovetail nicely with my shift in subject matter. As long as I was shooting nonpopulated scenes I could slow down a little and capture them in good detail, and the relatively small size of the Mamiya allowed me to carry along other cameras at the same time. Initially I shot medium format black and white but it felt uncomfortable. So I shifted to color, keeping the 35 mm cameras loaded with b/w, and for some reason that seemed right. The colors here on overcast days are positively radiating, and it seems a shame to bury them in b/w. I still shoot small format but not at the same pace as in Portland. Which is fine. For 5 years I shot 3-4 rolls per day which was just too much to deal with. I was shooting so much that I didn't have time for anything else, not even time to think about or organize what I was shooting. It was shoot first, ask questions later. Now I am in a new place. I can slow down, take a breath, look closely at what is around me, and document it. This is a small selection of my first impressions here. Eugene last update: June 2008 |