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Much of my editorial work is done in service of the Portland Sentinel, a news service covering the north half of Portland.  This has served as a duel purpose for me.  While it provides me with a steady stream of local reportage assignments, my Sentinel work has also been part of a personal project of mine documenting life in my own neighborhood.  These assignments have taking me inside the churches, cafes, homes and shops that comprise the unique communities of North and Northeast Portland.  I’ve just gone back over the past year’s work and selected some of my favorite images.  A “Best of 2009” gallery has been put online here

“76 year old Bob Sauter has lived in St. John’s since 1943.  He says that old-timers sometimes still think of Patty’s Home Plate as the “Old Rexall” Sauter said that the drug store had lunch counter popular with local workers in the 40’s and 50’s.  He used to stop by often while he was on his paper route.  Later in life Sauter worked for the post office and then owned a Locksmith shop on Lombard for 20 years before retiring in 1990.”

While look at images for my review of 2009, I found this image taken one day before last year began.  It was taken for an article talking about the history of Patty’s Home Plate Cafe, a St. John’s Landmark. 

Over the past year, I’ve been shooting a lot more large-format.  Previously I’ve not used it much because I couldn’t adapt it to my spontaneous shooting style.  But now I’ve discovered 4×5 inch slr’s.  The above photo was taken with a 60 year old Graflex Series D.  It’s a lot more challenging to use than my digital Canon, but that’s a big part of the fun.

Early this year I photographed the world premier of the movie Coraline.  The film was premiered in Portland because it was produced by the local animation company Laika, based in Hillsboro.  This was also the opening of the Portland International Film Festival for which I was the festival photographer. 

As 2009 winds down, I thought that I would post a few of my favorite images from various assignments over the past year.  Thank you to all my wonderful clients who’ve given me the opportunity to create this photographs. 

The above photo was taken last fall in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival.  While working for the Brewers Association I’ve covered this huge event the past few years.  Over 10,000 people gathering in a single hall to taste craft beer from all over the United States.  The Festival also has an educational component to augment attendees’ appreciation for the qualities of beer.  This image show people learning to taste beer as if they were judging a competition.