I headed down to the Learning Gardens Lab once again to take pictures of both the first and last days of the Village Building Convergence.  The days were full of activities, opportunities to learn about building ecological sturctures shared by communities, and getting to know like-minded people who have a desire to enhance our living experiences.  Please visit the following galleries and get excited to participate next year!

The first day was all about education, giving visitors a chance to learn what the VBC is all about. Click the photo on the left or the link below for the full gallery.

While the last day was a celebration of a successful 10-day event.  Spirits were high, and the music by rocked!  My daughter came with me for this one too. Click the photo on the left or the link below for the full gallery.

The Village Building Convergence (VBC) is a 10-day event as a part of Portland’s City Repair Project.  It helps to educate people on the benefits of coming together to create community spaces in their neighborhood.  The event holds classes and other sessions instructing those in attendance on how to create public art, community spaces, and ecological structures.  I have several friends who are involved in the event, and I have participated by volunteering my time and equipment photographing some parts of this event.

One of these events was the opening night kick-off party held at the Bossanova Ballroom in Portland.  I can’t really complain about being involved in this party.  It was an incredibly hyped up concert featuring performances by JuJuBa and Path of the Ninja (a collaboration between the members of Signal Path and Surrounded by Ninjas).  Surrounding the show within the ballroom were many different features pertaining to the VBC.  There were displays of people’s participation in the event in previous years, a bookstore featuring topics explored by the VBC, and other booths providing miscellaneous products and information.

I jumped around the place throughout the whole show, alternating between shooting the performances, shooting the features of the event, and dancing like crazy at the incredible music.  I was proud to be a part of it, even though secretly I would have been there anyway, grooving to the great show.

I’ve been exploring the world of macro photography recently, and it’s been an excellent time of year to do so. Macro photography (super-close-up photography) has always interested me since I was a kid, and it still fascinates me that photos of ordinary objects highly magnified can look completely surreal and imaginary. While I’m far from creating imagery that compelling, I’m starting off learning the basics with my Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens.

So far I have a very limited gallery of some of my early results. I hope to vastly improve both my knowledge and skill in macro photography in the coming months. If any fellow photographers have any tips they would like to share, I would appreciate any help I can get. I’ve found that the PotN “Macro” message board to be an excellent resource for learning great techniques and ideas. I’m sure I’ll be frequenting that area more than I have in the past.

Please feel free to give me feedback on the images I’ve captured so far. I appreciate any comments or criticism I receive. It’s easiest to do so in a comment on the photo you’re critiquing. Each photo has a form near the bottom allowing anyone to make comments on any photo.