An Hour At The Golden Gate Bridge

I had the good fortune to spend the past few days staying in Marin County just north of San Francisco attending an exceptional coaching class. I decided to pack a camera just in case I got the chance to spend some time at the Golden Gate Bridge, one of my most favorite spots. I decided …

Faith in the Homeless

Jim invited me to attend the monthly brunch at St Johns Covenant church in North Portland. Not being a church goer, I wasn’t sure what to expect although I knew I would be in familiar company with some of the friends I had met at the Operation Nightwatch mobile hospitality center in St Johns. On …

Housing the Homeless

I am frequently asked “What do we need to do to end homelessness?”.  My usual response is it is a very difficult problem to address with many underlying issues and causes.  That said, I consistently hear a theme that the most important factor to end homelessness is providing permanent sustainable accommodation for everyone.  By sustainable, …

A Winters Night in Portland

Continuing my exploration into Portland’s homeless community I came across a survey completed in January documenting the homeless in Portland’s Multnomah County on a single night.  First off, this struck me as an ambitious project knowing how big the city is and the all the out of the way places you are likely to home …

Reflections Of Homelessness

  I met D at the Operation Nightwatch mobile van site in St John’s.  Like many of the Nightwatch guests, D is a very friendly and generous person and he was willing to give me a glimpse of his personal story. He grew up in Washington state, the eldest of seven children and found himself …

One Bike, No Home

With the help of Operation Nightwatch, I am privileged to be able to spend time with homeless people in the Portland area.  One of my personal goals is to understand more about life on the streets, why people end up on the street and what is their life like.  As you can imagine it is …

Portraits of the Homeless

Before I started capturing images for Operation Nightwatch I had little idea of the homeless people in our community beyond the obvious perspective of seeing them living and sleeping rough and experiencing the panhandling for money.  My perspective was shaped by my distant impression, distant because I couldn’t describe my interactions deeper than passing by …

Operation Nightwatch

Operation Nightwatch (ON) is a Portland, OR based not for profit providing hospitality to those in need.  Gary Davis, their Director, talks about the difference between serving the homeless and providing hospitality and it is an important distinction.  You don’t have to be homeless to need hospitality.  I found the following definition of hospitality describes …

So Close to Home…

In a recent conversation with Laura Valenti Jelen, my wonderful photography mentor, it dawned on me what really drives my photography.  Creating an image I and others really like is very pleasing, as is being selected for show in a competition but I get the most satisfaction from taking pictures that move the viewer and …