Tag Archives: Portland

Ethan’s Moment

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Ethan's Moment

Ethan’s graduation ceremony from Cleveland High School.

This week’s Image of the Week is a departure from the norm. The photo is far from high art, the event it captures is a transformational one for a very special young man. Ethan’s Moment is one that I will never forget!

The ceremony was held at Memorial Coliseum in Portland where the lighting is less than ideal and we were going to be several hundred feet from the stage. My sister found us seats just a couple of rows up from the rail and nearly dead center, so we had as good a vantage point as anyone in the audience.

It was very important to me to try to capture the moment that he received his diploma. With the poor lighting conditions and relatively slow lens I utilized the Auto ISO function on the D7000 to get as clean a shot as possible. This allowed for the ISO to jump as high as 1600 if needed to keep a reasonable shutter speed, introducing a slight amount of digital noise but certainly producing a usable image. I took practice shots of some of the earlier graduates to get a sense of the pace and then relied on instinct to know when to start the sequence. Fortunately everything came together and I was able to grab just the moment I was after!

I’m very proud to call Ethan my son, and so excited to see how his future unfolds. It has been an amazing experience to watch him grow and see his horizons expand these past 18 years. I will always be able to relive this special moment in his life through this image with the knowledge that I captured it myself.

Ethan; the world is now yours to capture in your own way. I love you very much and look forward to watching you chart your course through a long and happy life!

Technical Specs:

  • RAW image with Nikon D7000 @ 1600 ISO
  • Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom Nikkor Lens @ 200mm
  • 1/20th of a Second @ ƒ/5.6
  • Tuesday, June 11, 2013 @ 21:20
  • Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Unedited P-Town Throwdown Images now live

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Due to some scheduling conflicts over the next few weeks I’m not sure when I’m going to get a chance to edit the photos from last weekend’s P-Town Throwdown. Due to popular demand to see more of the images I am breaking with my normal procedures and releasing the unedited photo backups to the public.

Please keep in mind that these are completely unedited and unfiltered. It is simply everything I shot that day with the good, bad, and ugly. None of them have been edited at this point with the exception of the previously released preview images. I will have a normal edited and filtered gallery for posting as soon as they are ready.

Bursts of Color

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Bursts of Color

Fireworks over the Willamette River.

This week’s Image of the Week is the fourth image that is currently hanging in the Gresham Visual Arts Gallery. Bursts of Color is a fireworks shot with a few different stories behind it.

The fireworks event was one of the last family events we shared with Robin before his passing. His company had a company picnic scheduled for Independence Day weekend of 2011 that featured a private fireworks show on the Willamette River. However, flood conditions swamped the island that the show was to be launched from and the event was rescheduled for Labor Day weekend. We all knew that Robin’s health was on the decline so were very pleased when we were all invited to share the event with him.

During the fireworks show I found a location near the water to shoot from without people in the field of view. This shot was captured in the later stages of the show, but was not the finale. I used a technique for long exposure to capture multiple bursts in the same frame. The capture is 14.8 seconds in length which would typically blow all of the highlights and make for an unusable result. In fact, I used a piece of thick black poster board to cover the lens element for the majority of the exposure (from a tripod). I moved it away in a few quick bursts as the various shells reached their most colorful points. The actual time exposed was probably closer to 1 or 1.5 seconds of the time the shutter was open. The final result is effectively a multiple exposure showing several bursts captured in one frame.

This shot, printed onto aluminum, is hanging in the home of the gentleman who owns the company and hosted the party. It was presented to him by Robin and some of his coworkers. It meant a great deal to Robin and therefore to my family. A framed print is featured in the Gresham Art Committee‘s Passport to Adventure show running through April 4th.

Technical Specs:

  • RAW image with Nikon D300 @ 200 ISO
  • Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX AF 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens @ 14mm
  • 14.8 seconds @ ƒ/8
  • Sunday, September 4, 2011 @ 21:12
  • Willamette River, Portland, Oregon, USA

Kiddie Thrills

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Kiddie Thrills

Multnomah County Fair thrill ride.

After a week of dealing with thunder snow and crippling storms in Kansas City I want to share an image from the warm days of summer. This week’s Image of the Week is Kiddie Thrills featuring two of my favorite little ones enjoying new experiences at the county fair.

The county fair was one of my favorite events of the year when I was young living in a small farming town in eastern Oregon. The big city almost swallowed up the Multnomah County Fair but it has been reborn and now takes place at the historic Oaks Amusement Park. We joined up with Nathan and the Frarys and spent a fun day with the kids at the fair.

The kid’s roller coaster is a permanent fixture at Oaks Park. Claire had ridden it for the first time earlier in the summer and was excited to share the experience with Nathan. The carefree joy and excitement on their faces serves to bring a smile to my face when I am half way across the country looking forward to being back home soon!

This image is featured in the Gresham Art Committee‘s current Passport to Adventure show!

Technical Specs:

  • RAW image with Nikon D7000 @ 200 ISO
  • Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom Nikkor Lens @ 42mm
  • 1/250th of a Second @ ƒ/10
  • Saturday, May 26, 2012 @ 15:21
  • Multnomah County Fair, Oaks Amusement Park, Portland, Oregon, USA

Up! House

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Up! House

A real life house like the one from the movie Up!

This week’s Image of the Week is just for fun. During a construction project on the Portland State University campus somebody had a great idea. They dressed up the small neighboring building with balloons recalling the house from the movie Up! Word spread fast around campus and I was able to capture this image; Up! House.

The new University Pointe at College Station housing complex is currently coming online at PSU. It was during it’s construction last year that the law firm located in an old Victorian home surrounded by the building attached balloons to the chimney. I wish I had had my dSLR with me that day, but even a pocket camera gives you an idea! Access was somewhat limited, so it was impossible to get a clean shot free of fences and equipment.

I try to always have at least a pocket camera with me at all times. You never know when an  opportunity might present itself. This particular camera was a good companion but eventually failed. I currently carry the Sony Cyber-shot WX10 that is probably the best pocket camera I have ever owned. Sometimes a camera phone has to suffice, but these pocket cameras are far supperior for these “grab shots”.

Technical Specs:

  • JPEG image Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS @ 200 ISO
  • Integrated lens @ 6.2mm
  • 1/400th of a second @ ƒ/2.8
  • Thursday, June 30, 2011 @ 16:18
  • Portland State University Campus, Portland, Oregon, USA

Mt. Tabor Downhill Challenge Weekend

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Mt. Tabor Downhill Challenge event poster

Mt. Tabor Downhill Challenge Poster event poster featuring a photo by Kroll Images.

Looking forward to the start of a very busy week of covering longboarding events around the Pacific Northwest. The Second Annual Mt. Tabor Downhill Challenge is tomorrow; I’m proud to have a photo featured on the event poster designed by Eric Hovey.

I will be shooting the event along with volunteering as a roving marshall. Ethan will be a corner marshall and have a camera at the ready as well. I will follow that up with coverage of the full run of the Maryhill Festival of Speed. Ethan will be working with me for that event and we will be joined by Todd Frary of Alternative-Shots for the weekend. Depending on scheduling today I may drop in on the skate scavenger hunt later today too!

This will be my second year covering Maryhill and Tabor, you can see images from last year at skate.krollimages.com. One of my favorites, of event organizer and defending champion Billy “Bones” Meiners, was featured as an Image of the Week earlier in the year.

Squeezed into the middle will be the start of summer term at PSU making for a busy work week. It’s going to be a crazy and fun week!

Max vs. the Peanut Gallery

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Max vs. the Peanut Gallery

Max vs. the Peanut Gallery

Earlier this month the third event in the 2012 Switchbacks Series was held at Washington Park here in Portland. The fact that Max vs. the Peanut Gallery was one of my favorite images of the day and has an interesting story behind it make it a natural to be the newest Image of the Week.

The Switchback Series is a collection of races presented by Rip City Skate held on the Madison Trail at the lower edge of Washington Park. Each event has a mystery aspect that adds a unique twist and element of surprise for the competitors. This time three cones strategically placed on the course added breaking zones and passing opportunities to the course. Head to head heats made for some intense competition especially on the top portion of the course, and some physical racing down below. They are some of my favorite events to cover because the course is compact, the competition is friendly, and the people are great.

As the day moved along one of the top competitors; Max Myers, had an increasingly entertaining interaction with the crowd of eliminated riders. On the lower portion of the course two cones created right-left-right chicane and a wide variety of lines and strategies from the competitors. Max was the only one foot breaking into the section without regard to the ridicule he was receiving from his peers. His fellow riders were relentless in their jeers and verbal assault as he shamelessly kept winning heats with his unique strategy. As he exited the chicane with a large lead in a late heat he was all smiles while being heckled by the peanut gallery.

Max relented to the pressure and did not foot break in the semi-finals. Naturally, that would be his only heat loss of the day and he finished the day with a third place podium finish.

Technical Specs:

  • JPEG image with Nikon D300 @ 220 ISO
  • AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 48mm
  • 1/200 second @ ƒ/5
  • Sunday, June 10, 2012 @ 15:45
  • Washington Park, Portland, Oregon, USA

Switchbacks Series #3 First Wave of Images

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Switchbacks Series 2012 Event #3

Switchbacks Series 2012 Event #3

The first wave of images from Sunday’s event #3 of the 2012 Switchbacks Series are now live online. These take us up until about 3:15pm and are about 2/3 of the images from the day. I will get the rest posted as soon as possible and will update you here when they are live! If you’d like to receive email updates on postings sign up here!

Park Amusement

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Park Amusement

Park Amusement features Nathan this past weekend on the car ride at Oaks Park. It was great fun to watch he and Claire experience the day along with his parents and my Mom. I’m excited to present one of my favorite young people as the subject of the latest Image of the Week.

The weekend was full of fun activities and photo opportunities, but this one was my clear favorite. Our weekend started with Claire & Ethan bowling on Friday night. Saturday was the first visit to the Multnomah County Fair at Oaks Park. Claire and Nathan had great fun on the fair grounds and then the amusement park midway. Their favorite rides were the roller coaster and the airplanes. This image was on the car ride right after their first roller coaster ride while they were still full of adrenolin. This capture of Nathan stands out for me because he (much like his father) is very difficult to catch with a face full of joy. He is a big super hero fan so to catch him with such a great smile on a face painted like spidey made it an instant classic. It becomes my latest Prime Image and the first captured with my recently won D7000.

The weekend continued with more fun activities captured in photos and video. Claire and Ethan both walked on water in giant plastic bubbles filled with air. We bowled again, visited the park, barbecued, visited the fair again, and generally had a very nice weekend. All the while we wished Michelle had been able to share it with us remembered those who gave so much so we could have the freedom to enjoy our freedom with family and friends.

Technical Specs:

  • JPEG image with Nikon D7000 @ 200 ISO
  • AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR @ 98mm
  • 1/640 of a second @ ƒ/5.6
  • Saturday, May 26, 2012 @ 14:48
  • Multnomah County Fair at Oaks Amusement Park, Portland, Oregon, USA