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A Walk at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands

A Walk at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands

I went on a walk at the Smith and Bybee Wetlands in North Portland yesterday. Overcast skies and red duckweed covered lakes presented scenic views with scattered wildlife in pleasant weather.

A landscape featuring a reddish-brown wetlands area with sparse vegetation. In the background, there are leafless trees and distant hills under a cloudy sky. A great blue heron is visible standing on the wetlands.
A garter snake camouflaged among dry leaves and green moss on the ground.
Bare trees with moss-covered branches stand in a pond covered in red duckweed, with two ducks in the water.
A wooden walkway covered with moss leads to a small shelter surrounded by bare trees in a swampy area.
A cloudy sky with a flock of birds flying in formation above bare trees.
View from a wooden structure overlooking a body of water with red duckweed and distant trees. Power lines and pylons are visible against a cloudy sky.
A marshy area with bare trees, reddish-brown water covered in floating duckweed, and scattered dead plant stems. A log is partially submerged in the foreground.

These were taken with the recently acquired Leica M-Rokkor 90mm f/4 lens (used) on my Leica M10. This is a much longer focal length than the ones I’ve been using primarily for years, although shorter than the 135mm lens I used briefly on a walk a few years ago. It was refreshing because I’ve basically only used 35mm and 50mm for two decades 😆. We shall see if this sticks.

A Totally Silly Comparison of Photos

A Totally Silly Comparison of Photos

Spring is here, and along with all the blossoms, I’m also enjoying the No Fusion app. So much so that I wanted to try and do some side-by-side comparisons between photos taken with it and with my Leica camera. Please note this is all just for fun and I acknowledge the silliness.

All photos processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic as follows:

A house partially obscured by lush green trees and bushes with red flowers. A few fallen flowers are scattered on the ground. The sky is blue and partly clouded.
Leica M10
A house partially obscured by lush green trees and bushes with red flowers. A few fallen flowers are scattered on the ground. The sky is blue and partly clouded.
iPhone 17 Pro

A residential street scene featuring a house with a porch, a large blooming pink magnolia tree, and a power pole. The sky is blue with some clouds, and there is a green lawn in the front yard.
Leica M10
A residential street scene featuring a house with a porch, a large blooming pink magnolia tree, and a power pole. The sky is blue with some clouds, and there is a green lawn in the front yard.
iPhone 17 Pro

A residential street corner with a house featuring dark siding and a large blossoming pink magnolia tree under a partly clouded blue sky. A car is parked on the street, and a utility pole is in the foreground.
Leica M10
A residential street corner with a house featuring dark siding and a large blossoming pink magnolia tree under a partly clouded blue sky. A car is parked on the street, and a utility pole is in the foreground.
iPhone 17 Pro

A white pickup truck is parked on a street under blooming cherry tree with white flowers. A light turquoise house and a yellow fence are in the background.
Leica M10
A white pickup truck is parked on a street under blooming cherry tree with white flowers. A light turquoise house and a yellow fence are in the background.
iPhone 17 Pro

A blooming magnolia tree with pink flowers stands in front of a graffiti-covered concrete wall, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
Leica M10
A blooming magnolia tree with pink flowers stands in front of a graffiti-covered concrete wall, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.
iPhone 17 Pro

A tree without leaves stands next to a weathered brick wall with peeling paint. There’s a mailbox on a post in front of the wall, and part of a black cylindrical railcar is visible on the right side.

A weathered white brick wall with chipped paint, featuring two closed black roll-up doors and a smaller black entrance door. A large puddle in the foreground reflects the building.

A row of four closed, square windows on a plain, gray wall with overgrown vegetation and moss-covered ground in front.

A deserted parking lot with an old car, surrounded by overgrown bushes and industrial buildings. The sky is overcast.

A person taking a photo of a weathered blue corrugated metal wall with faded graffiti and rusty electrical boxes.

Branches with sparse pink leaves in the foreground, with a blurred yellow road sign and street in the background.

Shadows of two people and a tree with branches projected onto a light blue wall.

Some photos from a photo walk in North Portland a couple months ago.

Two cats resting on a window perch inside a house, with reflections of trees and the sky on the glass.

Window Cats. Portland, Oregon. 9th March, 2026.

A cat peeking through a cat-shaped cutout in a white box.

Cat box cat.

People playing tennis on courts surrounded by trees at dusk, with a reflective body of water and distant horizon in the background. The sky is mostly cloudy, except for pink and orange gaps where the sky is clear just above the horizon.

Portland, Oregon. 3rd February, 2026.

February Fakeout Sunset at Tabor

February Fakeout Sunset at Tabor

February Fakeout is a local phenomenon when the weather feels like Spring for some days in February. We just had that for nearly the entire first week. These photos are from a walk around Tabor at sunset on the 6th.

Sunset through trees in a forest, casting long shadows on the ground with warm, golden light.

A forest scene with tall trees and sunlight filtering through the branches, casting warm, dappled light on the grassy ground.

View of a calm reservoir surrounded by dense evergreen trees, with a paved path curving along the water’s edge, under a clear blue sky.

Two people sit on a grassy hill at sunset overlooking a tranquil reservoir reflecting trees, with a backdrop of citscape, silhouetted hills, and trees.

Sunset over a forested landscape with a silhouetted tree foreground, reflecting water body, distant cityscape and hills.

Two images: one shows a curved wooden trestle bridge with a picnic table in a forested area; the other depicts a curved wooden pathway atop that bridge leading towards dense, misty trees.

Buxton, Oregon. 24th November, 2025.

📷 Hasselblad 500C/M
🎞️ Kodak Portra 160 (Expired)

A misty rural landscape with cows grazing in a field near a utility pole. In the background, there are low-lying clouds, hills, and trees.

Clatskanie, Oregon. 24th November, 2025.

📷 Hasselblad 500C/M
🎞️ Kodak Portra 160 (Expired)

Le Guin at the Oregon Contemporary

Le Guin at the Oregon Contemporary

Exterior view of the Oregon Center for Contemporary Art with large white geometric designs on the blue facade.

A little over a week ago we visited Oregon Contemporary to experience A Larger Reality, an exhibition about the life and work of Ursula K. Le Guin.

People viewing display cases against a wall with a mural depicting a detailed dragon and abstract smoke.

A display case featuring a congressional record commemorating Ursula K. Le Guin, her book “No Time to Spare,” a quote card, a blue ribbon, and a National Book Award medal. Cat paw prints and descriptive plaques are also visible.

Display case with a brown canvas bag featuring various political and social buttons, a vintage science fiction magazine titled “Fantastic,” a toy red van, a document labeled “Mortgage,” and multiple informational placards.

A framed structure about the size of the room that served as Le Guin’s writing room, when not serving as a nursery, was surprisingly small. On the desk were her typewriters that were open to use. I enjoyed this level of immersiveness.

A person sits inside a small, wooden structure with unfinished walls, working at a desk. The setup includes a typewriter and other items. A large projection on the wall outside shows a cityscape with houses and trees.

The electric typewriter was programmed to print selections of Le Guin’s work for visitors to print and take with them.

A person sitting in front of an IBM typewriter, with a sheet of paper inserted.

Display of various cat-themed artworks and notes, including a small illustrated chart labeled “Identification Chart: Cats” with sketches of cats, text panels with descriptions, and a framed exhibit piece.

Wooden tree-shaped bookcase with books and magazines, standing in a gallery with overhead lights casting colorful shadows.

A woman stands in an art gallery with arms crossed. The wall behind her features a large portrait of Ursula K. Le Guin. Other artworks are visible in the background.

It was a lovely exhibition and I’m glad we were able to visit it. I have read some of Le Guin’s works, and have others on my reading list for this year and beyond. I would highly recommend her work to anyone.