Week 5 of the 365 Day People Picture Project - finished! One benefit of this project is that it is forcing me to break out of my rigid routine and play tourist, even if it's for only a few moments at a time. Venturing outside of my comfortable little bubble has left me feeling re-charged and like I've had a little mini-vacation.
Day 29 - Juno and her Human
I ran into Juno and her human on one such mini-vacation. They were strolling along the walkway on the Columbia River. Juno had just gone for a swim when she and her human stopped to be day 29. Check out how intently Juno is staring at her human mama!
It was such a beautiful afternoon/evening, so I decided to stay a little longer and take a walk on the beach. This picture is looking at the I5 Bridge which crosses from Vancouver, WA, and into Portland, OR.
Day 30 - "Guy on Bench"
This guy has the bluest eyes I've ever seen! He was hanging out in the park, waiting to meet someone for dinner.
Day 31 - "Guy Walking by my Work"
Our interaction was short and sweet! He also had a friend with him but she was a little camera shy.
Day 32 - Garza
Garza and I were both picking up our cars from the mechanic at the same time. The shop had parked our cars next to each other. I was ready to leave, but my car was blocked so I had the perfect opportunity to ask Garza if he'd be day 32. He agreed, but I had to "work" for it.
Garza heads the NEU Soccer Club so he had a car full of soccer balls, gear, and empty boxes that once contained soccer gear. He had to transfer the gear from one car to another and in return for him being the subject for day 32, he asked if I could help him move a big box. I would happily help all of my subjects move boxes! I feel so indebted to each of them for allowing me to take their picture and share it with you!
Day 33 - Steve the Swan and Mike
I first saw Steve the Swan about a month ago as I was driving down a fairly busy street in Portland. I thought he was in distress and in need of rescuing! After slamming on my brakes and inching past, I realized he was "stuffed". I was so relieved after I realized that he was taxidermy. I'm getting quite proficient at rescuing lost dogs and I can now fashion a leash out of pretty much anything, but I didn't know how in the world I was going to rescue a swan!
Since that day, I've learned that Steve is quite the party animal. I drive by his house nearly every day. Steve, Mike and the other roommates are often hanging outside in the sun. Steve the Swan is an attention-grabber and people often stop by to visit with the bunch. Mike and his roommates have met a lot of new friends because of Steve the Swan. Talk about a wingman!
Mike told me the story of Steve. Steve, when he was alive, was actually the pet of their neighbor-lady across the street. Poor Steve was killed in a car accident and his owner had him taxidermied. She gave the taxidermied Steve to Mike and the other roommates and Steve now looks over the neighborhood and across the street to his previous human mama.
Steve the Swan is so popular, don't be surprised if someday he has his very own beer named after him!
In the short time that I was hanging out with Mike and Steve, another woman stopped by and asked to take her picture with Steve. The guys living at the house welcome all of the visitors and new friends! I guess you can't set out a nearly 4 foot tall taxidermy swan in your front yard and not expect to meet new friends.
Mike was such a nice guy and encouraging of my project. Mike wants to be a photographer. I explained that I'm not a photographer, but he was pretty insistent that if someone takes a picture every day for a year, then they are a photographer. Maybe not a skilled photographer, but they are indeed a photographer. We both laughed, as that's the category I fall into! With Steve the Swan as his buddy, Mike would have no problem finding subjects.
Day 34 - RV
I ventured to a little park near my house and was surprised to see there were three volleyball games happening! I LOVE VOLLEYBALL! What I was most surprised to see, was that all of the players were men! I stopped at one of the courts, where RV was the referee, and asked if women could play. He assured me that women were welcome. He actually invited me to play right then and there, but I was wearing a dress and heels. Although I wasn't able to play that day, RV was nice enough to be day 34. I'm not sure if I'll make it back this season, but I'm definitely going back next summer!
Day 35 - David and Meghaan
I was having a bit of an off day today and unable to find any subjects. My day was so off, I didn't even find a subject at Portland Saturday Market. If you've ever been to the Saturday Market, you understand just how unbelievable that is! One would think it impossible to go to Saturday Market and not be able to find at least a couple dozen interesting and/or beautiful subjects.
I decided to head across the river and over to Downtown Vancouver. I spotted David and Meghaan as soon as I entered the park because of their cute matching Ducks t-shirts. I wandered the park for a while but got the feeling that my best hope for the day was going to be the cute couple in the Ducks T's.
I approached them to ask if they'd be willing to be day 35 and they agreed. As I was asking their names and if there's anything I could promote, we discovered that we have a lot in common!
David is a screen printer and owns his own company, Moreland Print. (I also work for a company that does screen print and embroidery.) Meghaan works for one of our vendors who sells screen printing supplies, and one of my former co-workers now works with Meghaan! I enjoyed visiting with them both and now I'm glad I didn't find a subject at Saturday Market because I wouldn't have been able to meet David and Meghaan, who are both just as nice as could be.
I could have easily stayed and talked screen printing with them for hours! That is the beauty of screen printing…we're all pretty friendly competitors and our shared love of screen printing is an instant connection.
Meghaan and David were such a sweet couple and I wish them lots of luck and success!
Week 5 felt less like a photography project and more like a go-out-and-meet-potential-new-friends-project!
I do have a happy thing to report to you! One of my friends, who is actually a real photographer, has been inspired by my little project and wants to start one of her own! She's not sure about the specifics yet, but just hearing that I've contributed inspiration to her in some small way, has been a huge compliment and is one of my main objectives with this entire project.
If there's something you want to do - don't wait any longer! Whether it be a photography project, completing a marathon, or some sort of life change - just take that first step and prepare for great things to happen! It doesn't matter if conditions aren't perfect when you start, and you may have a long journey ahead, but that's ok! Take that first step and you'll build momentum as you go along.
Thank you for checking in on week 5. If you'd like to follow along during the week, I post the pictures daily to my Instagram. My username is: missellanea and I'd love to follow you too!
Thank you!