There are photography assignments, pet photo shoots, and student work. All of them are worthwhile and keep me plenty busy. But every once-in-awhile I have to go back to my roots in photography and just walk somewhere with a camera in hand. I don’t over think shot selection or composition. I just stand in places that intuitively seem right and get the exposure. It’s not quite random snap shooting or photojournalist style, although both can be fun, but it’s certainly photography for pure enjoyment and freedom in the moment.

Lately the autumn weather has been wonderful here in the Portland, Oregon area and so last week I decided to take an afternoon photo walk on the Banks Vernonia trail. I had recently acquired a new 85mm f/1.8 lens, and knowing its best function is for portraiture I wanted to see what else it could do. As I said above, I just shot when it felt right to shoot. Whatever could fit into an 85mm frame is what I captured.

The photo of the silo you see above is my favorite from the photo walk. I like the layering and the lens’ ability to shoot for moderate depth-of-field with a bright sun front light. I’m also a sucker for trees, especially during autumn.

Here is another shot I like from the walk, but not for any technical reason. It’s a nice stream in a picturesque area that has a bit of mans laziness and ingenuity mixed in with the natural driftwood. The title of this photo is “Driftwood Bucket” for that reason.

It’s always nice to do a photo walk simply for the experience.  I highly recommend that you do the same on occasion.