American Society of Media Photographers puts on an annual event
called PDX Squared. Four square miles of Portland are divided up on a map and randomly
assigned to 70 photographers. They have 24 hours of shooting time and can win
up to $5,000 in prizes awarded in seven categories.
I have participated for three
years as a photographer. I was asked to join the panel of judges this year. Each judge represents a
different discipline of photography. I came from the commercial
photography side. Live judging in front of an audience, we discussed our feelings about the images presented
and made the final choices, debating and even sometimes arguing about what was
best in each category. You can see a slide show of the winners here.
As for myself, the first year I
parked myself in front of the Oregon Convention Center, photographing people as
they came in to a runners/fitness convention. Here are a couple of the shots,
so you get the idea.
The second year I went around on
a boat with my fellow shooter, Steve Cridland as we photographed certain
members of the "live aboard" boating community on the Willamette
river.
This year because of my judging,
I didn't have as much time to go out and shoot, I did get one evening and took
out my infrared converted (by Life pixel) Nikon D2X and did a few river
landscapes. Here are few examples.
As always, PDX Squared is a
great opportunity to shoot things one doesn't normally shoot while getting to know
other photographers. Seeing how some of the "old" pros came through
with some amazing images and how all the young new talent stepped up to compete
and win, only made me feel better about the great photo community here in
Portland. And only one of my friends complained how we had "completely
blown" the judging on a particular category. 1 out of 7 is not bad. ;-)
