Oregon in February seems as good a time as any to post a few sun soaked images from Waikiki in December.

Photographer’s note: I have artfully avoided photos of my dear friend + travel companion for fear she won’t want to make return trips if she sees she’ll be turned into the feature of a girls-gone-wild blog post.

However, in addition to the usual rotation of palm trees, sunsets, and waveslappingatthesand photographs {and in absence of girls-gone-wild}, I also wanted to share images captured from an insanely ill-timed visit to Pearl Harbor the day before the 70th Anniversary.   As amazing as it was to be feet away from survivors, experiencing this place shoulder to shoulder with thousands of others, and standing in endless lines ala Disneyland, most definitely took away from the emotions I probably should have felt.  But in looking at these images, it now feels like it was a visit worth making.

I hope in the midst of your winter, wherever you are, you’re able to hear the metronome of the crashing waves, feel the warmth of the sun on your face and the crunch of the sand beneath your feet…and at the very least, a pin prick of emotion for everything those survivors represent.

I am now officially 1+ months behind in my bloggedy blog mcblog… so I pinky swear to follow up in the next few days with some snapshots of work and life over these last several weeks.

In the meantime, I’m over the moon to share with all 2 of my official followers news of my first major publication feature in the Winter 2012 issue of 1859 magazine.  Contributor profile included!  Published out of Bend, Oregon, it’s a beautiful magazine {I would have said this EVEN IF I hadn’t been published} that embraces completely it’s tagline to “live. think. explore” all the things that make Oregon so spectacular.

My feature originally started as a personal project “{Alone} on Belmont” and expanded into a more general profile of the people and places that make SE Belmont St fabulous {in my humble opinion}.  I absolutely loved the opportunity to meet so many interesting people who were so generous with their time and stories.

And now, without further ado…

Thank you for a beautiful weekend my new friend.  You are more than sweeping bridges and expansive views.

You are pillow top beds that allow for a full 8 hours of sleep and then some.  And Aveda soaps that make my running clothes smell like they just took a jog to the spa.  You are Sunday markets out my front doorstep.  And hot from the oven bread samples at the Sunday market that remind me that a girl can’t live on bread alone and could sure use a cup ‘a joe to go with that bread.  You are strangers in hotels and coffee shops and on the street who don’t remain strangers long.  And who go out of their way to give directions, share some history, tell a story, charge a dead car battery.

Yes, you are more than sweeping bridges and expansive views.

{and for dessert}

I am a storyteller with a camera.  I am an avid seeker of faces, places and experiences.  So if there are no people to be found, I love the exploration of the spaces they inhabit, poking around through all the nooks and crannies that define it and make it meaningful to someone somewhere, documenting the things they have left behind.  The stamp, or in this case, stickers, that say, “Once upon a time, I was here”.

This past Friday, I was given a unique opportunity on behalf of Dive Bar Shirt Club.  A site that celebrates all the beauty of…well….dive bars found all across the country.   In a city increasingly over run by hipster hangouts that require a PhD in fashion just to step across the threshold, the comfort of come-as-you-are corner bars can be quickly overlooked here in Portland.  Of important note however:  in googling my destination for the day, I came across an article that indicated a certain magazine with the words Play + boy in it had listed this place as one of 10 Great American Dive Bars.  For spam purposes, I think I’m going to regret including that little bit of trivia but found it interesting nonetheless.

Welcome to Billy Ray’s.

…has been in short supply for what seems like an eternity.  So I went in search of some down in Long Beach, California and found all I could ask for and more.

Cold nights in hot tubs and winning at Scrabble…sleds on the driveway and pink puffy jackets….high desert vistas and caves without bats….deer in the backyard and mountains a plenty.

These are a few of my favorite things.

A place where a wonderful woman named Grace turns little girls into beautiful swans.