Peas + rats, rats + peas…however you look at it, these two sassy ladies know how to have a good time AND tell a great story.  The story being Three Green Rats, a cautionary tale written for children, which highlights the perils faced “in the land of Here and Now”, in the city of Tintown, when the other rats don’t follow the lead of three rat brothers who “lived simply, never taking more than they needed to survive.”

A collaborative effort featuring the storytelling genius of Linda Hunter and the fabulous, whimsical illustrations of Suzanne Summersgill, I had the honor of reading a few drafts over the last two years, and then landing in Vancouver on the very day they signed a book deal!  Three Green Rats will be published this fall, and there’s even talk of a reading at our very own Powell’s Books here in Portland!

Huge congratulations to two very inspiring women I’m so fortunate to call friends.

I recently took a weekend trip to Vancouver, BC to clear the cobwebs and pay a visit to some dear friends north of the border. I took my “work” camera, but found myself making much more use of my iPhone. Go figure. So I spent a lot of time packing a 5+ lb hunk of expensive plastic around the city, the only benefit being a few shots shared below and a good bicep workout {which, if I do say so, are looking pretty sweet these days as a result}.

During the course of an afternoon walkabout, I made a point to pass through Vancouver’s Chinatown, one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city for the richness of color + personality.  As my billions of fans know, I typically photograph people, but found myself drawn more to people’s things, Chinatown in particular possessing some very iconic things… an abundant supply of  knick knacks {I love that word} and piles of dried fish.

Any of the other images you see below that don’t look like they were taken in Chinatown, reflect the other 2 minutes I put my camera to use during the course of the weekend.

Thank you SO very much to the wonderful and insanely creative duo Linda Hunter + Suzanne Summersgill {w the dashing Scott Summersgill rounding out our gang} for keeping me well wined + dined + otherwise entertained.  Keep your eyes peeled for future posts featuring these two and their soon-to-be-published children’s story… in the meantime, enjoy.