I love that show Storm Chasers, where they try to drive their heavily armored vehicles into tornadoes. As I child I was terrified of tornadoes but I now revel in the violence of powerful storms. Watching these guys drive right up next to the most powerful force in nature is mind blowing.

So it was a nice surprise when I recognized Marcus Guttierrez in a recent episode. Marcus is a film maker who specializes in capturing footage of natural disasters for IMAX productions. I met him and photographed him while on assignment for Fortune as he patiently waited on the flank of Mt. St. Helens in 2004 for a catastrophic eruption. He was excited about the the footage he would record if a massive explosion along the lines of the 1980 eruption occurred.

I pointed out that we were standing well within the blast zone of the 1980 event and that if it occurred, we’d be toast.

I wish I could say I was regular at Satyricon, it would make me sound much cooler than I really am. But the truth is by 1989 when I moved to Portland my punk rock days were mostly behind me. I had trashed my ears years earlier at places like the Triangle Theater in Rochester, CBGB in NYC, Continental Club in Austin and the Hot Klub in Dallas, as well as numerous other such venues.
But I did see a few shows at Satyricon in the early 90’s, no one of note and none I truly remember with the exception of Austin country/folk/roots songwriter Darden Smith, who was so completely out of his element at Satyricon that the baffled crowd of club regulars found themselves entranced by his evocative accoustic storytelling.
Even so I was saddened to learn the club was closing for good. Another piece of authenticity lost in a Portland that is fast selling it’s soul to hipster artifice. The place was legendary in the Northwest music scene hosting anyone who was anyone at one time or another. According to legend Kurt met Courtney there, Foo Fighters played their first show there. It was a classic punk dive, all black with tattered chairs, cheap beer and lots of attitude. A real shithole, with the emphasis on real. It was all about the music, not much else mattered.
Willamette Week just published a good piece with some video clips, (I like the Jackals clip) you can read here.
The following pictures were from a 1994 travel assignment for the New York Times. Crash Worship was the head liner that night but I bailed out of there before all that craziness got started after getting into a scuffle with one their drummers. I think the band on stage as I was shooting was called Plastic Horn Devils, or something.

I’ve been teaching a workshop on Portrait Photography at Newspace Center for Photography. Below are two portraits of my students done during a class demonstration showing tools and my image making process used in an environmental portrait assignment.

Dear friend and long time co-conspirator Susan Seubert is speaking about her dual career today at Portland Art Museum. Sorry for the late notice.

Portland is not known for it’s celebrities but seems to have become home to a number of bands and musicians. Over the past year I’ve shot The Shins

Over the years I’ve been lucky to work with some great young assistants who have gone on to become very successful photographers and artists themselves. Here’s just a few to check out:

Susan Seubert

Amy MacWilliamson

Lisa DeJohn