Wharf Street Walk

Long shadows on the corner of Wharf and Dana Streets in the Old Port. 

Photography Events - February 2012

As a blogger of photography, it has occurred to me that there is an opportunity to occasionally post on my blog about some photography-related events happening in the area. Here are a few noteworthy events happening this month.

The Maine Historical Society, which has a wonderful collection of local photography at their research library and online, is currently doing a show called "Take to the Streets!" This show "explores the moments as well as the people in Maine who took to the street to speak out on issues as varied as civil rights and labor disputes, nuclear power and crank telephones." This show is at MHS headquarters at 489 Congress Street and runs until the end of March. More details here. 

Over at the Portland Museum of Art we have an interesting photography exhibit by Maine photographer Tanja Alexia Hollander called "Are You Really My Friend? - The Facebook Portrait Project."To quickly summarize the project, Tanja traveled all across the country to photography her Facebook "friends" and share the results. Check out all the details here. The show is at the PMA February 4 - June 17.  

West End Whiteout

Here are a few more photos taken in the West End during the snowstorm a couple weekends ago. 

Former school on corner of Pine and West Streets. I think it's Butler School, can someone confirm that?

Nearby, a brick rowhouse on Pine Street.

Reader Photos - January 2012

I received some great photo submissions this past month so I will combine them into one post. If people continue to submit photos, I could see this becoming a regular monthly feature! You can check out some previous reader-submitted photos here and also by visiting my Flickr group. Here are the most recent submissions, in no particular order.

These first two are by David T., who visits the blog from Omaha, Nebraska. He got these two photos from a trip on the Casco Bay Lines mailboat run, which is a great cruise for locals and visitors alike. These photos make me look forward to warmer weather (and I don't mind the rain)!

Curvature by David T.

Yellow Boat and Cottage by David T.

This next one comes from Flickr user Sheldoyle and was taken after our last snowfall. You can check out her photostream here!

Friday by Sheldoyle

These two photos from the Old Port are from JaneinMaine1 on Flickr. You can view her photos here. 

Segway Tours, Portland, Maine by JaneInMaine1

Old Port, Portland, Maine by JaneInMaine1

And here are two winter-themed submissions from Tom Whitney. Check out his Flickr stream here and his photography website here. 

Ribbons by Tom 

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Tom Whitney

Thanks for sharing David, Shel, Jane, and Tom! If you would like to share some photos with the readers of this blog, feel free to add them to my Flickr group or send them to me via email. I'm happy to help promote other local photographers and link back their work. 

Newbury Street Ice Rink

My suggestion a few years ago concerning a Bayside ice skating rink still hasn't moved forward, so I have found an alternative location for a new urban skating rink in Portland. This empty lot on Newbury Street would be a great spot for some pick-up hockey or figure skating practice. Another few inches of ice would really fill out this area and I wouldn't be surprised if I actually did see someone skating here.

Alternate view:

Street of Gold

Looking down Gold Street through the fencing around the Custom House.

Deering Street Diptych

Deering Street skyline.

Skywalks of Portland

I recently embarked on a journey to photograph all of Portland's skywalks. This was a quick journey,because there are only three (that I am aware of) and they are not too far away from each other. 

The newest of Portland's skywalks, the Alumni Skywalk at the University of Southern Maine. This skywalk goes over Bedford street, connecting the Abramson Center the academic buildings on the other side of the street.

This skywalk over Cumberland Avenue connects the (former) Public Market House, now home to private company PowerPay, with the Public Market House Parking Garage. 

And lastly, this skywalk high above Congress Street connects the several Maine Medical Center buildings and corresponding parking garages. There is some temporary scaffolding in place in this picture.

Edit - Based on a comment to this post (thanks!), I will also throw in a picture of one of the skywalks at the Portland Company Marine Complex off of Fore Street. There are a couple of industrial-style skywalks down here that connect the complex.

Occupy Maine: Open

A good amount Occupy Maine members remain in Lincoln Park, pictured below. I believe they are being allowed to stay at least until the current litigation is settled. The Bangor Daily News, which always has surprisingly good coverage of Portland news, has some details from the courtroom proceedings held earlier today here. Portland's own Munjoy Hill News also has great coverage here.

State Street Sidewalk

A wintery sidewalk along State Street in the West End. 

Sledding

The Eastern Promenade is a prime spot for sledding this time of year:

It's also a good spot to do some cross country skiing:

Neal Street

An exceptionally charming section of Neal Street in the West End. This is a great neighborhood to wander around any time of the year, but especially during the winter I think.