The Monthly Edit - May 2026
May was dominated by a family trip up the Oregon Coast followed by a couple of days in Portland. The month also marked by return to doing some black and white photography. This photograph was taken at Cannon Beach. There were two sets of couples in the area so I waited for one to depart so I could get the couple of rocks mirrored with the two people. I made sure I was far enough back to include the reflections. I knew this was going to be a black and white photograph when I took it. Likely the photograph of the month.
The beginning of the month had me back in Old Sacramento. I love capturing people moving through the shafts of light in the DOCO tunnel. I saw this man carrying a plastic bag filled with something and I waited for the bag to cross into the light to make it the highlight. I have since turned this into a black and white image. As I write this, I’m still not sure which version I prefer.
I can’t get enough of this photograph. I absolutely love the pastel colors surrounded by the dark shadows of the coffee shop. This was in Yachats, Oregon in the morning before we headed out for the day. Dream Machine Coffee is the name of the establishment and I highly recommend it if you’re passing through.
It was a toss up between this and the Cannon Beach photograph at the top for my favorite picture of the month. The colors and the hands really make this one for me. We had stopped in Port Orford, Oregon because there were several colorful buildings in town. One of them was a small artist colony ran by a few women originally from Santa Cruz in California. This window was in a small hut where one of the women was selling original trinkets and jewelry.
Taken just a few steps from the last photograph. The beaded curtain made a great foreground for the colorful red building and garden outside. It took me a few exposures to get it the way I envisioned but finally ended up with one I was happy with. This kind of picture is definitely where manual focus comes in handy.
Around lunch time we happened to drive past this cool looking brewery so we turned around and headed in for lunch. This is the back deck of Pelican Brewing Company overlooking a small bay (tide was out) and I immediately saw this as a black and white composition because of the wood deck and the Adirondack chairs. I like the string lights for a nice touch as well. The food was really good. The beer was descent.
Part of our trip included a three night stay in Manzanita on the coast of Oregon. We used it as a base to go exploring other areas during the day. This photograph was taken in Astoria (where The Goonies was filmed). I had never been and it was a cool town. This was taken inside Astoria Brewing Company. The food was descent and the beer was outstanding.
Our first coffee shop in Portland. We stayed in the Pearl District and walked everywhere. The Never Coffee Lab had some interesting home made syrups and good coffee. As my wife and daughter headed inside, I stopped as soon as I saw this reflection and captured it.
One of the many things that surprised me about Portland was how many cool cocktail bars and lounges they have. While sipping our coffee in Never Coffee, I found the Multnomah Whiskey Library. Holy shit, was this place cool. Walls filled with whiskey and other distilled spirits. The decor felt just like an upscale library. As we waited for our drinks, I noticed the light from this lamp spilling onto the leather couch.
I’d never heard of the Hawthorne neighborhood in Portland before. Actually, I wasn’t familiar with any of the neighborhoods, so it was all new to me. That day’s coffee was brought to us by Golden Hour Coffee Shop. As I sat and waited for our drinks to be ready, I spied this scene and pulled out my camera and snapped a couple of shots before it was occupied by humans. Simple little scenes like this are my jam.
We traveled down to San Francisco for my birthday weekend. For lunch we decided to go to the Wayfare Tavern. Man, was that the right choice. Definitely a memorable meal. On the way I had my trusty camera out and ready. I saw this man in red crossing the bright yellow crosswalk and took the picture. I thought of cropping in tighter but I seem to be resisting doing that much these days. I kind of like the whole scene.
For a last family meal together before making the trek home, we stopped in at Gott’s Roadside in Greenbrae. We’ve been going to the original since it was named Taylor’s Refresher in St. Helena up near Napa. Since the ownership change, they’ve changed the name and sprouted several locations across the Bay Area. My girls like the Ahi sandwich whereas I always get the Western Bacon Blue Ring burger. I noticed the large EAT sign on the inside of the restaurant and decided to see how it would look with some people walking by in the reflected glass. It turned out better than I was expecting.
May was a good month spent with family. I took a lot of good photos but it definitely took a back seat to just trying to be present with those closest to me. I’ve also loosened up a bit in terms of only shooting in color and taking photos with my phone. I’ve always tried to be a “take your camera everywhere” kind of guy, but I’m just not. If something intrigues me and I don’t have my camera with me, I’ll use my phone now.
David
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