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Explore the Past at Vintage Portland

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Vintage Portland ScreenshotIf you’re interested in Portland’s history, and fond of vintage photos, the blogs Cafe Unknown and Lost Oregon are probably already familiar to you. You’ve probably also perused the fantastic archive of post cards and ephemera at PdxHistory.com. But you may not yet be aware of another photo-rich Portland history blog, the nascent Vintage Portland: Exploring Portland’s Past.

Created by the author of another blog that features images that speak to the history of the Rose City, Portland Building Ads, Vintage Portland‘s stated goal is to document some of the city’s past through photographs, postcards, illustrations, advertisements, etc.

The inaugural post on November 19th features a 1917 photo of the North Bank Passenger Station, a building that still stands today at NW 11th and Hoyt.

A post on December 3rd, including an 1886 photo of the Knapp, Burrell & Company evoked a mystery that appears to have been solved in the comments.

It’s an excellent blog, with something for almost everyone: the historian, the detective, the student of architecture, and the amateur aficionado of vintage Portland.

Portland Bridges in the Fog

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Portland has experienced foggy mornings the past few weeks. Fog in the Portland area is not extraordinary, but it has been unusually dense and persistent; it was even dense enough Sunday morning to screw up air travel.

Photographers enjoy the fog a lot more than airline pilots. I’ve noticed, in particular, that local bloggers with cameras especially like the fog; and in particular Portland’s bridges in the fog. There’s something about the almost black-and-white stark silhouettes of the bridges in fog that makes you reach for your camera.

I wish I had one.

These fine local bloggers, however, do have cameras:

Photo blogs of Portland

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Portland Ground is a good place to start, but the 2nd bloggiest city in the country also hosts many other fine photo blogs (phlogs?).

I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorites below, with brief descriptions.

Blue Ruin
A Portland photo blog.
Sly slices and bits of buildings with prominent sky. Portland grays and earthy colors predominate, yet there is a brightness to the photos. Occasional portraits, usually with similar background elements.

PDX around
“It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
A glimpse into the fashion world. Portland’s beautiful people.

Pin-ups from Portland
(despite the word pin-up there is only occasional nudity)
No common theme, just lots of photos of things, places, and people. There used to be lots of cat photos, but thankfully that has subsided.

Portland Building Ads
Close-ups and across-the-street contemporary photos, frequently juxtaposed with decade old photos of the same signs and buildings.

Portland (OR) Daily Photo
An individual’s part in the global City Daily Photo Blog
Periodic changes of theme. Some of the best fall leaf photos I’ve seen. I especially like this one.

Mama & Me from PDX
Same photographer and some of the same photos as above, but also some exclusives.

Honorable Mentions

Portland Hamburgers
I’ve mentioned it before as a food blog, but also a collection of hamburger and other food photos from Portland and beyond.

true stories: life in portland
I used to like this one for its almost daily postings and amazing variety, but alas, it hasn’t been updated since August, and the last photo is of a squished squirrel.