PDX Squared 2025!

Model: Elspeth Feb.

Assistant and behind-the-scenes photographer: Aslan Feb.

You both rocked this day!

Our PDX Squared preshoot! Too bad our fave location was nixed on shoot day.

Join Me as I Geek Out Over 24 Hours of Portrait-Making Fun

We three did something fantabulous outta Camas this weekend. We did PDX Squared.

I’ve long wanted to partake in ASMP Oregon’s 24-hour photography event (generously sponsored by Pro Photo Supply, Fujifilm and many more). Missy Fant is a regular, so I figured it must be fun. Seventy five photographers each assigned a “square” of Portland (not just one block, like I always assumed!). This is the first year in many I’ve felt healthy enough - though I knew I’d need the support of these two, and a little careful structuring, to pull it off from where I stand in LongCovid Land.

My main goal - really my only goal - was for the three of us to partake in a photography event and have it be nothing but fun. No stress about (building-a-biz-in-late-stage-capitalism-while-chronically-ill or) ANYthing - just us three, getting super creative, supporting each other, and having fun. I didn’t care about placing in it. My only goal was to survive it, cheerfully - and to have fun with my tribe.

So, I planned ahead. I could enter five photos total, choose from a handful of categories. The one I could most easily control, and bend to my energy needs? Creative Storytelling, of course. Elspeth came up with an idea I found brilliant: She would model as a star, fallen to earth, in her Nana’s … gosh, 1940s? … silver velvet dress, her own (crazy-high) ethereal high heels, and enough glitter makeup that we’d all be sparkly for weeks. I’d pick up my randomly assigned square, then preshoot while the kids were still in school Friday. Then, we’d hit it first thing Saturday morning - Elspeth as my model, Aslan as my assistant.

That’s ube mochi from Boohan Market PDX, and it is delicious. Pictured is my other main goal for this event, besides fun with my kids: My very own name badge. You think I’m kidding.

The Preshoot

Well, Elspeth just so happened to be available Friday after all, so that afternoon, she and I headed to this year’s PDX Squared headquarters, Polara Studio, for our random square assignment, then headed out.

The closer we got, the more familiar everything looked. Oh! It was right next to our fave Asian market, Boohan! Cool. We’d circle back for snacks later.

Elspeth drove while I scouted. She was to be a star … who fell to the earth at the bleachers at Harrison Park, so I could shoot her from above. Perfect. She’d wander … by that super cool, giant wisteria in abundant purple bloom … then by that car audio biz with the rad murals (we’re bingeing Fast and Furious movies, how could we not choose this spot?) … and end up at the bridge on Division, which had two cool views - and more murals! She’d either try and fly home, or look disappointed that she couldn’t; I figured we’d play that by ear and see what looked best. We shot the photos you see at the opening of this post and headed home, feeling ready.

A Funny Story

Saturday started at 6 a.m., and I was out of bed like a rocket. Coffee, cheerful “Good morning!”s; we hit breakfast and farm chores and fed dogs; then out we went! We were on. We were ready.

We headed for that bridge first: It was our most coveted location. Azzie and I stand with our backs to the front car windows, shielding Elspeth as she changed into her dress. Then he and I head up to get the technicals ready while Elspeth stayed warm in the car.

Phew, I was glad Aslan was there to carry my gear up those stairs! We joked around a little bit, and I gauged his nerves, as he doesn’t like heights. I became aware of yelling. It went on for a bit before I thought to look around and see what was up - and was surprised to look down at the street and see a man in his car, looking up, straight at me.

“Come down,” he yelled, motioning his hand, palm down, to emphasize his point. “It’s not safe.”

I just stared at him for a second, ‘cause, “My photos!!” He didn’t look away. I gave him a thumbs up, and we went back to the car to discuss. We all agreed we couldn’t ignore what looked like a neighborhood resident giving us a Very Pointed Warning. These days, you never know, you know? Especially these days. I resisted lamenting the loss of this prime portrait spot. Our next fave spot had been the wisteria, so we headed there.

Rolling with the Changes

Interestingly, we could see some sort of parade was underway a block or so down. Also interestingly, we heard A Lot of sirens in the next couple of hours. I’ve been too immersed in this experience to even check the news to see what might have gone down. While driving, we also noted Harrison Park’s bleachers were full of baseball fans that morning. Yowza! We decided we’d cross that bridge when we got there.

Back to our wisteria set: We were shooting from the street. The homeowner very kindly came out and said hi, then offered to wait to mow his lawn until we were done shooting. So kind! I actually forgot to backlight our star for that first set, dangit. I was a little flustered at losing our bridge! We did snag some beauties, though. Once we had them, we stopped at Toast La Tea for a refuel: Vietnamese sandwiches, boba tea and this nummy hard-boiled egg-topped coffee cream concoction that I will definitely be back to enjoy again.

Next it was Distinctive Sound, or what used to be Distinctive Sound, and it’s race-y murals. We scouted for a moment, waited for when the property was clear, then high-tailed it over there. I remembered the backlight! We worked it out as we walked: This would now be the end of our story, when our star resigns herself to being stuck on earth.

Shooting on deadline is something I haven’t done in a long time. Took me back to my photojournalism days at Western. It was really fun! That was something that surprised me: I wasn’t a bundle of nerves this day. Like, not at all. I just felt … alive. Which, as anyone with LongCovid can tell you, is an incredible gift.

Too Busy to Worry About Anything

We weren't the only ones who thought Distinctive Sounds’s murals were cool. This was a busy spot, so we worked fast. Then, hoping the baseball fans had dispersed, we headed back to Harrison Park to find some empty bleachers. We were in luck! I argued with Elspeth over the piano cover doubling as her star landing pad; I won, at least for the first set, if not our final pic. Aslan spread crystal chandelier pieces I thought I’d never find a use for (they didn’t show up in the photo, oh well!). In hindsight, I’m thinking of what I could have done with those - ah, no matter.

I knew if the shots were technically sound enough in camera I wouldn’t need all three hours of allotted editing time, so we planned to head back to Polara right at 1. We hit that mark, and it felt SO good! The day had gone well, we’d all had a blast so far, we got some pretty shots, and we hadn’t stressed! My smile in the second photo in the gallery above tells the tale. I was really, really happy in this moment. Like, “I needed this” happy.

We headed back to Polara, cheering loud for the Impeach! Arrest! crowd protesting with smiling faces (THANK YOU, good humans. I love Portland).

Back at Polara, my editing pod leader Jay put me completely at ease, and I sat down to edit. The work came easy, everyone at my table was focused but friendly, and I finished with time to spare. No tech issues.

The Story (see captions)

Elspeth is a star, see? She’s crashed to the earth …

… bereft at her plight!

She wanders this beautiful but strange place …

… distraught!

Our story closes with Elspeth resigned to be stuck on earth.

Breaktime!

Two hours to kill! We discovered Marino’s Adriatic Cafe about the same time we discovered thrifting at Village Merchants (we were hungry after thrifting one day!). Turkish coffee that is the bomb, panini sandwiches that are so good, and a super friendly family owns the place. Catch them on a music night, you won’t be disappointed. This evening was quiet, but that was fine with us. We took our time eating, sipping, desert-ing. Then we wandered the neighborhood.

Life has been busy. Even in slow-living LongCovid land, life has been … a lot, for a bit. It felt really good to have time to just wander in a lovely place, reflecting on having done satisfying work that I love, with my tribe.

Upon our return, it was over three hours of live judging. It was SO GOOD! All of these photographers and this huge range of work, everyone on an even playing field. So many calls I didn’t understand, photos I thought were sure finalists cut early, but this positive feeling was pervasive throughout the night. By day’s end, I was excited to throw myself at mastering the technicals anew.

Most importantly to me, I felt welcomed in that room. I felt like I belonged. And nobody questioned it, nobody challenged it. I felt completely and utterly comfortable in that room, and that surprised the hell out of me.

I want more of it.

The passionate photojournalist who graduated the very last year Western taught old-fashioned paste-up and failed to launch has some work to do. Oh, I’ve been doing it, I have; I’ve found an amazing, supportive writing group, for one. But somehow, this event picked me up and set me in a higher place - and not because I won the drawing for the Fujifilm X-T50, though … that didn’t hurt.

Thanks, PDX Squared. See you next year?

If there’s some kind of pandemic surge, let’s all just mask, and shoot on. ;)

Charity Feb lives and writes on The Herbalist’s Homestead, a progressive little hobby farm rebelliously tucked into the southwest hills of Camas, Washington, USA. She photographs portraits in her home studio under the business name Portraits of Connection by Charity Feb.

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