lumière

Jubilation

2011-09-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Celebrating the Timbers third goal over the New England Revolution. One last home game before concluding our debut season in MLS.

NOTE: Colors are not toned perfectly yet, as I am in the midst of 11 projects, but I wanted to get this up Now.

Different trees, same forest

2010-05-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Idiot Trod

2010-03-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker

Combining beer, running (correction, walking, sometimes crawling) and costumes, the Urban Iditrod is yet another example of Portland's finest.
One passerby kindly inquired, "it's not a gay thing is it?"
Here's my partner in crime's vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHf3_Ulvi1k&feature=autofb

Funk.

2010-01-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker

Goodfoot, Southeast, Portland, Oregon, USA

Let 'er Buck!

2009-12-11T14:20:00.001-08:00

The Pendleton Round-Up turns 100 and I get published in a book. So that's cool. It's mostly American Indian and cowboy artifacts that I photographed at Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and the Round Up Hall of Fame. But there's also action shots of mine from the '07 rodeo.
http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780882407739-0

Grunge is back

2009-11-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker/US Outdoor

Quick, last minute shoot to advertise our custom "snow water land" logo embroidered flannels at the shop.

Breathe* Taking

2009-10-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

If you've never understood what I see in journalism, watch at least a couple of these:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html

Proof that new media can tell timeless stories.

* No thanks to everyone who read this headline and didn't point out that I originally typed "breath" instead of "breathe."

Abbotsford, British Columbia

2009-10-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Sikh festival. More soon.

Q: So Niki, what do you do at your day job?

2009-08-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

A: I'm glad you asked; Many very important pictures.

Downtown Denver

2009-07-09T22:25:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker

Notice the sky in the first compared with the subsequent photos; This was within 45 minutes of one another.
I was generally unmoved by domestic metro architectural photography, until I realized it's Portland itself that doesn't yet inspire me.
(Yes, I know - sin of all sins for me to critisize your prized city).
My complains are two fold: 1) I'm already bored of the incessantly diffused light and blown out skies, and, 2) The architecture is bland - despite the significance of the painfully unattractive Portland Building.
Clearly the problem lies within, and I am not so unreasonable as to blame an entire city for my lack of inspiration. But post-storm Denver affirmed my mounting suspicion that downtown Portland is aesthitically bland.
Prove me wrong?

BLEAT.

2009-06-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Found this opp while scouting portrait locations for Tyler and Michelle's upcoming farm wedding. Speaking of - looking for contract assistants in the Willamette Valley and metro areas.
First post since moving back stateside. Been a bit preoccupied with my new job shooting for http://www.usoutdoorstore.com/
Additional NZ images to ensue, as well as my take on Stumptown.

Autumn to Winter

2009-05-13T03:01:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

"Lest We Forget"

2009-04-24T20:57:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker

ANZAC day in Arrowtown, NZ.

A girl and her chooks

2009-04-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Kiwis, such as young Stella here, call chickens "chooks".

Only in dreams

2009-04-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Sun after the storm

2009-04-06T01:25:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Lake Tekapo

Back to Black

2009-03-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Sacred island tree in Golden Bay.

NZ Gecko

2009-03-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Fancy mud

2009-03-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Big Bowls Fan

2009-03-15T00:14:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker
This bloke was quite intent on watching the old hens compete in a riveting match of bowls at the Government Gardens in Rotorua.

Waiting in Welly

2009-03-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Cable Bay

2009-02-27T01:01:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker

... Go All Blacks!

2009-02-22T11:55:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker
http://www.allblacks.com/

Cat of Lancashire

2009-02-01T00:37:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker
One of my NZ besties

Buzz cut

2009-01-12T02:44:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker
It's sheep shearing season here at Tiahronga. They look pathetic after the deed.
Farm life has been great and all, but I miss photojournalism so much. Time to dig back into it!

The grass is always greener

2008-12-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker

Honest

2008-12-22T00:28:00.001-08:00

©Nicole Barker

Hit me with music

2008-12-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker
From a piano that I'm getting to know.

Kekes by Heli

2008-12-02T02:25:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker
I live here.
PS - this Web page was not designed by Erik Hidle, but by yours truly. Nice try though.

Hunting for Moa

2008-11-30T00:59:00.001-08:00

©Nicole Barker

Mac's

2008-11-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker

I'm getting restless having stayed in the same "town" for 7 weeks so I was looking through travel photos and found this frame from a pub in Auckland.

Heaps of Dead Wild Pigs

2008-11-13T01:26:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker
I love me some bloody carcass after a wild pig hunt!
PS - Every title I could think of for this blog sounded like a death metal band name.

Kaikoura races

2008-11-03T01:29:00.000-08:00

©Nicole Barker

Wanna seal?

2008-10-26T01:34:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Shamless Self Promotion

2008-10-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
I'm making bookings for my wedding photography services for 2009 both in the states and abroad, so if you know of someone getting hitched please refer them to me or vice versa. I employ a documentary shooting style and specialize in creative portraiture.
Thanks much! Or, as they say in NZ, "Ta!"

Abel Tasman

2008-10-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Hiked my first of the Great Walks with my now good friend Mister Matt Mock of Boulder, Colo. We drank copious amounts of tube coffee, a brilliant yet disgusting concoction of sugar, cream, salt and coffee paste that you "mix" with hot water.
Also made the acquaintance of the Taz Man, a legendary fallacious brah hailing from Tijuana via Cleveland. Stay crazy in the NZ!
And about the photo; Tannins color the tidal streams red. Tannins are what make your wine tanniny.

Nelson, the Eugene of NZ

2008-10-19T20:50:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker

Saint Oswalds, Wharanui

2008-10-09T01:44:00.000-07:00

Wanaka

2008-09-22T01:42:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker

Franz Joseph Glacier

2008-09-19T23:59:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker

Queenstown balls

2008-09-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Raglan

2008-09-02T19:18:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Justin Jones

©Nicole Barker
The Beach

©Nicole Barker
The bowl.

Bay of Islands

2008-08-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker
This dude lives on a tiny island nowhere near civilization. Each morning he takes his dog out for a ride.

©Nicole Barker
Quicksand makes for a treturous drive along the official beach highway.

©Nicole Barker
This is Gayle from London. We ride the bus a lot. She bakes me scones and makes me cups of tea.

Otago, 21 - Manukau, 8

2008-08-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Rugby is a lot like american football, but it's bloody violent, the athletes are far hotter and the uniforms are much more attractive. All of which amounts to better images.

Downtown Auckland, New Zealand

2008-08-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Here’s a reflection of the Sky Tower, which has obvious similarities to Seattle’s Space Needle. It’s both mall and tourist trap built into one tall spiky building, so I couldn’t care less. Though it is adjacent to my backpacker and thus proved to be an excellent land mark while making me way home after an unsuccessful day of trying to hike the coast to coast walkway. Turns out the path doesn’t actually exist, save it be for a handful of arrows spread out over 16 kilometers. We did find our way to the top of Mt. Eden, Auckland’s highest natural point. Why pay 18NZ to take a lift to the top of the needle when you can forgo even bus fare to trek across the city only to end up on top of an urban volcano?
That’s what I thought.

Embers, Downtown Portland, Oregon

2008-08-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Happy Birthday to me! And no, that is not me on the right. I'm behind the camera, duh.

Sea stars

2008-08-04T12:08:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Lincoln Beach, Oregon
Had to convince this random dude that yes, the starfish was still alive, and no, he shouldn't take it home. Luckily D-harmony, who took 14 credits in marine biology, was there to back me up.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

2008-07-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Swingers!

Cascades Cycling Classic

2008-07-13T04:23:00.000-07:00

The lady and the Bachelor

2008-07-12T05:48:00.000-07:00

Hood River Sandbar

2008-07-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

© Nicole Barker
Kiteboarding in the Gorge. Someday I'd like to specialize in outdoor rec photography and shoot for the likes of Patagonia and Outside magazine. Sigh.

Independent

2008-07-06T11:45:00.001-07:00

Media Rant

2008-07-03T12:01:00.001-07:00

RANT #1- Yet another reason to not watch Fox "news":
In effort to demonize their critics, Fox News manipulated head shots of NY Times reporter
Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe.
Which part of the world do these guys look like they're from in the "demonized" version? You guessed it! The mideast.

RANT #2 - Getty Images photojournalist Brent Stirton said in a CNN interview that the Virunga mountain gorilla slaughter is the "most sobering" tragedy he's ever witnessed in Africa. Are you kidding me? I'm all for wildlife protection, but I'm pretty sure the millions of starving people dying from AIDS in war-ravaged "countries" would beg to differ with you Stirton.

RANT #3 - According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 129 journalists have been killed in the five-year Iraq war. Not to mention the 5,000ish American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Iraq has been named the most dangerous place to report from. Partly because reportage, visual and otherwise, is being censored by Uncle Sam.

Catch and Release

2008-06-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
My "dad" (not Jerry Dad, but my other dad, also named Jerry) is teaching me to be an angler. Friday he pulled a Peter a la Office Space and ditched work to fish the Quartzville creek. I didn't catch anything, but it was nice just to be in the river. Achievement of the day was never going for a swim, though my knees are all bruised up from falling on my face while trying to wade through rapids. Lesson of the day was don't hide thousands of dollars worth of camera on the bank before wading down river. It's really hard to find later.

Oregornia

2008-06-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

© Nicole Barker
Here's a dad teaching his son to catch a wave. The lil' guy did stand up but I was slacking pretty heavily. My 4-year-old niece said she'll be surfing by the time she's 7. Girl's fearless.
Had a nice couple days surfing Otter Rock sans booties, hood and gloves. Felt like California 'cause the first day was the warmest weather I've experienced at the Oregon Coast. Second was Surfrider's International Surf Day and it was the most crowded I've ever seen.

Silver Creek Falls, Ore.

2008-06-13T21:57:00.001-07:00

©Nicole Barker

Designer puppies

2008-06-11T18:12:00.001-07:00

NYC

2008-06-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Heading home from Charlotte, NC.

©Nicole Barker
China town.

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker
MoMA

©Nicole Barker
Borough Hall, Brooklyn.

San Jose to New York City via Subaru

2008-06-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Sierra Nevadas. Amy likes rocks.

©Nicole Barker
Red Rocks, Colorado. Amy really likes rocks.

©Nicole Barker

©Nicole Barker
Pennsylvania was a sight for sore eyes after a mind-numbing drive across the midwest.

© Nicole Barker
Any town, USA
We sung every patriotic song we could think of. So, a total of three.

Trip highlights include:
- dodging deadly tornadoes across the midwest and reading about how many they killed in the next morning's paper.
- listening to rap artists in correspondence with which city we were closest to (i.e. Kanye in Chicago, Bone Thugs in Cleveland).
- balsamic vinegar and rosemary potato chips from Boulder
- taking more than three hours to get from downtown Chicago to our NW Chicago hotel due to the car being impounded and getting lost both walking and driving in the middle of the night.
- singing and dancing, whilst driving, to: Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and "Naughty Girl", Craig Morgans' "A Little Bit of Life", Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" and M.I.A.
- Best quote of the trip: "Yeah but you can't fit a dead deer in the back of a Prius."
- Des Moines, Iowa was a particularly interesting night. Our hotel window was about 12 feet from the McDonalds' drive through. I, not wanting to eat that crap, went to the next closest eatery and thus patronized a Nascar booty bar. Though alone, I was comforted by the campanionship of waitresses more scantily-clad than those at Hooters plus the gentleman who frequent such establishments.
- Sitting in traffic for an hour on the interstate in Omaha. Nebraska and Iowa proved to be particularly dismal states.
- In Sidney, NE we received directions to our hotel in regard to where the WalMart resides. Also, being mistaken for suits from Cabella's (Welook far from Cabella-y. We look even less corporate-y). I learned that Cabella's is not an Italian restaurant.
- Getting lost driving a California-plated car in downtown Manhattan.
- Seeing Monica, Krista, our parents, Erin and Katie Hale. Thank you everyone for your hospitality.

Hayward Field, Oogena

2008-05-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

© Nicole Barker

early light + yellow landing pad + crop happy = eh

I flashbacked to college while shooting prep state track and field championships in Eugene. Ironically, as a student I got to shoot higher-caliber collegiate sports and meets like the Pre Classic.
It was strange shooting in a herd of photojournalists again. In Eastern Oregon I was a big fish in a small pond. In civilization I'm just a little tadpole.
It didn't go so great. I got yelled at by an OSAA dude (unwarranted), received embarassing advice from a colleague (warranted) and missed two first place victories for one of the teams I was covering. I'm such a grom.
I did, however, get to eat Pegasus' teriyaki chicken and pineapple pizza, meet the entire Hidle clan and catch up with one of my favorite professors.

Portland Tennis Center

2008-05-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

Club Escape, OSU

2008-05-18T02:09:00.000-07:00

Derby Fever, Pony Land

2008-05-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

Graflex, Round-Up Hall of Fame

2008-05-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

© Nicole Barker/East Oregonian Publishing Co
For a coffee table book that will centennialize the Pendleton Round-Up rodeo in 2010. Bus Howdyshell was the photog who shot this graflex. Sweet byline huh.

Port Townsend, Washington

2008-04-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Willamette Valley, Oregon

2008-04-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

Willamette Valley winters seldom see snowfall yet it's nearly May and we've had three white mornings. Not particularly an early riser, I didn't get out shooting before it melted.

In no way do I intend this to be a nature photography blog and it's completely coincidental thus far. I do hope my recent emancipation from the newspaper industry will stimulate creativity, but so far it's been a flurry of cliche yet pretty pictures.
Variety to ensue.

Isla de Culebra, Caribbean

2008-04-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker
Even the ducks are blingin'. Section E is for lovers. And by lovers I mean gringos.

©Nicole Barker
Rusting military tents and unexploded land mines always make for good camping.

©Nicole Barker
La villa se llama Dewey. La chica se llama bug slut.

©Nicole Barker
La playa Flamenco

After years of daily newspaper abuse, my wide angle and long lenses are recovering in the loving hands of Nikon. So this entire escapade was shot with my 50mm. I am no Henri Cartier Bresson and this is no rue de Paris. Despite my efforts, my affinity for 17mm was only further nurtured, and the entirety of this paradisical fling stung much like honeymooning... alone.

El Yunque, Puerto Rico

2008-04-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

Flat Irons, Colorado

2007-10-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

Columbia Basin, Oregon

2007-08-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

©Nicole Barker/East Oregonian

Tye dye battle of the clouds. I shot this near Arlington on one of my many drives between Pendleton and Portland.