family hike in a forest with shrines

on a cool dry february day we made a snack bag, filled some water bottles, loaded up in the mini-van, and headed toward Scappoose. Our destination? The Vedanta Society of Portland’s forest retreat that has hiking trails scattered with shrines open for the public to enjoy.

so many cool shrines, i’m just posting a couple here. pretty quick drive to see some great stuff tucked away in the woods. If you have younger ones, be warned, its hilly. The parking is also limited. Otherwise, the whole fam enjoyed doing some exploring, looking at the shrines, and looking at the different altars decorated with idols, offerings, and other talisman

happy travels.

Spring is in the air, well maybe, almost.

I’m feeling my seasonal allergies starting up again. So that must mean plants are starting to do their thing! Yes, I know it’s only the beginning of February, but I’m ready for warmer days and all the plants to grow, and blossom, in-spite of my allergies. Here are a few photos that feel like spring. Enjoy.

-Jake

Winter hikes in the PNW

Sure , it can be cold, windy, wet, dark, and muddy, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get the gang out for some fresh air among the trees, rivers, and creeks of our lovely Oregon and Washington outdoors.

Taking a stroll at Lacamas Creek Park

forest park

Lacamas Creek Park

Grab some boots and a raincoat, cuz it might get messy out there.

Spring in Portland

I’ve neglected the website and think it might be because instagram is so easy to hop on and post. ( I know, duh, thats their formula ) Well, its been a warm and plant filled spring. kinda nice that this week has cooled down. Plants have been planted in the yard, I made a raised garden bed, and have taken photos of lots of plants and of some people too!

hope your spring has been good, even amongst this pretty crazy and ever changing pandemic. stay well. Be safe.

P.S. DM if you need photos of you, your family, or anything else.

-Jake

engagements at rocky butte

As a photographer, you get to take part in some great events, fun ones, meaningful moments, really all sorts. this definitely is a nice part of being a photographer. And keeps it interesting. It is a privilege to get to be at these special events in people’s lives, to capture and preserve these times in photographic form. i enjoy doing so, and look forward to capturing more events like these in the future.

I have had the opportunity to shoot two surprise proposals recently. And they were both at Rocky Butte. I love Rocky Butte. It has views of the river, of Portland stretching toward the west hills, of Mt. Hood, Mt St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and the airport ( of course, weather permitting ). Also, the kids love that it looks a bit like a castle up there. If you haven’t been, I recommend taking they trip up and enjoy the views.

Surprise proposals are a fun way to pop the question. If you ever see a guy with a camera creeping around when you’re up at Rocky Butte, he may be about to shoot a proposal.

Here are a few photos from atop the butte.

Rocky Butte railing and lamps

sun going down at Rocky Butte

Beacon Rock

Two kids, two parents, and 848-foot (258 m) of elevation gain. 

A few weekends ago we ventured out on a nice calm Saturday afternoon. Headed for the Columbia River Gorge. We decided to jump across to the Washington side and take hwy 14 east. To Becon Rock we were headed. It is a nice hike up. Countless switchbacks, of cement, board, rock, and gravel lead you to a rocky perch surrounded by trees with mostly a view east toward the Bonneville dam.  

View from the top

we made it up and back down, mostly in tact. Stopping for snacks in Camas and back home to NE Portland before sundown.  

I’ll let the photos do their thing...

Up we went

Hiker

Little hiker

Looking toward Oregon

it’s fall ( i.e. the best season )

Well yes, it’s the time of year when the temps come down and the trees change colors, rain comes back, although October has been so dry, and things smell nice, oh, and the pumpkin patch! I will not give praise to pumpkin spice. Sure it’s part of this wonderful time of year, but I’m not interested in pumpkin spice lattes or candles. I digress. There will be lots of leaves to rake and put in the compost bin. Plenty of rain drops to dodge. But also lovely light and amazing colors.

We hit the pumpkin patch this last Sunday. Headed up to Vancouver and did some corn maze, pumpkin catapult , hay ride, kettle corn eating, farm animal petting and feeding, and hay pyramid climbing. 

I have some photos to post now. And hope to post more soon. And then some more.  Cuz it’s Fall. 

fallen leaves at the Seattle Center

baseball leaves 

corn

corn maze 

Feeding the goats

barnyard friends

old timey tractor. 

tractor riding 

cape kiwanda

hi y'all. hope summer has been treating you well. it's been hot. the best way to beat the heat around here is to take a trip to the coast. we recently had the chance to hit up lincoln city and then stop at pacific city. cape kiwanda state park is one of my favorites. 

where do you like to go to beat the heat? 

that hill is a beast to climb.

january by the river.

January has been pretty nice, sure some rain and cooler temps, but all in all a mild month. Which, for me, is alright, it feels all PNW’ern. ( PNW’ie??? )​ 

I took advantage of a dry Saturday afternoon to do some recon along Marine drive. The Columbia is so nice and there are some great spots to do some photoshooting. Parks are sprinkled along or near the banks of this mighty river, offering views and sights. Birds, trees, water, big skies... lots of good nature.  

I’m looking forward to doing some more shooting along the river, especially as the weather improves. For now. Roll on Columbia, roll on. 

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the photos. And feel free to contact me to schedule a session. ​

⚡️​

looking toward Camas, Washington. 

pilings

from above.  

strand of trees by the river.  

trees in January.  

dry grass and a pond  

Holidaze

Hello everyone. Hope the season finds you well. I know this is a time of year where so many things are going on and there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day. But the 25th of December has past and the New Year is just days away, and Three Kings is usually pretty mellow in these parts. So hopefully you know that you made it through another holiday season. 

Having kids helps me put things in perspective. I love seeing them taking in the festivities. Lights, songs, movies, presents, food, and any and all sorts of decorating. So much to do.  

We made some sand cookies, they are popular in our house and great for decorating.  

So here’s to 2017, onward to 2018! Happy New Year from Nuts and Bolts Photo! 🎉

Rolling the dough.  

Thanksgiving

Wow, can't believe it's the end of November now. Hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable and full of good food and people.  We some how fit thirteen people into our house. My partner made a ton of amazing food. The dessert and coffee part is always my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner! How about you, a turkey fan or in to the side dishes?

After the holiday we headed up to visit my sisters and their families and one of my sisters had the great idea to taken the opportunity to take some family portraits (good idea Vinnette), and hopefully not get rained on.

As I am editing the photos I have noticed one constant through out... that my two little ones moved around the most! They are the two youngest, at 8 months and 5 years, so i'll cut them some slack.

here are a few samples of the shots

my baby is giving a thumbs up to her papa

all the people

5 year olds!

River Walk

Couldn’t pass up a sunny day in November.  So we went on a walk down at the river. We parked on the eastside and walked over the Tilikum Crossing, headed to SW Portland.  I had in mind grabbing a coffee at Kiosko on the west side.  

Found the coffee shop, which was great, super cute, with some tasty coffee, and we strolled down to poets beach.  A nice little spot under the Marquam bridge that’s been fixed up to be an access point to the river.  It offered some nice views of the river, city, and some bridges. 

Looking toward the Hawthorne bridge from poets beach

Walking buddies

The Marquam

Looking toward Tilikum Crossing

Under the bridge downtown 

Headed back over the Tilikum and took in some more views. 

Looking out toward the Ross Island bridge.  

Bus and light rail crossing paths on the t.c. ( Tilikum Crossing )

Hope there will be more sunny days this coming winter, for more walks down by the river. 

And more opportunities for snapping photos.  

further introduction

Hello. Hope you had a chance to check out the photos on the website and perhaps on Instagram too! and now you find yourself here, ready to get to know the person behind Nuts and Bolts Photo.

I’ve been in Portland Oregon for 10 years, and had been in Seattle for 12 years prior to moving down here. With the addition of spending a chunk of my childhood in the puget sound area, I like to think of myself as a pacific northwesterner, with a dash of this and that from my time living elsewhere. As a good pnw’ner I like getting outside and enjoying our mountains, rivers, woods, cities, and ocean.  Also, partaking in some great coffee, and food. And capturing it all with my trusty camera  

I’m a father as well, you may have seen an 8 month old and 5 year old in a few of my photos, along with my partner, her 13 year old, and a our cat Frannie, we live in N.E. Portland. 

Photography has been in my life for quite a while. In high school I remember really enjoying taking a dark room class. Getting to go out and taking photos, then developing them, the process of loading the film in the camera to ending up with a photograph on paper was great. My high school graduation present was a SLR film camera. Which, I still have and use.  Later, I loved having a Polaroid camera, and a few point and shoot cameras too. Nowadays, a fuji and a nikon occupy my camera bag  

I look forward to sharing both creative work, as well as some random tidbits of things I like. In the photographic realm and beyond. 

Of course I’d love to have you be part of my story as well.  I’m always happy to answer questions. Need photos of you, your family, baby, or event? Shoot me a message  

Thanks.  

-Jake  

Me, having a cup of joe.  

baby, think she’s attacking my hand here.  

breezy day at the beach

family photo.