My good friend and expert creative at Wieden + Kennedy in Tokyo, Oyl, was home for the holiday season and had a project that needed photographing. While in Japan he had created a cool little fashion accessory and he wanted to market it as “a slice of Portland” in the Tokyo fashion world. A craigslist and Facebook post later got some great responses and we chose two to shoot - Catherine and Mandi. Catherine was first, representing the fun, cute side of the product. The every-Portland-girl feel.

I got an email the day before the shoot from Catherine. Basically, she was having second thoughts. Not an experienced model, she was worried about how she would do. Though I had worked with some inexperienced models already, I had never had one say she didn’t want to do it. So I gave her a call and thankfully was able to talk her back into it.

The day of the shoot came and Oyl and I (and Oyl’s cousin who was tagging along) met Catherine, where else, under the Morrison Bridge. After all, nothing gets more Portland than that area in my mind. Real quick, you may be saying, “woah, Joe, you don’t like working with extra people on set and you brought two?” Indeed. But there’s a major difference between having Oyl and his cousin hanging out on set and a boyfriend or “bodyguard” type. Of course, Oyl is the client (even though he’s a friend) and his cousin understands “the business” as well. That and I was able to talk them both about how I work and what to do if things were getting distracting. That made their presence, much like when a makeup artist or wardrobe stylist is on set, a great help, rather than a hinderance.

TIP: If you are shooting for a client and they are going to be there with you, be sure to explain to them your working style. If you have a thing about shooting alone, make sure they understand that. Obviously, you’ll have to make exceptions when someone is paying you, but it’s always a good idea for everyone involved in a creative project to know where you’re coming from.

The concept for the shoot was much more of a lifestyle-inspired project, rather than a “feature my product” style. We were looking for interesting takes on what the grunge look and feel of Portland is about.

^ Portland’s Hawthorne Bridge, facing the financial district of southwest Portland. You really can’t get much more Portland/Northwest Grunge than this. Ripped tights, jean shorts, plaid, shades, all hanging out on a tiny blonde, chilling on a bridge. Perfect.

^ Of course, it’s always good to get some product shots in. The leather straps have a Sharpied silhouette of the Tokyo skyline on one side and Michael Jackson on the other. Simple and fun and from what I hear, all the rage in Tokyo.

^ Part of our shoot ended up in northwest Portland at a great little coffee shop called Anna Banana’s. It is essentially a house with the room structure still in place that was made into a coffee shop. In the basement there is an eclectic mix of busted furniture, graffiti, and random chess boards with “Nazi Punks, Fuck Off!” written on the side. Yes, Portland. Also, they have amazing coffee and scones there, especially if you’ve been shooting on bridges all morning and can’t feel your hands.

^ After coffee we headed up to Washington Park and the famous Rose Garden (the one with roses, not NBA basketball players). To our surprise (and delight) it started snowing. This, by the way, is a rare event in Portland. Most winters only see a day or two of snow (with the exception of last year’s crazy blizzard). In fact, this was the only day it snowed this winter (assuming we won’t see any temperatures that cold again). The whole scene was so cool, I couldn’t really stop taking pictures of it.

^ Pretty much exactly what our day ended up being. I love this shot.

Shortly after we finished shooting in the snow, we dropped Catherine off. I asked her if she was glad she ended up doing the shoot. A resounding, “Yes,” was a reassuring answer.

This day, though, was not over, as I was bound to have quite a legendary adventure. I had picked Oyl and his cousin up in the morning, so I was tasked with dropping them off (some twenty minutes outside of downtown). Of course, it had started snowing and due to the rarity of this sort of thing (and the no salt law in Oregon) the roads were quickly filled with panicky drivers and increasingly accumulated snow layers. We got as far as Lake Oswego when we were faced with a snow-covered hill as our only option to get to our destination. This hill, however, had already claimed several cars attempting to forge ahead. I declined the challenge and we pulled off the road, watching continued failed attempts to climb the hill and hoping to see a snow plow clear the way.

After a couple hours of waiting and watching the snow completely cover everything, we decided that we wouldn’t be able to make it any time soon. We decided walking the remaining three or four miles (we weren’t really sure how far it actually was) would be a good idea. Especially because half way there we’d run into a McDonald’s (and of course we were getting hungry).

So off we trod. It was quite the spectacle as cars slid their way around, trying to get to their destinations without spinning out of control. Soon after we began our trek, I informed the gang that McDonald’s was currently offering the McDouble (a double cheeseburger with only one slice of cheese) for just a dollar. The quest for the McDouble began. Our strides lengthened and our pace quickened. When we finally made it to the McDonald’s about 45 minutes later, the McDoubles (three each for Oyl and I with fries) were ordered, made, and consumed in about 10 minutes. Probably a record.

Oyl’s family was actually able to pick us up from the McDonald’s and we spent the evening at his house, waiting for the snow to clear and regretting our splurge on McDoubles. Some late evening rain cleared the roads enough for me to be dropped off at my car and have a safe drive home. And yet, the best part of the day was still all the great shots we got with Catherine.