Two sides of Burnside

One of my favorite streets in Portland is Burnside. This photo was taken underneath the Burnside bridge from Eastbank Esplanade.

What I was going for in this long exposure was a contrast which I hope represents the two very different stories that Burnside has to tell. On one hand, it is home to probably thousands of homeless Portlanders that receive a ton of services from various charitable institutions like one of the Community Health Centers we support in my day job - Central City Concern. On the other hand, Burnside represents a powerful and attractive center of commerce and is full of vibrant and exciting businesses like Powell's Bookstore.

On a technical note, this photo would have been quite a bit sharper had I realized that I was standing on a moving platform on the Esplanade and that the effects of those movements would be exacerbated by a long exposure. Indeed, I was shooting with a Nikon 14-24 and a 5-stop ND w/ a .9 grad ND in front of that to pull down the highlights.
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