Matt | Slabtown Senior Photos

If you haven’t been to Acorn Studios, it sits smack dab in the heart of Northwest Portland. I can step out the door and within a couple minutes be in The Pearl, on Northwest 23rd, in the River District and even in Slabtown–which is a neighborhood AND it was a bar.

The Slabtown BAR has been a fixture on my daily commute for some time. My studio practically over looks the enormous “Slabtown” arrow sign on Lovejoy Street. At LEAST five days a week I would either walk or drive by the iconic building with it’s iron gated front door and 1970’s orange exterior. And now it is gone.

As I watched heavy machinery take down what was once a punk/garage band/rock ‘n roll venue, it made me think of a photo shoot I did there last summer. I then realized I never posted photos of that shoot! Today, I am fixing that. 🙂

I met Matt last summer at a wedding. He is a talented musician–saxophone–and he was one of the wedding musicians entertaining guests at the reception. I enjoyed listening to him play, and even snapped a few photos of him.

Fast forward a couple months to when Matt’s mother reached out to me about senior photos. Matt really wanted senior photos that reflected who he is/was and his interests. In this case, music. I was asked if Matt could be photographed with his saxophone, and my response was, “ABSOLUTELY!” I always love when seniors bring a prop to the session that reflects who they are.

The benefit of photographing musicians is that you get to enjoy some music while you work. I enjoyed taking Matt down to the heart of the Pearl and listening to him serenade the neighborhood. I also got some great senior photos too!

As with all senior photos, I am always looking for interesting backgrounds to help tell the teen’s story. After our walk through the Pearl, I remembered Slabtown with it’s hideous orange exterior and graffiti stained siding. For a musician, it was perfect!

We did some amazing photos of Matt in front of Slabtown. I love the juxtaposition of Matt in his classy outfit busking in front of a dingy dive bar. The orange contrasting with the purple is also awesome! We didn’t do many photos in front of Slabtown, but the ones we shot were perfect!

I never visited Slabtown during it’s hay day. And in fact, I don’t really miss it’s ugly exterior. However, I do love that I have a personal connection to the icon through Matt’s senior photos. 🙂

 

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