Above Portland

It's pretty obvious that we love Portland. Bruce Forster, owner and lead photographer at Viewfinders Stock Photography, photographs the city at all angles. Underground, eye level, and then, of course, from the air. And you'd think, after shooting for over thirty years in town, he would have photographed everything! Nope, just the other day, he did something he has never done before. He photographed Portland at night from a helicopter. If you're a photographer, you know night and motion don't mix very well. Out of 60 shots, Bruce got 6 in focus. Hey, not bad!

Aerial photography is like an old hat for Bruce.  Commissioned by multiple clients to get shots of various buildings and spaces makes flight costs lower for everybody. One client who wants to be a part of each flight is Cameron Publishing in San Francisco.  They've hired Bruce to produce the photography for a new book about Portland.  Entitled "Above Portland", this coffee table book will be the first since the death of Robert Cameron, 98, owner of and photographer for Cameron + Company. His grandson-in-law, Chris Gruener, chose Portland because of it's popularity in the bay area. This will also be the first book with a new branding design. Owner of an extensive collection of aerial photography from over the years, Bruce was the best candidate. So, in company with Chet Orloff, a well known local historian and writer, Bruce is combining his library along with new shots to create a perfect aerial view of Portland.


Chris Gruener called just in time too. It's spring in Portland and it just so happens to be Forster's favorite time to get in the helicopter and capture the new growth and greenest greens around this beautiful place. On a routine late afternoon flight after knocking out a few locations, Tyler, Bruce's trusty pilot, informs him of how hungry he has become. Agreeing to grab a bite (not a beer, of course) at Old Town Pizza, they touch down at the helipad nearby. After some incredible pizza, up again they go with the sun below the horizon. It's dusk. Turning the helicopter power off (so they're floating or dropping) reduces the vibrations and therefore reduces camera shake enabling Bruce to capture Portland's nightlife. And how alive it looks! 


Bruce plans to head up again. Preparing will be key. He might take his rigged mono pod for some fisheye shots or maybe a gyroscope to reduce the motion. Aerial photography is Bruce Forster's specialty. It will never become a commodity. Flying in low, sometimes below rooftops makes most people uncomfortable (me included). Please let us know if Portland aerials are something you need. "Above Portland" will be out at Christmas. 

My first aerial shoot

In late April, Bruce Forster, the founding photographer of Viewfinders (and my new boss), mentioned that with the weather in Portland warming up, it was time to start planning for the season's first aerial shoot. Bruce has been doing these for years, and says he can't recall when exactly he got hooked.

Bruce asked if I'd be interested in going along. I said absolutely. He then proceeded to tell me about a shoot several years ago that ended with the pilot finessing a crash landing in the Columbia River. "We ran out of fuel," Bruce explained, nonchalantly. "But I saved the film!"


The river 'landing' story did suppress my enthusiasm a bit (I may or may not have checked that my will is up to date). A few weeks later, however, Bruce booked a helicopter and I agreed to go. On a sunny May afternoon, Bruce, Troy Klebey, Viewfinders' studio manager and a talented photographer in his own right, and I drove to the Portland Heliport in Old Town, and hitched a ride with Precision Helicopter.

Bruce had previously described the skills of the pilot he prefers to fly with: agile. "Most pilots keep the helicopter flying as level as possible, especially when there are passengers who haven't flown before. Not my guy. He can pull some sharp, acrobatic maneuvers so that I can get the shots I want," he said.

I thought about those comments as Troy and I strapped ourselves into the back seats of the helicopter, pulling my shoulder belt tight enough to constrict my breathing. Our pilot, Tyler, confirmed that all of our gear was anchored down, as we would be flying without any doors.

Let me repeat that: with. out. doors.

Bruce had encouraged me to bring a camera and take some of my own shots; in his experience, keeping busy during the flight helps prevent air sickness. I wondered if it would distract me from the obvious fear of falling out of the helicopter. All of the shots on this page were taken by me; to check out how it looks when a real pro does it, go to www.viewfindersnw.com/category/aerial.

It took the engine and rotors a few minutes to get up to speed, and then, in a motion so subtle that I barely felt it, we were off, flying through downtown. We circled the Pearl District a few times; I was able to get a couple of decent shots of the loft building that houses our studio, and some pretty shots of the horizon.


And that's when we started climbing to a peak height of 2,500 feet, quite a bit higher than helicopters typically fly, usually around 1,000 feet. During this ascent, (shortly after I took the shot below of downtown, the near east side and Mt. Hood), at about 2,000 feet, I released the camera, thankfully still attached by the neck strap, and just hung on.

Many people flying in to Portland on a commercial airplane have been gifted with this beautiful view, or one similar to it, so at first glance, the below photo may not seem like anything remarkable. But imagine looking slightly further down: enough to see the left cuff of your jeans flapping in the wind...


When Bruce was satisfied with that series of photos, we descended to a more comfortable working altitude of 500 feet, and headed south to capture other buildings and landmarks as dictated by client assignments. Bruce and Troy worked earnestly, directing the pilot how to angle the helicopter so they could capture the best light, find the most creative angle, get the sharpest shot.


I was incredibly impressed with their stamina and intensity, and yet, their willingness to call out neighborhoods, schools and landmarks to me, the regional newcomer. It was at that moment, tightly belted into a helicopter that was circling a paper mill on the Willamette River, that I realized I could not ask for better guides to my new home region than my photographer colleagues.

After a few hours of shooting, we flew north to PDX to re-fuel the helicopter, giving me a chance to get a closer look at its 500 horsepower engine:















With a full tank of fuel, we headed to the northeast side to get some shots of large-scale solar installations, and then down to the South Waterfront to capture aerial shots of ecoroofs on new high-rise residential buildings. Portland has become renowned for its focus on developing and using alternative energy and green technology; Viewfinders strives to stay on top of these new implementations, and our stock collection features a lot of imagery that highlights these areas.

We landed back at the helipad at about 6 pm, as the evening light was beginning to dim. Bruce asked how I'd liked the outing. I think the below, obnoxious self-portrait says everything: