What Christmas Looks Like [in Portland]

My exceedingly talented friend Sam -- a fellow USD alum(!) and author of the blog ashore -- was immediately on board when I asked her to do a guest post in a mini-series about what Christmas looks like in various cities. Sam is one of the best photographers I know, and I couldn't wait to see the vintage flair that her camera and creative eye would capture in Portland this time of year. Enjoy!

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The inherent hip-ness of Portland means that the season is subtle, expressed in the occasional pine garland around a bike basket and a nose in our neon deer. But, it is here. 

The city challenges you to search out the beauty, the glimmering places that we hold in defiance to the vast cloudy sky.  Red lipstick, against skin that hasn't seen the sun in months (literally). Brick colored bridges over black water wrapped in fog. 

Call it acclimation - or perhaps the grace of El Nino - but I've come to love this change in my city. By March the rain will begin to trickle inside me. I'll be good company for Eeyore or Negative Nancy. But for now, Christmas is everywhere amongst the gray. I just open my eyes, camera in hand, and I see it.