About the Photographs

Upcoming Photo Exhibit in 2010

On Tour Day at the Lecture venue, there will be an exhibit of photographs taken as part of our documentation project recording the interiors and exteriors of all the houses on each Tour. Both historic and modern photographs will be on display.

Unless otherwise credited, all photographs on this site were taken by the Webmaster on standard Kodak Portra NC 160 negative film and scanned into digital form using a Polaroid SprintScan 35+ scanner, an Epson Perfection 3200 Photo Scanner, or, in recent years, an Epson Perfection V750 Pro Photo Scanner. All, including the collages of images of architectural elements, were shot in Irvington. In the case of the photographs of the Home Tour residences, home owners were invited to submit photos. If they chose to do so they were used and are credited in this site. Otherwise, the images were provided by the Webmaster.

The 2002 Home Tour marked a major step in providing a visual record of Irvington on this site. All the home owners supported the photography project, most by opening their homes to the Webmaster for a "photo shoot", and one by kindly providing a large number of digital images electronically. We hope you find the 2002 photos to be a marked improvement over 2001's in both quantity and quality.

2003 marked another major change as we increased the number of photographs wherever possible and switched to 2-1/4" format film (medium format), shooting negatives that are 2-1/4" X 3-1/4" in size. While this has virtually no effect on the images you see on this site, the high resolution images presented to the home owners as a souvenir of the Tour can now be printed up to 16" X 24" with no loss of image quality. Once again in 2003, all photos were shot by the webmaster with the exception of some of the Portland White House, which were shot by Jamie Bosworth and provided to us by the owners of the B&B who had arranged to have them taken.

In 2004 and 2005, the use of medium format continued for a high percentage of the photos, with better color fidelity achieved through the use of a Polaroid SprintScan 120 scanner. In 2004, at least one home owner supplied photos, which have been incorporated into the "virtual tour" as well. In 2005 and 2006, all photographs were provided by the ICA. For 2006, we shifted to an Epson Perfection V750 Pro flat-bed scanner using the fluid-scanning attachment which results in very high quality scans, which rival high-end drum scanned images and require a minimum of follow-up dust removal effort. In 2007, 2008, and 2009 we continued use of the V750, still one of the most cost effective, professional grade scanners on the market.

All images on this site are copyright by the Irvington Community Association except for those specifically attributed to other photographers, whose permission we have to present them on line; they are NOT in the public domain. If you wish to make use of any of these images in any other site, you MUST contact the Webmaster for permission. Depending on the use you intend for the images, it may be possible to supply you with higher resolution versions.

We're sorry, but at this time, we are unable to provide printed copies of any of the photographs. However, we do occasionally schedule exhibits of the photos where copies can be purchased -- with proceeds going to the Irvington Neighborhood Charitable Giving Program. (See the notice above for 2010.)

Where are the wires?

Irvington, like many older neighborhoods in Portland, is festooned with unsightly electrical, phone and cable wires. These wires are not only unattractive, but expose our basic power and communication services to the vagaries of weather and casual accident. They also jeopardize the survival of our magnificent street trees, which are often butchered to make way for the wires strung above and around them.

It has long been the policy of the Irvington Neighborhood Association that all electrical and other wires in the area should be installed in underground conduits, as has become commonplace in modern subdivisions. Unfortunately, city politics and commercial pressures have prevented any progress in this direction. However, through the magic of digital image manipulation, all utility wires have been removed from the photos on this website. As you view the photos on this site, imagine that this is how beautiful the neighborhood could be if those wires were properly installed underground.

For a vivid example of the impact of the utility wires on the appearance of the neighborhood, we have included a before and after example.

The Irvington Community Association also maintains a website to provide services internal to the Irvington Community. We invite all Irvington neighbors and others interested in NE Portland community affairs to visit that site as well.