Fritz Photographic Editorial / Travel / Documentary Website Online

I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new website, www.fritzphotographic.com.

I've photographed assignments for magazines and corporate clients for years, and enjoy it. I've been able to work for many interesting clients, including:

• Northwest Natural Gas
• Union Bank of California
• Northwest Educational Loan Association
• Asics
• Adidas
• Avamere Healthcare
• New Seasons Markets
• Schoolhouse Supplies
• Tiffany's
• Response Magazine
• ETC Magazine
• American Bar Association Journal
• George Fox Journal
• Main Ingredient Magazine
• Qualfied Remodeler Magazine
• Photographer's Forum Magazine
• Symphony Publishing / Symphony, Band and Orchestra Magazine
• Portland Bride and Groom Magazine
• Here Comes the Bride
• The Bridal Loft
• Tamron/Bronica
• CoMotion Venture Capital
• 19th Bombardment Association
• Pacific Nortwest College of Art
• Heavywood Records
• MJC Records
• Rescue Records
• Paul Clark Design
• Open Arms International
• GEM
• OM Artslink
• Murphy Model Management

I've also done travel photography all over the world, photographed for advertising clients, and covered many many documentary stories. The trouble was: I didn't have a great place to showcase this side of my work. So I've created a new website specifically for my editorial, travel, and documentary photography. There's photographic work from Europe, Africa, the US, Mexico, India, the Middle East, and much more.

It's live online! Take a look! Let me know what you think!

I'll be adding new content regularly, including slideshows from particular assignments (upcoming: a delightful portrait series on Middle School Superheroes, and a documentary piece on a First Communion Parade in Algeciras, Spain). So take a look, forward it to your friends and magazine editors, let me know what you think.

You might also note the new logo. My good friend Jacie Kirkenan, of Pink Rabbit Design, created it, and I'm pleased as punch. She dies great work.

Cerulean Blue

I was hired by an agency in Morocco to photograph various properties and attractions for their marketing materials. The Mediterranean is such a beautiful blue, and the sky can be fantastic too. (Did you know that the name "Cerulean blue" comes from Latin caelum, which means sky?)Nonetheless, it’s been an off-and-on cloudy/rainy week, so we hit the right day for photographing here: sunny, with some interesting clouds, set off by that deep blue sky.







I love being a travel and editorial photographer!

Urban Cowgirl

Erica is from the country, but she lives in the Portland. Her parents have horses, she has a desk job. Although she loves her work, and enjoys the city, she's still a country girl.

And then there's the rain:




More Portland portrait photography can be found on our website!

Eunice Parsons

At 90 years old, Portland artist Eunice Parsons has more spunk than many 60 year olds I know. She also has one of the finest handshakes of any woman I've met; her fingers, curved with age, fit my hand like a glove. Like most of the senior Portland artists I've photographed in this series, she has a lot of stories, knows a lot of people, and has produced a lot of work.

Eunice is a well-known collage artist; you can see some of her work here, at the 12x16 Gallery. (She also has a show and lecture this month at the Helzer Gallery at PCC Rock Creek.) She is known and adored by her many students, from her many years teaching at the Museum Art School (now PNCA) and PSU, many of whom still visit her in her West Hills home and studio. This year, she is being honored, along with a select few others, as a Faculty Emeritus at PNCA.

Up in her attic studio, Eunice seems to melt right into the floor. She kneels to work on collages she constructs from boxes and boxes of collected and sorted materials, setting antique irons atop them to help them dry flat. As she talks, her face is animated, and as she makes a point, her face lights up and her eyes sparkle.

I could have stayed several more hours, talking and photographing, if I weren't so allergic to her dogs and cats....





View more of my Portland editorial portrait photography at www.fritzphotographic.com.

Jerusalem

We've been in Jerusalem for several days, and while the city is overwhelming, it's also fascinating. As with most of Israel, literally layers up on layers of history are beneath every step you take here.

The Temple Mount is a far more massive space than I'd ever imagined. It is quite disappointing to have Muslim mosques on top of a spot that has such significance for Jews (and Christians). Such tension is apparent in much of Israel. The above photo was taken there. I think it's kind of a bizarre picture, but I guess that's fitting.


As is the case in most of the world, one thing tends to diffuse tension and unite cultures: playing children. I caught these kids talking and playing near the exit from the Temple Mount into the Muslim Quarter.

Perhaps the most well-known and well-loved places in Jerusalem: the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall, for the Jews who pray loudly there). Many people--Jew and Gentile alike--come here to pray, hope, and stuff written prayers into the cracks of this 2000 year old edifice. The wall is the western portion of the incredible Temple Mount built by Herod; each one of these hand-hewn stones weighs multiple tons a piece. (We were shown one that weighs as much as a fully-loaded Boeing 747....)

Not only is the Western Wall courtyard a place for prayers, it is a popular place for Bar Mitzvahs. At any given time 5 or 8 were in process. Here you see women (on the women's side of the courtyard) watching and participating in the Bar Mitzvahs on the men's side.

And then you have the Sukh. Throughout the Old City (the castle-walled portion of Jerusalem framed in during the Crusades) are narrow streets of narrow shops selling all kinds of goods: spices, candies, jewelry, electronics, shoes, fresh juices, etc. etc. Above: a shopkeeper opening his shop door; below, a woman purchasing candies.


View more of my travel and editorial photography at www.fritzphotographic.com.

A Little More Kenya...

While I'm taking an afternoon to 'rest' here in Jerusalem, I'm still editing photographs taken in Kenya last week. Here is a selection of images I am enjoying:

Each day, a few members of our team worked with children in the slums, playing games, singing songs, coloring, and having generally a rather good time. The kids loved it almost as much as the adults.

A school notebook, from Pastor Esther's little school for disadvantaged children in the slums.

A little still life from Pastor Esther's church building.


For the most part, Kenyans walk, bike, or bus everywhere. Like so much of the world, they display an amazing ingenuity in their ability to pack great quantities of goods on the back of very small vehicles....

One morning, we had to arise at 4 am, to take a bus to Nairobi for a safari. The only thing I enjoyed about getting up that early was the early morning light.

Want to see some exceptional photos of wild animals in their native habitat? Go to the library and check out a National Geographic book. This, above, is among the best offered to me at the Nairobi game park in the middle of the day with my heavy-lidded eyes. Actually, I did get a handful of fine images from this safari.

A Beautiful Land

I have to admit, my first day in Israel, I couldn't quite see why so many Psalms praised the beauty of the land. It's much hillier than I had expected (although here they call mountains what at home we call hills...), and covered with rocks and boulders. But the further we have travelled here, the more I see its praiseworthy beauty. Someone has said, "When God went to create the world, he decided to create a scale model, and called it Israel." There's truth in this; within very short distances, it is possible to go from sea to mountain to valley to desert. A great deal of variety (not to mention history) are packed into this small country, and every twenty minutes of driving brings to view a new geography.

It's spring here, and the flowers are in full bloom. The above field of wild poppies is in the Jordan River Valley. The near side is Israel; the other side of the river is the country of Jordan.

One of my favorite adventures so far on the trip was swimming in the Dead Sea. The lowest point on the face of the earth, the Dead Sea (also known as the Salt Sea) is composed so heavily of minerals that nothing grows or lives in it. Its mineral composition also makes the water so dense that you can sit down in it and float. Which was great for me, since I don't normally have a floatable bone in my body. That was a real delight, to lie in the water, without effort or fear, and bob like an apple.

The Sea of Galilee

I've been in Israel for several days now. It's fairly overwhelming to be in a place where you're constantly exposed to about 5000 years of history. Sorting it all out is difficult. But it's obviously a special place, the crossroads of the world, really.


At Hell's Gate (an ancient temple area of Greek influence, dedicated to Pan) in Caesarea Phillipi, I had some fun photographing children from a local kibbutz. Seeing so many historical sites is fascinating, but photos of piles of rocks gets old. It was enjoyable to see some life amongst the ruins.

These two images are from the Sea of Galilee. It's a fascinating area, with so many historical, meaningful places within walking distance of each other. The area is very hilly, and I frequently imagine Jesus walking and boating about, disciples in tow.

London

We spent a few hours in London on Sunday, between flights. It was a very quick tour, on a beautiful, sunny, spring day. A few favorites:

Eldoret, Kenya

Well, having made it to Kenya, through 4 airplanes and a lengthy bus ride, we are in Eldoret. A beautiful, beautiful country, sunny, with friendly people. It's good to be here.

Yesterday I photographed the dedication of the Open Arms property, a groundbreaking ceremony for the grounds that will become a medical clinic for the villagers, an AIDS orphanage, and more. In good African tradition, the ceremony started about 2 hours late, and people kept arriving throughout the day--probably about a thousand of them, all arriving by foot or bicycle.


Part of the festivities included a ceremonial procession and dance by the local Callingen tribal ceremony. This is their leader.


I can only say I was jealous of this young man's repose; it was a long day. And unlike me, he doesn't have to worry about sunburn....


As I was working, this man, David, invited me to his home. With his wife, we walked the red dirt paths, through barbed wire fences and fields, to their beautiful little farm. Over tea, we talked about farming, looked over their Bible and hymn book (in Callingen), and watched a few minutes of lions bringing down a zebra on their 9-inch black and white television (powered by a 12-volt car battery). A sweet couple, and the highlight of my day.


On the way back from lunch at the local Chief's house, this woman asked me--with hand gestures and words I could not comprehend--to take her photograph. No, the locals (except for this woman) don't all dress in furs and have large holes in their ears, as this woman does. But who can turn down a request to take such a photograph?

Portland travel photographers.

The Snow Fairy

A couple weeks ago I photographed at a local middle school during Spirit Week. The particular day I was there was Create Your Own Superhero Day. What a delight to watch the kids come in with their own superhero costumes, names, and superpowers. I took a lot of photographs.

One particular favorite, above, is of a demure young lady who came in as the Snow Fairy. Her superpower is to magically take the coldness out of people so their hearts are warm. My heart is warmed just looking at her and her lovely costume.

View more from this photographic series at www.fritzliedtke.com.

The Virgin of Bucerias

I spent the past week or so in Mexico, in the town of Bucerias. It's near Puerto Vallarta, on the Bay of Banderas. While there, we were able to enjoy the town's annual week-long fiesta. On the last night of the fiesta, a procession wends its way through town toward the cathedral, with music, dancers, and a float featuring the young Virgin Mary and the Christ child. This is all followed by a spectacular fireworks display in the town square.

My favorite image, above, is of the young girl playing the Virgin outside of the cathedral. Here are a couple more:

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Heather

A portrait of photographer Heather Hawksford, in the new James John Cafe in St Johns. Quintessential Portlandiana. I love being a Portland photographer.