Photo Story > Sweet Red wine Bistro > 10 year anniversary

 

This photo essay is a tribute to the ten year anniversary of Sweet Red Bistro in Albany, Oregon owned and operated by Cyndi Alire and her family. Along with the coming and going of other employees throughout its ten year progression as all restaurants experience. Because Cyndi’s parents were missionaries she spent years growing up in Costa Rica. During that time she would go with her family to charming little cafes lit by candlelight and feast. She was inspired to recreate that atmosphere and ambiance in her own bistro someday.

In the years leading up to the grand opening Cyndi spent two decades of her life working  for the Novak’s family restaurant. She tells me “it was a blessing in my life to be a part of their restaurant and family” there she enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the service industry.  After years of working as a waitress Cyndi opened up Sweet Red Bistro on 11/11/2011. In the interview she recalls a memory of that day where her son Anthony served hot cocoa to all the participants and patrons of the city's annual veterans day parade downtown Albany. Cyndi has a nac for creating romantic spaces and artistically displayed food. The vongsay at Sweet Red Bistro matches that of the swanky upscale romantic dining experience of a 1920s speakeasy.

I asked her to embellish on how it feels to celebrate the ten year anniversary of Sweet Red Bistro. She expressed an immense amount of gratitude towards those who helped to get her to this point. During the celebration she was in awe of the outpour of love and celebration she experienced. Sweet Red Bistro offers lunch, dinner, and late night menu options plated elegantly. They are well known for their diverse wine selections; it is a variety of domestic and imported wines hand selected by Cyndi and her wine connoisseurs. In addition to wine they have an innovative mixologist named Wakisha working the bar as well. 

Cyndi opened up about the hardships of owning a small local business especially in times of economic hardship like the one we have been experiencing. She recalls many moments of hardship, “too many to count” she says. There were many nights of exhaustion, financial struggle , and loss of hope but she never gave up on making her dream a reality. In fact she said “everytime I walk through the door to music, laughter, glasses clinking, and my guest celebrating in the sweet red fashion my heart feels full.”

Cyndi explains that the restaurant business truly is a difficult one. It takes long hours of hard work and exhausting dedication. She suggests doing some research, maybe even working at an entry level position in a restaurant to gain experience. But if you have a dream, never give up on it. 

Addario > It's what I do > book report

 Lyndsey Addario’ s book It’s what I do: A photographer’s life of love and war immediately draws you in as you read the prelude. I just wanted to dive right in and immerse myself into her life. It is one of those novels you find yourself reading and reading. At times I noticed myself getting lost in Addario’ s recollections of her career. There were too many anecdotes to narrow it down to one favorite but after taking the time to skim back over my pencil marks within the pages I found one. One that I felt was a significant moment in her life which became the realization of her life's purpose. Okay so it was after she had moved to Argentina and met Miguel. One afternoon Addario went to an exhibit of Sebastiao Salgado’s work; this was a turning point in her career. She had been heavily contemplating which direction she wanted to take with her photography. But as she was viewing and processing [also sobbing] Salgado’s exhibit she was “overcome by his images” in those moments of self discovery her perception of photojournalism shifted from in her words “pretty scenes to a way to tell a story.”

The heartfelt intentions she spoke of when sharing what she was destined to do with her career were “I hadn’t known that my hobby could be my life. I knew then that I wanted to tell people's stories through photos; to do justice to their humanity, as Salgado's had done; to provoke the kind of empathy for the subjects that I was feeling in that moment. I doubted I would ever be able to capture such pain and beauty in a single frame, but I was impassioned.” This stood out to me because of its deeply selfless intent. It speaks to her altruistic personality that is predominant throughout the book. This sense of duty that she exhibits throughout her career correlates with that personality type, I however am not fond of risking my life in the ways she has. I don't think she as you termed it “has a screw loose” but that she was created with the internal tools and capacity to go out and risk everything to tell others stories. To me that is more than a sense of duty, it's her calling > purpose. Addario and others like her are essential players in documenting historical humanities. Addario uses techniques that allow her to get that great shot. Her ability to do just as she set out in the quote above “to provoke that empathy”, to capture moments of emotion and raw truth was spot on. Unfortunately I am nowhere near the talent addario illustrated throughout her career. I was not capable of executing her techniques in real life and or the endless determination that she displays.  In fact I have a hard time having a device in hand and not experiencing life as is atop of not having any experience with cameras or taking photos. Overall the book still kept its momentum and even if you aren't camera savvy or headed towards that career choice. Addario’s story is captivating and is relatable.  

Below is my favorite photo. The composition is exquisite, the lighting perfect, especially the way it shines through the treeline, the way the trees are uniform and symmetrical, the vibrancy of the hues of color,  and the ominous feel of the forest. It is just breathtaking.

From “Of Love & War” With Photos By Lynsey Addario: Bhutan, August 2007 >

A man walks through a forest in Rethung Gonpa village outside of Trashigang,in east Bhutan, August 2007. 

My neighborhood > hometown > Downtown Albany

 

Oregon state psychic reader
2nd street downtown Albany, Oregon
also available tarot card readings. Come down and find your future. 

Margin Coffee in downtown Albany, Oregon, is a popular gathering spot not only for those who enjoy a good brew but others who appreciate the surroundings, such as students getting work done on their devices, friends catching up, and those just enjoying the comfy spaces.  Margin is at 206 SW 2nd st. Albany, OR. They serve a variety of coffees, teas, lattes, hot cocoa, and hot apple cider. And if you're feeling hungry, Margin has pastries and other items available, too. 

[Taken > 10/26/21]

Linn County Courthouse 300 SW 4th st. Albany,  Oregon 97321
Built in 1940 adjacent to the original Courthouse building which was burnt down in a fire. Departments include victim services, county clerk, CASA Inc [advocates for abused & neglected children in linn county]. among others. There is also a small cafe in the basement level that conveniently serves those who hurry through halls from one court docket to the next. 

Photographer of the week > Dina Litovsky

 I chose a Ukrainian contemporary photographer named Dina Litovsky who was born in Ukraine but has lived in New York since 1991. She uses elements of psychology and her interest in human behavior to take stunning images of people in her street photography. In her own words she describes the camera as her “passport to participation in the social life that I so desperately wanted to be a part of.” Her work is sometimes described as visual sociology. 

If you go on her Instagram she has a link to her blog “In the Flash; Adventures in the unseen world of photography.” The reason I bring this up is because it was all very relatable to what we have been learning from you/Rob the past couple weeks about street photography. In particular my favorite blog posted a 3 part series about her social fears that kept her from being the photographer she dreamed to be. She draws on her own adolescent social phobias. She speaks of her mentor and infamous street photographer Bruce Gilden who spoke words of insight to her about the hesitance that was visible in her images as he stated “she needed to get over it or get out of the game.” 

She tells the story of overcoming her anxieties and stepping up her game. Although at first that included an anti anxiety medication and a couple shots of good bourbon in a flask on her side for liquid courage when she’d go out on her shoots. The blog series includes some of her amazing street photography from around New York city that correlates with the blog posts. She also talks about the things she learned along the way giving tips and rules she abides by when going out on her shoots. Even the legalities parts of it are very encouraging and informative.

What I saw that stood out most to me was that her images were intimate or personal as if you were given a peek into people living their lives. At times when they think no one is looking too. It was very intriguing to me as was her reason for aspiring to be a photographer and her interest in human behavior. I too have that same interest. 

Dina is a contributor to the new york times magazine, national geographic and many more well known publications. He also won the Nannen prize, Germany's foremost award for documentary photography and several other awards for her captivating work. She has both a bachelors in psychology and an MFA in visual arts. 

Dina Litovsky and Vivian Meures are inspiring to ameutur street photographers everywhere. In my opinion their work speaks for itself with regards to fame. I enjoyed learning of their stories and admiring their photos many times over. 

 Dina Lotovsky blog > https://dinalitovsky.bulletin.com/569660374228892

On campus > post covid19

 

Environmental portrait/ mug shot

Rose Whitlock [she/her], 23, owner of Dream Bound Creations lives in Eugene, OR but travels all over Oregon to attend vendor opportunities to promote an sell her creations.  

 

Rose has been working with leather for 10 months and her business has been open for the last three months. She sells her creations' via Instagram and will be starting custom orders in a few weeks. @dreambound.creations is the IG username. On this day she was working her magic in her vendor booth on Oct. 30th 2021 at the Witches faire and gathering located at North Albany grange hall. Rose was kind and accepting of the camera. 

on the job

Karl Upthagrove 35yr welder @ Icon fabrication Albany, Oregon
Working hard to finish up a project. Karl graduated from LBCC with honors. He has a associate's degree in applied science of welding and metal fabrication.  

Matt Cobbs 32yr welder @ Icon fabrication Albany, Oregon 
Fueling up for a long days work. Matt is the shop manager. 

 

Employee @ Albany's Spirit Halloween store open 9am-11pm nightly
1243 SE Clay St. Albany, OR 97321 [didn't get his information]