All photos were taken and arranged by Ruby Lee Schembari over the course of 4 years. No generative AI was used.
Bright pink Rhododendron blooming in late spring. Pier Park, Portland, Oregon.Walton Beach, Sauvie Island, Oregon. Oddly, this isn’t edited in any way.
I really like how this photo came out, and I’m not sure why it came out the way it did. That evening, my partner, a friend, and I had gone out to Sauvie Island to try to catch a meteor shower. While gazing upon the night sky, a few boats passed us on the Columbia River. I remember breaking away from the two of them and walking toward the river to take this photo.
And yes, we did see a meteor or two. Thanks for asking.
My dog, Dahlia, poking around in the water of the Willamette Riversomewhere on the West side of Sauvie Island. St. John’s Bridge on a warm summer day in Portland, Oregon. Large boat passing by Kelly Point Park on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The St.John’s Bridge shrouded in wildfire smoke from the Grasshopper fires in Oregon.Cluster of hybrid roses at the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon.Chonky fucking squirrel munching on a rose stemat the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, Oregon. Wide-angle shot of the pond at the Japanese Garden in Washington Park, Portland, Oregon. Bright pink rose at Peninsula Park Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.It was a cold, wet day in downtown Portland. I remember ducking into doorways so I could heat up my hashpipe with a torch. – Photo taken by Ruby Lee SchembariPeninsula Park, Portland, Oregon.Refugio State Beach, California. UC Santa Barba Lagoon, Santa Barbara, California.
This was a fun trip. My partner and I had a McDonald’s feast for Thanksgiving because every other restaurant was closed. Afterwards, we returned to our hotel room and polished off a bottle of mead. All I remember is laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
What happens in Reno, Nevada stays in Reno. Somewhere along Route 66, in between California and Arizona. A beautiful view of Southern San Jose atop Mt. Umhumnum, California. I remember this day on Mt. Umhumnum very fondly. It was a bright and warm summer day as my partner and I hiked around the peaks. A friend and I went on a weekend road trip in July of 2023; this is one of the places we camped. All along the lake bed were shards of obsidian, some of which I still have. Sleepy day in the Santa Cruz Mountains at Pema Osel Ling, Winter 2022. Massive Christmas Tree in Union Square, San Francisco, California, Winter 2021.
It felt good to be back home that Christmas. One of my favorite memories from then is when my Aunt Lynn and I did a bar crawl around Union Square. I skated to the BART station to meet her downtown. After knocking back a few cocktails, I started skating around, drunkenly ollieing up and down curbs. I specifically remember hitting one of the cleanest no-comply 180s I had ever done that night. It was no easy feat, as I had been bouncing around on my old-school Powell-Peralta Ripper board, which doesn’t have a nose.
Broken trees scattered across Eureka Canyon Road. Winter 2022.Snow falling in front of the shrine room at Pema Osel Ling, Winter 2022. Snow gently falling in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Way above Watsonville on the peak of Summit Road in Santa Cruz County, Winter 2022.
Back when I was a young dharma punk living at Pema Osel Ling, friends and I would gather here to smoke weed and drink beer. Many fine summer nights had been spent on this little stretch of mountain road.
Halloween Night 2023, South San Francisco, California.
Leave a comment