A Portrait of Portland

The work of photographer Megan McIsaac is intensely personal and charmingly candid. Browsing through her extensive online portfolio, you’ll encounter the same faces and places appearing over and over, dispersed between intimate self-portraits of the artist.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Megan has compiled a visual ode to the city in the form of her portraits and landscapes. We spoke with her recently to find out more about her roots, her relationship to the town and the way the internet has changed photography.

PORTABLE: When and why did you start taking pictures?
Megan McIsaac: Well, long story short… my grandfather, Frank, gifted me my first camera when I was seven years old, so out of natural childhood curiosity (and social anxiety) I was just making photographs because it was something to focus on (in more ways than one, wink wink,) and allowed me to wander off and document my surroundings. I didn’t really stop and think about it until maybe 7 years ago when I decided that I wanted to spend as much of my time here as possible making photographs and traveling.

What do you look for in a scene or subject?
Oh, you know, it’s a feeling. I just like genuine, kindred nouns.

Your pictures seem to exist in the space between candid and posed. How much direction do you give your subjects?
It depends, but usually little to none. If I say anything at all, I just suggest that they do whatever they want to do. If they want to pose, pose away. If they would rather look away, go for it… I always have my camera with me and it’s usually out in the open so I think a lot of the people I surround myself with are used to it being there and they eventually relax, and that’s when I feel more inclined to make a photograph.

There’s a perception of Portland as a town of eccentric characters. Have you captured any particularly unique people or situations?
You can find eccentric characters anywhere you go in the world, but I guess Portland does like to let its freak flag fly a little higher than most places… I don’t know, you tell me. I’m not particularly inspired to photograph people unless I can connect on a personal level with them. Most people are eccentric in some way, but it might take a few encounters with them to notice what those eccentricities are, you know? I don’t know how to explain it.

What filmmakers, photographers, designers, musicians, etc. inspire your work or your style?
I never know how to answer this question… my inspirations are always revolving and changing. My close friends are who inspire me the most, especially right now. Nature is another big one, I just spent the past weekend camping in central Oregon with my partner and I had to stop myself from photographing every cool little plant or insect or mountain (film is expensive). I try and share the music that inspires me through mix tapes that I share on my blog, but I have been lazy with that lately since a lot of the music I listen to comes from cassette tapes and records. Oh, how the list goes on…

What response have you got from publishing so much of your work online? Were you ever concerned with people using your work without crediting you? How do you see the internet changing the way photographers work?
I feel incredibly lucky with the amount of support I’ve received through publishing my photographs on the internet. I’ve been sharing them online since about 2004 now, but have only had my blog for maybe four years. I definitely felt uneasy about people not crediting or not asking permission at first, but eventually I just realized that it is what it is, and people will always find a way to do what they want to do no matter how much I try to disallow “right clicking” or if I ever wanted to put a watermark on my photographs (which just makes me cringe anyway). So long as they aren’t trying to claim that they made the photographs or use them for advertising purposes then, so it goes…

As far as the internet changing the way photographers work… It’s more fast-paced as far as trial and error goes, I feel. I learned very quickly what I wanted to share and what my boundaries are with both my photographs and the internet in general. A lot of people talk about the younger generation, my generation, making pictures for the public, for the internet, but I think that’s always been an issue with photography (think about when galleries first started popping up). If people do that (make things because they think they know people will love it) with anything, be it photography or music or writing, then they’re missing a rather large part of what making art is all about, but that’s just my take on things.

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