Nolan Parker by Nolan Parker Since the advent of pocket-sized cameras that hold thousands and thousands of photos, everyone with the means to buy a smartphone can document their lives, editing and sharing images from around the worl d in seconds. Is this a good thing? Generally, yes. Does that make everyone a photographer? Absolutely not.  Those continuing to shoot film photography are the real photographers, archivists, and documentarians. Film is wildly expensive, as is developing that film if you don’t develop it yourself. Getting the shot (especially when the subject is in motion) adds up monetarily, as can the stacks of film negatives and developed film. The barriers to access are numerous when considering analog film photography, making the good stuff that much more precious, radical, and captivating.  And this is Portland, Oregon, we love analog 'round these parts and aren’t afraid to show it. Literally. Noise Grain, a new exhibition of local analog concert and music photography opens on December 6 at Franklin FOTO Gallery and will be up through the end of the month. The exhibition, curated by musician and photographer Zach Putnam—bassist in Portland bands Tawny Blue and Anjali—embraces the grainy, blurry, washed out imperfections of the medium.  When asked why concert film photography excites him, Putnam waxes, “[Analog] photography and live music have a naturally symbiotic relationship.” A 2003 frame of Sleater-Kinney playing Crystal Ballroom is another show highlight, underlining Putman’s point when he reminds us that both film photography and live music “are all about perfect timing, after all.” Corin Tucker in the '90s. JASON QUIGLEY Noise Grain arrives at the tail end of a year bubbling with exhibitions, showings, and publications featuring Portland artists and musicians. In the spring, Eyes Ears: A Survey of Visuals in Music 2020-2024 opened at PNCA; the fall saw the release of Choice Cuts by Corbin C—also featured in Noise Grain; as well as a Portland concert poster exhibition at Mint Gallery Records that’s up until December 12.  Noise Grain is set apart by its exclusive focus on analog photography and the breadth of subject matter covered by the 20+ photographers featured in the exhibition. There’s a photo of Ural Thomas playing the Tender Loving Empire warehouse and a cute photo of Sallie Ford posing. Shots taken in venues that don’t exist anymore (or are about to shutter), including Disjecta, the original Doug Fir, Lollipop Shoppe, and Turn Turn Turn, hang beside photos of bands playing in parks, at punk venues, and in their home studios.  The exhibition’s massive scope encompasses a diverse cross section of Portland’s music and photography trends and styles: there’s a truly incredible shot of jazz bassist Leroy Vinnegar in 1999 (just before his death in August that year) taken by Franklin FOTO Gallery founder Jason E. Kaplan presented alongside frames that were taken just last month.  The inimitable Leroy Vinnegar. JASON E. KAPLAN The exhibition is also a timely one for Portland photographers, musicians, and artists who find themselves navigating new frontiers. “In an era when it feels like AI is threatening to replace human creativity entirely, I think people are craving art with a clear human fingerprint,” Putnam says. “Analog photography and local music both scratch that itch quite nicely.” Many of the exhibited photos will be for sale, including an extremely special shot of Michael Hurley by Leo Newman taken at Showdown Saloon in December 2024, just months before the outsider folk artist’s departure from this earthly plane.  Bad Mr. Mike giggin' at Showdown Saloon in 2024. LEO NEWMAN Other recognizable subjects that will grace Franklin FOTO’s walls include Counterfeit Kubrick, Family Worship Center, Forty Feet Tall, Gossip, John Craigie, Johnny Franco His Real Brother Dom, Menomena, Obedient, Rayon, Reptaliens, Spoon Benders, Stephen Malkmus, Trigger Object, and more. If you want to adorn your walls with Portland musicians photographed by Portland photographers, now’s your chance.  Noise Grain opening night is Saturday, December 6 and will include live music and art, featuring a performance by exhibition subject Blair Borax. The night carries on with an afterparty show at Havalina with performances by Amos Heart and Johnny Franco His Real Brother Dom. ...read more read less