The Blog Cafe

A few weeks ago, I was honored to be asked by JoLyn to host The Blog Cafe over at A Year of Happy for the week. I've never been asked to guest post before, so what a treat for me!

Each week, the moderators ask one blogger to "host" the cafe, complete with setting the scene and asking a thought-provoking question. This week, we'll be visiting The Portland City Grill in downtown Portland, Oregon. And instead of concentrating on the food -- although it is delicious -- we're going to drool over the view.





We went to the Portland City Grill for our anniversary dinner last weekend. As we sat at the window, gazing out over the city as the sun slowly set, we admired the glow of the sun and the magnificence of Mt. Hood in the distance. And, boy, did I wish I had my camera.

Now, I will take my camera many places. I've hauled it pretty much everywhere. But I do draw the line at bringing it with me to a romantic dinner. That might set the wrong tone. But the view was so inspiring -- what's a shutterbug to do?

Answer: whip out the camera phone. These two shots were taken with my iPhone camera, and while not technically perfect, certainly capture the essence of the scene as we viewed it. Looking at these photographs brings back lovely memories of the evening, the food, and of course, the fantastic company.

Which leads me to my questions for today's Blog Cafe discussion: What situations have you encountered where you really wished you'd had a camera but didn't? And, do you use your cell phone camera (if you have one) for many situations like this?

I ask because despite its limitations, the phone camera can capture spontaneous moments. One can whip it out of a pocket or purse almost instantly to grab photos that would otherwise go untaken. So chew on the gorgeous view above and let us know what you think...