For me, there’s usually a pro bono project going on somewhere in the mix of photo shoots, and often, it’s an editorial shoot about a science story. This one – about water quality on Johnson Creek- began with an invitation from Katie Holzer, water quality specialist for the City of Gresham, to capture some of inter-connectedness of the environment surrounding the creek’s watershed, the organisms that live in the creek, and the quality of the water that surrounds them. As with most stories about environmental science, there are always more pieces to the puzzle than there is time to photograph, but these were an intriguing starter set.
From the top: counting amphibian eggs, typically red tree frogs, in a Johnson Creek wetland; Katie Holzer gathering water samples on Kelly Creek (a Johnson Creek tributary); bottom three images: City of Portland lab technician performing tests on Johnson Creek water purity.
One positive outcome: in the past several years, both water quality and amphibian egg counts have steadily gone up in the Johnson Creek Watershed.
