Photographer Has Been Shooting the Same Park in Portland for the Last Four Years

A collage of four images shows a park in different seasons: snowy hills with people sledding, a sunny landscape with sunset light, a lively nighttime festival, and a rainy scene with wet paths and trees. — Aaron Wessling

Rephotography is when photographers capture the same location multiple times across a stretch of time. Aaron Wessling has been visiting Mount Tabor Park in Portland since 2022.

Mount Tabor sits on the cinder of an extinct volcano in the heart of Southeast Portland. “I have a strong attachment to the physical space of Mount Tabor,” Wessling tells PetaPixel. “It features a sweeping view of the city, hosts everything from summer picnics, Wednesday night raves, boxcar derbies, and birdwatching tours. On occasions when it snows, it transforms into a playground for sledders, snowboarders, and cross-country skiers. It’s a fascinating place that showcases all of Portland’s quirky character.”

People gather in a park near a lake at sunset, sitting on the grass and standing in groups. The sun shines through clouds, casting a warm glow over the scene with trees, water, and cityscape in the background.

People and children play and sled on a snowy hill in a park, surrounded by snow-covered trees, with a stone bridge and city buildings visible in the distance under a cloudy sky.

A couple pushes a stroller along a paved path in a green park, with benches and leafless trees nearby. In the background, there is a large reservoir and a city skyline under a partly cloudy sky.

People relax on a grassy hill overlooking a reservoir at sunset, with trees, a walking path, and a city skyline in the background. Some individuals sit in groups, while others stroll or bike along the path.

A large crowd gathers at an outdoor festival near a reservoir with food trucks, tents, and portable toilets; the city skyline and hills are visible in the background under a clear sky.

A large crowd gathers at night near a river, illuminated by colorful lights and glowing decorations. People are dancing, socializing, and relaxing on a grassy slope, with a lit cityscape visible in the background.

People relax on a grassy hill overlooking a large reservoir, with trees and a city skyline in the background under a setting sun. Some people sit on blankets or benches, enjoying the peaceful outdoor scene.

People relax on blankets and socialize on a grassy hillside by a reservoir, with city buildings and mountains in the background. Some stand or walk, while a few sit under a tent. Trees and paths are scattered throughout the scene.

People enjoy a sunny day at a park with green grass, blooming cherry blossom trees, and a large reflective reservoir. Some sit in groups, others walk or play frisbee, with a city skyline and hills in the distant background.

People relax on a grassy hill at sunset near a reflective reservoir, with trees, a path, and a cityscape in the background, all bathed in warm, golden light.

It’s a personal project for Wessling who spent a lot of time there when he first moved to the Pacific Northwest city and didn’t really know anyone. In fact, the park bench that can be seen in the middle of the image is one that the photographer spent a lot of time on when he first moved there.

Around 2022, Wessling discovered the TTP rephotography project by Hayahisa Tomiyasu. He photographed a ping pong table from his apartment window in the German city of Leipzig for five years.

“It’s incredible work,” Wessling says. “I was curious about what a more comprehensive study of a public space, featuring multiple perspectives, might look like and started rephotographing some of my existing photographs up on Mount Tabor.”

A person rides a bike on a paved path through a green park beside a large reflective reservoir, with people relaxing nearby and a cityscape visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

A snowy park scene with two empty benches, trees covered in snow, and large snowflakes falling. The ground and distant landscape are blanketed in white, and a stone structure is visible in the background.

A foggy park scene with a sloped grassy hill, two empty benches, and bare trees. The mist creates a soft, muted atmosphere, and visibility fades in the distance. The image feels calm and peaceful.

A rainy, overcast day at a park featuring wet pavement, grassy areas, empty benches, trees, and a large dam or spillway in the background with misty hills and trees in the distance.

A large crowd gathers near a lake at sunset, enjoying a festival with tents, bikes, picnic blankets, and trees in the background. Warm sunlight creates a festive, relaxed atmosphere.

A sunlit park with a pond, trees, and benches. Long shadows stretch across the grassy hill as the sun sets, with a city skyline visible in the distant background.

A few people sit on benches facing a calm reservoir surrounded by trees and grass, with a historic stone building in the background and distant hills visible through a hazy sky.

People gather on a grassy hillside overlooking a reservoir at sunset, with trees and city buildings visible in the distance under a colorful sky.

A crowd gathers on a grassy hill at dusk, watching fireworks by a riverside. City lights glow in the distance, and trees frame the scene. People sit and stand, enjoying the festive outdoor atmosphere.

A nighttime view of a large, illuminated reservoir surrounded by trees and grassy areas, with city lights glowing in the background under a partly cloudy sky.

Between 2022 and 2024, Wessling visited Mount Tabor over 70 times, picking different scenes to document. “One of the things I find most interesting about rephotography work is its inversion of the typical photo hunt,” he says. “Once established, the composition is predetermined for the rest of the project, the edges of the frame never change. You really have to take whatever the universe offers up to the frame on any given day. Something interesting just outside the frame? Oh well…luck of the draw.”

People are relaxing on a grassy hillside in a park, some sitting alone and others in small groups, with trees casting long shadows in the late afternoon sunlight.

A large group of people are relaxing and socializing on a grassy hillside surrounded by trees, some sitting on blankets and others standing, enjoying a sunny day outdoors.

A person pulls a red sled across a snowy, open field in a park. The ground is lightly covered with snow, and several empty benches and tall trees are in the background.

A grassy park at dusk with benches along a path, autumn trees in vivid red and orange, and glowing streetlights illuminating the scene against a backdrop of tall evergreen trees.

A misty park scene with green grass, three empty benches, and a path. Two trees with autumn leaves, one bright red and one yellow, stand out among darker evergreens in the foggy background.

A dry, grassy park with scattered benches along a path, bordered by green and brown trees. The grass appears yellowish, indicating drought or late summer. The scene is calm and mostly empty.

People enjoy a snowy day in a park with tall snow-covered trees; some walk or sled up and down a gentle hill while others gather in small groups in the background. A child and adult walk together in the foreground.

People gather on a sunny, grassy hillside near food trucks and tents; some walk, others sit or ride bikes, with tall trees and more people in the background.

Groups of people sit and relax on a grassy hillside in a park surrounded by tall trees on a sunny day, enjoying the outdoors and nature.

Wessling focused on scenes in the park where there are both natural and human-made elements. “For consistency in the actual compositions, I start by establishing a memorable place on which to position the camera and a memorable centerpoint of the composition,” he explains.

“It takes a few visits to get things dialed in. I use a grid overlay on the digital viewfinder (I shoot all the work on Fuji GFX medium format systems) as well as a grid while processing to keep things as close to in line as possible. I don’t think perfect alignment is required for the project, but I do like to keep the frames as consistent as possible.”

More of Wessling’s work can be found on his website and Instagram.

Image credits: Photographs by Aaron Wessling

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