Blake Andrews

Eugene, Oregon

I made these photos as part of the Eugene Grid Project (EGP), a voluntary group effort to systematically photograph the Eugene/Springfield metro region, neighborhood by neighborhood. The project is based on a similar model currently underway in Portland.

Using an old map, EGP divided the Eugene/Springfield metro area into a grid of 60 equal squares roughly one square mile each. Every month a square is chosen at random (denoted letter/number coordinates, e.g. C7) to be photographed by group members. Photographers visit each area according to their own schedule, sometimes alone or in groups, making pictures from within the square. There are no limitations on style, subject, or approach, and no set time for taking photos. We meet regularly to share work in progress. The goals of the project are to make interesting photographs, familiarize oneself with local culture and geography, and leave a lasting visual document of the region.

The second round of EGP lasted from February 2018 through November 2023. The project is now over, but I am still working my way through unedited negatives. These particular ten photos are from 2022. Selections from previous years were curated into Blue Sky's PNW Drawers in 2020 and 2021