Portland Photographer Keith Z Launches 'Outside' Book at St. Johns Gallery

Keith Zimmerman, known professionally as Keith Z, opens the book launch and photo exhibition for Outside at Franklin Foto in St. Johns on Saturday, Nov. 7. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and the show remains on display through Nov. 30. The gallery is located at 8953 N Lombard St. Admission is free.

Zimmerman, 53, spent the past three years documenting the lives of Portland's homeless population. He began taking photographs in 2023, a period he describes as a turning point in his recovery from addiction. He started with a phone before Franklin Foto, a nonprofit community darkroom, provided him with a 35 mm SLR camera. That camera previously belonged to Ward Shortridge, a social worker and street portraitist who died in 2019.

The book features individuals who live on the streets of Portland. Zimmerman aims to capture their style, pride, and humanity rather than presenting them as a group. He often pays subjects a small amount of money for their time and the use of their image. The cover of the book features a portrait of a woman named Yvonne. Zimmerman called her image a Madonna when he first saw the scanned proof.

Zimmerman was born in Boise, Idaho, in 1974. He moved to Portland in 2014 after decades of moving between cities with his mother and sisters. He struggled with alcohol and drug addiction from age 15, leading to incarceration and homelessness through his 40s. A suicide attempt at the St. Johns Bridge in his early 40s led to a period of sobriety. He credits the 12-step framework of Alcoholics Anonymous and a stay at a Native American rehab facility for helping him recover.

During the pandemic, Zimmerman lived in transitional housing in Chinatown and trained as a social worker through Central City Concern. He later moved to the Alphabet District, where his apartment is filled with thousands of books. He found inspiration in a photo book by Jamel Shabazz, who documented his Harlem community in the 1970s and 1980s. Zimmerman decided to document his own community despite having no prior photography experience.

Bobby Abrahamson, co-founder of Franklin Foto, met Zimmerman in 2023 after the artist reached out on Instagram for guidance. Abrahamson, a photographer and instructor at Clark College, noted that Zimmerman's compositions were powerful despite his late start in the medium. Abrahamson co-founded Franklin Foto in 2024 with Jason Kaplan using an inheritance from his brother Frank, who died of an overdose in 2023. The inheritance came with a directive to do something useful.

Zimmerman has a complex history with Hollywood director Derek Cianfrance, whom he knew from childhood in Colorado. Cianfrance wrote the film Brother Tied based loosely on Zimmerman's life, in which Zimmerman played a version of himself. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Zimmerman said he hated the finished product and felt it stereotyped his race. A heated phone call in 2023 strained their relationship, but Zimmerman says he does not believe in vengeance.

The artist has faced interpersonal drama while preparing for the shows, including the selection of the cover model. He is also preparing for an exhibition at Blue Sky Gallery in December and another show in Phoenix. Zimmerman has been focusing on these events while managing his recovery. He says he is not worried about relapse, noting that smoking crack or drinking will not make his life better. He recently gave a copy of the book to Yvonne, who stopped at a photo of her late friend Ruby, a well-known figure in the local community. Yvonne said Ruby shared everything she had with others.

Zimmerman plans to personally give copies of the book to several subjects featured in the publication. The initial run of books arrived in boxes on a recent Friday afternoon. He expects to sell copies at $65 each, though he acknowledges that objects of value tend to leave his pockets quickly. The Franklin Foto show serves as the first public display of the project.

The exhibition marks Zimmerman's first published photo book. He describes the project as a way to listen with his lens. The gallery community trained him in darkroom techniques and supported his development as an artist. The show opens to the public on Saturday, Nov. 7.