The team at Portland digital creative agency Instrument spend much of their time working on accounts for boldface names like Xbox, Levi's, and Red Bull, but this fall they took out a chunk of time to make This Place. Described as a "personal" project, it mainly functions as a showpiece for what the agency is capable of, giving them the luxury of, essentially, choosing whatever subject and direction they wanted. They chose the Oregon coast, particularly the Manzanita/Rockaway Beach/Tillamook stretch. Though the locations were somewhat focused on the group's collective favorites from past trips, they also made an effort to "pay homage" to the people who live there year round, from the teenagers skateboarding down 101 to the fishermen who spend most of their time out on the choppy water.

The results have been gradually released over the course of this month through an interactive website. The content there is anchored by a short ambient film that beautifully captures the moody attractiveness of the area, and is accompanied by separate chapters of photo images taken by the small fleet of still photographers who made the trek: Amanda Leigh Smith, Nick LaVecchia, Jake Sargeant, Ryan Garber, and Kevin Russ. The film itself is worth watching, especially if you feel like you need a Tuesday morning moment of zen, but the photos are maybe my favorite part of the project. Three of the five chapters have already been released, with the fourth due "soon"—follow 'em on Twitter for updates.