Annie and David hold the king and queen chess pieces at Simon and Helen Director Park downtown Portland.

We did Annie and David’s engagement session at Simon and Helen Director Park and Portland Fish House in downtown Portland, Ore. We weren’t planning on shooting outside, thanks to the wet Oregon weather, however the rain held off for long enough to play in the park a bit.

Since the couple’s first several dates were between the Ringside and Portland Fish House, it seemed appropriate to have the engagement shots there. We also had fun in the part of the larger-than-life chess set. At this point, I will refrain from typing all of the cliché chess references that are coming to mind.

Overall a good set and a good shoot, especially getting out doors in the middle of winter.

Annie and David at Simon and Helen Director Park, Portland, Ore.

Annie and David downtown Portland, Ore.

Nicole and JJ’s Wedding 01.01.11

Nicole and JJ were married this New Year’s eve right at the stroke of midnight making their official wedding date 01.01.11. I was there to photograph the intimate affair. The couple gathered a small group of friends and family for their union here in Portland, Oreg. They kicked off the evening with a fantastic surf and turf dinner including crab flown in for the event. This was followed by a little Big Buck Hunter then Nicole and JJ separated to prepare for their wedding ceremony.

Their union was preformed by Rev. Robert Griffen, A Perfect Ceremony, and ended exactly at midnight with a champagne toast. They followed with their dance and cake cutting and were adorned by New Year’s eve hats and noise makers. The couple left around 2 a.m. in their limo excited about their week long trip to the Napa Valley, CA.

I had a great portrait session for Emily Krug, a local massage therapist (LMT) and certified yoga instructor. I have been working with Emily to get some new images for brochures and business. We started with some shots of traditional thai massage, also known as yoga massage, and then followed with this fun portrait session.

We wanted to have a different take on the traditional portrait style or headshot. We created some images that are have some movement, are more flowing and free which ties in with the traditional style of massage that is her specialty and yoga movements. The top of Rocky Butte State Park seemed like an easy option with it’s endless vistas, bold colors and graphic elements from the stone work.

Emily was fun and easy to work with and naturally comfortable in front of the camera. As part of payments, I was able to get in with Emily for several traditional thai massage sessions. I can’t say enough great things about her massage sessions. I felt better than I had in years after our first session and woke up the next day feeling alive and great! Emily also is teaching Sunday evening yoga classes at Belmont Yoga in Portland, Oreg.

Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro-East just finished their 23-home community in Gresham, Jubilee Commons, and celebrated with their home dedication ceremony Jan. 22. Jubilee Commons is now the largest Habitat community in Oregon housing 23 families and over 50 children.

I photographed the celebration for them which we started with a large group shot of some of the Jubilee Common’s homeowners. They followed with speeches from the homeowners, board members and awards to several people for their commitments and contributions to the project. After the ceremony, Boys Without Toys played for the crowd and the Macaroni Grill served food.

It felt really great to see so many new homeowners on stage and receive the keys to their new homes. Most families in the newest building will be moving in throughout the month of February and official own their homes. I started volunteering for Habitat over two years ago when this project was just getting off the ground and was amazing to see it all come together.

To see about volunteer opportunities with Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro-East check out their website at: http://habitatportlandmetro.org/

I went out last week to photograph Portland’s Fremont bridge for a client. As I left camera in hand, the sun broke through the clouds and I was offered a lovely day to find great perspectives of the bridge. I started on the north side of the river off of Interstate Ave. at Lookout City Park then crossed to the south side of the river in the NW Industrial area. This worked much better with the sun behind me and the clouds scattered across the sky.

The Fremont bridge carries the I-405 and US-30 across the Willamette river and is one of eight bridges in downtown Portland. Another interesting thing to note according to my all-favorite Wikipedia is that the Fremont Bridge is the longest spanned bridge in Oregon and “second longest tied arch bridge in the world.”

Isabell is seven years-old and hopes to be a model someday.

I worked with Isabell and her family a few weeks ago in the studio. We got the entire family in to do some portraits but then let Isabell take center stage and try out her modeling dreams. The seven year-old Isabell has dreams of becoming a model, and I think that she could be the next thing for Gap. Once Isabell warmed up she has natural beauty and natural attitude.

As many young girls do, Isabell was feeling a bit self-consious about herself and the portrait session was to show her how pretty she really is. It was also to help her live a dream of being a model. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see her face again.

Isabell tries out some attitude for the camera.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay were married this summer at Cedar Springs Country Estate in Sandy, OR. They had a beautiful wedding with bright beach decor and colors, coral and bright blue. I really appreciated Jay and Bree’s relaxed and fun demeanor. They were game to try some fun portraits and very comfortable around the camera. Their friends and family, likewise, were great to work with and throughly enjoyed themselves.

I also highly recommend Cedar Springs Country Estate. I had been out there several times before but this was the first time I had been to photograph a wedding. Patti was fantastic to work with. She is very organized and always ready to go with extra help. The grounds are very scenic. It is located on Lusted Road outside of Sandy and the green lawns, gazebo and pond make for some wonderful photo back drops. They have multiple builds on the property so the bride and groom can get ready separately and have just started offering small indoor weddings. For more info on Cedar Springs visit: http://www.cedarspringscountryestate.com/

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Bree and Jay's Wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Scott and his groomsmen at Herban Fest Seattle, WA.

Scott and Angie were married this summer at Herban Fest in Seattle’s Sodo district. It was a beautiful wedding and Herban Fest is known for it’s amazing fresh food. The day started early with the girls arriving to Herban Fest in the morning to get their hair and makeup done. The venue has a great upstairs spot that clients can spread out and take their time getting ready. The venue also boasted a really cool patio area with bright blue walls. The walls make a fantastic back drop for some really striking portraits.

Scott and Angie were fun to work with and game for trying several portrait session around the venue including the old theatre chairs left in the back hallway. The couple didn’t want to see each other until the ceremony so we did all the portraits quickly after and had some time before for individual shots. The emotions were high all day and everyone had really good energy. At the end of the night I pulled the couple across the street to do a couple last shots under the neon signs.

Angie's dress hanging in the windows of the girl's room.

Scott and Angie's Wedding Rings shot on the colorful upholstery.

Angie's bridesmaids helping her get the garters on.

Angie's portrait in the front of Herban Fest.

Scott and his groomsmen try a couple kicks for the camera in the patio area.

Scott and Angie during the ceremony.

Scott and Angie embrace after the "I do's"

Angie and her bridesmaids.

Who doesn't have an iphone these days?

Scott and Angie did some portraits in the distinctive back area of Hebran Fest.

The groomsmen let loose.

We went across the street to do a few extra shots at the end of the night.

Bree and Jay we game to having some fun with the photos especially since we had the upper area of the restaurant to ourselves.

I recently had a great engagement session with, Bree and Jay, clients of mine that are getting married this July. We had really wanted to do an outdoor location shoot at their aunt’s ranch, however if you live anywhere near the northwest right now you will know that the weather has been completely unpredictable. I was really hoping that the clouds would break and give way from some dramatic sky-scapes. It did not. So as a back-up plan we headed to McMenamin’s Cornelius Roadhouse
Pass in Hillsdale, OR.

I like shooting at the McMenamin’s establishments because they are so unique and they are always very gracious about photography on site. I hadn’t been to the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse but they have a beautiful old house, well-kept grounds and a pub (barn-sized) with lots of great old signs hanging about.

Bree and Jay were just a pleasure to work with and the two hours flew by. They were very relaxed and playful. I wanted to do a mix of natural shots and then some posed stuff with funky McMenamin’s art and signs in the background. The shoot was a blast and I am really looking forward to their wedding at Cedar Springs Country Estate.

Jay and Bree in the Imbrie Hall Pub upper seating area.

Jay and Bree take a moment upstairs while we are waiting for the rain to stop.

Garrett and Lauren underneath the St. John's Bridge, Portland, OR during their engagement photography session.

I recent shot some engagement shots for Lauren and Garrett that I wanted to share. Lauren and Garrett live in Florida but are getting married in Portland this fall. We decided to walk along the NW side of Natio Parkway then the weather held out so we did some shots at Cathedral Park underneath the St. John’s Bridge. Along Natio Parkway just on the North side of the railroad tracks there are some fun walk ways, brick facades which made for great back drops. We also lucked out because the rain held out to the very last minute.

Lauren and Garrett are a light-hearted and fun couple. We had a good time during the shoot. We tried to keep it really natural and just bring their playfulness and relationship to the imagery. The two hours just flew by.

I am in the midest of engagement photography season and the beginning of wedding season so there will be more to come very soon!

Lauren and Garrett just off Natio Parkway NW during their photo session in April 2010.

We had to highlight some of the couple's accessories for the afternoon.