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.

Denise Palfrey and her daughter, Alexsa, stand out front of Jubilee Commons in Gresham, OR where their new Habitat home is being built.

Habitat homeowners share at the 2010 Hope Builder Breakfast

I was honored to attend the 2010 Habitat Hope Builder Breakfast put on by Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro East.  Habitat (Portland Metro East) shares their stories with the community at this annual fundraiser at the Portland Convention Center.  This year two wonderful women shared their personal stories with the group of over 1,000 people that gathered at 7:30 a.m., April 29.

I often volunteer for Habitat doing portraits of families and documenting their builds. I got to personally meet and work with Denise Palfrey and Julia Mines.

Julia Mines has been living in her Habitat home for 10 years now with her family and grandson. She said she could only afford to rent and often ended up moving from place to place. She by chance took a friend to apply for the Habitat program and ended up applying herself and getting approved.

“Once they accepted me my life began to change overnight,” says Mines at the breakfast. “It has allowed me to be the foundation for my family.” Mines is currently a drug and alcohol counselor and is in her 3^rd year at Warner Pacific University for Human Development.

Denise Palfrey and her daughter, Alexsa, are just now working off their 500 hours sweat equity before they can move into their new Habitat home. Denise was the victim of domestic abuse and managed to pull herself out of it at the same time getting into a 12-step program. Denise and Alexsa have been working and visiting the development where their new home will be and getting to know the neighbors who also have Habitat homes.

“The sense of community is an incredible feeling,” Palfrey said at the Hope Builder Breakfast.  “Today I have a work community, a church community and now a Habitat community.”

Visit Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro East: http://habitatportlandmetro.org/

Julia raises her Grandson, Ajani, at her home in Portland, OR.

Julia Mines (center), her Grandson, Ajani (left), and husband, Fred (right), stand outside their home which they purchase through Habitat for Humanity 10 years ago.

Introducing Quincy Davis to the already saturated and always interesting Portland music scene. Quincy and I had a great session in the studio just a couple weeks back. He is getting some photography and marketing tools together to launch his first album, and I must say that I like it.

His music is a nice fusion with contemporary, funky and a touch of old-school hip-hop. We tried to capture a couple different sides of him so the first part of the shoot we set up really dramatic lighting with some funky old furniture and records. The second half of the shoots we kept it clean and just used the windows and brick walls in the studio as a backdrop. I often get bored of the white backdrop and the brick and wood windowsills just seemed more appropriate.

I attempted to keep the lighting setup pretty simple setting up one big softbox in front, a backlight and light thrown up across the studio wall. Initially I was going with a really different concept and will confess right now, it didn’t work at all. However as in all things photography a really nice lighting scheme emerge from it.

It is always great to have a clear vision of what you want however it is just as important to be able to change and adapt on the spot. As I keep learning over and over again things don’t always work out the way you expect them too and light is no exception.

Check out Quincy’s music at: http://www.myspace.com/503

I just wanted to share a few more of the photos from the NW Wed Pro bridal fair. I didn’t want to overload one particular post so here are a few more of my favorites. Thanks again to everyone for all of the work they put into it.

I am going to be doing some fun stuff in the studio in the next couple weeks. Make sure to check back because I promise some new and interested material.

Mandy at the NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair at the Willamette Valley Country Club.

Misha at the NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair outside the Willamette Valley Country Club

Mandy at the NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair outside the Willamette Valley Country Club.

Misha shot using the photo booth.

Misha at the NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair outside the Willamette Valley Country Club

Mandy at the NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair outside the Willamette Valley Country Club

Mandy at the NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair photographed using the photo booth.

Mandy photographed using the photo booth

Misha modeling outside the Willamette Valley Club

Portland Bridal Fair Photos

I just thought I would share some photos from the Northwest Wedding Professional’s (NW Wed Pro) bridal fair at the Willamette Valley Country Club over Feb. 6 through Feb. 7. It was a smaller boutique fair with lots of great vendors and some really wonderful brides. Beverly Mason, The Radiant Touch, a wedding officiant and organizer of the NW Wed Pro organized the whole event putting together a great group of people in one place.

Misha and Mandy modeled dresses, jewelry with their hair and makeup done by vendors. They really captured the show and I wanted to share the photos. First we should make sure everyone gets due credit where it is deserved. Magnifique Boutique in Portland provided the dresses, Punch floral and styling along with Floral Sunshine provided the bouquets, Divismo provided the jewelry, Amanda with Pretty in Portland styled Mandy’s hair and makeup and lastly but not least Erin with Luminary Esthetics did Misha’s makeup while Nikki with Heidi’s Hair Salon did Misha’s hair.

Here are there links:
NW Wed Pro + http://nwwedpro.blogspot.com/
Magnifique Bouitque + www.magnifiqueboutique.net
Punch Floral and Styling + www.punchportland.com
Floral Sunshine + www.floralsunshine.com
Divismo + divismo@gmail.com
Pretty in Portland + www.prettyinportland.com
Luminary Esthetics + www.luminaryesthetics.com
Heidi’s Hair Salon + http://www.heidishairdesign.com

Mandy in a Magnifique Boutique gown and veil.

Misha in a Magnifique Boutique dress and with a Floral Sunshine bouquet.

Misha with a Punch bouquet and makeup done by Pretty in Portland.

Capture your Design

Well here it is my first real print advertisement. I have worked out a deal with Luxe Magazine NW, and I will be featuring four single page advertisements for the next four issues.

The magazine is a large, clean and contemporary with nice photo spreads and a good amount of white space. I wanted to get some fresh material that would work with the layout and catch everyone’s eye. I had an idea of what I wanted, but when I was going to get coffee on Belmont one day this piece just jumped out of the window at me. It is a collaborative vase by Made Studio and Esque Studio. Made is a local fine furniture and wood craftsman and Esque is a local glass studio and both do beautiful work so watch out Eames.

I shot the vase in the studio in one session. After toiling with 3+ lights and not getting the results I wanted, I dropped down to one light above and place two large reflectors on both sides of the vase. Viola. Sometimes simplicity is best. It was a bit tricky with the mixed medium and the opaque glass, but I am quite happy with the results.

I am glad I gave myself plenty of time and bothered everyone I could for advise on the layout because I spent a week moving stuff to and fro around the page. Perfectionists should know that perfection is impossible. A lesson I am still learning. This however is as close as I will get on this project and I am happy with it.

For more information about Made and Esque Studios visit: www.made-studio.com and www.esque-studio.com.

Getting Married? Please come to the upcoming NW Wed Pro Bridal Expo. I will have a table and a free photo booth for all to play with at the event. I have worked with and know almost all the vendors and they are all the best Portland has to offer. I look forward to seeing and meeting you all there and if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.

NW Wed Pro, a local network of independent wedding professionals is pleased to announce the 2010 NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair, benefiting Clackamas Women’s Services and bringing hand-picked local wedding vendors to an intimate setting Saturday, Feb. 6 and Sunday, Feb. 7 hosted at the Willamette Valley Country Club. All proceeds of this expo benefit Clackamas Women’s Services (CWS), a bridge to hope for survivors of domestic and sexual violence since 1985. Please visit www.cwsor.org to learn more about this amazing organization.

Mark your calendar for February 6^th and 7^th for two days of fabulous wedding professionals as viewed on http://nwbridalfair.com.

This is a bridal fair that you won’t want to miss. If you have ever attended a bridal show at the Expo or the Portland Convention Center, you know how impersonal, crowded and overwhelming it can be. At the NW Wed Pro Bridal Expo you can take your time, enjoy the views and have time to visit with the wedding professionals and view their work. The event will feature wine tasting, catering samples, a photo booth, how-to demonstrations, makeovers and many prizes and drawings. Whatever your taste and budget you will find everything you need to plan your affair.

Over 30 companies, mostly small local business’s that love what they do and it shines through in their work. The NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair 2010 will sparkle with glamorous gowns, door prizes, live music and entertainment, DJs, photographers, officiants, limousine services, floral design, travel planning, makeovers, elegant hair styling and new wedding ideas from The Wedding Book.

The 2010 NW Wed Pro Bridal Fair will be hosted at the Willamette Valley Country Club in Canby, OR located at 900 Country Club Place, Canby, OR 97013. See their website at www.willamettevalleycc.com. Show hours are Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. At the door there will be a $2.00 charitable donation to the CSW.

Please visit the NW Wed Pro Bridal Expo online at http://www.nwbridalfair.com for the latest info on the show, events and vendor information.

]]> http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/nw-wed-pro-bridal-expo/feed/ 0 http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/try-the-photo-booth/ http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/try-the-photo-booth/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:01:34 +0000 Sarah Galbraith http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/?p=246

We went into the studio last weekend and tested out the photo booth, which will be featured in the 2010 Northwest Wedding Professional’s Bridal Fair in a month. Please feel free to come by and try it out February 6 & 7 at the Willamette Valley Country Club. We had a good time as you can tell. I also feature this as a fun addition to wedding receptions and parties. Simply, you take your own photos and let the silliness ensue.

I set up my photo booth with a black backdrop, one large soft box and a couple remotes to trigger the camera and the strobe. We also played around with attaching one remote to a foot pedal so your hands can be free. It is fun. It is simple. And who doesn’t love fun photo booth strips?

]]> http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/try-the-photo-booth/feed/ 0 http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/a-bit-of-costa-rica/ http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/a-bit-of-costa-rica/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 21:21:35 +0000 Sarah Galbraith http://photogblog.sarahgalbraith.com/?p=223

Monkeys were swarming in the trees at Manuel Antonio Parque on Costa Rica's Pacific coast.

I just fell in love. Two weeks was all it took but I promise I will be back in Costa Rica. I just barely scratched the surface of this wild and beautiful country and will definitely be back. The people were wonderful, welcoming and made some of the best food and coffee I have had in years. We were also able to see some amazing wildlife through the thicket of the jungle. We saw macaws, monkeys, crocodiles, frogs and wonderful birds and bugs everywhere.

We started in Atenas visiting some wonderful family friends then headed to the Pacific coast to Tarcoles, which was teaming with wildlife. After a few days on the coast we tried to find Volcán Arenal, the most active volcano in Costa Rica. It hid in the clouds most of the time we were there but did give off a small plume of smoke.

We traveled around the west side of Laguna de Arenal, which was an amazing drive, to Santa Elena and Monte Verde. Santa Elena is a backpacker’s paradise and would definitely recommend the area. Our highlight was zip-lining through the cloud forest above the impenetrable forest canopy. We were ready for the heat and humidity of Puerto Viejo after a couple days in the mountains. I could have chilled on Caribbean coast for years and never felt an ounce of stress. Yah Man, it da pura vida man…

Volcan Arenal, from El Castillo, almost comes out from the clouds.

A Scarlet Macaw perced in an Almond Tree in Tarcoles, Costa Rica.

We hiked up to this waterfall from the Arenal Observatory Lodge on the south side of the volcano.

I wish I could saw I found this little guy in the wild but he was featured in a frog and butterfly exhibit.

This young boa constrictor was waiting for us at our room in Puerto Viejo wedged up in our shutters. He was great to meet and luckily no Fer de Lance.

It was difficult to say adios to the beautiful beaches and lush jungle on the Carribbean Coast.