Matt & Emily | Summer of Love WINNERS

Time for some honesty, because let's be honest, who couldn't use a little more honesty in their lives? Here goes... All too often I think I forget the whole reason I'm doing this photography gig. I find myself caught up in the rat race (photography has become more than a little competitive...), wanting to get better and better and somehow prove myself to those who are further ahead than me. I want to be impressive to them. And so I miss the point. But... My clients bring me back to Earth. They melt my heart, they show me that there is absolute beauty in being human. And that there is no competition in that beauty- we all share it, we all embody it. I love to get a beautiful couple in front of my lens, to capture their true love and to come home and be touched to tears because of how perfectly imperfect they are and how awesome that is. Am I making any sense? Probably not... but the fact is I am grateful. I'm grateful for my extremely human clients who trust me and who are just as in love with their "perfect imperfections" as I am. And that is why I'm doing this. And I don't care who likes it, who approves of it, or how well-known my work is. At least I'd like to think that's how I feel about it, but let's not forget I am human...

Remember when Matt & Emily won the Summer of Love contest? They are in love a little bit. And I love them for it... because it was way fun doing their session!

Time for you to see their pretty faces in the longest blog post ever...

I saved the last one for last because I knew there would be some questions on it. :) So I have an old Argus Seventy-Five that I rigged for Through the Viewfinder (TtV) shooting. You can google it- but basically I built a tube around the view finder and shot through the tube with my camera. I got a couple really cool shots that I liked- this camera is pretty dirty and so I got a lot of neat texture and the borders looked just as grungy as I wanted them. So in Photoshop I just picked my favorite shots and made a little "storyboard" out of them. Sweet!

Soundtrack for today: Jenny Owen Youngs - Here is a Heart... listened to it about 30 times while editing Matt & Emily's session! :)

Sneak Peek City | Coming up soon on the blog...

Dustin & Brandy's engagement sesh


Aly's senior shots


My senior ambassador, Jon


And Megan's senior pics

Seriously, super excited to get these finished up! :)

Trace | Baker High School Class of 2010

Ok I am really short on time right now but I HAVE to blog this session before I get too far behind!

Isn't Trace a good-lookin' guy?!

Can't go too long without something a little funky! :)

Thanks Trace! You did a GREAT job and we had a lot of fun!

Become a Facebook fan | You know you want to!

|shirt on bed|
shot thru the viewfinder (TTV) of my sweet old argus seventy-five
there will be some sweet TTV shots coming up on the blog next week...
hold onto your shorts, I'm workin' as fast as I can!

Here's the deal. I say I am not a huge Facebooker, but the truth is, I am. I confess it to you, my cyber homies. I even have a Facebook Fan Page... If you haven't hopped on over to the Facebook Page, you might as well do it now and become a Fan because we are almost 75 fans away from having a Facebook PAR-TAY! And you don't want to miss it!

Once we hit 500 fans, we're going to hold some drawings for a free portrait session, free custom holiday cards, a free mentoring session for a lucky new photog, and even a cash prize! So why would you want to miss out on that?! Facebook fans get some first class confidential news before it even hits the blog, and on occasion we do contests and give prizes...

Check. it. out.


Soundtrack for today: Sonic Youth: Goo & the Pixies live @ the BBC

Phil & Sarah | The wedding...

First, I just have to ask the masses... Do you guys like seeing a bajillion photos from each wedding or would you rather I make these wedding posts more concise? Let me know in the comments section, mmmmkay? :) I personally have no problem blogging 30+ photos/wedding, but it may be bordering on excessive... I just love these weddings and their details and emotions- I have a hard time narrowing down what to share! :)

Everything was absolutely lovely for Phil & Sarah's big day. They were so awesome and gave me their vendor list so you can see who made the success of the day possible! Here ya go, wedding planning brides in the great E.O. ...

Invitations/Printing: Amy Rogers, Athena, OR (Amy Rogers is THE BEST and I refer her to everyone I know! Look forward to some sweet work we're partnering up on coming soon! Check her out!)
Flowers: A Bushel and a Peck, Kris O’Grady, Pendleton, OR
Caterer: Kristen M. Bell, Baker City, OR
Dance Band: Larry Robb Band, Baker City, OR
Bride’s, Maid of Honor hair design: Lavish Salon, Baker City, OR
Linen, chair, misc. rental: Eastern Oregon Rental and Sales, Baker City, OR
China, glassware, chairs, table rental: Brown Rental & Sales, Boise, ID
Rehearsal Dinner: Geiser Grand Hotel, Baker City, OR
Rehearsal Dinner Music: DJ, Liam Anderson, Portland, OR
Videography: Jon Croghan, Baker City, OR

(Don't worry, Sasquatch held the fort...)









(Phil sees Sarah for the first time...)