Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Lydia





A couple of classic shots from a studio shoot this week. The photo session was even more interesting when I learned that the model, Lydia, is married to a Moroccan. Since we've both been there recently, we talked about Morocco as we worked, and about the 5 or 6 languages she speaks, and the 5 or 6 jobs she holds.


Thursday, October 23, 2008

FamLea


I love all the interesting family portrait photography I get to do with the interesting people of Portland!  The Lea family has a pretty cool house in cozy Multnomah Village. When they invited me over to create some fun family and individual portraits, I didn't know that they also had...chickens! After some tea and conversation, we got right down to business, including down on the play room floor. Later, out at the chicken pen, their little boys were showing us the chickens. As Harper held the chickens up, a couple of them started flapping their wings like crazy and fussing. "It's a chicken debacle!" he cried. I was impressed. That is an eight year old with a vocabulary.







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Fall is Portrait Season in Portland

For whatever reason, Fall seems to be the season people want professional portraits here in Portland. I've had a lot of fun working with individuals, high school seniors, families, and business and magazine clients to create some cool portraits. Here are some recent samples:









And a little self-portrait, while I'm at it:

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Living to the Hilt with Maheen






Maheen saw my photographic portrait work online and fell in love with it, so she hired me. As we walked and talked and photographed, she told me a little of her story.

A couple years ago, she was driving in Florida with her sister. A truck smashed in to her side of the car, and when she woke up in the hospital, she had multiple fractures in her pelvis, and trauma to the side of the head. In just a few days, her nerve damage turned to paralysis.

She tells me that before her accident, she studied hard, worked hard, and was advancing in her field. But after the accident, and after her paralysis lifted, she decided she needed to do a little living. And living, for her, included sky diving. And having her portrait taken every year.

Well, it turns out she just had her portrait taken a few months back, and she was researching photographers to work with next year. When she found my work, she decided she couldn't wait until next summer to work with me, so she emailed me, and we set up a location portrait session.

Even though she said she would freeze up in front of the camera, I assured her she wouldn't. Although I thought she might freeze up toward the end of our portrait session, when she waded out into the Willamette River across from downtown Portland.

I think every time a portrait subject gets into a body of water, the photos are extra cool. I told her later that whenever I tell someone about our portraits in the Willamette River, they tell me how impressed they are by her courage. She wrote back, "ha ha ha! i guess you only live once! might as well live it to the hilt!"

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Stephanie and Scott at Youngberg Hill Vineyard


It's always a little dicey scheduling an outdoor Portland wedding photography shoot at the end of September here in Oregon. But Stephanie and Scott got lucky, with perfect weather. A perfect day for photography. Lots of kids. And at Youngberg Hill Vineyards, where their wedding took place, the grapes were purple and ripe. We each tried one.





This guy sure had fun playing with the kids. Or rather, the kids sure had fun taking him down. What a good sport.