Fantasy Art...

Sculptor Rick Moore was coming over this morning to drop off a new piece for shooting but something came up. I pulled out some of his other work I had shot previously and made a few promo cards. His stuff is really out there and pretty incredible to view. Check out Rick's work at www.rmooresculptures.com

One for Ash...

Thanks for all the kind comments. This basket from Hawaii reminded me of some of your photo subjects! From a friend's house, Easter Sunday.

Backlighting & Teles...

Love the effects of backlighting and telephoto lenses together! From a friend's back porch, Easter Sunday.

A Bug's Life...

From large groups down to one little insect, meeting photographic challenges drives me on. This Stagmomantis Carolina, more commonly know as a Praying Mantis was discovered on my brother's porch one afternoon. I quickly set up my tripod & camera, outfitted with extension tubes and a close-up lens and proceeded to compose my photo. Ever so slowly, the mantis turned its head in my direction, revealing either a dilated pupil or a contracted iris. Either way, it's eyes were completely different! Shooting from the side, I could only see one arm as the far one was obscured in the praying position. I thought, if I could manipulate this pose, I may have a more interesting shot. So in what could only be described as a Zen moment, I grabbed a sprig of grass, and oh-so-gently and slowly raised the foreground leg to produce some separation. The mantis continue to hold this pose for 36 frames of slide film and was still looking at me as I left the scene. Being able to live stories like these are why I love photography so much!

Intimidation...

Shot Jesuit High School Boys and Girls Track teams yesterday in Knight Gym. In the past, I used to be intimidated with having to photograph such large groups, but those days are long since over. It's really pretty manageable if you think of it like putting a rather large puzzle together, there is a place for every piece. You definitely need good people skills, be direct when speaking, make eye contact, and even though it's a large group, treat them all as individuals, which they are. It can all go to hell rather quickly, however, if no one is paying any attention to your directions, pushing, fighting, throwing up, etc.

Carla & Cliff...

Putting together some new marketing materials for my wedding photography as the romance season is starting to book, I ran across this cool image of a terrific couple, Carla & Cliff. Teresa Flynn Kohl and I shot their wedding at the Portland Forestry Center and this is the shot I remember most. A bubble in her mouth is just too perfect! A fun image of a really fun couple!

Come Monday...

Here's one from last summer as I'm getting acquainted with some new technology. It was shot on a little Canon A85 and is a classic example of being prepared and ready to go when life happens and is a good reason to always have a camera nearby. We had been listening to some Jimmy Buffett in the van since the weather turned, on our many rides to and from daycare. Brenna would often ask to hear a song over & over a few times, as many kids do, feeling comfortable with the repetition. We had no idea she'd been memorizing this song. With our friend, Doug, over and a bottle of wine opened, Miss B asked to do a song. I said sure, and started to shoot this video. This is what came out to our utter surprise! The camera shake is from me laughing so much while trying to remain silent!

Parents and Parenting...

As many people do, I never really gave parenting (or insert your current affliction here) much thought until I became one. The above two images are variations on a similar theme, both tight studio portraits of that special bond between parent & child. Creating intimate moments like these in the studio are often a challenge, but these two sittings were a pure joy. It is great energy to be around. After a while, the emotional closeness becomes evident on both ends of the camera. I have grown to be a parent, and by being a parent, continue to grow.

Daycare Day on Broadway...

We see pictures like this one all the time in trade & industry magazines but I've recently learned what a logistical nightmare they can be to pull off. When I received the call in late December from my client, Martin Marietta, I had no idea how much time would be spent trying to get this one photograph. MM manufactures and installs the composite material used in the roadbed of the newly renovated Broadway Bridge, crossing the Willamette River, connecting east & west Portland. Vying for an industry mag cover, their idea was to highlight their material with a shot of the bridge opened up, showing their product on the underside of the opened span, with the city of Portland in the background. And, they reasoned, if the bridge was open, they wanted a huge mother sailing through on her way in or out to sea for added drama. Huge, but not so full of cargo that it obscured the bridge. The only dock east of the Broadway that can handle ships this size is "O" Dock, a grain loading platform. No problem I thought, I'll just call up the bridge commission, get a schedule and find out when a big honker is leaving, get out there, set up, and get the shot. Well the first opportunity to do it landed on Christmas Eve and, as committed as I am to my craft, I was hoping beyond all get-out that I wouldn't have to peel away from family & friends to do it and that's exactly what happened. They never got the ship loaded in time, night fell and it didn't leave the dock until two nights later, ruining any chance of a daylight shot. With no ships coming or going for a few weeks, our cover possibility disappeared, although I did submit some cool nighttime shots they didn't use because, well, it was nighttime. At least fifty phone calls later and six times where I got the call, got out there and then waited in the rain for a few hours only to find out loading was slow and the ships wouldn't leave till dark, one cloudy Monday, my ship came in, as it were. Only problem was, that was my daycare day with my little four-year old daughter and she would have to tag along, trooper that she is. With a forty-minute lead time, I threw all my photo gear (two cameras, digital AND film, tripods, filters, etc.) a blanket, and as many My Little Ponys as I could rustle up, into the van and raced across town to the location. When I got all the gear set up and saw the red control lights stop traffic from crossing the bridge, I knew it was finally gonna happen and my hands were shaking as the span started to lift. I did a final focus on the cameras, held a cable release in each hand and was yelling to Miss B "here she comes!" like we were watching Mt. St. Helens getting ready to blow. When the Liberty Glory came into view, five months of prep came to fruition, and my chest nearly burst as I fired away. I only wish I had gotten a picture of Miss B, happily playing with her Ponys on a blanket in the foreground, while the silent, massive ship cruised by in the background, one for the scrapbook. Although they rejected it, this one with the yellow dump truck and the bus in the lower left was my favorite, showing many forms of transportation all at once. My heartfelt thanks go out to Beth, Tony, Abby and especially Nancy who went out of their way to help me do my job and get the shot.

Snow Fun...

We're on Spring Break around here, so we went over to Sunriver and Mt. Bachelor for a few days of fun in the snow and to recharge our psychic batteries. Ski lessons for Miss B were a bust but the tube runs were a huge hit! Cruised around Bend and Eagle Crest for a while and really got a sense of why I miss the desert so much. I'd like to write more, but our table's ready!