Welcome Race Fans...

Memorial Day Weekend has always signified the start of summer to me, and, special memories of my Dad. He initiated me to the world of motorsports and always fostered my interest. He had a part-time job as a special policeman at Trenton Speedway, working the inside of turn one. In the late fifties & sixties, in the days before well equipped safety crews, if you crashed in turn one at Trenton, after he got you out of the smoking car, you got to meet my Dad. He mysteriously always came up with tickets to the races for my brothers and I, and would wave to us from time to time, somehow knowing right where our seats were. We did not find out until much later, going through his things after his death in 1968, that he'd worked all those days in trade for our seats. We joked about it then, if he wasn't dead already, Mom would've killed him ;)
Trenton Speedway was only a little over a mile from our house and we would skoot right over there on our bikes when we heard those engines whine. We had so many places to sneak into the track and unlike today, could get right up to the drivers. That's how I met Mario Andretti in my ninth year:
After college in the late seventies/early eighties, after girls and parties and photography, I started going to Indy every May until the mid nineties, when the politics of racing started ruining tradition, and a new family and more adult resposibilities kicked in. I still go every other year or so and on one occasion, met up with Mario again, signing bottles of wine from his new winery. I gave him a copy of the old photo (I just happened to have with me :) and we laughed at how much we have changed. We then switched poses for a new one:
So when people ask me today, how come I like auto racing so much, I just tell them it goes back a long ways, a different time, when nobody I knew liked auto racing, except my brothers, and especially, my Dad.

Wedding Marketing...

Been working with some cool new software to create web slideshows for immediate presentations. Here's one that showcases my wedding photography. Check it out!

Trojan Comes Down...

The Trojan Nuclear Power Plant's cooling tower was imploded this morning at 7:00:12. I got up at 3:30 AM, made a Thermos of coffee, then met up with another photographer buddy of mine, Dave Lutz, for the drive up and a battle plan. We decided on an ultra-secret road/viewing area that only a couple of hundred other people knew about also :) Got all the gear set up and fired away like madmen while the whole thing took about 4 seconds to come down. Right after, some guy in the crowd said "Well, back to bed!" and that about summed it up. It was an interesting collection of folks who left their cozy beds on a balmy morning to watch an extremely short historic event. We went back to Dave's to view our take and then home to catch a nap before a long shoot this afternoon.

You Dirty Rat...

The latest (Oops, hide the kiddies) from Rick Moore Sculptures. There are some neat photos on there of this piece in clay form before "the process".

Beating the Heat...

Sprinkler time! Portland hit 92 degrees today, so in between trips to the doctor's office, library, and ballet class, Brenna found a way to keep Dad busy and stay cool herself at the same time.

Mother's Day at the Mountain...

At Gayle's request, we all got up early and trekked up to Mt. St. Helens to do the tourist thing and get in some short hikes. It was a glorious day in the Northwest. With lots of snacks, water, juice, and sunscreen, Brenna held up great. Even with all the crowds, the Mt. St. Helens viewpoints are still a place of quiet contemplation for me. It is difficult to wrap my brain around the vast evidence of destruction and attempt to comprehend the power of nature and the awesome forces that were unleashed on that morning of May 18th, 1980. But seeing my two loves against that incredible background gave me a sense of hope, that I am seeing some remarkable forces of nature right there in front of me, like the mountain, continuing to evolve, change and grow.

Happy Cinco de Mayo...

Another interior for Interworks, LLC, shot this week. The vibrant colors of the flooring are repeated in the southwestern props and styling, just in time for Cinco de Mayo. Ole'!

The Music in Her Heart...

Shot portraits on Tuesday of this wonderful lady, Doree Jarboe, Director of Vocal Music at Grant High School, for an award program where she is the recipient.
We started with some formal ones with a canvas background then moved on to some more relaxed poses/lighting. I felt like I was in the presence of true Portland royalty, she is just the coolest person. I can only imagine how many lives she has touched and changed over the course of her 44 year teaching career. When I met her on a shoot about five years ago, we talked a lot about the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus", shot on location in her choir room at Grant. She had so many interesting stories to share about the experience! To learn more about this amazing lady read this!

This is the one she picked for the presentation.

Happy Birthday Brenna!

Wow, what a milestone! Our daughter Brenna celebrated her fifth birthday last week in fine style. Here she is with all her presents and cards from out of town. She had no trouble waiting till the big day as the postman was delivering the packages beforehand. It is truly amazing to see how much she has grown in such a relatively short time. We had some very good friends over that evening to celebrate the occasion and after cake and candles, Bren informed us all that she is now looking forward to turning six. Oh, please, please, slow down!

Interiors...

Delivered prints to my client, Interworks, LLC on Friday of this kitchen remodel they recently completed. I love shooting interiors because you often have to deal with all these light sources to get the shot to look right. Sometimes you have no usable light sources and you have to get creative. Strobes, reflector cards, spots, snoots and grids are some of the usual tools I use to get the drama going. Also, it's just plain fun going into people's houses, seeing how the other half lives and making it look it's best.