Simpsonized!

Taking a page from the brilliant Nate Kaiser of The Image is Found Photography, I decided to "Simpsonize" my little family. Here we are, Brad, Kian, and me--Simpson style. Fun stuff.
Simpsonize yourself here.

Newberg High Class of 2008: Portrait of a senior

As promised, here is the stylish and handsome "C". He was a lot of fun to shoot, easy in front of the camera, great eye contact, great conversation. Did I mention that I love my job??? Not only is this guy cool, he is super smart, athletic, AND he sings. Ok, "C" you can stop being embarrassed now :). Anyways, I got a ton of great images from this shoot. The hard part was picking which ones to blog. So I chose at random. Here you go Cardwell Fam, your sneak peak. I have lots to post later in the week. Check it out...or miss out. Also coming soon: The Paparazzi Party debut. Leave me a message or email me if you want to know what it's all about. If not, keep checking the blog to be the first to find out.

Out on the P-town

My dear friend Danielle came up to visit this weekend from San Francisco. I've known her since I was 14 (She is one year and one day younger than me.) We had a great time catching up and relaxing. Although she works as an occupational therapist, she is an amazing artist and photographer. I was lucky to have her do a couple of family portraits with my camera. It was weird being on the other side of the lens for once. We went out Sat. night and ran into my cousin Tony who drives a Pedi-Cab. He gave us a little spin around the block. Total blast. Here are a couple pics shot with Danielle's little point and shoot as well as one of me and Kian in downtown Tigard that Danielle shot with my Nikon. I loved that funky wall. I have another senior session to post tomorrow. Check back and scope out the handsome and very stylish guy I got to shoot. Ok, later.

Portraits of friendship

Last week Kian and I met our friend Laura and her baby "J" at the park. Our kids were born just two days apart and we've known each other since they were 5 weeks old. I love photographing "J" because she has the sweetest little face and such soulful eyes. My friend Laura is one of the most genuine people I've ever met. She really fits the saying "beautiful inside and outside." Right now she is expecting twins and I'm so excited to photograph them when they arrive. I've been playing with different processing options in PS and love the look of old school film grain on the one of Miss "J" on the slide. I also love the retro look of the one of Laura laying on the ground.
I'm so thankful for friends like these and so happy that Kian will have a lifelong buddy to grow up with.

More senior portraits

This shoot was so much fun. It was super hot and muggy, but mostly overcast. Some of the interesting things we came across on the shoot: Mites (Me: "What are all these tiny little beasts on my arm???" "M's" response: "Mites, I think." Me: "Do they bite?" "M": "They might." Ha ha ha. I set him up for that one. Let's see, then we went hiking through a killer bee/poison oak infested forest with no trail. Me: "Hey M, I think we just went in a big circle." M: "We did, there's that little clearing again but the way out has got to be around here somewhere..." Fun times. I will say that it was a fun little adventure and a nice change of pace from more static shoots. This guy was up for anything. And I think we got some killer pictures. Check out those eyes! Here you go guys, there are tons more good ones but this should do for now. I gotta get back to reading Harry Potter. I left off at a very exciting part.

My nephew

The California trip was a much-needed break. The weather was fantastic which made it hard to return to a lame Oregon summer rainstorm that has lasted the whole week. How unfair is it that it's July and raining? Anyways, here is a little storyboard I created of my sweet little nephew Thomas. He is my younger brother's boy and looks so much like my brother when he was a baby. I got to spend a lot of time with him and Kian wanted to hug him all the time. He also wanted to play catch with him which didn't work so well. Next year!

Senior portrait season

What a week! Between family visiting, packing for a move, packing for a trip and shooting, there has not been much time to post here on the blog. But this post will hopefully have been worth waiting for. This girl is soooooooo gorgeous! I had the opportunity of shooting some senior portraits of her. We had about 45-50 minutes of what the French refer to as l'heure magique or the magic hour, that glorious time just before sundown when the light is golden and everything glows and shimmers. Basically, we were racing against nightfall. But it was so worth it. I usually shoot a hundred or so images per hour and get about 30-40 that are "keepers". Well, I ended up with about 111 gorgeous shots of this girl. She didn't blink in a single picture, no weird expressions, no stray hairs...just that perfect smoldering expression in every single image. This is why I love photography so much. Here are three chosen at random. There are many, many more.
On another note, I will be on vacation from July 11 until the 16th. I will be away from phone contact but will have email access. If you are waiting for proofs or prints, they will be completed shortly after my return.


Till soon...