Inspired Photo Blog

Spencer and his family first came into my life in 2002 when I photographed them for a family Christmas card. Personal relationships are what I value most as I move through life and from the moment I met this family, they’ve been a part of my life. They are some of the most genuinely warm and sincere people you’ll ever meet. When you meet their children, you instantly realize what an amazing job of parenting they’ve done. Somehow, they’ve walked that fine line with their children between family values and real life wisdom. They are a very close family and the kids are always nearby, engaged in the conversation. Warmth is the word that permeates my thoughts when I think of them.

There is a funny story about our first photo shoot. Beth, aka mom, contacted me and asked what they should wear for the shoot. I told her that they should try to wear matching clothing so they looked like a family. No conflicting patterns, such as polka dots and plaid. Oh, and one more thing…no white. So, I show up to their home and everyone is running late. The sun is setting and we are racing against the clock. As the kids start coming out of their rooms and assembling for the shoot, I realized that mom has dressed them all in white shirts! We went ahead and photographed everyone and while Beth was happy with the photographs, I knew it wasn’t as good as it could have been. I asked if we could schedule another session and found out they were planning a family trip to the Oregon coast for Thanksgiving. We met at the coast and had a wonderful session on the beach at twilight. Some of my personal favorites were from that session.

So, it was an honor to be asked to photograph Spencer’s senior portrait. We decided to do the session at their new home. A beautiful home that could easily be featured in the pages of Architectural Digest, there was no shortage of possibilities. Spencer is a wonderful young man and dutifully went through the motions of this rite of passage. The challenge for me was to find his personality, lend a voice to the images that captured this time in his life. Of course, the weather was stormy and we started with straight forward head shots in the house. As we moved outside and found some wonderful locations, I never had the sense that Spencer was truly engaged until he started talking about his new car. And by new, I really mean old. His Subaru Justy.

Who doesn’t remember what car they were driving when they were a senior in high school? I had a piece of junk ‘67 Mustang that I eventually restored, but all through high school it was in various stages of disrepair. I miss that car and all the memories of freedom it represents. There was something magical about that Mustang, not to mention the sound system and life experiences that were lived out in that car. When I asked Spencer to pose next to his beloved car, I felt the magic happen. Then I asked him to dive into the pool with his clothes on and the photos started getting better and better. Are they the typical senior portraits? No, but I never claimed to be a senior portrait photographer. My passion is photographing people in a real way with natural looking light.

Congratulations Spencer on your upcoming graduation. This is when you step out of childhood and become a man in the real world. I hope you find your voice and change the world. Be true to yourself and never stop loving your family. Thank you for letting me be a part of that special time in your life.

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Debora and Grant were married at The Grotto, a beautiful 62 acre Catholic Shrine and botanical garden, this past Saturday. It was my first time to visit the Grotto and within minutes of walking into this sanctuary, I was struck by the serenity and meditative atmosphere of this well known Portland landmark.

The Grotto is a remarkable place. The alter is in front of a 150 foot rock cliff. There is an elevator that takes you to the top of the cliff where there are beautiful gardens and reflection pools. What strikes you is the calm and peace. This sanctuary resides just minutes outside the city of Portland, within the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. A perfect setting for Debora and Grant who possess a simple grace and elegance.

Just moments before the ceremony, Debora waits with anticipation for Sister Ruth to signal her to join her father and mother to walk down the aisle.

Grant seeing his bride for the first time on their wedding day.

The Grotto makes a spectacular backdrop for a May wedding in Oregon.

Grant’s mother blowing bubbles after the ceremony. Graced with southern charm, Grant’s family were some of the most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in quite some time.

Debora and Grant enjoying a moment of married bliss in the gardens of the Grotto.

I love this image. It represents being “in the moment” when your heart, soul and mind all come together. Conjuring the moment, being open to the magic of the present, relying on intuition and years of fine-tuning skills to the point of fluid reaction. Grant asked me if this was going into my portfolio and I replied that “every wedding goes into my portfolio”. Honestly, I challenge myself to share images from every wedding that I shoot. To make myself vulnerable every week. You’re only as good as your last shoot. I try to do my best work every time I pick up my camera. This keeps me focused and intuitive to the moment.

When I used to print in the darkroom, there was a magic that occurred when the image would come up in the developer for the first time. No matter how finely crafted your skills are, there is a magic that happens when you see “the moment” for the first time, removed from the day. It’s nice to know that even with digital, the magic still happens.

Best wishes to Debora and Grant; their friends and family. I felt that I was a part of your family for the few hours that I was allowed to share with all of you. Thanks to James, the best man for the Jagermesiter and Red Bull that I shared at the end of the evening. It was truly an honor and pleasure to be a part of this special day.

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Distinguished humans and humanoids alike were in attendance at the annual Oregon Museum of Science and Industry black-tie fundraiser OMSIOPOLIS. Donations helped fund OMSI’s Inspire a Child Program. A veritable who’s who among Portland were in attendance.

The theme this year was robots in honor of the featured exhibit Robots + Us produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota. This event proved to be one of the more challenging assignments I’ve faced in a long time. Tracking down major contributors for photographs in a room of 300 guests, difficult lighting ranging from sunlight to a darkened, near black dining room and an unprofessional photographer on assignment for a local magazine competing with me for every shot. Overall, it was an extraordinary event and it looked like everyone was having fun.

April, the event coordinator is taking a moment to celebrate all her hard work before the guests arrive. She created a 50 foot robot at the entrance with red carpet running beneath his legs. What a sight as you pulled up to OMSI for the event.

Suspended from the massive ceiling performing over the guests at the cocktail reception was local aerialist acrobat Kyoko Uchida. Truly spectacular.

While guests arrived and mingled, music was served up by 3 Leg Torso. An amazing local band, they truly set the stage for this event. An eclectic blend of world music from Paris to Argentinean tango and Latin music. Their music has been described as “all the beauty of Astor Pizzaolla’s music and the spirit of The Kronos Quartet.” Be sure to visit their web site. You can listen to their music on iTunes.

Photos of some guests in attendance at this fundraiser. These shots are typical of the type of photography that corporations hire me to create for their events. Cinematic, natural looking images of people being themselves with beautiful light.

The food looked incredible. Not bad when you consider that it was so dark in the dining room that I couldn’t tell if my camera was focusing properly.

Entertainment was provided throughout dinner by aerial acrobats. In keeping with the “let’s see how many challenges we can throw at Randy” theme, no flash photography was allowed during their performance. Fortunately, using the latest digital technology, I was able to capture these images with incredible clarity and detail. I could never have accomplished this with film.

Following dinner and the fundraising donations, Darth Vader and his Storm troopers surprised us with a visit. These were the actual costumes used in the Star Wars movies. I must confess that it was strangely eerie being surrounded by these very realistic props. I felt like I was in the middle of a weird Star Wars dream. And once again, in keeping with the “let’s see how many challenges we can throw at Randy” theme, they asked for a group photo in the glass walkway above the OMSI entrance.

Thanks for checking out my post. It was a long one, but I know you want to see photos and not read a photographer pontificate about technical challenges. Having said that, I am truly honored to be a part of the wedding and event photography community. We don’t have the luxury of taking hours to set up perfect lighting and creating beautifully crafted images. Our jobs require that we are flexible and quick. We have to locate and create beautiful moments from the most challenging situations. You never know what you’re walking into, but the true professional always delivers! So the next time you see a photographer, give them a hug and tell them how much you appreciate them.

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Debora and Grant are getting married in two weeks at The Grotto, a beautiful 62 acre Catholic Shrine and botanical garden.

We photographed their engagement session at Washington Park, which is a series of interconnected parks including the Rose Garden creating the largest wilderness park within city limits in the US. Since both Deborah and Grant are native Texans, they wanted to capture the beauty of their new home. Serving it up Portland style, here are a few photos of our walk in the park.

Congratulations Debora and Grant. I hope your friends and family enjoy this small preview of what’s in store for the wedding day. Call me a hopeless romantic, but this is what inspires me to keep doing what I do. Thanks for letting me be a part in the telling of your story.

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