Inspired Photo Blog

Summer hit full force in July. Today is the last day of the month and I’m still a little dazed with all that’s happened the past 3 weeks. It started with my 07/07/07 wedding. Two days later, we drove to Seaside, Oregon for a week long family vacation. This is an annual tradition for us, to spend a week together when all the girls are with us during summer break. Then I had a couple of days to catch up on business before leaving for a destination wedding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My return flight to Portland was cancelled in Denver and I was forced to spend the night as a standby passenger for an afternoon flight the next day. Just hours after landing in Portland, I had family arriving for a week long visit. To say it’s been busy is an understatement.

Ironically, I received this fortune the day before our vacation. After a relaxing week of bike riding along the Seaside Promenade every night, canoeing with my girls, roasting marshmallows, soaking in a hot tub with a glass of wine, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean, chasing my girls in the vintage bumper car arcade and showing them who’s their daddy, eating pizza and watching movies, I’d say this fortune hit the mark.

I brought my professional camera to take portraits of the girls, but captured this image with my Canon digital Elph. So many times I hear people comment at weddings that they wish they had my camera, because it takes such great pictures. I like to think that great pictures are made regardless of what camera you use and that vision is more important than camera gear. A great camera doesn’t hurt, but without imagination it’s worthless.

Now that my girls are getting older, they are opening up the world of MySpace and the art of the hand-held self portrait. My two older daughters are quite remarkable with this skill, so I decided it was time to show them how it’s done. This is Tammy and I enjoying a quiet moment on a hill overlooking the ocean as the girls ran through the surf.

Here are my precious girls. Kaylee, Megan and Kara triumphantly returning from their run through the ocean surf. I know they don’t look very wet but they are girls and some things will never change.

Yes, it’s a curse. I’m always looking for beautiful light, even on vacation and found it in this little garden shed at the house we rented for the week. This is Tammy and Kaylee. It’s frightening how much they look alike. I honestly don’t see any of myself in her. Probably a good thing for a girl.

On the other hand, her mom would argue that she may look like her mother, but gets her attitude and playful sarcasm from her father. The girls are 9, 14 and 16. Between the 9 year old wanting to be a teenager and the teenagers being themselves, on any given day we have quite a range of emotions. These are a few portraits of my girls against this wickedly cool wall in the rental house with natural light from a door.

One of the better vacations we’ve all shared. It’s always sad when it ends, but reality never seems to leave for very long and another adventure was waiting in the wings. By the way, if you ever want to locate a really cool beach front rental for your vacation in Oregon or Washington, you have to check out BeachcombersNW. We met the owners of this web based business through our daughters (Kaylee and Kylie). They became fast friends in kindergarten and to this day are the best of friends. We’ve used their listing service for many of our vacations and have always been delightfully surprised.

The weekend after vacation, I was flying into Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a destination wedding. More details about that later. What struck me when landing at the airport is how small it is and how many learjets there are everywhere. This is obviously a playground for the rich and famous. Picked up my rental car and stopped 50 feet outside the airport. As far as I could see, all the way to the horizon, there was nothing but sage brush. I called Jonathan Adams, a friend who’s also a photographer (living in Jackson Hole 3 months a year) for a quick navigation check. I called him my Onstar guide as he graciously gave me directions and even drove out to meet me at the airport and show me some of his favorite shooting spots and how to find the city of Jackson Hole. He told me that the airport at Jackson Hole was the only airport located in a National Park. That explains the size and the abundance of sage brush.

Yours truly, Jonathan Adams (JD for short) and Shane Knight. Jonathan introduced me to his dear friend Shane, a truly gifted artist. During my free time, I hung out with Shane at an art show being held that weekend. I fell in love with more than one of his images and wish I could afford to buy a couple of them. Shane’s the genuine article. Horse wrangler, photographer and all around nice guy. A modern day western cowboy. I was in awe of his stories surrounding his images and how he captured these silent moments in the mysterious world of horses.

Jonathan introduced me to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and one of the best breakfast burritos I’ve ever lifted to my mouth from a place called “The Dog”. If you ever make it out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming…take the time to find the “Dog” off the square. I think it stands for “Down on Glenwood” street, but couldn’t find anything on Google. It’s there, just ask the locals.

The weekend ended with a quick flight from Jackson Hole to Denver past some very ominous looking thunder clouds. After a quick layover in Denver, I was informed that my return flight had not left Portland and would be delayed at least 3 hours. After waiting 2 hours for an update, I was told the flight would be cancelled. What ensued was a mass of travelers scrambling to the ticket counter to reserve their spot on the next available flight and a hotel room. I was given a room at a very nice hotel (half an hour away) and a standby ticket for the next afternoon.

I’ve always admired the Denver airport, having transferred through there a number of times. I’ve never been stuck there or had to leave on a flight that originated from Denver. Having done both on this trip, I will avoid that airport at all costs. The word waiting is one that you better get used to when using the Denver airport. Waiting at the Alaska Air ticket counter for hours to get your travel plans resolved, waiting for your luggage, waiting for the shuttle that seemingly would never arrive, waiting in line at the hotel to check in behind all the other stranded passengers, waiting for hours going through the massive lines at airport security the next morning, waiting in long lines for a bagel and orange juice, waiting for what seemed like days to find out if you were leaving anytime that afternoon on standby, hopefully before your out of town family guests arrived later that evening…waiting, waiting, waiting.

It’s been a month of madness. Summer madness. And yet, just as I tell all my wedding couples, the story is in the things that go wrong. No one wants to hear about a perfectly executed trip or wedding. They want to hear about the things that went wrong. Thankfully, aside from that trip, the month was full of the love and warmth of family. I met a lot of new friends and had a great adventure. My girls are growing up so fast and I’m very proud of who they are and the choices they’ve made. Now it’s time to get back to work! Enjoy the summer and thanks for hanging in there during my absence from writing.

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Imagine getting married at a historic house, built in 1851 as a wedding gift. This was the spectacular setting that Hannah and Trent selected for their wedding on June 23rd, 2007. The Ainsworth House and Gardens, located in historic Oregon City, are nestled in a residential neighborhood on two acres of property. A beautiful setting of trees and manicured gardens.

Hannah and Trent’s wedding was an intimate gathering of close friends and family. The setting provided the perfect backdrop for their outdoor wedding and the natural light illuminated the reason every bride wants a summer wedding. Here are a few of my favorite images from their wedding day.

Hannah’s father was a commercial photographer. Although she grew up being in front of the camera, she was not comfortable being posed. The best images of Hannah were naturally honest, candid moments of her being herself around her friends and family. Trent, on the other hand, was less casual. Within the first few minutes, I correctly guessed that he was a military man. Not that he was stiff or uncomfortable, just that he carried himself as a soldier, used to standing at attention. He was a true gentleman and when he was around Hannah, you could sense the passion and love that he felt for her.

I’ve had brides write to me and ask if I photograph formal pictures. While I don’t showcase formal photographs in the limited space of my blog, I wanted to throw one in to illustrate that formals can be fun and natural.

A wonderful moment between father and daughter just moments before walking down the aisle.

The Ainsworth House features a beautiful ponderosa pine tree that is hundreds of years old. It’s one of the largest trees I’ve ever seen and is the perfect setting for a wedding ceremony.

I’ve always said it’s hard being the flower girl. One of the toughest jobs at a wedding. This little girl took her job seriously. What’s hard to impress is the weight of this bouquet. I was shocked at how heavy it was and how gracefully the flower girl dealt with it and never complained.

A posed moment after the wedding, taking advantage of the southern plantation pillars on the front of the house. Beautiful light. I love the look on Hannah’s face.

As you know, I’ve been tasking Kristen on shoes and wedding details as part of her training this summer. This is a beautiful image of the wedding rings by Kristen. Well done!

I don’t know how these two are related to the couple, but I really enjoyed photographing them. They had so much life and passion for each other. It’s great seeing older couples still in love. They were laughing, dancing and always touching each other.

What a beautiful day. We met so many wonderful people and had a great time photographing this wedding. The setting was perfect and I’d love to come back some day. Congratulations to Hannah, Trent and your families. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day and I with you both a lifetime of happiness.

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Erika and Matt were married on June 15th at New Heights Church in Vancouver, Washington. Matt works at New Heights and both of them are involved in the church. The church is typical of many newer churches in that it’s set up for closed broadcasts to satellite locations. The stage is very well lit, but not exactly the setting you want for your family and friends pictures.

Instead of starting at the church, we decided to meet at the City of Vancouver’s Water Resources Education Center along the Columbia River. This well kept secret in Vancouver features tree lined walking paths and observation points along the Columbia River. It’s easy to access and stage photos with large groups of people. On most days, it’s relatively private as well.

Erika and Matt are both very private people and working up the nerve to have photographs taken on their wedding day was quite an accomplishment. They both seemed to relax around each other and we had a lot of fun (if you call formals with your family fun). It was a warm and muggy day with little tufts of cotton blowing in the wind from the cottonwood trees lining the river bank. At times, it looked as though it were snowing. Not great for those of us who suffer from allergies. Here are a few of my favorites from their wedding day.

The flower girl, Randi was a lot of fun and always up for a photo opp. We shared a special bond that day. She is the same age as my youngest daughter and we have the same name.

Playing with my wide angle lens and the dramatic clouds we had that muggy day.

This image, captured by my associate Kristen, shows a playful side of these two brothers.

During the reception, I spotted Matt nearly running across the room. I knew something was up, so I decided to follow him. Ends up he was desperately in need of a Coke. Busted, all he could do was stand there, cornered and smile.

Their wedding was simple, an intimate wedding with a gathering of family and friends. It was a pleasure meeting all the family, especially Matt’s grandfather who flew out for the wedding. He hasn’t flown in an airplane since World War II. He was quite a personality. Erika and Matt literally drove off in the setting sun as husband and wife. Congratulations to both families and the newly married couple. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wedding day!

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Summer may have officially started, but everyone in the Northwest knows that summer around here starts on the 4th of July. The rains that we are so famous for seem to disappear after the 4th until late October. This is reflected in the weddings that I photograph. The vast majority take place between July and October.

Today we will join our neighbors for our annual celebration and fireworks madness. In Vancouver, fireworks are legal, including all sorts of roman candles and shooting, bursting, booming, exploding pyrotechnics. The kids love the sparklers and smoke bombs and watching their dads run into the middle of the street with a punk hanging out of their mouth, light the fuse and run like crazy before it explodes to the screaming delight of the kids.

This is the Aids flag memorial quilt that was displayed at a Seattle 4th of July celebration many years ago. Wherever you are today, take a moment to appreciate the birth of our nation. Hot dogs, apple pie and fireworks are all time honored traditions that everyone will be enjoying. To the brave men and women serving our country in the military, a special heart-felt thanks for defending the very liberties we celebrate this day. Be safe, be careful and most of all have fun. Happy 4th of July!

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Alright, so I exaggerated just a bit. The truth is that the average bridal party has three bridesmaids and three groomsmen. Not so bad. But at some weddings I’ve faced the challenge of photographing bridal parties with nearly three times that number of people. With nearly 20 attendants in a bridal party, trying to come up with exciting ways of posing large groups of people is always a challenge.

Family photographs always come first at weddings and when things run long, as they almost always do, it’s the bridal party that has to make up time. Many couples have their best friends in the bridal party and to them, they are every bit as important as family. With two photographers, it’s easy to separate the family and bridal party. We can be in two places at the same time. But at some point, the entire group has to be photographed.

So what can you do? Well, the most obvious solution is to line them up. With so many people, it can quickly turn into a panoramic. We’ve all seen these line ‘em up poses. If you group them together, it can start looking like a mob. Striking a nice balance between the two is the challenge. I always look for ways to capture the group as a whole, but give each person the space to express their own unique personality.

Here are two examples illustrating this point. One is from the 2004 wedding of Stephanie and Joe and the other is from the recent wedding of Karra and Paul. These are great images to share because of the number of people. Also, Karra was a bridesmaid in Stephanie’s wedding and Stephanie was a bridesmaid in Karra’s wedding. See if you can find them!

Click to see larger version

This panoramic image is actually a composite of 17 separate images. Before the wedding, I previsualized how I wanted to photograph this fun and rowdy group of friends. There was no wall large enough to photograph the entire party, so I came up with the idea of finding a nice section of wall and photographing them individually, being themselves.

The biggest challenge was time. This whole sequence was photographed in under 5 minutes and the bridal party left, arm in arm, for the reception. Normally, I try to stay away from harsh sunlight, but I wanted the shadow on the wall to give it more depth and energy. The stripe on the wall was an unexpected challenge and I had hoped to merge these all together seamlessly. In the end, I decided that I liked the chopped up look of the final panoramic. I hope to try this again at another wedding this summer. We’ll see where this idea takes me, so stay tuned!

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