Downtown Portland

Today Ellen and I spent some time downtown shooting Portland culture. It was again record breaking heat today - 102 degrees. And Portlanders don't believe in AC as strongly as Phoenicians. So we found a lot of kids and families hanging out at this fun spot trying to stay cool. It was pretty cute.
We had lunch on the waterfront and walked around the marina:

I thought this shot would make a good postcard:


And we hung out with some interesting characters at Pioneer Square:





Tomorrow I head back to Phoenix. Can't wait to come back in August!

Oregon Beach

So today was sweltering in Portland so some friends and I went to the coast where it was absolutely gorgeous. Come to find out that we were risking our lives by doing so. Check out the signs we encountered on our way:

Don't worry--we made it out alive. No giant waves today.

Here are some fun shots from the beach:

Loving Portland

Things continue to go well up here. I'm having a great relaxing time. Come to Portland during the summer! It's so great. I'm staying with my friend Ellen. Here's some more cute pics of her:

She lives in a cute small town called St. Johns.


You have to drive over this awesome green bridge to get there:


I'm off to a BBQ with some friends--more later :).

More Fun in Portland

Out and about shopping in the Portland burbs today we found this fun wall art and Lindsay as she so ideally embodies these sentiments, agreed to pose for me.


And here's something you don't see in Phoenix:

Unfortunately there was only one umbrella in the bin, and it wasn't raining so I don't know if Portlanders are good at just borrowing.

And throwing something away in this city is a task in itself. Check out the trash bins in a market deli we visited for breakfast:

Check back soon for more of Portland :).

Portland

This week I'm up in Portland--one of my favorite cities to visit. I love it up here--it has a very distinct culture, is very artsy and is green--literally and figuratively :). It's also in the 50s to 70s right now which definitely beats the 110 degree heat that everyone in Phoenix is enduring.

The main reason I came was to shoot an engagement shoot for Tad and Diana, a couple who is getting married up here in August. But I extended my trip to hang out with friends and to get away for a bit. I'm enjoying shooting for fun up here and will post some photos from my trip throughout the week that paint a picture of Portland or are just plain fun.

When we stopped at a gas station yesterday, I saw this car:

And here are some other fun shots around town. I love the colors:




My friend Ellen lives here. This is her being all "model-y":


My roommate, Keri, also happened to be up here visiting Ellen and friends this last week. So our trips overlapped today and we got to hang out. Here's her cute mug:


Our friend Lindsay is also here from Phoenix. Here's her looking like a movie star:


We ate at my favorite Thai restaraunt in Portland and had a fun girl day:








Stay tuned--more fun to come :)

Photos featured on TV

A couple days ago, I got a call from Jennifer Ellis, the florist I worked with for the Frank & Jenna's wedding on May 20th. She is from an amazing flower shop in Scottsdale called White House Interiors & Flowers. Frank & Jenna's reception was one of the most beautiful I've seen and I have to give a lot of the credit to White House Flowers because they did an incredible job. Anyhow, Jennifer said they were being featured on a local television show, Shopping A to Z, and asked if she could use some of our shots to show off their work. The half hour show just aired this morning and it was fun to see some of my photos on TV! Click here to see the show. White House Flowers is featured at the beginning and end, so fast-forward the middle part unless you have a half hour to kill and like info-mercials :).

Father's Day Article

Father's day is coming up Sunday, so make sure you get a card and think about something nice to do for your dad. Yesterday, the Arizona Republic ran an article with creative ideas for Father's Day gifts. My sister and I recently put together a framed collage of some of the photos I've taken of my nephew's over the years and put it up in my brother-in-law's office. Josh was super-excited because he gets to look at his cute boys instead of a blank wall now at work. It turned out pretty good. And it ended up being featured in the article! Thanks, Brooke, for the plug! I love doing children's portraits, so give me a call if you've got some cute kids you want to capture before they grow up too much.

Happy Father's Day dad--you're amazing!!

Pre-designing Albums

We've started to handle our album design a little differently. We've found that it has been really difficult on brides & grooms to pick out their favorite photos for their album. So we are now pre-designing albums. Which means that we go ahead and design the album with the photos we believe the couple will like and create a beautiful design with about 3 times as many photos and pages than what they originally ordered. Then we place the design online for the client to view. They can either narrow down the pages to the size they originally ordered, or approve the album as is and pay per-page for the additional pages. We are also happy to change out a few images in the design to meet the clients needs. This way the couple gets to see what their album design could look like instead of having to make choices on whether or not to include certain photos up front. Click here to see our most recent album design.

Photo featured in Hotel Valley Ho Ad

A few months ago, I did a model shoot for the magazine, "Destination I Do" at Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale. Even though the shoot was primarily for the magazine, the hotel requested a CD of the photos from the shoot. And I found out today that they're going to use one of my photos in their ad they're running in two local wedding magazines. Here's what the ad will look like:

The hotel has a unique retro feel and would be a great venue for weddings, so check it out if a wedding is in your future :).

New Product - Custom Guest Book

We've offered these fun books to a few clients now but just got our studio sample in and I'm excited to share with you this great option for a guest book.

I really enjoy engagement shoots--they give me a chance to get to know a bride and groom before the wedding and we always come away with some great shots of the two of them having fun together. Instead of using a traditional guest book at the wedding with lines down the page for guests to sign, why not use a custom designed book with photos from your engagement shoot? Guests will enjoy looking through it and you will have a keepsake book to cherish the memories from that day as well as the thoughtful words your loved ones write.

Click here to see the pages of the inside of Kim & Michael's book. The book is 8x11 inches and covered in your choice of color linen with a photo on the front. Notice all of the space around and on top of the photos where guests can leave a note. Fun!

Lisa & David

Yesterday we wrapped up our Spring wedding season with Lisa & David's wedding. It was a great day. Lisa was a beautiful bride and the wedding was set up on a mountainside overlooking the valley. So it was beautiful... but also HOT. It felt like about 120 but I checked online and the high was 108--matching the record set for June 3rd in 1956!

The guests braved the heat well. Even though it was hot, I'm so glad Lisa decided to keep the wedding outside--outdoor weddings are always so beautiful.

Check out some of my favorite shots below. And Click here to view the slideshow. Thanks Lisa & David, for allowing me to be a part of your day!!