February 19, 2010

Bend, Oregon Engagement Session For Bride and Groom-To-Be Jess and Chase

It’s kinda funny how things just fall into place.  Case in point, I found out about the area where we did this photo-shoot from a completely different source than expected.  This persons band website had these really cool promo images and when I saw that a photog friend of mine had shot the images, I was intrigued to find out where this area was.  Did I even begin to mention the fact that I’ve lived in this area since 96 and have biked literally 1-2 miles from this building 1000’s of times?   So, what really was this concrete foundation of a building shell used for?  I’m really not 100% sure yet but I’ve heard a few guesses transcending from fire lookout to irrigation something or other.

Fast forward a few days and I’m meeting Jess and Chase for a consultation.    It turns out that they not only knew the person in the band who’s images of the building I’d first seen, Chase had even lived with one of the other band members and knew about the photo-shoot himself.  Like Tetris, everything was falling into place and when they both agreed they were looking for images that were off beat, unusual and creative I knew just the place to take them.  Jess also told me about some chairs and a small sofa that they thought would be cool to incorporate into the shoot.  Family heirlooms you say?  Yellow velour?  It just doesn’t get any better!   I ended up scouting out the area the day before we did the photo-shoot and was super stoked to bring Jess and Chase out there.

Luck was on our side once again as I got up in the morning only to find a blue bird day in front of me and the sun shining.  Normally I’d be looking for a nice diffused light rather than a harsh sun to deal with during a photo-shoot, but this is February and far from Arizona temps!  Don’t get me wrong though, this isn’t to say that we were all basking in heat since the shade was still around 40F.  I was the only one moving around enough to stay warm so thank you Jess and Chase for making the images look warmer than you might have been!!  At this point, I usually don’t know too much about the couple I’ll be working with, other than our prelim conversations, so it’s fun to see how the two interact together, how their own personalities come through and really, how creative they’re willing to be.  Jess turned out to be from Melbourne Australia, 6′ tall and Anne Hathaway could be her twin and Chase is a student/musician.  Both have amazing hearts, super fun personalities and lots of stories.  I love stories.

After spending a bit of time with them, I really have to say that they were not only amazingly fun to work with, (the whole time they just laughed and  joked with each other and it was hard to get them to not smile!), but super daring to capture something different.  I’m sure I looked a little crazy to them as I climbed, jumped and hung off this building with my camera and equipment, (ah yes, I knew my years of rock climbing would come in handy) and still, even out in the middle of no where, a few people drove past with quizzical looks.  To be standing on a crumbly concrete shell of a building that looked more at home in Europe during WWII than in Central Oregon, this cliff side shoot with the rocks/ground at least 20′ down required some focus and Jess and Chase rocked it big time!  I look forward to the fun we’ll have at Smith Rock for their wedding.  Maybe a shoot on the top of Monkey Face is in order?

Such a sweet kiss….

True adventurers – they’re like 20 feet off the ground on the ledge!

One of my favs for SURE.

A rock star shot…

A pure beauty shot….

A serenade 20 feet up 🙂

I wanted Jess to stand on the edge, (only if she wanted to!) and have Chase on the other side of the wall. I’m still impressed at how calm they both look as they hold onto each other.  Now that’s confidence!

An antique couch added to the moment for the scene – we encourage our clients to bring props (thanks to Jess and Chase for adding this awesome touch!)

We also encourage and look forward to photographing couples in unusual areas that allow their personalities to flourish!

COMMENTS
Fidelia Rader

I must say that overall i’m extremely impressed with this blog.It is simple to ascertain that you are hooked in to your writing. If solely I had your writing ability I expect to a lot of updates and can be returning.

Nice blog….Keep up the good work

Nice looking blog you have here. The theme is awesome, great color combination.

Love the slideshow Byron!… What a treat 🙂 Looking forward to working with you more on our big day!!!

Love the photo of Jess and Chase on the yellow couch in the middle of the arid plane.

Thanks Byron for an amazing shoot and also to your wife for the speedy editing! We look forward to working with you more later this year.

ADD ONE