Dr. Theopolis Brings Down The House In Portland, Oregon
My mother would say that classical music is the only music to listen to. Being a professional opera singer I guess gives her some credibility and her thinking is: hey, isn’t classical the only form of music to still be around after 100’s of years? My father’s a bit more open to the idea that just because it was created in the last century doesn’t make it all that bad…..Joe Cocker, Johnny Cash, The Stones…..maybe it has something to do with the fact that a few in his family, including himself, played the drums. The bottom line is that music provides us with an outlet to express ourselves regardless of how we’re feeling. Ah, therapy!
It’s hard not to want to express yourself listening to the band I went over to Portland to see and photoshoot last weekend. I first caught wind of this 9 piece funk/rap band named Dr Theopolis back in 04 and have yet to find a band that always seems to be having more fun than the crowds they pack in. What would you expect from a band that’s named after a computer that sat around a robot’s neck in Buck Rodgers? Is there really a better way to shake your booty dancing while a group of extremely talented musician friends who’s catchy lyrics, as I’ve said before, are like Weird Al Yankovic’s on crack? Nope. Wrap this all up with a guy named, “Mr Fabulous” who’s job is to essentially dance with all the ladies in the crowd and you have the making of one solid night of entertainment! If you ever hear word of them coming to town, you’d be a fool to miss a show and if your willing to, “let your hair down” for a night, this might just be the therapy you need…..bring on the doctor! Please check out their website Dr. Theopolis to find out about shows and listen/purchase the music.
Mr Fabulous doing what he does.
How do they fit everyone in such a tight space? 6 of the 9 getting their groove on!
Frontman Ezra Holbrook
Till next time…the antics of Dr. T
Wedding Musician Duo “the Ashlings” at The Oxford Hotel in Bend, Oregon
Lauren Brauns and Amy Mitchell have filled this town with soft, sultry harmony for a few years now (playing under The Sweet Harlots). Now they have a new gig to add to their repertoire – Weddings. This dynamic duo – named “the Ashlings,” with Laurel having the most incredible voice and guitar and Amy, a beautiful cellist and backup vocalist, will no doubt be a wonderful addition to wedding music in Bend and surrounding Central Oregon. Amy Mitchell, part of a string quartet that played at our wedding (a few years ago!), added a beautiful range of traditional classics; together with Laurel, they make the most perfect blend of traditional and folk. Listen and learn more on their website: http://www.laurelbrauns.com.
It was our pleasure to take some photography to enhance them breaking into the wedding market. What better place to do it than The Oxford Hotel (new to downtown Bend, Oregon!), which is spread with modern decor and sophisticated style. It was the perfect backdrop for the photo shoot. We always have fun with these two and as usual the photo session was filled with laughs and Byron trying to be a ‘model’ and show them ‘the look.’ 
Special thanks to Ben Perle over at the Oxford for allowing us to lug all of our gear in to do the shoot in the first place!
We can’t wait to do some weddings together, so be sure to book these two fabulous musicians for a great addition to your wedding event.
- B&W
How swank is that?! (Wendy’s favorite)
A beautiful portrait – can’t you see this on a poster?
These two are never far from a smile…
Here’s a picture of the ‘egg’ (the silver coffee table) we kept laughing at. Damn, I want me a green rug like that though…
Official Coverage Of Facebook’s New Data Center In Prineville, Oregon
Wow, what a day! Lot’s of, “I wish I could tell you what’s going to happen/who’s moving to town but…I’d have to kill you…” type stuff has shrouded this event from the beginning. Well, it was finally unveiled today that Facebook will build and own their first data center, (rather than lease) in Prineville, Oregon. Evidently, the high desert’s dry climate is perfect for this type of operation and for all of us in Central Oregon we couldn’t be happier. From what it sounds like, all it takes is someone like Facebook to make the first leap and from there, other big guns in the tech industry, etc will be sure to follow.
It was great to be part of something like this. The event was basically on the site where the facility will be built, with the tents set up at the end of a road and security super tight. Most of the people attending, (including myself) didn’t know what business was coming until today. I’m really amazed this secret was able to last this long…especially with how powerful Facebook is! Excavation only began on the 130+ acre site about two weeks ago but when the GM overseeing construction drove me around to get some images, it was evident that by the beginning of 2011 they would be up and running-think, TIGHT schedule.
At around noon, Prineville Mayor Mike Wendel announced to everyone the big news and after several speeches, the official ground breaking ceremony occurred, lunch was served and within 1.5 hours everyone had moved on to their next appointment. I love challenges, and today I got to hammer out one of my quickest photo edits to date, since one of the stipulations for my shooting the event was that the PR firm in charge of the events media distribution needed the images literally after I was done shooting. Pressures a good thing….especially when things go right! So here’s to Facebook for putting Central Oregon in front of the world’s eyes. Oh, did I say again how much I love my job?!!
Big shout out to all my friends who did an outstanding day today. This includes Heidi Berkman with H. Berkman & Associates Inc., the Marketing & Special Events Consultant-541.480.8700 who made everything go silky smooth, Pinnacle Media’s Matt and JoAnn Hand for handling the video content, and Joolz Restaurant from downtown Bend for providing the amazing food.
Cheers-
Getting ready for the fun…
Mayor of Prineville, Mike Wendel showing some of the excitement we all are feeling!
Facebook’s Director of Site Operations, Tom Furlong (brown jacket) celebrating with others that got the job done!
Three of the finance wizards from Facebook–you can thank them for making it happen.
Miles Of Fun As MLK Service Day Kicks Off For Volunteer Connect
Man, yesterday was stressful. My wife says I’m sensitive but when I was going over to the vet to pickup Miles from having his “lumpotomy”, (he gets this non-life threatening tumor growing on his side and when it gets to grapefruit size it’s time to lighten the load for him), I was really, really happy to see he was wanting to get out of the cage!
We’ve had our two dogs Miles and Dizzy for 12 of their 13 years now and XC skied, mtn biked, ran and played literally 7 days a week with them. So yea, I was stressed I’d loose my terror of a lab that has done everything from destroy a new 4 month old couch, to eating 2 full boxes of chocolate fudge Cliff Bars (remember Ben?), to endless counter robberies of steaks, Costco apple pies and anything else that resembled food.
Between dropping Miles off and picking him up, the one redeeming event that allowed me to have a semi-productive day and not let worrying about my dog fill all thoughts was volunteering to shoot some images for the Volunteer Connect projects happening around Bend, Oregon during Martin Luther King Day. Helping out the community, seeing old friends and laughing with others took my mind off my furry friend. Cheers to all those hard working volunteers!
In the end, both my dogs lay next to me while I write this and I can’t help but wonder when they’ll be ready for the next adventure….Miles, get your head out of the trash dude…..yea, things really never change.
This is our Miles. He definitely has attitude and this shows it!
Paw’s R US
Not trying to play favorites, I needed to include Dizzy as well.
Friends With Flowers volunteers creating love for terminally ill patients in Central Oregon
Over at the Bethlehem Inn, volunteers fixing bikes for a good cause!
At the Bend Community Center volunteers work to create blankets for the homeless.
This young dude was a rock star, putting air into all the bike tires and doing bike maintenance!
Why Am I A Photographer?
You could say that I really liked picture books as a kid. All those colors….Seriously though, I’ve always been one to enjoy creating the story in my head while looking at the photo rather than vice-versa. I love how a photo can draw you in and whether it’s complex or simplistic in nature is irrelevant-what matters is the connection the viewer makes between the image and his/her past experiences. It’s trying to change your perspective on those past experiences that makes photography such an amazing tool. Photos speak differently to each one of us and since they are subjective, (like all art) the viewer gets to create their own reality. My teachers in elementary school were not far off when they said I was a daydreamer!
I love how photographs can change people’s perspectives on even the most ingrained concepts! How many of us have seen one “good” photo of ourselves (not even spectacularly great) and consequently not only gained an immense amount of confidence from that image but reversed years….OK, more like decades of panic when a cameras pointed in your direction.
What was the title of this blog anyways? Oh yeah, the bottom line is that I’m a photographer because it challenges me to look at our world in ways the average person might not, or even care to. When we get older we think we’ve figured it all out and I want to blur the lines to give people options for creating their own personal realities….which are, of course, amazingly wonderful, productive and positive realities….right?! Random thought, “What would interest newborns if they could take photos?”
The Best Wedding Images Of 2009 From Byron Roe Photography – Bend, OR
As Wendy and I leap into the new year we look forward to making new friends who are keen to our unique style of wedding photography, as well as keeping up with all our new wedding couple friends we made through out 2009. Thank you all for having the utmost faith in our talents as photographers for our inaugural year. It was a privileged to be part of each and every one of your special days!
Since everyone else is doing their “best of….” for 09, I thought we needed the best bride & groom images of 2009 as well! So here are the coolest images, (in our opinion) from the weddings we shot though out the year. I did the preliminary choosing without Wendy but I knew that it would be better to have lots of choices to pick from since they were destined to be debated once she looked at them! One of the great things, (among many others) about wedding photography is that they’re always unique and never dull. So sit back, relax and enjoy these images that were so inspiring for us to create.
