Archives : 2009 : September

Taron and Ben Wedding at Seventh Mountain Resort – Bend, Oregon

The flow of the wedding day for the sweet couple, Taron and Ben, was a smooth one.  The rain even held off until five minutes after the ceremony!  Taron and Ben (and their adorable children) shared a beautiful, emotional ceremony outside at the Seventh Mountain Resort.  For the first time, the bride was ready before the groom – which added to some humor as Byron walked Ben (with his eyes closed) over some steps to the path of his awaiting bride.  Their family and friends were kind and laid back, making the entire event easy going.  During the reception, we couldn’t stop smiling as the bride and her father shared a ‘be-bop’ tune – swinging and celebrating to their father-daughter dance.  All the best to you both as you no doubt grow old together and share the journey of togetherness.

Bryanne & Bobby's Wedding At McMenamins In Central Oregon

Having a wedding at McMenamins Old St Francis School in Bend, Oregon can create all sorts of spontaneous fun for both the wedding party and the photographers.  Being next to Drake Park and the Deschutes River, in addition to downtown Bend and the endless little nooks around the McMenamin’s property was almost overwhelming for Wendy and my endless creative ideas!  We had such a fun time with Bryanne and Bobby for their engagement photoshoot that we knew that this day would be no different.  Wendy and I wish the two of you the most amazing lives together.  Cheers!

United Way Advertising Campaign Photoshoot In Bend, Oregon

I recently had the opportunity to do some work with United Way Of Central Oregon for a new ad campaign they were working on.  My friend Jeff Coffey’s who runs a cool streaming multimedia business called StreamiT http://www.streamitmedia.com/ offered to let us do the photoshoot over at his studio.  So with the help of Mark Quon www.quondc.com who would be the art director on the project we began working with the  volunteers who would be modeling.  All the volunteers on this project have helped United Way in the past so this made it real fun for everyone.  Having friends with children always seems to help at some point and in this case Jeff was able to call his two daughters up to join the fun and I was also able to get my friend Tracy’s two daughters as well.  I was amazed at how the three families of girls automatically were able to “act” as though they had know each other for years and the photos really show this!  In the end, we got amazing images and had a blast doing it.  Oh, why is the background all white, (for the most part)?  We shot against a green screen that allows the graphic artist to choose the color of the background, (preferably white).  I’m not a big fan of this but hey, I don’t get the opportunity to make someone levitate often!

The Sweet Harlots And Laurel Brauns In Bend, Oregon To Promote A New Live Tour

Last week I worked with Laurel, Amy and Molly of the Sweet Harlots to create some new images to promote a new live tour beginning soon.  Always fun to work with, the Harlots and I found some new cool areas in Bend with lots of potential for spectacular images.  We milked the daylight until it was gone and then was able to use some killer tungsten lights as a cool filler to get some crazy shots of the blue sky without flash.

John Paul Designs In Bend, Oregon Creates A Wedding Ring Or Two

My friend John Paul is from Wisconsin and maybe that’s why we get along so well.  A silent understanding of all dealings with bubblers, beer brats and Lambeau Field.  It could be also that I’m so impressed and intrigued with what this guy can create in his jewelry studio.  We’ve talked about having me come in to shoot a ring casting for some time now and when a good friend told me she was having her and her fiance’s rings made by John Paul this seemed to tie all the pieces together.  One thing I found interesting was that these rings were going to be partly made using gold melted from a South African Krugerrand that one of the family owned.  I’ve always been interested in how things are made and this was a real treat to watch a master artist at work.  I spent about three hours shooting and learning about working with metals such as gold and in the end left with a major appreciation to the skill and creativity John Paul brings to a trade that too easily gets lost in the assembly line creations we tend to see in major stores worldwide.  Not only has he produced pieces for names such as Bruce Willis, he also doesn’t use diamond glue!  OK, according to John Paul, diamond glue doesn’t exist but I still think he keeps a big bottle of the stuff out in the open and only hides it when he knows I’m coming over.  Everyone should check out his work at:  www.johnpauldesigns.com

Webcyclery Thrilla Cyclocross Race – Bend, Oregon

Think dirt, sweat, blood – that’s the beauty of cyclocross racing.  Guys and gals participate (Byron included) in this grind of a bicycle race each year for a few weeks during the fall.  They’ve got more guts than I do (which is why I’m shooting and not racing!).  The course is near Cascade Lakes Brewery – where riders cross barriers, go down the rock quarry and runs up hills with bike in hand.  Enjoy the pics and thanks to Webcyclery for giving us some great exposure to the Bend biking community.

-Wendy