Moreover, Michael’s got this snazzy style – a look that’s edgy and fun that we found perfect for our new promo images.  For those of you that know Byron, you know that he had his outfits picked out in a heartbeat (rocking his vegas shirt and Italian 3-collar shirt, favorites in his closet).  Me, on the other hand, pulled out a fun hat and my Italian jacket and spent an entire day going back and forth on the rest.  I now know what it feels like to have the shoe on the other foot and all that goes into the planning for an engagement session!  Whew, the bottom line takeaway was that I obviously needed to go shopping – of course.

Below are the favorites for the session that show off Byron’s and I’s snazzy, fun side – cause that’s how we rock it.  Michael did a STELLAR job at guiding us (and that’s hard to do when we’re so used to being on the OTHER side of the camera) and getting the shots we need to continue to promote our brand, our style, and our personalities.

Thank you dear friend,

B + W

Ta Da!  This wins the cake and is our new official promo image of Byron Roe Photography.

This one is the runner up

Thank you so much Elena for the creation of the series, for giving us a platform to speak about how we’ve defined our success to date and share some of our recent wedding and engagement photography!  We are grateful.

Here’s to small businesses to doing great things…

B + W

Full Article: http://www.altblu.com/2011/06/small-business-success-byron-roe-photography/

Here’s a few lessons learned on life through our fathers:

To: Byron Sr.

• For me, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from my father and really what makes me who I am, is the ability to be in the moment enjoying whatever is happening.  I grew up racing sailboats on Lake Michigan and as much fun as it was to win or be ahead of 30+ competitors at times, (to be leading a pack of sailboats with spinnaker’s up in a regatta is quite a cool feeling!), I never saw my father get frustrated at not finishing first, (or last for that matter) and that impression always stood with me.  I learned from my father that you should always do the absolute best you can with everything but the end result might not necessarily reflect that, and that should NEVER take away from the enjoyment of the process!!
• How to jump into projects and fix things.  True, there are people out there who have an uncanny ability to understand and fix most anything, (yes, I am one of those people…much to Wendy’s pleasure).  However, I do think that most of the time it isn’t about true talent as much as it’s about having the confidence to jump in and undertake the process whether it’s to dismantle or create.  My father taught me to never fear trying anything and keep an open mind.
• To love people!  My father has always had a clear cut way of dealing with people.  You treat people how you want to be treated, you don’t play games with them and you always try to give more than you expect to get in return.

I am forever grateful to have an amazing role model like you dad!

Love, Byron Jr. (that would be Byron the third….or terd)

To: Ron Epner

• One of the biggest things I owe my father is the education in learning how to run a business and customer service.  My father comes from a family of entrepreneurs and started his own practice many years ago with the principle of with serving clients with total respect.
• The next best thing I learned was an active lifestyle.  Since I was 3 years old, I’ve always been involved with sports: gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, rollerblading, rowing, climbing, biking…you name it.  Dad, your love for hiking and the outdoors made a huge impact on me   Living in Bend is gluttony!
• Money, I was taught is the currency of life.  It’s not EVERYTHING, but it does grease the wheels and give you choices and wonderful experiences in life.  In terms of making money…along with business, I was taught to never sell your self short.

**And Dad…no, Calculus is not good for the soul.

Love, Wendy

Mr. Byron Roe, Sr.  and me on our wedding day          Photo Courtesy of: Green Door Photography

Dr. Ron Epner and Wendy on our wedding day          Photo Courtesy of: Green Door Photography

Your wedding day is soon approaching, your reveling in your partner and nerves are kicking in. You reminisce about your first meeting, your first date, your first kiss…and dream about what it will be like to walk down the aisle. You want to express your love and fears, your joy and nerves, your appreciation and your goals as you are soon to share in life’s journey together. You’re given the opportunity to write a love letter, to whom you are about to marry and share with the world your love in written form. That is our letter series.

It’s a letter written from bride-to-be or groom-to-be to be paired with their engagement session images on our blog.

Fastforward to January where we heard about our favorite ‘First Friday’ venue TBD Loft community project for the year.  Their year-long series is inspired by Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs.’  This famous psychologist had a theory about every human sharing the same needs from survival to love…to enlightenment.  The ‘love or belonging’ June/July showcase was the perfect fit for the love letters and thus submitted our work.  Upon an excited acceptance, we debuted the pieces on Friday and will also be participating in the July ‘First Friday Art Walk.’  Seeing so many familiar and smiling faces was the best part about the show.  Thank you for all those clients, friends and fellow photographers for joining us!  Twist Cocktail Catering Co. (one of our fellow wedding vendors we love) was also serving up the bar all night long.

Most of all, thank you Paul Evers and the entire TBD staff for doing this project and including our work.  Your team continually pushes the envelope and creative community spirit of Bend.

See you in July 1st (be sure to mark your calendars!)

B + W

Each of our letters have a ‘QR Code’ scan-able by your smart phone so they can view the wedding images from the couple.

Each piece had a handmade galvanized metal frame to accompany the metallic prints.

And here’s one from friend and fellow photographer – Kimberly Teichrow: (thanks for sending us these!)

For the first time, a real merging of past and present have come together for me.  It’s been really exciting over the last few months to stand up and start speaking to other wedding and portrait photographers about their web marketing.  It started first with the 20th Kubota Bootcamp, then WPPI Photographer’s Ignite, and now a west coast mini-tour of PUG groups (Pictage User Group). Educating others on the value of web marketing is a true passion of mine over the last 10 years and merging that with our photography has been a journey that hopefully others can learn and prosper from.  Web marketing is essential and the big questions we review in the presentations are:

• Where do I start?
• What’s the most important thing to do with the budget I have?
• How in the heck do I get on the first page of Google for my keyword phrases?
• How do I start a Facebook fan page?
• What are the top 10 mistakes photographers make in their web marketing?
• How do I review Google Analytics?

We started with San Jose and San Francisco PUGs and now we’re off to Portland, Oregon and then June 29th and 30th , Seattle and Tacoma.  These PUG leaders volunteer their time for this position and each and every group so far has been exciting, invigorating and lively.  Thank you for this opportunity Pictage and for your support!

Moreover, we’ve had awesome sponsors that have stood up and gotten behind us.  We couldn’t do it without you, so thank you: Revolution Imaging and Design, Kubota Image Tools, SnapKnot, Zach Prez and the Photography Web Marketing Guide.

Rock on…I look forward to releasing upcoming speaking dates via our official Facebook page – so be sure to stay connected.  Also, I’ll be featured in several upcoming blog posts on Pictage’s blog: The Photo Life and the Photography Web Marketing Guide Blog and look forward to sharing those with you as well.

Lastly, thanks to my hubby for grabbing these candids – love you hunny.

All the best,

B + W

The lively, entertaining and awesome San Jose PUG – thanks to leader San Jose Portrait Photographer -Jill Johnson!

The exciting and somewhat tangent-oriented San Francisco PUG – thanks to leaders San Francisco Family Photographer -Keri Vaca.

As a signature, I like to bring a little of Bend, Oregon to my destinations and bribe attendees with Deschutes Brewery Beer   Works every time.

The worst happened and during our trip, Dizzy very rapidly went downhill and passed away.  Without Sharon’s dedication and love, the experience would have been extremely difficult (as it was, losing a pet you’ve spent 13 years with is tough enough!).  There’s not enough gratitude in the world that we can share to say thank you.  As a tribute and small token of thanks, we invited Sharon and her adorable 12 year Boston Terrier, Brodie, to do some formal portraits.

Sharon, you are a God-send and true friend.

Many, many thanks,

B + W

LOVE this – just wanna kiss his forehead.

These are the kind of shots where I wonder what Brodie is thinking….

Ultimate bliss – smothered with love!

Byron: “Brodie!  Brodie, over here”  Brodie: “huh?”

She’s an adorable, 8 month old orange calico that was in desperate need for a happy, caring home.  Ella was subjected to sickness and abandonment until she was rescued, nursed back to health and given to  CRAFT ready for adoption.  CRAFT (Cat Rescue, Adoption and Foster Team) of Central Oregon is another alternative to the Humane Society for cat adoption in Bend, Oregon and we had a wonderful experience adopting!

She and her brother, Miles have yet to be introduced but seeing how things are going so well so far…it shouldn’t be long before he has a new companion to play with!  We love to name our pets after famous Jazz artists…(Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald), a tradition Byron started long ago

Welcome, Ella.  We can’t wait to snuggle and play string with you and hope you and Miles become good buddies.

Ah, pets are so cool.

B + W

Her new favorite place, the bathroom SINK.

Pinch-ably cute!

Welcome ELLA!

He’s been an amazing friend for 13 years and we’ve had more fun running, mtn biking, xc skiing, swimming, etc, etc. than I could have ever imagined. At 14 he can still run 4 miles with us so he’s no slouch. Since Dizzy passed away three weeks ago, we’ve been spoiling Miles a bit more and we thought it was time for some major spoilage.

Here’s to you Miles-AKA: Tank, Bubba, Bubba Jubba, Numb skull, Puppy Paws!

With love always,

B + W

Did you know that:

1) Mexican’s do not put limes in their cerveza or tequila?  It’s an American thing!

2) The Mexican celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe takes place each year from December 1st to the 12th.  This is the largest and most important religious celebration for Mexico.  Each days celebration is accompanied by aerial bombs and other fireworks that continue day and night until the 12th where the culmination of explosions reach a level that tends to shake the buildings.  SEE BELOW

3) In Puerto Vallarta, the left turn lane is actually in the right most lane.  There are two lanes going each direction in the middle, (separated by a median from the turn lanes on the right side) that allow for quicker travel but you can’t turn left or right in these.

4) People celebrating the “Virgin of Guadalupe” attach fireworks to a paper mache bull and run around with it, (much to the children’s delight….).  SEE VIDEO

5) Papaya’s are super cheap and crazy big, (not a delicacy down here, just a staple)!

6) Because of the large amount of Bend, Oregon people down here in Sayulita, (who would have thought) the locals call us “Bendito’s”.

7) Surfing in Sayulita can be amazing for beginners to pro’s, (lots of pros are born in this area and they rip).

There’s lots of homeless dogs all throughout Mexico but many of those in Sayulita are well cared for by the locals.

9) The front gate security at Dream’s resort in Puerto Vallarta (where our bride and groom were) would make the U.S. military proud.  “What, I was just here 4 hours ago meeting with clients….don’t you remember me?”  A Costco card for ID seemed to suffice oddly enough.

10) The drug cartels have not taken over the entire country!  It’s unfortunate fact that Mexico is, (at the moment) receiving such bad publicity since the areas we’ve experienced, are no less safe than any city or town in the U.S.  The locals say it’s the slowest season they remember.  So sad because it’s so beautiful and everyone we’ve met has been friendly.

The “Running With The Bull” – WOW, yeah, that’s a little freaky.

Let the festivities begin in Sayulita!

A festival parade in Puerto Vallarta

The old cathedral in Puerto Vallarta

The plaza in Sayulita where all the celebration begins and ends!

The running of the bull, (with fireworks attached of course!)  Other fireworks are flying around at times during this bull run and it’s not unusual to have very big and loud firecrackers go off right underneath you.

Another viewpoint of the exploding bull run.  The kids love this and scatter everywhere!

Lone fella rollin cigars on the street in Puerto Vallarta

Great way to sum up Mexico for us!

Miles and Dizzy posed again with bowtie and veil, just as happy as can be (we didn’t even have to bribe them with treats surprisingly!).  What can we say, we love our doggies   They’re 14 and still as cute as can be.

What we need from YOU:

1) Review the top 6 images below and choose your FAVORITE.
2) Write a blog comment, include your name and the image # of your favorite.
3) Complete this task by this *SUNDAY, Nov 14th by 12 NOON.

Majority wins!  Thanks for your participation

Happy Holidays,

B + W

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