Archives : Oregon
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
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!
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.
Business Portraits With Jeff Coffey Of StreamiT Media
My friend Jeff Coffey is a true visionary and his company StreamiT Media has been working frantically on an exciting project that will change how video content will be dealt with on the web. Wanting to make sure he had his business portraits set when INC.com calls him up for a cover shot, Jeff and I spent one morning recently working together. We always have a great time together in social or work settings and this was no different.
I’ve always had an interest in fashion/interior design/architecture, (maybe it’s my Italian roots showing through) and even though I never went to school for it or worked in the industry, I’m seeing that looking at all those GQ, Elle Decor, etc. magazines when I was younger wasn’t a waste of time as it really helps me to envision lots of options during a photoshoot and in this case allowed me to manipulate his wardrobe choices to get the results you see below. Please take a look at their website for more information: StreamiT Media
Max King Of Bend, Oregon Wins XTERRA Trail Run Worlds 2009
Back when we had an autumn in Bend, Oregon this year, I got the chance to go out with Max King for a photoshoot. With more evergreens than deciduous trees in Central Oregon you have to know where to go for some color so I took him up to a very unusual spot that has a very dense but small area of aspens surrounded by green for miles. Even though the colors were amazing the temperature was in the 40’s so my hat goes off to Max who not only stuck it out during the photoshoot but had a great attitude as well. Max looks in top form as he just claimed his second title as XTERRA trail running world champion about a week ago in Ka’a'awa, Oahu-Hawaii. About a month ago he won the USA Track and Field National Trail Marathon (six days after finishing 18th at the New York City Marathon). Congrats Max!
