Here are a couple of shots from a wedding I shot at Cannon Beach Saturday. They say if it rains on your wedding day it’s worth good luck. If this true Megan and Zach can expect to win the lottery next week. Seriously, when has it ever rained in Oregon during the month of August! Hats off to Megan, I walked into her hotel room to shoot some prep photos before the ceremony and she was just as happy as if it were 75 and sunny. Needless-to-say the ceremony on the beach was very short, but this allowed more time with the group shots. In my past weddings these photos are typically a bit rushed simply because they are not as important  as the couple shots, and the groomsmen eager to commence drinking. This time we had a little more time, and the beer was conveniently located right next to the spot were we shot.  It was nice to take a little more time with my lighting and composition. I shot the groomsmen in a skate park next to the reception hall. I was down in the bowl shooting up. The low cloud cover produced a white backdrop that made the pink/black tuxes pop. The girls shot was under a gazebo in the park with two off-camera flashes. This photo was originally a full body shot, but I liked it with a waist crop and slightly tilted.

I was in Hood River, Oregon last weekend for my buddies wedding. Ashley and I took a couple of days off work and made a short vacation out of it. I have to say, Hood River is my favorite town in this state, but I love it even more during mid-week before the weekend crowed arrives. I love the breeze off the river too. It reminds me of the Kansas wind. (Without the heat!) The wedding was at Mt Hood Bed and Breakfast, which is located outside Parkdale, OR, on the rolling hills that lead up to the base of Mt. Hood. I forced them to let me take a couple of pictures in front of mountain. The opportunities to shoot with this background are so few you have no choice but to take advantage of the situation. The dancing shot was inside their barn. They didn’t even use the barn for the wedding, but the owner let us use if for some photos. This wasn’t actually their first dance; I forced them to fake it so I could get a few portfolio pics. I used one speedlite to backlight them.

This little ball of energy is Sam. I’m not going to lie, this was one of the more difficult shoots I have done. I would get on one side of him and he would run the other direction. I would then run around so I could shoot him running towards me, and he would then turn a 180 and go back the other way. If I had to guess, I would say he ran about a half mile during our shoot. I ran at least 4 miles. Unfortunately I didn’t have my nikeplus running gear on or I would have logged it! All this being said, Sam was just a kid being a kid, and that is ultimately what I love to take pictures of.

Here are a few images from the engagement session I shot this weekend. Shyla found my website with a search on Google for “engagement photography”. It’s very exciting that I’m starting to get business through organic web searches like Google. I’m sure my website was on page 60 of the results, but that’s still a WIN in my book! I have always wanted to shoot on this dock near OMSI. It offers a great backdrop of the city along with the Hawthorn Bridge. I have a wedding I am shooting in September that is very close to this location. I may try to get the bride and groom here for a sunset shot in the same spot. The road with the leaves was in the Lloyd district by the State Buildings. I can’t tell you what type of tree produces these pink leaves, but they look great blanketing the road. Shyla and Jason were great to work with; they were up for just about anything, floating docks, puddles and dodging street traffic to name just a few. Best wishes to them. Oh, and let me know if you need anyone to shoot the wedding in Maui, I know a great photographer  

I predict that you will be seeing these two on the blog again in a short 10 months from now. I’m sure due to wedding checklists and planning that statement probably freaked Lindsay out a bit (maybe Ben too )  It’s tough to shoot outdoors during the Fall and Winter in Oregon. I found myself on weather websites trying to determine when a break in the rain will occur. I must hand it to them though, you really can’t tell how cold it was in these photos. I had my jacket and stocking hat on and still felt the chill! These were all taken in a little park in the Pearl District. It’s kind of fun to shoot there. With the condo market in the toilet there are tons of empty condo buildings and you have the area to yourself on the east side of the neighborhood.  They’re a fun couple and I look forward to shooting the wedding next Summer. Should be a blast!

I had the joy of  being able to photograph this little cutie this weekend. Her name is Lauren, and she will be turning one year old this week. Her mother and I got onto the discussion of kids photography a couple of weeks ago while I was visiting her office for a work function. Anyway, this naturally allowed me to shamelessly plug my website.  The weather cooperated on Saturday and allowed us to go outside for a few shots too. I must say, one of the things I love the most about children photography is capturing moments of kids being kids. Clearly it wast too tough with Lauren!

I forgot to post this one last photo from the juggling shoot a couple weeks ago. Remember I said the key to juggling is selecting three objects that are roughly the same weight.  Well, it doesn’t help when one of them is wiggling and licking. I know this looks like a Boston Terrier, but it’s actually a pint-sized Bull Terrier that accidentally got dropped on its face a couple of times. I think the key to juggling animals is not necessarily the size, rather the age. I should have found a lethargic poodle that didn’t move a lot. Oh well, maybe next time….

Ash and I went to Salem this weekend to take family photos for her long-time  friend Kim. Ash and Kim have known each other since 4th grade when they were neighbors in Forest Grove. I have gotten to know Kim and her husband Doug over the last few years.  Funny story; the photo of the adorable little girl (looking out the glass window) on my website is actually from Doug and Kim’s wedding in Bend a couple of years ago. I wasn’t completely certain who she was, but after speaking with Doug, apparently it is his niece. Thankfully her mom (Doug’s sister) is cool with me using the photo. I’ll make sure I get her a copy, although I’m sure she’s grown up a little by now! By the way, if its not on my home screen anymore you can find it in the “wedding” gallery. I’m thinking I may use one of the shots from this weekend as my home screen; at least I’m keeping it in the Jadin family! Their 3 month old, Kaylee, is adorable. She endured a two hour photo shoot with outfit changes and really didn’t put up a fuss. We shot all of the photos around Bush Park. It was bright out with the afternoon sun, but Bush Park offers so many large trees it didn’t prove too be much of a problem. Oregon is great for outdoor photography because it has an abundance of natural light diffusers; lots of clouds and trees! I really like the results I got from my new Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens. Of course, it helps when you have a cutie like this on the other side of the lens. Fun weekend, I wish we could hang out with Doug and Kim more; they’re a fun couple. Check out the website to see the new home screen photo. www.hauserphotography.com

Today was a payoff for the damp weather that we had last week. I think the high today was around 85 with very few clouds. In my opinion it only gets better through the next two months. Late summer and early fall are by far my favorite time in Oregon in terms of weather. I’m not ready to let go of the warm temperatures yet, however the idea of cool mornings and college football are starting to creep into my mind. Speaking of back to school; best wishes to my niece who had her first day of Kindergarten today. I have no doubt she will do great.  I took this from the top of the hill we live on, the view is from the West Hills looking over Hillsboro and Beaverton at the Coastal Range.

Come on in! Take your shoes off! Pants are required though. Welcome to the new blog. I know, I miss the old place too, but I packed up all the old post to make it feel more comfortable for everyone. I have a little rearranging to do with the boring header, but so far I like the feel of the new place. Why did I move? Bad address… Seriously! The more often you update your website the higher you are placed in search engines results for potential customers. The problem was that I dont make changes to my website often enough. However, I do make entries (changes) to my blog. So, I had to get a new blog and attach it to my website address. We’ll see if it begins to work. So, the good news is that you will probably start to see more posts. The bad news… They might not have a lot of “meat” to them. I’m joking of course.