For those who do not live in the Portland, Oregon area, Sauvie Island lies within the Columbia River, in between Oregon and Washington states.  It is made up mostly of farmland and wildlife refuges, so it can be a peaceful place to visit, getting away from the rush rush of the city.  Along most of its shores are sandy beaches, much like along the ocean, but without the waves.  A group of us thought it would be a perfect place to do some fire spinning with hoops, poi, fans, and other toys.  Specifically interested was my friend Haven, who was hoping to spin some fire in the sand in preparations for a beach-side fire performance she was planning a couple weeks later for her sister and family.

Along for the shoot were more performers than we’ve ever gathered before.  In the past, I have done shoots with Haven, Kali, Zac, and Paul.  But some new people I shot for the first time were Harmony, Kristin, and Karri.  Every performer brought something unique and powerful to the session, it was a treat to get so much variety out of the finished photos.

For this shoot, I rented two very powerful strobes powered by a huge battery pack.  I have been wanting to experiment with lights more powerful than my 580ex II off-camera, so this was a perfect opportunity to do so.  One of my biggest complaints when it comes to my own fire spinning photos was that the light of the fire causes my exposures to become messy and blurry.  Fire hoops are just so incredibly bright, I figured I needed a much brighter light source to over-power it.  Unfortunately in this night’s case, that meant we wouldn’t be able to capture the incredibly textured sky we were blessed with.

My other goal for this shoot was to experiment with the contrast of fire and water in the same shoot.  Reflections of the fire on water I thought would make an incredible addition to the fire spinning imagery I’ve collected so far.  Fortunately, the weather cooperated (a challenge in an Oregon October), and the Columbia River was not nearly as cold as we all thought it would be.  It was the water itself that presented a challenge to the performers.  Well, not to the performers specifically, but to their toys.  If a fire hoop was dropped into the river while shooting, not only would the flame get doused out, but the wicks would absorb water and need to be dried out before soaking up fuel to be re-lit.  After the first time this happening, we were all fairly timid to risk causing too many toys to be out of commission.

I couldn’t be happier with the photos that came out of this shoot.  We faced a few challenges, and avoided any major accidents caused by a soaking wet dog feverishly looking for his friend Mr. Ball. Thanks to Haven, Harmony, Kali, Kristin, Paul, Zac, and Karri for putting on such incredible performances; thank you for sacrificing your body warmth for the sake of art; and thank you for being such great friends!

I have a full gallery ready for viewing, but here are a few more samples.  Until the next burn!

I’m proud to say that I was hired by one of my favorite local Portland string bands SugarCane to do a series of publicity and promotional photographs to go along with their new album “Soulgrass Review“.  Since their band consists of 6 members, some who live out of town, it was a challenge getting everyone together with enough time to do the shoot.  Having scheduling conflicts is never an easy challenge to overcome, but thankfully SugarCane plays plenty of shows in town, so it was just a matter of finding one that worked out the best.

Fortunately, we were able to get everyone together before a gig of theirs at East Burn.  We headed across the street where I had gotten all set up to shoot them within a fantastic community garden.  We took some group photos and each band member got a few individual shots as well.  I highly recommend checking these guys out live.  They put on a hell of a performance and their music is fantastic.  Take a look at SugarCane’s upcoming show dates so you don’t miss this band!

If your band needs promotional material, feel free to contact me for a quote.   Enjoy the full gallery!

I got to know my friends Michelle and Mark last summer through music festivals.  When I was developing my technique shooting fire spinning and LED spinning photos, Michelle always seemed willing to lend her talents with poi and hooping.  When they trusted me to shoot wedding photos, I knew I had to step up my game.  For such a loving and bright couple, I had to make sure I provided them with the best images of their wedding I could create. Anyone who knows this couple knows that they deserve nothing short of a life of love, warmth, and happiness.

They planned their wedding around an outdoor ceremony at McMenamins Edgefield, a drop-dead gorgeous location to hold a wedding.  But even before the wedding day arrived, the weather became a problem.  The day before, it was like the rain would not stop.  Not a good sign when the wedding is planned to be outdoors.  They made the decision to move the wedding inside, to a quaint little attic ballroom that just dripped with character.  All of us behind-the-scenes at the wedding had to improvise to adapt to the new location and lighting challenges.  But wouldn’t you know it, the wedding day arrived, and there wasn’t a drop of rain.  Oh well, sometimes you have to roll with it.

Their location being Edgefield, we had an infinite number of possible locations to hold our photo shoots.  I am always thankful when working with such a rich palette on which to create images of someone’s special day.  Between the ceremony and reception. Michelle and Mark allowed me to steal them away to try and lock in the magic of their day in photographs. We found balconies, gardens, vineyards, and other beautiful locations we did our best to really use in the photos. The evening came with incredibly warm light, and we did our best to capture it for them.

Michelle and Mark are a musical couple.  Both figuratively and literally.  Their lives, much like my own, revolve around music.  So, of course, once the music started up, the party really started going.  There wasn’t a person in that room without a smile on their face as people danced, danced, danced!  I was thrilled to be there to both witness it and capture the memories of their special day forever.

Please browse through the full gallery, or view below for a short selection of photos.  Thank you Michelle and Mark!