I had the absolute pleasure of meeting and photographing Beaverton High School golf pro-to-be, Gigi Stoll, for the May issue of 1859 Oregon Magazine.  Confident and self possessed far beyond my own abilities at that age, she had just wrapped up a photoshoot for the MAC Club when we met on the Lincoln HS track.  Between intermittent rain showers, the 20 minutes we had to get this photographed, track AND baseball practice all taking place on the same field, she showed all the qualities of grace under pressure that have helped deliver her to this point in her game…and will inevitably help her reach far beyond.

…from me to you.  I am so very grateful for your business in 2012.  And wish for you all a 2013 in which you can do what you love.  Every. Single. Day.  As you have enabled me to do.  xoa

Because I told anyone who would listen, most of you already know I had the incredible honor of capturing my first cover shot for the Fall issue of 1859 Magazine.  And I showed anyone who walked through my front door that cover.  But for those of you not living in Oregon, {and don’t have the benefit of your own personally signed copy}, I also had the opportunity to photograph three other amazing individuals profiled inside that same issue.

Laurence Bennett, Production Designer for the Oscar Award winning movie, The Artist and Lillian Pitt, a Pacific NW Native American artist were two people who have each made a significant impact in their respective creative worlds and both of whom graciously shared far beyond anything I imagined… thoughts on their creative process, their inspiration, and just an old fashioned personal connection.  In addition, I photographed local equestrian jumper Rich Fellers {along with his Irish Stallion of Greek God-like proportions, Flexible}, who was bound for the Olympics within a matter of days.

In all three instances, I was beside myself with excitement to meet individuals whose passions have taken them to places I can only dream of at this point in my life.  And their humanness in the face of such success made them all the more awe inspiring.

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph {again!} for 1859 magazine’s Spring 2012 issue.  I was tasked with taking portraits of two Portland women who were being profiled in this issue… Kara Goucher, a hero in the world of women’s running and bound for the Olympics this summer, where she’ll be competing in the women’s marathon.  And  Myrna Yoder, an icon in the local art community, known for her most amazing murals that grace many-a-wall at McMenamin’s locations throughout Portland.

I had to pinch myself {twice}…I’m so fortunate in my work to meet such incredible, interesting, and inspiring women who are following their own passions to such great heights.

I recently took a weekend trip to Vancouver, BC to clear the cobwebs and pay a visit to some dear friends north of the border. I took my “work” camera, but found myself making much more use of my iPhone. Go figure. So I spent a lot of time packing a 5+ lb hunk of expensive plastic around the city, the only benefit being a few shots shared below and a good bicep workout {which, if I do say so, are looking pretty sweet these days as a result}.

During the course of an afternoon walkabout, I made a point to pass through Vancouver’s Chinatown, one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city for the richness of color + personality.  As my billions of fans know, I typically photograph people, but found myself drawn more to people’s things, Chinatown in particular possessing some very iconic things… an abundant supply of  knick knacks {I love that word} and piles of dried fish.

Any of the other images you see below that don’t look like they were taken in Chinatown, reflect the other 2 minutes I put my camera to use during the course of the weekend.

Thank you SO very much to the wonderful and insanely creative duo Linda Hunter + Suzanne Summersgill {w the dashing Scott Summersgill rounding out our gang} for keeping me well wined + dined + otherwise entertained.  Keep your eyes peeled for future posts featuring these two and their soon-to-be-published children’s story… in the meantime, enjoy.