The Lyon Shop

I am so grateful I got to participate in the workshop with Amelia+Justin Lyon this past week!
After being inspired by their work for such a long period of time, it was awesome to be able to meet them in person and hear their stories. They have put together a seriously personal, helpful and just plain rockin' workshop! You can see Amelia's blog post HERE. I wasn't on top of it enough to get my images in for her blog post ;), but here are a few I took over my 2 and a 1/2 days in California. . .

I love how they hand-stamp each of the folders, journals and letterhead. . .

We stayed at the beautiful Shade Hotel for the workshop. . .







I arrived early the day before the workshop, and had some time to walk around and enjoy the AMAZING light and warm weather! Just a tad different from the Oregon Coast in January ;).



This pier was just a short downhill walk away. . .



One of my roommates, the lovely Melissa Gartner. Oh, and a seagull.



Justin and Amelia. . .

This is the amazing Quincy of Rock the Image. Or rather, Quincy's hair.

Amelia's models were favorite past clients of hers, Jen&Will. . .





Ah. Betty of Paco&Betty. Someday I will get myself to SanFran and visit them. . .



The talented Laura Dart. . .



I think this is my favorite.

But I like this one too.

Paco of Paco&Betty.

Rollercoaster & Meeting Amelia. . .

It's been quite the roller-coaster of a month so far! Extreme happiness, and extreme loss.

On the happiness end, I had the pleasure of traveling to LA for the workshop with Amelia and Justin Lyon. What an inspiring week! It was so wonderful to meet them in person, and connect with the other 14 photographers who attended the workshop. I love that, after all the weddings I have photographed, there is always something new and exciting to learn.

Here is an image I snapped of Amelia during our workshop. This is just a peek, there is lots more to come! Plus, a look at my refreshed branding is just around the corner!

What is coming. . .

I photographed Aaron+Kalie's wedding this past weekend. What an amazing couple! I can't wait to blog the rest, but here is a preview of the beautiful bride.

I will be out of town this week at a workshop with the fabulous Amelia Lyon. Due to that, and going through a difficult loss of a friend, I may not be able to post until next week. Until then, good luck with your New Year's resolutions and I will be back shortly!

Christmas on the Farm. . .

We had a delicious Christmas this year. No traveling for us, so there were no weather stresses. Just lots of relaxing, eating, game-playing and hanging out with the family.

I tried to grab my mom and dad to get some photos in this beautiful light, but my dad was in a deep Christmas nap. So I got my mom and little brother instead.





From this picture, you'd think cows were almost friendly. I have experienced otherwise.





My daddy.

My stunningly gorgeous Great Grandma Leona. I love her eyes -- you'd never know she's blind!

My beautiful and spunky Grandma Maurine with my husband Mike.

And....HOORAY! My brother-in-law Shane came to spend Christmas with us this year! It was so awesome to have him, and he did SO well with it being his first Christmas away from home. Bert and Ernie had a good time too.

Goofball.

Merry Christmas from Mike+Heather!

We hope yours is full of family and friends, and a respectable amount of sleeping in.

image by: Bryan+Leah Rupp.

Photographers would not make good firefighters.

When all of THIS happened last week, this is how we spent a good chunk of our time. . .

Hey! Fire Trucks! Must grab camera!

Okay, Brandon. We're going to scream "AHHHHH!" and then you take a picture, okay? GO. Joel's face (far right) is my favorite. No offense to Bryan in the middle of course.

Well, what are you going to do. . .

pretend to blow out imaginary fire of course.

And then go out for burritos.



P.S. At last, after 8 days of evacuation, my husband and I are all settled back into our apartment just in time for Christmas. Absolutely nothing was damaged by the burst pipes. I can't say the same for the hallway or a couple of the other apartments, but Oregon Restoration is doing an awesome job and things should be good as new before long.

Incident on First Street. . .

We had some excitement here yesterday evening, due to a burst pipe in a vacant apartment adjacent to ours.  I won't go into details, suffice it to say our apartment and that of our friends seem to be completely unharmed.  We have all our hard drives and photography gear safe with us, and we are fully insured.  We have just had to temporarily evacuate the building while the heat and water are turned off.

I have some fun pictures of the evening to share with you, as soon as I can get to my office!  In the meantime, check out our friend Joel's blog post on the subject.  Thanks to Brandon for his help last night as well!

I am not sure when we will be able to return to our home.  Hopefully this is a short-term evacuation, and we may even be able to go back today.  In the mean time though, I can't access my office so if you need to reach me you can do so my calling or texting my cell at 971-645-8837.

6 Years and all Christmas-y. . .

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. It was my favorite as a kid, and it was my favorite as a single adult. I find it delicious that I met my husband early in December. It's fun to fall in love during the holiday season when you're already brimming with festive feelings.

Today, December 5th, is the same day we had our very first "date" 6 years ago. We listened to John Denver & The Muppets, and talked for hours. In some ways we celebrate our dating anniversary more than we do our wedding anniversary. Maybe it's because we were pretty commited from early on in the relationship. Either way, it makes the Christmas season extra cozy.

And so, we are off. Off to celebrate. Off to listen to John Denver & The Muppets, and have a delicious family meal I don't have to cook ;). And because posts are more fun with pictures, here are two I took of the man recently. He is a wonderful poet (I'm not just saying that. I am horribly picky about poetry), and this was right before sending off another big mailing for potential publication. . .

Look at him all cute and excited.

Thanksgiving Break

Happy Thanksgiving weekend lovely people! I am off for a delicious 5 days of family time, baking, and project-doing around our home. I will be back in the office on Monday the 30th.
And because posts are more fun with pictures, here are some I took this week, and then played with giving them a creamy "polaroid" feel [I'd love to know what you think about this style of processing].

I hope you have a wonderful holiday!