Laura's Ramblings

Miss Lola

2007-08-08T14:17:00.001-07:00

Hard to believe that this beautiful "big girl" was just a wee little one the last time I saw her. Now she's ready to explore, full of smiles, and even cuter than before!

Look out world--here comes Lola and she will charm you in a heartbeat!

More from the bedroom

2007-06-27T14:01:00.001-07:00

I got the final okay from another one of my gorgeous models to post some pics of her session. She was a total doll to work with and extremely photogenic. Such a natural beauty!

More of all of the girls coming soon! I am knee deep in wedding season so the new site has taken a back-burner to it all. Go figure.

Wheat (Mike) + Mindi - June 9th

2007-06-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

My one and only wedding this year and what a great one it was! Mike (better known as Wheat) and Mindi are such genuinely sweet and laid back people, so it was no surprise that their wedding was both fun and relaxed at the same time. Although rain did strike a couple of times that didn't dampen anyone's spirit as smiles were shining the whole day. More pics coming soon, but here's a teaser...

Coming Soon!

2007-05-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

The model shoot-out on Cinco de Mayo was a huge success! We had a great time (thanks so much ladies, you were awesome) and now I just need to get everything finished up so I can launch the new site. Here is a sneak peek of what's to come...

News!

2007-05-02T23:23:00.000-07:00

On Cinco de Mayo yours truly will be shooting some beautiful women in a very hip, very chic, very fun location! I can't reveal a whole lot as of right now, but I am so looking forward to these sessions!! It will mark the new direction I am planning on taking with my photography and am very excited to be sharing it with you all soon enough.

To go along with everything I am also re-designing the website from the bottom up. As usual this is a large undertaking and will take awhile longer, yet I hope to have it up and running this month.
Check back next week for results from this weekend!

PotD - 4/7

2007-04-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

Poker anyone?

Picture of the Day - 4/6/07

2007-04-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

In an effort to keep this blog going during the "downtime" of shooting, I figured I'd start doing a Picture of the Day. Each day I plan to snap something fun, interesting, odd, tasty, or just plain boring and share it on here. Comments, as always, are welcome!

"Leader of the Pack"

Baby Lola

2007-02-01T12:14:00.000-08:00

You just cannot look at this beautiful baby girl without smiling! She is too sweet for words and man can she move already. Strong, agile, and ready to take on the world, Lola was one fun model. I did her mom's maternity pics (see below) and was very excited to meet this little one. Check out the strawberry hat sent by Grandma--too cute!

Waking up

*melt*...a smile

Little piggies

Gorgeous eyes

Another smile

"The" hat

Awww...

I can't wait to take more pics of her as she grows! Thanks for being such a sport, Lola!

Kai & Renata

2006-12-22T17:43:00.000-08:00

If I could have more weddings like this then I would definitely book more! Quaint, quiet, and very sweet. The bride hails from Switzerland and the groom is from Germany. Needless to say, the accents were beautiful (and the couple wasn't bad looking either ;o) )! I had so much fun with the two of them and their lovely friends from Portland. You all must promise to get in touch with me the next time you come to Bend!

Her something blue

Getting ready

Ceremony--Kai read a lovely story of how the two of them met

More coming soon on my website (most likely after the holidays)--so check back often! Kai & Renata, thank you so much for allowing me to capture your special day (and for the yummy champagne!). It was truly my pleasure to work with you both!

Big pics = not so much

2006-12-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Apparently my blog is not a fan of my large pictures as it doesn't seem like it wants to fix itself and instead insists on covering up my work. hmmmm... I'll have to figure this one out. I'll keep the pics up, though, so my clients can see what's new but do forgive the craziness of the layout.

Jeff + Shanda - Parents-to-be

2006-12-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

Jeff & Shanda were such a warm, sweet couple and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new little bundle of joy. Their home was filled with all sorts of fun and interesting items from all over the world so between those and the views (plus the yummy light) I could've shot all day long.

I'll also have more on my website once we get everything transferred from the old computer to the new computer. So for now, enjoy some of my favorites from this sitting.

Chad + Kirsten

2006-12-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

I'm playing catch-up now as these were taken awhile back ago but I definitely wanted to post them! Chad & Kirsten were so laid back and easy going that taking pictures of them was as natural as breathing. We walked all over downtown and Drake Park, hitting some favorite places of mine, and theirs as well. We tried to grab a beer at McMennamin's, but given that Kirsten and I apparently didn't look "of age" and neither of us had our ID's with us, we were turned down. Bummer. But there's always next time, right guys? :o)

The rest can be seen at Chad + Kirsten

Jon + Heidi

2006-09-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to get Jon and Heidi's gallery page uploaded to my site. Man...what a wedding! I went back and forth between smiling, crying, and laughing the whole time. Plus, at the end of my shift I got to join the party and drink Pressecco! Yeah baby! (Anyone who truly knows me knows that I LOVE Pressecco) I didn't want to leave but couldn't wait to work on their pictures. With such a beautiful bride and gorgeous groom (their families ain't bad looking either) it was easy to create yummy pictures.

These girls could DANCE!!

You can view the rest at: Jon + Heidi

A sad day

2006-09-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

One of my most beloved clients' mother passed away at the still young age of 55 from colon cancer. Wendy Huntley, wife to Al, mother to Heidi (& Jon) and Heather, was one of those types of people that I just had no choice but to adore from the moment I even heard about her. Heidi would tell me little snippets about her mom and it felt like I already knew her--like she was already part of my life. I felt the same way about Heidi when I first started talking to her, and then when I met her sister Heather, as well. Maybe it is because Wendy passed that on to her daughters, maybe it's because they are just all genuinely cool people, or (more likely) it's a combination of both. Either way, the day I met Wendy was at Heidi's wedding and it was all I could do to refrain from calling her "Mom" as she definitely had that mother-hen aura about her. While I'm not quite sure, I have a feeling that she ran the house that all the neighborhood kids came to and hung out at. The "cool" mom that teenagers opened up to. The kickass lady that adults adored and parents wanted to emulate. No matter if I'm wrong, she definitely radiated that about herself when I met her. I do know, though, that she raised two incredible daughters and that's saying a lot in this world. Not that her husband, Al, didn't have anything to do with how great their kids are, but you know what I mean. ;o) I loved photographing her when she didn't realize I was watching--her smile lit up the entire place and her eyes sparkled. You couldn't help but feel happy around her.

One of our last conversations between Wendy and I took place before I left Heidi's wedding and will probably stick with me forever...it went like this.

Me: "Mom, I'm heading out."
Wendy: "You leaving?"
Me: "Yeah, gotta get home to the hubby."
(Pause as we collectively take in the scene--people dancing, chatting, laughing, and having a great time)
Wendy: "Do I throw the best damn party or what?"
Me: "Heck yes you do! I want to be invited to the next party you throw because if it's anything like this, it will be awesome!"
Wendy: "That's what I'm saying!"

We hugged goodbye, she thanked me for all my hard work, we did the typical "goodbye" things, and I have to admit that seeing her that night, I was hopeful that the doctor's were wrong. She just looked too damned good to not beat this crappy disease. But when I got a call from Heidi's dad last week I was quickly reminded of how cruel life can be sometimes. On Friday, Heidi emailed me and told me that her mom had passed away on Thursday, August 24. I was crushed...still am. I never understand when we lose people we love...or people that have touched us...or are related to people we care about. I believe that there is a reason for everything, even if we don't like it, yet it always hurts. I'd like to think that Wendy is in a better place, throwing THE party of a lifetime and all I can say is, "Wendy, I'll be at your party when the time is right, and it better be as awesome as you promised!"

Much love to Al, Heather, Heidi, Jon and the rest of the family. You're all in my thoughts and I love you guys dearly.

Learning Italian

2006-07-21T23:34:00.000-07:00

"Do you know how you say 'Venezuela' in Italian?"
"No, how?"
"Venezuela."
"This stuff is so easy."

We are the Champions

2006-07-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

...just not of the world. Or anything of great significance for that matter.

Yes, that's right...we found the cache. Last night DH, our two kids, and I went back to the park (this time the sun was still up and we had no wine) and set about looking in every spot we had already checked like it was invisible the night before and would magically appear now that the sun was up. The kids were excited and delved into bushes, looked on top of walls, stuck their fingers into things that probably didn't need fingers to be stuck in, and had all the fervor that we had had the night before. I can't count how many times they asked us how big the cache was or what it looked like. The first few times we told them we had no idea. The last few we just stared at them...blankly. And blinked. Which never works with our kids as they're programmed to our sense of humor. Eventually they gave up on asking us--or maybe the finally got it--but either way we were still coming up with bupkis. I could tell the kids were losing hope. After all, they're kids and anything that takes more than 5 mins. to find is typically deemed unworthy of finding. Plus the swings and climbing equipment were calling their names. It wasn't looking good--especially since we had no wine for us...or them.

As the kids and I turned our attention to the ground, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was my very resolute husband wielding a large rock and headed straight for the fence post and it's unyielding finial. He was not to be deterred. With one quick thrust the finial came flying off. EUREKA! But wait...cut to slow motion as we watch the finial fly up into the air, do a full circle, hit a wall almost being lost forever, then ricochets back, and falls into the fenced area. We look at each other and he knows what is coming.

"I told you to hold onto it if you tried that."
"I can still get it."

Two minutes later, covered in dirt, twigs, and other things that no man should ever be covered in, DH pulls his arm out from no man's land holding his prized posession. Inside the finial was a small closed tube with a log. "This time I was more determined" he told me. Then he showed the "treasure" to our uber excited children.

"That's it?!!" the kids exclaim.
"It's just a piece of paper!"
"That was boring."

I signed the log and DH replaced the finial. He marked the cache as "found" on his GPS. As we headed back home both of the kids asked, "Can we go find some more?!" Ah yes...nerds in the making.

Misadventures in Geocaching

2006-07-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

In August, my husband and I will be going to Italy for our 10 yr. anniversary. Trying to find ways to blend in and yet not get lost, led to DH buying a new GPS for the trip. We already have one but apparently it wasn't quite as "cool" as this one--or something like that. While he was checking out maps and other things that techy guys like he came across Geocaching. Both of us had heard of Geocaching and once upon a time I had even registered at a Geocaching site after a friend of mine told us about it. For those that don't know, Geocaching is where you search for "treasure" left by a person (or persons) after you put in the coordinates. They can be little items, logs, bugs (for logging info--not the creepy crawly kind, although I guess you might run across those too), and other fun things. Needless to say reading the logs and FAQ's re-ignited our interest. When DH found that a cache was down at the park (a mere half a block from our house), we decided to take a quick trip down and see what we could find.

At 9:30 p.m. After the sun had gone down. With no flashlight.

After writing a note to our kids (in case they woke up and thought we really did join the circus like we told them we would one day do), and with wine and GPS in hand, we trekked to the park determind to find our first cache. After about 5 mins. of searching by the light of the GPS screen (think cell phone bright--cut in half) we decided that a flashlight was in order. Back to the house we went.

9:45 p.m., flashlight, pen (for the log), GPS, wine in hand, and after reading what others had written about the "cleverly hidden" cache, we flip-flopped our asses back to the area we had combed only this time we were armed with extra knowledge. The people who had come before us had said it was tough for the vertically challenged. Naturally we looked up. And up...and around...and up some more...until we finally convinced ourselves that it had to be inside of a fence post surrounding some kind of water tank thingy.

10:00 p.m., flashlight, pen, GPS, a screwdriver, and more wine in hand, we started lamenting about what big losers we were. After all, all these other people found it and said it was easy. The site listed it as 1 1/2 stars for degree in difficulty. "Maybe we should start with a 1 star." "Do they offer 1/2 stars?" Each time a car drove by I'd yell, "Kill the light" and we'd hold our breath like some high school kids up to no good. In the meantime DH tried to gently pry off the top of the fence post but it wouldn't budge. We stuck our fingers in holes not meant to be stuck in, felt along the tops of walls, inspected the porta-potty way too close...you name it...we tried it.

10:20 p.m. we headed home empty handed. The wine glass now half empty (or half full).

"We better hope no one dies there tomorrow."
"They're going to think we did it."
"The neighbors will tell the cops: 'We saw these people last night fooling around with flashlights, and a screwdriver, and something that looked like a detonator.' We're like Al Qaida"
"We are so screwed."
"And we're losers because we didn't even find the damned cache."
"1 star from here on out."

Countdown

2006-07-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

In honor of one of THE coolest couples I have ever known, I present to you a countdown ticker for their wedding day. Heidi & Jon...it will be here before you know it. I will bring Kleenex and try to see well enough to shoot!

Sweet ride

2006-07-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Just this past weekend I had to decorate a wedding for my other company (CWE) and knew that what I would need to take to said wedding would not fit in my car...or my husband's truck...or my father's Jeep. Granted, if I took two cars it would but seeing as I have not yet mastered the art of cloning that possibility was out. So I opted to rent a car from Enterprise (whom I highly recommend). And not just any car...but a mini-van. A mini-van with Sto 'n Go seats. Now keep in mind this is the first time I have ever driven a mini-van yet, let alone my children being in one. Ian said he had been in his friend's mom's mini-van but it was not like this one. All the seats (except for the bench in the back which was already sto'd 'n go'd) were captain's chairs and both kids thought that was "cool." I was surprised by how nicely it drove and I lurved the driver's seat. My body just melted into it and I thought about removing it and putting it in our living room but then thought better of it. After all...I still had to get my stuff out to Black Butte.

As we were driving home my daughter pipes up from the backseat:

"Momma, if people see us driving in this car, they're going to think we're HOT!"
"You think so?"
"Yeah...this is a sweet ride! You should invite all your friends over so they can see the sweet ride and how hot we are."

Friends--you missed it, but we were hot and it was a sweet ride. Not only did it get myself there and back to BBR in one relaxed state of mind 4 times, but it also fit one mammoth Happy Hour Tower, 3 large plants, 12 seating cubes, a garbage bag full of pillows, parasols, a bucket, two end tables, a box of lights, and a partridge in a pear tree. And although my husband hates mini-van's, I caught him enjoying the sweet ride on more than one occasion. Now that right there says it all.

Ted & Bethany

2006-07-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

This wedding took place in a small town called St. Paul, Oregon on Bethany's family's tree farm. The grounds and home were so beautiful--the house looking as if it had been in the family for generations. Maybe it hadn't, but I like to think that it has. You could see Mt. Hood not too far off in the distance and the wildflowers that Bethany's father planted were luscious and beautiful. Although it was an extremely hot day we all made it out unscathed and something tells me that Bethany has not stopped smiling since they ran down the aisle together. I had the privilege of taking Ted & Bethany's engagement pictures and had a total blast with them and really enjoyed documenting the two of them becoming "husband and wife." I wish you guys all the best!!

The rest can be seen at: Ted & Bethany

Jake & Kendyl

2006-07-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

My first wedding of the year took place at a lovely venue called The Gardens at Flying Diamond. Kendyl and Jake were so sweet and easy going that it was a nice way to start the season. Although it was quite warm, we were happy to see the sun out instead of threatening rain. Here is a teaser--the rest can be seen at: Jake & Kendyl

Got Ink?

2006-04-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

I am currently looking for people who are inked that would be willing to model for a project I am doing. This will consist of edgy, fun, pics w/you either clothed (w/ink showing), semi-nude, and/or nude depending upon your comfort level. If you're interested, please contact me at laura@lindenphotography.net.

Hear this, Miami

2006-03-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

You are getting a second chance at signing Brees. Do.Not.Blow.This. Find the money and grab him quickly. You can be great once again.

Oh how I love thee, Taj Palace

2006-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:00

The other night we ordered take-out from our favorite Indian restaurant, Taj Palace. It is oh so tasty and eating leftovers the next day makes me just as happy as the night before. I typically get the Tandoori chicken w/extra Naan. Naan ranks up there as one of my most favorite foods. The kids always get Shrimp Masala, while DH goes for the Chicken Vindaloo. The jasmine rice is always cooked to perfection. Not too chewy, not overcooked, not sticky...just light and fluffy and full of fragrant flavor. I always put some of the tomato-based sauce (the name of it I can never remember) that comes w/the Tandoori Chicken over the rice. There are no words for how good that tastes. Yes...Indian food is a thing of beauty. To me anyways.

I do worry that the downtown location and not so lovely building facade will ward off would-be patrons, so if you ever get down there stop in...it's worth it. It is right next to the old Wall Street Bar & Grill and don't let the looks of the place fool you. The food and service is excellent!

LP buys CWEC

2006-02-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

NEWSFLASH: I should've blogged about this last month but I've been so busy that I haven't had time to.

On January 10, 2006 myself and my friend Heidi purchased The Cascade Wedding & Event Company. I was sad to hear that Pat & Jen had plans to sell the business as I truly love both them and their designs, however I was excited to take my creative spirit to the next level. There was a lot of crap that happened (through no fault of Pat, Jen, Heidi, or I) that tested all of us but proved just how serious we all were. In the end everything worked out and we are all happy. Heidi and I got to do our first Bridal Fair and were quite pleased with the way our booth turned out, not to mention all the people we got to meet with. I finished our website and have it up--you can see it at Cascade Weddings & Events. We had to change the name ever so slightly because Uncle Sam doesn't like using the word Company in a name--or so I was told by a guy at the IRS. Not wanting to risk it, we obliged.

So far we have been meeting with all sorts of brides and companies and having a ball. I will continue doing photography, however I will not be booking near the amount I have in the past in an effort to balance both companies fairly and like I want to. I don't want my photography clients to suffer, nor my decorating clients to suffer. It should be fine as I have the help of my husband, my dad, and friends--not to mention Heidi's friends as well.

If you're looking for decorators for your wedding, we invite you to click on the link above and view what we can do.