We are moving the blog!!

As some of you know I've been working on a new blog for some time and at last it's ready for it's big reveal!

So here it is at last:

http://youlooknicetodayphoto.com/

Don't forget to update your RSS reader because this blog is now dead to me.

(For those of you who use blogger's built in blog subscriber I highly recommend checking out Google Reader. There is not too much of a learning curve and once you use it you'll wonder how you lived without it.)

Anyway, thanks for checking this blog and it's been fun. Although blogger has been good to me, wordpress is a million times better for customization, search engine optimization, and just about everything else.

Onward and upward my friends!

Joe + Nadine

I have a funny story for you: close to a year ago I put my Tivo up on craigslist. Almost immediately I received an email that said some guy that lived out in Hillsboro would like to buy it from me. The guy came, paid and picked it up. Normal craigslist transaction, no big whoop. Somehow I added him or he added me on twitter and I didn't think anything of it. 6 months later I had some Blazer tickets up on craigslist and the same guy contacted me saying that he would like to buy those as well. AND just a few months after that he contacted me about photographing his wedding! Thats how I met Joe.

For the engagement session we ventured down to the swanky Pearl District in downtown Portland, Oregon. I've been itching to shoot there and Joe and Nadine were happy to give it a go. I absolutely loved shooting down there because of the diversity of the colors and textures. It's not just a couple colors from a couple color palates it's a CRAZY amount of different colors from maroon to dark blue to bright red to purple and everything in between. Joe and Nadine were a lot of fun to work with too and it was very clear to me that they are totally in love and excited to be married. :)

And if I could geek out for a moment, get this: They met at Yahoo...as in they both worked for Yahoo. How cool is that?

Their photos are available to view and purchase here.

Enjoy!

Joe + Nadine Sneak Peek

Danger Death Ray Band Shoot

Again I present to you the Portland pop punk band Danger Death Ray. They got their name from an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3k for us hardcore fans) which is amazingly awesome in and of itself. Ryan (the tall one) is a part time security guard at a very old and very cool church in downtown Portland. We had unlimited access for the shoot and had such a blast. As I've said before, I love doing band shoots because I can really push myself creatively in ways that just don't work with families or weddings.

Enjoy!


The requisite "80's school picture" photo:


Ryan:



Dave:



Walker:




Group shots:





The BIG Danger Death Ray Choir:

Danger Death Ray- Sneak Preview

Lots more fun ones to come. You have no idea how fun this shoot was. :)

Rock 'n Roll Saturday Night

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of going to buddy's concert in his basement. Basement concerts are a rite of passage of sorts for Portland bands. Artists like The Decemberists, The Helio Sequence, The Thermals, M. Ward, The Dandy Warhols and Elliot Smith made the rounds of playing the basements of PDX.

Here is a fun little video MTV did awhile back about it:

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - MTV Shows

Anyway, I fired off some shots at the concert which are below. You'll probably recognize of few of them from a shoot I did of them when I was just getting started with this whole photography thing. Check out Dave and Ryan's newest creation: Danger Death Ray. Enjoy!











PS Stay tuned for a wicked awesome shoot I did for their band in an old church downtown that I'll post within the week.

10 days of film

Day 10



(Probably best to not put your finger print on the negative before you scan it in :)

10 days of film

Day 9

10 days of film

Day 8

10 days of film

Day 7

My dear ole Dad's office:

10 days of film

Day 6

10 days of film

Day 5

10 days of film

Day 4

10 days of film

Day 3

10 days of film

Day 2

10 days of film

The next 10 days will feature photos from the first roll of black and white film that I developed by hand and scanned in.

Day 1

Drew + Tiffany Vol. 3

Here is the final installment of our photo shoot. These were all taken with my film camera (Nikon F100), developed by hand and scanned in. There is something very satisfying about developing by hand and as I've said before, shooting film in general. These shots are straight out of the camera with no manipulation in photoshop. I also really like the imperfections of the film look and grain quality. Fun stuff!

Why I love Saturday mornings...

Drew + Tiffany Vol. 2

Drew + Tiffany! Vol. 1

To preface these photos I feel the need to echo the sediments of the great fashion model and philanthropist, Derek Zoolander: " I'm pretty sure there's more to life than being really, really ridiculously good looking". Indeed there is and to prove it I present for your enjoyment the photos of Drew and Tiffany. For not only are they indeed "ridiculously good looking" but also are the funnest and nicest people that you ever could meet.

For this shoot we went to an industrial section of SE Portland, Oregon. It's an area I drive by almost everyday and I was so excited that Drew and Tiffany were willing to do our shoot there.

I'll be rolling these all out in probably 3 different volumes because I shot some of them with film that I am developing by hand and then scanning in. (yay!)

Enjoy!

Drew + Tiffany sneak peak

Schwag!!

As requested, here are the items that I won for a photography competition by Joe McNally . Click on the photo to be taken to it's flickr page to see the tags for each of the items. Below is a link to an old blog entry explaining everything:

youlooknicetodayphotography.blogspot.com/2009/01/im-winne...

Good times!

Film is not dead after all. Who knew?

After a little bit of drama that can be a part of ebay/craigslist transactions, I now have my first SLR camera (notice the missing D). A few of my favorite photographers in the world only shoot film so I decided to try my hand and picked up a Nikon F100. The first thing I noticed was how it totally has changed my approach to the process of taking photos. No longer do I fire off 10 pics in a row and choose the best one or not worry if a photo is a little over or under exposed. Instead, shooting film forces me to choose very carefully the photos I take with no instant gratification due to not having the LCD screen. Each shot also costs me money for film and developing. I have to say that there is a learning curve especially not having too much control over white balance and ISO on the fly. I also still find myself constantly checking the back of the camera after each shot out of habit. In all I'm very excited about the new venture and the different quality of photos that film offers. Below is the very first photo I've taken with my F100 with no editing other than desaturation. This could get seriously addicting. Dang you Leo and Jonathan! :)

My Sweetie

I met her in the periodicals section of the library over 6 years ago and my life ever since then is better 100 fold.

Plus, I mean seriously, who looks this good with no make up? :)

Happy V-Day everyone!

Mid-century shadows

Now booking for the upcoming wedding season!

Looking for fun, hip, modern wedding photography? Are you a cute couple with a wicked awesome sense of style and taste? Is this the one hundredth wedding photography website you've looked at and your starting to think "hey, most of these photographers kinda look the same"? Well look no more! You Look Nice Today Photography is currently booking for the upcoming wedding season.

Boom goes the dynamite! How's that for a pitch? :)

My BIG interview...

I was recently interviewed by a photographer by the name of Ivan Makarov. He is an incredible landscape photographer so if your ever in the market for something to hang in your home or office I highly recommend buying a print of his.

It was a lot of fun to put to words random thoughts I've been having about the craft and how I think. I'll let you be the judge if it's a worthwhile read. :)

Here is the link to my interview in it's entirety.

14 years old

Introducing the kids of the Sunday school class I teach! They are a fun bunch of rascals.



(click to view large)

Even more Amber

Like I've said before, there are a lot of photos from this shoot that I love. It would be unethical of me to keep them all to myself without sharing. :)

BUGS!!

Taken at Seaside, Oregon in a fun little toy shop.