From the Haugen Heart

I remember doing senior portraits of Shelby's mother, Michelle. She loved taking pictures but hated being in front of the camera and let me know that she was doing this for her mom. I was confident that she would have fun with it once she got warmed up. We did all kinds of poses both inside and out. We even did photographs with her camera. I had a great time. When we were all done, I asked, "Was that so bad?" She replied, "Yes, yes it was."  I was crestfallen. Later, I got to know Michelle better and learned that she has a very dry sense of humor and was at least partly teasing me with that reply. Only partly, though. She really doesn't like having a camera pointed at her. Shelby is another story. She comes to life in front of the camera. With her big eyes and model body, the camera loves her.  She is going to school and working TWO part time jobs to pay for the love of her life: her BMW! I asked her about some of her favorite things and this is what she

Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies........... There just isn't anything else that says home more than that smell when you walk into the house. Just like a cozy fire on a cold winter night. Makes you think of Grandma's house in a Norman Rockwell painting with the kids running in shouting, "Oh boy, is that cookies, I smell?" That doesn't mean that I am baking cookies at home every week. When Lars suggests that this would be a great night to bake cookies, I usually say, "Go for it!" That is when we find out just how badly he wants those cookies. I used to try to evoke that homey feeling by burning scented candles in the studio. Then I found out that Otis Spunkmeyer will provide the oven and baking sheets when you order their dough and I was in heaven. Forget the scented candles! How much better is it to come into the studio to the smell of freshly baked cookies......and you get to eat them, too! They are really, really good cookies and sooooooo easy

  The first time I met Laryssa, she was three years old and we did a family portrait out by the family duck pond. It was a perfect October day and the sun was just going down so we had the perfect light: a warm glow skipping across the water giving sparkles to the eyes and wrapping the faces in beautiful, soft light. The spot that we had chosen for the portrait was a little hard to get to, however, and Laryssa's dad donned his boots and gave each of us a piggy back ride through the water to get to the spot. My camera at the time, was a Mamiya RB 67 and weighed a ton so another trip through the water was made to bring the gear. That dedication is a sure sign of a man who loves his family! A couple of years later, we did dress up portraits of Laryssa in the studio and then, much later (in 2006), another fall family portrait at Helmick Park. (No piggy back rides, this time.) The image on the right is from that session. Now Laryssa is graduating from West Salem High School and loo

"Is your favorite superhero the Green Lantern?" No. I think I'll wait for the movie to come out on DVD. "How about Batman?" That would be Gotham City....Guess again. "Let's go back to a classic. Could it be Superman?" Oh, I think you are getting warmer.... My favorite superhero is Super Ty . He is a precocious six year old and his mission right now is protecting his new baby brother from mutant monsters, jumping higher than a basketball hoop, and whipping up "out of this world" food in the kitchen with his mom and Tutu. We had a chance to delve deeper into the character of  the "boy behind the cape" recently and ask him a few questions.This is what he had to tell us: What is your favorite color? Orange (I wonder if this has anything to do with the OSU Beavers?) Favorite Food: Bread with jam and butter Favorite Sport: Basketball Favorite Toy: Buzz Lightyear's Lazer Beam Favorite Game: Pokemon Black version and