From the Haugen Heart

Lizbeth grew up in Monmouth/Independence and even went to school with Anna but we never had a chance to photograph her until she got engaged. Bart kept hearing about Haugens and he insisted that they needed to come in and talk to us about photographing the wedding. We are SO glad you did, Bart. It has been a joy getting to know the two of you. Loved the Mariachi Band and the great food!

It was a perfect day. Clear sky, farm land stretching up to the foothills of the Cascades on the east and Marys Peak smiling down on us from the west. A perfect day that Jenna and Trevor had been planning for a year. The day they laughed, cried, danced and partied. The day they said, "Like it or not, you are stuck with me now!" Jenna, you have an inner beauty that shines through you. Trevor, you are a true "class act". It has been awesome to get to know the two of you and I look forward to photographing your babies some day!

Neil and I have been working in partnership with Club Services of America for the last 2 1/2 years, photographing the membership of Country Clubs. The owner of the company is Paul Gittings, a name that is legendary in the portrait photography world. His father was a pioneer in the area of dye transfer printing and Paul, Jr. was the youngest person to be awarded a Master of Photography by the Professional Photographers of America. When Paul called, asking if we would be interested in photographing Creekside Golf Club, we jumped at the chance to work with him. In July and August, we will be traveling to Seattle to photograph the membership of the Inglewood Golf Club. With a beautiful club house and one of the oldest golf courses in the Pacific Northwest, we are really looking forward to this. It is a chance to meet new and interesting people! Here are a few sample portraits from other clubs we have photographed.

June 14-16 was the annual Professional Photographers of Oregon Summer conference in Bend. It was a great time for learning and sharing with other photographers! My passion is centered around photographing people, so I rarely photograph landscapes. This time I had an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Friend and colleague, Adrian Kline, led a sunrise expedition to photograph Mt. Bachelor at Sparks Lake. It meant getting up at 3:30 in order to get to the lake by 5:00 am but it was totally worth it! The predawn mist rising over the lake was just magical and turning the camera in the direction of a bunch of photography geeks was an opportunity not to be missed. :-) Here is a word to the wise: 1) If you plan to get up at 3:30 am, it is best to get to bed before 1:30 am. 2) When hiking befoe dawn in the high Cascades in June, dress warm! I forgot to put in my hiking boots and only had sandals. After the first 10 miutes, my feet lost all feeling and I was fine.

The winner of Haugen's 2009 Children's Contest is.... Lindzee! Congratulations to Lindzee and her mom, Kristina. They will be receiving a 24-inch wall portrait for their home! Now, we weren't planning on having a prize for second place, but we just couldn't help ourselves! This next little guys got way too many votes to ignore. So, Our second place winner is... Austin! Austin's and his mom, Jill, will be receiving an 11x14 portrait! Thank you to everyone who participated in this years contest!

We will be announcing the winner of the Children's Contest TOMORROW!!!