Best of 2011| A year, a good one.

2011 was successful. Not because of anything I did, but just simply because I became a more free person. I tamed the voices of criticism and skepticism (often my own voice) and followed my vision, I had more fun behind the camera than ever before and produced work that I'm proud of. I still have so far to go in becoming free, it's a daily process and a never ending journey, but it's one that I'm thankful to be on. Choosing these photos was overwhelming. I went through every wedding and engagement session I did in 2011 and I choose images that were in some way unique and made me feel something. After my first pass through I had over 350 photos. After several rounds of narrowing down (and still have WAY too many for a blog post), but these were my final picks.

To all of my 2011 clients, thank you for an amazing year. I'm so grateful for each and every one of you and really do believe (and constantly tell people!) that I have the best clients in the world. You all have made me love my job even more.

I'm so excited for 2012. I'm heading into the new year determined to be more present than ever in every moment in my life and to push the limits artistically in every way I can.

Happy New Year!

Bryan

Kristen & Joel | Fort Vancouver Wedding Photographs

Here's one from Kristen and Joel's wedding at the Academy Chapel in Vancouver, WA. Full Post coming soon!

Hope everyone has a happy New Year! Leah, Wellington and I have had a wonderful holiday full of rich time with family, couldn't have been better.

Bryan

Joel & Cherice | Vow Renewal Photographs

When Leah and I first moved to Oregon five years ago, one of the first friends I made was Joel. We both worked at the same cafe, we both liked going on outdoor adventures and we both liked coffee...way too much. Joel is the kind of friend anyone is lucky to have, the kind of friend that you can drive across the country with (which we did) and still be friends at the end of the trip (which we were). He's the kind of friend that's truly there for you anytime and reminds you of what being a friend to someone means. Awhile ago Joel told me that he was going to sneak attack (my words not his) his wife with a vow renewal for their tenth anniversary and that the coverup he wanted to use to make this happen was a photo shoot. I said awesome, because, clearly, it really is an awesome idea. We setup the shoot towards the end of November and Joel planned everything out perfectly so that at the end of the shoot we would go to take some pictures inside of an old school house, and when we flipped on the lights there would be all of Joel and Cherice's closest friends and family and they would have a little vow renewal ceremony. A lot of things had to go right to make this happen, and amazingly everything happened nearly perfectly and the surprise Joel planned so well really was a surprise for Cherice.

I had such a great time taking pictures of Joel and Cherice. It's always nice for me to take photos of people that I know and love because it inspires me about how important and meaningful photos are. I remember how much images of my loved ones mean to me and why the work that I do is really important.

Joel, thank you for your friendship, you're presence in my life has been wonderful and I can't thank you enough for always being there for me. Joel and Cherice, thank you so much for having me take these photos, it was of course great hanging out with you guys, and really special to be a part of something so beautiful.

Today we're headed to Colorado for the holidays! Wish us luck with a very wiggly Wellington on a three hour plane ride. I hope everyone is having a wonderful and restful holiday season!

Bryan