Deception Pass Park

Early afternoon was spent in Deception Pass State Park watching the fog engulf and release the bridge. While I didn't get any classic shots, Josh and I had fun talking and watching the boats roll in. Poetic experience!

Martinez Wedding

Jenny & Anthony Martinez were wed yesterday at Living Word Church in Oak Harbor. They celebrated their reception at the O’Club on NAS, Whidbey. DJ Moose rocked the house as usually challenging the arthritic, cripple and shy to hit the floor dancing. Seriously, there wasn’t an empty spot on the dance floor. Even my ol’ bones shook a grove! There must have been a million single pretty gals but only one lucky one.

Anthony’s frat brothers were loose and creating havoc. They were promptly rechained and given verbal threats. Nothing new there. Can’t take them nowhere.

If you missed this event, you're simply not surrounded by the right circle of friends!

Deception Pass Boat Tour

Okay I’m often accused of not having a life outside my business model so yesterday evening I took a slight detour. As part of Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours, Deception Pass Tours offered an oyster barbecue and Deception Pass Bridge boat tour. I shut down shop early at the Oak Harbor Public Market and took flight to board the 5:30 departure.

The weather was great but the ride a bit rougher than normal. A lot of sea spray and rough water which was exacerbated by a flat bottom boat. This was not a digital camera friendly ride. My advice is to take at least a couple of tours to get the gist of the waterways and be prepared for adverse conditions. Deception Pass is not a water park ride. On Tuesday’s tour the waters were glass smooth. Northwest Dolphin cycled at the helm or bobbed on the horizon. Water fowl was abundant and surfacing Harbor Seals were almost at arm’s length.

The barbecued oysters, a first for me, were exquisite! What-A-go Deception Pass Tours and Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours! You’ll get my business every time.

Senior Portraits on Whidbey Island

Attention Oak Harbor High School seniors, senior portrait time has come to Whidbey Island. Wanna earn a FREE portrait session? Consider being a High School Senior Representative. Contact us today to work out the details.

We offer a combination of studio and on location sessions on scenic Whidbey Island and beyond. This year Whidbey’s weather has been especially kind; but as a backup, we have backdrops that simulate the great outdoors or high fashion sense.

Ashley & Jay Jones

Time ticks away for Ashley & Jay.
August 15th is their special day
7 p.m. they’ll ride away
Bound forever...we pray!

You can talk about the weather but…

My beloved great-grandmother used to say we can talk about the weather but we can’t do anything about it. That may be true but we can step in from the rain or prepare accordingly. Approximately three years ago the summer weather on Whidbey drastically shifted to drab and cancellations, no-shows or reschedules became the expectation. I foresaw an unfortunate pattern lurking on the horizon for environmental photography and quickly moved to meet this business shift. During the Fall I invested time and finances to restructuring my studio and for the next few years studio portraiture became the standard. Life went on but my average sale consisted of an occasional 11x14 but mostly 8x10s and smaller. Then an early summer of 2009 hit Whidbey Island.

Early 2009 I displayed oversize canvass of families taken at local landmarks and the request for canvas mounted portraits quickly became the standard. Leary of previous weather patterns many brides planned indoor wedding portraits but gladly stepped outdoors to accommodate Whidbey’s best. They were of course amazed by the quality of the sessions. The bridal party easily became more animated and less posing and stage directions were required. The groom even smiled when snuggled next to the well meaning mother-in-law.

There’s a certain natural joy and spontaneity of expression found in environmental portraiture that can’t be faked during studio sessions. It erupts quickly and begs to be captured. My job becomes easy: I adjust for lighting, tweak head angles and let natural expressions unfold.

While I still offer studio sessions and smaller images, by far canvas enlargements have become the new standard for Pendleton Imaging & Photography. My beloved great-grandmother also said to THINK BIG but that's another blog entry.

Lavender Wind Farm Festival

This weekend I'm operating out of the Lavender Wind Farm Festival. I'm doing portraits midst the scenic flowing fields of lavender. Forgot to mention, I'm also giving away a FREE FAMILY PORTRAIT SESSION. For a great day of relaxed family fun plan to visit us. There's ZERO RAIN in the forecast. Exciting!

Good News!

Good News!

Melissa & Travis Dillard were jus’ married at the Oak Harbor Yacht Club. It was an event not to be missed. …and if you did, it’s not too late to send gifts.

CONGRATULATIONS from your favorite photographer.