Honoring Moms

A little personal vulnerability here — I've begun going through a structured process this year where I've gotten to peel back the layers of my life, all the way down to my childhood, reflecting on how the influence of people and happenings of my life have shaped me for the good and for the bad. I do this in a group-setting, hearing stories about how others have been shaped as well. It's a safe place, yet one in which you can't help but compare and draw conclusions about why we turned out healthy or broken in various areas of our lives.

In this process, there is a lot of reflection about your parent's influence, especially in the first few years of your life. I won't get too deep into any of that, but in light of Mother's Day I'm feeling very grateful for the fact that my mom was nurturing and present during my formative years. While my dad was away working his job during the day, my mom juggled being a freelance graphic designer and running a daycare center out of our house so that she could raise me and my sister (um, technically that's 3 jobs...). My sister and I had the ideal set-up — being consistently socialized with kids of all ages (it felt like we had a huge collection of siblings to play with every day), yet the two of us got to have our parent's focused attention when all the kids went home with their own families.

Our lives weren't perfect, but I now see how my mom structured her life so that we could be sufficiently provided and cared for. Being a mother is a big deal that I have so much respect for. If I hear anyone ever put the word "just" before "being a stay-at-home-mom", I want to remind you that you arguably have the most important job of all time. By bringing a child into this world, you are dropping a stone into the water, creating a ripple effect that will touch the world.

Additionally, in honor of Mother's Day, I want to highlight one of my long-time friends and soon-to-be mother of 2. Laura is one of those fully-devoted, hard working mommas that I regard highly. Below is a little shoot I did with her and her beautiful, expanding family.

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Help! We Need Your Eye

If you are a creative of any sort, you may understand the insane degree of perfectionism and indecisiveness that comes with developing something that is supposed to represent you. This is mostly why I have chosen a morphing color palette to represent Neon Grounds, rather than an icon. I found a happy place between creating something recognizable, while having the flexibility to change my graphics when I feel inspired by something new. (Now that I think of it, this is also why I may be one of those rare Portlanders without a tattoo...too much creative commitment I'd have to carry around on my body...for life. How do you people do it?!)

Enough about me though, this post is really about AshtonForDesign.

Ashton is my client and a kick-ass interior designer with a strong and unique vision for all of her work. Yet here in our branding process we've come to a delicate quandary. We are in our final round where we have come up with a logo concept and font to pair, but now...the details. The last round of decisions I leave up to my clients — I want their brand identity to feel perfectly them, but Ashton is hung up between 4 very similar options.

I'm reaching out to you fine people on her behalf; so if you're up to it, pull out your magnifying glass, attention to detail, your design hats, your right brains and give us your creative criticism.

Scroll way down to see some of her gorgeous work. If you'd like to experience her interiors in person, go check out Loyal Legion or The Evergreen event space in Portland.

Third Round Evolution

Your Thoughts Here

Which of these designs do you gravitate toward & why?

AshtonForDesign's Most Recent Project

Kearney Residence • Photography by Terra Lange

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Sticks & Stones Styled Shoot

Sticks & Stones, a high-end jewelry company in Portland, OR was in need of some imagery to advertise to their target customer demographic. I photographed on the team of Room Service Creative to capture these sleek and unique pieces (rings, earrings, and bolo ties made from a mix of polished stone, various woods, mixed metals and sometimes leather). Frequently I shoot alone, and if I'm feeling extravagant, I will hire a backup shooter...but what a luxury it was to work with a stylist AND a creative director on this project! Thank you to Rebecca Micciche for her intentional creative direction regarding every last detail. Rad to have the stylist work of Tessa Yost, as well as Mikey and Tessa as the most easy to work with talent ever to exist.

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Zahradka Engagement

Hopping back to the damp and dreary winter days of Portland from sunny California was made easier by way of these two, ready to venture out for a fun day of shooting — rain or shine.

I will be covering Jeremy & Kate's wedding in April, they chose to shoot their engagement photos with me as well. I often encourage couples to use the same photographer for both of these events for a few reasons:

1. Many photographers, including myself, offer a discounted rate if you book these events together.

2. Doing an engagement session with your wedding day photographer allows a low-pressure avenue to get comfortable in front of the person who will be following you around on your important day. Also to get a feel for how your photographer operates. We each have our different approaches to shooting; my style is to make you comfortable, but also for me to be as invisible as possible. My primary goal is for you to be present — aware of the environment, the emotions, and the people/person you are with. I want you to remember your day, not your photographer.

Please enjoy a few shots from our venture around Portland together, making a cozy time out of a wet day.

I want to offer a special thanks to Wildwood Bespoke for providing a stunning and warm place to shoot. If you are curious about their space and are looking to rent it for something special (a meeting, retreat, party, music event, photoshoot, video shoots, etc.) travel over to this link and inquire about reservations. If you are in need of a custom suit or are someone who enjoys high fashion and the finer things in life, visit their shop tucked away behind Barista in downtown Portland. They have an amazing collection of items (some local, including my amazing friend Lyle at Handforge) that will make your eyes happy and give you plenty of treasures to put on your Christmas list.

You can thank me later!

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Inspiration Sunday - Balboa Park

For the sake of keeping the creative portion of my soul fresh, I've been reserving Sundays for treasure hunts. As the old truism goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure — inspirational golden nuggets can be found anywhere, but with my remaining days in California, Balboa Park was a walkable choice that would undoubtedly guide me to neon grounds.

As predicted, inspiration rolled out in front of me starting with a stumble down Artist's Alley. Here I met a dichroic glass artist who free-hand etches her designs into her pieces with a diamond drill bit. She was a confident, steady-handed woman using very expensive materials paired with an irreversible technique...absolutely no margin for error. This is the type of confidence that blossoms from many years of practice, also the ease of creation that comes from a person who truly has a gift. As she etched her illustrations, she spilled her story out on me, where I found out she is a successful "undercover" graphic designer, which I probed her about for awhile. I left that studio feeling an immense amount of space for growth ahead. Not a dejected feeling, but one of hope and inspiration.

Around every corner there was a musician creating beautiful sounds that enhanced the warmth of the sun and happy chemicals releasing in my brain. I laid down on a bench outside the botanical garden and listened to the cathedral bells ring in the distance, then the guitarist playing flamenco music next to me, and then an accordion (love the accordion). I closed my eyes and transported back to my happy place of being a greener sprout, directionless yet excited and expectant as I spontaneously wandered for months around Europe. This momentary teleportation lead to a craving for a museum, so I ended my time in the park at the small but free Timken Museum of Art...finding free things is so rewarding.

The sun set on me as I headed home, and I felt full.

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Joshua Tree, California

There has been a lot of whining from us Pacific Northwesterners about this year's winter, and I am not at all exempt. This season has been so brutal and exhausting! Yes, I hail from Colorado. But no, none of us are blasé about the inclement weather we've been having here in Portland. It has cost us much — major accidents and highway closures, shutting down the cities that are ill-equipped to operate under this form of winter. Lost business, lower paychecks, crunched cars, cancelled appointments, doleful demeanors, the inability to get a good bowl of ramen anywhere...I could whine on. I'll spare you. All that to say, an irresistible urge to seek the sun was bubbling to the surface for me, and so a styled shoot in the always enchanting Joshua Tree with a few of my most creative and lovely friends was a no-brainer. If you are in need of some sunshine, I hope that these images of warmth can transport your mind to a happier place, or inspire you to physically go to one. How the sun can heal a soggy soul...

DAY 1

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DAY 2 & 3

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Andersen Construction Headshots

When you hear the words "executive headshots" I doubt your interest is piqued, but shooting with the Andersen Execs was an unexpectedly entertaining task. These are not your every-day-joe's, nor your stuffy type of business men; they are a group of hard working but good humored guys who loosened up their ties and worked the camera to bring a little approachability to the Andersen corporation.

Barnes Family Shoot

The beautiful momma in this shoot is one of my oldest friends in Portland. Nancy is someone who I served alongside in the earlier days where we roamed downtown to provide resources for those experiencing homelessness. It was there that we bonded over many things but relevantly to this blog post, we bonded over our mutual love for photography. Nancy is a talented shooter herself, and so when she scrambled to book me before her and her family's big move back to the East Coast, I was honored to spend some time documenting an evening of play with the Barnes family on Sauvie's Island.