Sunday night, we got a phone call from the producers of Extreme Maker: Home Edition asking if we would be willing to photograph Monday’s taping of the show at the Oregon School for the Deaf in Salem.   The program, which as most of you know rebuilds homes for families in need,  usually hires a portrait artist for family portraits used in decorating the home, but in this case, they  decided on a photojournalistic style would suit the decor as well.

So, Monday morning, we packed up our gear and headed off to what we knew would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and adventure!

The producers asked us to cover the event on the premise that we were hired by the school to photograph an picnic celebrating the school’s 140th birthday.  In reality, we were asked to capture candid moments of the present and former students, as well as some informal portraits portraying specific signed words.  Members of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team, including host Ty Pennington, arrived via tour bus – and holy cow, that is one BIG BUS – during a speech by school administration and announced the rebuild.  The EMHE team plans to demolish and rebuild Lindstrom Hall, the boy’s dormitory.   In addition to the dormitory, the team from Extreme Makeover will also construct a Haunted House for the school.  A major fund raiser for the School for the Deaf, the space for the Haunted House is currently located under the boys dormitory.   The episode will air on Halloween night.

Needless to say, it was an exciting day for one and all.   All said we photographed well over 100 present and former students,  had some fun documenting the arrival of the TV crew,  and had the pleasure of working with our  wonderful and uber talented friend Julia Radlick-Kelleher, owner of Jewel Images in Bend,  who was hired to photograph portraits of the 8 boys who will be living in the remodeled dormitory.

The producers required a 24 hour turn around of the images, and we are  currently awaiting their choices of images.   They have asked that I not reveal any images they’re using before the show airs (which is easy enough since I don’t know yet, LOL!) I do have a few of the day I want to share!

We have so many exciting plans in the works for 2010:

Wonderful Weddings! I am so grateful we book such unique and joyful couples. I can honestly say I’m looking forward to each and every event! Our first wedding of the season is April 10th, at Acadian Ballroom. You’d better believe we’ll have the festivities on the Shutter Monkey right after wards!

Portraiture Galore! We’re thrilled to have so many of our wedding couples come back for maternity and family sessions as well as welcoming new clients into our AJ’s family.
We’ll be announcing our new summer portrait series in the coming weeks.

Sensational Seniors! After testing the waters of Senior Portraits last year, we came to the conclusion: We LOVE Seniors! We just photographed two new Senior Reps from Hockinson High School. Olivia and Karen were absolutely charming!

Did I mention we’re moving? We will now have meeting space on both sides of the Columbia. We’re over the moon excited to be teaming up with 10 of Portland’s Premeire wedding professionals to launch The Wedding Lounge. Currently under construction, The Wedding Lounge will be located at 2808 NE Martin Luther King Blvd, Suite J. If that address sounds familiar, it’s because we’ll be right next door to The Bridal Loft. To find out more about The Wedding Lounge, click on our Blog. To get the latest updates, you can follow the Wedding Lounge (@wedding_lounge) on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Finally, we’ve been having some fun family events. Hunter made his official acting debut at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics playing Gallito, the Selfish Rooster. So please allow my proud Mom moment to show off my little thespian.

See you all VERY soon! XOXO

This fall, countless photographers and creators are coming together for one purpose: a cure. On October 11, 2009 – a collection of photographers are donating their time and session fees to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® is actively searching for a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime – and your portrait session will help the cause. 100% of your session fee will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

We are truly honored to be included in this awesome event, and will be offering 30 minute portrait mini sessions the day of October 11th – with the $50 session free donated DIRECTLY to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. These are any portrait session we offer: family, kiddo, engagement, even a late gotta-get-it-done senior session! Also included are our always adorable and often outrageous Tutu-licious sessions. To celebrate our participation in this one of a kind event, we’ll be donating 15% of all limited edition Holiday Cards and specialty gift items to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

In order to accommodate life’s busy schedules, we’re extending our participation through out the month of October!  If October 11th doesn’t work for you, let’s find a date and time that does! Send me an email to amy@ajsstudio.com

One of the many advantages of PartyShots is that we were able to set up out doors in the court yard with the rest of the events and utilize the brick wall for a fun and different back drop. We chose some funk and fun for processing this time around to go with the props provided by the La Salle staff. If you have an up coming charity event, we would love to hear from you!

I’ll be showcasing more through the week, as well as more Celebrations Sessions!

Congrats Kim and Kyle!

Congrats!

If you’re planning your wedding or a corporate event – pick up a Bravo Guide or click on the Bravo Site for all you need to know for Portland’s top notch planners and vendors.

The staff at Bravo! always puts on a stellar event and it’s such a pleasure to meet and/or catch up with all the planners behind the spectacular events, weddings, and parties we love so much!

Bravo Events Blog

Stop by and say hi!

Click here to see all the outstanding work by the some of the leaders in the wedding photography community.

And as always – congratulations to our local colleagues (and more importantly, friends) Valls Photographic, Jasmine Photography, and Rob McNary for their fantastic results in this quarter’s competition!