Yoon & Dan, Engaged

Posted by Aaron - 05/02/10 at 12:02:21 pm

The day we photographed Yoon and Dan was the day I saw the sun. It was amazing. As an Oregonian, about this time every year is the time I begin to forget that spring will come again, that the White Witch has cast a spell of permanent grey winter over Narnia (yes, I obviously have kids). So with the sunshine on our faces, it was even more a joy to walk around Yoon & Dan’s stomping grounds and have fun and make pictures.

Continue reading Yoon & Dan, Engaged…

Love on Film

Posted by Aaron - 03/02/10 at 01:02:21 pm

Recently I’ve been admiring the differences between film and digital images. I’ll never be one to take a hard line stance on one or the other because they are special in their own way. Kind of like beer verses wine. Or Marvel verses DC. Or computers verses typewriters…ok, not like that. But they are unique.

A few things I love about film:
1. I pee my pants with excitement every time I drive to pick up a roll of film.
2. After reviewing the images, I have a strong desire to do better next time. I do this with digital but it’s way more instantaneous and sometimes I forget what I want to adjust.
3. Film has a soft quality that is beautiful.
4. Film is VERY forgiving. (Thanks Film, you are so kind! My digital camera would have called me names and then made me spend an hour in Photoshop correcting that, but you just gave me a hug.)
5. No post processing on film. This is a HUGE benefit. It is what it is. The color is right (or interesting at least).

I recently purchased a Nikon FE camera which can use most of my lenses, so while on our engagement shoot weekend, I captured these with Fuji Provia 400, hope you enjoy! And thanks to Larissa & Craig, Yoon & Dan, and Ellen & John for letting me snap a few extra with that strange film machine.

I love how the film blew out in direct sunlight and made this more abstract image:

A few extra from the weekend:

Larissa & Craig, Engaged. c/o the Napa Valley.

Posted by Aaron - 02/02/10 at 07:02:50 pm

The first engagement shoot in a triple threat weekend with Ashley in the Bay Area and how stoked were we when we met Larissa & Craig. If you were going to make Awesome Soup, you’d have to put in some Sweet, some Hilarious, a handful of Laughter, a sprinkle of Dumb Jokes, a wallop of Sickly Adorable, and Napa Valley. I know, that’s cheesey, but if we added Cheese, the Awesome Soup would be unbearable.

Continue reading Larissa & Craig, Engaged. c/o the Napa Valley….

Sarah & Brandon, Engaged

Posted by Aaron - 28/01/10 at 03:01:54 pm

Where’s the BEST possible place to photograph a cute couple in the rainy winter of Oregon? You guessed it! A SLOUGH! Yep, Ashley and I are deliberate planners and we KNEW it was going to rain and keep raining through our engagement shoot with Sarah & Brandon. Or maybe we were just stupid and didn’t plan very well.

I don’t care. Sarah and Brandon were super awesome. Ashley was discussing a possible shot of them cuddling up in the back of their car and Brandon started clearing out the trunk. Brandon, I think we’ll use that shot for someone else, but very creative!

It poured the entire time but we had a lot of fun running for cover and then finding a semi-dry building at Western Oregon University, my alma mater. Wait, I just read that “alma mater” means “nourishing mother” so note to self, I will NEVER use that word again, especially for a state college.

Thanks Sarah & Brandon, congrats! You’re wedding will be awesome and hopefully not raining!

Continue reading Sarah & Brandon, Engaged…

Rhiannon & Bill, Engaged. Black & White Edition

Posted by Aaron - 27/01/10 at 06:01:43 pm

After scouting out a nice window spot in Powell’s Books to sneak in some pics, we met Rhiannon and Bill for a fun engagement session. Our plans to stay indoors and take pictures were foiled by the NOT-RAINING weather. Which I am ok with.

I decided to blog these in black and white, for fun and creative reasons.

Continue reading Rhiannon & Bill, Engaged. Black & White Edition…

Anh & Quan, Bridal Portraits

Posted by Aaron - 26/01/10 at 05:01:51 pm

Not often that you get to photograph a couple who is so willing to be creative and try new locations. Ashley and I had an absolute blast with Anh & Quan. They were adorable and getting to drive around the Columbia Gorge for some non-traditional shots is a huge honor.

Thanks you two!

Continue reading Anh & Quan, Bridal Portraits…

Seattle Trip

Posted by Aaron - 24/01/10 at 01:01:19 pm

Playin blog-ketchup. Ashley and I went up for a quick trip to Seattle to capture some photos for her art show with Jolby. Seattle is awesome. There is a lot to see. Hope you don’t mind me posting some non-portrait images, also thanks to Ashley’s Canon tilt-shift lens. It’s been a long time since I actually took non-people photos!

Continue reading Seattle Trip…

Attention all Apples and Androids

Posted by Aaron - 19/01/10 at 11:01:21 am

Due to Aaron Courter Photography’s magnificent grasp on social media and smartphones and twitters and internets and web site blogs and old compuserve accounts, he has made it possible to view the Aaron Courter Photography blog in a format specially designed for the iPhone and Android platforms.

So if you’ve got your iPhone or Android phone turned on, and you aren’t busy playing the Lightsaber game, bookmark and follow me at blog.aaroncphotography.com. It will change your life for the better*.

*Especially if combined with delicious beverages and/or foods like Voodoo Donuts.

Amanda & Nick, Engaged

Posted by Aaron - 13/01/10 at 09:01:20 pm

Amanda and Nick. In Portland. By the waterfront. Ashley fell in goose poop. I shot with a Canon Tilt Shift (Father, forgive me). And Amanda has this ability to change from super serious to super funny faster than you can say, “How do you change the shutter speed on this thing?” So yes, it was pretty rad.

Continue reading Amanda & Nick, Engaged…

Elli, Senior Portraits. Or… How to be Awesome & Totally Show It

Posted by Aaron - 11/01/10 at 11:01:41 pm

I got a call the other day hoping I would be able to fit in a last minute senior shoot. Side note, to clarify, a “senior shoot” does not mean skeet shooting with elderly gentlemen, nor does it mean putting the elderly gentleman out of his misery. It means photographing a high school senior and may or may not involve skeet shooting. Back to the story.

Thankfully I had a slot open for Sunday morning and Elli and I ran with it. She showed up being herself which is what I appreciate most. You can bring five changes of clothes, but if you forget yourself, or are not familiar with who you are after 12 years of school, you may as well just try again. Anyways, Elli is awesome. She was cool, willing to be creative, and gracious. And hung out for over an hour in the cold so that we could make some pictures.

Thank you SO MUCH Elli. I hope you love them and I wish you the best next year, especially hoping you get to attend that one college up north, you know the one.

Continue reading Elli, Senior Portraits. Or… How to be Awesome & Totally Show It…

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