Friendship

Whew, summer is a busy time of year. I apologize for my brief disappearance!

This cutie is Persephone, whom I was honored to work with this weekend, along with her owner Lia and the lovely La Belle Fille. I originally met up with these girls downtown, but after agreeing that it was too blistering hot to get anything done we took a lunch break and headed to a park with good shade cover.

We wanted to capture their friendship in photos, so we settled in for the afternoon and went for a lifestyle feel. It soon became clear that there would be no shortage of laughs and fun moments! They made my job a piece of cake!

Eventually even Persephone had exhausted herself, so we packed up and headed our separate ways. It was great to work with a new model and an old friend all in the same shoot. Big thanks to Lia, Persephone and La Belle Fille! 

                                                   -MM

Another Adventure

La Belle Fille and I decided to meet up on the Lane Community College campus where we both take classes and do a quick shoot. After checking out a few spots we agreed that we might have better luck if we headed downtown. Little did we know, we were in for another adventure! We hopped on a bus and soon found ourselves heading the wrong direction. A passenger overhead our concern and informed us we were on our way to a nearby town and the round trip would take an hour. The first couple photos here were taken along the side of the freeway on our walk back to school...

After getting back to the school and on the right bus, we made it downtown. Our next stop was the church we had tried to shoot at the last time we met up. It was there that we finally had a lucky break! The front porch and stairs of the building were perfectly lit and completely abandoned.

Thanks to Belle for another entertaining and unpredictable afternoon!

                                                                                    -MM

Oscar the Cheerful

The weather has started to be consistently beautiful and that means it's time to bring out the summer fashion! And if anyone has a good sense of style, it's this little boy right here. Meet Oscar and his mother Kristin.

I met up with these two at the Knight Library on the University of Oregon campus to take some family photos. This guy is quickly gaining height, and no one could stand the thought of his Easter outfit from last month going undocumented! So we began our mission. 

Oscar was extremely patient with us as we set him up in a couple of different seating areas around the building. And of course, he quickly developed a fan club! It was a great way to spend a sunny afternoon. Thanks to Kristin and Oscar for being such happy company!
               -MM

Downtown detours!

I spent an afternoon during Spring Break wandering the downtown area with model La Belle Fille. We had originally planned to shoot at a church in the area, but upon arrival discovered that the stairway was occupied by some very friendly, but very talkative street folk. We spent the first half hour of our shoot speaking with one of these people, then went searching for a more abandoned location!

Our second plan was to use the ever-changing legal graffiti walls as our background, but it must have been the perfect day to go painting, because they were all being used! Then, we had our eye on an old tea house, but just as we neared it people swarmed the stairway. It seemed it was going to be one of those days, but we didn't give up! 

We kept walking, and along the way we captured a variety of images, including a more permanent graffiti piece. Sometimes it's good to get thrown out of your box, because you notice things you would have never seen before! It was a challenge, and because Belle had such a great easy-going attitude about it all, it was also a fun adventure!
                                                                                            -MM

Four-leaf clover...

I was spending St. Patrick's Day taking photos with Ashlei and Josh, when Josh spotted someone parked inside the gates of the old Ems Stadium. He poked his head in and pretty soon we were allowed entrance onto the property. This old wooden baseball stadium, known as Civic Stadium, used to be the home stadium for the Eugene Emeralds baseball team. However, we built a big shiny new stadium awhile back and left this one to decay.

Photo by Josh Morris

Thankfully, some kind hearted people have decided to revitalize it and make it useful to the community once more! These guys were extremely friendly to us, and excited about the project. I have a bit of a personal connection to this space myself, because my very first job was at this stadium. In order to make this place beautiful, they need a little help! If you would like more information on how you can contribute time or donations visit: 

Friends of Civic Stadium

Going back inside after all these years was surreal. The weeds and the chipped paint made this place look like it was in the middle of a ghost town. Some of the boards we walked on were soft, and patches of clover spotted the field. It was a great experience though, and I would like to give a special thanks to Josh for taking the initiative to get us in and Friends of Civic Stadium for being so informative and welcoming!                                                                                                      

                                                 -MM                                      

Summer in the air...

I recently took some photos with the lovely Ashlei Louise, for her fashion blog Faltering Bird. She is a long time friend and muse, and we try to work together as often as possible. She also happens to be featured in my banner at the top of this page!

We were fortunate enough to meet up on an absolutely beautiful sunny day, a rare event in the pacific northwest this time of year. It was also extremely windy! It was great for flowing hair, a little problematic for keeping skirts in place! But we worked it out ;) I really loved her outfit and the mood it created with the truck and the sunlight.

Her boyfriend Josh came along and took some photos with us as well. He is the owner of this quirky truck, as well as the main photographer for Faltering Bird! I always enjoy how enthusiastic both of them are about the process. We spent the afternoon exploring different ideas and locations, showing each other photos, and brainstorming for future shoots.

Thanks to Ashlei and Josh!

                                                    -MM

Will you be my Valentine?

    

This month I got the opportunity to do a shoot with a close friend Rose and her boyfriend, Ryan. He had contacted me a few weeks prior, wanting to plan something special for Valentine's Day. After talking about it, we decided to meet at Owen Memorial Rose Garden to capture some photos of them together. We wanted it to be really simple, just the two of them being themselves.

           

They were great sports about the gloomy weather and we had a really good time exploring the gardens. Our favorite discovery of the day was a line of plants that had been carefully shaped into hearts along the back fence. What a great spot for a Valentine's photo!

  

As we were saying our goodbyes, I decided to snap this last minute shot in the rear view mirror. Just then, it began to rain. For the rest of the day it rained and hailed heavily. What good luck that we finished when we did! Also, I'd like to give a big thanks to Rose and Ryan for being such great models. 

                                                           - MM