I first started photographing children back when I was studying photography at the University of Colorado in 1998. Initially my decision was influenced by the fact that there were a lot of them around. Also it made their parents happy, which was nice because I was a poor, starving student and the adults all treated me with a ridiculous level of generosity which was difficult to reciprocate.
Being fairly unselfconscious, children are an ideal subject for natural portraiture, and the only real challenge is the fact that they’re in constant motion. Dress them in cute clothes - you know best what suits them; stripes work well, especially on boys. If there's more than one subject, a nod towards coordination helps.
Recent Work
The Hulls
May 4, 2012
A late afternoon, early spring trip to the WSU Vancouver campus with the amazingly lovely Hull family.
Colby’s Second Birthday
January 12, 2012
Colby turned two and celebrated with his friends and cats. Captured in square-o-vision for a change!
Elise and Olivia
August 4, 2011
A sunny afternoon in Cornelius, with James and Emily’s beautiful daughters.
Azure, part four
July 7, 2011
Azure, now a fully fledged tot, with her parents at Portland’s Japanese Gardens.
Fabricio’s Party
July 15, 2010
Ethan’s best friend, Fabricio, turned four; his friends swashbuckled the piñata.
Gwil and Meg
July 13, 2010
Gwil and Meg were in fine form when we dropped round on Tanya and Ceri at the most inconvenient time possible, just as they were packing for their holiday.
The Coopers
April 27, 2010
A business trip to San Francisco provided me the opportunity to drop in on my old high school friend, Philip Cooper, and his family in San Mateo, CA. Had a wonderful time! Was once again reminded how just a few degrees of latitude makes such a startling difference to the quality of light.
Easter egg hunt
April 14, 2010
Intense. Ninety seconds of madness as children run in every direction at once to garner a disproportionate quantity of goodies. Next year I’ll have the experience to recognize that recording an Easter Egg Hunt is in fact a branch of sports photography, and I’ll prepare appropriately…
Dora the photographer’s assistant
April 7, 2010
Whilst exploring the rainforest, Dora also has the capacity to hold small children still for a sufficient period of time to expose a photograph!
On Jeanne’s Birthday
March 15, 2010
Pictures of everyone apart from Max on the occasion of his Jeanne’s birthday, Lake Oswego.
Main image: Grandma helps Ethan along the high beam.
Max at the park
March 11, 2010
Max relaxing in the grounds of Bryant Elementary, Lake Oswego on the occasion of his mom’s birthday party.
Max on the couch
February 27, 2010
Max enjoying Yo Gabba Gabba on the coach at grandma’s house in Lake Oswego.
A weekend at the park
February 24, 2010
When the sun shines at the weekend in February in Portland, you really have to take advantage. Photos taken at Sewellcrest Park on the Saturday, Sellwood Park on Sunday.
First picture: Ethan stares up towards a basketball hoop…
Like slide film
February 19, 2010
A peculiarly flat winter’s light filtered through the pine that afternoon; the capture lacked contrast. Boosting it reminded me of the look of colour slide film, back when that was the thing to shoot. And there’s something quite 70s about Ethan’s rocker too…
Splashing!
February 10, 2010
I often think Ethan’s Columbia jacket makes him look like a football manager; nevertheless, the photo of him splashing through the puddles is a winner.
Cute clothing plus good light at f/4
January 30, 2010
…may be pretty close to a magical formula. It was of those beautiful wintry days in Portland and the sun just slipped through the shallow cloud like a six mile softbox.
