Oct/Sep/Oct

WOW,  I can't believe my last post was in August! It feels more recent! I didn't intend to give up on the blog, but when things got hectic at work this summer, I cut myself lots of slack on personal projects. Also, I tend to use Instagram a lot more for my photos, since I can easily transfer them off my camera even while I'm out in a garden or wherever. If you don't already follow me there, please come visit/follow! I'm @greengatephoto. If you don't yet have Instagram, why not? :)

Anyway, I wanted to say happy October! As you probably know by now, I loooove October. It's my birthday month, but it's also a nice time of year for other reasons. This October has not disappointed so far. It's only day 4, but I've been feeling great and I am super excited about my plans this month (more about that in a minute).

Before I proceed with October, let's talk September! I know I won't get to it otherwise. It was a busy month (work and personal), but I did get out to take pictures a couple of times. By the way, most of the photos in this entry have been posted elsewhere on social media, so I'm sorry for repeats.

First, at the state fair. I mainly went to try a few of the classic ride photos that I've been seeing online.

Later in the month, my parents visited! It was a really nice time, and we got to go to the coast and the refuge. I didn't take a ton of photos, but here are a few.

There were TONS of bullfrog pollywogs, but sadly most of them probably died since the water was drying up quickly.

I also got out to Bush Park at some point, but didn't stay long. It had only started turning fally at that point.

Back to October! The weather has been awesome--sunny, but milder than our hot summer. The leaves are changing and it's looking really nice outside. To kick off October, I got to go to the Oregon Garden for a work photo assignment on the 1st. After taking care of my duties, I spent my "lunch break" briefly walking around the garden and taking a few photos. I was carrying a heavy bag so I didn't stay as long as I normally would.

Then, last night I went to Deepwood hoping that the porcelain berries would be in bloom. Timehop showed me that they were ready last year at this time, but we've had such a weird year of hot weather that I wasn't sure. But yes, they are looking their awesome selves!!

I loooove them. I know they are invasive, but they're so cool looking!! I would love to pick some for some photos/arrangements, so if you happen to know of someone local who would let me take some, please let me know!

Oh and I also took a few other pictures:

I mentioned having fun plans, and now I'll tell you about them: I'm going to Utah! I have never been, but my friend Dania invited me to join her on a trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon. We'll also get a little time in Vegas, where we're flying in. We're both super excited! I have even rented a lens so I can hopefully get a few good landscapes. While I'm down south, I'm also quickly hopping over to New Mexico to visit my younger sister's family. It happens that I'll be there for part of the hot air balloon fiesta, so fingers crossed the weather cooperates for us!

I hope you're having a good October so far. :) I want post here more before the end of the year. Hopefully some trip photos, and then I have plans to go to Houston (where my older sister and parents now live) over Christmas, so that should give me a lot to post about. Meanwhile, I will definitely be Instagramming as usual, so find me over there if you want to see some pictures on an almost daily basis.

Thanks!

The rest of March

Continuing on, as promised! Same disclaimer applies (see last post).

Photo marathon

Alright, I'm just going to pick up where I left off yesterday and post more photos from March. NOTE: These are NOT my best work, but I wanted you to see some of the flowers and scenes I encountered, so I'm posting them for the subject instead of the photography.

[NOTE 2: I tried to post these more efficiently and it's making the captions all tiny. I guess I must hand-code everything all the time then, Blogger?]

Portraits: Travis and Katrina

My friend Katrina (who you've seen in my blog over the years--like here) just got engaged! When she asked me to take their engagement photos, I was very happy to oblige. We had a nice time out at Bush Park and Deepwood Estate. Here are a few of my favorite photos with a bit of info about the happy couple.

Travis and Katrina were connected by a friend who apparently has a knack for matchmaking! She urged Katrina to give Travis a chance and pass on her contact info. When Travis called Katrina for a first date, they hadn't even exchanged pictures.

They decided to meet at Lum Yuen for lunch. Katrina had low expectations for first dates and planned to just endure it. "I anticipated it being a dud of a date, like every other time I'd gone out with someone. I was pretty much blown out of the water, and very much wanted to go out again!"

I could tell when Katrina first told me about Travis that something was different about this guy. She was basically glowing when she told me about their first date and how she admired his willingness to talk about his faith right away. She was also pleasantly surprised at how attractive she found him!

I knew it wouldn't be long before she was engaged. :)

Travis popped the question in February while they were visiting with Katrina's parents.


The wedding is in May. Hopefully we'll continue to have the awesome weather the PNW has been enjoying this year. May is one of the prettiest, greenest times here.

I like this photo so much that I'm showing you two versions. :) Doesn't it have kind of a travelly vibe to it?


Congratulations, you guys! We're all so happy for you. :)

Pre-spring and catchup (warning: lots of pink)

Wouldn't it be nice if I could keep up with my blog more regularly? Every time I post here, I feel like there are too many pictures! I have to narrow everything down so much.

Fall Portraits - Liane (part 2)

Happy Wednesday! (I say that with a fake smile--I'm not a big Wednesday fan, though today was pretty good.) Here I am with the rest of Liane's photos. If you missed it, the first set is here.


Apparently I didn't have anything to say in captions today. It seemed like it might be repetitive. :) Thanks to Liane for being such an awesome model (when it's cold and I'm asking her to sit on the wet ground!), and thanks to anyone looking through this post! Having people to share my photos with makes it worth doing.

Guess what? My new camera arrived yesterday! Most of you already know that. I've already taken several photos that I hope to show you in the next few days. I'm loving it so far! Stay tuned, hot air ballooned.