Portland Oregon Photographers
Hungry for an adventure? Here’s why we’re hooked on the PNW.
Our Trip to Portland, Oregon | Apollo Fields Travel Photography
“If I know my wife—she’s gonna love milking that cow,” I declared to everyone surrounding Sierra, the gentle hobby farm, Portland(ish)-based cow. It all started as a joke—a one-off comment made by my brother, Matt, and his wife, Morgan—to go to a local farm at night to milk a cow after an epic powder day of snowboarding on Mt. Hood. To our surprise, we all responded, “well, that could actually be fun,” and just like that our winter vacation to Portland, Oregon, got off to an authentically Apollo Fields start.
The following day we took a scenic route through the foothills of Mt. Hood, meandering on winding streets beneath mossy branches, vines, and canopies, surrounded on either side by vegetable, livestock, and tree farms. The quick transition from the below freezing, fluffy white sloping facade of the mountain’s coniferous trees to this foggy, almost magical forest instantly inspired in us a sense of wide-eyed childlike wonder. I didn’t realize I appreciated the diversity of flora until I imagined the contrast of the barren branches of the east coast with the explosion of ferns and teeming life of the Pacific Northwest.
We continued on a self-guided tour of waterfalls, short hikes, and scenic pull-offs as we made our way back down to Portland proper, driving along the Columbia River Gorge, and taking in our first view of the Portland skyline. The first thing I noticed were the many bridges that reached over the Willamette River (which bisects the city), whereupon Matt informed me that aside from being known as the “City of Roses” because of all of the roses that adorn the highways and streets, Portland is also known as “Bridgetown” or “Bridge City” (“The more you know…”). The easy access to nature from the city reminded Heather and I why we loved living in Colorado as we were quickly began to fall in love with Portland.
After trying a bunch of local breweries (shout out to Cascade Brewing and Base Camp Brewing), bakeries, and coffee houses, we rounded out the trip with a drive to and Cannon Beach on the coast. 55 degrees and overcast, we hooked up with one of our east coast comrades and he showed us one of his local surf spots. Again, another short hike captivated us with towering trees, babbling creeks, and thriving life in the trail’s every nook and cranny. I saw a creek flow into the ocean for the very first time. By the time we left that beach, our hearts had officially been won by the Pacific Northwest.
Heather and I realized on the flight home that this vacation was the first one we have taken since our honeymoon to Negril, Jamaica in November 2018. Yes, we’ve traveled to a bunch of states this past year and enjoyed documenting one epic wedding after another, but it was so damned refreshing to just kick it with one another and our families and friends. It didn’t hurt that we found a corner of the planet that we might want to eventually call home, but for now we’re refreshed and revitalized. Whether you find peace on a snowboard, on a hiking trail, in the city, or beside a cow, never stop exploring this world to find where your heart is at ease—there is truly no better feeling in this life. Cheers to 2020 and beyond.
Photography: Apollo Fields
Jamaica Honeymoon - Day 6
Apollo Fields Photojournalism | Wedding Writer | Jamaica Honeymoon | Destination Wedding Photographer | Farm Wedding Photographer | Wedding Blog
Final Day in Jamaica – Pam’s Birthday
Mid-flight en route back to New Jersey – Wednesday, November 7th, 2018
When I opened my eyes on the last full day of our honeymoon in Jamaica, the pale blue sky peered over the balcony and climbed into our four post bed into the space between dreaming and reality. Light and ethereal, each blink revealed a bit more of the world I’ve come to love, inviting me to ease down the floating wooden staircase one more time. I didn’t know then, but in those fleeting moments, the lens through which I’ve viewed the world finally lined up with the way the island of Jamaica communicates to your soul.
I started the day by setting down a steaming cup of coffee on a table right outside of Pam’s room. It was her 61st birthday and I knew that that would be the first thing on her wish list. Stepping outside into the blaring sun, we gently made our way down to the volcanically-formed cliffs of Negril at Sun Down Villa, careful not to spill any of our precious liquid energy along the way. We stumbled upon Rick and Steve lounging, plucking at a ukulele as the notes drifted and eventually faded into the warm, Caribbean air. Pam and Rick decided to take a cruise on their Vespa down to the beach where their love of the island first began over thirty years ago.
Heather, Steve, and I abruptly made a move towards Just Natural Fish and Veggies, the local food joint in the bush of Westmoreland. Our first trip there, Pam had her eyes on a locally-crafted blue canvas bag with a crudely-but-beautifully painted sunset and we knew we had to get it for her. We enjoyed another meal and chatted with our favorite hosts, Theresa and Christine, as they shared unsolicited marital advice about loving one another and your children. Our favorite anecdote was Christine’s memory of when she first got married: “oh in those times, we would make love anywhere it was dark — in the bush, in our bedroom, it didn’t matter. But remember, always lock your door and wear a nightie!” Satiated in body and mind, we scooted from the richest Jamaican experience we’d had to date.
All of us eventually regathered and began our trip to various cliffside resorts. It began at the Tensing Pen, where we were met at the gate by a security guard who stared at us like we stole her lunch money back in high school. After authoritatively mumbling into a walkie-talkie, she granted us access with a stern finger wag in the general direction of the bar. Nonetheless, the resort was cozy, kind of like the Lost Boy’s huts in Peter Pan, connected to one another by rope bridges and shaded winding cobblestone paths. We originally planned to go to there to jump from one of these wooden bridges suspended over the sea, so Pam could wave her proverbial finger to the process of aging, but we were told by the security guard that we weren’t allowed to enjoy any of the amenities. After quickly slugging our round of Red Stripes, we were on to the next one.
Lucky for us, the next stop was much more accommodating. No finger-wagging security guard, no restrictions, only a large modern lobby to welcome us like something out of Forbes magazine. We normally wouldn’t expect genuine hospitality from a place as lavish as the Cliffs Resort, but two men changed it all. Trevor, who went by Johnie Walker, and Omighty, shortened to Omight, rolled out the Jamaican equivalent of red carpets. These two healthy, young, vibrant Jamaican men made drinks while they sang to their favorite tunes like they were bartenders out of the movie Cocktail, giving us free shots and asking us if we wanted to snorkel on The Cliff’s private coral reef. Nothing like any of the other resorts we visited, we felt the camaraderie that’s typically found in Irish pubs in New York City, like you can have any conversation with the person next to you (for better or worse), all while gazing out at a pink Caribbean sunset.
Our final stop on our invasion of all-inclusive resorts was a place called Xtabi. The dining patio was sprawling with empty candlelit tables and vacant chairs, making the space seem sad with lost opportunities of romance. A small cat meandered between the legs of our chairs, quietly mewing and purring with the hopes of a free meal. Pam and Rick ordered their favorite dish, lobster thermidore, which I consider a cheap (albeit expensive) favorite, because anything would be delicious smothered in butter, garlic, and cheese. Steve ordered the shrimp scampi which strangely came with rice and it made me wonder how available pasta is on the Caribbean islands. I ordered fried chicken because my ambition at trying local cuisine hit the roadblock of Americanized resort food. The best part of the meal was walking beneath the resort in the caves, listening to the waves slam against the tunneled walls, echoing their strength into our ears. I felt like I was in a scene from the Goonies.
The first couple days in our AirBnB we were a little hesitant to walk the streets as motorcyclists tore by the vendors and local restaurants with reckless pride. We wanted to engage with the real Jamaican culture, but were not sure of a proper access point for two under-informed tourists. Yet like those hummingbirds in Barney’s garden, Heather and I hovered from place to place, learning to stop and trust the people inside those brightly colored shacks one at a time. We made friends at resorts, Johnie Walker and Omight, and local spots, Theresa and Christine, learning that there are friends all around us if only we are open enough to look. Upon our initial arrival, we stayed behind the high gated walls of Sun Down Villa, but in the end, we saw that the sunrise and sunset, in all of their naturally beautiful glory, were just as welcoming as the pairs of eyes that greeted us behind all of those brightly colored doors.
Jamaica Honeymoon - Day 3
Apollo Fields Destination Wedding Photographers | Negril, Jamaica | Honeymoon Adventures
Jamaica – Day 3
Sunday, November 4th, 2018 ~7:35 am, local time
Another morning waking to the ebbs and flows of the Caribbean Sea. There’s something about the sound of waves crashing that lures your mind into the rhythm of nature, reminding you that everything that comes will also go. The whitewater that sprays into the air, jettisoning from the sharp rock face, shows no concern for my presence, or for any of the other creatures that cling to their cratered homes on this violently-formed beautiful façade. Yet it’s these wall-dwelling sea creatures — these Jamaican mussels and crabs — that taught me that we need to carve a small niche for ourselves, where we can brave the onslaught of life’s elements, if we want to survive in this otherwise unforgiving world.
We took a right out of Sundown Villa this morning for the first time on our Vespa, passing Rick’s Café among the other horribly named Americanized resorts like ‘The Palms’ and ‘Lover’s Paradise” as the wind whipped around our bodies on our way to a place called “Barney’s Hummingbird and Flower Sanctuary.” Heather clung to my back like a baby koala as we veered off the pavement onto a dirt road, her lips stammering through the worried words of her mind like mental pot holes. We passed a man walking down the road, sharpening a machete and were reminded of our cab driver who told us that all the goats that roam the island are owned by someone — and if you were to say, pick one up — you will find yourself on the wrong end of one of those blades. We swerved around the man and slowed as we approached two large, faded green doors that hung on rusted hinges.
“Hello!” Said a thin pale-skinned old man donning a worn trousers-and-suspenders outfit as he swung the gates open. “Welcome to my hummingbird and flower sanctuary. I am Barney, the proud German-Jamaican-English owner of this place,” he added. As he led us through the narrow walkways of his garden, the flutter of hummingbirds moved all around us, kind of like the sound of tiny handheld toy fans. Palms and large leaves hung down as geckos and other insects fed from the vibrant pink, red, and yellow flowers that boomed in contrast to the blue sky. Barney gave us all tiny bottles with punctured red caps that dripped with sugar water to lure the hummingbirds in. We held our outstretched arms in the air, mimicking the branches that reached over the garden’s pathways, hoping that the birds would come feed from our “flowers.” Patiently walking around, the birds began to trust us one at a time, holding fast in midair right in front of our faces, mother nature’s natural helicopters, hovering in place, wings effortlessly flapping seventy times a second. Barney grinned a grin that only a hummingbird expert could grin, or maybe it was because of the six-pack of Red Stripe.
Eager for local cuisine we stopped just up the road at a place called Just Natural Veggies. Simple enough, I thought. From there we ordered rum punch, a vegetable plate, lobster salad, sweet potato and plantain, and a bean and rice burrito. As we walked to the side of the restaurant we followed a path into the jungle, tables and chairs scattered about like a diner inside the woods. There were checker board tables that used plastic bottle caps and Red Stripe caps as checkers and each table had an orange bottle of locally made hot habanero hot sauce. We ate our freshly made dishes in the middle of the jungle, no one around but the smiling faces of the restaurant, who laughed and joked as they set down our plates. They could’ve been feeding us fried gecko for all we knew as we sat mesmerized in this restaurant that made rustic concepts back home look like four-star hotels. In the jungle and of the jungle, we walked out of there happy and full.
There are niches to be carved, if only we are wise enough to see them. These experiences will stick to my heart like the geckos on the flowers and the mussels on the rock wall. As the trip continues, I can only hope to unearth more things that I can learn from and grow closer to carving out my own crater I can call home.
Jamaica Honeymoon - Day 2
Jamaican Honeymoon | Negril, Jamaica | Apollo Fields Destination Wedding Photographers
Jamaica – Day 2
8:00 am, local time
Another welcoming morning on the Caribbean Sea. The birds fluttering overhead, searching for scraps and seeds while Heather sits up in bed scratching at her mosquito bites. The waves crashing with a regular familiarity that’s impossible to forget, kind of like your mother calling you home for dinner from the front porch. Who knows what the world has in store for us today, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The first two nights Heather and I cooked and stayed in after dark. A combination of the mysterious foreign streets and a travel-induced fatigue, we drew a bath and enjoyed each other’s company in a tub of lukewarm water. There is a definite fear of the unknown, of sitting on a wooden stool in a straw shack on any of the thousands of dark streets in Jamaica. Horror stories from the United States embedded in me creating a hesitance like that of a lost child. I am ashamed for it. It makes me think of the role that caution plays when a person finds themselves in a different culture and how trust is linked to the environments that we know.
Heather’s uncle, Rick. is a great example of this. Conservative through-and-through, he comes down to Jamaica to shake hands and bask in the safety of nostalgia, eating dishes that he knows in bar stools that he’s warmed. Surrounding himself with other light-skinned tourists, there isn’t much difference than home, other than everything that exists outside of the Treehouse’s gated walls. When does caution or comfortability take too much control of one’s assimilation into another’s culture?
As of this morning, I’m as stifled as Rick. I want to stop at an authentic Jamaican restaurant tucked onto the side of the road like a beach shanty, but because I’ve seen none of them populated by tourists, deep down I consider them unsafe. It feels like a hard-wiring that pulls back on the reigns as I ride through a culture I do not know. Today, I will make a better effort at launching myself into the Jamaican culture and trusting those that I my ignorant instincts tell me not to trust. It’s funny how trusting people is usually my strongest attribute, yet when put to the real-world test, I’m as cautious as anyone.
Yet yesterday I jumped from cliffs at heights I’ve never leaped from before and snorkeled in rough waters close to dangerously sharp rocks. There’s an adventurous spirit in me that needs to be nudged into action, but once the opportunity arises, I tend to bypass the safety valve and dive head first. Even riding a scooter for the first time on the opposite side of the road was pretty daunting. In these moments, it’s either you do what you are afraid to do, or you live with your cowardice. The many times in life my that I’ve approached this dilemma, I’ve found that great relief lies just beyond the other side of fear, hiding behind the louder voices in your head, waiting to see if you will do it. Today I will silence those voices and immerse myself in a culture I do not know.
Buena Vista Destination Wedding in Colorado Photography
David & Sadie’s Wedding | Buena Vista, Colorado | Rocky Mountain Weddings | Destination Photographer | Apollo Fields
It was 6:00am last Saturday and I was driving on the long empty roads through the Colorado countryside. After spending the last few weeks in the cramped and crowded boroughs of New York and New Jersey, I felt the stark contrast of the open plains even more than usual. It was unseasonably cold that morning: a chilling 21 degrees when I first set out, and I watched the dashboard temperature rise with the sun as I cruised along the foothills.
I got to Buena Vista ahead of schedule and was able to pop into a local coffee shop before the wedding kicked off. The sleepy little town was enjoying it’s off-season, but the cafe was busier than ever with locals. I pulled up a seat next to a stranger because there were no empty tables, and got to enjoy a little old-fashioned small talk with a bundled-up hiker who was about to hit the mountains for the day.
Our day began at 9:30am at Spring Canyon, a quiet venue tucked away past the hot springs. Everybody was happily abuzz with last minute wedding prep, and I settled right into shooting details and scouting our first look location. The property boasts epic mountain views, but the sun was already high and with no clouds whatsoever, I had to be a little more creative with our locations.
I consider myself a bit of a light-junkie and I really felt the different between the East Coast light (which had been ultra-diffused from days of nonstop rain and heavy grey clouds) versus the big Colorado skies (at altitude with no atmosphere or humidity to break up the strong rays).
Sometimes you have to work with what you got, so we took advantage of the aspens that were still boasting their gold leaves and leaned into the full sun. I’m so happy we did, because we got those truly epic autumn mountain shots! I hadn’t seen any aspens with their leaves still on the whole trip, so it was the best surprise to find these groves still going strong! Colorado had a big snow storm later that night, and I have a feeling that we captured their last hoorah which makes the shots that much better to me.
David and Sadie had a sweet and tender way about their relationship. Amidst the bustle of the wedding morning, they still found time to have these long quiet hugs as if nobody else was around. I spend a lot of time watching my couple’s body language during their first looks to see how they naturally interact with one another and try to capture that throughout the day. David and Sadie were so fun because they would share these sentimental moments with each other, but then be able to goof around and be silly at the same time. They balanced these lighthearted fun times with the seriousness of a wedding perfectly.
Their families were also gracious and loving. I felt as much like a photographer and vender as I did a guest, and those are the days that make me love my job as much as I do. I was especially excited to photograph this wedding because there were going to be a few familiar faces in the crowd — one of my favorite couples from last year was family and the whole reason that I crossed paths with David and Sadie! In this business, referrals and word-of-mouth are everything, and I am so grateful for my clients who carry the Apollo Fields name from season to season. I’d like to give a big shoutout to the Danielson family for the connection, and also throw in a little vendor love to their awesome companies, Tentrix and Poc-a-Poc Catering who kept me happily in a cheese-coma for the reception.
Venue: Spring Canyon, Buena Vista CO
Photography: Apollo Fields
Published on Wedding Wire: Sadie & David’s Wedding
Heather loves to travel – especially to the mountains – for weddings! Get in touch for your photography needs: CONTACT
The Riverview Weddings in Simsbury CT Photography
Michelle & Sarah’s Wedding at The Riverview | Simsbury, CT | Apollo Fields Wedding Photography | New England Weddings | LBGTQ Wedding | Love Is Love
Coster
Est. 2018
Droplets of rain fell upon Farmington River
Creating a myriad pattern of circles
That extended towards the riverbanks.
The tall trees that lined the shores
Leaned away from The Riverview in Simsbury, Connecticut,
Almost seeming to listen to the trickle of water
With their long, looming branches.
Michelle & Sarah
Frolicked beneath those eavesdropping leaves
Sinking their shoes into the soft ground
Two synchronized steps at a time.
No amount of rain could mute the soundtrack of their love.
They each promised to listen,
Holding close to every word
Whether loud as a shout of faint as a whisper
They Knew
That love is a practice:
A discipline of communication
That embraces the ridiculousness
Tucked into the corners of their smirking lips.
They Knew
That love is as silent as a lip sync
& As deafening as a ballad at Cadillac Ranch.
Echoes of Jim Halpert emanated from Michelle’s room
While the twang of Ke$ha’s voice blared from Sarah’s.
Different approaches to a shared day
Showed the balance of a partnership as
Gay & Proud
As a rainbow cake both inside and out.
Jordans sparkled from beneath Sarah’s white dress
As she dipped Michelle just like they practiced.
Only this time was for real,
Only this time was forever.
Family is never perfect
&
Rarely is love,
But They Knew
They can always groove to the soundtrack
Playing between their ears.
They symphony of their hearts can never be silenced,
For they dance upon the notes of a song
Like raindrops upon a river during a gentle rain.
I met Michelle years and years ago at The Ethel Walker School and always loved her playful and witty personality. She was super outgoing, loved to joke around and would do just about anything to get a laugh out of someone. Sarah is the perfect compliment to her, she is equally as witty and just as sentimental, but she has a type of focus to her personality that seems to really work for their relationship.
Sarah loves to work a crowd and does DJ work herself, so she can absolutely command a microphone and loves to keep the party alive. It’s so much fun to watch a bride be so dynamic and full of life at her own wedding! Their wedding was a perfect mix of sentimentality and warmth, coupled with downright fun and silliness! Our favorite vibes. We also recognized a bunch of faces in the crowd, so it made the day just a little more special for us. It was fun to be back in Simsbury, CT where I spent four years while attending boarding school. It’s a quaint, very New-Englandy, little Connecticut town and The Riverview is nestled right down on the Farmington with a beautiful backdrop of lush woods and of course, the river.
Photography and Poetry: Apollo Fields
Venue: The Riverview | Simsbury, CT
Evergreen Lake House Wedding Photographers
Pat & Sierra's Mountain Wedding | Evergreen Lake House | Apollo Fields Wedding Photography
Hand in hand,
Pat and Sierra walked along Evergreen Lake,
Carrying the greens and blues of the Rockies in their palms.
A few feet away,
Hina playing in the mud
Put Sierra’s white dress at the mercy of unpredictable paws.
When they called to her
Hina came barreling forward,
Love leaping from her eyes
Unbeknownst to the spirit of the day.
This was just another walk for her,
Another chance to play beneath the sun—
But for Pat and Sierra:
These were the first steps of their new partnership.
Strolling back to the celebration,
Hina’s muddy paws
Never caused any concern.
Pat and Sierra knew
That they were just another hue
To add to the greens and blues
In the palms of their hands.
Destination Wedding for this fun Hawaiian Couple
I loved working with this beautiful and energetic couple! Sierra’s family is originally from Colorado and they ended up moving out to Hawaii so she wanted to return to her roots for her wedding. It felt sort of ironic to have a “destination wedding” where the couple LEAVES Hawaii — a popular destination wedding spot — to come to the states to get married. But Colorado is so beautiful and iconic that is totally made sense for this awesome couple.
Pat is a doctor and so easy to get along with. He was laid back and a lot of fun. You could tell that he cares a lot about his core group of friends and they had so much fun with their whole wedding party. Sierra is bubbly and outgoing and unbelievably active. They rock climb, snowboard, surf, and sail and hike and just about every other cool sport together. This couple is super inspiring because they just have such a zest for life. Sierra lived on a boat and has explored much of the East by water. They also love their pup and had so much fun celebrating their wedding with her.
I first met up with them when they were visiting to get all of their wedding planning done. I could tell how organized they were from the beginning which made working with this couple that much easier. All of the parts of the day were well thought out, organized, and so much fun!
Mountain Photography: Apollo Photo
Wedding Writing: Apollo Journalism
Colorado Wedding Venue: Evergreen Lake House
Wedding Coordinating: Lauren “Lo” Wiltshire with The Gardner Effect “TGE”
