Sandy Chamber of Commerce celebration

Last night was the Sandy, Oregon Chamber of Commerce 60th anniversary bash at the Resort at the Mountain in Welches, Oregon. The theme was "Casino Royale" and there was gambling (everyone was given funny money to cash in for chips), drinks, dinner, raffles, and dancing.
I volunteered my time for this event for taking prom-style portraits. I need to be more careful volunteering for stuff. My studio mates and I signed lease at a new studio on Broadway (Portland, Oregon) and started the moving process on Friday. We spent two days prepping the new studio for paint and moving things around, so I was already exhausted. Then, I had to run home for a quick shower and change of clothes, collect my gear, and boogey on down to Welches to set up. I only had about 45 minutes for everything, including finding the room, dragging all of my bags, saying hi to everyone, then setting up and fine tuning lights. I completed the setup just in time for the first victims- er, clients.
This was a quick, down and dirty setup, and the final product for everyone was an inkjet 4x6 print in a display folder. The proceeds went to the Chamber of Commerce. I met a lot of interesting people throughout the night, including the winner of the "Youth Citizen of the Year" award. The photo included in this blog is her and her mother.

Mourning for a lost friend

I wrote a little while ago about my 11 year old lab mix, Daisy, having cancer. Well, sadly, she lost the fight and has left us. She was the first dog that my wife and I had as a family and we are all very sad. After about 6-700 bucks worth of shoes and other things around the house (including a leather couch cushion) when she was young, she was a great dog.

So here's to a great 90 lb lap dog and loved friend. This is one of the pictures I took of her about a week before she died. She loved to play with spray bottle mist. I would spray just a little water on her nose and she would rub all over the ground and rub her nose. I didn't actually have to spray it. I could hold a spray bottle and make a spray sound and she would do the same thing. Silly pup.

I know, some people say she was just a dog, but she was a big part of our family and will always be remembered as such. You are entitled to your opinion, as long as you know that it is wrong.

Daisy Lou Gill
10.31.96 - 2.4.08