Blue Castle Photography

Chris & Courtani's Wedding at Green Villa Gardens

2012-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

We've shot weddings at Green Villa Barn in Independence, OR, before, but this was our first chance to photograph an event held outdoors at the beautiful Green Villa Gardens. There were a few raindrops to dodge as the day was getting started, but the wedding turned out wonderfully.

The outdoor location at Green Villa has a great variety of visual style, from more rustic settings to perfectly manicured lawns and gardens. We especially liked this old brick walkway overgrown with vines:

Chris & Courtani were surrounded by their best friends, and it made for a fun wedding party!

A great cupcake spread for the guests...

And a few more photos, just of the two of them!

Many thanks to Chris & Courtani for sharing their day with us!

Newborn Baby and Family Photos

2011-03-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite clients was back recently for a portrait session, this time with the latest addition to their family!

We love capturing images of newborn babies. They are just so natural and calm, the most un-self-conscious subjects you could ever hope to photograph.

Of course, the siblings were on hand too, and we had to get a few pictures with them...

... and the whole family together!

Recently we have really been enjoying working with families and kids to create photos. Now that our own children are growing up, the pictures we have of them at a young are so important and special to us. It's a privilege, and lots of fun, to create portraits like these for other families as well.

Stay tuned to our blog for several more sessions with newborn infants coming up... lots more coming that we are excited to share!

Our Corvallis Wedding Photos in Oregon Bride Magazine!

2011-02-12T20:58:00.001-08:00

Exciting news to share... Our photographs from recent Corvallis weddings are featured in the latest issue of Oregon Bride magazine!

We worked with editor Liz Hummer late last year as she was preparing a feature story on the wedding locations that the Corvallis area has to offer, and were thrilled to see how our photos were used to illustrate the final article, spanning 8 pages of the latest issue and including lots of wedding resources for local brides.

We love living and working in the "Heart of the Valley", and it's great to see the amazing local wedding venues and vendors getting such recognition and notice from the industry.

Our photography shown in the article includes images from the weddings of Shayna and Ryan at The Thyme Garden, Robert and Andrea at the Hanson Country Inn, Jon and Katie at The Garden In The Woods, Zane and Chris at The Thyme Garden, and Amber and Jordan.

You can find this latest issue at the local Borders, Fred Meyer, Safeway, Target, and other outlets in the area.

The article also includes a few quotes from our interview with Oregon Bride, along with lots of tips and recommendations for resources in the area you can turn to when planning your wedding. It was a privilege to be included in this article, and we are looking forward to enjoying many more years of photographing events here in Corvallis!It's been especially helpful this year to have the antique engagement rings available for our bridal photos. These, as well as the white gold engagement rings by Emma Parker & Co., bring a classy style to our jewelry photos!

Family Christmas Photos

2010-11-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

We recently had a family come in to our studio with their new (and cute!) addition to capture some images of their family in time for Christmas! Here are some of our favorites from the shoot.

Kids' Christmas Photos

2010-11-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

Even better than Elf Yourself...

We love being able to capture kids' photos at Christmastime. It's our favorite season around here!

Here's wishing you a happy holiday season and a wonderful Christmas!

A Corvallis Wedding at The Garden In The Woods

2010-09-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Some favorite memories from Jon & Katie's wedding at The Garden In The Woods... starting with their first look before the ceremony:

Lisa and Darin at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, DC

2010-09-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

We were delighted to be invited to shoot a wedding outside of Oregon and even more delighted to fly to Washington, D.C. to do it!

This wedding was much anticipated by us (not to mention the bride and groom!) and we thoroughly enjoyed photographing it. This couple is fabulous in every single way and we were so happy to document their day.

The wedding was at Christ Church of Arlington and the reception was at the Franciscan Monastery in the St. Francis Hall.

I absolutely love this shot of the bride's sister poking her head in the door to see how things were coming along.

They choose to see each other before the ceremony which is something we highly recommend as it allows for everyone to relax a bit before the big event.

The bride and groom were surrounded by people who love them and who they love in return. It was a beautiful ceremony to celebrate the beginning of their union.

After the ceremony we rode with the bride and groom to the Monastery to take some photographs of them in the gardens while waiting for their guests to arrive for the reception.

Then it was on to the reception hall which was fabulous!

Lisa & Darin - thanks so much for trusting us with your day and for inviting us to be a part of it! We are so very happy for you and your families.

If any of you would like to see more of Lisa and Darin's photos, you can click over and see their album on the Blue Castle Photography Facebook page.

Bridal Photos with Erika & Justin

2010-08-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Last week we found ourselves in Washington D.C. shooting a wedding! That was quite a treat and we're excited to share some of those wedding photos with you in the next few days.

While we were in D.C., we met up with my (Carrie's) old roommate and did a bridal shoot with her and her husband. Erika and Justin have been married for three years now and are proud parents of an adorable baby girl. We were excited to meet the baby and spend an evening out on the town with E&J. Unfortunately we had missed their wedding three years ago, but Erika can still fit in the dress so off we went and here are the results!

The following photos were all taken inside of our hotel room:

Erika - you are simply amazing and I am so glad to call you my friend!

Justin - thanks for being such a great sport and for welcoming us into your home and life! We are so happy to know you!

After the bridal shoot, we headed out for dinner. On the way we grabbed a couple of pictures of Justin and Erika outside. These pictures were taken a mere block from the White House - which is a fun setting, to be sure!

Thanks, Justin and Erika, for spending time with us while we were out in D.C. We had an absolute blast and look forward to the day when we can spend time in one another's company again. Next time Oregon?

Wedding at The Thyme Garden

2010-08-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

The Thyme Garden is one of the Willamette Valley's most distinctive wedding venues, and we've been excited to shoot Shayna and Ryan's wedding there this summer!

Shayna's dress style matched perfectly with the atmosphere of the day...

The site they selected for their wedding (from the several options at The Thyme Garden) turned out beautifully with the sunset highlighting the landscape...

We're always impressed by the way the on-site catering uses wildflowers and unique designs to make artistic food presentations... and it all tasted GREAT!!

Top it off with dessert by Rocket Queen Cupcakes. Jessica makes the best cupcakes around, hands down!

Live music was provided by The Maharimbas, a Corvallis-based band with an African rhythmic style using marimbas and other percussion instruments. Very cool.

Finishing up with one of our favorite shots from the day...

Shayna and Ryan, congratulations to you two, and thank you so much for including us as a part of in your wedding day!

Bridal photos with Elizabeth and her horse, Paloma

2010-08-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

Now this was a treat for us... it's not every day that we get to shoot bridal photos with the addition of a beautiful horse! After shooting Elizabeth's wedding a few weeks ago, we met up with her at Harmony Training Center to include her horse, Paloma, in a special portrait session...

Robert+Andrea's Wedding at the Hanson Country Inn

2010-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Still catching our breath from a July full of weddings! Here is one of our favorites, you might remember Robert and Andrea from our engagement shoot with them earlier this year. Their wedding was at the Hanson Country Inn in Corvallis, and did not disappoint!! So many beautiful aspects of the day. It was great for us to have extra time to spend creating artistic portraits around the grounds of the location, and LOVE how the photos came out... so, without further ado...

See these photos, and dozens more that we didn't have room to fit on the blog, at our facebook page!

Karl & Elizabeth's Wedding at Paradise Springs

2010-07-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a beautiful wedding and fantastic day we were able to share with Karl and Elizabeth last week! Paradise Springs made the ideal venue, and everything was perfect...

Flowers by Celebration Florals...

Planning and coordination by Adrienne Kume Events...

And an incredible bride and groom!!

Some of our favorite details from the setup at Paradise Springs...

A beautiful first dance with Elizabeth and her dad...

Glow sticks came out for all the kids (and non-kids!) at the wedding, which made for fun photos and everybody loved them!

And as if that weren't enough... we'll be back in a few weeks, with more photos after their post-wedding bridal shoot! Many thanks and congratulations to Elizabeth and Karl!

Oregon Wedding at the Adair Officer's Club

2010-07-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

The Clubhouse in Adair Village, managed by Valley Catering, made the perfect wedding location last weekend for Kate and Kyle's big day. We've been busy with weddings and summer events, so just catching up on blogging... here are some of our favorite photos from their wedding!

We were able to use Peavy Arboretum as a convenient spot for bridal and wedding party photos prior to the ceremony:

Celebration Florals did a beautiful job with their bouquets and arrangements:

Congratulations and best wishes, Kate and Kyle!

Corvallis Family Photos at Avery Park

2010-07-03T15:04:00.001-07:00

We were thrilled to hear from Matt & Nova, one of our wedding couples from 2007, inviting us to take photos of them with their new baby daughter (!!) and visiting relatives. We met up with them at Avery Park in Corvallis this weekend, and the weather was agreeable to a very fun photo session!

Matt's brother's family and their two kids were great in front of the camera...

It's not often that I brag on technology, but in this shoot particularly I was absolutely blown away by what Nikon's full-frame DLSRs coupled with the 70-200mm VR AF-S lens can do. I've shot with this combination for years and am continually amazed by it. This scene lasted for just a split second (as anybody who's photographed kids can imagine!), but even despite lots of movement taking place at the same time, it focused perfectly and created a photo that is definitely one of my favorite kids' portraits:

Now, more of Matt and Nova, and their beautiful baby girl!

Such a personality...

Go Beavers!

I wish I had room to show the rest of their photos, but we're delivering almost ten times as many as I can fit in this blog post! It was a real treat catching up with their family and being able to make some great images.

Although we're booked for weddings almost every weekend throughout the summer, there's still plenty of availability for creating family portraits on weekday evenings. Let us know if you're interested in a family photo session!

A Gorgeous Wedding and Reception at Eugene's Valley River Inn

2010-06-10T22:08:00.000-07:00

We've been looking forward to Jaime & Glen's wedding in Eugene for a long time, and it did not disappoint! Their day started out preparing for a ceremony at the 1st Congregational United Church of Christ, which was tucked away in a nice spot with great indoor and outdoor settings for photos. This is coming up on their "first look" moment...

We had a few minutes to create portraits with them there at the church, which is always a treat!

As the ceremony approached, we were able to get pictures of a few of the unique details from their wedding. The wedding programs they had created included a special note...

Here are a few of our favorite shots from the wedding ceremony:

As the guests were making their way to the reception at the Valley River Inn a few minutes away, we were able to spend some more time with Jaime and Glen! It's been several years since we've been a part of an event at the Valley River Inn, but we love the design of their hotel and all the different scenery it offers.

The reception area was decorated perfectly, down to every detail...

... not to mention the fabulous food, catered by the hotel staff!

There are so many more photos we love, but only room for a few more in this blog post! Finishing up the evening...

Many thanks to Jaime and Glen and their families for creating such a beautiful wedding.

"Photobooth" Engagement Pictures From Our Corvallis Studio

2010-05-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

Tanner & Julia are engaged! They are planning a wedding for next year, and came up with a great idea for a "save-the-date" card in a photobooth filmstrip style. We were able to meet in our studio for a mini-session this week to shoot some fun pictures against a white backdrop for them to use:

We love shooting portraits against simple white backgrounds like this... the lighting makes people look great, and it's a timeless style that really brings out their expressions!

Introducing: Rocket Queen Cupcakes

2010-05-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Carrie here - this time to introduce you to Rocket Queen Cupcakes! I had been hunting high and low for a place that made delicious cupcakes but had failed to meet with any success. Then this past week, one of our July brides (Shayna) mentioned that she had booked Rocket Queen Cupcakes for her wedding...

The moment I finished talking with Shayna, I looked up Rocket Queen online and placed an order for a special dinner we are having coming up! Then I discovered that she was going to be at the local Corvallis Farmers Market. So guess who hopped down to the Farmer's Market primarily to check out the cupcakes!? Yup, that would be me!

Naturally, after arriving home with a small stash, we chose to take a few photos before consuming them. (Well. Except for the lemon one. That one was eaten before being captured for posterity's sake.) And this first chocolate cupcake you see here was deftly snatched from our three year old's hands before he was able to dive in...

I confess. I LOVE cupcakes. I've already placed a second order with Jessica for another party. I'm holding back on trying the spicy chai cupcakes though, because I anticipating sinking my teeth into one in July (heh heh, be sure to order extra, Shayna! ;-) but in the meantime, I plan on enjoying some non-wedding cupcakes this spring. I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse that Jessica and her cupcakes are at the Farmer's Market. You should go find out and make that decision for yourself!

Our top recommendation this week: Baphomet - a carrot cake finished with a creamy goat cream cheese frosting, topped with toasted walnuts.

Add your own side glass of cold, refreshing milk and enjoy!

While we're at it, introducing new businesses, we want to give a "shout out" to the new Family Law Attorneys in Bakersfield, CA, with Eaton & Associates. These are friends of our who have done a magnificent job growing their law firm from scratch over the last few years, and it's exciting to see them expand into new legal areas.

Corvallis Engagement Pictures at OSU and Bald Hill

2010-04-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

Now that springtime is upon us, it's great to get out and enjoy photography in the good weather and with the colorful blooms starting to come out. Andrea and Robert brought along their dog, Dayton, to their engagement session this last weekend, which made for a lot of fun! You can tell he was excited to get started as we started out at Bald Hill in Corvallis...

Cool fact we discovered: When Dayton was a puppy he acted in the Disney movie Air Buddies. He's a natural in front of the camera! But this ain't no acting, he really loves Andrea and Robert...

We spent some time indoors relaxing a little bit...

...and a little bit more...

... then hopped on a private jet over to Tuscany, Italy, for this shot:

Just kidding! But we do love it. It's amazing what a variety of architecture and style you can find along the OSU campus.

We can't wait for Andrea and Robert's wedding this summer at the Hanson Country Inn. We had a great time with their engagement session and you can look forward to seeing them on the blog again!

These photos and a few more of our favorites from their session are on our Facebook page...

Seascapes of the Oregon Coast

2010-04-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a short getaway to the coast a few weeks ago, before all the rain began! Newport was beautiful (and plenty warm, for March) and it was great to enjoy the outdoors.

I wasn't expecting the trip to turn into a photo expedition so I didn't take along all of our camera gear, but when this beautiful sunset came through I was scrambling for anything to make a picture of it.

It's fun to see our collection of photos from the Oregon Coast continue to grow... we will have to do more exploring over there this year!

Spring Family Photos in Corvallis, Oregon

2010-03-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to photograph some updated portraits this week of some of our favorite clients, who have come to us again and again to document their family's growth.

This photo session was extra special because the newest addition to their family is a beautiful baby girl from Ethiopia! She has such a great personality and the biggest smile you could possibly hope to find. (Always appreciated by the photographers! ;-)

The game of choice was "peek-a-boo"... LOVE how this photo came out!!

And with her doting brother:

Then outside for photos with the whole family together!

It's a real treat for us to shoot sessions for families and see the kids as they grow up. The spring weather is finally starting to come through, and this is a great time to update your family portraits if it's been a while since your last photos!

Contacting us

2010-03-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

We discovered today that the Contact Us form on our web site has been out of commission for the last several weeks! We apologize for the inconvenience, and everything is back online and working now. Of course, you're always welcome to reach us via email at service@bluecastlephoto.com as an alternative to our web site

Again, we're sorry for the web site problems, and hopefully things will be running a bit more smoothly now!

Emily's Senior Photos in our Corvallis Studio

2010-02-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a great session with Emily in January, creating senior photos in our studio and outdoors in the (brisk, but nice!) winter air. Here are some of our favorites:

Thanks, Emily, for the opportunity to take these photos with you, and enjoy wrapping up the last few months of high school!

Amy & Zeno's Wedding Featured on TheKnot.com

2010-01-18T20:46:00.000-08:00

It was such an honor to be contacted by TheKnot.com requesting permission to feature Amy and Zeno's Wedding as one of their 2009 RealWeddings!

You can see how it turned out here on TheKnot.com - we love the photos they chose to display!

And, as an extra bonus, you can see our photo of one of Amy's table layouts in their Wedding Reception Decor and Flower Trends for 2010 page. Congratulations to her and Zeno for creating such a beautiful and memorable wedding!

Family Photos in Corvallis, Oregon

2010-01-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

It's been cold outside lately, but that hasn't stopped us from using the clear weather for a few photo sessions! Here are a some fun photos from earlier this month. We'll start out with this great cowboy outfit:

Then a few with their whole family!

And, of course, the golden light at sunset can make for a great effect. We'll wrap up with this!

Best wishes to all of you for a wonderful 2010! It's hard to believe it has arrived so quickly. We are looking forward to plenty of excitement and lots of photos this year! Stay tuned for more...

Family Christmas Photos and More!

2009-12-23T20:55:00.000-08:00

We had a great time this week with Ron and Natalie and their adorable kids (it's amazing how much they've grown since our last session with them), shooting holiday photos in our studio and outdoors. Here is one of our favorites...

Now here's the deal... to see the rest of their awesome pics (and we do mean awesome! you have no idea what strength of will it's requiring for me to hold back another 20 or so from this blog post), you'll have to see their gallery on our new facebook page! Yes, we're finally catching up with the rest of the world and getting plugged into social networking. We'll be posting galleries there with lots more photos than you'll see in most of our blog posts, to save your scroll-wheel-finger from getting tired. ;-)

So, click on over and check out Blue Castle Photography on Facebook. Join us as a fan to stay updated with our latest news and photos!

Many thanks to all of our friends and clients who made 2009 an incredibly "photogenic" year for us. Merry Christmas to all of you, and we wish you a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic new year!