THE CHRISTENSON'S

NEW BLOG

2009-04-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Announcement Time: We have a new and improved BLOG... so that means we won't be updating this one any more. Don't worry this blog won't self destruct or anything. It'll stay right here for your viewing pleasure should you want to reminisce. To continue on with our story, click on the link below:

http://www.garyandcourtney.com/blog/

Make sure you bookmark the new blog's web address (as it has changed significantly from the old one) and check back often for weekly updates. Cheers.

New Websites

2009-04-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

We have a new and improved photography website. Please check it out:

http://www.garyandcourtney.com

Also, this blog will no longer be updated, so please make your way over to our NEW BLOG!!!

http://www.garyandcourtney.com/blog

Sarah + Andy: E-photos

2009-03-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

We ran around the Old Mill District (Bend, OR) with Andy and Sarah from Joseph, OR. We CANNOT WAIT to shoot their wedding. Joseph is an insanely beautiful mountain town and their ceremony location overlooks it all... Saw - Wheat. Combine beautiful views, gorgeous people & our cameras... minds will surely be blown. Anywho, Here's a sneak peak into our time with this amazing couple.

SoCal Wedding Photography

2009-03-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

Because of our big announcement yesterday (us moving from Central Oregon to Southern California), we have decided it would be appropriate to explain a few things regarding our wedding photography services.

In the past we have always had our SoCal clients fly us down from Oregon for their wedding, this will no longer be the case... thus our overall price range just got cheaper for you Californians. However, for our beloved Oregonian clients, the roles have been reversed and travel rates from SoCal to Oregon will apply for all weddings that are booked after today (preexisting contracts will not be charged additional travel rates of any kind, so if you already have a contract with us, no worries).

Although we've never limited ourselves to a specific region or state (we've shot weddings up and down the West Coast, the Midwest and the Hawaiian Islands), we will soon be based out of SoCal and will offer our services to San Diego County & Orange County for no additional travel fee. We will still be shooting weddings in other states or other parts of California (and will travel internationally for weddings) but a travel fee may apply (obviously).

In a nutshell, our service area for photography has officially changed :) With that being said, we still have a limited number of dates available for SoCal weddings in July & August. We should have moved down by then and our photography services will be good to go for you Californians. We are still absolutely available for Oregon weddings during those months, but a travel fee may apply. Everything else will be the same... same packages, same prices and same outstanding service. Cheers.

Moving 2 SoCal

2009-03-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hey there party people of the digital world, we have some exciting news for everyone. We are officially MOVING to beautiful and sunny Oceanside, California (in North San Diego County)! We have secured a casa near the beach and will be moving our little family sometime in the next few months. We found out we were moving to SoCal during our visit to Maui... I swear, every time we are on that island something big happens!!! We met there 3 1/2 years ago, found out we were prego on our last visit in '08, and this most recent visit we found out that we got a house in Oceanside and we're moving. Crazy.

Why Move?
It makes perfect sense to us right now. We feel a total peace about moving from Bend, and we're extremely excited to be near the Keating side of the family. Our time in Central Oregon has been everything it needed it to be, and we'll be back to visit every couple months to see all you burly people that live in Oregon.

What does this mean for your business(es)?
Nothing will change... other than our physical location. We've been extremely busy with all our businesses (Photography, Harp, Design and Emote360) and we will continue to work on all of them in the same capacity we have been... just from SoCal instead of Oregon. Most everything we do is completely virtual (or we travel for work) so it wouldn't matter if we were in Oregon, California or Spain... which is the dream someday... to live abroad and work remotely with design and photography. One step at a time though, right? Keep us in your prayers regarding all the logistics that go into moving... it's never very much fun, but we're excited to become "Californians" (so far we've been "Hawaiians" and "Oregonians"... and we hope to be "Spainians" or "Portugalians" someday :)

So Long Maui - Mahalo

2009-03-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here's some parting shots from our time in Maui. What a perfectly perfect trip. We're rested and ready for the next few crazy months filled with photography and design.

Joelle ate her weight in sand over the past 2 weeks.

Mike killing it at P. Bay

My camera getting barreled.

Sweet reflection from a random snorkel session. So stoked that we got our underwater housing for our camera just in time for this trip... worth every penny!

Matt + Michelle: Engagement

2009-03-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

Matt is Oregonian, Michelle is Candadian... together they will become Orenadian. We love these two... as the ocean loves the moon. We took their images while hanging out in "Up Country Maui". It's kinda different taking pictures in Maui that AREN'T on the beach, but these guys live here and have countless photos of the beach and sunsets, so we did something a little different. View Slideshow.

This is the bench where Matt proposed.

Woodard Family Portraits

2009-03-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Meet Micheal, Ciara & Mikeala (and the little baby inside Ciara's belly... I think they should name it "Garold") - together, they are The Woodard family. They live, work and play on Maui. We have a long and amazing history with this family and love them dearly. They are what we call "Lifers". View Slideshow.

Up Country Maui

2009-03-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

We spent the afternoon in what is known as "Up Country Maui"... it's the higher elevation part of the island. We went up to take some portraits of the Woodard family and some engagement photos of Matt & Michelle. You wouldn't know it, but Maui actually has a mountain on it that's over 10,000 ft, so "Up Country" is somewhere half way up the mountain. It's pretty much a completely different climate and culture - more country western and cooler (weather wise). We loved going up there when we lived on Maui (to escape the heat and the beach). So yesterday we all went up to "Pat's Property" (Ciara's dad has property up there with cows, horses, campsites and whatnot - it's amazing). Here's some pics of the beautiful afternoon.

Some random trailer on Pat's property

We heart eachother

One of Pat's horses.

Joelle couldn't figure out the horses and cows.

We've been having some really intense storms move through Maui during the past few days... beautiful though.

SCUBA

2009-03-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

Diving Maui 2009 from Gary Christenson on Vimeo.

We spent the afternoon scuba diving - just the two of us and it was unbelievable. We shot some video and snapped some photos of our two different dives... so click PLAY on the above video and see what it's like hangin' out 55+ feet deep underwater in the Pacific Ocean (If you have a slow connection, pause the video and let it load all the way, then press play).

We swam / paddled / dived (however you say scuba-ing) out to this outer reef and sat on the edge looking out into deep blue nothingness just listening to the whales sing (it's humpback whale season right now in Maui and it's like "whale soup" out there (tons of them around)). They were extremely loud and we thought we'd see one swim on by... but we did not... bummer. They were seriously soooo close. Maybe next time. But we did get to see TONS of fish, awesome coral life, countless turtles and one lonely eel. Thanks to Nate & Jenna for watching Joelle so we could get some more dives under our belt! Courtney got scuba certified in beautiful Cancun, and Gary got certified in the frigid waters of northern Oregon... we love sharing these kind of adventures together! And bringing a camera along made it even better! Enjoy.

Shredding the Gnar

2009-03-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

We've been doing a lot of surfing / slashing / shredding the past few days. The arrival of a new Northwest swell has revealed it's glorious self to Maui, and we gnarsupials have shredded the gnar of the gnarness. No. Big. Deal.

Here's a few quick shots that Matt Stru's fiance (Michelle - from Canada, eh) took while we surfed Honulua Bay... eh.

Taking off on a nice little wave at the bay. Thanks Stru for not dropping in.

Gary is now an ambi-turner (can turn right and left). For the last few years he's only really surfed backside (left) with his infamous barrel stance, but now he is surfing more and more frontside (right)... he's also joined Courtney in sporting the infamous stinkbutt stance while surfing frontside.

Such Haoles (how-lees)

Stru getting into a barrel... sa-wheat.

And some parting shots from the girls at Shell Beach... such beautiful ladies.

More Photos Please

2009-03-06T08:45:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this photo (above)... thanks to Jenna Strubhar for capturing this shot of our little family. Love it, Love it, Love it.

Okay, here's some MORE random photos for ya. It's been a little windy and cloudy, but still pleasantly warm. We've been catching up with old friends, playing in the Ocean, eating amazing food and seriously Straight Kickin' - It like it's no bodies business. It's good to be here.

Some random Joelle face

Joey hanging out while daddy catches some waves at Honolua Bay... Joelle's mommy didn't get any shots of daddy "Shredding The Gnar" b/c her mom loves taking pictures of Joey more :)

Gary "Shredding the Gna... I mean, the Surf Lineup"... still a cool shot though. Nice work Court!

Mike skimboarding at Makena

Love the tongue... too cute.

The Woodard & Strubanhogen Show

Matt, Gary and Nate having a little surf comp: "Paia Bay... 3 burrly men from Oregon, 2 fishes and a longboard... one champion... which was Nate - he KILLED it!"

"Strubhar & Strubhar Painting and Associates" board meeting... "uh, maybe we should have been painting that house instead of surfing"

Joelle made friends with Mikaela (Mike & Ciara's little girl)... but then got sad for some random reason once we started taking pictures of them interacting.

Makena (Big Beach)

2009-03-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

We spent the afternoon at Makena Beach... our favorite beach on Maui, which has some of the best beach break on planet earth. We tested out our new underwater housing for the camera (which worked awesome - I was seriously like a kid in a candy shop... just stoked on life) and we also introduced Joelle to the WARM beach (as apposed to the COLD California beach) and she LOVED it. She was completely confused by the sand, but genuinely stoked the whole time we were there. We've been seriously RELAXING so far, and Joelle has been a SLEEPING CHAMP since we arrived (Praise the good Lord in heaven). Life is good my friends.

Joelle + Makena from Gary Christenson on Vimeo.
(Click on the PLAY button to play the above video)

Trying to figure out the sand

My beautiful, relaxed and happy ladies.

The Stru-brothers & Gary - 15 feet deep in the Pac Ocean... I love this time of year b/c any time you go under water you can hear the humpback whales singing to you.

Matt jumping off the sand bank (which you can't see from this angle, but it was "somewhere between mid to large in height" - as quoted by Matt Strubhar)

I am completely at home in and under the water... it just makes me so happy to be in the water every day playing, exercising and exploring... makes me wonder why we live in Central Oregon :)

Hello Maui... meet Joelle

2009-03-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

It is time for our annual pilgrimage back to the islands... except this time, we have a crazy baby with us!!! It's pretty mind blowing to think that at this time last year, while sitting in front of a north shore surf break, Courtney and I found out (to our surprise) that we were becoming parents... what a tremendous gift that we didn't realize we had at the time. I wonder what surprise awaits us on our trip this year? It's always SOMETHING :) Well, were ganna terrorize the Island and all of our friends with Joelle... so watch out Maui... here we come.

We have a lot planned for the next 2+ weeks: Scuba diving, surfing, eating THE BEST sushi ever, hiking, photoging some portraits and engagement sessions, more surfing, hanging with the Woodards (our gracious hosts), seeing our "Uncles & Aunties" that we love so much, kickin' it on the beach and just relaxing, whale watching, boating, body surfing at Makena... oh man, the list is endless!!! Alo - Friggin - Ha!

VIEW THE VIDEO BELOW: Just press the PLAY button (or click here to view in a different window). It's just a bunch of random old pictures from when Courtney and I used to live there. We met, became friends, dated and got engaged all while living on Maui... a dream come true. Here's a little taste of what it was like.

Kate + Andy: E-Photos

2009-03-01T02:45:00.000-08:00

Meet Kate & Andy (yup, so far we have three Kate's that we're shooting wedding photos for this season... popular name... but it's a good name)... anyways, THESE TWO were unbelievably fun and just plain sexy. They flew up from San Fransisco for the weekend to finish up some wedding details, so we snagged 'em for an hour, and they pretty much made our day. View Slideshow.

Kate + Chad: E-Photos

2009-02-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

Meet Kate & Chad from Denver, Colorado. They flew over for the weekend to wrap of some wedding biz-nass and get a few mugshots taken by the Gary & Courtney Show... they basically rocked our faces CLEAN OFF... true story. View Slideshow.

Birds Need Bird Houses

2009-02-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

One of our overly artistic friends Lori LaBissoniere painted this for our daughter. Lori's work is beautiful, we love her style and use of color. We feel very honored that she gifted us this piece in celebration of Joelle's birth. Joelle has a bird theme going on in her room and this piece is the finishing touch to the decor. We love it! And we love our friends that make up the artistic community here in Central Oregon. It's inspiring being around such "creatives" all the time.

Also, here's a recent pic of Joelle in her teething phase. Mmm, she loves chewing on fingers. As you will notice, she's lost most of her deep dark hair. However, she's rockin' the BEST mullet / grandpa hair style ever right now, but she's still getting cuter and cuter each day. Other than her having a hard time sleeping (which is normal), she's doing great. It's been a huge blessing having Courts mom here helping out and giving Courtney some much needed time off from the daily grind of motherhood. THANKS MARSHA!!! We love you!

emote360 projects

2009-02-23T16:30:00.000-08:00

16 pg Booklet for World Relief NEXT
Shown below are a few spreads in the booklet.

Photography by the always amazing Ben Edwards of emote360.

Lately I've been busy designing some really sweet items for our emote360 clients. Hop on over to the emote blog to see what's been happening lately. We have four really great projects happening right now and we're anticipating a few more projects in the near future, as well as a couple emote360 trips to Africa in the next 6 to 9 months. I feel completely blessed to use my designing gifts in this way... doesn't get better than this.

Take Us With You

2009-02-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

We HEART photography. We HEART weddings. We HEART travel. Put all three together and our hearts may just EXPLODE!!! Due to some recent conversations, we have deemed it necessary to offer a unique package to our clientele who wish to tie the knot abroad in 2009. We call it our "Take Us With You" Package. We will waive our photography service fees (US $3,000.00+) if you simply take us with you to your destination wedding (anything outside the continental U.S.A.). You take care of our travel expenses and we will document & deliver stunning photography every step of the way... and yes, you will be given every image that we capture and you will own all the rights to those images. Please contact us for more details via our Photography Website Contact Page. Danke, Grazie, Mahalo, Xie Xie, Merci, Grasias and Thank You.

The Bee-FF

2009-02-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

Meet Joelles BFF. This little stuffed animal brings her an unmeasurable amount of joy on a daily basis. While driving in the car or sitting at home, it's nonstop smiles when she spots this bee. We don't really know what it is... maybe the white and black stripes, or the blue wings that have a crunchy texture to them, or maybe the bright yellow head and those big white eyes... who knows. All we know is that Joey hearts her bee... and she loves it even more when the bee's head is in her mouth getting gnawed on by her gums.

Client: Connexion

2009-02-04T11:11:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share an interesting process I recently went through on a Branding project with a client. The company is a high end Print Consultant Firm called Connexion. Most people think that graphic designers come up with a logo in like 15 minutes and it's some mindless Typeface and Icon to quickly slap on a website or product. But in fact, an educated designer has a lengthy process that will ultimately flush out a unique branding solution that will give the client an edge in their market. My process always begins with me spending several hours trying to really get into the clients head... How does the founder feel about their company? What does it mean to the consumer? How should it speak to them? What sets this company and its product apart? If it was an animal, which would it be?... well, not that last question :) but I basically flush out any information that will help me come up with some creative concepts for my clients image.

So in the logo brainstorming session, the client wanted to incorporate a principle known as the Golden Ratio, that he felt helped describe his business. It's quite remarkable once you start looking into this principle. It's an equation that's been used by artists and engineers from as far back as the Egyptians, if not further back in time. It's believed to be the most aesthetically pleasing proportion. It's principles can be found in most anything in the physical universe... pretty crazy stuff.

So we explored the idea and incorporated this principle into the arms of the "X" in their company name (also making it their Icon or "Brand Mark"). The Golden Ratio will exist in the design of the website as well as other marketing materials. It was really interesting to me and fun to explore as a designer. Other words that I pulled from to create this brand: Intelligent, Diversified, Attentive, Nimble, Expertise, and Context. Overall the logo is modern & professional, and fits like a glove.

New "About Us" Photos

2009-02-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

Here are a few self portraits (that we took for our Photography Website - which we've recently updated) ... we set up in the middle of some random field in Central Oregon and had some fun snapping photos of each other. A massive shout-out to the self timer on our cameras - couldn't have done it without you :)

Good to be Home

2009-01-29T13:59:00.000-08:00

Wanted to post some recent images of our little girl. She's developing more and more each day. Right now she's really into eating her hands, giggling and playing with anything in sight. Her smile is beautiful, she's getting more and more curious about her surroundings (and our cameras), and is extremely vocal. She's also starting to get quite a little attitude :)

Asia = Conquered

2009-01-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Well, our travels through Asia are over and I couldn't be happier to be home and with my beautiful girls (man, I missed them). Over the last two weeks we pretty much traveled every way imaginable: 747, small crappy Indian planes, first class, coach, bus, motorcycle, train, subway, taxi, rickshaw (motorbike taxi), ox & trailer, and loads of walking. And surprisingly enough, there was only a FEW times during our trip that I thought I would die... Indian drivers are NUTS :) In all, India was an amazing experience and very eye opening. It'll take me quite some time to process everything that happened - but I'm looking forward to it. Thailand was a real breath of fresh air after our time in India. We stayed in Bangkok for several days and I appreciated every second of it.

Although Bangkok is basically like NYC (huge, tons to do, and massive buildings), my favorite part of it was when we explored the city via small wooden boats. We cruised through the canals and witnessed some very peaceful life on the river. Also, at 3am when we were heading to the airport, I saw a dude riding an elephant through the city streets... that was sweet. I would go back to Thailand at the drop of a hat and want to explore it more in the future. I just loved it.

We also flew into the small international business hub called Singapore (a tiny Island nation off the coast of Malaysia) and it was insanely beautiful, clean and modern. It's 200+ square miles with close to 5 million people living on it. We stayed there for two days to recoup at the beach and hotel before our long travels home. It reminded me a lot of Honolulu, Oahu minus the rugged terrain.

To learn more about the trip to India and why we went, please visit the emote360 blog. I'm thankful to be home. Thank you all for your prayers during this trip. God really protected us and watched over all our production gear. There were many situations that were on the verge of quickly "going south", but thankfully did not. I believe that was the power of all of our prayers - so thank you very much.

India Updates

2009-01-21T19:11:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know that our media team made it safely into India. For updates on our project, please visit the emote360 BLOG. We'll try and update it every couple of days.

To India with emote360

2009-01-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

Well folks, I'm off to India for two weeks, and Courtney & Joelle are heading back to SoCal to kick it with friends and family. So we'll be out of touch until the 27th or so. (If you need to contact us, do so by emailing Courtney at courtney@garyachristenson.com). For those of you that don't know, I'm co-founder and art director of an organization called emote360 (www.emote360.com), it's a 501c3 non-profit production company that creates media for other non-profits. Three of us from emote360 are heading to India to make a documentary film about an organization called Harvest India - follow our trip on the emote360 blog. This expedition is just one of the many exciting trips that emote360 will be a part of this year. God has blessed us so much and it's a dream come true to use my gifts in this way. I'll be the documentary photographer for the emote360 media team. The imagery I capture will be used for promotional materials that I design for Harvest India (website, print collateral, DVD menu & design, use in the documentary film...etc). Please pray for safety while traveling and while on the ground in India (I'm sure you are aware of the conflicts that are happening over there).

For more detailed information on our trip please visit this LINK on the emote360 Blog which explains the purpose of the trip, the intense schedule, the funding needs and various ways you can help. Currently, 90% of our project expenses have been financially met with NO solicitation thus far (which is amazing and we’re extremely grateful to our big donors that made it possible for us to purchase tickets and get over there to capture the media we need), however, we’re still needing to raise $6,000 to help offset the projects total cost (post production of the final DVD). Please consider partnering with us to finish raising the support we need to create this documentary for Harvest India. Tax-deductible donations can be made by CLICKING HERE.

Any donation over $25 will receive the final DVD that we produce - as a Thank You Gift. With over 100 people visiting this blog on a daily basis (plus the traffic on the emote360 blog), it wouldn't take a large sum from each person to complete our fundraising efforts. Thanks for your consideration in helping emote360 help other nonprofits.

We'll be back blogging in a few weeks. Keep it classy America.

Wedding Albums

2009-01-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Just got more albums back from our printer! One 11x14 Bride & Groom Album and two smaller Parent Albums. We stankin' love these things, and are still convinced that this is THE BEST way to display photos. They're so style-ee & b-e-a-utiful, and it definitely gets a crap load of attention... just like our daughter - we'd pretty much describe Joelle that way too :) Have a great weekend everybody!

Client: OLC

2009-01-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Just finished up a BRANDING overhaul on a natural resources company called Oregon Lumber Components. The vision for this logo was a mixture of a few concepts:

1) Traditional Values meets Forward Thinking - Since they've been in the industry for several decades now, they wanted something that would show their heritage in the industry, but also help establish themselves as leaders for the future of earth-friendly wood products. So I brought in a fresh green & charcoal color scheme, accompanied with a serif font that give a "foundational" look to their logo. And then I created an icon that shows "forward thinking" and "conservation of natural resources" through recycling their products (round it goes).
2) Eco Friendly - the main product they produce is a massive collapsible shipping container used for food and liquid transportation on a world market. This shipping "box" is better on the environment than their competitors products and it's completely recyclable once the product has been used).

Overall, OLC is a really innovative company and I think the new brand accurately represents who they are and where they are going in the industry.

Portraits: Wilkens Family

2009-01-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

We had the pleasure of taking some portraits of the Wilkens family over the holiday. We ventured out of town on a super chilly January afternoon and loved every second of it... it was seroiusly chilly vanilly. Sidenote: Check out how well everyone's spine is aligned with thier bodies... seriously, take a look... not a bone out of place :) ... Jim is actually a chiropractor (and a darn good one at that), so I had to throw that one in there.

Friends & Family of the Wilkens, SIGN THE GUESTBOOK to be notified (via email) when they release all their photos from this session online.

Saint Dee-a-go

2009-01-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

We just arrived back in Bend, OR after THE longest day of flying /slash/ sitting in airports... but at last, we are home. Joelle received 7 gold stars for flying so well, it was her first time... obviously, she's only 3 months old. And she spoke her first word while on the plane, we swear we heard her say "pharmaceutical" :) Anyways, we seriously had the best holiday in SoCal with Courtney's side of the family. We introduced Joelle to the beach (which she wasn't really a fan of), did some "polar bear club" surfing, played Wii, spent New Years with Court's 93.5 cousins (who are seriously the raddest), and just had lots - o - quality time with Court's immediate family (G-pa, G-ma, Bryce and Shaun). We appreciate our family and feel so loved by them. In a few weeks, Court is flying back to be with family while I go to India. Lots to look forward to in Oh Nine: International travels, vacationing in Maui, the potential of buying a house, watching Joelle develop, shooting more photos in various states and countries, and helping out more non-profit organizations... Happy New Year Everyone!

Trying to get Joelle in on some Wii... she loved watching.

Four generations of beautiful-ness

E-Photos: Shane & Jenn

2008-12-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Meet Shane & Jenn of Orange, CA... their "sexy powers" combined with our "photo powers" officially saved the world in 2008. While down in SoCal for Christmas and New Years, Courtney and I jumped at the opportunity to meet these two in Old Town Orange to snap some fun and creative portraits before their April wedding in Newport Beach. Shane and Jenn, you two were crazy amounts of fun to be around, and so beautiful together! We can't wait to see you guys again on your wedding day. We absolutely loved hanging out with you. Cheers.

Friends & Family of Shane & Jenn, SIGN THE GUESTBOOK to be notified (via email) when they release all their photos from this engagement session online.

Merry Christmas from SoCal

2008-12-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Joelle LOVES her Grandpa... and apparently LOVES smiling as of late. Too Cute. Anyways, Merry Christmas everybody and thank you for helping make 2008 a fabulous year for The Christensons. Thank you all for your visits, comments and encouragements on this blog. We wouldn't be where we are today without you all. Here's to the most blessed year of our life... Cheers!

NEXT T-shirt Designs

2008-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

A couple apparel designs for World Relief NEXT. They wanted something a bit more edgy & messy to accompany their other shirt design with just their logo on it (not shown). This way they can have one styleee shirt for you to wear, and one normal shirt for your mom to wear... hee hee, your mom :) So everyone can be happy. And the best part, these puppies are only 2 color... so they can save some $$$ on printing and purchase a great quality T to print on. Non Quality Tees suck at being worn.

World Relief NEXT: Congo Part 2

2008-12-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

Here is the booklet I recently designed for World Relief NEXT (through emote360). The piece feels great, looks dynamic, reads well and is very compelling. We also did a little handbill (Part 1) to drive folks to they're display table for their launch. We're excited to partner with these incredible people, and we're stoked to assist them in bringing positive change to this world.

Portraits: Bridges Family

2008-12-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

Spent the afternoon with the always classy and outrageously sexy Bridges family. Darcy, Chris and Trenton. There is only one word that sums of their awesomeness... they... are... FABULOUS! Post Script: Darcy quite literally rocks Courtney's face off!!!

World Relief NEXT: Congo Part 1

2008-12-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

Just received our first Congo print piece (Part 1) for the launch of World Relief NEXT this weekend. This particular handbill will be used to drive people to the NEXT display table where they can purchase a 16 page booklet I designed (Part 2) that will also have a handmade bracelet attached to the book. Proceeds from this product will help fund relief projects in Congo. It was a blast working with World Relief NEXT on these print projects. Looking forward to the future projects emote360 has lined up with World Relief NEXT.

Love Project

2008-12-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

Helping my favorite bro-sephs at Love Project Maui with some designing goodness. A few print pieces for one of their latest projects. See you guys in Feb!

Holiday Ugly Sweater Party

2008-12-05T16:55:00.000-08:00

Yup, this is really happening. We're throwing THE holiday party of the year. It's ganna be the craziest - festive - christmas caroling - photo sessioning - mixed holiday drinks - delish food - ugliest sweater competition - party that you've ever laid your eyes on. We're going all out this Christmas season to make it MORE Christmas-y than Christmas itself... to make up for all the Christmases that never really felt like the holidays should. Hello sleigh rides, snowball fights, snowmen, sledding, decorations, lights, cookies, candles and Bing Crosby. Pre-Merry Christmas to all.

Slices of Life

2008-12-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

Left to Right: 1) Joey using her hand to play with a toy (she's growing up so fast). 2) I battled my brother (John) in some old school Axis & Allies. He won. We traveled down south to visit the Christenson side of the family for the holiday. 3) We took my sisters dog, Meka, on some walks... she's THE most rambunctious dog alive! 4) Ate way too much of moms home cooking 5) I married the prettiest girl in the universe (and the hottest mom on the planet).

Left to Right: 1) The first Christmas tree ornament I bought for Courtney. Don't ask me why I got her a bowler ornament. We suck at bowling. I really don't have an answer, it was just there and I loved it. 2) We've been taking lots of showers with Joelle. She's the happiest while in the shower. So we're there a lot. 3) My burly beard and I ventured out into the wild and chopped down the best Christmas tree ever. 4) Joelle is always soooo sleepy... boring... 5) Hunting with my pops in our new duck boat. I won. The ducks lost. And we'll part with an opened mouth smile from Joelle. Cheers.

Fall = Done

2008-11-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

Impromptu photo session with Joelle and some leaves that we found while on a Sunday afternoon stroll through the park. Yah, I guess she's pretty cute ;) Look at that second chin she's got going on.

Here's a sneak peak into the real life of Joelle Zoe. (Aka, "little terror" - just kidding, she's actually a really good baby... most of the time.)

Joelle + Mac + iChat

2008-11-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a few pictures of Joelle lovin' her moms Mac, and doing her first video chat with the Keating family... she loves it! We've been Video iChatting like crazy lately. It's pretty much mind blowing to think that we can have full on conversations with any one on the planet... and it's free and NO BIG DEAL anymore, it's just expected. What a crazy world we live in! Anyways, Courtney's created a public folder on Picasa with a few videos and photos for those of you that can't get enough of Joey - VIEW IT

GIVE US A JINGLE:
iChat user name: "garyachristenson", "cdchristenson"
Skype us: "garyachristenson", "courtneychristenson"

Print Piece: Emote360

2008-11-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

We've been "busting our chops" (whatever that means) on emote360 stuff lately... we've basically started a small movement that we named Schmooze-Fest 2008 ("schmoozing: to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections"). We've been attending meetings, chamber of commerce events, non-profit forums and all that crazy stuff. I secretly hate doing all the salesman stuff, it's pretty far out of my comfort zone, but we gotta get the word out somehow. So in order to properly schmooze, one must have something to handout to help inform (along with our b.cards of course), or as the biz calls it: "a leave-behind or handbill of sorts"... so we've been making some pretty sweet print pieces for emote360. We may suck at being salesmen and we don't have a sales strategy of any kind, but at least all our materials look slick. This particular large print piece has a nice heavy stock, die-cut corner, basic info on the back and some selective UV coating just on the logo and text... the little details make for an overall great impression.

Emote360 Pic's + Launch

2008-11-13T16:35:00.000-08:00

Ben and I took some emote360 staff pics yesterday. The first series of images say "Trust us, we know what we're doing", the second shots say "We view things a little differently", and the third image says "We're secretly gorillas"... look at those lips, too funny. Or it could mean "We get punched a lot, and this is what it would like in slow motion"... whichever you prefer - tomAtoes tomOtoes. I had a mentor tell me to "Never take yourself too seriously" and I'm still livin' by it. In all seriousness, tomorrow officially launches the beginning of emote360. Please check out our New & Improved Website and Blog. We're stoked to start providing a solution to help nonprofits meet more real needs, and on a global scale.

Website: http://www.emote360.com/
Blog: http://blog.emote360.com/

Portraits: Parla Family

2008-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Spent the afternoon on an outdoor adventure to photograph "Team Parla"... who just so happens to have one of the cutest babies alive (2nd to Joelle of course).

Meet Anthony, Heather and Samantha. Anthony (lets call him "A-Train" for the time being) & Heather (aka "H-Bomb") were both born at a young age, grew up in Bend and fell madly in love with each other sometime back in the day. A-Train asked H-Bomb to marry him while on an afternoon hike through Shevlin Park. H-bomb agreed. A-Train made the arrangements and they got married in Shevlin Park. A year later they did the deed (probably at Shevlin Park), and before they knew it, Samantha was born... also at a very young age. They all return to Shevlin Park today to proclaim their love and celebrate their family. Oh, and Samantha's middle name is Shevlin. Now that's a lot of Shevlins.

Oh, and did I mention that A-Train is a rock-star...

Politics Smolitics

2008-10-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Pretty funny video from the fine folks over at JibJab. On a more serious note, we hope you all are going out there and gettin' your VOTE-ON. It's pretty important that you do so... and quite the privilege! Here are some bipartisan resources to help with the overwhelming process: CNN has a great website full of insightful info: CNN ELECTIONS, and if you're an Orgonian, check this site out: OREGON LIVE It has a great process to help walk you through the issues - on a local and national level. It's very important that you understand what's happening LOCALLY, wherever you live. So we'd encourage you to be equipped and choose the right people for the right job.

emote360

2008-10-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Courtney and I are co-founders of a non-profit organization called emote360, and it is time to start giving it our undivided attention. "What in the world is emote360?" you ask. Well, lets fill you in!

Emote360 is a global non-profit media group based out of the Pacific Northwest, USA. Emote offers custom multimedia solutions for non-profit organizations who are in need of video and audio production, graphic design, photography, web design and media management consulting. Emote works exclusively with registered Non Profit organizations who are in process of obtaining their 501(c)3 status. We at emote believe our services don’t just stand upon a great price; we’re offering media that raises the bar in its quality and meaning.

SUMMED UP without all the technical jargon: "We exist to help non-profits generate more income, to ultimately further the work that they do on the ground." It all boils down to finding nonprofit organizations more moo-la. We just happen to utilize multimedia to get them there. We create multimedia materials that will enable nonprofits to spread awareness for their cause and in return raise donor support. It's pretty simple... but for most nonprofits, understanding and utilizing media is a daunting task that few handle well... so we're here to help.

Emote360 has been almost 2 years in the making, and we're stoked to be meeting needs on a global level. Emote artists have already been to countless countries around the world, and we're returning to India in January for another project. We're also very interested in telling the story of media professionals who are giving back, and to challenge other talented media folks to use their gifts to give back in a meaningful way. Over the past 3 months we've been blessed to assemble a dynamite board of directors (industry leaders in photography, graphic design, law, community development, global relief work... etc) and we've also created a core-team of media professionals who are already whipping out emote projects. Exciting times ahead! We'll keep you all posted through the emote BLOG. Can't wait to see what God does with emote360, we're just along for the ride!

Website: http://www.emote360.com/
Blog: http://blog.emote360.com/

Client Website: Tetherow

2008-10-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Before the weekend arrives in all of its glory, I wanted to quickly share a bit about a project I'm on as a designer. The images above and below are just brief screen captures of the art direction I've created for a dynamic flash website for Tetherow (the folks at Tetherow are THE best). Basically, it's a full screen, interactive, media heavy, top of the line website to SHOW who Tetherow is, without having to use too many words... verbiage is out, imagery is in - it's the new black :). We've been on-location over the past few months gathering photo & video content with helicopters, cranes, audio & video teams, cameramen... to get the media we need to display all throughout the website. Anyways, it's going to be the pinnacle of our work all wrapped up into one gorgeous (and extremely simple to use) website. It's ganna take some time to complete, but so far everything is coming together quite nicely thanks to the always wonderful Melissa over at Tetherow. I'll keep you all posted on the progress, I'm stoked to be involved in this project.

Click above image to view larger

Joelle Photos

2008-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand are more photos of Joey (aka Joelle Zoe... NOT "J.Z."for all you nick-namers out there :) You'd be surprised at how hard it has been to FINALLY get these photos... she's not that cooperative right now... at least as far as photography goes. Everything else with Joey is really pretty awesome. Court is recovering superbly! In all, we're one happy family. We really appreciate all the folks who have been dropping off meals... you guys have no idea how much we appreciate you! Thanks to the wonderful Mary Taft for setting all that up! We feel loved. Hope you all enjoy the images. We still think she's the most beautiful baby ever... and still the smallest baby ever.

[LIFE] Before Parenthood

2008-10-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

We just received a book we created called "Life Before Parenthood"... it's been 2 years in the making. We sent it to print the day after Joelle was born. The book documents our life before we started on the journey of having children (from meeting in Maui, moving to Oregon and finding out that we were prego - the whole journey is documented in there). Hopefully we will never forget the stories and adventures we had as the "Gary & Courtney Show". It's definitely not about us anymore, and that's okay... it's the "Joelle Show" and she'll be the main star for a while :) We just wanted a way to preserve our story (accompanied with killer pictures of course). I think this is how we will do all our photo albums from here on out... in a professional book bound, hard cover, full bleed, 200+/- pg album... something that will last a life time.

FALL = FAV

2008-10-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share an image of Court and Joelle kickin' it outside our casa from a few days ago. We've been trying to get outside and enjoy the fall weather before the wrath of winter is upon us. It's stankin' beautiful out here! All the colors, the smells.... mmmmm. I (Gary) have been able to get outside and do some waterfowl hunting in the past few weeks. It's been a great season so far! I wish I could say the same for our fall soccer league :( If our indoor soccer team had a marketing slogan, it would be "Yah, you'll probably beat us, but we'll make you fight for it." Anyways, now that Fall is officially here, I need to grow a burly beard and start sporting the smelly flannels... then I'll be a true Oregonian.

Emote360 in ProPhoto Mag

2008-10-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Emote360 and Kevin Kubota have been featured in this months issue of Professional Photographer Magazine. Go ahead and pick up a copy at... places where you'll find magazines :) ... Barnes and Noble or your local 711 - I dunno. The article is near the end, pg 146, in the "Good Works" section, titled "Building A Future" - highlighting an emote360 trip to Rwanda with Ben Edwards & Kevin Kubota (named one of the top 10 photographers in the world - ALSO an emote360 board member - which is waaaay cooler :). It's a pretty sweet spotlight for emote360 as things are just getting underway for our organization. By this time next month, we'll be opening our doors for service. Exciting times! I'll post more info on this blog in a few weeks to help you understand who emote360 is (a nonprofit media company) and what it will accomplish (help other npos with their media needs), and our role in co-launching this organization. Stay tuned.

PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

2008-10-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a little highlight reel from some of our latest and greatest photography shoots (portrait, wedding, fams, maternity...etc). Go ahead and press that there PLAY button - we dare you! Really what I'm trying to do is test Vimeo and their video capabilities for use on this blog - so far I'm impressed. To see another video we embedded through Vimeo, check out our Boating Trip from a few months back. Anyways, we're anticipating a great year for our humble photo biz. We already have LOADS of o-nine photo shoots on the ole calendar (mainly in SoCal & Oregon... but we'll probably make it over to the islands as well (we heart traveling for photo shoots). Enjoy the show.

Visit our Photography Website - the answer is "YES", we would be honored to shoot (slash) photograph you. Send us an email and we'll make it happen.

OUR BLOG: Cleaner, Newer, Fresher

2008-10-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

Hey all, with some down time on our hands, we cracked some serious html code and made some improvements on our blog. Here's just a few of the added features: 1) Increased the width of the blog to showcase more content, 2) Made the pictures HUGE for your viewing pleasure (you can still click on any image to view it even larger, but it's okay to be lazy every once in a while - we understand), 3) Added a sweet flash widget for Twitter (it's addicting, but man it's fun to know what friends and family are up to on a regular basis - JOIN IT), 4) We cleaned up the orange sidebar on the right for easy navigation to our website links and our older blog posts, 5) Took away that annoying Blogger Navbar, 6) We have less blog entries per page for faster loading - so to see older content on other pages, simply scroll down to the end of this page and click "Older Posts" 7) And we added a Welcome Message to introduce people to the blog and why it's important to us. In all, I like the changes and think it makes it more functional and efficient... which fits my personality to a "T" - I come across as a low key guy, but really I'm as high strung as the "Highest Octave G String" on a 12 string guitar :)

OUR BIRTH - as it happens

2008-10-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well folks, it is indeed happening... we're having a baby TODAY! Good thing we've been studying our "Pregnancy & Baby Instructional Books" - (click above image) - man, we could have really screwed things up if we didn't read that book ;)

Okay lets fill you in! We'll use THIS Blog Post to keep you updated (so feel free to forward our link to friends & fam). Check back every couple of hours for more updates (they will appear below this paragraph). Keep us in your prayers.

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Sunday - 10:30am

We checked in at 9am for another fluid level test. They're checking fluid levels and... survey says: it's too low for Joelle to remain safe inside the womb, she'll be better off outside. Every visit has been progressively less fluid. Everything else (Joelle's vitals & Mom's vitals) are normal, we just don't have as much fluid as we'd like. Two healthy girls though! So that's a blessing! And Joelle is 37 weeks along, so she should fine-n-dandy. I guess we'll find out when they pull her out.

Sunday - 11:15am

It IS just about time. We're prepping for the surgery. Once they pull Joelle out, it'll be "Daddy Time" for the first half hour or so while they stitch Court back up. Then we'll all reunite back in our room... at least that's the plan.

Sunday - 1:00pm

Surgery wen't AWESOME. Joelle is beautiful... she looks like a Keating! Her and Court are bonding and eating... so weird... we're suddenly PARENTS! She's 6lbs 6oz and quite a crier.

Sunday - 4:15pm
Bath + Food for all + Nap + New room with a view + Fruit smoothies + Soft baby things + Amazing nurses = one happy family.

Sunday - 6:00pm
Had some time to bust out the "big camera" and snap some photos while everyone was resting in the afternoon light (these photos are already my all-time favorite images I've EVER taken). Now it's time for friends and family to start visiting! Time to show off our drop-dead gorgeous daughter!

Sunday - 8:30pm
We've had lots of awesome friends visit, baby and mom are doing fantastic and Grandpa and Grandma Keating (Dennis & Marsha) just flew in on a last minute flight from Socal to visit their first grand baby. Gary's mom, Laloni (she's already a professional grandma) is also here and we're all just enjoying Joelle... she's so tiny and cute! And she looks like Court's baby pic.

Sunday - 10:00pm
A massive "THANK YOU" to all of you out there - for your love and support. It is VERY much appreciated! We feel so blessed to have such outstanding friends and family. Good night everyone, we'll catch you all in the A.M.

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Monday - 11:30am

It was a looooong night. Baby and Mom are a-okay, the grandparents brought us some killer burritos and coffee (God bless you people)... so now we're just hanging out in ye ole room. We'll probably be in the hospital until Wed (maybe Tuesday if we obey the rules). Courtney is off of all the I.V.'s and tubes...etc. She's walking around and feeling REAL good - thanks to our friend Percocet. So far, nothing crazy to report... everyone is doing awesome.

Here's Joelle with "Marmee" (Gary's Mom's Grandma Name)

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Tuesday - 7:30am

Happy Anniversary Court! You amaze me and I couldn't be more in love with you than in this moment right now! Two years with the most smokin' hot lady in the universe... and I'm looking forward to the rest of my life with my two piping-hot bambinos!

Well, our second night here at the hospital was a lot better than our first. Joelle fed like a champ, we all got some sleep and Court just ordered the LARGEST breakfast known to man (dear room service: I could kiss you right now, you're the best). It looks pretty cold and miserable outside our window, so we're content to just remain inside and relax. Although, I (Gary) am about as cooped up as a caged Orangutan... I need to get out of this room for once :) Maybe I'll go make a "second breakfast" run for Court... she's an eating machine.

Tuesday - 9:00am
All the Docs just got done visiting us, they said Mom & Baby are rock stars. They also said we'll be released tomorrow morning - hurray! ... but also scary at the same time! They're just ganna let us walk out of here and be on our own... I don't know how I feel about that right now :)

Tuesday - 6:00pm
All is well with Team Christenson. Yup, still just chillin' in the ole hospital room. We're thankful for one more night under the superb care of St. Charles Hospital, but at the same time, we'll be stoked to be at home and under the care of Grandpa & Grandma Keating :) Oh, Courts milk came in surprisingly early and from what I can gather, it's pretty crazy! Joelle is beyond stoked to have a super full belly though.

Tuesday - 8:15pm
First things first, we love love love Joelle, there is nothing more beautiful or more precious in this world :) We just got done with a massive lasagna dinner and some beers provided by the lovely Marsha & Dennis, and we just received THE BEST floral arrangement piece from Mary Taft - she's so awesome! All the nurses and docs have commented on them. We got caught up on some SNL debate coverage and now it's bed time! Honestly, we're pretty wiped (especially Court), so keep her in your prayers these next couple weeks. For a healthy recovery and for lots-o-rest. We're expecting life to be kinda difficult for a bit, so please forgive us for not responding to emails and calls on a regular basis. We REALLY REALLY love you all and appreciate your encouragement and support in this journey. We couldn't do it without you. Hopefully we'll be reporting from home tomorrow. Sleep Tight.

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Wednesday - 9:00am

We're up, had a killer breakfast, Joelle is a pro at feeding and we're all really well rested! Joelle is seriously doing fabulous - she's even started gaining weight. Both our docs visited and gave us the go-ahead to take our kiddo home... Holla! We're way ahead of schedule and the nurses and docs are very impressed with both girls. Praise the Lord!

Wednesday - 2:00pm
We're home and loving every second of it. It's amazing how little you really need in life to survive. All we had in that little hospital room was a bathroom, 1.5 beds (mine was really more of a couch), an extra sink, our Cameras and my Mac Book Pro (a must have for life in general:). Now we come home to our awesome house full of all our CRAP that we just keep accumulating - don't get me wrong, we're lovin' the crap right now. It's all just extra fluff and really not that necessary to life, it's just comfort... but man it's great in this moment... we're blessed, or should I say spoiled ;) Welp, our house really does feel like a home now with the kiddo in it. Life is good my friends, and we feel a whole new purpose in life.

Baby Showerz & House Decor

2008-10-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pics of the b.shower that our outstanding friends - the Fitches and Parlas - threw us here in Bend! It was a complete blast. We heart you guy soooo much! And THANK YOU ALL for the crazy amazing gifts... we're so blessed!

Well, it's been several weeks since we moved from our old "house in the stix" to our new "killer little pad" - it's actually a normal house (just a few years old) with all of life's modern amenities. We are pretty much settled in and love love love the new place. It's funny how much you appreciate the small things in life after being without for so long... like central air :). Here are some pics of our decorating skillz (or lack thereof), and some pics of the baby room (Court's mother, Marsha, flew up from SoCal for the baby shower and spent several days helping Courtney get all the baby stuff ready - mad props to you grandma!).

Court found this stick in our neighbors yard, she stole it fair and square and put it to good use. The image on the right is our new BAR area (sweet antique table we snatched at goodwill), it only has one bottle of Scotch there (for celebrating Joelles birth) but believe you me, there'll be plenty more where that came from once Court can start having some drinks again.
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Court and her mom did TONS of creative decorating for the baby's room. They reupholstered all sorts of furniture, painted and got the baby room ready for Joelle. Also, we have a sweet random "mini-loft" in our new place that has become our "shelf-o-random things & books". It sits above and around our living room - it's awesome.
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Here' some of the gals work. We're going with some autumn colors and a bird theme. LOVE the lamp... created by Court.

Baby Time UPDATE

2008-10-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

No baby today... phew :) The fluids look about the same, maybe even a bit less than yesterday, but everything else looks great! So we're ganna come back in on Sunday, check everything again and take it from there. If the levels have dropped on Sunday, we'll get Joelle out there, if the amniotic fluid levels remains the same (which are still pretty low: 5.8 of 25) we'll schedule a c-section for either Wed or Thursday! We were hoping to flip this baby and have a completely natural birth (we've even taken over 2 months of "natural birthing classes" to prep for a normal labor - stupid responsibility), but with the fluid levels being where they are, neither are a realistic option for us. Which is fine, we'll just be stoked to meet her. We'll send out a mass email and update this blog every few hours once we start the process of bringing Joelle into this world, so check back often. In the mean time, we'll just take it easy and relax at home (I'll try and get a few more work projects done before we take a bunch of time off). We'll keep you updated.

It's ALMOST Baby Time

2008-10-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Well folks, the time for babies has arrived. We're expected to have Joelle in our arms within the next week (via c-section)... maybe even tomorrow! Courtney is just 2 days shy of 37 weeks, so Joelle is pretty much "full term"... so we're sittin' good. We went in for a scheduled "version" today (where they try and turn the baby - b/c she's been breech), and we found out that Court's amniotic fluid level is really low. So they kept us in the hospital for most of the day monitoring [MY] two girls. Everything is fine, baby Joelle is stoked inside the belly! She's perfectly healthy and already a solid 6lbs 3oz, and Courtney is feeling fabulous! The doctor let us leave for the night and we'll check back in tomorrow morning to see where the fluid levels are at. If they are lower than todays levels, they'll pull Joelle out tomorrow (CRAZY! We can't fathom being parents tomorrow), but if the fluid levels increase, we'll wait until next week and go with the scheduled c-section. At this point, we're pretty dialed into a c-section... which we've come to grips with... either way, we're ganna have a baby soon and that gets us excited (and nervous). Keep checking back to THIS BLOG for updates!!! We'll keep you posted on every tasty little detail.

Client Website: PRB

2008-09-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

PRB, a nation-wide natural resource company that I branded a few months ago, has their brand spankin' new website UP & LIVE - I designed this flash site for them and Peter from LJ3 Media coded it all up... he's basically a genius! I also did a majority of the photography that is represented on the site. Check it out at: www.pacificresourcebrokers.com They've been awesome fellas to work with... so down to earth! We wish them the best with PRB.

Wrapping Things Up

2008-09-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

I've been finishing a few remaining design projects at antioch before my time here comes to an end. Today is sadly my last day. It's been a great year working part-time with antioch as their Creative Arts Director. Court and I are steppin' out in faith and praying for the best with the biz (photo+design biz and the new emote360 venture). Courtney will be able to stay at home with the baby and just do a few hours of work a day for the biz - mainly coordinating all the photography stuff (she'll have the hardest job of them all, being a MOM) and I'll continue to work full-time out of my office space on the north side of town. So keep our finances, our biz ventures and most importantly our little family in your prayers. Thanks much-o.

Quartlery Journal Logo (vintage tatoo inspired)

Kids Ministry Art Book Cover (love texture:)

Sermon Series Design (clean and simple)

Sarah + Brandon

2008-09-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

Our last wedding of the season was a PERFECT one to end on! To sum it up with a simple math equation: "Sarah + Brandon x Manliness + Sexiness divided by Cameras (x2) = Super Sexy Bride & Groom Wedding Photos". We had such a blast hangin' out with these two on their E-Session, and we had even more fun at their wedding in downtown Salem, OR. They were pretty much down for whatever and they offered a lot of creative input while we were shooting... You guys rocked our world! Lets find an excuse to shoot some more photos of you and your friends STAT! Thanks for letting us be apart of your big day, it was a true honor.

Check out their SLIDESHOW on our website: CLICK HERE and navigate to "YOUR IMAGES". Type in "Sarah" as the password (case sensitive) and enjoy!

Branding: Apologetics Conference

2008-09-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Just got done BRANDING an Apologetics Conference that J.P. Moreland is coming to speak at. I loved the phrase they used in our first meeting to describe what they were looking for in a brand: "Something where Old World meets New World." So to get the desired result, I brought in a muted color pallet, mixed two different fonts together, created a rustic cross for their brand-mark and threw in some random textures. I will also be apart of a media team who will be documenting the event (HD Video, Audio and Photography) for next years marketing materials. What a great client, they gave me a lot of creative freedom, and it was a true pleasure to set the tone for the future of this annual event.

RAVES

2008-09-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, just added some RAVES to our website. We've been receiving some great reviews regarding our photography skillzzzz.... ya'll are too kind. Check-idy-check-it by CLICKING HERE

What's In A Name?

2008-09-18T14:32:00.001-07:00

Although our little baby has a few more weeks of cookin' to do, we finally settled on a solid name. Introducing "Joelle Zoe Christenson" (Joe-el Zo-ee)... cute, yet ferocious - like a tiny bear cub. Nothing is more weird (and time consuming) than selecting a name for someone... the name they will forever be known as... it's just weird. Anyways, here's the DL on the meaning: "Joelle" means Jehovah is God, "Zoe" means Life and "Christenson" just so happens to mean that you're pretty much a Bad-Ass! So yah, we got it ALL covered :) Watch out world, here she comes.

Keri + Matt

2008-09-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to shoot Keri & Matt's wedding for good friend Ben Edwards. It was pretty much bliss for me... shooting a stellar couple on a beautiful chilly FALL day (yah, it really feels like fall up here). My biggest BEEF with wedding photography is that most weddings seem to routinely fall on the HOTTEST days of year! What's with that?! "Record Highs Today folks, I know yesterday was only 40 degrees, but somehow-someway, just in time for the weekend, the weather jumped up to 102" - Stankin' weatherman! Anyone who knows me, knows that I literally MELT away in hot weather :) All that to say, Keri & Matt's wedding was a perfect 60+/- degrees... truth be told, it was probably really cold for everyone else, but I was lovin' life running around the joint taking photos without breaking a sweat. Even if it was a bit chilly, it was still a beautiful day and a lovely wedding.

We had some fun with some brews before the ceremony. The fellas even had a toast (note the milk for Matt's younger bro, it made for an awesome milk mustache).

Designing Pain

2008-09-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

I just wrapped up a few design concepts for a new sermon series at antioch. It's starting this week and titled The Problem with Pain. It'll be out in DVD/CD after it's all complete. Should be a good issue to tackle for a lot of folks dealing with this "ultra-fabulous, on the rise and almost back to normal" economy. (in case you didn't get the sarcasm, our economy = suckage :) Tell all the folks that are foreclosing, bankrupt and without work that we're not in a recession.

Boating

2008-08-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

We had a little get-away this weekend to a stellar cabin overlooking Prineville Reservoir... and man did we get our "boatin' on"!!! Courtney even got in on the action... no big deal, almost 8 months prego and rockin' it (surfing behind the boat). Make sure you view the video below (sorry about the low rez, but hey)... good times, great oldies.

Prineville Boat Trip from Gary Christenson on Vimeo.

Courtney - Prego

2008-08-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

I just want to write a quick note about my wife... she's the most amazing women I know, and I couldn't love her more! She's doing so good in her pregnancy and she will be an outstanding mother! She made me a Mix-Tape (CD) of "Daughter Themed" songs and I've been listening to it all day...LOVE IT! I can't wait to be old and wrinkled with Courtney and see our kids having their own kids ;) ...what a trip... first things first I guess... I seriously can't wait to meet our daughter! Soon enough... 10 weeks and counting. Here's some images we've recently captured of the prego journey.

Jessie + Craig: Laguna, CA

2008-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Start with one part "beauty-rific", mixed with two parts "fan-tab-ulious"... stir and serve with a side of piping hot "Hansel" (he's so hot right now) and you have yourself the ultra-rad wedding of Jessie & Craig Gipson in Laguna, CA! These two are absolutely wonderful in every way... we HEART you two! Jessie basically booked ALL of our Creative Services, so we're able to spend a lot of time with her and mother Gail to prep this wedding... we loved every minute of it! We did everything from designing the Save the Dates, Invitations and Thank You's, to shooting the Engagement photos in Austin, TX building them a Wedding Website, designing the Table Signs and Ceremony Programs, creation of a Engagement Photo Album for guests to sign, Photography on the big day, and Three Hardbound Wedding Albums (see below for images of a few of the services we did). We've loved working with them and we wish J+C the best in Texas! Don't worry, we won't mess with it... Texas... that is.

Visit their website for a slideshow. View ALL their photos online & order prints (create a free account and take a look at the 800+ images in the gallery) - CLICK HERE, search by name or event code: 510676

MOVING?!

2008-08-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well folks, we're moving! Don't worry, we're staying in Bend. We're just moving to a different home before the baby arrives... to a home a little more kid friendly than our last "rustic home in the woods." Although we REALLY love our new place, there are few things we will dearly miss:

1) The pine trees, 2) the 2.5 acres, 3) the rock chucks, 4) the doe with her two fawns that visit our lawn, 5) the quail, 6) the birds flying into our doors (when open) and into our windows (when closed), 7) our fire pit in our backyard, 8) walking distance from the everything cool, 9) making fires in our wood stove (got old kinda fast :) but it will be missed, 10) and finally the feeling of seclusion, yet we were in the heart of the city. You'll be missed old home!

Summer Update

2008-08-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

This summer is crusin' by so fast! We wanted to quickly give you an update. So far the summer has been filled with lots of travels, camping, boating, floating the river, man-trips, fishing, photography, BeerBQ's, bonfires and babies... yah, babies are EVERYWHERE! Courtney is due at the end of Oct and we will be having a baby girl. During a visit from Gary's side of the family, we tried an experiment and peed on Drano Crystals (which is supposta reveal the sex of your baby - thru magic I guess). Amy (Gary's sister) is pregnant as well. With everyone at our house watching the spectacle, some non-pregos decided to try the test as well and here's the results: Courtney is HAVING a girl, Amy is HAVING a boy, Gary IS a boy, and oldest sister Angela IS in fact a girl. Anyways, so much has happened this summer, and it's not letting up. We leave for SoCal tomorrow morning and the adventure continues... we'll keep you posted! Check back often. Much-o Love-o!

Natasha + Mike Lincoln

2008-08-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

Weddings are stankin' sweet... such a blast! Just cruising around taking photos and hanging out with the two most stoked people on planet earth... the bride & groom, of course (incase you were thinking that WE were the "most stoked people on planet earth"... which we are, but that's beside the point - come on, get y'er head in the game)... moving on... Mike and Tasha, it was a true pleasure to celebrate with the two of you! Congratulations!

View ALL photos & order images from Pictage: CLICK HERE
View Slideshow: visit our website and navigate to the "Your Images" page, type in the password "Natasha (case sensitive). Enjoy.

Lincoln Family

2008-07-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

We had the best time with the Lincoln Family yesterday (the fam's in town for Mike and Tasha's wedding this weekend - so we took the op to get some family shots). Their interaction with each other was LOADS of fun to capture! We're really looking forward to visiting with these fine folks again this weekends!

Ah, Brother and Sisterly love... takes me back :)

Sarah & Brandon: e-photos

2008-07-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome e-session with Brandon & Sarah this last week, and we're really looking forward to their wedding in September! What a b-e-a-u-tiful couple! Stunning really! On this particular day, it was overly sun-shiny (real word :) google it) so we took the opportunity to do some experimenting with light... don't worry, we got the regular solid shots we always get, but had a blast getting creative and working with the sun - reflecting if off of shop windows, shooting right into the intense light, getting some sweet flares all over the place... just throwing all rules out of the window and coming up with some fun and creative imagery! Brandon & Sarah, you guys are fun, romantic and so in love! Thanks for letting us capture those things, and thanks for spending the afternoon with us! We really enjoyed our time together!

To view more photos, visit our website and navigate to "Your Images" Type in the password "Sarah" (case sensitive). Enjoy.

Art Book is HERE

2008-07-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

The ART BOOK(s) has arrived in all of it's glory. Its sitting in huge boxes waiting for its release date... July 20th - in the evening. The Art Book Reception is going to be sweet! We're going to be highlighting various contributers, displaying the original art pieces from the painters, sculptors, and photographers. We'll also have some open-mic time for the folks who wrote poems and short stories. As well as open-mic for some of the musicians who entered lyrics. Looking forward to celebrating... it took a long time and lot of work to get this puppy done! Facts: 189 pages & 36 featured artists ...

Courtney's Harp Site

2008-07-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

Court's Harp Website is up and running (90% complete - just needs some tunes). Next week she will be in the studio recording some music for the site, so look for that in the next couple weeks. Check it out at: www.courtneydchristenson.com

The Belly!

2008-07-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been asking for some belly shots of Courtney and "Baby Christenson"... so here's a few shots now that there is somewhat of a belly to show (it's been pretty unnoticeable up until the last 2 weeks). "Sweetness Fact of the Day" is that I (Gary) felt the little baby kicking last night for THE FIRST TIME... unreal! It's actually happening... consider my mind BLOWN! At this point we're pretty confident that "Baby C" is a GIRL. The baby was being very difficult when we were at our last doc appointment trying to find out the gender of the child, so we're waiting a few more weeks and then we'll find out for sure. But we're banking on a beautiful little girl... can't wait... October 26th is the date when craziness happens. Keep us in your prayers.

SoCal Wedding: Linda+Trav

2008-06-26T10:58:00.001-07:00

We just returned from La Jolla, CA for Linda and Trav’s wedding! Congrats guys! The day was absolutely breathtaking! Everywhere we turned was a fantastic photo op. Combine that with a beautiful bride and stunning groom, and BAM!, great imagery happens! Along with the wedding we were also able to get some much needed beach time with the Keating family. Court couldn’t surf with her belly, so I surfed enough waves for all three of us :) We flew into Bend late last night and in a few minutes I’m off the Portland for my best buddy Brendon Wiksell’s wedding! Looking forward to not shooting a wedding, and just being apart of it for a change. So here’s to a busy wedding season! Below is an image of Linda and Travis’ true behavior shining through on their wedding day! This is the power of two photographers on a shoot. Two different angles capturing the same moment! What a downright FUN couple to be around. Looking forward to hanging out with the two of you again real soon!

Wanna see their SLIDESHOW: CLICK HERE and navigate to "Your Images". Type in the password "Linda" (case sensitive) and you're there! Wanna ORDER PRINTS: CLICK HERE

The Harp

2008-06-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Courtney is in the midst of launching her harp business (and her website), so we did a little photo shoot with her and her harp to get some content for her new site... which is coming soon! We decided to ditch the signature “Harp Look” – you know what I’m talking about: the braided hair, the white flowing dress, in a field of daises in the middle of some enchanted forest with fairies and elves running around. So instead, we went for a little urban feel to set Courtney apart from the competition and to show her true roots of “style & freshness”. How beautiful is my wife?! Seriously! She’s 6 months prego in these pics too… A-freaking-mazing!

Golf Photography: Tetherow

2008-06-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some golf photos I recently did for LJ3 Media Group at Bend’s newest golf resort… Tetherow. It was loads of fun shooting this interesting course, but definitely challenging since I’m used to shooting human beings and interacting with them… I could only interact with that golf flag so much… “work it golf flag, work it”

Branding: PRB

2008-06-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

For some reason I hardly post my designing on this blog (which actually takes up most of my work week - business has been great)... it always seems more interesting to post photography and personal stories... but just incase there is anyone out there who appreciates some design, here's a concept I came up with for a client called Pacific Resource Brokers. A clean, modern approach to the Natural Resources Business. As I was researching their competitors, they all had the same "look and feel" - Rustic & Rough. With their business plan in hand, I decided to focus in on a few key words that they used to express the way they want to do business: "Forward Thinking, Earth Friendly, Clean, Modern, Fresh...". I think this logo, color scheme and brand package captures who they are and is accurately geared toward their target market... they thought so too!

We're heading to California tomorrow for a wedding and to visit friends and family. Courtney is going to eat at ALL the places she's been craving the past view months that Bend doesn't have - like "Rubios", "In N Out", "REAL" mexican food, "Rockin' Jennies"...etc... and I will probably gain some "sympathy" weight during this trip :( But hopefully will surf it all off before we come back to Bend. We'll keep you posted on what's happening in Socal through this blog. LATER.

BIRTH: Oliver Blue Dykstra

2008-06-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

GREAT NEWS! Oliver Blue Dykstra was born early this morning. Here's his stats: June 14th, 2008, Bend OR, Room 152, 1:30am delivered, 20.5 inches long and coming in at 7lbs 8oz ... he is a happy and healthy little guy. What an unreal experience. So many emotions mixed with so much joy. Great job Randy & Kristin, you guys made all the right decisions and are truly blessed with this baby. Thanks for letting us share this unforgettable experience with you. Here in about 4 months, we'll be journeying through this same situation ... good thing we have more time, b/c we're definitely not ready yet ;) Neither of us have ever been apart of anything like that, so it was a good introduction of what's to come and what we can hopefully expect - A successful delivery! Oh, we had our doctors appointment yesterday and our Doc thinks our baby is a girl... not completely sure... 50/50 ;) But I think we're going with it. Any ideas on girl names?

If you want to see more of the Dykstra delivery, visit our Photography website (CLICK HERE) and navigate to "YOUR IMAGES", Type in the password "Maternity" and the delivery photos are towards the end of the maternity shoot... the complete package :) Enjoy!

CD / DVD Designs

2008-06-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Just finished up with a few antioch CD / DVD designs: "Antioch Guest Speaker Audio/Video" discs, "Kids Minsitry Music Vol 2", and "Mother Kirk Sermons Series" (on the importance of the church). All good stuff! For some reason I've really been into textures, stickers and a certain kind of roughness in most my designing this week. Next week, I'll probably go back to a more clean feel... but who know these day...

Man Trip 201

2008-06-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

In 2007 we had our first official Man Trip, and this year we decided to try and do multiple trips that were both "Burrly" and "______" (fill in with manliest word you know). So this trip some fellas and I ventured out for the weekend to hit up the famous Salmon Fly Hatch on the Lower Deschutes River and catch some trout on the ole fly rods. The first day was trout-less, but we had a great time hangin' out, camping and cooking. We thought we were a bit early for the fly hatch, so we decided to head back to our local spot on the Upper Dechutes River and put in the drift boat for the afternoon. The minute we did so, massive thunderstorms started rolling through the area and it was a torrential downpour for several hours! However, in the middle of this rainstorm is when I hooked the fish of the trip! Finally! And then the weather broke and it was a beautiful evening! I brought home the trout to my gorgeous wife, who was stoked I finally brought back a descent enough sized fish ... we cooked and ate it ... delish ... fulfilling my role as "Hunter/Gatherer" :) End of Man Trip 201.

We [still] Heart Bend

2008-05-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

Yup, we still heart Bend, even if it refuses to be summer! We had some uber-fabulous friends from Maui over at our house for the long weekend (Casey & Mele Butler - who recently moved to the Portland area), and the crazy thing is that we didn't even get one picture with them during their visit! Bum deal! We had a killer weekend though... hicking around, eating out, doing a Deschutes Brewery tour, catching some concerts, and all the while wearing our winter jackets :( It's been down in the 50's and a bit raining. But hey, that doesn't stop Bend-ites from getting out-and-about and having some fun. We were able to catch The Decemberists, Modest Mouse, and Death Cab for Cutie (shown in pic) all in concert this weekend at our outdoor amphitheater in the Old Mill District (Bends new "hip-kat" place to be).

Our house is only a few blocks from the Old Mill so we were able to walk to all the weekend "happenings". In doing so, we ran across our favorite little creatures... "Yellow Belly Rock Chucks", or some mights say "Marmots". There is a whole "gaggle" of them here in Bend. We actually have 2 of them that live behind our house on our property and constantly watch us (and we constantly watch them). They are actually cute and cuddly...but rather large! Don't let the photos trick you... they are bigger than house cats! Anyways, that's our crazy weekend! Good Times, Great Oldies... Kool105

Maternity - "Oliver Blue"

2008-05-14T14:54:00.001-07:00

Courtney and I were able to do some maternity photography recently with our good friends Randy & Kristin (she's do in a month - having a boy named Oliver Blue). These two have an incredible story! In short: they're newly weds, moved here right after their wedding, didn't have jobs, no insurance and found out they got pregnant on their honeymoon! In addition to that, Kristin finds out she has cancer and is seeking treatment! It's been a real testimony of faith and we feel honored to share life on a weekly basis with such extraordinary people!

PLEASE visit our photography website for a slideshow gallery of the photos we took for the Dykstra's Maternity Session:

CLICK HERE and navigate to "YOUR IMAGES"

Type in the password "Maternity" and enjoy the show.

Warning: some photos are kind of "revealing", but don't worry, Courtney took all those photos :)

Mums-Day

2008-05-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

We went down south for a surprise visit to "The Christenson" side of the fam - in honor of Mums day. It was GREAT to get out of town and to just have some fun with the fam. We did a little "Guitar Hero" action... never played it before, but it was really entertaining! Here's some photogs of an evening rocking out with our nieces and nephew!

Austin, TX - Engagement

2008-05-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

Introducing Jessie Woods & Craig Gipson! Their wedding date is August 9th (in Laguna Beach, CA) and Court & I will be there capturing it all! What a fun, romantic, cute, energetic couple to shoot for engagement photos! I had such a great time with them Monday afternoon & evening! I flew out for the afternoon and spent about 4+ hours running around Austin photog-ing up the place! What a great city... such character! First we went to the Botanical Gardens, then to the University of Texas (Jessie just finished Grad School and Craig is prepping for the BAR - they are both HUGE Longhorn fans), then we went to the capital building to finish off the shoot. Afterwards they took me out to celebrate Cinco De Mayo at this rad little "TexMex" place with a live mariachi band. 10 hours later I flew back to Bend. What a great quick trip! Congrats Jessie & Craig! Thanks for letting me get a sneak-peak into your life together! Your love for each other is inspiring ... you are an outstanding couple!

The Art Book Event

2008-04-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

This Sunday evening marks the ART BOOK EVENT, where we will raise awareness (and hopefully some fund-age) for the publishing of the Art Book and it's partnering network we created called "LAB" - short for "colLABeration". The Art Book is antiochs tool to begin connecting local artists together. Come and find out more information about the Art Book and LAB.

The DL: Sunday night, May 4th, 7-9pm at the Old Mill Marketplace. Address is 550 SW Industrial Way, Ste 44 ... Bend, Oregon of course... Wine, Food, Live Music, Art Book examples (that yours truly designed), voting on the cover and some art presentations will be a-happening! See you there!

Oregon Beach House

2008-04-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a stellar weekend at the Oregon coast. We stayed at our friends beach cabin right on the water just north of Tilamook... the best news was that the coast was absolutely beautiful! Clear skies and warm! Yah, who would have thought! We were prepared for the rain and cold but were delightfully surprised the whole weekend. We made the trip with the Parlas (Anthony, Heather, their baby Samantha) and the Fithes (John, Jamie, their puppy Aspen) ... and then there was the two of us ;) Once we have our baby we'll fit in a bit better with most of our friends and their kids / dogs. It was so good to spend time and reconnect with the Fitches and Parlas. It had been way too long!

Although the trip was a couples get-a-way (well, semi-family get-a-way) the boys were still able to get a descent amount of surfing in on Friday and Saturday - thanks girls :) The surf was chest high, clean, and it wasn't that cold! The air temp was in the 50's and the water temp was high 40's. Still cold compared to good ole Maui, but totally doable! Oh, we also went to the Tilamook Cheese Factory... call me "old fashion" but factory tours are so interesting! I feel like an old man writing that, but the fact is that I enjoy finding out how things are made! Just look at those blocks of cheese! So weird!

Grandpa & Grandma Keating

2008-04-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Courts folks were able to come visit us this last week from SoCal! It was so good to celebrate the news of the upcoming baby and be genuinely excited for the little bugger inside Courtney. Dennis and Marsha are overly excited to be GRANDPARENTS (this is their first grand baby on the way) We had an awesome time with "Grandma & Grandpa Keating": snowshoeing, downhill skiing, eatin' out, playing games, catching a movie, walking around, making fires and having meaningful conversations. Dennis spoke at antioch this last Sunday on Psalms 42. Watch the videocast by CLICKING HERE... he spits truth! Well, we're off to the Oregon Coast for the long weekend with our good friend the Parlas and the Fitches! We'll catch you upon our return - with a story and some pics I'm sure.

Antioch Art & Music

2008-04-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

The last couple Sundays, as we've been prepping for the art book at antioch, I've had my camera(s) at the morning service... so I snapped some photos of the music and art that we partake of at antioch on an average Sunday morning. Tom Monson & Lori LaBissoniere - above. Justin, Kim, Ian, Travis, JC and Shaun - below

Our Wedding Book

2008-04-07T10:31:00.001-07:00

I surprised Courtney on her b-day and gave her a coffee table book with our wedding images (I wrote the story and designed all the layouts). Our photographer, David Hessemer, flew out from Maui for our wedding...amazing imagery! So I put his images and our story into a 40 page book and got it printed just in time for Courts birthday. The book is beautiful! The print quality and construction is superb! This is something that I offer to my photography clients...I take the pictures, design the books, and will even put your story into the design of the book (optional). Everyone I know hardly USES their wedding images after their wedding (even us), so this is a great way to show them off and keep them forever preserved! People LOVE looking through the book and reading our story! Everyone that comes over takes a gander at it and wants me to put their story & photos in a wedding book! Although it is an investment, it's well worth it!

New B.Cards

2008-04-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Got some new business cards in the mail today that will complete my new branding scheme... and I'm really excited about 'em! If you take a look at my website(s), blog, b.cards, quotes, invoices, marketing materials ...etc... you will see a uniform "look & feel." This is something that I stress to my clients - Consistent Points of Contact.

Oh Marriage!

2008-04-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

We just got back from an antioch marriage retreat in Portland, OR. There was tons of couples and it was loads of cheeky fun! Here's a picture from the weekend - Disclaimer: some folks may find the image below disturbing...so divert your eyes and don't look. We were downtown Portland and went to the IceBreaker store (New Zealand based clothing store) and they had these sheep pictures with cutouts for your head...thus the following image...

Ooooop! :)

2008-04-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

It is official, we're 11 weeks pregnant! Surprise SURPRISE! The story goes like this... We were informed of this shocking news on the 2nd day of our vacation in Maui. We were originally supposta be in Africa (but that trip changed (for the better), so we took ourselves off the team), and then we found a similar trip that was leaving the same day as the Africa trip, but it was going to Nepal to make a documentary on human trafficking (which we couldn't get all the funds together, so that fell through at the last minute). So the two trips happened without us and we couldn't go "save the world", BUT we were able to take an unrehearsed trip to Maui instead...which seemed ridiculous that God would let us go "sun ourselves" in Maui, but not let us go make those documentaries - which we would rather be doing anyways! It didn't make sense to us until the second day we were in Maui and Court took the test...well, three tests just to make sure!

It was the perfect place to process this shocking news!... away from the day-to-day grind in Bend. It was PERFECT timing and we were able to get a lot of wisdom and guidance from our mentors and friends in Maui. This baby was no doubt given to us by God, because we were using like three birth control methods to make sure it wouldn't accidently happen. But it did... So, we're still figuring out what this all means and what life will look like with a little baby ...we'll keep you posted! Check back often for updates on Gary Jr ;) Play the ultrasound video below...

GOOD TO GO!

2008-03-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Alright folks, I finally have everything officially ready to go for my biz (well at least in my head). I "legitimately" launched my design and photo biz back in Jan and things are a-rocking! 2007 taxes are good to go (one of my arms and a leg will be mailed to the feds on April 15th:), my 2008 bookkeeping will be overly organized, and I have all of my websites in working order. If you go to www.garyachristenson.com you will see that I basically have 3 websites...to separate everything out. I have one for Graphic Design, the middle is a Blog (for updates on life and work), and lastly I have a new Photography site that's strictly devoted to my photo biz.

Let us pause for a second and take a look at my life right now.

Here's the quick rundown:

1) Married for 19 months, 2) work part-time at antioch as their Creative Arts Director, 3) run my own businesses (Graphic Design & Photography) in a different office across town, 4) helping launch a non-profit organization 5) just started a business venture with some friends - forming a Media Group - website is still under construction (it's a one stop shop for all things media (audio, video, web, photo, graphics, production...)) Sometimes I hate being an entrepreneur! And I still find time to have fun and travel! What a life...at least it's fulfilling :) Even if my bank account doesn't show so... Life is good my friends!

(re) Web

2008-03-14T12:34:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to release the latest design I've been working on for the new and improved antioch website. Should be up in a few weeks! In January antioch outgrew it's old venue and moved to a larger venue for Sunday mornings (Summit), so before the big move I completely rebranded antioch. It was a lot of work recreating everything for their new look (logos, documents, print collateral, signage, banners...). But it's worth it! Everything looks fresh & clean, and it all has a unifying look and feel! This webpage is the final blow to their rebranding. I always tell my clients how important "consistent points of contact" are in their business and sometimes they don't really understand. Thankfully, antioch is all about consistency in how they look, operate, and communicate.

Visit: GaryAChristenson.com

Art & Community

2008-03-14T12:04:00.001-07:00

I feel very fortunate to be apart of a community and church that really values artists and the work they do. Antioch values artists so much that they have TWO people on staff to drive the arts ministry...and the crazy things is that the church-plant is only a year and a half old. Some exciting projects and art shows are coming up that I can't wait to be apart of! The project I'm most excited about is the ART BOOK (yet to be named) that will be published this July featuring talented artists from the community (photography, visual art, written word, illustrations...etc).

Maui Recap

2008-03-02T14:47:00.001-08:00

Well...our time in Maui has come to and end :( We've decided that we'll return to the islands sooner than later. Maybe next fall or so. We really did have the best of times revisiting our old stomping grounds! This is goodbye...for now... Alo-freeking-ha! We'll catch you all back in Bend!

Whaaaaale!

2008-02-29T21:31:00.001-08:00

David Hessemer took Court & I out on his boat this morning to get up close and personal with a bunch of whales! Whale season is in its prime right now. It's estimated that there are 2,000+ whales that come to the inter island channel of Maui. The calm water in between all the small islands surrounding Maui make for a perfect place to give birth to their little babies (which are the size of a VW van when born)! So the Humpback Whales travel from Alaska and gather down here in Hawaii from Dec to May-ish. It's quite amazing! They are an interesting animal, and there still is a lot of "unknowns" about the Whales life. What an experience to be so close to such a huge and remarkable creature! Feb is by far the BEST TIME TO VISIT the islands: 1) good surf 2) whales everywhere 3) it's not too hot 4) cheap airfare 5) great friends are all here!!! LOVE IT!