Events: Sharon Brabenac & Bonnie Gilchrist

These two ladies have joined their many years of experience in the corporate and non profit event work to start their own company here in Portland:

Brabenac & Gilchrist Events

I had the pleasure of photographing them recently in Lake Oswego. After working with them during their photoshoot I would feel confident recommending them for any of your event needs. They really know their expertise and have the ability to accomplish amazing feats of coordination and promotion.

Congratulations on your new website launched this week!

Wedding: Serena Davidson Photography wins 2007 Bravo! Wedding Guide Cover!!!

Super exciting news! I just got word from Terri Baranick at Bravo! Publications that one of my wedding images has been selected from thousands of entries to be printed on the cover of next years book! YAY! Can't wait to see it when they are released this winter.

Special thanks to all of these wonderful people who set the stage for a beautiful day and a winning image:


Hair & Makeup by Katherine Ross Style
katherinerossstyle.com

Event Coordinator Jennie Mosley with Swank Affair
swankaffair.com

Vera Wang Wedding Gown from Divine Designs
www.divinedesignsbridal.com

Scarlet Chamberlin Jewelry
sforscarlet.com

Columbia Gorge Hotel
www.columbiagorgehotel.com

Idea: picture is worth a thousand words

A picture, I'd say it's true, is worth a thousand words. But, today I'm in search of just a few of those words that might describe my imagery precisely and simply. I'm looking for the right words to use when I am talking about my work to someone who has never seen it before.

Please hit the comment button below and tell me the first three or three thousand words that come to you when you see these images.

Thank you! - Serena

NW Style: Cacao - drink chocolate

Yesterday was undeniably autumn. My favorite time of year. Winter in Portland can be really great if you are into drizzling skies, grey clouds and Goth music. Spring is a resurrection with sweet and delicate blooms bursting from the ground. Summer is sunny, warm, lovely and you can eat strawberries warm from the sun - absolutely divine. Autumn brings out the deep crimson leaves, curling up near the fireplace, enjoying fresh apple cider, more time and space for reading a delicious novel or three, and now... I have begun a new ritual - drinking chocolate on chilly days at Cacao.

The first time I had this incredibly rich cup of nirvana was while traveling in Barcelona years ago. Then I happened upon it again this spring at the Choclatada dinner hosted by chef Gregory Lyons in the Seattle chocolate factory of Theo Chocolates. I must say that knowing I can simply head downtown and order up a cup makes me heady.

Although this is definitely my favorite thing about Cacao there is serious competition for my attention. The proprietor has turned me onto a dark caramel chocolate topped with fleur de sel. Combining one of the most precious salts in the world with dark chocolate and caramel - it's rare for me to find a new chocolate experience and this one is brilliant.

Conveniently located within about three blocks of Powells bookstore, just below the delicious sushi bar Masu. Being a Chocolate fiend I'm sure this will be the demise of me. This place even had Chocolate Cosmos flowers on their cafe tables! It's the small things in life really.

Cacao
414 SW 13th Ave
Portland, OR 97205

Store hours:
Tuesday - Saturday 11 to 7:30
Sunday 12 to 5
Monday Closed

Cacao Website

Lifestyle Portaiture: Baby Lavi

Beautiful happy baby Lavi held up in the air by
his dad Aaron and looking over at his mom Eden

Marketing Opportunity: Food + Shelter Festival

Hello all of my fellow entrepreneurs and professionals of all styles-

Here is a sophisticated, creative, and intelligent audience that you can gain speedy visibility in front of. There is a great opportunity for a handful of businesses to sponsor the Food + Shelter Festival happening next month. They have some great marketing opportunities in print and web for each company that is interested in donating toward sponsorship of their event.

I'm interested in donating a significant percentage of their documentary costs and would like to talk with companies that would like to match my donation.

For more information please contact Serena Davidson via email: serena@serenadavidson.com official festival website: http://foodandshelter.blogspot.com/

State of the Arts: Serena Davidson New Collaborative Works

What: Art Opening
When: 6pm - 9pm Thursday, October 12
Where: Black Wagon 3964 N Mississippi Av.
Who: Serena Davidson, Mykle Hansen, Marc Willwerth
Why: Meet great people, see something new, experience Mississippi


The work being unveiled for this show is a custom installation created through the collaboration of these three artists. Please join us for light refreshments during the Mississippi Social this coming 2nd Thursday art walk.

State of the Arts: TV on the Radio

The Wonder Ballroom

Kyp Malone / David Andrew Sitek
Tunde Adebimpe
Jaleel Bunton

Chioke (documentary film maker)

On Sunday I met some of the members of the Brooklyn based avant-garde indie-rock band TV on the Radio during The Art Affair @ The Jupiter Hotel. We hit it off, turned out to have some friends in common and they invited me to the show they played here Monday night with permission to shoot. It felt like opportunity knocking and I've opened the door whole hearted. They had time to hang out with friends after the show at the Doug Fir - so I got to photograph a bit during the down time too.

Mainly I got to know Tunde, Kyp and their friend Chioke. These are the funniest guys I've had the pleasure of meeting in a long time. Not knowing their music before meeting them was very good. It allowed me to just hang out with them as a friend and fellow artist instead of getting hung up on their creative brilliance. They were completely approachable, humble and upbeat. Refreshing.

The show sold out, the band and the crowd fed each other some great energy and the whole thing was being filmed for a documentary. The energy was strong and full like the Death Cab for Cutie show I went to 8 years ago in Seattle. Something that can consume you mind body and soul if you let it. Keeping track of my gear kept me from letting loose completely - but I could still feel it all around me. To get good shots I was up at the front of the stage and therefore was accidentally in what became a mosh pit by the second song. I think last night was the first time I've seen crowd surfing in 10 years or more. (Can somebody tell me when moshing came back in style or am I just out of it?) It felt like being a teenager again. Except this time I was a bit less constrained and I had the strange privilege of saying I was with the band - which just makes me laugh. Not that I haven't been with the band before - for some reason it just felt glamorous partly because I didn't even know their music or them two days ago, it's a sold out show, and I've got a gigantic lens on my camera making me look the part. It was nice to feel a bit of unexpected VIP privilege.

The access you can get as a photographer is one of the most interesting aspects of my work. Days like these reinvigorate the thrill and excitement I've always gotten from being an observer invited to document the inner workings of places and people I would never have ventured without my camera in hand. From on court positioning at NBA and NFL games, invitations to photograph inside the studio of an artist, backstage at live performances, and the privilege of documenting private sacred ceremonies around the country - I love capturing people in their element.

Que le vaya bien