Erick Claytor Photography

LOVE... NEVADA CITY STYLE!

2011-10-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of this month I had the great honor of capturing a chapter in the love story of Robert & Miranda. As a Portland area wedding photographer, it was a nice change of pace to fly to Northern California to capture their moments. I had such a great time... I got lost a couple of times driving around that beautiful area of N. Calif and had a scare when my cell phone almost died from using the GPS too much... I did not have a car charger with me, however, I bought one pretty fast!

Robert & Miranda are such a beautiful and sweet young couple... I was shocked when I found out what Robert does for a living... lets just say I WOULD NEVER attempt what he does... check out this link for a breif look into his life:

http://youtu.be/Kj7nDfOrmVU

Here are a couple of images from their wedding:

SENIOR SEASON

2011-08-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

Senior season is upon us... well, it is for the seniors, parents and photographers. This last week I had the great honor to photograph four amazing seniors... each one had personalities that shined as bright as the sun... and I truly appreciate their willingness in allowing me to capture those fleeting moments of their senior year.

It was wonderful getting to know each one and learning about their aspirations in life... each one is truly remarkable in their own way. So, I would to thank: Sam, Stephanie, Kelsey & Rich... you are all incredible young men and women and I wish you the very best in your future!

Here is some highlights from those senior sessions.

SAM SENIOR SESSION 2012

2011-08-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

This is Sam... he a very bright young man with a great direction for his life. I had a great time capturing these moments for his senior portrait.

Moley, Moley, Moley!

2011-08-15T17:41:00.001-07:00

Today my little girl had her first surgery to have a mole removed from her arm. About a month ago my wife took both our children in to see a dermatologist to have their moles examined... we decided to do this because 3 years ago I was diagnosed with melanoma in an existing mole and my dad had melanoma on his face a year prior to that. So, knowing that there is a family history of melanoma and that melanoma is the deadliest of all skin cancers, taking a life every hour... we thought that it would be prudent to have our children checked.

During Aspen's examination the doctor thought that the lesion on her arm was suspicious and needed to be examined by a dermapathologist. The result of her biopsy came back as a "Spitz Nevus" which is a rare mole that can arise in children. The reason they wanted to have it removed by excision -- essentially surgically removing the mole and the surrounding skin -- was two fold: (1) was to prevent it from turning into melanoma in the future since this kind of mole has a higher risk of becoming cancer and (2) This kind of mole's cells look very similar to melanoma cells, so removing it had to be done to rule it out. Needless to say, we are thankful to God that it was found early and that Aspen won't have to worry about that mole in the future!

As with any parent, you would trade places with your child in a heart beat if you could... and I wish I could have, but God saw her through this whole thing with no complication! THANK YOU LORD! As a photographer my camera is never far from me, so documenting Aspen's first surgery was a must. The following images tell the story. By the way, she is home and doing very well with no problems and no pain! Again, THANK YOU LORD!

Aspen just received her ID bracelet... I think she liked the color.

Judy, Aspen's Sunday school teacher gave her this little lamb that she really loves... she even took it into surgery with her. Thanks, Judy!

The culprit!

Aspen pointing at her soon-to-be boo boo.

Aspen watching some cartoons before her "Happy Juice" comes.

The HAPPY JUICE has arrived!

All right, now, we can officially say that the lights are on but nobody is home!

Getting our questions answered by one of the doctors. Aspen looking pretty... well, you know, out there.

Off to surgery.

Back from surgery... needing some mommy time!

Aspen just realized that she has an IV in her hand.

The nurse was so nice and ask if I would like to be in a picture. As a photographer I am rarely on the other side of the lens.

Aspen getting her IV removed.

Aspen getting a really cool leopard print band aid before she is released. Mommy real likes the band aid!

We would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for little Aspen... it really meant so much to us! God bless you!

TILL WE MEET AGAIN

2010-09-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

It has been some time since I last updated my blog... I have been pretty busy with capturing beautiful moments at weddings and those final entries in some high school yearbooks... senior pictures... as well as some family pictures here and there.

However, the reason I have not posted in a while is more of a personal reason. My blog is essentially a way for people and potential clients to connect to me, the photographer... to get to know me before hand and to see what makes me tick, so-to-speak. In keeping with such a blog requires me to be open about myself... I have nothing to hide... you can read me like book. But in turning the pages of my book the most recent chapter is not a happy one... actually it is very sad for me and my family.

Let me explain. This year has been the WORST year of my life... to be blunt! Though I have experienced the joy of my son's 3rd birthday and my daughter's 1st.. and my daughter's first steps... I have also experienced DEEP LOSS.

The beginning of this year my mom ended up in the ICU at Mt. Hood due to a serious complication from a pretty "standard" out-patient procedure. Forty years ago my mom had her gall blader removed, but this year she found out that there was a gall stone that was missed the first time, which was causing her some serious pain. Her complication came when the surgeon accidently put a surgical instrument into her pancreatic duct, which caused the on set of pancreatitis. My mom ended up in the ICU at Mt. Hood due to this serious complication and she spent 4 months there... enduring a major surgery and eventually being put on a ventilator via a tracheostomy. My mom was in and out of consciousness for a while, but she did come around... she was able to mouth words... she could no longer speak. She was eventually moved to a long term care hospital and what I saw as a positive move... was not. Mom started having more complications and was moved to the ICU at Good Sam in Portland. When my wife, dad and I went to visit her, the doctors told us that she would not survive this illness. My mom did not have an Advance Directive -- this is a statement of your wishes if you were not able to make a decision on your medical care. So, all the decisions on her care fell to me, my wife and my dad.

My mom was in extreme pain every single minute... and she experienced the feeling of not being able to breath... it is what the doctors call, "air hunger." They could not move my mom due to all the sores that she ended up having from being confined to a bed for the better part of 5 months. Seeing her like this was terrible... and that is an understatement! The doctors wanted to have a private meeting with myself, my wife and my dad to discuss her treatment. They told us that they could prolong her life, but she would be in pain every day and her quality of life would not be there. So, the MOST DIFFICULT decision I have ever had to make was to let my mom go... and allow her to meet her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Well, on Sunday May 30th at 5:50AM that is what she did. It was so hard, but God gave me a beautiful sense of peace about it and I am very thankful to him for that. You know, I still remember the last time a talked with her and hugged her and told her I loved her... I am glad to have that memory!

At this moment you might be saying, "that is so sad... I feel so bad for you" ... well, the story is not over yet. Please indulge me a few more paragraphs.

With the passing of my mom, my wife and children and I spent some quality time with my dad. My mom died just a little over a week shy of parents' 50 wedding anniversary. That was very hard for my dad. But we came together as a family and supported each other.

It wasn't until about 3 weeks after my mom died that my dad started to experience some flu-like symptoms and some pain in his lower back. With the urging of my wife my dad finally agreed to go to the doctor -- what is interesting, in my 40 years of life I can count on one hand how many times my dad has been to the doctor... the man just never got sick! Well, they thought that he might have a kidney stone so a CT scan was done... the results... no kidney stones, but CANCER! What a SHOCK to say the least! Here my mom has not even been gone a month and now my dad has cancer.

Alright... my dad has cancer, what is the next step? We ended up taking him to an oncologist and radiologist and the news was not good. My dad's cancer was found to be a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer and it was stage 4 and terminal! His cancer had alread spread to his spind and the doctors told us that there was really nothing they could do... they told us that he had at the most 6 months to a year left, that is, if he under went treatment. The treatment would not be done to help cure the cancer, but to prolong life.

My wife and I were in a state of disbelief... we could not believe what was transpiring before our eyes! We took care of my dad until his care became too great and needed 24 hour care... we found a wonderful place for him that provided for all his needs... well, a week after we moved him and six weeks since his cancer diagnosis and a day shy of 3 months since my mom died, my dad embraced Jesus and then my mom!

You know, I never thought that I would lose both parents within 3 months of each other... it is something you just never think about. But here is my reality... both my parents are gone and my children will not have that wonderful opportunity to grow and know them both. How sad!

My wife and I are both dedicated Christians and have a very strong faith in Jesus Christ... I know that we will see my mom and dad again, and God has been so gracious to us in seeing us through this deep dark valley we have been walking through this year... we are so thankful for His peace and comfort! I am also so thankful to God for my wife... she has been my rock and has been there every minute of every day for me as I struggled with a mass of feelings about all that I was experiencing... I love you sweetheart and I am so thankful for you! I am also very thankful for my extended family and friends that have been so supportive during this time... I cannot express my gratitude!

Well, I do apologize for my small novel... but it was therapeutic for me to write this and express to all of you all that I have been going through. So, thank you for reading and I am sorry if it was a total downer... but blogs do have those moments.

A LONGING FOR FALL

2010-08-05T17:20:00.001-07:00

**CLICK THE IMAGE TO SEE LARGER**

Fall in Oregon is absolutely beautiful... especially along the Columbia River Gorge. The Gorge boasts over 70 waterfalls, of which I have not completely explored just yet. The most popular waterfall in Oregon is Multnomah Falls located about 20 miles east of Troutdale right off I-84. This 620 foot waterfall is breath-taking and will leave you in awe of its shear beauty! Multnomah Falls can be very difficult to photograph considering that around 2 million people a year visit it and take in all that it has to offer. So, I have found that the best times to visit is mid week when it is raining... this is when I have found it to be least visited.

I captured this scene back in the fall of 2009 during a nice heavy rain... it was somewhat challenging to photograph, but I found a nice composition that framed the falls as well as kept me a little dry. I have always been an admirer of the work of Thomas Kinkade, the painter of light. I really like the simplistic nature and depth of his art... his use of colors really make his art speak. I have tried to emulate his style somewhat with this image... though it does not take in all of the aspects of his work and style, it does have a little hint of Kinkade... it takes on more of the feel of a painting than a photograph. I tip my hat to TK for the inspiration.

THE EVER GROWING WEED

2010-07-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

In just over a week from now, my little girl will turn the big number ONE...uno, واح, Une, Unul, אחד, 한, Ένας, Ein, Jeden, Ett ... no matter what language you say it in the fact is the apple of my eye will be 365 days old... 525,600 minutes will have passed by in what seems like a blink of an eye...SLOW DOWN!

I captured the above picture about 7 months ago... and just looking at her today with her beautiful toothy smile not only melts my heart, but brings the realization that time is not slowing down... I am not getting any younger and she is growing before my eyes. We are having a beautiful birthday party for her at Blue Lake Park and I am really looking forward to seeing her tear into her lady bug -- that is the theme -- cupcake! I will be posting the images that day... so come back and see the joy that I will be capturing of my little angel on her big day.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

2010-07-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well, my July issue of Cake Central Magazine finally arrived... I have been waiting for it for a long time now, but all is good... it is here and in my hands. No, I have not taken up baking, nor do I enjoy reading the latest methods on how not to burn your cake... this was the first time that I have had a picture of mine published in a nationwide magazine. A friend of mine, Melissa, who owns a wonderful bakery (Sweet Cakes by Melissa) here in Gresham, was asked by the magazine to submit a tattooed themed cake for possible publication. Melissa called me and asked if I would do a photo shoot for her on the above cake? She did not have to ask me twice, I mean, come on... who would not want to have their image in a nationally distributed magazine... plus I was able to gain a few extra pounds on her delectable treats.

At any rate, her cake was picked and was given a nice full page position... and what put me on cloud nine was that I received photo credit... see insert. Well, now that I am a big shot photographer and other publications are just pounding on my door for some more of my images to publish, I would like to say that I have shirts and posters of the above image for sale on my website and for a few extra bucks I will autograph them for you.

By the way, for those of you who cannot see through my poor, dry humor and long winded sentence... I was kidding about the shirts and posters for sale... come on, I am not that full of myself. However, the autographs are still available! ;-)