H2Meyer Photography » business

Pet Portraits on display at NW Veterinary Specialists Animal Hospital

Hanmi — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:12:46 +0000

click the image to see more photos

Here’s a quick update on February’s pet portrait project. I finally got a chance to visit NWVS yesterday and was honestly blown away. They had 53 of the images I shot enlarged – many of them 24″x 36″ – and mounted on hardboard and they are now hanging all over the hospital. In fact, when I walked in the door yesterday, the always friendly reception team shouted, “There she is! Welcome to your gallery!”

It is actually pretty rare that once the images/prints have made it into clients’ hands that I get to see what becomes of them. And even when I do get to see a print hanging on the wall, it’s typically only one or two images. So to walk into a public space and be greeted by more than a dozen larger than life images I made was rather arresting. Although I have had a couple of solo shows, each was only 10-12 pieces and because I did all of the selection, matting and framing, I was kind of “over it” by the time the show opened. In NWVS’s case, they did the selection (though they did ask me for input and for my favorite images, which was lovely), ordered the enlargements from a local lab and then had the mounting done at another local shop. It has been nearly 2 months since I’ve worked with the images themselves, so there was enough separation that I actually had to remind myself that I had shot them!

My favorite part about the display itself is that they made a point of hanging the staffers’ pet’s portrait in the area where that person worked most often… The receptionists’ pets are right behind the reception desk. The doctors’ images are right outside and/or inside their exam rooms, etc. What a wonderful thing to do for a wonderful staff!

If you have a pet emergency, need a vet, need a veterinary specialist, or just want to see the images in person, get yourself to NWVS Animal Hospital, 16756 Southeast 82nd Drive, Clackamas, OR 97015 (503) 656-3999. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will take great care of you and your beloved pet.

For the love of DOG

Hanmi — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:45:47 +0000

I am close to wrapping up what has got to be the most fun photo project to date. Shooting 33 pets in two days puts it high in the ambition list as well! A project for Northwest Veterinary Specialists, we set up and shot 11 cats and 22 dogs, all owned by hospital staff for their image library and lobby artwork. To see the highlights, check out the Dog Galleries and the Cat Galleries. Many thanks to Crystal for the assist and all the devoted pet lovers who helped make the shoots happen and go smoothly!

REACH CDC Donor Lunch Video Presentation

Hanmi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:28:57 +0000

As previously promised, here is the presentation for REACH Community Development that we recently finished and showed to packed house last week at the Governor Hotel in downtown Portland. Enjoy!

REACH CDC – A Healthy Community Begins At Home from H2Meyer Photography on Vimeo.

REACH Community Development Donor Luncheon

Hanmi — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:03:32 +0000

When I left corporate life in June 2007, I made a proclamation of sorts. In my farewell letter I wrote, “… it’s time to simplify and live my values. Focus on having and sharing experiences rather than making money and buying stuff. Biking instead of driving. Taking pictures. Gardening. Raising chickens. Playing with the dogs. Writing letters. Learning new tricks. Climbing rocks. Volunteering. And yes, smelling the roses.”

By November of that year I had covered the list and then some, with the exception of volunteering… Somehow I hadn’t found (made) the time, and wasn’t quite sure who I wanted to work with. That all changed one night while throwing darts at a pub with my husband. A few folks were playing darts next to us, and before long we were getting schooled by a couple of AmeriCorps Vista volunteers. Turns out one of them had just moved to Portland to work with REACH Community Development. REACH is Portland non-profit that provides affordable housing, free home repairs for senior and disabled homeowners, and programs to help residents “stay in their housing, raise their standard of living and connect to local resources and opportunities.”

Before long he learned I was a photographer, and I kid you not, his next words were, “Ever do any pro bono work?” At this point in my young career as a photographer, it seemed ALL I did was pro bono work. But my own words echoed in my head, reminding me of my values and I agreed to shoot an upcoming Community Builders event.

I have been volunteering for REACH ever since, shooting various events and work days throughout the year and sponsoring the 2008 and 2009 Paint & Repair-a-thon. This year, however, marked my first commissioned projects for REACH, and will culminate next week at the REACH Annual Donor Lunch. Each year they do a slideshow or video presentation, and I am honored they asked me to work on the piece this year. Even more exciting for me is the fact that my husband composed and performed a beautiful piano piece for the soundtrack.

As I don’t want to take away from next week’s event, I will wait to post the presentation. In the mean time, do check out REACH’s website, and if you’re so inclined, sign up as a volunteer or donor. It will be time/money well spent. The best part by far, though, is meeting the people who’s lives are directly impacted by REACH’s programs. The stories are inspiring, moving, and some are nothing short of astounding.

Fresh Kudos

Hanmi — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:00:58 +0000

I am so excited about my latest client testimonial that I want to shout it from the rooftop. Of course, the neighborhood crows could care less, so I’ll post it here, instead.

Craig Nielsen, owner of Shasta Trout sent this along this morning. We did a complete redesign of their website porting everything to WordPress, adding a lot of new content, and got Craig up and blogging with a couple hours of training. We also took a few photos to add to the site (one of which was picked up by Klean Kanteen for their new site thanks to our friends at Stickeen), and have been working on several smaller promo design projects as needed.

“It is impossible to recommend H2Meyer more highly. Their photography, graphic design work and website development have exceeded all our expectations. Not only were the final products exceptional but the process at each step was a joy, fostering the creativity of all those involved. H2Meyer is an exceptional value, there may be no better designer at any price!”

Wow! Now that’s a testimonial!! Thanks again, Craig. We love working with you!

If you’re looking for the finest Fly Fishing Guide Service on the West Coast, check out Shasta Trout!

Website design, BBQ Sauce, & a Wedding

Hanmi — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:45:06 +0000

I have been terribly remiss in keeping this up to date. The biggest news is that I have been very busy putting together websites for clients. All sites are built in WordPress with the intent that the client will be able to update and handle routine maintenance tasks on their own. For major upgrades or troubleshooting, I am always available.

Clients include:

I have two more in the hopper – a new site for Dr. Phillip Snell, and one for my own latest venture, The Sauceress. Yes, you read that right… I shoot photos, build websites, and now sell BBQ Sauce!

Going big!

Hanmi — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:50:26 +0000

I’m super excited to announce that our in-house printing capacity in terms of size and quality is about to go WAY up. Our trusty Epson Stylus Photo 2200 will be replaced with an Epson Stylus Pro 3800. We will now be able to print on media up to 17″x22″, though I’ve read it is possible to go even longer… We will also be able to print amazing B&W and improved gradients and skin tones.

Better still, the large capacity pressurized ink system will reduce the number of ink cartridges we have to recycle annually. The 3800 has an 80ml cartridge while the 2200 has an 18ml cartridge.

If you’re looking for a great, well cared for large format photo printer, get in touch. The 2200 will be up for sale soon. Portland Metro area sales only. If you’d like to see sample prints from the 2200, you can find an exhibit of my work at the Morning Star Cafe – 510 SW 3rd Avenue, suite 100 – in downtown Portland.

Sunset Valley’s last hoorah

Hanmi — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:59:21 +0000

photo by Hanmi Hubbard Meyer

I found out via Facebook that I have a photo published in this week’s Portland Mercury…. (Ahh… takes me back to my days of being published in the local weekly music rags.) Sadly there is no photo credit. The photo, of Sunset Valley frontman Herman Jolly, was taken ages ago with a Canon S40 point and shoot. I was at the height of my “let’s push the bounds of what this little camera can do” experimentation. That was also about this time I decided I really needed to step up to a DSLR. While I was becoming frustrated with shutter lag and the very limited control, I think the time I spent really digging into and exhausting all the features available BEFORE upgrading, really made me appreciate the DSLR when I finally switched.

This discovery brings up many topics in my mind. Chief among them: ensuring proper credit and protecting images that are shared online. Upon searching for images of Sunset Valley, I found several blogs using a version of the photo above or one of several other shows I shot and naively uploaded to my old Mac.com page. The reality is I was not a pro shooter at the time, and didn’t really expect to become one again. Of course, now that I am, I regret that I have missed out on several opportunities for some free advertising. And moreover, having now had my eyes opened, what will I change going forward? I already watermark everything and take full advantage of exif data… I know there are a lot of opinions out there, and countless products designed to protect copyright holders. But how helpful are they, really?

On a side note, I am VERY excited to see Sunset Valley tonight. As the article mentions they had a prior “last” show, which happened to be my wedding day, so I missed it. Now I just need to decide what to toss into the camera bag…

Retouching: how much is enough?

Hanmi — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:34:39 +0000

Here are some examples of the levels of retouching that can be done for portaits. The standard, or “normal” amount of retouching is shown in example #2, and is typically included in my portrait, senior, and wedding packages. The “glamour” level shown in example #1, is much more labor intensive and must be done on a per image basis, can be added, but as a typical photo adds anywhere from 10-30 minutes per shot to my processing time, I must charge for the additional effort. The good news is people rarely want this level of retouching on more than a few photos, in which case costs can be kept at a reasonable level. Even more extreme corrections can be done, and are priced by time required to get the desired result.

The lovely couple pictured here are my dear parents. We had some fun taking a few informal portraits over the holidays.

example #1: "Glamour" retouching - roll your mouse over the image to see the original shot

example #2: "Normal" retouching - roll your mouse over the image to see the original shot

Up, up, and away!

Hanmi — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:23:00 +0000

Montague Balloon Fair, California

As usual, time is a flying… The bad news last month was that PhotoShelter Collection was shutting down. The good news this month is that they have finally put some energy into the PhotoShelter Archive. It’s almost good enough that I am contemplating moving the bulk of my site there. It’s kind of half done at the moment. I put a “recent work” slideshow on my homepage, and added a link to “galleries” which takes you to my newly restyled PhotoShelter Archive where lots more work is available. Now it’s time to start uploading more content!