Misha Ashton Photography

MOVING

2010-01-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

I am moving my blog to a new address. The over all look of it is still in the works, but from now on i will be doing all of my posts over there. I just felt that I couldn't show my photos as large as I would like them to be on screen on this blog. I hope to see you all there...
www.mishaashton.tumblr.com
you can also access it from my website www.mishaashton.com by clicking on BLOG

xoxo

My Parents Backyard...

2010-01-05T17:07:00.000-08:00

TMax 100 Black and White, Summer 1997

Posts are going to start going crazy around here. I have been busy scanning my little heart out. I started at 7.30 this morning and have already done 3 rolls today alone. That makes 11 scanned and a few thousand left to go. This one is only from roll 4 or 5 though. I hope you guys are enjoying my flash back to my early years of photography. Its a long long road to catch up with todays rolls...

More Yearbook Camp 1997

2010-01-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

Apparently I liked taking bike photos even when I was 16. I took a photo of this one because it had a purple octopus on its back rim. All of these were taken with TMax 100 Black and White at OSU summer 1997.

A few different angles of a statue I liked on campus.

Other students at camp developing their rolls in the dark room.

Yearbook Camp . Summer 1997

2010-01-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

So yes, I was a super dork in high school. I was head photographer of our yearbook my Junior and Senior year and the summer before Senior year our yearbook advisor sent me and the editor, Stephanie Hughes to a week long Yearbook Camp at OSU. It was a little more fun than it sounds, mainly for me because I didn't have to sit through all of the lectures and workshops and such, the rest of the photographers from other schools got to wander and round and take photos and play in the darkroom most of the days. We also had an assignment before showing up to camp, to take a roll of film so we had something to develop on our first day. I took a few photos in our backyard and then went for a hike in the woods behind my parents house in Camas with my dog Maggie. Since I only had TMax 100 film and the trail was quite dark with over growth, most of the photos didn't turn out in the slightest, but this one was always my favorite of the group [even though its blurry].

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has been enjoying the winter holidays. Here in Portland we actually got a few fantastic hours of snow and I am keeping my fingers crossed for a few more days worth. It may be cold, but it has been quite a lovely winter so far. I am hoping for a good 2010, normally I don't participate in the whole New Years Resolution thing, but seeing as I am turning 30 this year, I have all kinds of plans for life and for my business.

..Business..
1. TAKE MORE FILM PHOTOS
2. Organize, sleeve, arrange by date from oldest to newest and scan in all of my negatives.
3. New Website
4. Have a logo designed
5. Put together a Art Gallery portfolio and resume.
6. Put together a Wholesale catalog
7. Apply for all Renegade Art Fairs, One of a Kind shows and the POOL trade show in Vegas
8. Start booking Weddings and Portraits in other big cities
9. TAKE MORE FILM PHOTOS

..Personal..
1. TAKE MORE FILM PHOTOS
2. Ride my bike more
3. Go on more hikes
4. ROAD TRIP
5. Hang out with friends more
6. Take a day off of working at least once a week.
7. Eat more veggies
8. TAKE MORE FILM PHOTOS

................................................................

I am also going to make it a point to do more blog posts and be consistent about it. One of my weekly posts this year is going to be sharing my archiving progress with you. I have already gone through and sleeved and organized by date all of my negatives, which by the way is a lot and took for freakin ever! The first ones I want to share are my VERY FIRST roll of film ever taken back when I was a Sophomore in High School, Spring of 1996 and taken with TMax 100 Black and White, with my Minolta X570 manual camera.

Don't judge me to harshly, keep in mind I was only 15 and had no clue how to use my camera yet. My parents have the first image framed and signed on their mantel, it was the first image I ever printed in the dark room. Maybe it will be worth something some day! ; )

hmmmmm....

2009-12-14T15:04:00.001-08:00

Well, not quite what I expected. Ive been trying out some new film [new to me], I think I might just have to stick with my normal film. I'm not all that big on the reds I get from Cross-processing it. But it works with graveyard photos. You can check out the rest of them on my flickr page. I took these the day after Halloween at the Lone Fir Cemetery in SE Portland.

On to the next...

2009-12-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

I've got just a little bit of oil left in the candle...

Crafty Wonderland was GREAT yesterday, but now its on to the next. This Thursday in Portland, a Holiday Art and Gift Sale at JAM on Hawthorne from 5-9pm. Then it is off to San Francisco for the weekend for the 1st annual Renegade Holiday Event. I wish I could stay longer than just for the show, but its my last event and last over all work of the entire year and even though I am very excited for the show, I will be very happy to have about a week and a half off of work.

I am really hoping for some snow, but not until December 24th. I need to be able to finish up my art events and all of my out of town friends need to be able to fly home to Portland so that if anyone gets stranded, its here with me! : )

Crafty Wonderland

2009-12-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

I can't wait for this Sunday, Crafty Wonderland will be a blast. I hope to see you all there and don't forget that the first 200 people through the door get a goodies bag full of fantastic things.

CRAFTY WONDERLAND - Super Colossal Holiday Sale

December 13th, 2009 . 11am-7pm

Oregon Convention Center

777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, Hall D

Senior Portraits in the Pearl

2009-12-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

Unique Los Angeles

2009-12-09T09:03:00.001-08:00

I had such a blast in LA this past weekend. We got to hang out with pretty much all of our friends that used to live in Portland, ate a fantastic meal at Casa Vega, and drank many delicious drinks at the Tonga Hut. Its always so good to see old friends. We also got to go out a few times with are fantastic friends Matt and Kandace, the two talented minds behind MNKR. Surprisingly enough, out of the 300+ vendors, we were placed only 3 booths down from one another.

There were so many wonderful vendors at Unique LA and to my surprise, I managed to get out the door only buying a few things. Had it not been so busy and had more time to walk around, I'm sure I would have spent every last penny I made. As usual, I got myself a few shirts from MNKR, as well as my absolute favorite print from Brigetet B.

It was a bit sad to leave the sunny and mid 60 degree weather, to come home to below freezing weather of Portland, but at least it is sunny and even in the dead of winter, just as beautiful as always. Its back to work time though, I hung a show yesterday at..... mailed off some special orders I got down in LA, finished up the last bit of editing from all of my portrait shoots before I left town, cleaned my house, weatherized the apartment windows, played with my cat [who is still a bit mad at me leaving him for so long], went grocery shopping, put all of my art left over from the show back in the studio and watched Across the Universe. Today I have one more show to hang and then I am taking the rest of the day off, hopefully to take some pictures, but then to watch a movie at the Laurelhurst and drink beers. Thursday I am back at it with portraits and getting ready for this Sundays, CRAFTY WONDERLAND!!!!!

Hope everyone else is loving life and enjoying the lovely sunshine!

LA LA LAND!

2009-12-02T17:43:00.001-08:00

Off to LA for the weekend and super excited about the show. For all of you LA folk, I will be in town for the 2nd Annual Unique LA, Holiday Edition. I still have a few free passes left, so shoot me an email if you want some [misha@mishaashton.com].

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Family Photos in Hood River

2009-11-30T08:42:00.000-08:00

Baby Stella

2009-11-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

Seriously, how freakin cute is this baby girl. I absolutely LOVED taking photos of her.

SALE SALE SALE!!!

2009-11-27T08:42:00.000-08:00

From now through December 31st, I would like to offer all of you, my lovely readers a 25% discount in my online shop. Just type in the code, lovely25 upon checkout to receive your discount. You can also find me this weekend at...

Secret Society Holiday Sale . 5th Annual

Sunday, November 29th, 2009 . 11am - 5pm

Secret Society Ballroom

112 NE Russell St. Portland, OR

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Happy Holidays!

Chicago Quad Cam

2009-11-23T12:20:00.001-08:00

I was looking over my blog and thought I would change things up a bit for today. I have been shooting so many portraits and thought you guys might like a break from people for a bit of art. These are photos I took in Chicago in September with my Quad Cam.

The Bean

Buckingham Fountain

Navy Pier

The Sandgren Family in the Pearl District

2009-11-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

Three Sisters

2009-11-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

Playing in the Leaves

2009-11-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

The Boyd Family at Laurelhurst Park

2009-11-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

Columbia Park in N Portland

2009-11-14T10:12:00.003-08:00

A Violin at Vino Paradiso

2009-11-14T10:12:00.001-08:00

Rainy Day at Laurelhurst Park

2009-11-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

Busy Season.

2009-11-09T16:00:00.001-08:00

It is officially started up again, the busy season. I dont know how I am going to do it, but lets hope I make it to the other side. Not only do I have 4 big art shows in the month of December, in 3 different cities, but I am also booked solid for portraits. I currently have booked, 18 photo sessions in the next three weeks alone. I get to photograph everything from beautiful new born babies, family holiday portraits, senior photos and the ones I am most looking forward to, boudoir photos. I will do my best to share with all of you as many of the photoshoots as I can.

Here are just a few of Baby Canton, 6 weeks old.

The whole family.

Look at how sweet his little feet are.

Lone Fir Graveyard

2009-10-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

Holga photos of Lone Fir Graveyard in SE Portland

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Holga photos of Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch with my friend Suzy

Monica and Aaron Wedding

2009-10-25T10:43:00.001-07:00

Samantha and Bryan Wedding

2009-10-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Tammy + Sean Wedding

2009-10-12T15:16:00.001-07:00

Im a bit behind on posting the summer weddings. These are a few of my favorites from Tammy and Sean's wedding on August 22nd 2009, at the Grand Lodge McMenamins.

Half Day

2009-10-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

My brain hurts! I am taking a half day!! Once I run all of my errands and finish my meetings, I am going to curl up on the couch and watch chick flicks and make dinner and have a few beers. I have been so busy and have a really busy weekend ahead of me. Tomorrow I get to shoot a wedding at the Kennedy School, Sunday is Crafty Wonderland at the Doug Fir, Monday I have a fashion shoot for Mink Boutique and Tuesday I have a meeting with Alice from Sofada Boutique.
Brain officially being turned off for about 20 hours!!

Here are a few photos I took last night at Portland Fashion Week, you can see my brief write up about it on my other blog, Portland Loves Local.

Found 'Em

2009-10-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy busy lately. Ive spent a lot of time lately working on my other project, Portland Loves Local, as well as getting lots of art ready for all of my holiday shows. I have also been building a BRAND SPANKIN NEW online store that I will let everyone know about when it is up and running officially!!!

From my last roll developed...I found some photos I had taken in San Francisco back in July. I really have to take more photos, I'm slacking big time!!! BLERG!!!

Well, off to the studio to paint some more woodblocks and inventory my prints!!!

Seattle Trip

2009-10-03T10:05:00.001-07:00

Im off to Seattle for the weekend with my friend Hayden of Toast Jewelry. We are both participating in Seattles, I Heart Rummage sale that goes on the first Sunday of every month. It's like Portlands Crafty Wonderland, but in Seattle. : ) We are also going to stop by and see a fellow Portland artist show, Elizabeth Soule [esoule] at Trophy Cupcakes. Should be a fun trip, I hope we have time for photo taking!

Here is a photo from my resent holga roll. Taken out the car window, driving through the gorge.

Art Shows

2009-09-29T19:15:00.001-07:00

I have been extremely busy lately, making art, hanging shows, booking weddings/portraits, making connections. Its hard to go from being only having enough work to constitute as part time to having more than 60 hours of work a week, plus trying to get ahead of the game for all of the upcoming holiday shows!

Here are just a few of my shows around town to check out!!

Jam on Hawthorne
[Holga Series]
September 18 - November 2
2239 SE Hawthorne Blvd . Portland, OR

Moment of Truth Tattoo
[Japan Series]
September 1 - October 27
3821 NE M L King Blvd . Portland, OR

Ella's Boutique
[Floral Series]
September 18 - October 27
2529 Ne Alberta St . Portland, OR

New Deal Cafe
[Portland Series]
September 30 - ???? [at least a month, maybe two months]
5250 NE Halsey . Portland OR

Cat Hospital of Portland
[Japan Series]
September 3 - November 1
8065 SE 13th Ave . Portland, OR

Blue Chicago

2009-09-28T11:31:00.001-07:00

Here are a few photos from my F100, Cross Processed Fuji Film. The colours have been so over saturated and mono tone lately. Cross Process can be good and bad when it comes to the crazy randomness of it all!

Interviews are hard!

2009-09-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone should be reading this fantastic blog, The Craft Begins. I absolutely love it and not just because she interviewed Amy + I about Portland Loves Local and other such Portland things!!

MIA in Chicago

2009-09-22T14:56:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a few weeks, I've been trying to regain my steps since I came home from my 8 day excursion in Chicago. There was so much to see and do! We saw as much as possible and still hardly saw anything. I am still recovering and feel like I just cant catch up on sleep and energy. Ive been busting butt since I got back editing weddings, putting wedding albums together, making art, hanging shows, participating in craft fairs, cleaning house, developing Chicago film and working on Portland Loves. UHG! Give it another week and all should be well.

I picked up my film yesterday and although I got a few fun shots, I don't really think I took enough photos. Here are just a few from my holga camera.

Navy Pier

Buckingham Fountain

Chicago Art Institute

Waiting for the Brown Line

Grant Park City Scape

China Town

Old Graveyard

More Quad Cam

2009-09-08T18:05:00.001-07:00

. . . click on the images to view more of my quad cam photos . . .

Quad Cam FUN!!!

2009-09-08T17:53:00.003-07:00

I got myself a new camera for my trip to Chicago and have been testing it out this past week. It's super fun for goofy people photos!!

Dena and Chris

2009-09-07T20:15:00.001-07:00

The lovely wedding of Dena and Chris Strong at the Downtown Vancouver Hilton on August 15th, 2009. We had so much fun with portraits inside and out!

oh joy!!!

2009-09-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

SO very excited about Chicago Renegade!!! Almost all of my art is made and packed, just a few more things to take care of before hopping on a plane next Wednesday with Cori!! We have so many plans for the days we arent at the show. Unfortunately I wanted to start packing my clothes and checked the weather and saw this...

Currently gorgeous and perfect weather, but the day before we get into town, RAIN RAIN RAIN!!!! Its an outdoor event and I also cant do all that much for photos in that kind of weather! LAME!!! Anyone in Chicago got a 10x10 canopy I can borrow for the show, or possibly rent?! I was also contimplating buying one from Costco when I get there and selling it less than cost [it costs $200 for the 10x10 with 4 removable sides].

Lindsay + AJ

2009-08-30T09:47:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few of my favorite photos from Lindsay + AJ's wedding on August 8th.

More Bloggings...

2009-08-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ever once in awhile I google search my name to see what I might find. Today I found a brief mention about my art at the Renegade show in San Francisco on a blog called Diurnal Memoirs.
So it just goes to show that I don't check up on these things often enough because I also found this blog post about the Unique Los Angeles show back in May. Look, there is a picture of me too! : ) I always feel bad for people taking my photo cause I really don't enjoy being on the other side of the lens [unless I've had a drink or two, then I ham it up!]
I also found my high school triple jump record,

Triple Jump - Varsity - Finals
	Misha Ashton	31'11.25

Its too bad that the summer track meets I did my junior year didn't get counted cause I jumped over 35' once or twice!

From the Archives II

2009-08-27T11:52:00.001-07:00

These are some images I took for a house remodel last fall, over in NE Portland. It was a pretty neat house and from what I gathered, it was in pretty bad condition, inside and out.

Getting Ready!!

2009-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Miss Cori and I leave for Chicago, two weeks from today! OH MAN!! I am sooo very excited. She is actually on her way over right now for us to start making some plans and such. I ordered a few things online also that just showed up in the mail. I got a grip of expired slide film and a new lomo camera from Lomography.com and also got new card displays from Three Potato Four, for the Renegade show on September 12th and 13th! Im trying to make most of my display out of old darkroom equipment and film stuff, to help emphasize the fact that all of my art work is done with film!!!

etsy treasury

2009-08-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Look at this fantastic treasury that I found one of my greeting cards in! Everyone included is from Portland, oh how I love you PDX!!!

From the Archives

2009-08-21T12:16:00.001-07:00

I have decided to start going back through and revisiting some of my old work. I need to start archiving all of my old negatives as well. This is a shoot from 2006, its my very first pregnancy photo shoot! We did a few photos at her home and then headed up to Mt. Tabor. I really want to start doing more pregnancy and new born photos, so if you know anyone, send them my way. I am offering on location sessions with no time limit for $150 [normally $250] plus you get a hi-res disc of all the final images. I am also starting a referral program, for every 3 referrals booked, get a free photo shoot to use for yourself or give as a gift!

Paige Appel

2009-08-17T08:47:00.001-07:00

I was featured on another great blog this past week. The blog is called Bash Eco-events and is created by the lovely Paige Appel. She featured some of my holga photos of LA on her lovely blog last week. These photos were taken when I was in LA in May for the last Unique Los Angeles show, I cant wait to get back there for the next one in December!

Street Fairs

2009-08-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming to an end and I am trying to get in as many street fairs as possible. This is my booth set up at August First Thursday, its a bit sparse after my San Francisco show! I also just did the Hawthorne Street Fair yesterday, which was GREAT!! Carla and Glen of Mink were so gracious as to let me set up in front of their store since I forgot to sign up for an actual space on the artist block.

new jewelry displays // old photo developing trays

new belt buckles

my little helper

Blog Features

2009-08-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

I was featured amongst some other fantastic work today on a blog called The Craft Begins. The creator, Bri, seems to have quite a few many things in common with me. She is a photographer, graphic designer and all around crafter. Her blog is very nicely designed and is full of fabulous work from around the world. My favorite thing about her so far is how great she is with colour theory!!

I also had some of my photography featured on this fabulous blog yesterday, Simply Hue. It is run by Vicki Dvorak, a Seattle Artist and colour consultant. The past two weeks, Vicki has been running daily features called Spotlight on Photographers. Check it out, there is a lot of amazing work and a few give-aways as well. Make sure you check out one of my favorite photographers photos, who is also part of the give away, Orange Sparrow. Her photos are on last weeks list!

Amanda + Dave Engagements

2009-08-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Blogs Blogs Blogs

2009-08-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

Im not much one for writing, I would much rather have my images tell the story for you. But I felt I must inform you all of this fantastic project that I am starting with my friend and other local Portland artist, Amy Olson of Amy Olson Jewelry. We are lovingly calling it, Portland Loves: local and if you cant already tell by the name of it, it is about everything lovely and local in Portland. We will have everything from interviews/photos of local businesses, etsy finds + flickr faves, artist interviews/previews and so on.

I will be doing mostly the photo taking, graphic design + other such business stuff, but twice a week I get to try my hand at writing reviews. I know it sounds silly, but just trying to write this short blog post to all of you makes my tummy turn. It has never been one of my strong points, so wish me luck.
If you look through and find that we are missing some of your favorite blogs on our blog roll, or you know of some great hidden treasure in Portland, please feel free to email us, or just drop a line in the comments. Also, if you love our little blog as much as we do, please pass it along to all of your friends. Once things are up and running a bit more, we will be doing random features on other great cities.

And one more thing, to all of my friends and readers, I am having a HUGE sale in my online store to help celebrate my Birthday MONTH!!! So go by and check it out and tell anyone who you think might be interested.

buy 2 prints get 1 free or buy 1 print and get 3 greeting cards free

online store// www.mishaashton.etsy.com
other blog// www.portlandloveslocal.com

Portland - Holga

2009-08-03T16:25:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday!

Bryan + Samantha Engagements

2009-08-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

Taken on a very hot hot morning at Cathedral Park, under the St. John's Bridge.

Road Trip - Holga

2009-08-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

San Francisco to Portland

San Francisco - Holga II

2009-08-03T15:59:00.001-07:00

I finally picked up my last roll of film from my trip to San Francisco. I still have film in my Nikon camera, but this is the last of the holga images.

I finally picked up my last roll of film from my trip to San Francisco. I still have film in my Nikon camera, but this is the last of the holga images.

San Francisco - Holga

2009-07-27T13:30:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few of my holga photos that I took while in San Francisco for the Renegade Show.
You can view more of the photos on my flickr site. I still have one more roll at the photo shop!

Mel's Belly Photos

2009-07-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Boutiques

2009-07-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Cade and I wandered all over the Mission District which is now by far my favorite part of San Francisco. Here are just a few of my favorite stops.

1. The Mission Statement
2. The Apartment
3. Little Otsu Publishing
4. The Curiosity Shoppe + Little Pink Houses, new work by Mati McDonough and Lisa Congdon
5. City Art Co-op Gallery + Young Jun Paintings and Illustrations
6. 826 Valencia
7. Paxton Gate [most amazing shop in the whole wide world]
8. Candystore Collective

More Digital San Francisco

2009-07-22T10:10:00.001-07:00

Day 2

D

1391.2 Miles

2009-07-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Cade and I stayed at a friends house in the Mission District while we were in San Francisco. We pretty much walked everywhere which was great because we got to see oh so much!!

Day 1
Walked from the apartment up Height St and over the the Academy of Science. I don't know if you have ever been, but it was SOOOOO much fun. Last time we were in town it wasn't complete.

After the Academy we walked back down Height and ate lunch at Cha Cha Cha! So much yummier that Portland's Cha Cha Cha. I had a fish sandwich with "new potatoes," but they are known more for their tapas and sangria's.

My favorite shop on Height was on the lower side, called Doe. They had the cutest things and some amazing art on the walls by Thylacine Graphics

Last place we went for the day was Rare Device, a boutique on Market St and right behind the apartment. Last time we were in town we happened to stumble upon their Grand Opening Party. I didn't remember their little gallery last time, but currently they are showing Buddy System by Little Paper Planes from now until August 31st [my birthday!!]

Renegade San Francisco

2009-07-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Post 1 of many...

San Francisco was absolutely AMAZING! Cade and I had the best time walking around the city being tourists. Renegade was also quite fantastic. I met so many great people and saw so much great work. I even found the time to run around and buy a few things. My favorite find of the day is this shirt by MNKR Clothes, first cause it is awesome, second because Kandace and Matt are super sweet and nice and third cause its AWESOME!!! I wish I had bought the second shirt, but I will see them again at Unique LA in December.

I am a HUGE card collector, mainly because it is an inexpensive way to collect art work, but also so that I have a card for ever occations for every friend! A few spaces down from me was Gold Dust Studio, and their artwork is so fun. Beautifully screenprinted, with excellent choices in colour theroy! I think I got just about one of every image they had in greeting cards!

I also got a sweet little note Pad by Mehoi of her character, Crazy Jim. There wasn't an image of the note book, but here is an image of Crazy Jim.

Illustration Art by Hoi-An Tang

The only other thing I had time to get around to purchasing was this fantastic tote bag by Jose Pulido of Mis Nopales Art. He had so many great designs to choose from, but Im all about functionality and this is my new purse [i dont typically carry a traditional purse cause all I ever have to carry around is my cell phone and my wallet].

Mis Nopales Art- Artwork and T-Shirts by Jose Pulido

Unfortunately I really wanted just about one of everything from all of the vendors, maybe next time! : ) Cade and I did manage to find a second to get our photos taken in the Magnolia Photo Booth by Peter Tower. Its just too bad that Im not good under preasure in front of the camera!

Inspiration to live by...

2009-07-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

Adios San Francisco, we had a great time and cant wait to come back again sometime soon! Leaving bright and early Monday morning for our 11 hour drive back to Portland. Im just glad I get the first sleep shift!

Happy Birthday Grandmother!

2009-07-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today would be my grandmothers 79th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

photo from her last bday!

San Francisco Inspired

2009-07-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

I am having such a blast in San Francisco. Hanging out with old friends, eating good grub, going to science museums, oh and taking photos. Since my photos are all film, it will be a few weeks till they get developed, but in the mean time, here is some work I found from some great artist to tide you over...

San Francisco

2009-07-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

Cade and I are on a one week road trip down in San Francisco for the Renegade Craft Fair. We left yesterday [Wednesday] at 9am and arrived in San Fran about 7.30p. The drive went by so much smoother than I anticipated. Normally I get quite uncomfortable in a car for more than two hours due to the scoliosis in my hips. But we switched driving every 100 miles and in between I finished reading my book, RANT by Chuck Palahniuk and took in a few Z's as well.
Well that's all I have time for right now, we are off the the Science Academy for a day of fun and picture taking. I am most excited about the 4 story rain forest. Last time we were in town, the museum was under construction.

photo from the Science Academy Website

My photos from the trip will come next week when I am back in Portland.

Weekend Photos

2009-07-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Spent my Sunday photographing my greeting cards.

Danielle + Estuardo Engagement Photos

2009-07-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the privilege to photograph Danielle and Estuardo's engagement photos at McMenamin's Edgefield. They are getting married in February 2010 at the Old Laurelhurst Church in SE Portland. We had such a blast!

Tess and John Wedding

2009-07-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

Just a few of my favorite photos from the lovely couple Tess and John's wedding. The girls got ready at the Hotel Deluxe and the wedding/reception was at the Crystal Ballroom!
Congratulations you two!

More shows to come....

2009-06-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have a few weekend shows coming up in July that I am very excited about. First is Portland's Mississippi Street Fair, July 11th, 2009 from 10a to 7p

and then the Renegade Craft Fair in San Fransisco on July 18th and 19th, From 11a - 7p at the Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion.

Happy SUNDAY! I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July!

Press Club

2009-06-30T16:29:00.001-07:00

I am having a First Friday Opening at the Press Club, this coming Friday. I will be showcasing my Japan photography for the whole month of July. Come by and check it out, and maybe stay for some of their excellent beer, wine and food!

July 3rd, 2009 . 5p - 9p
Press Club
2621 SE Clinton St.
Portland, OR 97202
(503) 233-5656

Unique....

2009-06-29T10:59:00.001-07:00

They just posted the video from the last Unique Los Angeles show in May. This is a show I go down to LA for twice a year. I absolutely love it! Check it out!

Half way through the video they do a close up of my PDX Night photo!

Good Morning

2009-06-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

And Happy MONDAY!!! It is a beautiful sunny day here in Portland and I am sitting by the window watching the light breeze push shadows across the floor. I have two whole days off and I am trying to get caught up on all of my favorite blogs.
I just came across a new blog by my most favorite photographer in Portland, Lisa Warninger. Lisa and local stylist Chelsea Fuss have started a collaborative blog called Urban Weeds: Street Style from Portland.

photo by lisa warninger

Last Thursday

2009-06-26T14:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was quite busy. Woke up early and finished getting ready for my show at the Bonfire and got it hung by noon. Surprisingly I made the exact number of woodblocks to fill the space. The two front rooms are all from my Holga Series and the pool room has some images from my Japan Series. The show will hang until July 29th. After hanging my show, my friends and I went up to Alberta and had our art set up for the Last Thursday Street Fair until 10pm. Come find us next month, we are always set up at the corner of 26th and Alberta!

Bonfire Lounge
2821 SE Stark St
Portland, OR 97214‎
(503) 232-3704

www.bonfirepdx.com‎

Joy + Tom Wedding

2009-06-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few photos from Joy + Tom's wedding on June 6th, 2009 at the View Point Inn.

Back at it!!

2009-06-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Fremont Fair in Seattle this weekend went GREAT! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. For one it was supposed to rain all weekend long, and it did through out Seattle, but not on Fremont. I didn't feel a single drop of rain until we were hopping in the car all packed up to leave! I met alot of great people, got a chance to lay out in the sun behind my booth and even saw a few naked people here and there! Gotta love Solstice! I will definitely be returning next year!

I took Monday off of all work. I just laid in bed reading most of the day, trying to catch up on some much needed R+R. I did start editing my photos from Cade's and my week long camping trip to the Red Woods. Here are just a few to start you off!

Fremont Fair . Seattle

2009-06-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

I spent all day getting ready for the Fremont Fair in Seattle. It is this Saturday and Sunday [10a-8p and 11a-7p], there will be artist, musicians, a parade, food and much much more. My booth will be located on N 35th St near Evanston Ave N if you find yourself in the neighborhood. This will be my first time participating in the Fremont Fair, or any Seattle Street Fair!

My friend Erin is making the drive with me to help with set up and such, and just for some good company for the long weekend. Even though I cant wait for the fair, more than anything, I cant wait to spend Friday before setup at the Pacific Science Center!!! YAY!!! Erin and I are going to leaving bright and early so that we can play ALL DAY!!! When I was in grade school, my family had a Gold Membership to the PSC and we went at least once a month!! LOVE IT!!!

I will do my best to take pictures at the event, but if not, at least at the Science Center!
Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed for good weather!!!

Sunny Bike Ride

2009-06-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

The sun has been shinning not stop here in Portland. I love it! Don't get me wrong though, I do love the rainy weather as well, especially summer rain. I am really hopping for some fantastic thunder showers this year. But for now with the break in rain, I have been riding my bike non stop. Here are a few photos from my Sunday bike ride on the SE Promenade. [this post is actually two weeks old, but I realized I had never posted it. It is now raining again in Portland, so I figured it was a good time to put the photos up!]

Melissa + Michael

2009-06-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

I recently designed wedding invitations for a wonderful couple, Melissa and Michael. They wanted an old Victorian theme with a bit of a modern twist. The two got all dressed up and took adoring photos of each other that I designed into the front of their invites. They were printed on off-white cardstock to help add to the "Old" style and were done as postcards in hopes for an extra authentic worn look as they go through the mail to each of their guests!!

On other things, I had a great time photographing Joy + Tom's wedding at the View Point Inn, photos to come...AFTER I get back from my week long camping trip in the Red Woods. Monday is Cade's birthday and I am taking him on a camping/hiking/sandboarding excursion for the week!

Travel Portland + WINNER

2009-06-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

I had a few photos published in Travel Portland Magazine again this year. Just a few snaps taken around the neighborhoods of Portland.

Now to announce the winner of the Amusement Park *Give Away*... Jen!
Email me your mailing address and I will get the Black and White Ferris Wheel print sent out to you!! [misha@mishaashton.com] Thanks for all of the comments and for taking the time to read through my blog posts everyone!!!

Lost LA!

2009-06-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

LOST AND FOUND!
So maybe they weren't really lost, but I had no idea what was on the first half of the roll I just got developed, other than that they were photos from my trip to LA a month ago. Ever since Ive started working with my holga camera, my Nikon film camera has been neglected. But I finally finished the roll while I was at the Rose Festival last week. You cant see the Rose Festival photos though until I've gone back a few more times for more picture taking.

On another note...my printer for the last five years has moved on. I am very sad about this. She did the best job at printing my photographs for me and who knew just how great she was until now. I have been trying out other labs in town and so far haven't found one I am happy with the quality. My work has been very consistent as of late and these last few rolls just don't have the same pizazz of colour they used to. I also the the chemicals are bad at the place I just took them to.

Plus, dont forget only two days left to enter my Amusement Park *GIVE AWAY*

Amusement Park GIVE AWAY

2009-05-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy with my work for Lucia Apparel these past few weeks that I completely forgot to do my monthly give away!! This month, in honor of Portland's annual Rose Festival having its first ever artist pavilion, my give away will be from my "Amusement Parks" for around the world Series. Last week when I was putting together some new pieces for the Rose Festival, I realized that I have quite a few photos from amusement parks. All of them with a completely different feel from one another. There is my black and white Japan series taken with Neopan 1600, my Seattle waterfront photos, Holga images from Santa Monica Pier in LA, and my holga images from Portland's Oaks Park.

Please leave a comment by Wednesday June 3rd letting me know which one you like best and the winner will receive their favorite one. You can view the entire series on my etsy site.

Also check out the Lucia Apparel blog, they wrote an artist preview about me today!!

Our lovely Ace!

2009-05-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

My favorite hotel ever is the Ace Hotel. I have stayed at both the Seattle and the Portland locations and love them both. I am obviously quite partial to our own Ace here in Portland though. They are the best places for photoshoots. A blog I follow regularly, sfgirbybay, just did a brief write up about all of the Ace Hotels, check it out!

Also here are a few of my photos from over the years at the Ace.

Portland - Ace Hotel

Seattle - Ace Hotel

Digital Rose Festival!

2009-05-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here are my first images from the Rose Festival. These are my digital images. I haven't dropped my film photos off yet at the lab because I plan on going back a few more times. I already have three rolls, but I need more from every aspect. I will also be taking more digital of the event, but for now....

Rose Festival

2009-05-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

This year there will be an artist pavilion. Come by and say hi Saturday May 23rd, 11a-11p. Many different artist each day for the duration of the Festival! This event is being put on by the lovely creators of Handmade NW, details on their website.

I will be focusing my art display on my recent Amusement Park photos taken in Seattle, LA, Oaks Park here in Portland and Japan. As an added bonus, I have been asked to photograph the event in my own personal style, of cross-processed film taken with my holga and nikon film camera's to be used as promotion for next year. I cant wait to get started, the weather looks so promising!!

www.handmadenw.com
www.mishaashton.com

Happy Sunny Friday!!!

2009-05-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Oh what a glorious day. The sun is shinning, I am all ready and rearing to go for a super uber ENORMOUS Clearance SALE tomorrow at the Art Hop and have I ever mentioned how much I love Happy Hour client meetings!!!

Sherman Oaks, CA - Holga

Today I met with a wonderful couple, Melissa and Michael, to go over the rough draft of their wedding announcements. We are very excited about the direction they are going and I should be finishing them up early next week. Our meeting took place at my favorite Portland Bar, the Bonfire. If you have never been their, I highly recommend their happy hour menu. Served everyday from 2-7pm.

Burbank Airport, CA - Holga

As for the Art Hop... I will be located on the 21st block of Alberta from 11-6pm. I will also be sharing my booth with my good friend Brenda Dunn. Brenda and I share studio space and we are having a huge sale to clear out all of last years art stock.

Happy Friday, have a wonderful sunny weekend!!!

Wearable Art!

2009-05-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

For some reason I have never done well about keeping my etsy shop up to date with my jewelry and belt buckles. I would have to say it is in part due to the fact that I dont like taking product shots of my own work, its hard to detach myself from it. I spent all day yesterday photographing product and updating my shop. I still have a few more product shots to take, but its getting there!

Sunday I had a great time selling my work at Crafty Wonderland. I was a bit concerned it may not be busy, being Mothers Day and all. I was happily suprised by the turn out though, not as busy as most months, but a great turn out all in all. This Saturday I will be at Art Hop on Alberta from 11-6pm.

I also updated my website with my new holga images. My next big project this week will be photographing all of my graphic design work and getting it up on my website.

Palm Trees

2009-05-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of California?! Well for me it is sunshine and palm trees and I definitely saw plenty of that in Los Angeles. I have finished uploading all of my holga images of LA to my flickr account. Keep in mind when you are flipping through that my flickr account is for ALL of my images, where as my website and blog are for my most favorite. I tend to over shoot everything and I love it!

On another note, I had an interview last week that just got published on Portlands very own, DIY Alert. Make sure to check out the rest of the lovely artist interviews while you are at it!

Santa Monica Pier

2009-05-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

YAY!!! I got my LA holga rolls back today. Oh the excitement!!! Im only going to show them one roll at a time to keep everyone in suspense. Los Angeles was sooo fun and I wish I had more time for photo taking. All of the beautiful sun, palm trees and colours. You can see the whole roll on my flickr account!

Digital LA!

2009-05-06T14:57:00.001-07:00

Had a great time in LA, at the Unique Los Angeles show, visiting friends and taking photos around town. I am hoping to have my many rolls of film developed by early next week, i cant wait!! : ) In the mean time, I have been going through my digital photos that I took for my stock photography. I hope they hold you over until the film photos are ready!!

LA was all about the TEXTURE!

Unique Los Angeles!!

2009-05-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day in two of Unique Los Angeles! We had set up and a vendor party last night, which was such great fun! I am looking forward to the long day ahead. There are a few other Portlanders in the show to check out as well!

e.soule

Two Guitars

Amy Olson Jewelry

I cant wait to start sharing my pictures of LA! Thursday we went to Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach for a fun filled day of picture taking and sun bathing!! Stay tuned! : )

Stock Photography

2009-04-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Out of all of the projects on my list, my stock photography portfolios seem to get pushed to the back burner the most. My last trip to Seattle, I took a few digital photos with my lovely D300. I finally got around to uploading them to iStock and Shutterstock [currently the only two stock photo pages I have my work on]. Most of the images got accepted on both.

Old warehouse in Georgetown, Seattle

Well I am all packed up and counting down the hours till Unique Los Angeles. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning. Hoping for good weather so I can spend most of my days photographing.

Oaks Park

2009-04-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, a few of us went on a bike ride on the Springwater Corridor. It was a bright, warm sunny day, perfect Portland day! On our way back home, we stopped at Oaks Amusement park for some fun photo time. Needless to say, with all of the bright colours of the rides, I went nuts and took 3 rolls of slide film with my holga. I just got one of the rolls back.

I love cross-process!!

Oaks Park also has a skating rink, who wants to go with me?! :)
You can view the rest of the images from the roll on my flickr page.

Seattle Holga

2009-04-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Got my last roll back from the day trip up to Seattle last week. I've been getting better at taking photos from a moving car. If I remember right, this one was taken driving down the road in Georgetown.

This one made me motion sick taking it, we were killing time waiting for traffic to die down and decided to ride the Merry-Go-Round and play some skee ball, which by the way, i kick butt at!

This is my old apartment on Capital Hill. Another drive by shot while sitting in traffic!

May 2nd + 3rd

2009-04-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

ALMOST....I am getting closer to being ready for the Unique Los Angeles show, which is just under two weeks away. I am oh so very excited. So many new prints and just a whole lot of bright colourfulness!! : ) I am also very excited because we are spending a whole week in LA and that means pictures galour!! I am all stocked up on expired slide film and ready to hit the ground running, maybe just walking.

Unique Los Angeles
Saturday, May 2, 11-7
Sunday, May 3, 11-5

Also, for this month's giveaway winner, Aveen Melling. Thank you to all who left comments, make sure to check back for next month's giveaway.

For the Love of Photography!

2009-04-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have been racking my brain for months, trying to figure out a fun thing to do with my photography and buttons. Originally I was trying to put my photos on them, but felt that might be a bit much, seeing as I put them in jewelry. I also didn't want to degrade the quality of my images by creating them too many times in too many mediums. So I finally came up with a button series entitled, "For the LOVE of Photography". You can view more images of the buttons in my shop.

Seattle Day Trip! GIVE AWAY

2009-04-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

Took a day trip up to Seattle last week to help a friend take down an art show, and to sing to 80's music for three hours in traffic! : ) We got a short time to walk around and take pictures at the Pike Place Market, something I never got around to when I lived there. We also made it over to Georgetown, which I had never heard of before, but highly recommend.

Holga - Pike Place 01

Holga - Pike Place 02

It is time for another giveaway! This month's giveaway is for my new Pike Place Market Holga images. Please leave a comment by Sunday April 19th letting me know which one you like best and the winner will receive their favorite one.

Lovely Jewelry.

2009-04-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

I had my favorite photo of Paris, the hi-contrast black and white image of the Eiffel Tower, used in Choo Yilin's blog today. It was used along with a few other photographs, to help feature her stunning artisan jewelry inspired by experiences in Europe. Check out her blog and while your at it, take a look at her shop!
Thank you so very much Choo, you do very lovely work and are an exquisite writer as well.

Eiffel Tower

This photo was taken while on my month long trek through Europe. I had just spent most of my day at the Louvre and was on my way to the Eiffel Tower. The architecture in Paris [along with the rest of Europe] is to die for. I will always remember this moment of my life!

Portland Blossoms...

2009-04-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Took me a few weeks, but I finally got my holga photos developed from the engagement shoot down on the waterfront. Just keep in mind that I am still learning how to use the holga. I am starting to get some major light leaks lately, so most of my photos are a bit pink around the edges!

Featured

2009-04-11T10:44:00.001-07:00

I was recently featured in Amanda Lockrow's Friday Favorites!! Amanda is a fantastic jewelry designer based in Los Angeles. I had the good fortune this past December to be her booth neighbor at the Unique Los Angeles show.
Thanks so much Amanda, hope we're booth neighbors again in May!!
Make sure to check out her lovely jewelry in her shop.

Top right to bottom left:
1. Holga Print from Misha Ashton
2 I Miss You Cards from Porterness
3 Anatomical Heart, recycled glass soap dispenser from Bread and Badger
4. Flora and Fauna print set from AshleyG

[also note that all but one of us listed in the Friday favorites are Portland Artists!!]

Fridays engagement!

2009-03-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

This past Friday I had a photoshoot for an engagement session with Raquel and Ted. We had been putting it off for almost a month due to weather and such. The forcast had called for a sunny day on Friday, so we met up on the waterfront by the cherry blossoms, and what do you know, it still ended up raining. We still had a great time though! : )

I also took a few photos with my Holga while I was waiting for them to show up.

Sunny Day in Portland!

2009-03-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Plugging away at the holga camera. We had a few nice days in the last week and Cade + I managed to find time during moving week to go on one last walk in our neighborhood. These are the last photos from the old place...time to start strolling around the new neighborhood to see whats out there!! : ) They can also be found in my store!