Category: Personal

Mt St Helens wore us out so we stayed at a hotel an hour outside of Portland that night so we would be fresh for our trip into the city an onward. Our goal for the next couple of days was to road trip to Boise Idaho, seeing as much as possible along the way. We only had two days to make it to Idaho so it was a whirlwind. I think we needed at least a week but we didn’t have it. Neither of us had ever been to Oregon so we were both pretty excited to see this new state.

We headed into Portland with three goals in mind, since we actually were only driving through. We wanted some Voodoo Donuts, Stumptown Coffee, and to see the Portland sign in the opening credits of “Portlandia.” Check check and check! Our first stop was donuts, obviously. We got there in the morning, and there was no line, which apparently is not always the case judging from the queue tape set up outside. I have to tell you, we got some wacky donuts that they are famous for but Dan and I both say that the glazed was where its at. It was SO “where its at” that I would go so far as to say its the best glazed donut Ive ever had. Ever. Next we google mapped a Stumptown Coffee shop and ended up at one that was attached to the Ace Hotel there. Yay! I always love to see the decor at those hotels, and this one was super hip. The photobooth was really neat because it printed out real film photos. They were WET when they came out. No digital printer here. We headed back to the car and drove past the sign.. and then straight out to the Columbia River Gorge. While we only spent about an hour in the city, I already knew that we would be back one day. We really liked it. We both agreed that if we ever moved out to the west coast, this was a contender for a landing spot.

The Columbia River Gorge was out of control gorgeous. It was almost horrible that we didnt have any time to check this place out other than pulling over twice to see Multnomah Falls and take a short hike. This is definitely a place we are going back to, with our tents and time. So so so stinkin pretty!!! Go here.

By the end of the day, we had made it through Hood River (Dan’s Favorite spot) and all the way to Bend. It really was painful passing through these places with no time to take them in. Dan was beside himself in Hood River because of all the water sports potential. SUP-ing, kayaking, wind surfing, hiking, skiing, snowboarding… It was everything I could do to keep his mind off it enough to prevent us moving there immediately. My favorite thing about it was how happy he was there. Once we made it to Bend we were to tired to see much of it. All I remember is how sleepy the town was, how rude our dinner waiter was, and the amazing way the whole town smelled.

We got up, continuing on our road trip, and headed to the Painted Hills! Dan saw this spot online and we detoured to see it. It was quite incredible, and felt very forgotten. There was only one other person there for most of the time we were there. Kinda erie. I was impressed with how perfect it still was even though it was millions of years old. Thanks America for not screwing this place up.

A couple more hours of driving in the wild west, and we made it to Idaho.

Oregon Takeways:

• It so Pacific Northwest-y until you get a couple hours away from Portland. Then it becomes the wild west. We were shocked at how cowboy it was! Shows how much we know.
• I will go back to Portland and Hood River and The Columbia River Gorge. They were all way more awesome than just a drive-by visit.
• One of their main crops is Onions! I LOVE onions. Thanks Oregon.
• Get the glazed donut at Voodoo. On second thought, get a dozen. I would literally pay someone to mail me a dozen, next day air. F’reals.

After five days in Seattle, we headed south towards Mt. St. Helens. Dan’s brother William had visited the park a couple years ago and raved about so we made a detour to visit it while we were on the west coast. I am SO glad we did. This was easily one of my favorite parts of our whole trip.

The approach to the mountain is gorgeous. Its the land of Big Foot so that already got us excited. It’s also the longest dead-end road in the state of Washington, leading you right to the Ranger Station. It’s over an hour drive one way. You also get glimpses of the mountain along the way and it really did take my breath away. Its the only mountain we could see that had snow on it, which made it stand out. The other thing that shocked me was that it looked like a drawing of a volcano that a kid might draw: a mountain with the top missing.

We spend over 2 hours here, listening to the ranger talk, taking photos, reading the museum details, and just staring at it. It really is a sight to behold. The devastation, the ever-changing crater, the re-birth…. it was all incredible.

Not to be missed.

This is the first of a couple of posts from our trip out west this past October/November. We were in Seattle for Meredith-Gray and Eric’s wedding , (coming to the blog soon) and we turned the trip into 2 week vacation, since we had another shoot in LA less than 14 days after the wedding.

Dan and I had never been to Seattle for more than a layover, so we wanted to hit the big stuff this time around. The first day we headed to the Public Market, the Gum Wall, the Great Wheel, and the first Starbucks. The next day we took it easy, just going to take a glance at Gig Harbor and then we headed to the Living Computer Museum like the nerds we are. That night we went to the Rehearsal Dinner as guests since it’s impossible to turn down pizza with old friends, obvi. Sunday was the wedding, which was killer. On our last day we went to the REI Flagship store and spent a ton of time trying to find Dan’s lost credit card. Thankfully someone found it, googled us since it says “Bethany and Dan Photography”, called us, and we were able to meet up and get it back. Thank you nice Seattle person! After that debacle we were a bit tired, but not tired enough to miss out on the EMP Museum.  It was a whirlwind but in a really good way.

Now that we’ve done this highlight tour of the city, Im prepped for our return trip where we spend the entire time exploring the parks and waters. We didnt do ANY outdoor stuff because we didnt have any of our gear nor did we have the time to really do it right. We are most definitely going back for that. See you soon Olympic Peninsula and San Juan Islands! Mark my words!

Seattle takeaways:

• It really is gray there. We only wore our sunglasses once for a couple of hours. It even rained on the wedding day, but that really felt kind appropriate for Seattle.
• The public market is really fun! The flowers were overwhelmingly wonderful and I wanted them all. We caved and bought one that we use to decorate our AirBnB while we were there. Had to.
• The Big wheel aint cheap, but it was really fun. I think it might have been better at night but we were to tired to wait until then so we did it during the day. Still cool, and no line.
• Gum Wall? Gross. Seriously.
• If I moved to Washington, I would move to Gig Harbor.
• The first starbucks was worth the wait in my opinion, simply because I like being able to say to myself “Ive been there.” If thats not something you need, skip it.
• Seattle is totally worth a visit.

These little guys left quite the impression on us while we were in Iceland. So much so that we want to share a blog post of just them!

Icelandic horses are one of a kind. No other horses and come to Iceland, and once an Icelandic horse leaves the country, they can never come back. Its an exclusive bloodline, kept isolated and pure since the beginning. They stay out all winter. They have been bred for thousands of years to be tough physically along with kind demeanors.

The first one I saw took my breath away.

Now it’s important to note, I’ve never been a horse girl. There were two camps when I was growing up, the horse girls and the dolphin girls. I was a dolphin girl, (shocking I know). I’ve always been a little nervous around horses. They are so BIG and so powerful. Ive also always been touched by them in a mythical way. I love a good horse movie, (Wild Hearts Cant Be Broken… can I get an amen). Still… they weren’t ever really my THING if you know what I mean.

One long look at an Icelandic horse sent me wide eyed down the road to horse love.

They are all over the place and we stopped constantly to photograph them. I was always careful… never touching them or being disrespectful to these horses we met along the way. I was nervous due to my lifelong caution around them. These little guys would come right up to us on the other side of the fence. We never really had to try and get close because they would come close to us! Still… I was dying to touch one.

Then we stayed at the Steinsholt Guesthouse. Kari, the owner and keeper, was so friendly and we were able to chat with her about our time so far in Iceland. The guesthouse is a part of a working horse farm so naturally we peppered her with questions. I asked if she would take me to see them so I could photograph them. She said of course and that we could go in the morning.

We woke up and it was FREEZING and I almost told her it was ok and not to worry about it. Something in me said “dont you dare. this is your only chance.” so I asked her to take us up. Little did we know what we would have the time of our lives. She took us up over to the top of her fields and opened the gate and invited us in to a herd of 50-60 horses. They surrounded us, coming to see their mom and see if she had any treats. They nuzzled us and let us pet them. They nipped our shoulders and closed us into tight circles of horses blocking the wind and overwhelming us. It was like we were being surrounded by gentle giants, that were simply interested in treats and saying hi to mom and meeting us. We likened them to “Giant Hattie’s” like our little cavalier king charles whose only interest is in snuggling and kissing. It was unreal.

After that I was done for when it came to horses. Can I have one… or ten… or a farm of them?

If you get a chance to visit Iceland, please make it a point to meet the horses.

To purchase some of the images you see here as prints, please head to our Etsy shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BethanyDanPhoto

In April, we went on a vacation to Iceland! Its been a few months and we were able to let some time pass and let the trip sink in. Dan gave me the tickets for my birthday last year and I had been looking forward to the trip for 6 months. About a week or so before our departure flights we decided to make some plans for our time there. Ha! Most of the hip and trendy hostels were all booked up but we managed. It was a truly unforgettable trip for us and I am so happy we went.

I had heard about Iceland from friends who have been and unanimously everyone was sure the Dan and I would love it. I have to say they were both right and wrong. We DID in fact spend almost every waking moment in awe… and the alternating moments in fear. I’ve found it hard to write about the experience of being there because it was so intense, both good as well as uncomfortable. Many of our experiences involved both of those feelings. From a terrifying drive up to a view I’ll never forget, to swimming in a hot geothermal pool and having to get out dripping wet into an arctic breeze and change out of my swimsuit. It is a place of contrast both visually and emotionally. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it the whole time we were there.

Iceland is shockingly beautiful. We draw much of our own personal inspiration from landscapes. This applies to life in general as well as in our photography.  While we are not landscape photographers, we use the surroundings as the secondary consideration when composing the spirit of our work, emotion being the first. Personally though, my emotions are connected to my surroundings, especially dramatic contrasting oceanic spaces. Hence my deep love for the Maine and NC coasts. Iceland fit the bill for that 110%. One of my favorite aspects to the Icelandic landscapes were the intense blues and blacks. So. Good! It was so other worldly I had trouble taking it all in.

The horses there were so moving to us, they get their own blog post, check that out tomorrow.

The weather in Iceland is terrifying, at least it was to us. The wind is so strong that our car was constantly being wobbled around as we drove past sheer cliffs into the ocean and over bridges across glacial rivers. We spend most of the trip gasping from the unending views that compare to nothing else I have ever seen… and gasping from the fear or being blown off the road. It wasn’t an unfounded fear either. We have known multiple friends on separate trips who have had near-death experiences on this island, from cars flipping off the road to hypothermia in frozen rivers. Stories that I wasn’t sure I was glad to be aware of previous to our adventure or wished I didn’t know until we returned. Let me just say that it’s a good idea to get the wind and sand insurance… you know… in case the wind sand blasts the paint off your car… since that actually does happen.

After spending 10 days driving all around this country, we can say that the music of Sigur Rós and Björk makes complete sense. It’s funny… having enjoyed them for eons prior to visiting, I can hear it on a whole new level, imagining the vistas the must have had as a part of their souls while the composed their music. Such a fun new perspective for the music lovers in us.

There was so much that happened that I realized I can’t tell you the whole story here. Call us up and lets meet for drinks at one of our favorite bars and we can recap the stories for you. You can choose from some of these selections:

“I was doubled over and crying in the passenger seat”

“The backwards walk back to the car to avoid having our faces sandblasted off”

“The horse encounter that may be in my top 10 favorite life experience to date”

“All seasons, one day”

“Rainbows Waterfalls Swimming and coats”

“Food adventures from Skyr to Jelly Pizza”

“Lets just leave all our belongings behind so we dont die trying to retrieve them”

“I wish I lived in VIking times”

and many many more….

A few bullet points of our Icelandic experiences:

• If you get a chance, visit Iceland.
• Be careful and respect the weather.
• Reykiavik is not the whole story and in order to really get a good feel for the place, you need to venture out.
• The Blue Lagoon was 100% worth the cost in our opinion. How often do you get to interact with a wonder of the world?
• The food was not to our taste… at all… no matter the price range… Other than the bread, coffee, and Skyr… we were unimpressed.
• If we ever get the chance to go back we will yell “YES PLEASE” emphatically all while trying to calm our racing hearts.

Want more? Tune in tomorrow for Icelandic Horses and also check out our portrait session we photographed of Hobie and Halldóra.

To purchase some of the images you see here as prints, please head to our Etsy shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BethanyDanPhoto