Karen and Isabel at the Gorge

This was one of my most fun photo shoots I've had in a long time! I met these two lovely gals through a mutual friend named Lauren, with whom I worked at the Barometer in Corvallis. Karen and Isabel run their own gardening and landscaping business and act as teachers for outdoor gardening! How cool. They also volunteer for Search and Rescue here in good ol' OR and are no stranger to trudging around in the woods for a good time. We obviously jumped at the chance to hike into a waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge. Can't wait for the wedding in June! You better believe it's gonna be in the woods.

 

clearly I thought this was hilarious: http://whenobamaendorsed.tumblr.com/ 

Recommended music:

alabama shakes: boys and girls

jack white: blunderbus

m. ward: a wasteland companion

spring update

*I'd like to preface this message with an acknowledgment that I know it is ridiculously long. I don't expect many people to read it besides close friends, but it has some great info in it anyways! especially if you are interested in taking some pictures with me soon, or ordering some prints of your own.*

Life in Ashland is busy as ever. I am still a full time graduate student in a counseling program and taking photos as a creative and stress-relieving outlet. School is very busy, as well is my job working for the Res-Life department here at Southern Oregon! I consider myself lucky to have met the coolest people down here and gone on many adventures! (Crater Lake, Redwoods, local hiking etc.)

As my fan page continues to climb (almost 800 people!) I just wanted to send out my most sincerest thanks to you all. I am the luckiest guy in the world to be doing what I'm doing and can't wait for more big changes happening in the next year or two. The long term plan is to get a job as a mental health counselor on a college campus somewhere here in Oregon. This will allow me to have the summers off to pursue my adventurous traveling and really focus on my photography business.

Speaking of business, my business cards should be arriving in the mail any day now! I plan on mailing some out to all former clients and whoever else wants them! let me know if you'd be interested. It was designed by my good friend, Jake Baez, with some finishing touches put on it by my new friend Andrew.

I have been asked to be a featured artist at a bar in ashland, which I am incredibly exited about! I am pursuing other opportunities as well to get more exposure, meet with more photo clients, and do more fun work.

Seems like my website just keeps getting better and better! Many thanks again to my friend Zach Sargent for helping me get that project off the ground. My website has many cool links to other pages, including portfolios of my meticulously chosen best work. This work serves as an example of some photo shoot options available to anyone who is interested. check it out at

www.lukewenkerphotography.com

The website is set up so clients can order prints as well. I get alot of questions about how much prints cost so here's the rundown:

4x6: $6.00
5x7: $15.00
8x12: $30.00
12x24(poster sized): $50.00

They can be ordered through my website & I'll include this information in the "info section" on my fan page and also on my website. I'll work out some price schemes for other photo shoot options like wedding and senior pictures soon and post them soon as well. Prices are always negotiable and do not ever hesitate to ask!

Some really fun recent projects have been started as well. I found my grandfathers old Graflex 200 camera a while back and finally got some 120 film for it. The scanned in prints can be seen in my photos section. Shooting on film is very rewarding and challenging! I have loved getting to know this awesome piece of family history. There are pictures of my mom and her sisters taken as babies with the same camera hidden deep in old photo albums!

I found a great charity donate to. A good friend of mine told me her sister is adopting a child from ethiopia. I wanted to help out with children somehow because all too often, children become marginalized and have less control over thier lives as adutls. This is unfortunate and why I have chosen to give back to this deserving population. From now on a portion of my photo sales will go towards this adaption fund until it happens and then I'll find a new one. Here's the info:

http://www.heartethiopia.blogspot.com/

If you've made it though this way-too-long-update, the last bit is the coolest part! I just wanted to say that an offer still stands I made a while back. For any friends willing to "suggest" that their facebook friends become a fan of my page can get themselves any one of my 5x7 photos printed and mailed to them by yours truly. I would greatly appreciate it. All you have to do is click the link that says "suggest to friends" on my page under the profile picture, tell me what your print of choice is, message me your address and viola! that's it. The offer will always be on the table!

For my increasing group of friends in Ashland, please do not hesitate to inquire about photo shoots that we can do together in the beautiful Rogue valley. If you're interested and you don't live in Southern Oregon, we can still schedule something on the calendar! Just call or email anytime. I go up and down I-5 way too much for other reasons and the more photo shoot the better. I hope everyone is happy, healthy, and productive. Don't be a stranger.

With Love Always,
Luke

2009 winter break update

I have finished my first term of graduate school! It was hard but extremely rewarding. Mostly I just realized how much I don't know. But that's to be expected I suppose. In seven terms I will be a licensed mental health counselor! Ashland is a great town and I can't wait to continue exploring it in winter term. Just as importantly, these are my best photos so far this break...

Rio Nerenberg

Nate & Rio

Nate & Gatsby

Shelby, Rob, & Lucy

I have much more t be excited about in the days to come! leaving for Florida on Thursday night for my first wedding photography experience! Then back to Oregon to visit with more friends from out of town and continue traveling! Happy Holidays!

Love,

Luke

who needs sleep right?

I am officially the busiest person alive. I am doing pretty well in my graduate school program. I only have class two days a week and some outside counseling session/meetings. All in all I am on my way to being a full on, mental health counselor within two years.

At the same time my photography business has started to take off! my website is mostly done, I am gaining fans, and tons of emails requesting prints and photo shoots for the upcoming winter break! I am very excited about all this.

I found out today I might start working for the residence life department here at SOU once again. Nothing is set in stone, but I think there is a position available for me. Like i said who needs sleep right? Anyways I ave my first wedding photo shoot coming up in December! the best part is that it's in Florida! with old camp friends! I will have the best winter break ever. hands down.

Love,
Luke

epic overview

My epic journey of a lifetime has come to a close. These are the many people & places I was fortunate enough to visit. I am eternally grateful for all the people who helped me. Some offered couches, beds, floors, fancy dinners, ice cream, picnics, pools, rides, hikes, cheap alcohol, tours, kayaks, music, adventures but most of all friendship. Please come see us in Oregon so I can return the favors.

People I traveled with:
OR-UT: Nick, John, Katie, & Katy
UT-NY: Katie & Katy
NY-PA: Only time I was alone
PA-NC: Anna & Darea
NC-AZ: Nate
AZ-CA: Josiah Bradshaw
CA-OR: Josiah & Rachel

I am so lucky to have the friends and co-pilots that I did. I love them all. I told Josiah that I keep a pretty short list of people that could stand being in the car with for multiple hours on end. haha

Hosts:
Corvallis, Oregon: Dixon Lodge, OSU
Portland, Oregon: Nate & Ashley
Salt Lake City, Utah: Corrin Cook
Julesburg, Colorado: Grand Motel
Chicago, Illinois: Jason Connel
Henryville, Pennsylvania: Camp Lindenmere, The Ghost
Manhattan, New York: Jazz on the City
Worcester, Massachusetts: Dianne, Peggy, and Anthony
Boston, Massachusetts: Driven by Diane
Salem, Massachusetts: Konstandt Family
Allentown, Pennsylvania: Senderowitz Family
Virginia Beach, Virginia: Perry Family & Friends
Greensboro, North Carolina: Mackie
Boone, North Carolina: Reichard Family
Charlotte, North Carolina: Kristi Lanning
Columbia, South Carolina: Gayle Harris
Savannah, Georgia: Skidaway Island State Park Camp Ground
Birmingham, Alabama: Mindy Lipsitz
Florida Panhandle: Falcor through a rainstorm*
Pascagoula, Mississippi: Jeff, Kelley, and Emma
New Orleans, Louisiana: Becca Parker
Houston, Texas: Monroe Moore
Junction, Texas: Falcor & a green river
Carlsbad, New Mexico: A cowfield off the highway
Holbrook, Arizona: KOA Campground
Grand Canyon National Park: Mathers Campground
Sedona, Arizona: Cave Springs Campground
Phoenix, AZ: Kevin, Wendy, Alleah, Emily, Tyler, & Meadow
Los Angeles, California: Val Mounter & her Aunties
Yosemite National Park, KOA Campground
Arcata, California, Ben, Cobe, Josh, & Jenny
Scappoose, OR: HOME

*Falcor is my 2000 white Ford Taurus Wagon

Cities I am considering moving to:
Chicago IL, Savannah GA, New Orleans LA, Los Angeles, CA, & Henryville PA*
*only from June 16-August 12 ☺

I realized that this trip has been filled with one beautiful moment after another. Here are a few examples:

Sunsets filling the whole sky so beautifully we have to stop driving and admire them with deep breathes stretching to the horizons. (Texas)

Delicious culturally based meals that are so good it could be our last. By that I mean if I was on death row and I got one meal before I got the electric chair, I now know what that meal would be (New Orleans)

Conversations with my best friend that would seem so strange to outsiders but to us it’s everyday. I am so lucky to have a co-pilot on the same wavelength as me. We want to see the same things, eat the same things and talk about the same things. I would literally never get sick of him. BFF tattoos are gonna happen. (anywhere in the car)

The kindness of strangers: We have been greeted literally with open arms by friends from this summer, friends from years ago in my life, perfect strangers we’ve met through couchsurfing.org and kindness in the streets from people suggesting places to visit. A woman in McDonalds near the Texas border handed me my bag of fast food and said “Here ya go baby” This simple sentence made me stop and think how lucky I am to be a stranger in a far off place and see kindness just for the sake of kindness. (everywhere)

Nature: The power of nature never ceases to impress me. I’ve seen moths the size of small birds, grasshoppers the size of my palm, swam with Dolphins in Virginia Beach, and seen plant life that looks like it belongs in the Jurassic period. Heck We don’t even mind the mosquitoes that much. We saw the indescribable power of the grand canyon and the Carlsbad Caverns

Cities: Manhattan especially exemplified the concept of industrial power and what a man or woman can accomplish with a little hard work. The cities we have seen are all bustling with action and excitement. I am no longer afraid to drive in any city anytime of the day with confidence that I will reach my goal.

Here is a list of the largest cities in the Unite States

1. New York City *
2. Los Angeles*
3. Chicago*
4, Houston*
5. Phoenix*
6. Philadelphia
7. San Antonio*
8. Dallas
9. San Diego
10. San Jose

*Visited in summer 2009

Nate & I have both decided separately and together that we have become more patriotic on this journey. Seeing the insane amount of diversity and power of the Unite States has made us appreciate it more for what it is. Exposure has led to conviction. America Is a great place and we are lucky to love here.

States Visiited: Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California.

Swam in: Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, Mississippi

Total miles traveled: 9425.3

Cost: $557.09

On Movement: Everybody is on some kind of mission. In New York the mission seekers are most obvious. They are going places and sometimes don’t have time to stop and smell the roses that don’t exist in the streets unless they go to Central parts. In many parts of the south, the feeling was more laid back. Their mission was to seek out human connection. That’s probably the biggest observation I have noticed this summer. Everybody wants to be accepted. Human connection is part of who we are. I felt connection with strangers and friends bonded for years.

Biggest lesson I continue to learn the importance of: Life is meaningless without our friends, families, and loved ones

End of Story….(for now)

All My Love,
Luke