For the cover and feature opener of this month’s Portland Monthly, I traveled to Oxbow Park in Greasham, OR. The model in the shot is famed sport kayaker (and heck of a nice guy) Sam Drevo of eNRG Kayak. I’ve met Sam a couple years ago at the Portland RedBull Illume opening. When I got the call from Portland Monthly to do a shoot on a river, he was the first person I thought of. In a strange twist of fate, Sam is actively involved in the preservation of the Sandy River and has film a documentary of kayak trip down the whole river. Can’t wait to see it!

I shot this available light with my assistant to the left holding a soft gold reflector for fill. Post processing was done in Lightroom and that aged color look on the cover is my own special recipe based on some shots from my photoblog. Nice to throw a little personal edge into a staged shot.