About Us

MichaelJMy name is Michael Norris and I am married and a father and stepfather of 7 wonderful kids. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest where the air is clean, and the forests are dense and green and the mountains are so close you can almost reach out and touch them. It is an amazing place to live. Beautiful and rich with photographic opportunities.

I am a member, President, Webmaster, and EID (digital) division chair, of the Monticello Camera Club. It is a great organization of photographers of all types and experience levels. I am also a member of the PDX/Vancouver meetup group, another group of great photographers and really cool people. Both groups afford lots of photographic opportunites, and inspiration, as well as educational opportunites where even an experienced photographer can pick up something new from time to time. I am currently attending classes at Portland Community College both for Website Design and Development as well as photography.

I shoot all different kinds of things, but my greatest interest is people. Not just people but capturing them in unusual and different ways. Trash the Dress (often referred to on this site as TTD) is one of my favorite types of photography. Trash the Dress is sometimes referred to “next day” or “day after” photography. It is so called because of a growing number of brides have chosen, rather than box up and preserve their dress…never to be worn again, to get back into their dress for a day of intimate, and unusual photographymore perfectly preserving the dress and the bride capturing and preserving the youthful beauty of both. Some brides view it as the ultimate commitment to their new husbands as a statement of never needing the dress again. While others consider it as a way of releasing the stress and pressure of all of the planning and preparation and stress of the wedding day. We’ve shot brides in creeks, swamps, fountains, railroad cars and switchyards, gardens, mudbogs… anything you can imagine, and the results are often amazingly good photos. that are creative works of art. Trashing the dress does not necessarily mean ruining the dress. Not always, but often times the dress can be hand washed or machine washed in a gentle cycle (don’t try it with actual silk). My wife and favorite model, has a couple of wedding dresses that we’ve done several TTD sessions in and they have survived very well.

We do not limit ourselves to just wedding dresses. We shoot sessions in all kinds of clothing and in unusual situations to create interesting and dramatic photos…with greater success at some times than others. My people photos are not limited to the TTD type of photography. I shoot all kinds of portraiture but do not shoot in a studio, I prefer to shoot in natural light, in environmental situations. No studio = low overhead = low rates for interesting photographs. If you are interested in hiring me…contact me and we’ll discuss your ideas.

As an up and coming photographer I have learned a lot, but still have a long way to go. This website will chronicle my improvements as a photographer as well as share my creations. My site is supported through advertisements, although I keep them to a minimum, and also through the sale of some of my photos and sets. Much of my personal material is available as stock photography or you can order prints of nearly anything you wish from my site.

My wife recently graduated from Stylemasters of Longview and is an up and coming stylist, and make up artist. It is very handy to have a stylist and Make Up Artist on location for Fashion and Glamour shoots and Model shoots. We are a fun couple to work with, and we enjoy hearing your creative input in every shoot. We work with you to get the best possible photos we can get.

Thank you for your interest. We hope that you have found our artwork captivating and creative.

MichaelJ