Bucket List: Shoot a Beautiful Indian Wedding (Check!)

That one time I shot a multi-day, 16-plus-hour Indian wedding and lived to tell about it. [faints] Since I started my photography business in 2007, I had always secretly wanted to have the stunning and vivid colors of a beautiful Indian wedding in my portfolio. But, it never happened even up to when I announced that I would no longer accept weddings last April. Ironically, months later a friend contacted me because her friends were frantically looking for a new wedding photographer to replace the one who had abandoned them just a month before their wedding date. Really, who does that?? So, I met with the bride and groom to see if we would be a good fit together… Within moments after leaving my studio, they told me that they wanted me as their wedding photographer. Awe!!

Bunn Salarzon - indian wedding photography portland

Wedding Photographer: Bunn Salarzon | Venue: The Water Oasis (Newberg, Oregon) | Wedding Coordinator: Savvy Sisters | Florals: Bella Bloom Florals | Makeup & Hair: Mode du Jour | Wedding Cake: Custom Cakes | Rentals: Barclay Event Rentals & Design | Catering: Mayahuel Catering | Entertainment: Encore Mobile DJs

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Helping Aging Parents with Dementia

When my husband Romie and I decided to be his mother’s caregivers — she would live with us and we’d take care of her every need — we never realized how much it would change our lives … lots of ups and downs. And patience. To watch someone you love slowly lose grasp of the little things the rest of us find so simple to do, like feeding yourself, is not easy and almost heart-breaking. Her name is Pacita, but she’s known as Lola to her many grandchildren and their children. This is Lola’s diary…

Today, she turns exactly one… The Lola Diaries, that is. But, Lola herself is 87 years young! And you know what, she hardly has any wrinkles!? It must be because of her complex to avoid too much time in the sun (like most older Asian generations). Currently, Lola is not very responsive; she sometimes won’t chew/swallow anything down (not even water) so Romie and I have been dealing with a lot of challenges lately. However, at the end of the day, she’s still stronger than we could have imagined she’d be over seven years ago when she suffered her second stroke … The entire right side of her face was so numb that she couldn’t communicate to us at all; she could only look at us as if she was desperately trying to tell us something. Yesterday, the doctor said that she has yet another bladder infection which is what we tend to overlook when Lola lapse into an “episode.” She’s being treated for it now and we’re starting to see her come around again … This morning she smiled for us!

On my own birthday this summer, Lola sang Happy Birthday to me so in a way this is her birthday song, too— but, you have to wake up, Lola! Let’s get crackin’ already!

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When Your Elderly Parent Needs You

When taking care of your parents in their old age, especially one who lives with dementia, it’s full of ups and downs— lots of ups and downs. When it’s up, it’s so fulfilling and we are reminded why we do what we do every day. When it’s down, you wonder if you will have the strength to do what you have to do (every day). On December 2, it will be a whole year since The Lola Diaries [officially] started … This photo journal, the documentation of Romie’s relationship with his 86yo mother, became something more than I had imagined; sharing snippets of our daily lives on Instagram and Facebook was just another post to me until I realized it would affect people in more ways— a lot more people. So much has happened in the year as well as so little, which will be detailed in “just another post.”

A description of how this online journal began: The Lola Diaries is a documentary of 86-year-old Pacita, better known as Lola (“grandma” in Tagalog) to her grandchildren, who is cared for by her youngest child— my amazing husband Romie. Lola suffered a stroke in 2007 and now lives with dementia, and we have been caring for her ever since. This new arrangement eventually led to me quitting my corporate job and made myself available to help care for Lola, and also pursue my photography business full time. As a family portrait photographer, I’ve been capturing other people’s families on my camera for over six years, but photographing my own family was almost non-existent … So I started pointing my [phone] camera at Romie after Lola was admitted in the hospital from a head injury. I had never seen my husband so scared as long as I’ve known him. Seeing the fear in his eyes at the thought of losing his mother was the reason I felt that I needed to take more photos of the two of them together.

In the last set of images, as soon as Lola was able to return home after two weeks in the hospital with a head injury, she was admitted again for severe abdominal pain — clostridium difficult, the worst kind that is usually contracted at hospitals — making her total stay in the hospital over three weeks! (It took a lot out of her fragile body.)

The Lola Diaries - elderly parent in hospitalThe Lola Diaries - son kiss his elderly mother on foreheadThe Lola Diaries - elderly parent in hospitalThe Lola Diaries - elderly parent in hospitalThe Lola Diaries - taking care of older adultsThe Lola Diaries - son applying makeup on his elderly motherThe Lola Diaries - mother and son smiling The Lola Diaries - taking care of your elderly parents in their old age

Maternity Boudoir Photography in Black & White

I think it’s a great idea for a mama-to-be to have fun with her maternity photos; try something different from the traditional and consider a Maternity Boudoir Session … This mama wanted to document her last trimester, because she didn’t get a chance to do that with her first pregnancy, so she came to my studio to get pampered by one of the best makeup teams in Portland, OR then a little photo shoot with me. With her permission, here’s a quick look at her maternity boudoir photos. //Model: Christine //Hair & Makeup by Powder Inc.

Bunn Salarzon - maternity boudoir photographyBunn Salarzon - pregnant woman wearing baby doll lingerie

Portland Boudoir Photography (ON FILM)

It all started with a Canon SLR film camera that my aunt owned, but never used— I don’t think she knew how to! I chose black and white film photography and processing as my high school elective class; but, I never knew that single decision would lead me to where I am today. Part of my journey was figuring out what kind of photographer I was meant to be … Now I know. With the help of The Girl Next Door models who trust my artistic vision, like Jessica, I can proudly showcase my boudoir photography.

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