Neil’s father is nearing the end of his life. It is a time for family closeness and quite a few tears. I (Miriam) feel very grateful to have had him as a father-in-law. He has loved me like a daughter, overlooked my flaws, spoiled my children, and filled me with wonderful stories.

Ah, the stories! Stories of growing up in North Dakota, spending the summer in Norway when he was 9, and driving truck during World War II with nothing but starlight to see by. The faint distinction between dark trees and barely lighter sky was sometimes the only way he could tell where the road was. We heard some of the stories so many times that the characters are like old friends.

With all of our parents still living, we have not had to deal with the sense of loss and emptiness that many of our friends have had when they lose a parent. We feel fortunate to have had Bob for as long as we have.

It has been five years since our fateful trip to Iowa to attend a weekend of Christmas concerts at Luther College where Anna was going to school. Nels and Lars stayed home while Neil and I, his parents and Aunt Jackie went on what was supposed to be a four day trip to visit Anna and hear beautiful music. Bob hadn’t been feeling well but the doctor said he was ok to go. The events of the days to follow were unbelievable. Both parents ended up at the Mayo clinic (an hour’s drive from Luther College), Alice for an emergency quintuple bypass and Bob with pnuemonia followed by internal bleeding. What was supposed to be a fun extended weekend was three weeks of gut-wrenching agony and Bob almost didn’t make it.

Since then, every Christmas, Easter, or birthday celebration has been a gift to be treasured. We are treasuring these days as well. Anna flew home this weekend from Gettysburg to visit and spend as much time with Grandpa as possible. When she was little, he would drop everything to come to our house and look after her if she was sick, then go to Luker’s for ice cream, when she was feeling better. He is alert and in good spirits. What a blessing!

One other thing that should not be left out is the legacy of faith that Bob has brought to his entire family. Like most men of his generation, he has not necessarily talked about his relationship with God on a personal level but through his actions it was always clear where his priorities were.

His children grew up with the church as a second home. When I married Neil, I wasn’t quite 21 and in that “What do I really believe?” stage. In the Lutheran church I found a place where questions were encouraged, not judged, and Bob and Alice accepted me and gave me time to wrestle with my doubts. By the time we had children, sharing a strong faith life with our children had become a priority in our lives. We did nightly prayers as a family and Neil often sang them to sleep with favorite hymns. When Anna was confirmed at age 14, the pastor chose a bible verse for her, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’” Psalm 115. Now she is at seminary to become a Lutheran pastor. Nels and Lars express their faith in their own ways but I have little doubt that this same faith will be transmitted to the next generation.

Thank you, Bob.

Philip Charis Said it Best

by Miriam Haugen
Eleanor had me sorting through some old papers today and I found this wonderful quote from Philip Charis that I just had to share. Philip Charis is one of the great portrait artists of our time. Classic elegance with stunning clarity and resolution best describes his work.
"Photography is the last link in a chain which started when people began drawing on the walls of their caves. From the days of the portrait painter portraying the privileged few, to the arrival of the daguerreotype that gave millions the possibility to have their own portraits, a fascinating development.
"Why then the need for the professional photographer? Simply, the professional photographer does not find pictures, he creates them. The success of the portrait still lies in the eye and in the mind of the professional photographer.
"Constant practice with constant goals, diligence, perseverance, and esthetic harmony are what define the professional photographer. He has the power to show the love a mother has for a child, to see tardust in the eyes of a young couple, to show the majesty and power in a pair of gnarled old hands, to show the grandeur of God and his creations in the sky, the mountains and the fields.
"In the scant 145 years since its invention, photography has revolutionized our lives."
Philip Charis

What Do Your Wedding Photographs Really Mean to You?

by Miriam Haugen

I learned something new yesterday about the importance of this "photography thing" that Neil and I do. I’ve always known that when the big day is done, the wedding cake is gone, the flowers are wilted, the dress is cleaned and packed away, what is left is the wedding album. Brides and grooms look at that album year after year, while the memories come flooding back of that most important day in their lives.
But recently, a man that has been married over 25 years taught me a new way of looking at what we do.
Yesterday, I had a newly married couple and her parents in the studio to look at their wedding images and plan a wedding album. When we were finished and Mom had left the room, Dad turned to the couple and said. "You know every married couple goes through rough times. It’s inevitable."
The couple were thinking, "Oh no, here comes the lecture."
He continued, "No this isn’t a lecture. I want you to know that I found something that helped me through those hard times when being married wasn’t so fun. Your mother doesn’t know this, but I would go off by myself and pull out that wedding album and remember why I got married in the first place. It really helped."
What a great testimony to the importance of wedding albums! When I look at mine, I see our young, fresh faces, full of love and hope for the future and I, too, am reminded of all things good. Keep remembering, and keep on loving!

Neil Wins National Award

It is time to celebrate!

No, I am not talking about the studio’s 30th anniversary, or Nels and Danielle’s upcoming wedding, or Anna preaching her first sermon to her home congregation, or Lars reading his first chapter book. They are all things in our life that we are celebrating right now. This time the spotlight is on Neil.

Drum roll, please!
Neil has earned his Master of Photography degree from the Professional Photographers of America! This is harder to achieve and therefore more meaningful than any academic degree. You earn merits toward the degree through teaching, judging, attending accredited classes and service to the organization but you must also prove your talent by entering prints in the PPA competition and have them accepted as "merit prints". That is the big challenge. Let me tell you a little bit about the process.

Every year, you go through all the images you created over the last year looking for the very best. You can only choose four each year. Then you take each image and breathe life into it. You must do everything you can to ensure that the image is technically flawless and has maximum impact. You selectively lighten and darken areas of the image to draw the eye to the story it has to tell. You eliminate anything that could be a distraction, no matter how small—every blemish, every twig that is out of place. You look at the image upside down. Are there distractions you didn’t notice when it was right side up? Get rid of them. In the days of film (just 6 years ago), our tools were the print enlarger, a paper cutter, and a tray of photographic dyes that we would apply with a very tiny paintbrush. Now, we use the computer. Every image is matted, sprayed with a high gloss lacquer and titled. That title is crucial because it helps tell the print’s story to the judges.

The moment the print appears before the judges, there should be a sudden intake of breath. The judges, trying to appear cool and well reasoned, are thinking, "Wow! I wish I had taken that!" Then and only then, do you have a merit print. Every photographer who has ever entered competition knows the agony of putting their very best before the judges, only to be told, "That’s ok. . . but not good enough."
Last year, three out of four of Neil’s prints were merit prints, giving him enough merits for his Master’ degree.
On January 5, we traveled to Tampa, Florida for the Professional Photographers of America national convention to receive his award. There were over 8,000 photographers from all over the world at this convention. We attended classes, looked at the print salon where the merit prints from 2007 hung, and spent hours in the enormous trade show, coming away with loads of fresh inspiration.


On Tuesday evening, Neil donned his tux and we trotted off for official photographs and the awards ceremony. The ceremony was much like a graduation with speeches and special awards. There were over 200 people receiving degrees of various kinds. As the announcer said, "R. Neil Haugen, Monmouth, Oregon, CPP, FP, sponsored by Miriam M. Haugen, Master Photographer, CPP, FP" we walked onto the stage and I placed the gold ribbon around his neck and gave him a big kiss. He shook the hand of the PPA president who presented him with the degree certificate. Several of our colleagues from Oregon were there to congratulate Neil which made it all the more meaningful.

The pursuit of this goal has made us better photographers. It has forced us to stretch and grow in ways we might never have chosen to on our own. What is the next goal? Neil and I will be working toward our Craftsman degree, which has an emphasis on teaching. In the process of teaching other photographers, we will become even better at what we do.

The Haugen's Family tradition

By Autumn Hofer

Presentation Director

My family became part of the Haugen’s family fourteen years ago when my sister chose Haugen’s for her senior high school portraits.

For the next four years, the large wall portrait was displayed prominently in our hallway, as part of our family portrait gallery. And fall of 1997 found me packing up my beloved cat, Mattee, along with my entire wardrobe, for my Haugen’s experience. Soon after, my wall portrait joined my sister’s on the wall of honor, where both have graced my family home ever since.

Who could have guessed that the summer of 2007, some ten years later, I would join the Haugen’s family as an employee? And, in addition to my enjoyable work, I have continued the portrait tradition as well… my husband Tim, son Dylan (age 2 ½) and I just sat for our first Haugen’s family portrait. I have a feeling that portrait will soon join those of my sister and me on my mother’s wall, expanding the memories of family love that these special portraits create. This portrait will also have a prominent place in my own home, where we begin the second generation of the Haugen’s tradition.

Here at Haugen’s we are coming the end of our busy high school senior portrait season. I have worked with high school senior families on a daily basis, helping them chose that perfect portrait. I am looking forward to seeing these same young people in the years to come when they return for wedding and family portraits… as they continue their own Haugen’s family tradition.

Growing Up Haugen's

By Eleanor Wershow, Director of Operations

When I was seventeen and a senior in high school, I knew exactly which studio was going to do my senior portraits. It was the same studio who did my siblings’ senior portraits and my uncle’s wedding. Oh! And my siblings in 1979, me and my siblings in 1980, me in 1982, and the list goes on and on and on.

The photographers who took all these photos? Why, Haugen’s of course! I was lucky enough to grow up with an aunt and uncle who are amazing photographers. When my sister got married, and then my brother, there were no questions about who was going to do their wedding photography, even though my sister was married at the Grand Canyon and my brother in St. Paul, MN.

My mom retained Neil and Miriam for both weddings. This included travel & lodging, of course, as it does for all destination wedding photographers. This seemed completely normal to me, to commission the best photographers to commemorate the most important events in our lives.

Then I started working for Neil and Miriam. To my surprise, I discovered there are people who have no idea who to go to for wonderful portraits. They have never experienced fine photography and the joy that comes with having quality art of the most important people in their lives.

Now that I think about it, I was extremely lucky to have Haugen’s in the family. You see, my mom is a pragmatic person, and she is not the sort of person who would have normally thought of commissioning personal photographic art. Yet her most prized possessions are the seven wall portraits Miriam and Neil have taken of my family over the last 28 years.

Awards? What Awards?

By Eleanor Wershow, Director of Operations

Here’s a question for all you trivia lovers out there: How many times have the two Haugen photographers won Best Portrait of a Teenage Boy?

I grew up with Haugen’s (see the article “Growing Up Haugen’s”) but until last week I didn’t have a clue how many awards Neil & Miriam had won. Then I found a box of trophies gathering dust in a corner. A big box. With LOTS of awards. So many, in fact, that we now have a whole display case filled with trophies and a wall covered in plaques.

All of these awards are from the Professional Photographers of Oregon and Profession Photographers of America yearly print competitions. Every winter Miriam and Neil review the images they’ve taken in the previous year and choose eight (four per photographer) to send to competition.

In 2007 alone, Neil took home the trophy for Best Social Candid Wedding Division while Miriam won Best Teenage Boy and the Fuji Masterpiece Award. Since one of them seems to win at least one trophy every year, I guess I’d better start rearranging the trophy case now!

PS: The answer to the trivia question is SIX times.