I'm hilarious! No really I am. I was walking down Bird Tweets memory lane deciding what to move to the new site and i met up with my alter ego Dr. Bird. Her sense of style has really amped up over the past 4 years from social-work-burkenstock to hip-chick-heels-and-short-skirts so i gave her a makeover. And if you really want to laugh listen to her Voice Mail recording below! You'll probably recognise yourself. I know i did. Continue reading

The construction phase of my new home is nearing completion. I've spent inumerable happy hours trying on 'this color, that design and those fonts' only to find i come back to the same look each time. Richly textured shades of grey all the way from palest smoke to indigo black. If i had more advanced skills in html and knew flash i would break all the web 2 'best practice' guidelines and make the pages alive with birds flying off in various directions, inspirational words drifting over the pages when you asked a question, old leather bound books opening when you touch a page.... it is difficult to resist creating a world within a world and really moving into beautiful. love, robin Continue reading

Here's what's happening behind the scenes of Robin Laws Photography. I've been busy sorting through and packing up all 334 days of my beloved Bird Tweets blog and preparing for a big move to a new Prophoto Wordpress website. It's currently in "under costruction" mode so no one has to see the bare bones and mess. I'm super excited about the change and i'm looking forward to inviting you all over for the Grand Opening! As things progress I'll keep you up to date with posts here and on Facebook. Thank you so much for your ongoing loyalty and love. It means so much to me. love, robin xo Continue reading

Here's a tiny sneak peek trailer from the full length video production I created for the Queen of Tarte's Holiday Event. The full length film premiered on November 18th 2011 during the event. The Tarte shop is filled to bursting with the usual, crazy mix of original art, vintage finds and holiday sparkle. Check the blog for extended store hours and more information. Don't miss the next party! love robin Continue reading

"I'm not sure if there's one right place I'm supposed to be, he said, but I know a couple of wrong places I'd give a second try in a heartbeat. " ~story people~ Continue reading

I'll be shooting in the graveyard today with this beautiful model. Boo! Continue reading

If you let go of the edge and drown yourself in light, what remains of the day will be more colorful and you'll find yourself smiling more freely. Best of all is when you fall sleep and all your dreams are set to music. Continue reading

Life would be easier if i had a better map of my head. Then i could really get the lay of the land before i pack up and strike out along a creative path. One of the main challenges i face is to get all my selves to agree on something and head in the same direction. A chorus chatters endelessly in my head, some loud, some soft, all talking at once and vying for my creative attention. One voice whispers so gently i can't make out what is being said without losing my patience and shushing the rest into a shamed silence. By the time i lean in close to hear the whispery one everyone has gone silent. No whispers of inspiration, no excited laughter or exclamations. Just silence. My mind has gone blank and i find myself idealess and bereft. So i fold up my faded map, tuck it in the kithchen drawer and seek out inspiration from other sources. I always find a well of emotional inspration when i read a novel. Looking at other artists photographs takes me to the land of infinite possibility and i itch to try something new. I often seek out quotes... Continue reading

I am traveling in a land where it is warm even in moonlight. No really, i am traveling and wanted to share some of the beauty of this place with you. Today i paddled my kayak through a maze of mangrove trees and to my amazement a lovely white egret landed upon the front of my small watercraft hitching a ride. We quietly skimmed the water going north and shared a few minutes of tranquility. When it was time to depart he left me with a sense of wonder and the knowledge that there are moments of pure wonder to witness every day i am alive. Continue reading

pen·ti·men·to; (p n t -m n t ) n. pl. pen·ti·men·ti (-t ) An underlying image in a painting, as an earlier painting, part of a painting, or original draft, that shows through, usually when the top layer of paint has become transparent with age. [Italian, correction, pentimento, from pentire, to repent, from Latin paenit re.] pentimento. the revealing of the original, the first. the truth. "I stare, startled into absolute silence, my entire being immobile with surprise. The damp rag hangs limp in my hand and i am barely aware of the pungent sting of turpentine in my nose. This is not the original i expected to find beneath the fading image. I remember something entirely different than what is showing through as i slowly peel back the old layers. I expected it to be fatally flawed, over saturated, distorted, almost lurid in it's many exagerated details. And of course it is all of that but also much, much more..... it's full to bursting with a lively spirit that appeals to the melodramatic and extravagant side of myself. A younger, less cynicle self. The pure pigment of alizarin on lips and cheeks a siren call to be wary of... Continue reading

"I'm an outsider by choice, she said, but I'm hoping that won't be my choice forever." ~story people~ Continue reading

my last confession condemns the one who hears it. i'll whisper 'cause it's a secret and a living shroud. love is not a blessing, there's a killer in the crowd. Continue reading

live as you dream... wretched and alone or as a repentent sinner forgiven Continue reading

Don't let in the black beast. no matter her dark beauty. she is deception, illusion. shut your eyes, cover your ears. she whispers cunning lies of love and madness. Continue reading

When Joe and i were married 29 years ago we had a lovely wedding. It was small, intimate and everything was just the way we wanted it to be. We were young, full of love and life was all about possibilities. All these years later the world has changed many times over in ways good and bad and yet the important things have remained stable. We are still in love and many of life's adventures are still waiting to be discovered. What is making me happy today is that we are going on our second honeymoon this next week to one of my most favorite places in the world. It is a place we have not shared together before and so we get to experience it as only lovers can. Each day woven together with our unique perspectives culminating in something richer and deeper with the sharing. I could have written this post from so many persepectives. Our lives together are almost as long as our lives apart. For me more than half my life has been spent growing in tandom with this person i love. I find myself awed by that fact. We are blessed and fortunate and i... Continue reading

I've written my favorite story to date for the July issue of Somerset Life! If you long to live in the land of infinite possibilities then be inspired by the amazing story of one man who decided that all he needed to fulfill his own dream was a full heart, some daring and a little bit of madness. love, robin Continue reading

Caleb Bolliger Sarah Crateau & Kylee Dockins Caleb Bolliger and Barry Bolliger Caleb Hangin' out Carol Bolliger, Sarah Crateau, Kylee Dockins, Lauren Olsen TARTE this weekend Saturday July 16th 10am-5pm Sunday July 17th 11am-3pm 21581 A Main Street Aurora, OR 97002 Continue reading

Ahhhhh who remembers 1968 the "Summer of Love"? As i said in my last post think Woodstock, peace marches, race riots, jim morrison, jimi hendrix and janis joplin. Afros, granny glasses and everyone using LSD to open their minds. Think groovy, far out, bummed out, spaced out, dropped out. Imagine 16,000 American soldiers coming home in a box from Viet Nam and the assassination of our political leaders. "1968 was the pivotal year of the sixties: the moment when all of a nation's impulses toward violence, idealism, diversity, and disorder peaked to produce the greatest possible hope-and the worst imaginable despair." (Charles Kaiser, 1968 in America) For many of us who came of age in that remarkable era, it retains an extraordinary power over our sense of personal and political identity. That's the backdrop for my and Cindy's conceptual photo shoot "The Summer of Love". That and four girls, one baby and one dog who want to attend Woodstock art and music festival on Max Yasgur's farm in New York. Everything you see here in the "Summer of Love" photoshoot is for sale at TARTE this weekend Saturday July 16th 10am-5pm Sunday July 17th 11am-3pm 21581 A Main Street Aurora,... Continue reading

We're off on a road trip, our lunch packed, pillow stowed in the back seat along with the new Italian Vogue and Somerset Life. Those are just in case we need a little break from listening to the Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone book being read aloud by Jim Dale. We have an out of town wedding to attend which entails a nice long drive along the beautiful Columbia river gorge. Soon after i return i will be doing a brand new photo-shoot titled The Summer of Love. The concept "Summer of Love" elicits a very real set of images, stories and ideas in my mind and I think of the literal and historical 'summer of love' of 1968 when I was 16 years old. Think Woodstock, peace, jim morrison, jimi hendrix and janis joplin. Afros, granny glasses and everyone using LSD to open their minds. If you can let those kinds of images float around in your mind along with the fresh and modern creations of Cindy I you'll get the idea. Have a great 4th!! Love robin Continue reading

While i was immersed in remodeling my blog and 'branding' myself i had the chance to really think deeply about my identity as a photographer. It's always been impossible for me to distinguish my personal identity from my professional one and i wouldn't have it any other way. In order for me to do my best at anything important (living, loving, creating, working) I need to feel genuinely interested and committed from the inside out. That's my rather in-expert way of describing the human state of being authentic or genuine. For me it comes down to personality. The dictionary says that personality is the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual. The only feature i would add to that framework is life experience, which means i am constantly evolving, forever in a state of transformation. I started thinking about my personality in regards to my photography and realized that "branding" myself as a photographer is nothing more complicated than being myself behind the camera and in front of the computer. If i stay true to that path then the resulting images reveal not only my own distinctive style but that of the subject as... Continue reading

It's official, I'm a photographer. Way back in February of this year i wrote a long journal entry about my evolution as a photographer. In essence i came to realize that i have everything i need to create a rich and beautiful body of work that is deeply satisfying for me and personally compelling to others. The photographs i've been taking since that particular epiphany speak to my style as a storyteller and performer. There are many things that led up to that life changing journal entry but what i love best is how it continues to create a ceaseless momentum and perfect alchemy of inspiration and action. I'm happy to announce that i am accepting commissions from those who are looking for the unique, the different and over the top portraits. I work in a beautiful, light filled studio bursting with extravagant props waiting to assist in creating your perfect story. My colleague, friend and co-conspirator Cindy Dockins brings her unique styling and remarkable creative vision to the process . My Business Card Uncommon Portraits and Lavish Styling The Studio You can email me using the links on my sidebar. I look forward to working with you! love, robin Continue reading

Robin Laws Photography and Bird Tweets is in the midst of a remodel. Stay Tuned! love, robin Continue reading

I've been saying it for awhile now, if i were to get a tattoo it would not be some minuscule symbol of peace, love or an image of my favorite flower. Nor would it be hidden away in shame, unseen by anyone but my lover, my physician and ultimately the mortician before i go up in flames. No if i were to get a tattoo it would be something magnificent, glorious, breathtaking. A brilliant kaleidoscope of color and elaborate design made up of swirls, twirls, curves, swoops and exotic birds in flight. I would choose a palette of blues from that of the palest sky to the deepest indigo of darkest night. It would all be accentuated with a red as dark and richly saturated as blood. No my tattoo would be the doppelganger of my true identity. My spirit made visible, painted on the skin and fitting like a satin glove.Yes if i were to get a tattoo it would be like coming out of the closet of conventionality and walking into the light. ’this is a magical beast that holds the secret of light & shadow in a safe place in her heart and when it has been... Continue reading

Dear Kylee, May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you are wonderful, and don't forget to make some art - write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And i hope somewhere in the next year you surprise yourself. ~Neil Gaiman~ love, robin Continue reading

"Are you a princess? I said & she said I'm much more than a princess, but you don't have a name for it yet here on earth. " ~story people~ love, robin Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com Continue reading