Intro to the Blog

I say that if we are going to start a blog, I think you guys should really know who is talking. My name is Trung Phan, I am the editor-in-chief, owner, and founder, and the guy behind the camera at Trung Phan Photography. We can go ahead and start on why I chose my name to be part of my business. When I began photographing over a decade ago at this point, I really wanted to build something that I would consider a part of me. Something that I could identify as a piece of my personality when looked back upon. And I really have to tell you guys that photography is one of my pride and joys. Wedding photography has allowed me to build relationships with so many people that I would never have had the chance to interact with. Additionally, I was on a plane at least 22 times in 2019 traveling around the united states being a wedding photographer. I am so incredibly lucky to be in that position, but it definitely came with its share of hard work.

Then came my time on the Appalachian Trail. That is a story on its own but I definitely left with a few life skills and life lessons. The first being that there is a lot one person can do with enough time and dedicated effort. The old adage is that time heals all wounds, something they leave out is an order to do that you have to face your demons. And when you have nothing but time and yourself, this is probably one of the best things you could do. I went on the Appalachian Trail in the final leg of my college requirements. It was my cross-cultural requirements needed of all graduating seniors at King University. I use that time to take care of any baggage that I did not want to follow me in my further adult life and my career. And a big decision was made, it was time to go cross-country. 

Moving to Portland Oregon was both the simplest and most difficult journey I've ever done. Long days and long nights, no friends, no family. I moved out here partially on a whim, and because I felt something so strong inside of me saying you need to do this now before you put down roots and choose not to go. My attitude, to begin with, was cut all ties and start anew. Years on now I can tell you guys that I cherish nothing more than the relationships that have survived me moving to Portland. And in addition to that, I have made new relationships that would never have happened otherwise. 

There is a lot to consider when I say I moved into Portland Oregon, that really came after 4 years of being on the West Coast. Living in places all within 10 miles of downtown Portland. I worked as a daycare assistant, as a barista, and various other work opportunities. But every spare hour and even a lot of main hours we spent on wedding photography. I accredit a few things to really be able to consider myself a member of this community. Number one was recently becoming the leader of the local Rising Tide Group. Number two is booking weddings purely through the association of weddings I have already covered.
 

I always have dozens of ideas and projects that I want to cover in any given time. A lot of them get shelved, a lot of them put in the “one-day projects” folder, And sometimes I carry them out but never release them. Matthew Larkin and I have been working really hard on the website to make it more of a hub for all the information and media that come through from Trung Phan photography to be able to share them to a wider audience. This blog is another step in that direction, here I can write a little bit more freely about my interest in photography that isn’t always necessarily wedding-related. You can definitely find new projects here, inspiration, education, shenanigans, and everything else under the sun on this blog.
 

I am excited to get started! The first set of blogs is going to be generally unrelated for me to get a field on what everyone is interested in. You can keep up directly by signing up for the newsletter on the side panel (comming soon).