World Habitat Day

On this day, we reaffirm that adequate shelter is a basic human right, and we focus on the housing conditions of cities and towns around the world. We also use this day to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

On October 5, 2009, please support of World Habitat Day, as we raise our voices and declare that the lack of decent, affordable housing is unacceptable.

4 weeks

Noemi turned 4-weeks old this weekend. She's chubbin' up nicely.

Introducing: Noemi Elizabeth Killibrew Bishoff

She came into being on August 29th at 4:45am. Her first cries were more a soothing quivering statement of confusion and concern than the piercing screams we're accustomed to hearing on TV shows and in movies. As births go, I'd like to say it was more of an "arrival" than anything. It was a wonderful experience and Bonnie is my hero. Her dedication to having a natural birth and strength throughout inspires and humbles me. It was a wonderful reminder of the amazing things that she has made possible throughout our lives.

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We've had a lot of questions on the name. While Hollander's name is one of family history, her's was one we found lyrically interesting and refreshingly unique. Nomi... as in, "to know me is to love me". We struggled with the arbitrariness of assigning another human being a made-up name and were happy to discover an alternate spelling, "Noemi". While the pronunciation of Noemi is "No(e)-mi," we thought we'd keep it easy on everyone involved by pronouncing it... well... wrong. (At least until she decides to do otherwise later in life)

Since we signed the official paperwork, I've discovered there are several origin's and meanings. The Noemi of Hebru origin means "pleasant" which, so far, seems the most appropriate. Meanwhile, in france her name means "beautiful" and, surprisingly, there is a Japanese variant meaning "Honesty."

Regarding the rest of her monikers, "Elizabeth" is my mother and sister's middle name, and "Killibrew" is Bonnie's grandmother's maiden name as well as the middle name of her sister Anne. I originally wanted to name Noemi "Killibrew" but Bonnie wasn't keen on having a daughter going by the name Killee. Seems fair.

For more photo's of newborn Noemi, visit http://erikbishoff.smugmug.com/Portraits/Noemi.

Brews, Blues & Habitat for Humanity.

The bass drum and guitar from the live music being played just down the park is rocking our house right now and we couldn't be more pleased. Congratulations to Habitat for Humanity and the first annual Willamette Valley Brews and Blues festival for what seemed to be a VERY successful event. It was my pleasure to be a "amber" sponsor for a very important cause. An additional thanks to Habitat for adding the Erik Bishoff Photography logo to the brochure. It was a nice surprise. (I guess it helps when your wife is on the board)

Oh... and a HUGE thanks for Hopworks Urban Brewery a-way up in Portland for their participation. Who knew?!

Hollander the Builder

Hollander the Builder 03 | by Erik R. Bishoff

Hollander made it easy on us this year by picking an easy costume. Hollander and I are both HUGE fans of Bob the Builder so I was happy to oblige.

Three Talented Designers

With these three we have an artist, a photographer and a digital craftsman. And of course budding young almost-architects. Kate Beckley, Erik Bishoff and Paul Harman bring exciting new skills and passions to our growing staff.

Click here for more on me, Kate, Paul and my new home-away-from-home, PIVOT Architecture.

Photo by Sol

Sol's in China... again. I thought I was jealous when he took a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railroad a few years back but that was just the beginning. After trekking the globe for years, Sol has found himself at the Olympics! GO SOL!

Sol took this pic of me & Hollander at our old house near Hayward Field a few months back. We offered up a parking spot for him during the Olympic Trials so he wouldn't have to haul his gear across town... parking was scarce. He told me that this was his best pic of the day but if you take a look at his Blog, The Wild Weird World of Sports, you can tell he's being modest, as usual.

For more on Sol:

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The Wild Weird World of Sports - Sol's Blog
Sol Neelman Photojournalist - Official Website
Third Place - Sports Porfolio - POYI.ORG (2006 & 2007)