Yo!

One of the best decisions we made when opening Cuppa Yo was to have Studio Absolute create our branding. From day one people thought we were a franchise. We were nervous to invest in branding at first; which now seems like such a superb deal—we are so glad we did!

—KEITH C., CUPPA YO FOUNDER

Cuppa Yo is now available for franchising opportunities with locations in Bend, Redmond, Hermiston, and North Plains, OR, Buckeye, AZ, Willis, TX and soon to open in California, Kansas and Georgia.

Cuppa Yo is one the most fun and delicious brands we’ve created. We feel the brand’s success can be attributed to the consistent brand stewardship of the Founders and adhering to the brand standards that SA developed in the brand design phase.

SA provided brand identity services for Cuppa Yo that included logo, stationery, advertising, packaging, environmental signage, collateral, and website design, photography and more.

Studio Reboot

With an over 4-year hiatus, I am rebooting Studio Absolute. I’m excited to again work with the best clients I could ask for and to further create and refine local and regional brands. Through Studio Absolute I will continue to provide brand + website design, creative direction, and photography services. With experience spanning nearly three decades, and an extensive portfolio including logos, packaging, signage, and digital; I would love to hear from you if you think Studio Absolute would be a good fit for your company.

I look forward to rekindling relationships and sharing in your brand’s growth. Contact me with a project inquiry or just to catch up at russ@studioabsolute.com.

Forecast : Sunny without the chance of a hatch

We’ve been fortunate this winter to escape the snowmeggon of previous years. Temps in the 60’s, dry, sunny…somewhat atypical for February in Central Oregon. My good friend and I decided to make a quick weekend trip down to the Summer Lake area for some trout fishing. Ended up the weather was as good as the fishing with many fish to the net and a couple of 18”+ footballs. The topography at the Ana River is unique and awe inspiring; alkali hills, a blanket of thorny skeletons for plant life, fine dust or greasy mud and a perfect little trout stream running right through it.

A perfect day for a hatch of blue winged olives and midges. The hatch kinda happened but I guess the fish didn’t get the memo. We ended up with only two fish caught on dries and the remainder of the catch relying on nymphing. This was a day we felt energized to be alive, enjoying the sunshine on our pale faces and the feel of a delicate take of a solid trout underneath the waters’ surface. Reminded us of why we fly fish…sometimes its not about the fish caught but rather the places explored, the time spent with family and friends and the little funny things that happen along the way. This one won’t be soon forgot.

Canon to Fujifilm

I've made a recent upgrade in studio camera gear as I felt I was lagging in technology and also had a need for better quality video as clients are asking for more video micro snippets during most of my still shoots. I also do a majority of my shooting in the outdoors and on travel so I needed to stay mobile and consider the physical size and weight of my gear too. Other things like lens quality, touchscreens and other technologies helped tipped the scales in my decision too.

So, after hours of research and renting gear to try out, I have decided to move away from Canon and have opted for the mirrorless Fuji X-H1 as my main body. As all you photographers know, changing gear brands is a HUGE deal as we all have a considerable investment in camera bodies, lenses and accessories so I was super anxious in making this move. The X-H1 got my vote for the smaller physical size (even with a battery grip it's still compact), fast frame rate (up to 14 frames per second), 4k video, in-camera stabilization, pivoting touchscreen, amazing autofocus and weather resistance. I love the manual controls on the X-H1 as they are kind of old school and similar to my old Canon AE-1 film camera that I shot growing up and the aperature ring makes the aperature settings for me feel mechanical, which I really like.

For the Fujifilm lenses, I have always preferred Canon prime lenses and figured I would invest in Fujifilm primes as well but was surprised to see that the quality of Fujifilm lenses is so good that I'm getting extremely sharp shots using Fuji zooms. For my outdoor fly fishing photography I am usually wading in a river and the convenience of a zoom is especially nice as I don't have to physically move myself to reframe the shot. I am slowly building my kit and have started out with the XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR wide angle zoom (24mm - 84mm equivalent) and these shots of my pup, Juno, in our winter wonderland here in Bend, OR were shot using the XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro (122mm equivalent) that I use for portraits, product and food photography. I am very happy with the choice to upgrade to the Fujifilm system and am looking forward to getting out to shoot with it more!

High Desert Custom

Custom photoshoot commissioned by custom home designer, Jason Todd of Jason Todd Home Design. Studio Absolute provided exterior drone and interior macro images that showcased the unique design, materials and building methods for this private residence. This home’s design was crafted to optimize the natural light of the high desert landscape. We made use of the natural light for our shoot and provided a variety of images that tell the story of this quality custom home.

Steelhead Outfitters Brand Refinement

Recent brand design refinement project and photo assignment for Steelhead Outfitters, a fly fishing guide services on the lower Deschutes River in Oregon. Studio Absolute was commissioned to update the client’s brandmark and also provide fresh imagery for digital.