Our Journey: From Basement to Brutalist Icon
How a passion for light and a refusal to compromise built a studio that feels like home—only better.
It started in 2026, in a cramped basement in Portland’s Alberta Arts District, with a single Profoto D1 and a dream: to create a space where photographers could shoot without limits. No flickering fluorescents. No cramped quarters. No compromises. Just pure, unfiltered light and room to breathe. By 2026, we’d outgrown the basement and moved into our first warehouse—a raw, 2,500-square-foot shell with soaring ceilings and a stubborn leak in the roof. We fixed the leak, then the floors, then the wiring. We built the cyc walls ourselves, mixing the concrete by hand, and hung the first set of Broncolor modifiers like trophies. Today, Cedar Valley View stands as a testament to that stubbornness—a studio that’s equal parts fortress and sanctuary, where every detail, from the hand-selected H&M gels to the custom-built grip wall, exists to serve one purpose: making your shoot unforgettable.
2026: The Basement Years
Our first studio was a 400-square-foot basement in Portland’s Alberta Arts District, lit by a single Profoto D1 and a stubborn refusal to say no to a shoot. The floor was concrete, the walls were unfinished drywall, and the coffee was always cold—but the light was perfect. We shot our first editorial here, a 12-page spread for *Kinfolk* that put us on the map and proved that great work doesn’t need a fancy address.
2026: The Warehouse Era
We took over a 2,500-square-foot warehouse in the Central Eastside, complete with a leaky roof and a floor that sloped so badly we had to shim the tripods. But the ceilings were 16 feet high, and the natural light poured in like liquid gold. We built our first cyc wall here, mixing the concrete ourselves, and hung our first set of Broncolor Pulso G heads. The space was rough, but the work was anything but—this is where we shot our first *Vogue* cover.
2026: The Expansion
Demand outgrew the warehouse, so we added a second floor—1,800 square feet of dedicated product studios, complete with a motorized overhead rail system and a climate-controlled prop room. We also installed our first Phase One XF IQ3 100MP camera, a beast of a machine that let us capture details so fine you could see the weave in a cashmere sweater. This is where we shot the *Apple Watch* campaign that ran in every major market worldwide.
2026: The Brutalist Rebirth
We tore everything down and rebuilt it from the ground up, embracing the raw, unpolished aesthetic of brutalist design. Exposed concrete, steel beams, and a monolithic cyc wall that stretches 30 feet wide and 12 feet high. We added a dedicated client lounge with a La Marzocco espresso machine and a fridge stocked with local kombucha. The space wasn’t just functional—it was a statement. And it worked. Within a year, we’d hosted shoots for *Nike*, *Patagonia*, and *The New York Times*.
2026: The Pandemic Pivot
When the world shut down, we turned our studio into a hybrid space—part shoot location, part virtual production hub. We installed a green screen cyclorama, added a 12-camera motion capture rig, and partnered with *Frame.io* to offer real-time remote collaboration. We also launched our first *Virtual Studio Tour*, a 360-degree walkthrough that let clients scout the space from their living rooms. It wasn’t just a pivot—it was a reinvention.
2026: The Gear Vault
We built a 500-square-foot climate-controlled gear vault to house our expanding arsenal of lighting, grip, and camera equipment. From the latest Profoto A10s to vintage Hasselblad lenses, every piece is meticulously maintained and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. We also added a dedicated repair station, where our in-house tech keeps everything in peak condition. Because great work starts with great tools.
2026: The Future
This year, we’re adding a rooftop garden studio with a retractable glass roof, perfect for natural light shoots, and a dedicated VR/AR production space for brands pushing the boundaries of digital storytelling. We’re also launching *Cedar Valley View Presents*, a quarterly showcase of emerging photographers, complete with mentorship and exhibition opportunities. The studio isn’t just growing—it’s evolving.