Well the numbers 09/10/11 were quite the numbers this year. Many inquiries for that day to get married and I was very lucky to partake in the festivities that Danielle and Derek had planned for their special day.

The sun was out, it was warm and beautiful outside and I could instantly see the chemistry between these two warm loving people who just wanted to have a good time with their good friends and family. Danielle, full of confidence, poise and laughter was eager to get the day going. Derek was just as eager, confident and full of jokes that made everyone laugh.

The ceremony and the reception were at the Celtic Hall to which I was given the challenge of shooting all the guests from a very “tiny” wooden balcony. I personally am not afraid of heights but the grade of the ladder would have given anyone goose bumps-especially given the fact there was equipement that had to go up and down that ladder with people underneath you. Thank you for the challenge Danielle and Derek.

To a lovely happy couple. My best wishes for a very happy and healthy married life.

Until next week.

Well it seems that I am blogging a storm lately… probably as I have lots to catch up on and I now have some time to actually sit down and do it.

So allow me to introduce a really cool lady. Jesse and I were introduced to each other about 2 years ago and we hit it off well. We both discovered that we are very similar in lots of things, and since then we talk very often.  Motherhood, values and of course good laughter!! She has very interesting opinions on issues that we talk about.  When she does something she does it with vigor, grace, style and passion.

Well this summer we talked about photos and she wanted me to do some as she never gets them done. So off to the University of Alberta we went and got some real goodies. Have to admit that I got excited when I was taking photographs that I nearly collapsed from pure delight.

Take a look at this sexy momma of 4!

See you all in a couple of days!!

One of the many cool things about being a photographer is talking to your peers about your work. What you like, what you do not like, who you admire and who you scratch your head at and wonder why.

I was out for dinner with a very dear friend who is a photographer too and she and I were talking about self portraiture.

**For those who know me and my work, I have done at least 2 years worth of self portraiture …. probably why I can not keep a profile photograph for a long time on Facebook or on Twitter for very long, I keep discovering new things to photograph about myself.  ANYWAY, I did a self portraiture project of 366 days and 52 weeks of music. You can find the 366 here and the 52 weeks here. It took a lot of time and I have learned plenty about myself in those 2 years. I am thinking about picking it up again, but I am not ready yet. Time is not on my side like it was when I did it before.**

Now, back to the moment when I was at dinner with my friend. She and I have similar backgrounds, values,  love in art and in good food, good wine and good company. She was talking about how she wanted to do a self portrait that was true to her and her personality. So I encouraged her (naturally) to do it and then she dared me to do a self portrait almost straight on. These were her words:  “Take a general photograph of you and see what other people see in the photograph-other than a face.”

Now I admit I let my creative imagination guide my own self portraiture as I see visions of what my personality is like. This test was hard. I am used to capturing the real person who are my clients…but I am not used to seeing me as a real person.

So you be the judge. What do you see, other than a face.

Until the next blog post…which will be soon.

See you soon.

It definitely has been one crazy summer here in Edmonton. With many days of rain one would think that we would be in one of those climates where they have a rainy season and a dry season. I know that we all have been complaining of the mosquitoes, myself included, especially on photo shoots. This one is no exception at all.

I also acknowledge that I have been away most of the summer, but hopefully I will be back this fall in full force, blogging and shooting to my hearts content until my memory cards are full.

Now, onward and upward.

This portrait session is of a special young lady that is very close to my heart. She is only seventeen, just graduated high school and would like to be an archivist in the near future in her studies. I introduce to you-Liana.

We have a special nickname for each other. As some people know she is significantly younger than I and when she was five she was teasing me and calling me a string bean-you know just child’s play. Well, me being 24 and trying to be a good sport about a small child taunts started to grate on me.  Finally it got too much and I called her a “Pencil neck”. The look on this child’s face was of complete shock and then as a child of 5 years old-she went into full throttle laughter. Since then we have been calling each other that.

So here are some images that I have of her when she came to visit.

It is that time of year again where kids of all ages are finishing school and graduating from their specific grades.

I have a graduate in my family-my daughter. My daughter is actually graduating a second time. This past year I have been heavily invested in her as her teacher last year that she should be held back a year. Throughout last summer I had reservations about her not being with her peers to Kindergarten.  I remember people when I was in school as a child that were held back a year and they were teased mercilessly. I did not want that for my little girl.

That summer was also full of appointments to go to specialists and get her assessed so she could get some help getting up to speed with the class that she is in now.

We went into the school year with a great team of people to help my daughter blossom. Everyone on the team worked really well with each other and they had a genuine interest in my daughters well being.  1 case leader, 2 speech therapists, 1 occupational therapist and a school aide as well as her teacher came together for my daughter.  From September until now, Sofia has blossomed and will continue to blossom.To everyone that helped my daughter in every way possible-I sincerely thank you…even those two words are not enough to say how I feel.

So to celebrate my daughters SECOND Graduation I give you her last graduation photo and her current one.

Personally other than the fact that she is a year older I see MANY changes in the the image. I see her focus more in the current photo (which is on the right) in her eyes. She has always been a happy girl but there is more light radiating in her that is wanting to burst out and show the world.

I did a photo shoot with my friend Rachel. We both took our children out for a mini session of them playing. I will only post my daughter as this post is about her. I wanted to show how much she has blossomed, hopefully I achieved that. Sofia is seriously into Rapunzel we watched Tangled during spring break and she as been hooked ever since. Her Nana bought her a Rapunzel dress and once it is on-it is difficult to take off her. Sofia went as far as to cut her hair, just like Rapunzel, but that is another story.

Dear Sofia. Mommy is VERY proud of you and all that you have accomplished this year. May your summer be full of swimming, playing and sunshine. Now go play with your friends,  laugh hard and spread your sunshine around.

Love Mom

Well this was something new for me. I have not done a maternity shoot ever and this was my first go. The model (who does not want to be named) was expecting her first baby and she was more than willing to try something new for a maternity shoot.  She even came from out of town to get a photo shoot done.

I do get excited when a client they give their total trust in me to produce something that would make this experience memorable.  An added bonus was before she went to the photo shoot she went to my favorite salon in the city and got all dolled up for the shoot.

Most of the images here are in black and white as I felt that the mood was part of the experience. So here are some samples of what happened during our awesome session!

See you soon!!

It has been a while since I wrote here. Believe me that I have been getting my fill of photo shoots this winter.

Most of the photo shoots have been head shots for different companies. Usually a head shot goes shoulder length but there were a couple of full length poses that were used for other material-such as a magazine spread, business cards and website material.

Anyway-here is a sample of what I have done in the past while.

Another Post coming soon!

Until then…