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We kicked off our grad season a couple of months ago and have been once again enjoying creating unique portraits that showcase each grad’s personality.
John’s family started a paintball business last year and it is something he enjoys immensely. This was my favorite from his session:
If you are looking for some fun, visit: Reavers Paintball
“The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars were the gifts you gave
To the night and the empty skies my love”
~from The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face by Celine Dion
It is a magical moment – one reserved for mothers. After nine uncomfortable months, months when time seems to slow down to a slow creep, followed by those painful hours of fear and hard work, a mother sees her child’s face for the first time. It is a powerful moment, one forever etched in any mother’s memory, when love overpowers any pain experienced and tears cloud the view of perfection in her eyes. The first time you see their face, the first time you touch your child, hold your child, kiss your child and have his/her fingers wrap around your finger for the very first time – these moments eliminate everything else in the world and for a moment perfection exists.
The first time I ever saw his tiny face, I fell in love once again with his perfection. Angels have had to bless this child for how beautiful he is. I am a truly blessed woman to get to experience this moment once again.
Welcome to the world Kaiel David – we’ve been waiting a long time to meet you!
Kaiel made his big debut on his biggest sister’s 12 birthday! A truly special day in our family!
“Oh the weather outside is frightful…..” but it just so happens to be the first day of spring! It’s hard to remain in a spring mood when the wind is howling and the snow is falling heavily! Always one to look at my glass as half full, I plopped some beautiful tulips so full of the scent of spring on my table and “played” for a couple of hours in my studio! So in case anybody else needs reassurance that spring is really here, please enjoy!
A hint of sunbeams inside this tulip!
My blood pressure is slowly setting back down to a more normal level this morning and as I can start to breathe normally again, I start to wonder – “am I the only one?”. Holidays are my favorite – I love to decorate for Christmas, I love everything about Easter, and Valentine’s Day is so fun! However, as the holiday dawned this time around, I had to cringe, as I have been doing more and more lately on holidays.
Last night, we arrived home late. We both ran around getting snacks for the kids, tucking them into bed and two minutes later, one of them was up for water, followed by another one who had scratched himself and was “bleeding” (from the sounds of him, it was profusely, but I needed a magnifying glass to detect blood) – he required a kiss and a bandaid and all was well in his world. Another one started coughing which woke up the only one that had actually fallen asleep. Finally, the house was quiet. The dishwasher was humming with the day’s load of dishes, the washing machine was full of clothes being cleaned and I was staring down a mountain of clothes needing to be folded. Brian was out in the garage cutting wood for a renovation project and when he finished up, we sat down with a cup of tea and turned on the tv. It did not dawn on either one of us that tomorrow was a day other than any other normal Tuesday.
Styling and photo by Jorah:
By 2am, the coughing child awoke coughing harder than ever. After a round in the steamy bathroom with the shower running, some Vics and snuggles, she had finally settled down into a quiet sleep again but the clock read 3:30am. We settled back into sleep and at 4:45 our child’s incorrectly set alarm clock went off. She slept through it, I was awake. Sometime in the next hour, I fell asleep but had to fight to wake up when the alarm clock went off at 6:15. Once again, I wished I could imbibe in the morning tradition of caffeine rich coffee because I knew I needed something to get moving! The kids were up, packing up backpacks, getting agendas out to sign, panicking because they couldn’t find their permission slip, packing up their lunch bag and then it came, the sudden realization that today was not just Tuesday, no, it was Valentine’s Day. The first child asked “where is my snack to take for the party?”. Then the second child asked “what about my snack for the party?”. Then the third child said “remember I still need three more Valentine’s for school today”. The blood pressure started it’s upward climb.
At no point last night did it dawn on either one of us that we had to make snacks for school today. The fridge got opened and outside of broccoli and leftovers from two suppers ago, there was nothing that screamed take me for a snack. But ah ha! On the cupboard sat two loaves of Brian’s precious banana loaf. It isn’t often that bananas get a chance to go bad in our house with four fruit loving children in the house, so when they do, Brian’s mouth waters because he loves banana bread. He made up some on Sunday and today watched most of it being carted off for a school snack. Tragedy averted, well at least for my children. Brian thinks this indeed a tragedy.
Styling and photo by Kadin:
We headed off to work/school, making good time so we had extra time to print the extra Valentine’s. For this part, I was at least sort of on the ball. Three weeks ago, I let them pick out their favorite Valentine’s candies. Two weeks ago, they set up little sets and photographed their candies. Then I printed out the photos and they mounted them on cardstock for their Valentine’s. They put them together this past weekend and we came to realization that each of them were short just a few cards so I had to print more. I forgot to do this yesterday so we arrived at work a bit early to get them finished up. However, the printer decided to have an issue, the double stick tape would only stick to itself, the cardstock we had brought got bent all up in the journey to the studio, and there were three very excited children bouncing up and down giving me advice and suggestions for how to make it all work. I finally finished fighting technology, they wrote on their friend’s names and we raced to school.
Then I returned to my studio, made myself a cup of tea wishing it was laced with caffeine, and attempted to get my blood pressured lowered. In the mad rush of this morning, I didn’t even get to wish my Valentine a happy day. Instead, we shared a fly by kiss (you know the ones, where you are running off in one direction, and he in the other and its a quick passing of lips that almost reach but not quite entirely and then the kiss is gone and the moment over before you even realize it happened!), and I heard a Happy Valentine’s Day blow back on the wind.
In my perfect world, those Valentine’s would have been finished last week, a beautifully decorated heart shaped pan of brownies would have been ready for each of my children to take to their party, I would have been cool and collected, my husband would have gotten a card and surprise from me and more than a fly by kiss, I would have looked completely put together when dropping my children off at school and been completely at ease when I kissed them off. Instead, I look like a frantic woman, hair not quite straight, clothes that have a breakfast stain on them as I ate while blow drying my hair, my husband had to watch his prized banana bread be carted off to school, and the last of the Valentine’s were crooked, will likely fall apart by lunch time and my daughters all look like poor orphans in their pretty pink dresses with ragged hair as I failed, in the craze of the morning, to brush their hair. Happy Valentine’s? I think not. Surely, I’m not the only one?
Styling and photo by Kalla:
So, to rectify all that this tired momma failed to pull off today, I want to share with you my Valentine’s gift to my hubby. I could go buy him chocolate, or find some old bananas and bake him a loaf, but instead I will make up for the fly by kiss. To my hubby, my best friend, my teammate in life, and my co-partner in the craze of holiday madness, I say to you this because I don’t always say it when life gets busy: I love you with all of my heart and all of my soul. As cliche as it sounds, you really do complete me. I love that every single day, I only have to turn around to see you by my side, to reach out and know that you are there always for me, whenever I need you. I love sharing in the joys, and I love dividing and conquering the not so happy holidays together, I love when you are overwhelmed that I can make you smile with just a few words, and I love when I am overwhelmed, that your touch on my arm can remind me breathe again. I thank every one of my blessings that I get to share this life with you, for together we are stronger than either one of us by ourselves. I love you the mostest! Happy! Valentine’s Day Bri!
I do also want to add – to those Mom’s at school who have made the most beautiful Valentine’s snack, who have helped their children make fancy candy bags tied with a pretty ribbon, who have not only hair done but makeup on and tidy, matching clothes on, are perfectly on time, have clean, neat children with clean faces and combed hair and who do not look frantic with wide eyes but instead, are smiling serenely at their children and me when I pass by, I want to say thank you. Thank you for giving me something to aspire towards! Someday, I hope to be there too! Until then, well, know that it is my broccoli at the school snack and that I am at least providing your children with a healthy snack! I do get one more chance to get it right for Valentine’s Day. I hadn’t even thought about Rylynn needing Valentine’s but I was informed at dance yesterday that her Valentine’s party is next week. The fun continues – we shall be making more Valentine’s this week!
We created our first window display for our studio, we started it a month ago and spent a frantic lunch yesterday throwing it together and putting it up! It is my heart on a sleeve as a month ago, while waiting for dance class to finish up, I asked each of my girls to put on their favorite song and dance. They each wanted to put on a tutu and then danced while I sat and captured some of it on camera. The idea for the display came from this impromptu session and here are just a few images from it (Kadin is missing from the display for he has no desire to wear a tutu and his dance is intensely private, he doesn’t like to dance in front of us):
I’ve heard it said that angels make the flame of a candle flicker. It is their way of letting us know that they are there. Today, I lit a candle for my brother, I watched it flicker in the sunshine and I knew, as always, he is near.
For three years now, I have not heard his voice, watched him tip his head back in a great big belly laugh while playing with my children, or felt his arms around me in a hug. I have not heard his jokes, seen him all dressed up for a family holiday, or even argued with him. I miss it all so much. On one hand, I cannot believe three years have passed since that aweful day came into my life, but on the other hand, I have felt his absence every single one of those days and it hurts.
Colin is still very much a part of lives – he is there in our stories, in our memories and in our hearts. There are reminders everyday of the life that he had – his number is still in the phone book, the street we turned down to go to his house, the wiggle cars he raced with my children, the look on my son’s face when the light is just so, the oil truck standing at the well site and bright red sunrises like the one that lit up the sky the day he died.
Today, I will watch the candle dancing in the light, and I will smile at his memory and the joy he brought to my children. And I will say once again, I miss you so much little bro! I love you forever!
Imagine, sitting naked in front of a roomful of people – 6 of whom are looking at you and deciding whether or not you are good enough to stand up to their high standards. They stare, they get up and look closer, they discuss amongst themselves while you sit there, breath held, not moving for fear of them seeing something they hadn’t before, until they hold up a marker that has a score on it. Sometimes, the mark is disappointing – they say you are not good enough to make the cut, this is heartbreaking because it is you on the stand, it is you they are telling are not good enough! Other times, they smile at each other and say “wow” or “that was great” and suddenly you are flying as you made it!
Print competition feels like this to me – it isn’t my photograph on display that is being judged, it’s me for every photograph I make is a part of me. It is my heart, it is what I feel, what I see and what I am. It is my version of the events that are taking place before me. The work that I do isn’t a job to me, it is part of my heart so taking these images that I have spent some much time planning, creating and finishing and putting them out there to be judged is a nerve wracking experience. Why do I do it? I have to is the simple answer. I am always looking to improve my work, to master a new part of my craft and to prove to myself that I can stand up among some of the strongest photographers across the province and the nation (I’m rather competitive like that!). Entering print competition is also a major requirement of working towards my master’s! All of the work that I submit is work that I have created for clients, I choose to do this rather than creating an image specifically for print comp, so that I am always on my toes, I am always doing the best work that I can do. It is after all, a part of who I am!
This year, the Alberta branch of the Professional Photographer’s of Canada held their annual print competition in Edmonton on Feb 3 in conjunction with their convention. The awards were presented at the Petroleum Club on Feb 4th at a formal dinner. This year, I had two images recognized! The first was “Escape”, an image I captured on the beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan. This image was a bit of a serendipitous moment for me, I had just finished photographing family portraits for these 7 cousins. We turned them loose and off they went to chase the gulls and stomp in the pools left on the beach from huge crashing waves. The clouds parted and a beautiful sweet light came out to highlight the cousins escaping down the beach! “Escape” won “Best in Class” for the group portrait category!! This is the second year in a row that I have won this class! Last year, “Family Lines” won this category! It is also the second year in a row that the “group portrait” category has not had a single face in the image – which challenges the definition of the category!!! The second image, “Love’s A Gamble” was nominated for “Best in Class – Wedding Group” but unfortunately did not win! This image I created for a client – a bartender and a waitress that met while working for The Honey Pot in Wainwright, AB. I wanted to incorporate their story of how they met into their wedding day portraits.
Print competition day is always an up and down rollercoaster! I entered two more images that did not fair well at all. It is crushing to hear the news that my images are not good enough, but at the same time it fuels the fire in me to create even better ones so that next year, my print competition results are even better!
This is a portrait of Marie and her husband. It really speaks to me simply because I truly see Marie and all that she is. Look at the love she has for her husband shining out – he is her world. I love that.
We are now settling nicely into our new location in the Vermilion Mall, Vermilion. As soon as the studio is fully functional, we’ll share photos of our new space. For now, please note our new phone number is 780.853.4277. Drop in for a visit, we look forward to serving you in Vermilion!
I think my hands down favorite part of what I do, is meeting my littlest clients. I’m a sucker for a baby! I am just in awe of them. They know no sadness, they have not been spoiled, they have not seen great joy, they have not had their faces spoiled by tears or makeup or dirt, they know only one true feeling – love and the comfort it brings in the form of the warmth of a mother’s arms, the satisfaction of her milk and protection of the clothes and blankets she wraps him in. They are in essence, a blank canvas. I always love to look at them and wonder – who will this person be, what will he or she be like in a few months, or in many years. Will they know great love, will they find much sadness, will they be a success or will they fall into poor decisions and cause worry for those that love them. Will they be a brillant scholar or will school be a struggle, will they teach someone something of great importance, will they touch a heart and leave an impression that lasts forever? What will their canvas become?
Meet Mr. Logan – just five days old. His little wrinkles and perfect face just melted my heart. He had me at hello.
Cora and Dez have a family just like mine, 3 girls and a boy with one girl being the busy one! All through their family session, their daughter begged to show me a headstand. I encouraged her to hang on because her hair was so lovely and I didn’t want it messed up for family portraits. Finally, right at the end of the session, we let her show us all her tricks! We were ready with the camera and caught the moment at the height of the action! This portrait makes me smile as it showcases the personality of this family perfectly!
Who says boys are the busy ones? I know a couple of girls who could show a few boys a thing or two!
by kim
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