Dragon Hare Studios

I was worried the most about my oldest daughter suffering through yet another move. Its our third major move in three years. This past semester she has really thrived with dance. As I mentioned below, she dances all the time now. We often hear her chanting her dance moves/timing out as she dances down the hall or around the living room. In the morning before school, she begs me to put on some music and she dances after she is ready for school.

I was attempting to edit some extended family portraits when I came across this series of images from Michigan. They just made me smile and for that reason, they are my new image of the moment.

Jorah dancing on the beach:

My last post got me thinking about my own personal portraits of my family and more specifically, my oldest. I have photographed her several times over the past month and it has really been a study in her contrasts. Jorah loves to dance, in fact the child no longer walks, she simply dances around. In Michigan, she danced on the beach as the sun set and then stopped to admire the view. At home, she lovingly takes care of her baby sister, but in soccer, she ploughs into boys bigger than her and gets up smiling and laughing while they are left whimpering. She is quiet and tender but loud and boisterous when shes wants to be too. I love these contrasts in her and in looking over the portraits I have taken of her in the past month, I can easily see them! Her nickname is “baby girl” but as you can clearly see, she is a baby no more!

What do your portraits say about you? Can you identify each of your strongest personality traits in them? Give us a call and let me help you forever capture your contrasts on camera!

Look at your most recent family portrait and tell me what it says about your family. Is it casual? Formal? Are you having fun playing together or are you sitting/smiling at the camera? Does it make a statement about who you are as a family or is it rather generic? Is it recent? Who are you as a family unit?

To me, a family portrait needs to showcase the life of your family. It needs to tell a story about who you are at that moment in time. Are you a tired parents chasing very active young children? Or are you frustrated parents trying to corral fiesty teenagers? Are you an active family involved in sports or would you rather unwind around a campfire? Let your family portrait speak its own story, let it tell the world who you are as a unit and let it showcase your family’s unique personality!

Marlene approached me with a very specific idea for a family portrait that I think showcases brilliantly her family! She bought bowler hats, shades and solid white clothing with black jackets for her children and wanted some fun portraits taken. I loved it!! We went out around town and found some wonderful locations to create a memorable family portrait! I had such fun! Olivia, Cyanna, and Braedon were great sports! What a great memory to have captured and what a great story these portraits tell!

Here you go Marlene, your sneak peek! Thank you for allowing me to capture one small part of your family’s story!

If you are a dancer, click here to view your portraits.

I have always been fascinated by dance. As a little girl, I dreamed of taking ballet however there were no classes for me to take. I grew up dancing ballroom with my family and loved every minute of it. I am fascinated by the human form and the movement it can make and I love capturing this on camera. My “idol” is dance photographer Lois Greenfield who spoke at my grad. I would love to do an internship with her!

Having said all this, you can imagine how quick my response was when I was approached by Ryan Wilson of Dance Impressionsto photograph her dancers! I had a fantastic time photographing the dancers. I was in awe of Miss Ryan as she made minute tweaks that strengthened the image so much, and I was in awe of the beautiful dancers I photographed!

We built a huge set for the dancers that was 20 feet wide, 8 feet tall by 15 feet deep so they could jump, move and dance all they wanted! Brian painted the backdrop to have a faint window, complete with curtains whispering in the wind on the backdrop to complete the set! We had our camera “tethered” so Miss Ryan and the dancers could view the images live and make necessary adjustments!

Here are a few sneak peeks at the beautiful dancers of Dance Impressions by Ryan! Thank you all for making it such an awesome week for me!

We offer a variety of products to enhance our dance/team photographs - from trading cards and magazine covers to storyboards! We know each client has unique portrait needs so we offer custom products to match your needs!

We lived in the beautiful state of Michigan for six years. This is Brian’s home state. He grew up along the shores of the incredible Lake Michigan, just north of the town of Holland that is home to the Tulip Time Festival and Veldheer’s Tulip Farm.

We made a sudden trip back to Michigan this month to visit an ill family member. It was a difficult trip as saying goodbye is impossible, but also one filled of fond memories of the place that was home to us for a long time. It’s where our three older children were born and it was nice to take them back there.

I wanted to share a couple of images from our trip. We love the shoreline of Lake Michigan with its lighthouses, piers, sandy beaches and breathtaking water views. One evening we sat on the beach with close friends and watched the sun set. I spotted this feather stuck in the sand and caught it with the heat of the setting sun.

I loved Michigan in May as the tulips bloomed by the millions. It was wonderful to get to see those tulips blooming under the spring sunshine!

Dragon Hare Studios is now offering passport photos! If you are traveling soon and need to apply for a passport, give us a call and we can help you out! Remember, after June 1, you are required to have a passport to travel to the US by air, land or sea!

The Mannville Grad Portraits are up. Please click here to view your portraits.

I met the most perfect angel today, Andie! Just six days old, Dad brought her in for portraits. She was the perfect model - she slept soundly through the entire session! Congrats on your beautiful Andie, Les and Vicky!

I am working on the grad portraits and will have them online in a few days. Until then, I thought I’d share a sneak peek with you! Check back here and I’ll post the link to the galleries!

The James Bond Pose:

Kendall stole the show with his amazing suit!! Way to go Kendall!

Carrie was stunning and as always, those gorgeous eyes!!!!

Congratulations to the Mannville School Class of 2009! We’ve very much enjoyed getting to know each of you and we wish you the very best in all you become. Just a few more words of advice, words that are very near and dear to our heart….”rather than spending your whole life dreaming, live your dream”. Thank you for including us in your day.