Dragon Hare Studios

Every single year, our mailbox is full of Christmas greetings from family and friends. I love getting holiday mail and I carefully open each card/letter with great expectations. I love the ones with photographs and letters full of news! We also receive holiday greetings from businesses. This year I have noticed a new trend. Rather than receiving cards from the businesses, I received a lot of emails. I realize that in tough economic times, businesses have to tighten their bottom line too, but I can also admit that I did not open a single one of those business emails. I am balancing a lot during the holiday portrait season and I did not take the time to read any of those emails. Had I received a card from the business, I would have opened it up and looked at it to see what it was. I think that I am not alone in this behavior.

I was thrilled when I was approached by Twin D Plumbing and Heating to photograph a business holiday card. Derek had an idea of what he wanted and it involved a situation that anybody who is a parent with young children has been in - a child and a plugged toilet (or in this case, three!). We had a great time photographing this session and Derek has been getting a fantastic response to his holiday cards. Instead of an email that ends up in the deleted folder, he is bringing a smile to his clients this holiday season. If you are a business owner, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your holiday advertising. With experience in working on national sales campaigns, we can help you reach your clients and make your advertising dollar work harder in these tough economic times.

A couple of my favorite outtakes that did not make the card. And just as an aside - no toilets, children, plungers, parents, photographers, or photographic gear were injured or damaged in this session - although a wild “plunger” (aka sword) fight did break out!

Before a grad comes in for their portrait session, I ask them to tell me about themselves. Amy told me she loved Ukrainian dance and that she was a girly girl! This was perfect as it helps me to guide her portrait session so it celebrates her personality and shows her uniqueness. Amy has a pair of boots she received from her cousin that she used in dance that she wanted to be photographed with. I really wanted to showcase these boots and their family history in her portrait so we used them a couple of different ways. We also did some portraits with more of a fashion edge to them. Amy, thank you for your energy and positive attitude! I greatly enjoyed our morning together!

I shared a few weeks ago that regardless of what I get for my husband for Christmas, he guesses what I got him. I thought this year I finally had the present that would fool him but no such luck.

My husband is fascinated by dragons, wizards, magic and all things common in the world of science fiction and fantasy. I think this fascination is what makes him such a gifted artist. He loves to read and one of his favorite authors is Robert Jordan. Robert Jordan is the author of the popular science fiction series called Wheels of Time. He was writing the 12th and final book in the series when he passed away from a terminal illness. Brian was very sadden by his death because he really enjoyed these books and he wondered how it would all come to a close. Think of it like this - what if J.K. Rawlings passed away before writing the final story of Harry Potter? A lot of fans would have been left hanging.

After Robert Jordan’s passing, his wife who was his editor, found an author to come in and finish his mostly written 12th manuscript. In September of this year, two years after his death, Robert Jordan’s 12th book in the Wheels of Time series was published. His final manuscript was so large that it has been split into three separate books with book 12 being the first of the three. When I spied this book in the book store I figured I had THE gift to fool my husband. He did know that Robert Jordan’s wife was trying to get the final manuscript finished but he did not know when it would be published. I knew he would be no where near a bookstore or library in the next few weeks to know it was published. I purchased the book and figured ah ha!

Yesterday my husband came home from work so excited to share with me that the book he had been waiting for since 2005 was finally published and I could get that for him for Christmas. He had been wondering when it would be published so he looked it up online while waiting for a client. I just shook my head. One of these years I will surprise him.

This image is one I created with a gift I had gotten for Brian. I saw a story on the news about a 16 year old that had written a series of science fiction books and I thought it sounded intriguing. We love to read to I wanted to incorporate the feel of the book and our hobby into a photograph. A print of this image hangs in the Mannville Library.

We had the honour of photographing the Mannville Hawks. I cannot skate well so I was nervously wondering how I would remain standing on the ice for four hours without embarrassing myself by falling down. I fell once but thankfully it was before I had a large audience!

One of the things I love about photographing teams/schools/groups is getting a large number of people in front of the camera and having to relax them, bring out natural smiles/poses and do this in a matter of minutes. It is a challenge for me and completely different from other types of sessions. Brian and I have a hoot accomplishing this and while I came home with frozen toes and a sore knee, I came home with a huge smile on my face at the fun we had with the players and coaches.

To the parents, managers and coaches of the Hawks, thank you for choosing us to capture your child’s hockey portraits. To view your child’s portraits, please click here and enter the password you were given. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at 780.581.5698.

Remember that sleeping beauty, baby Andie? Look at her now, six months later!!!!!!!

Vicky brought in Aiden and Andie to celebrate two milestones, Mr. Aiden turned six years old and Andie turned six months. Aiden brought in six of his favorite Thomas the Tank engines to share with me for his six year old portrait and Andie brought her smiles!

I love watching children grow up before my lens. Thank you Vicky for sharing your children’s milestones with me!

The Mannville Extravaganza was a smashing success! It was wonderful catching up with old friends and meeting new ones! Santa was kidnapped from us for a little while but he was returned unharmed and he continued meeting his littlest fans in Rudolph’s barn!

One of the reasons I love photographing kids with Santa is seeing their excitement! It is fun to believe in the magic of Christmas and listen to all of the their Christmas dreams. My favorite answer to Santa’s question of “what would you like for Christmas” was a very adamant “more toys!!” I also really enjoy helping the kids overcome their nervousness of meeting the man in red! Brian is phenomenal at this and we have a blast keeping the kids from getting too nervous!

My favorite visitors to Santa are of course the littlest visitors! I love babies and when this little one came to visit Santa, he stole my heart! He was a mere two months old and he checked out the barn with wide eyes!

We have two more dates with Santa: Dec 12 & 19 from 1 – 4pm at the Lakeland Mall in Vermilion! Come and visit us there!

Come out on Saturday, December 5th and visit Santa at the Mannville Extravaganza from 10am to 4 pm. This is one of the season’s not to be missed events! Five Halls, 101 tables of crafts, and of course, Rudolf’s barn! We will be photographing Santa throughout the day so please be sure to stop by and say hi!

You can also visit Santa and have your portrait taken with him at the Lakeland Mall on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm. Brian will be there to capture your little one’s priceless faces as they tell Santa what’s on their wish list!!!

What makes Dragon Hare unique from other photography studios? We have the experience and knowledge to provide portraits that are personalized to you.

Dave and Tanya wanted two things - Christmas cards and a portrait that could stand in their beautiful home as a piece of artwork. To me, portrait art goes beyond the classic posed photograph - it needs to showcase the people in the portrait. Dave and Tanya are a fun loving couple that are deeply in love. I wanted to showcase that love so I had them snuggle up and captured their closeness. I could have done the traditional posed portrait and left it at that, but their love for each other is so much more than that. I can see it in their eyes.

Dave and Tanya, thank you for an enjoyable visit and thank you for allowing me to capture your true emotion.

I’ve known this family my whole life. It is so neat to come back and catch up with people that I consider part of my roots and see what life path they have chosen.

This is an amazing family - if you want inspiration, smiles and laughter, sit down for coffee with them! Ed and Marg are planning on building their retirement home which means the family farm will soon belong to someone else. I can see that it is hard decision for them to leave but I applaud them for taking a chance and following their dreams. The family wanted portraits done around the farm to forever capture their roots and family history.

I am going to take a moment to introduce you to Grandma as well. She is 96 but she kept up with the clan all afternoon! What is even more inspiring is that she and her son competed in the last Canada’s Senior Games!!! Check out this article about Grandma! Wow! I hope I can aspire to be that active into retirement. Thank you all for sharing your memories with me!

I know you were all wondering who the cutest baby in the world is? Well, this darling little lady should hold that title! Not only is she cute, she is happy, sweet and a perfect poser! I’ve had so much fun getting to know Susie and her parents too! You’ve seen Susie in her Christmas gear below, but here are a few more from her session.