Wedding Grad Family Photography | Vermilion Lloydminster Wainwright Vegreville

Our journey over the past year has now brought us to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. My family and I are thrilled to be back and I have to keep pinching myself so that I can really believe that we are back in Canada for good!

I am settling into my new job now too. I am really enjoying my work and am anxious to see the images I help to create in print! I am also getting anxious to get back to photographing portrait sessions. While I love my job, I do not get to photograph people. I really miss that interaction, and I really miss getting the chance to meet new people and watch their relationships reveil themselves to me through my lens! I think that has to be my favorite thing about portrait photography, I get to see all the love a family shares, and I capture it for all eternity! That’s a pretty awesome thing!

Its been hard to watch the calender over the past month and a half because it is the anniversary of our trip to Hallmark. I remember the landmark days so well. Leaving our beloved in house in MI, arriving in MA, the first day of school and then everyday after that when I fell in love with photography even more! I’m watching Hallmark’s week by week page to see what the new class is doing and as soon as I see the picture on the front page, I am thrown instantly back into my own experience….holding that medium format camera for the first time, my first field trip, the first guest speaker…it has been overwhelming to stand back and look at where we are now! I am making a career out of photography. Everyday, I get to live and breathe photography. That’s really cool!

A year ago, I could not begin to even imagine all that I would learn, achieve, and do in ten short months. It has been an amazing ride and it ended with a fabulous send off, Hallmark’s Class of 2007 Graduation on June 22!

The setting was beautiful and despite a couple of rain delay’s, the graduation was a wonderful event. My mom, Norma, and my Auntie Carol traveled from Alberta, my father in law, Darrell, his partner in crime Maureen, and also my mother in law, Nancy and nephew Caleb all traveled from Michigan to attend!

The keynote address was given by photographer Lois Greenfield, I am a huge fan of her and had hoped to arrange assisting her in New York City but the timing never worked out. She has fantastic work and her speech was so inspiring!

The awards portion of the ceremony kicked off with a big surprise for me, the very first award was for the student obtaining the highest credit overall throughout the year, and they called my name! I was so shocked! I also received the perfect attendance award, along with four other students, and I also had my portfolio rank in the top ten percent of all portfolios in my graduating class of 188 students! I was so surprised! What a great ending to an amazing year. View all of my classes achievements at Hallmark’s News page

And now for life after Hallmark…… I am busy packing this week and making arrangements for us to move to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have accepted a job offer at Ridge Rock Studios where I will work as a senior project manager and photographer! I am so excited and very anxious to get up there and get started working! When we told our children that we were moving to Canada, they ran and immediately packed their toy bags and had them waiting by the door in anticipation! After 11 years abroad, we are finally going home!!

A year after taking the risk to change my career to something that I truly love, I will be entering the work force in a job that I can’t wait to get to “work”!

Each week on Hallmark’s website, they write a summary of what the student’s are doing. This week, a photograph from my review is featured!

You can check out Hallmark’s site here It will only be up for a week! I grabbed a screen shot of it just in case its already gone!