A DAY FOR NEW STARTS.....

Today Leslie will marry Kelly and they will start a new life together....today I will photograph Leslie marrying Kelly and take a right turn on my  path through photography.

I spent most of last night on the internet looking at all my favourite  wedding photographers, looking for inspiration.  I love to read Jasmine Star's FAQ section, she always says she is an open book and she really is! I found a long ago posts about the day she quit photography, how she booked her first wedding with a Cannon 20D and one lens, a 24-70 and I felt a small sense of comfort knowing that I have three lenses going into this wedding ;) But really I thought, one day a few years from now I am going to look back on today and remember and think about just how far I've come and giggle about how nervous this has made me.  I shut the computer around 7 to discuss outfit choices with my very fashionable Sister-in-law, had some pizza, unwound with my kids and double checked my bag and notes and of course changed my facebook status, where I found much needed encouragement from friends and a fellow photographer!

Today isn't only the biggest day in Leslie and Kelly's lives, it ranks pretty high up there on my list of biggest days along side my own wedding day, and the birthing two children!

Now as I prepare to shower and get ready I pray for the foggy skies to take a hike and for the sun to stay out until 6pm tonight...neither of these will happen but positive thinking gets you everywhere negative thinking doesn't.  Good Luck to you Les and Kelly and thank you for forcing me to challenge myself and grow.

Because this wedding is on the island, and I unexpectedly got a new MacBook for christmas and had to order CS4 in the Mac version that will hopefully be in the mail when I get home, I wont be able to blog any photos of the wedding until I get back home to Calgary and get some edits done...unless by some miracle I get some amazing out of the camera shots, but stay tuned they will come soon!

but because a post is nothing without a picture or two here is a taste of my christmas joy!!!

my new Shootsac!!!! and MacBook!

SANTA CLAUS CAME TO TOWN! - CALGARY EVENT PHOTOGRAPHER

Santa Claus made his way to Calgary last week! Making his first apperance at the Unit 62 children's Christmas Party!
I was excited to photograph this event, seeing kids eye up Santa and slowly climb on his lap, their awkward smile, always keeping one eye on the location of Mom and Dad just incase, really takes me back to my childhood and the days when Santa Magic was the only really important thing in life!  I come from a teeny tiny little town on Vancouver Island where you kind of get the feeling you might be in an episode of Cheer's...everybody knows you name (and they call your Mom and Dad when they see you up to no good!) A good family friend, Dave Stevens, used to dress up as Santa every year when I was a kid and he would come to the town hall where we would all climb up on his lap to tell him our very special wishes and get our candy cane and Christmas orange from his Elf, I have known Dave all my life, as with my cousins, friends, and even his own kids but I can see the old faded photos in my Mom's album of Christmases past, all of us bundled up in our winter coats red faced and screaming or awkwardly smiling with one eye on Santa and the other on our parents.  Dave and Kathy lived then and still do now across the street from my Nana and Papa, every Christmas eve after mass we would head over to Nana and Papa's for a drink and snacks, once Papa had come to his fill of 4 very excited grandsons and one very perfect and precious grandaughter ;) Dave would go out to the yard and ring his sleigh bells and 5 kids would be in coats, boots and hats in under 5 min. ready to head home to bed so Santa wouldn't pass by their house!  Thanks for making my Christmases so magical Dave!
This year I watched as one Grampa made some Christmas magic for  Rockeyview Labor and Delivery Nurses children and I giggled when his grandson was sat on his lap and screamed more than any of the other kids!  It was a wonderful party and I was so glad to be there to see it!
Because I love Vintage Christmas I decided to give these photos a vintage feel, so without any further ramblings of my past here are a few of the very sweet kids from the party with Santa.

THE REAL DEAL - CALGARY FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER

I photographed the Hassman's this afternoon..we really wanted to take this shoot outside and had actually rebooked it for this weekend in hopes that we would be out of the deep freeze of last weekend, apparently I have ticked off Mother Nature because she is keeping all the good weather for the days I am not booked and brining out her worst for the days that I am!!
I had sooo many good ideas for this shoot for outside, I was briming with inspiration and creativness, but alas it had to be moved indoors due to the -28 temp. today!
Everett and Max were super cute and  for the most part happy to have me there...we did struggle to get some great family pics, but Holly stayed relaxed and kept laughing saying "these are real family photos".  When I left I laughed and said "yup these are the real deal!!" but once I got home to download and backup I was overjoyed to find some awesome images!!!  I am so excited to post these for Holly to see!!

I hope you will love them Holly, I really do!

And finally my two most loved of the session....they really don't get more real than this! I LOVE that Holly is holding Everett's bottle in the first one!

BOYS WILL BE BOYS! - CALGARY PHOTOGRAPHER

These two's picture is probably right beside the definition of "boy" in the dictionary! Busy Busy Busy and Oh so adorable they are!
These guys Mom runs the bootcamp that Oliver and I have been going to since the summer ( http://www.fitnesswithkids.ca/ ) Erin is awesome...she works you hard, even harder on the days she can tell you are slacking! But my arm and leg muscles are thanking her!  Since the summer we have been trying to set up a shoot for her family...this has proven to be difficult with both of us running very busy schedules and before we knew it we were working around busy schedules, naps, illness, and the evasive sun!  Wednesday we decided to power through the fog and huge snow flakes that decided to start falling but hours before our session (don't even talk to me about the beautiful sun and warmth that were out on Thursday at 3:30!!)
So I made my way over to Erin's fighting through bad drivers and even worse roads (yes Dad and Brock there are worse drivers then me out there believe it or not!) to meet Cooper and Jack! Jack thought it would be best if he just watched me take photos, but didn't take him long to warm up and give me some great smiles while telling me everything he knows about everything and a very special gift he wants from Santa!  Cooper fresh off a nap was harder, he didn't like me much as I kept taking his soother away! But he still gave me a smile or two, between his daily exercise routine of jumping from couch to couch and running from living room to front entrance!

Have you ever seen two cuter Brothers than this....

If you have ever had me photograph you, you know I LOVE the "stuff" I love to photograph all the details at a party, the tiny hands, toes, belly buttons, shoes, buttons...that is really where my passion in photography is! Not everyone I photograph likes these photos but they are always my coveted images, I even have a section just for them in my portfolio book!!  This one is up there with some of my favs!!

A SPECIAL DAY FOR ELLA - CALGARY PHOTOGRAPHER-PERSONAL

Oliver was NOT impressed that his sister was having ANOTHER special day!! When you have an older sister that dances, musical theater, plays piano and violin, is in grade one and numerous other activities he hears "Oli its Ella's special day!" ALL THE TIME!!

Yesterday was a very special day for Ella, her class performed at the Christmas Liturgy at the Church!! Oliver, having been brought along to many a special day thought differently....he thought maybe just once it should be his special day! so when I sushed him and "said Oli be quiet, its Ella's special day!" he yelled out in the midst of a silent congregation " NO Mommy, IT MY SPECIAL DAY! MY SPECIAL DAY TODAY!"

Ella was a star as she always is, a performer reveling in her craft!! She smiled big, with her bouncy curls, diamond clip, perfect black cardigan and shiny polished black heels looked out into the crowd, found us and gave a big wave and tiny giggle and gave it her all. Belting out the song with hand actions bigger than life itself! Could she have been any more excited?? maybe...could Brock and I have been any prouder?? Not a chance! As for Oli, well he'll be heading over to Shelley's where he is so loved that everyday is Oli day!

Since there is no photographing at the Church I only got a couple images of Ella before and one after.  Here is Ella and her good friend Keegan

and Ella after the concert.

A FOURTH BIRTHDAY, BUT A FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!! - CALGARY PHOTOGRAPHER

Today Danika turned four years old.....but she celebrated her very first "real" birthday party! In the past Danika had celebrated her special day surrounded by family, but this year she got an amazing party for her and some of her friends, a party full of balloons, princesses, dragons, stories, songs, games, friends, family, hot dogs and cake! and was it ever amazing!! Danika has some really great parents, who I have met a few times through friends, but I had no idea until just recently how great they really were, so loving and caring! but beyond her fantastic parents she's got an Auntie who really rocks!!! Words just can't describe what a lucky little girl Danika is!  I feel truly lucky that I was asked to photograph Danika on her special day, I seen her eyes light up and a smile spread across her beautiful tiny face all afternoon and it left me feeling great for the rest of the day..I can't help but smile everytime I think of her standing at the door looking out the frosty glass as her friends arrived, getting even more excited with every approaching guest!  I had to giggle when I took her to the side for a couple portraits and she said "well I guess, but I only have a second, I have to go back to my party!!"

I took plenty of images of Danika's guests but I wanted to keep this post about the Birthday Princess herself since it truly was her day to shine and that she did!!

Happy Fourth Birthday, Danika wishing you a year full of big smiles and exciting things to come!

This next image is Danika making a VERY special wish for her birthday unicorn!  She thought long and hard for the perfect wish, this was not to be taken lightly!

And finally my FAV. image of the day....isn't she the sweetest little girl you've ever seen!