Archive for the ‘Portraits’ Category

I don’t normally do this (post two photoss) but I have been catching up on a bunch of editing and these are two of my favorite pictures I have gone through today. First, is my sister (again), and I am hoping my mother will like this one, cause Mere is actually smiling. Even if it is a tiny smile. The second one is my brother, Cam, who is growing up to be super handsome, as well as talented. I loved the light in this one especially, and Cam finally seems to be coming around to me taking photos of him, which I love even more. These were both was taken at my cousin Gillian’s awesome wedding in Winters, which I posted about here. I took lots of photos of Gillian and Paul, but I also had a chance to get some really great shots of my more immediate family.

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Betsey’s Belly

August 22, 2010

While in California I saw a lot of my family. Pretty much all of them, on my Dad’s side, at my cousin’s wedding. And I have a lot of family (like – half of our guest list for our wedding was just my Dad’s side of the family-big). At the end of  one of the wedding events another cousin (my first cousin once removed, or is is my second cousin once removed?) Betsey said she would love to have some belly photos done while I was in town. So we made it happen! I will admit that this was the first belly shoot I have done, but Betsey was awesome and did just about anything I asked, including laying on her back, which I didn’t realize causes her a bit of discomfort. Oops, gotta file that one away for future reference.

So Betsey, thank you! for being such a beautiful and cooperative model. Also big thank you to Shane for your help and being an all around awesome husband and father. It was so sweet to see how much love Shane had for his wife and their soon to be born baby.

I think it is awesome that Betsey’s due date is Labor Day. I will be thinking of you!

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Showed the love

August 17, 2010

A few months ago I held a little contest on my blog and Marina won! So last week, when I was in the Bay Area we got together and did her photo shoot. Marina is the sweetest! All smiles even though she lost her job that day. Can you say “what!?” I did. I was also impressed; she is much more an optimist than me. We met up in Berkeley and within a few blocks found some great places to shoot. If you are in need of a graphic designer, Marina is looking for freelance work! Here are my favorites from the day.

{Even though I live in Canada I am available to work worldwide and especially love California.}

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Ms. M {Tasty Tuesday #36}

August 17, 2010

Another Tuesday and it’s Tasty. I have to admit that I have no idea where Reuben came up with this name, but I liked the idea of having an excuse to post old photos, so I asked if I could jump on the Tasty Tuesday wagon on flickr and then hijacked it as a motivation to blog. So this weeks photos from the archives isn’t that old, it is only from about a month ago. I know already that my mother is not going to like this photo of her youngest daughter (cause Ms. M is not smiling in the photo), but I like this one all the same. Photography gives me a chance to capture a moment in time (this one was one two hundredth of a second in Mere’s life) and I love being able to look back on the brief moment in time. In this one Mere is either talking about what she is going to order (we were at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown in San Fran)  or she was talking about her Italian friend who we didn’t manage to meet up with til later in the week. Either way it is a moment of her life and for that I like it.

San francisco portrait photography

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This week was overshadowed by two events: meeting Steve Nash and picking up Charlie. Oh, and I started the week off in California and ended it in Oregon, with a stop in Victoria in betweeb. In other words I was busy, doing a lot of traveling and smiling pretty much non stop.

Monday: I did a photoshoot with Marina, winner of my “Show Me the Love” blog contest.

Tuesday: was my first ever belly shoot with my cousin Betsey – she is due on Labor Day – which I think is perfect.

Wednesday: was a post wedding shoot with Gillian and Paul. Love wedding dresses and rivers.

Thursday: I traveled home.

Friday: I slept in, unpacked and then repacked for Sunday.

Saturday: I shot a wedding with Kelsey – and Steve Nash was in attendence – and I must becoming more Canadian cause I recognized him before Kelsey did, though at first I could not figure out why he looked soooo familiar.

And finally Sunday was a travel day to pick up the newest addition of my family – Charlie – the cutest little Frenchbo I have ever seen – and rest assured you will get to see TONS of soon. As it was pointed out by one person Charlie is “weapons grade cute.” I couldn’t agree more. As a new mama I also think he is pretty well behaved and appears to already be responding to his name, but then again his ears perk up to just about anything.

Go Bears! I had fun walking around campus and up the hill to where I used to live.

For two years I climbed these steps almost everyday.

Spent a lot of time on public transit in California. And what do you know it works!

Are you Steve Nash!?

Oh, you’re Steve Nash!

On the ferry from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles, WA. Too early I might add.

Kevin and I figure Charlie is suffering from Stockholme Syndrome at this point of our relationship. We are both his captors and best friends.  At some point we hope the captors part will fall away and we can all just be friends.

Kevin and Charlie in a random cornfield.

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Kristen and Todd are great! Like REALLY REALLY good people that everyone should know, or at least have to equivalent of  in their life. I met Kristen in an Anthropology class; and even then she was the type of girl who would ask about how my week was going, and would actually listen if you had something to complain about. And then we ended up living together. Which wasn’t really planned, but when my other friend, Colleen, and I went to look at places there Kristen was interviewing us about the big bedroom at the front of the house. And then I met Todd. Todd lived downstairs (two floors down to be exact) and about six months after I moved in Todd was spending the night in Kristen’s room. A lot. And he has been ever since. Except now they are married (so it really is both their room).

Kristen and Todd got married last year and I have to say of all the weddings I have been to (and I have been to a lot since theirs) they had the most entertaining wedding I have ever been to. At no other wedding has the groom broken into song to tell his new wife just how much joy she brings into his life. Cause when you love someone as much as Todd loves Kristen, really! the best way to express that is through song. Oh, and there was also a puppet show at the wedding too… can you see now why you need people like this in your life?

Anyway, they have been married a year now, and I was supposed to do a post wedding photo shoot with these two about 10 months ago, but the timing never worked out. So, finally, this last weekend we made it work. Since they have been married a year now my first thought was paper (which is a traditional one year anniversary gift guide of some sort). So I told Kristen to keep a bunch of old newspapers cause I was planning something for this shoot. At first I thought I would just cover their floor, but then I realized that wrapping their furniture would be so.much.cooler. So that is what we did. Thank you both for you patients and help in “redecorating” your apartment.

I love you both and happy anniversary!

Though I live in Canada I am available to shoot anywhere and I especially love California.

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Another Tuesday, and another excuse to dig through my hard drives. I have seen a lot of sun this summer, which makes me happy. Vitamin D works! Right now I am enjoying the California sun and even have an ever so slight burn on my leg where I somehow didn’t rub in the sunblock all the way. This photo was taken in East Sooke Park, one of my favorite parks in BC. Love the field, the beach and the trees. And apparently, in this photo, Kevin loves the park and the sun as much as me! I’ll be missing my hubby the next few days; he had to get back to Canada, and back to work, and I have the pleasure of sticking around in California for a few days. Hope you have a chance to enjoy the sun!

Lens Flare and Sunshine

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Earlier this week I had the joy of photographing Terra and Sean at one of my favorite places in Victoria, Elk Lake. Terra and Sean have been married four years now and boy oh boy do they both know how to work it! Terra has done some modeling, but Sean admitted that he hadn’t really had his photo taken since his wedding; which you never would have known. These two are too cute and we all had some fun in the grass and in the water.

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Had a good week this week, despite a lot of face time with my computer. A lot. Had some editing that needed to get done and some loose ends  (that still aren’t all tied up) to get to before I take off for California. When I wasn’t in front of the computer I went out and found the sun. Whether this meant doing to Thetis and swimming, or just finding a spot of sun to sit in at home, I am all about loading up on my Vitamin D. The added bonus of this is that it can make for some interesting photos – there is even a name for this technique of using high contrast light and shadow in art – Chiaroscuro - and it is one of my new favorite techniques to play with.

If I look a little unhappy in these, I swear I am not! This is just the best squinty – looking – at – the – sun – trying – not –  to – go – blind  face I can pull off.

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This last week was pretty painful. Literally. And it was my own stupid fault. I was doing some location scouting on Wednesday and as I was walking around looking for a boat, which I discovered no longer exists, I was trying to climb over a big branch and rock and just as I jumped up to get over the thing, the part of the branch I was holding onto disintegrated and back I went. I didn’t even realize I was bleeding til I got home about an hour later, but my back has been bother me since. Grrrr. Probably the worst part of the whole thing was I was wearing flip flops and ended up just walking in the water (a mere foot away from where I fell) around the log. Why going in the water didn’t occur to me right away is beyond me. Maybe the fall knocked some sense into me. The good news is the location scouting was a success, boat aside, and Kelsey, Kevin and I created some AMAZING photos for a slightly belated Trash the Dress shoot. I also had the joy of photographing a wedding on Galiano and Gossip Island for the amazing newly-weds Kristian and Heather. Kristin Ferris (who came and shot the wedding with me) and I ended up having to spend the night on the island, due to the ferry schedule,  so we stayed through the wedding reception, partying with the bride, groom, some new friends and our old teacher. I have never been invited – by the grooms parent’s no less- to do shots at a wedding, any wedding. What  a week!

The week started a bit slow, but loving that I could wear a sundress pretty much all week!

This hurt, yes sir!

But it was worth it for these:

Yes, Kevin gets his own watermark, and I love the photos he is taking.

Oh, I almost forgot. I am working on a lil video for a competition that Chase Jarvis and Jasmine Star are throwing. This is a still from it. The final product will be done soon. And making the video has taught me that I do NOT like talking to a camera. I prefer stills!

And then there was the wedding. This is testing out the photobooth I set up for Heather and Kristian and their guests (the wedding photos can be seen here).

And this one Ferris took. I am about five drinks in. Can you tell? Ferris is too, which may explain why this isn’t sharp. One word for you Ferris : autofocus!

And that was the week!

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