Friday, February 17, 2012

Beautiful Babes...

Well I can honestly say I am in over my head! LOL... I've been challenged this last few weeks... Mostly with lighting... I guess that is my next learning curve! Here are my most recent photographs... I already have many more lined up... Practise, practise, practise...



Beautiful little girl Brooklyn... A happy, friendly, playful bundle of joy!











Introducing Mr Gianni... This little guy is simply precious... This day was a prime example of what shooting a new born is all about!  On this day he was not a happy camper he is figuring out his new little body so wasn't as into it as we had hoped, the lighting also wasn't ideal so I used my new flash (that I honestly have no idea how to use)... I am quite proud of myself to be honest! I do have so much to learn but I am happy to say I am moving in a forward direction...









Monday, February 13, 2012

Dirty Little Secrets ~ Behind the scenes

Recently I have been taking a workshop called "Dirty Little Secrets"... I have had a number of friends curious about what happens in these classes. I figured I would blog about it and give you all an idea of what I am doing with the first Sunday of every month...


Cameras, Props, and Students...


Cameras, Students, and one awesome Instructor and friend...





Laughter...
Beautiful Sasha

More Sasha
Textures

TEXTURE...

MORE Textures

and more textures
Props

more Props

CANON Props ;)

Flying Feather Boas

Twirling, Swirling, Flying Feather Boas...
Professional Models/Instructors

???
A bath tub on the roof...
I am going to continue my "Behind the Scenes" blog posts while we move through our monthly workshops... As you can see, there is a lot of craziness going on here ~ and we are only into our second week... :) Really looking forward to next months class...

Sunday, January 22, 2012

2012 is my year...

I have decided that this is the year that I am going for it! I am jumping head first. I am going to challenge myself and put myself out there like I never have before! The last few years I have been fiddling around with my camera and this year I have more time and more desire to really follow this path of photography and see where it takes me...

Groupon is my new friend! I was reluctant I will admit... I honestly thought if it was on groupon, I was probably going to get some dry and boring class that I wouldn't get much out of. No offense but I had never used Groupon before and well I think I've been brainwashed to believe you get what you pay for. Well!!! Let me tell you! I learned so much and I had so much fun! I've realized I will grow with experience, and practice, and new people, and different angles, and different perspectives. If you ever get a chance to attend one of these workshops with Fotoscool I highly recommend it. This was a great experience for me and gave me some new knowledge to bring into my progressive workshops with my lovely and talented friend Hope Walls. I am really looking forward to the journey with my camera this year!!!












Monday, January 9, 2012

Capturing precious Memories while Creating some Dreams for Tawny...

Yesterday I began round 2 of Hope Walls' DLS workshops "Dirty Little Secrets". I dove into this workshop last year knowing nothing but learning a lot. However with a busy life as a mother I missed some of the classes, wasn't able to give many of the exercises my full attention or time, or didn't complete them at all.  THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT!!!! One of my resolutions for 2012 is to follow the path laid out for Tawny and create some dreams and goals for myself! I've been so busy trying to help my family develop dreams that I didn't make any for myself. I have decided it's time!


I have converted from PC to Mac which has been a huge learning curve for me since I don't exactly consider myself computer savy! In the same month my hubby also generously gifted me a new camera for my birthday which I am slowly starting to understand! I admit I am a creature of habit and try to avoid change for the most part so I might seem to be outwardly lacking in enthusiasm when it comes to my new toys while  I am actually enthusiastic and jumping up and down on the inside.


 I haven't actually blogged since my very moving experience at the LEDUC RELAY FOR LIFE  but I've still been keeping very busy with my very active family and on the side trying to advance with my photography skills! This is what I've been busy photographing...

My first shoot ever... My dear friend Brandi and her partner Tod were my very first experience outside of workshop, shooting real live people. I made only one promise. I promised that I could deliver at least one photo that I liked. LOL  Apparently I am fearful of pressure so this way there was very little except my own desire. Turns out I underestimated myself and they actually exceeded my own expectations. These photos actually are close to my heart for another reason. Brandi and Tod weren't sure that a pregnancy was in their future, so when they announced that they were finally expecting, I was more than ecstatic for them...





So this is that feeling that drives photographers to do what they do, do it with pride, and enthusiasm. The feeling that overcomes every challenge, frustration, setback and what drives them to consistently improve their skills to better capture precious moments for people... I am thrilled to have been chosen to capture these special memories for this family. Welcome to the world beautiful Brooklyn Paige...

 












Looking back at these I have learned so much. I can see some things I love and some things I need to work on. There is so much more to photography than I ever really knew, and much more than that if you have a vision (as I do) and wish to achieve it.

My sister came to visit this summer... It was our last visit with her and my beautiful nephew Jedai before they departed for a new life in Australia. My sister and I are very close, we spoke almost daily,  and between her and I traveling back and forth to and from B.C. we usually managed to get in at least four lengthy visits a year. It was important to me to get some captured memories of our kids together at a young age because I knew the opportunity wasn't likely to present itself very often now that they live 18,300 kms away. I have to say that it was a really tough Christmas without them and I really miss our daily chats... I am so very thankful that our family have these photos of them together, some pictures of him here with us while he was still little, and some of my girls with their amazing Auntie who has been such a big part of their lives. I only hope to be able to be as present in his life as she's been in my girls lives...











(Now these next photos are my transition photos~ I considered not posting these ~ and I am sure I will have some photographer friends that recommend I don't without watermarks, but this is part of my journey so I am sharing them the way they are... (I honestly used my "call a friend" lifeline several times to manage to get through this last month)

                                                             Thank You Christine


I have no idea how to watermark these following pics with my Mac, I hardly know how to import them they are taken with a camera that I had hardly turned on. There have been a few unexpected hiccups (like software and knowledge) that I need to learn and smooth out before I can really move forward.  I find myself here blogging so I am posting the photos as they are. I should call this blog post, confessions of a "Dream to be photographer"... I am sure if you are a photographer and are reading this, you've been in my shoes...

This is my lovely friend Sara and her husband Darren. Sara and I had the pleasure of meeting  and bonding during our annual all girls (no kids) camping trip... She needed photographs done for Christmas and I needed some experience. My fear of pressure kicked in which generally means I'll commit to nothing. This time I promised at least one photo that would be worthy of gifting for Christmas. I delivered these and much to my relief, they received them with enthusiasm...














So there it is... Some of what I have been doing while I wasn't blogging. I am back at it now, and while taking this workshop I suspect you will see a lot more blog posts from me. It's been a fun journey and I can see with my own eyes that I am growing, and that feels good...