Wednesday, January 30, 2008

It's Here!!!

Bit of a random post, but guess what finally came in today!!!?? My new Macbook Pro!! I have been working from only my IMac desktop for a while now and needed the portability of a laptop. Today was the day!! I plan to expand a few services and be offering slideshow for weddings. They will be of the days images played during the wedding cocktail receptions. All the getting ready; guests arriving; the ceremony; and the posts can be played for the guests at the receptions. So all of you 2008 brides, better get excited!






Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Update...

Well, the site has been partially updated. All the copy, not the portfolio just yet... it's coming soon though!

I have some other very exciting news! I've booked my flights and hotel in Vegas for the biggest photography conference in the world. Literally! It's the World Portrait Photographers International ("WPPI") which I am a member of. Every year there is a conference in Las Vegas and I'm going to be there! Not only are there the world's best portrait/wedding photographers going to there, but, they will be teaching!! I'm so excited about this!

The first three days will be lectures and the last day is a trade show. I plan to bring home the best album and print ideas out there, in addition to new shooting and post production techniques taught by the best of the best. Flying to Las Vegas for my clients benefits is really the least I could do :)

Vegas Baby!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Engagement...

I'm very excited to announce some wonderful news.... My brother, Chris got engaged over the weekend! Chris and Ashley are awesome and their wedding will be just fantastic! Can't wait to shoot this one! It's going to be in Muskoka this August and is sure to be a great time! Congratulations you two!!!

Baby Shower

In December Lindsay (I do love Lindsay's!) contacted me to shoot a Babyshower (as a surprise) that she was throwing for the new mother. It was something different and very special for the new mother as often baby showers go undocumented. Lindsay hosted the shower and did a fantastic job! There was a tonne of food and lots of fun! The mother and new baby Maddison were just too sweet.

Here are a few of the images....
























Perhaps NYR's are Just Not for Me.....

Okay, so I'm back from a short blog writing hiatus. With one NYR's out the window of blogging daily, I fell its time to adjust that one to blogging more frequently :)!

The past few weeks have been very busy with research and planning for 2008. Its already teed up to be a great year, with some very exciting Weddings, Lifestyles and Travel to come. July 19th 2008, seems to be a very busy day for weddings. I am booked that day with Mike and Laura from Burlington. They booked the date nearly 18 months ago and I can recall them telling me that people had thought they were nuts for planning so far in advance. However, it's worked out well for them, as I have had to turn away three clients who wanted to book me for that date. So, they certainly were not nuts to book that far in advance!

Not to say that there are not dates still open for those planning with tighter time lines, so shoot me an email if you have an upcoming wedding, I'd love to meet with you to discuss your options!

I've also been working with Ross from Flosites to get a new Blog up and running in the coming months. The idea is to have a very cool new blog, as well as a better way to facilitate the "comments". I feel that this criteria will be met with flying colours and can not wait for it to be up and running. Further, my website is going to be update, hopefully within the week, which I am also very much looking forward. So, keep checking back for all the new changes!

Oh, and we'll I'm here, I have to mention that this week was MacWorld. Which is always exciting. Has anyone seen the New Macbook Air. Very cool, I think I'll stick to the Macbook Pro, but Mac really are innovators! I can not wait to get the Time Capsal. With so many images I have to back up constantly and this will be a time saver for sure!

Here's a Sixty Second Summary of Steve Jobs' Key Note speech which was 90 minutes long.


Sunday, January 6, 2008

Maternity....

Okay so, here are a few maternity portraits that I did while doing a family lifestyle session a little while ago. In the craziness leading up to Christmas I did not get the chance to post them. But in the slower season, I will be adding my sessions that did not get blogged,

Here are some of the images....







Friday, January 4, 2008

Winter Gala for Charity!

Phew!!! My second day and I almost forgot to post!! I can't ruin my NYR's on my second day, that's horrible!

Luckily, I have something to make up for it....I was asked to participate in a Charity!! That's one of my resolutions!! Perfect! Well, and of course, I'll get to be charitable in addition to meeting one of my NYR's!

So, to start I am donating a portrait session for the silent auction. In addition to that, I will be there documenting the event for them!

It's a Winter Gala for the McMaster University Medical Center's Children' Charity. There are still tickets available if you are interested in attending it's on February 1, 2008 --(There will be at least one great auction item :) )

It's going to be a fantastic event with a four course meal, silent auction, live bands and so much more, you really should be attending!! Leave me a comment if you're interested in getting tickets, and I'll sort you out! They are only $40.00 each which is SO inexpensive, especially considering the children you'll be helping!

So, join me for a great cause!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Happy New Year!!!

I Hope the Best of Last Year is the Worst of the Next!

I am back home now and slowly getting back to the swing of things. Wow. That Holidays are exhausting! I don't know if I can even consider eating another sweet until.... At least Monday :) I can understand why there is such a long haul between Holidays with Christmas and Easter, you really do need the break after the festivities of Christmas.

Well, lets see, Quebec was fantastic! I just love Mount St. Anne, it's awesome for snowboarding and just the coziest little village! I highly recommend it. Turns out it was the 400th Anniversary of Quebec City so there was a Huge celebration right downtown. We braved the freezing cold I believe it was -16 w/o the windchill and climbed atop the citadel a wall with some 20 000 other people to watch the outdoor show and the fireworks. It was something to say the least! The fireworks we the best I have ever seen, honestly, it was insane!

We ended up driving home in a bit of a blizzard and stopped counting the cars in the ditch off the 401 when we reached 35 cars. I closed my eyes and begged that we pull over. Needless to say, I think I'll be flying next year!

We're home safely and I only left my purse behind once, which for me, is pretty good. For those who know me, they know I have a small issue with leaving that little guy all over the place. I am starting to think that I may do it subconceiously to be reminded of the good people in the world! I left my purse in a restruant in St. Anne De Beaupre... and didn't realize until we were checking into our hotel in Quebec City, the following day that I didn't have it. So we had to get back into the car and drive back to St. Anne. Small source of contention, I must say. We got there and in a mix of broken French and English, the server found it in the Manger's office. I wanted to hug her. In it, I had cash as well as my Ipod (which I never leave home without) and a number of gift cards from Christmas, not to mention all of my Identification, etcetera. I was just so happy that they had it -- It really is a horrible feeling to lose your wallet. I would image it is so much worse not to get it back, however, that has yet to happen to me. I seem to have the best of luck in this regard. The good people of the world always seem to find it and keep it safe for me.

Overall the whole trip was a great start to the New Year. I have so many projects and goals for the coming year with regard to my business, however they are ever evolving. So, I thought I would pose my personal New Years Resolution here so I can be held accontable.... I'll keep you updated on my progress:

1. Double check when leaving everywhere that I have my purse.

2. Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. Water really is the fluid of life.

3. Stop paying for an unused gym membership.... Physical fitness is key to wellbeing and I need to utlizie the gym, rather than just paying for it.

4. Become involved in a Charity. This is a good goal for everyone really, there are so many people that need assistance in the world.

5. And finally, blog everyday... really this is quite difficult, but I am gonna try!! Those all seem like fairly common resolutions...Perhaps I'll add to the list as the year progresses! I hope everyone had a fantastic Holiday season and a wonderful 2008!