A peek through my lens!

I've moved!

2009-11-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Come and check out my new home! Click here.

Playing Around

2009-10-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with editing some more. I feel like the more I learn the more I realize I don't know and just HOW much there is to learn LOL

Tea Anyone?

2009-10-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went out and took some photo's for my friend and neighbor. She is blessed to have three beautiful girls. We found some nice tall grass and set up a little tea party. These girls were so much fun to take pictures of.

Here is Cassidy. She was so relaxed in front of the camera.

Here we have little miss diva! Carly will be celebrating her third birthday latter this month.

This is Claire who has the best expressions!

I couldn't resist taking a photo of these tiny hands. I just love them.

I kind of have a thing for feet too! The boots were just too cute.

Info & Tid Bits

2009-10-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Requests to take photo's have started coming in and I thought I would take a minute to provide some info.

First of all yes I am available to do photo's. The first question that everyone wants to know is how much do I charge. It seems that I often choose a rather unconventional way of doing things and my pricing scheme for photography seems to be following suit.

I have chosen at this point in time to not have any set prices. I am asking people to pay me what they can afford and or what they feel the photo's are worth to them. In addition I am also encouraging people to pay me in non-monetary ways. The possibilities here are endless and unique to each person. I will say though that I'm not a coffee drinker and really don't care for alcohol :) If someone is more comfortable writing me a cheque I am not going to say no.

For a photo shoot I will give you 2 hours of my time. I am still brainstorming the best way for you to view the photo's. You may choose 10 images that I will edit and put on a cd for you to print yourself.

Why am I doing it this way? It's kind of a long answer! The really short version is that it is a personal conviction of mine. I may not do it forever. It may only be for a time. But right now this is what I feel I should do. I am much more interested in God's economy and His way of doing things don't always make sense.

I also thought that I would put it out there that my absolute passion and what I would really love to do is birth photography. I have my first birth booked for March. I am very excited about this. If there are any pregnant Mamma's who would like their birth to be photographed speak up!!!!!!!

I am baby stepping my way into this passion and have much to learn! I am so thrilled that I have the opportunity to do something that I love and feel so incredibly blessed. God is good!

Oh Me Oh My!

2009-10-09T18:53:00.002-07:00

This afternoon I went out to run some errands without the kids. When I walked in the house and placed my bag on the counter I saw this. Any guesses as to what it is?

As my eyes continued to look I saw this next to it.

At this point I gasped, covered my mouth and let out a rather loud, "Nooooooo!!!!!!" Then looked at Rod and said, "What happened?" Rod informed me that Kaidan decided to make Kennedy's hair look pretty. He thought that her hair was hanging in her eyes so he took care of it! Ummm........... YIKES! Did you see those scissors? Kaidan is 3 years old and Kennedy is 22 months old! Ey ya ya ya! Nobody got hurt and you know what? He did a pretty decent job. I don't actually think anyone would really notice except me whose job it is as a mother to know every little inch of my children's hair. My Mom has been on me for months to cut her hair. No worries Mom......... Kaidan took care of it.

Not too bad eh? Looks like I might have a little hair dresser on my hands but he will have to wait a good long while before he has the opportunity again!

Lollipop, lollipop, oh la la lollipop!

2009-10-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Remember back in June my wonderful children gave me the best present ever? I cashed it on a beautiful August morning and we headed to Old Clayburn Village Store. I had a really hard time deciding which ones to post and as you can see I wasn't too succesfull in narrowing it down LOL.

My Dad's 60th

2009-09-27T12:59:00.001-07:00

My Dad turned 60 this month and it is becoming a bit of a joke that this celebration just keeps going on and on! He deserves it though. So as his birthday has lingered so will this post!

Earlier in the year we started to think about my Dad turning 60 and what we wanted to do to honor him. It seemed like a natural thing to gift him with a guitar. For those of you who don't know my family my Dad enjoys playing the guitar and has a fine appreciation for woodworking. Pair that with Rod's incredible skill and love for building guitars and it's not hard to figure out what to do! We wanted all of the kids and grandkids to be involved in this gift though so we all spent some time in the workshop helping out with what we could. It was a labor of love. And YES, it remained a secret until the gift was given.

First the grandkids all came and had a turn. Even Kennedy got in the action and helped out!

Then the kids all took their turn coming in. Unfortunatley I don't have a photo of Debora. She did help though by choosing the style of the bridge and the headstock. By the way Debora I think you did a fantastic job!

My sister Julie and Rod having some fun!

Rod took this photo of me in the shop.

We also all put our fingerprints inside the guitar and signed it with a personal message to my Dad.

Remember I did say this was going to be a long post! We are only half way there. Here are a few photos of the guitar finished. Well, actually it isn't 100% done. The actual finish on the guitar isn't on yet. We ran out of time and it takes weeks for it to cure properly. Dad is going to have to give it back at some point to get the proper finish on it.

This was the first time that Rod built a guitar with a sound port.

Finally the day of the party! We were so proud of the grandkids for keeping the secret. They could only wait so long though and we decided to open presents right away. We wrapped an album of photos that I had taken of making the guitar and that is what we gave to my Dad. He's a smart guy and figured out right away what was in store. My Mom on the other hand! It was quite funny watching her as she couldn't see the photo's and had NO clue what was going on.

Finally out comes the guitar. Kaidan taking a look in the sound port.

Let's play this thing already! For those of you who have never heard one of Rod's guitars you are missing out. I need to brag for a moment about my hubby because he is AMAZING at building guitars. Not only do they look fantastic they sound incredible.

I think this is one of my favorite photos here. I love the look of my Dad's hands against the guitar. Very personal to me. Happy Birthday Dad! You are so very loved and I am so honored to be your daughter. I love you.

Kaidan's First Day of Preschool!

2009-09-16T12:13:00.001-07:00

Kaidan is starting preschool this year. He is very excited and has been looking forward to this for awhile. Every morning he says goodbye to Mackenna as she goes off to school and now it is finally his turn. He has the best expressions and is so full of life!

I'm still here!

2009-09-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

I have not fallen off the face of the earth. And yes, I am still taking photos. I could come up with many reasons why it has been so long since I posted some. The real reason why though is because I am frustrated.

I have these images and visions in my head of what I want my photos to look like and well............ there is this thing called a learning curve. Yeah, I kind of suck at that. My personality is that I want to learn it all and RIGHT NOW! Patience is not exactly one of my strong points. I get frustrated with my lack of resources that I have. Although I did recently make my first purchase of a good lens there is a list a mile long of things I would like to own. I have so much to learn on the editing side of things and lots of computer stuff to learn. Again, not one of my strong areas. I have vision though and lots of it! I've decided that I need to embrace where I am at and just keep going. It will come and I will learn like everyone else........ one step at a time.

Oh and on a different note I think this must be a milestone in the life of a photographer. I had my first dream. You know the back to school dreams? The ones where you can't find your locker, then you can't find your classroom? You bring the wrong book and you haven't studied for that test yet? I'm not the only one that had those right? Yeah, well this dream I was second shooter at a wedding. I arrived and opened up my camera bag. To my horror I had only brought my camera body with me. I did not have a single lens. It gets worse LOL Then I realize that all of my memory cards are full and my battery is completely dead. Yes, this is the way to get hired to be a second shooter isn't it! Seriously I thought I was beyond having these kind of dreams. Oh well............ does that make me official now?

I promise some pictures will be coming soon. My Dad celebrated his 60th birthday this summer, the kids first day of school pictures, and more.

Green Bay

2009-07-26T10:45:00.001-07:00

This past week we have been on vacation. We just spend our 3rd year at Green Bay Bible Camp. We had so much fun! The sun was shining and it was glorious. The kids had fun playing in the sand and swimming in the water. Both Mackenna and Kaidan went on tube rides. I even managed to read a WHOLE book from cover to cover this week! I can not remember the last time I read a book on vacation! Next year I hope to read two.

Camping

2009-07-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went camping to Cultus Lake. We had such a great time. The weather was wonderful so much so that we didn't even bring our tarps with us! Now that says A LOT for camping in BC!

Here are some photo's of us enjoying our smores. Rod can roast the "perfect" marshmellow. I rather um........ only burn them. Rod was incredibly gracious to also make me a smore to "my" standards. He broke the marshmellow in half (you need to have the right marsmellow ratio you know) and then he waited after it was roasted until it had cooled off just a bit so that it wouldn't completely melt my chocolate. I'm not demanding or anything am I? I have such a wonderful husband.

I was also very proud of the fact that we managed to get all of us and our stuff into Penguin aka VW Golf. We had a car top carrier and we had a bit of room to spare. We had 2 tents, a playpen, all of our bedding, a cooler, camping chairs, life jackets, all of our clothes, and regular camping gear. I don't know how we did it but we did!

Here are a few random ones. Kennedy loved being outside and had a lot of fun. Mackenna had a little notebook that she used to record all of the animals that she saw. And Kaidan used anything that he could to be his sword.

Now these last two photo's have a little story. Mackenna and Kaidan both brought up their own camera's. Kaidan got Mackenna to pose for him on this rock. She was loving it and Kaidan was snapping away. Of course I had to grab my camera too and get a few shots. After Kaidan was done Mackenna hopped down to go and see what Kaidan had shot. Kaidan was proudly showing Mackenna and said, "I got it! I got it!" I think I might have a little assistant on my hands :)

The Enns Family

2009-06-28T21:49:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I went and photographed the Enns family. The boys had me hopping! Between funny faces, a serious grip on a sippy cup and lots of laughs we got a few photo's. Oh and they have the most delious raspberries too.

Introducing Jermaine Taylor

2009-06-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Oh me oh my! This guy is an aboslute cutie. What an incredible honor and privelage it was to take his pictures. Jermaine was born on June 4th and have I mentioned that he is just a tad too cute? He has pretty great parents too.

Thank you Amber and Nathan for letting me come into your home and spend a couple of hours with you. Jermaine is just amazing and enjoy the photo's.

A Family Shoot

2009-06-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I went with Natalie to shoot an amazing family. This family was hilarious and I am surprised that any of the photo's are actually in focus. They had me laughing almost the entire time.

Best Gift Ever

2009-06-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday and this is what my children gave me. Isn't that the sweetest gift? I absolutely am in love with the picture that Mackenna drew. I look pretty good with the camera eh? I think I might be framing this one.

Golden Ears Bridge

2009-06-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we went to the completion celebration of the Golden Ears Bridge. We had a great time. My parents took me to the opening of the Alex Fraser Bridge in 1986. I still remember walking across that bridge. When I heard that they were doing something similar with this new bridge I knew that I wanted to take my kids and create those same memories. They estimated that about 70,000 people showed up! Here are some pictures.

There was a great band playing on the bridge and I couldn't help but snap this photo of my parents dancing on the bridge! How often do you get to do dance on a bridge?

There was another spot where they had this most amazing hoola hooper. Mackenna loves to hoola hoop and is actually very good at. She was thrilled to be able to hoola hoop on the bridge. Take a look at the size of that hoola hoop!

Kaidan was thoroughly enjoying his ice cream sandwich. Mmmmm............. I'm getting hungry now LOL

And then there is Kennedy who enjoyed most of the day on top of Daddy's shoulders.

A Grad Shoot with Natalie

2009-06-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

This morning I went on a photo shoot with Natalie. Have I mentioned just how much fun I am having tagging along? Such amazing opportunities! These two were so easy going and were a blast to take pictures of. Here are a few of my favorites.

Adventures in Letter Boxing!

2009-06-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went out letter boxing. Rod's sister and BIL joined us and we had a great time! If you have not heard of letter boxing before I highly recommend it. You can read more about it here at www.letterboxing.org

Just a few words of wisdom if anyone plans on finding the boxes in Clearbrook Park. Do not wear flip flops. This trail definitely requires running shoes. I do not suggest bringing a stroller. Most definitely NOT an umbrella or a travel system. I would suggest bringing along some water to drink. Of course none of these suggestions come from our own experience (insert eye wink here) LOL. Oh and when they say there are a few steep grades........... they mean it :)

Here is Mackenna finding the first box. She was so excited. Her and her cousin, Miranda went in and found it.

As we were continuing on the trail and following our clues the kids were quick to notice evidence that beaver's lived in the area. We saw many trees like this one. Last night at dinner I noticed an obnoxious sound and when I looked over at Kaidan I was somewhat shocked to see him actually grinding the kitchen table with his teeth. I asked him what on earth he was doing. "I'm a beaver Mommy!" Of course!

Here is a photo of our book after finding the second box and stamping it.

And of course I can not help but take photo's of my kids. Here is a picture of each of them while we were out finding the boxes.

Entirely Frustrated!

2009-06-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me you know that computers just aren't my thing. I am not technologically minded. This is my biggest struggle. I have spent hours at my computer this week trying to get it to do what I want. I have so very little patience with computers and they do not bring out the best qualities in me.

Rod has been so very graciously trying to help me. He has spent much of his own time trying to get our computer set up to do the things I want it to do. We are so not there yet. If you think me along with a computer is bad you add Rod, me and a computer and well............... that is not a good combo! We both think very differently and I tend to rather exasperate Rod when it comes to computers. He is being patient and I am trying so very hard to have patience and to understand how computers work. Really Rod, I am trying :)

I am trying to get my computer to recognize files in RAW. I've now managed to get them on my computer but I can't view them and I can't open them in Photoshop. That's on the list for this week.

Natalie has also graciously spent hours with me this week teaching me things on Photoshop only when I go to my computer it isn't working! Natalie, I'll be calling you soon.

I'm learning. Slowly and baby stepping along the way. I had a few photo's that I wanted to share but I can't do what I wanted to them. Maybe this week sometime? I will share this one photo though. I took this while on a photo shoot with Natalie this week of another graduation. This young ladies dress was stunning! I'm a sucker for the details. While carrying around photo equipment, holding up a flash, trying to balance a reflector I managed to sneak this photo in. When I took this photo I was actually holding a flash in one hand while Natalie was taking a photo of the young man. Now if only I was as good with computers as I am at multitasking!

Some cute kids!

2009-06-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had a neighborhood bbq. It was a lot of fun. Of course I had to snap some photo's of the kids! The first photo is Kennedy. She was having a blast playing with all of the kids. The second photo is Claire who is 14 months old and she was quite enjoying her watermelon :)

Natalie

2009-06-02T10:56:00.001-07:00

Many of you already know Natalie but there are many of you who have never met Natalie. You hear me mention her name and now you can put a face to the name. Natalie was the first neighbor that I met when we began to build our house in Abbotsford, BC. I still remember seeing her over the fence and hmmmm........ can you guess what she was doing? She was taking a photo of her son Joshua who at the time was about 9 months. It was easy to connect with her as I also shared an interest in photography.

We would chat over the fence and eventually Natalie moved and instead of being a neighbor behind me she now lives 5 houses down from me. I have watched her interest in photography grow and I have watched her learn. She is now allowing me to come along side of her and learn.

I took this photo of Natalie this past weekend while she was doing a graduation photo shoot. I have had so much fun working with Natalie and learning from her. Thank you so very much Natalie for the opportunities that you are giving me. Oh and go and check out Natalie's photos. http://www.footprintsbynatalie.com/

Fun in the backyard!

2009-05-27T19:24:00.001-07:00

This afternoon the kids and I were hanging out in the backyard having fun. Pace joined us and what are two boys to do? Make silly faces of course!

I have yet to enter the world of editing although that is next on my list of things to tackle. I took my disc over to Natalie's where she sat with me and let me play on Photoshop. Ok, she did most of it but I told her the look I was after and she navigated her way through Photoshop while I sat taking as many mental notes as possible. I have a feeling that once I get Photoshop on my computer at home that Rod and the kids may be seeing less of me!

Am I really doing this?

2009-05-27T12:17:00.001-07:00

For anybody who knows me I have finally caved and I am now officially part of the blogging world!

I have started this blog as an avenue to share the images that I have captured with my camera. Over the last month I have been spending a lot more time actively pursuing photography and I wanted an outlet to share those photo's.

I hope you enjoy looking at the photo's and come and check often as I plan to update regularly. Also please leave a comment as I would love to hear from you!