Organic Photography

me and sam, sam and I

January 27th, 2010

I’m sitting here updating the blog and munching on some organic strawberries.

I just got back from a tux fitting for my best friends wedding this summer. I get to be best man and to say that I’m allready nervous about the speach would be an enormous understatement. but I get to watch my best pal marry the girl of his dreams (a mennonite no less!) and I cannot wait.

becky and I finally went to see avatar last night. we always laugh at each other because the first time we went to see a movie together we reached into the popcorn at the same time and we both laughed because we looked like one giant cliche. every time we go to see a movie now we make sure our hands touch in the popcorn at least once and we just smile.

I love her so much.

this weekend I get to photograph a beautiful little boy whose parents have been waiting years for him to arrive.

I am so lucky.

this last week I had the opportunity to finally sit down and spend some time with a hero of mine. sam graci is the formulator of greens+ and a world renowned nutrition expert. inspirational doesn’t even begin to describe sam. his energy seems to be endless and his warm and caring heart shines through. his only goal in life is to help people learn how the food they eat can offer them a long life filled with energy and health.

breakfast that morning was a quick protein shake and a bowl of organic strawberries along with my greens+ shake.

img_1500-2

img_1483-2

when we finally got to sit down over a lunch of mushroom tarragon soup and fresh eight grain bread at the earthbound bakery I was surprised that it wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. I thought he would dispense some profound nutrition advice that would radically alter my life. instead we talked like friends which is another gift he seems to have, making everyone around him feel welcome. we talked about our favorite spots in puerto vallarta and spent some time discussing the finer points of this years law and order episodes.

to-blog1

like I said, lucky.

charlotte

January 26th, 2010

charlotte was the perfect little model. her mom and dad had her all ready to go when I dropped by and the session couldn’t have gone better.

I love parents who have a list of shots they want me to get or have some unique ideas that really stretch my abilities as a photographer. at the same time it’s great when a couple invites me into their home and just wants me to use my ideas and I can start snapping away. it’s humbling to hear that they love what I’ve done and that they trust my eyes.

charlotte’s parents were just happy to let their beautiful daughter be the star of the show, stopping every few minutes to fix her hair and remind her that mom and dad were still around. they just stood back and watched her stare at the world around her…..smiling the whole time.

img_0313-21

img_0320-2

img_0327-2

img_0205-2

img_0212-2

img_0273-2

img_0306-2

jana & joel - preview

January 24th, 2010

it’s sunday afternoon and I just rolled out of bed. we’ve had a blizzard and our house is completely snowed in so of course I’m editing and catching up on season 2 of friday night lights. becky is away in edmonton with some friends which means she’ll be bringing back a plate of braised beef tortellini from olive garden for me.

life is good.

check that. life is great.

on top of all that I had a wonderful problem to deal with. I knew I was going to be posting jana and joel’s preview but I didn’t realize it was going to be so hard to just find two of my favorites. so as usual, I’ll have to break a cardinal rule of photography and post more pictures than I should in a preview.

I don’t know what it is about some couples…..after a few years of doing this I still can’t put my finger on it. watching them gliding around the rink reminded me of why I started doing this. their big smiles, the quick kisses, stopping every now and again to help warm each others fingers up.

it was beautiful.

am I the only one that thinks joel is striking a little superman pose here? like he’s just resued lois and is about to fly her off to safety….

des & jay

January 18th, 2010

I’m sitting here trying to figure out what to say about this amazing couple that really expresses how I feel about these photos. this won’t sound as polished as I would like or do justice to des & jay but it’s what I’m feeling.

at first it was a pretty regular start, des emailed me after talking with her friend jodi. after a few emails she discovered that we’re in the process of starting ivf treatments and that’s how their little miracle made it’s way into their life. she had some really encouraging words and I was looking forward to our session.

they mentioned they were a little shy so we booked some extra time in the studio in case they had a little trouble getting comfortable in front of the camera. is it just me or do they look like they’ve done this before?

it was one of those great sessions where we spent our entire time together chatting away. we talked about our marriages, weddings, honeymoons and then moved into our experiences with infertility. where becky and I are just starting out in this process, they have had several years filled with hope, heartbreak, tears and then finally the joy of finding out that their dreams were about to come true. we face so much uncertainty and it’s so inspiring to spend some time with such a gracious and positive couple.

every book I’ve read says that you need to surround yourselves with people who know what you’re going through and I’m so blessed to have so many clients who encourage us this way.

I could go on for so much longer but we should get to the photos.

so des & jay….

thank you for coming to the studio looking like a million bucks. couples who still dress up for their photos are the best!

thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone, you should be so proud of the beautiful images you have created.

know that you are an inspiration to at least one person in this world, and you probably didn’t even know how much you were helping someone else!

thank you for reminding everyone around you that every day of pregnancy is a gift worth more than anything else in this world.

img_9785-2

img_9793-2

img_9816-2

img_9831-2

img_9851-2

img_9892-2

we wanted to get some belly shots but des mentioned several times that this was a little out of her comfort zone. since she did prenatal yoga for the past few months she changed into her workout gear and showed off her skills.

mad skills as becky would say.

I couldn’t believe some of the poses she got into and it was a blast to watch!

I asked her to show me a really serious meditation pose and after 5 minutes of trying to keep a straight face, this is the closest we got….

molly

January 16th, 2010

I thought that dean looked familiar when he opened the door that morning and after two minutes of chatting I realized that he had been one of the groomsmen in a wedding I photographed during the summer!

he and lisa welcomed their daughter molly into the world a few days earlier and this turned into one of those sessions that reminded me why I’m so lucky to be able to say that I’m a photographer. one of my favorite things is watching new parents and their little ones.

so often they completely forget that the camera is there and that’s when I get beautiful natural shots like these. they capture the energy in the house and this was the case that saturday afternoon. the house was so quiet when I arrived and I had an amazing time watching this beautiful couple cuddle their daughter, watching her kick her legs and taking in every movement, blink and sound she made.

img_0631-edit