Today I had the chance to play.
My good friend, and amateur photographer, Ryan, was doing a session with his beautiful and pregnant sister-in-law, Janey. So I tagged along.
This is a bit different from my outside-on-the-beach-with-the-rest-of-the-family maternity session. But how do you grow, if you don’t change it up once in a while, right? It’s this type of session that allows me to see my mistakes, take my time and grow as an artist. And let’s face it – shooting at someone else’s session takes the pressure off! It’s important to do once in a while.
I’m so glad I went. To take the opportunity to stretch my photo-muscles with a fabulous subject. Janey is sweet and kind and obviously gorgeous. Plus, anyone who is willing to get into a bubble bath and let me photograph them is pretty cool in my books.
P.S. Janey is an esthetician in Victoria. if you need anything waxed, painted or polished, she’s your girl! Here is her site…
xo
A while back, a lovely neighbor called me to arrange a shoot with her family – including Taska, her aging border collie, and some kids from the neighborhood.
As border collies do, Taska keeps tabs on the kids, always close by, always gathering. She attends all neighborhood events, on the street, on the beach, at doorsteps. She steals hockey balls, snaps at the waves at the polar bear swim, always nuzzling palms for a scrub on the head. I’m not sure anyone in the neighborhood doesn’t know who Taska is!
Anyway, we all ventured down to the beach – one of Taska’s favorite places. As usual, she fished in the ocean, ran with sticks much bigger than her, and frolicked with the kids.
This post serves as a tribute to Taska – to acknowledge her peering into the bassinet and sniffing “her two boys” into the world, for being a constant in the ‘hood, for continuing to be man’s (and woman’s and boys’) best friend.
Taska is getting old. And we can see her slowing down. Not that you can tell from this post…she seems as full of vigor and life as she must have been as a tiny little handful.
Happy Tuesday. And Happy March! (we’re getting closer to warm…)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
I can’t show you too much from this shoot, but here’s a little sneak into a project I’ve been working on with some very important guys…
Saturday, February 27, 2010
When I was little, I wanted three siblings. Two brothers and a sister. That way, everyone in the family would have a sister and everyone would have a brother. We would never have to wish for one or the other.
As fate would have it, I ended up with one big brother – who more than makes up for my childhood wish. I never quite figured though, that along with him would come a special sister.
Quite a number of years ago, my sister-in-law joined our family, and as I flash through our lives together, over the past 17 years or so, I see that she is everything I could ever want in a sister. Silly and outrageous, talented and intelligent, advice giving and taking, fun and serious. She is the best person in the world to belly laugh with. She is All Things a sister could be and even though she lives around the corner, we don’t get together often enough. We love our tea. We love our tequila shots! We have many things in common, and offer to our friendship the things we don’t.
This week, my sister had a birthday. So we gathered for a surprise to toast to another year of fabulous-her, with food and drinks and music.
As I ponder and reminisce about our past, I look forward into the future and am thankful for my pseudo-sister and the times we have yet to spend.
Cheers to you, sis. xo
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
More to come on this very soon, but here’s a tiny sneak peek of a recent session with one very loved, very furry, slightly crazy person-dog.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Meet Sunshine Girl. A wonderful little one that belongs to one of my oldest friends. And I got to see her for a couple of days last month – which was so nice for me!
It’s kinda cool to see our friends grow up and become moms. A solid reminder that we no longer sleep in rooms next to one another, share a bathroom, have customary Friday night parties and get by with 3am nights every weekend as we did in our twenties.
OK, we’re well past our twenties. But still…
My friend Johanne is such an amazing Mom. So dedicated to her babe, and so easygoing about it all. Childless me is watching Jo as she folds laundry and watching Cadence as she follows behind and unfolds it all. My anxiety level goes up. Another cheerio rolls across the floor and under the couch. I am tempted to chase it and get it before it gathers dust. But I don’t. I take a deep breath and try not to look at the noodles that Cadence is smashing into her hair.
While I am glad, most of the time, to not have to spend my days wiping and gathering and cleaning and tripping on toys with wheels, I do wonder what it’s like. When they give hugs and fall into your arms and sit in the little pocket that crossed legs make to read a story, you can smell their hair and feel the softness of their little cheeks. And then they look you in the eye, even as they’re pulling every pot and pan out of the cupboard. And you kind of melt a little….
So for now, I will remain auntie. And get all the squeezes I can out of our little sunshine girl.
xo
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
There are many reasons why I left Vancouver, none of which I will bore you with now, but there are also many reasons why I go back. At least to visit, anyway.
And these are some of them. My beautiful friends. As I look through these images, I see I didn’t capture everyone in photos as I would have liked, and I also know that not everyone could be there. Oh well. Next time. You know who you are!
I feel so fortunate to be able to say that I’ve known some of these girls for almost 20 years. We grew up together, and lived together and worked together and know so much about one another that it’s easy to fall back into each others lives with no trouble whatsoever.
So, while I don’t miss the traffic (at all) or the crowds, or the big city feel, I do miss these people. And that makes putting up with the traffic and the crowds and the big city – all worth it.
For now, I will go back to enjoying my small city life and look forward to the next adventure. In the meantime, I will remind all these ladies, that Victoria is a wonderful place to visit! :) xo
A while back, before Christmas, I alluded to this shoot…on Sidney pier with red balloons. Now that the gift has been handed over, I can reveal the identities of these three!
As mentioned in the previous post, it was such fun to hang out in the cutting cold and wind with these guys. They had traveled from Vancouver for the session, taking care not to let their parents know that they were not, in fact, downtown Vancouver, doing their Christmas shopping…
Not sure if the secret keeping was a success, but here’s hoping they enjoy these memories for years to come…xoxo
I adore traditions. And this time of year is abundant with them. And while I may not always take part in them, I am a willing to stand on the (warm) sidelines and record the festivities!
Every New Years day, many brave souls in the neighborhood unearth their best summer gear and follow each other into the cold depths at Gonzales Beach. The fuzzy heads from the night before are cured and the year begins.
While we had a very rainy day today, the sun came out just in time to warm and dry. For just enough time to provide opportunity to prove pure bravery!
Afterwards, the neighborhood gathers at one location to finish off holiday festivities. Then I think we all breathe a sigh of relief at not having to eat or drink any more for awhile! And just as everyone gets back inside, the rain comes again…
Happy New Year everyone! To a fantastic 2010.
by Rebecca
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