I’ve been quietly growing.  And growing.  And GROWING!

For those who don’t know, I’m pregnant.  Nearly 34 week pregnant, actually!  I’ve taken time away from my photography business to focus on being healthy and rested to welcome my new baby in March.  My last photo session was actually back in October!

I’m doing well, and am eagerly anticipating the arrival of another baby girl.  You can expect that I’ll have some newborn portraits to present.  I’ve been meaning to do some maternity portraits for myself, but just haven’t gotten my butt in gear to actually set up my lighting gear.

Thank you to those who have inquired about portrait sessions for 2010.  I will honour the ones I’d previously booked, don’t worry about that.  Just give me some time after March to recover!   Beyond that, I’m going to see how being a Mom of Two works out, and if I can manage to continue my business.  I’ve been so honoured to be asked to capture so many wonderful moments for other families, but I do have to remember to stop and just “be there” for my own family.  I know you understand, and I appreciate that you’re willing to wait for me.  Thank you so much!

Hopefully I’ll be able to do more updates once I’m on maternity leave.  Until then….

For a Reader’s Choice Award with the Milton Canadian Champion! 

I’m under two categories:

#57 for Favourite Photography Studio: Digital Heirlooms

#144 for Favourite Photographer: Karina Sinclair

Although I don’t technically have a studio, those who’ve had me come to their home for newborn or smash cake portraits, know that I bring enough gear to fill a studio!  LOL

I’m SO totally tickled by this nomination.  It’s a simple little nod that I must be doing something of value for my customers, and that is so deeply gratifying.  Running a photography business has put me in touch with some truly fabulous people, but it’s also meant less time for me to spend with my own family.  It’s nice to know it’s not all been in vain.

Congratulations to all the nominees for all categories.  When you see the long list, you’ll realize how many talented people we have in Milton who are all dedicated to enriching our community experience.  I’m proud to be a part of that.

And of course, I’d love your support!  To vote, please visit the Milton Canadian Champion website and click on the Readers Choice Feature.  Voting is open until September 19th.

Thanks for allowing me to join you this past year in celebrating yourselves and your families.  You’ve all been so wonderful!

What can I say…taking some time away has just been what I needed after a busy first half of the year. My husband and daughter and I have made use of our time together as a family and enjoyed all sorts of great things together.

My sweet husband is also a budding photographer, and we took a hike up a mountain on Thursday to capture some scenics. Taking photos of landscapes is so totally different in many ways than taking portraits of people. The settings on the camera go from f/4 to f/22, and that allows me to capture MORE detail in focus. In portraits, you actually want the background all soft and blurry, but in landscapes you want it sharp from front to back. Here’s just a sampling of what I saw…keep in mind I don’t have any photo editing software with me while on vacation, so these are pretty much out of the camera as is.

Here’s something fun taken with our new fisheye lens.  There’s some bend in the trees, but it gives a really great super wide view.

This is the Lake Okanagan…and like the Loch Ness, there’s rumoured to be a sea monster living here called the Ogopogo.  Look at the cool pattern in the water…don’t you think that must be caused from a swirling sea serpant?

I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be away from June 30-July 20 and
will not be able to answer any business emails during that time.

I do have all current print orders ready for those who have submitted them
in the few weeks; please contact me before June 25 to arrange for pick up
or delivery.

To those who have not made their print selections, I will gladly address
your orders when I am back in the office after July 20th

Thank you for your business so far this year. It’s been so great to work
with you and I look forward to continuing our relationship after my
holidays.

AND I look forward to taking lots and lots of photos while on vacation.

Here’s a cutie from a recent Baptism Portrait session. Isn’t he the sweetest? You might remember this little guy from an .

What a glorious day to celebrate fathers! Big blue sky, idyllic puffy white clouds, and a daughter who, for once, was patient!

I have to give a big shout out to my husband, whom might be the best father in modern times. This is a man who is confident enough with his masculinity to play Barbies and princess dress-up. A man who takes the time to make “cakes” with our daughter while she plays in the sandbox or tub. A man who treats his wife with love and respect as an example of how all women should be treated by any of her partners in life. Without my husband and his commitment to being such a hands-on Daddy, I would never be able to have a photography business. I’d never be able to spend hours with other families taking their photographs, or spend hours on the computer to process those photos. Without him, I wouldn’t have gotten into photography in the first place, and without him, I’d cease to be inspired by his love every.single.day.

Our daughter has told me she’d like to marry Daddy when she grows up. I’m so proud of my husband for being the kind of man that she can imagine her future prince in him. I deeply deeply wish that she has the luck to find someone like I have, and to know exactly how great her Daddy really is.
In this image, I can TOTALLY see the resemblance….the nose, the jaw line, the raised eyebrow expression. I have a beautiful daughter because I have a handsome husband (who needs a shave LOL)

And a toast to my own father! It’s been nearly 3 years since he passed suddenly in his sleep, but not a day goes by I don’t think of him. I can’t even possibly fathom what it must be like for my Mom to not have her husband wake up beside her every day, and so I acknowledge her on Father’s Day, as well. In fact, I think I’ll go call her right now.

If you’re ever wondering what’s taking me so long to post your session galleries or sneak peeks, THIS GIRL is usually the reason. I do have a full time job as well as my photography business, but most important to me above anything else is my husband and daughter. It’s been busy lately with dance recitals (she was a cowgirl), swimming lessons, playing princesses, and planning her birthday.

So thank you to those whom are patiently waiting to see their session. I am working on your files, and hope to post them very soon. Having families of your own, I know you’ll understand.

Four years. It’s been four years since this darling girl came into my life and changed it forever. And she’s taught me more about myself in those for years than I’d learned my whole life before her.

Tomorrow is her birthday.

She is why I take photos. She started it all. Look at her…the camera loves her!

I’ve really been enjoying putting together some album designs lately.  I know that sometimes clients have a hard time choosing which images to print because, let’s face it, there’s only so much space to put up framed photos!

Custom albums or hardbound coffee table books are a great solution.  They look gorgeous, and can tell a better story than any solitary print.  I’m putting together a few different samples to make it easier to order.  You’ll see them as I add them to my main website  galleries.  So far, I have two different albums posted, and more to come.  I’d love to know what you think!

Here’s a sample of the Zoe Album.  These are single 12×12 pages.

And here is a sample from the Vivian Album.  These are show in double layouts, so as if you’re looking at an open book.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

With Irish ancestry, I’ve always enjoyed exploring Celtic culture.  I was an Irish Dancer as a child (2 time Canadian champion, doncha know), and I play & teach Celtic fiddle.  My wedding included many Irish traditions mixed with Scottish to reflect my husbands ancestry.  We even have an Irish Terrior as a pet.

A few years ago, our best friends gave us a recipe book for Christmas called The Irish Pub Cookbook.  It’s a fabulous book and we’ve enjoyed a number of dishes from it.  One that fascinates yet stumps us remains Banoffe Pie.  It’s a toffee-banana pie with really simple ingredients.  Pie crust, bananas, and sweetened condensed milk.  Easy right?

Well, the first time I made this dessert using the microwave method of making toffee witht condensed milk created a toffee so strong it rivaled Crazy Glue.  We took it to my friend Michelle’s house who invited us for dinner.  Our host had to get out a chefs knife and a cutting board and broke quite a sweat just slicing this dessert.  I’m really surprised I didn’t get any bills for dental work after that night. We’re even still friends!

The second time I made the pie, I tried a different microwave method. This time I served it to my friends who gave us the cookbook. When we cut into the pie, instead of holding it’s shape, it was liquid sugar. It was so liquidy, that after I took out the first piece, alllll the rest of the filling oozed around and I couldn’t even tell where the piece was taken from. Our friend Andrew said he liked it…that the gritty sugar texture was refreshing. Uh huh.

So we’ve been scared to try again, but I refuse to be defeated by inanimate objects. So, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2009, we tried again. I called my Mom to get a better method for making the condensed milk into toffee. She instructed me to put the can in simmering water for 4 hours. My husband and I watched this pot obsessively the whole time. We could imagine what an exploded can of toffee might look like in our kitchen. Our Irish Terrier would LOVE it!

Anyway, after 4 hours, we cracked open the can and glopped it out onto my nicely sliced bananas. It didn’t ooze. It didn’t spread. It sorta looked like leftover gravy, 3 days after Thanksgiving. Persevering, I mushed it around as best I could and popped it in the fridge to cool.  It looked like a dog’s dinner.

You might not believe me, but it actually tasted terrific! We still don’t think we’ve made it just right. But at least it’s palatable.

And just in case it didn’t work out, I had a backup plan.  White cupcakes, with white icing laced with a hint of peppermint.  I pipped the green chocolate into 4 leaf clover shapes.  THESE were simple and delicious.

I’d be glad to hear if anyone has a great method for Banoffe Pie.  And I do recommend the Irish Pub cookbook for other Irish Enthusiasts, even if you’re only green for one day of the year.

I’m SO excited to be able to offer this right now.

If you’ve EVER dreamed of getting one of your portraits printed on canvas, then NOW is the time to order! I love love love how these canvas prints turn out. In fact, since I started offering them I’ve given many as gifts to my family. They’re really beautiful, and it’s so gratifying to see your portrait LARGE on the wall in such a dramatic way.  Canvas wraps don’t need to be framed, and they’re ready to hang.

If you think an 8×10 is a big print, well how does 16×20 sound?

Starting tonight until March 13th, I am offering major discounts on canvas wraps.

11×14 $180    Now $120

16×20  $260  Now 180

This offer is valid for any previous client who wants one of their images enlarged, OR for any clients booked with a future session for 2009.  You can pre-order your canvas and we’ll decide on the image after your session.

And in case you need help imagining what those sizes might look like…

 Yup, we did my family portrait on canvas!!  It makes a dramatic statement in our entrance. 

 The colours look a little funky here, but they are accurate and true in person.

Detailed view of how tidy the corners are wrapped.

Gosh, has it been that long since I last posted? Eek! So much for THAT New Year’’s resolution!

Anyway, it’s not like I haven’t been working. I recently revisited a wedding client for yet another major life moment…this time for maternity portraits!

Here are some pages from the album I designed for her. Albums are a great idea if you love a lot of images from your portrait session but don’t know where to display them all. A coffee table book or album is the perfect way to have a personal memento, or dare I say, a Digital Heirloom!