I find myself continuously in awe over the fact that it is 2009. How did that happen? hmmm…just had to say it.

 Georgia’s party went off without a hitch. There was cake:

Yes, I made it myself. It was Georgia’s idea to put the figurines on it. I used to be one of those moms who would have said no because it wasn’t in my plan. But, somehow, becoming a working mom has made me let go of all that crap. Plans are meant to be flexible now. So, I let her choose the two characters to go on her cake. She also asked me not to put M&M’s on her cake next year. She was not a fan of them–ruining the icing or something I guess.

There was a pinata:

There was face painting(by Funky Faces):

There was food…note that the candies on the top layer are almost all gone, but the good stuff–the watermelon and the strawberries sit almost untouched. Hmmm.

M&M’s…all the way from the M&M store in Vegas I might add. Shades of purple and pink only thank you very much. I might be the mom who lets her kid put figurines on her cake, but I am also the crazy mom who buys over priced candy simply because you can pick your kid’s favorite color. Yes. I’m that mom.

And, the face painting results…my superhero(Red Power Ranger Jack)

And, my princess…my Georgia…my Gigi. Her daddy’s Little Scoots.

Little Scoots is, I’m afraid, out of commission right now. With pneumonia. Why can’t we all be healthy for more than one day? I had a busy week planned. Ahhh…plans…they have to be flexible

Hi there!!! Just a quick note to share the news that I just opened a facebook page for Short and Sweet! I know you all want to become a fan so here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=580812422&ref=profile#/pages/Short-and-Sweet-Photography-by-Dana-Pugh/59505282776?ref=nf

Oh! And, just cause I thought I would share this awesome blog about Bento boxes…check it out:

Anna The Red Bento Factory

My son is a huge Calvin and Hobbes fan and I thought this was the greatest.

Just a quick share…have a nice weekend!!!

How did this happen? How did a year pass and she become all grown up? She’s losing her little chubby fingers and more and more you can actually understand what she is saying(although losing that tooth certainly didn’t help matters). And, in the last couple of months, she has settled down. She’s no longer the difficult one. She’s the sweet one. Always wanting to cuddle with us or care for one of her many babies. She’s growing up. I’m happy for it as the difficult stuff has been trying at times, but sad because she truly is a big girl now. ~sigh~

I decided to show some images from the past year. Georgia from three to four. A sampling of the hundreds of images I have of her. Going through I realized how many I have yet to edit. Some of these I love so much though that I have even ~gasp~ printed them!! ha, ha…

Just a note to any photographers who read my blog that I decided to go to WPPI in Las Vegas this year. I was on the fence, but then I got an amazing deal so I am headed down that way for a few days. If you are going down as well…please send me a note as I would love to connect with you.

This here is one of the most stylish families in all of Calgary!!! Yes, it’s the one, the only, Mommy Wear Daily and her lovely family.  We spent the afternoon together this past weekend and had some crazy fun!

Check out her jewels… A girl has gotta have jewels!!!

Check out his blue eyes!!! So beautiful. And, we raided mom’s closet….

How come girls put on heels and instantly work it out like a supermodel and boys put on heels and all of a sudden they’re some sort of superhero? Because Spiderman would wear shoes like that when he’s scaling buildings chasing down criminals…

Short and stylish…fabulous shoes or no shoes at all. Then we headed outside for a little snow fun.

I love this image of mom and dad making out in the snow with the kids a blur in the background. The best thing is how they’re kissing, but you can see them grinning. I love that.

So…have you signed up for Mommy Wear’s newsletter??? Seriously, you should. It’s like having all the fashion tips from your favorite fashion mags in one handy little place. After seeing her beautiful skin this weekend(she glowed, she really did), I ran out and bought her suggested face serum…Firmology by Benefit. Seriously, she has the best style tips. And, she’s funny in a kind of edgy way which is the best way to be if you are going to be funny. Right? So, sign up for her newsletter…now.

Hi there!!! So, I’m doing it again…I’m going out to Banff to capture some fun outdoorsy type families in a setting that many Calgarians not only enjoy–heck, some of them spend more family time out there than they do here in the city! I’m going to make myself available for the whole weekend…and, I’m going to make two types of sessions available. 

Signature Session: a regular session with me only with the majestic backdrop of the Canadian rockies. Wanna get family ski images? This is the perfect opportunity. I will spend roughly two hours with you capturing your family in a relaxed and natural way. My regular rates apply.

Short and Sweet Sessions: 45 minutes in length. This is a perfect solution for families with older children, maternity clients, or just someone who is interested in fewer images. The session fee will be $100 and will cover the 45 minutes of capture time and my editing of at least 10 images(this will be my minimum guarantee). The complete disc will be available for the purchase price of $800. Of course, you will have access to all my other products, but this is a fabulous deal and one I only offer a couple of times a year. Prepurchase the disc and I will waive my session fee.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!!! I love the mountains and look forward to capturing other families who share this love.

Does this image look familiar? It should…That is the fabulous Miss S gracing the cover of Calgary’s Birthing magazine. I have a pile of copies, so if anyone is interested in one and hasn’t been able to find it around town, just let me know!

So, I am adding a new category. A casting call category. There are some things that I am looking for to help me feed some of my creative juices and instead of waiting for them to come to me, I am going to actively search them out. Right now, I am looking for a maternity couple with multiple tattoos. Willing to let me photograph them and also willing to let me use the photographs on my site and in my advertising. So, you’d have to be willing to do that. Keep in mind, that maternity images are best done around the 32 week mark. In return, I will waive my session fee(currently, $200) and give you one 11×14 of my favorite shot of the session. Here’s the thing, in this case, you will have to send me images of your tattoos. I’m going to be picky. Mostly because I have this certain vision in my head and I don’t want to settle for anything less. ha! So, if you know of anyone, please have them contact me. Thanks.

On to my favorite blogs…who to show you? hmmmm…I’m not sure. oh okay…I’ll show you a new discovery. Someone I really love because of the way her photographs feel…she has me wondering if she shoots film. I am having a longing to move onto film which is weird, but the feel of it is so….well, dreamy. I might even begin a personal project that involves film. Anyways, Gemma Booth….lovely, dreamy images with a whole lot of kitsch. Which I love most of all. Happy Friday.

Soooo, I just wanted to say that I have picked a family as the winners of my giving is awesome contest. I decided it best I contact them I will tell you who was the wonderful person who nominated them. It was my very loyal blog reader, Laurie So, she and I finally get to meet!!! I promise to contact you soon as well, Laurie!

This is an image from our Christmas. I have called it Grandma’s tree because the kids were playing a game that their grandfather made up called ‘Grandma’s tree’. It warms my heart. Here are some other random images from our Christmas holidays!!! We had the best New Year’s ever as a family at the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis. They have an incredible family friendly event complete with bouncy castle, face painting and partying…not to mention:

a maple taffy pull…

sledding down the side of a mountain at top speeds…

ice sculpture 101….

And, oh yes…partying. Jack with his glow in the dark glasses(courtesy of the front desk upon checkin the kids got a gift bag where he immediately found this gem). I had to laugh when I brought up these two images…my boys…both looking a bit like Rick Moranis…love ‘em.

And, this was shot practically in the dark. So, yes, I know it’s blurry…yes, it’s grainy(but the ISO was like 25,000). But, I don’t care. It fills my heart with complete and utter glee. Jack is such a party animal…dancing like a mad man with two hats, a hawaiian lei, and a glow in the dark bracelet…he’d lost his glasses by then. By this point, he was like the drunk guy at all the frat parties–you know the one–the ‘I love you man’ guy. Jack is so going to be that guy! And, nothing could make me happier

This is why Georgia never accompanies me to a session. Just kidding. I think he was crying because I laughed. Yes, I know. My belly laugh is loud. It truly is. But, my motto is if you are going to laugh…laugh hard or go home.

So, I got a new camera one week before Christmas. It’s true. This new camera is SUH-WHEEET. But it has caused some software issues(which are finally resolved). And, it caused me to take an enormous number of images over the holidays(over 3000–do I have a problem…it’s true I do). And, here’s my last excuse, my email has been giving me issues. So, I am going to postpone making a decision on my Giving is Awesome contest until later on this week. Let’s say Thursday. I will continue to accept nominations until then just to make it fair and square.

 So, how about some of those 3000 images???? Well, this little guy belongs to one of my BFF’s. Isn’t he delightful? Even when he is crying at my laugh!!! ha!

Who can resist those big blue eyes…and the drool…

Here’s his older brother. And, that’s her…man, I miss her. The best gift I got this year was allowing myself to take leisurely time to visit with her. Not the quick visit squeezed in between other visits. Of course, it meant that I missed visiting with others…oops.

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And, baby feet. Actually, I love the hands in this, too–those unsteady hands helping him to keep his balance. Ahhh balance.

It was a good year. A great year. Looking back over all my folders, I was filled with emotion. I can’t believe my good fortune to have so many beautiful people inside and out come into my life. And, then, to trust me with capturing their family. I am shaking my head in disbelief at my luck.

In deciding what images to include in the slideshow, it was hard to narrow it down, I decided to include the faves of my own kids. I have always said that this is my primary reason for picking up my camera–to capture them as they are. I also decided to show some random shots from my travels. If you are a blog follower, most of these will look familiar–a few are new to everyone(even my husband-ha!).

It might take a long time to load…sorry. I hope you don’t have too many issues.

And, most of all–thank you thank you thank you a million thank yous for being a part of this crazy journey. My blog is where my heart is and if you take a small part of your day to visit it and read my thoughts and take in my images, then I am indebted to you. You are my biggest support group Thanks.

here is the link: http://www.shortandsweetphotography.ca/yearend2008/

 I wanted to be so cool and have it embedded in my blog, but I didn’t like the way it turned out. So, the perfectionist in me, fixed it.

Winter family sessions are soooooo much fun! They are definitely not for fussy families though–as kids and parents alike will most likely get wet and snowy!!!

I have a feeling that snow angel images are going to be this year’s swing image I love love love taking them

I love how much snow is all over this little guy and how sleepy he looks. It’s so sweet. We headed indoors for some warmer family stuff…

taken with my new 5D Mark II at ISO 3200 for those that are wondering

This next one is downright hot

And, then, outside for some images I had been planning with her since the summer. When it is August and you are drinking frappuccinos doing a partially clad winter maternity seems like a good idea. In December, no, no…in the coldest December we’ve had in ages, doubts start to rise Thank goodness that Mother Nature cooperated with me that day. When it’s been -20′C all month, +1′C is not so bad….

Thank you Jessie for doing this for me! I hope you like the images. I was thinking–I am pretty much done writing 2008 on all my images(there might be a Christmas post yet). Wow…time flies!!! Happy New Year everyone!!!

***Just a note to say, keep those ‘Giving is Awesome’ nominations coming in. I have posted some availability through February, but I want to note that if you are having a baby, it is best to book the session before you give birth. We book it by due date. Just to let you all know.