I have a feeling this is a somewhat anticipated blog post. I got so many comments, emails, message board posts from other photographers regarding the motorcycle maternity session I did, that I think many are interested to see what came of the newborn session!! Well, their beautiful and CALM baby boy arrived(a while ago now), and I got to meet him before he was even one week old! We did, indeed, get back on the Harley for some family images. Even their gorgeous, wonderfully behaved dog made appearances in the images. The first color image is actually the baby  lying on the dog!!! Better than any fur blanket you could ever buy! This was one of the largest galleries I have shown in awhile, so I figured, why not show lots of them on my blog!!! I love these as they are so specific to this family. They so capture their personality So in love with each and with their little boy. What a pleasure it was to capture this time in their life. They are getting a large album–I’ll have to post pictures when it is finally done and here!!

Summer time is here and that only means one thing–family sessions are filling up my schedule!! And, spots are flying off the calendar almost as fast as I can put them up. Sooo…if you are wanting a session with me, don’t hesitate. My fall schedule will be up on Canada Day. My newsletter subscribers got first dibs at the spots and they are snapping them up…Thank you all for your continued support! I’m looking forward to revisiting some of my favorite families from last year(one just booked their August session today–yay!!) and meeting some fabulous new ones!!

Okay…wow…the last of my May families to hit the blog. Phew, I finally feel like I’m getting caught up! You might remember this family from last fall. I love it when people return to me and I get to watch their family’s grow! This little girl is the apple of her parent’s eye! OF COURSE!!! How cute is she? With her big eyes and dimples and those two little perfect teeth…this session was like visiting with old friends–bonding over Twilight and dreamy vampire love(shhh…don’t tell anyone how deep my obsession runs). And, then this is my favorite time to photograph babies. I know some people are all about the newborn love, but truth is–for me–this is the age I think of when I look back on my own babes. All chubby, drooly and smiley. When they still could be cradled in your arms while you fed them, but they could sit up on their own and reach for their toys. Can’t wait to go back and see this family again!!!

Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads out there!! Today, we had a sushi lunch and drove out to Turner Valley so Bob could fuel up our diesel golf with biodiesel. THAT my friends is his kind of father’s day I wanted to share what the kids wrote about their dad as it had me laughing hysterically. The painting was Jack’s gift. I think I will have it framed I love it so much(even though I think he gave Bob more hair than he deserves and, well, Georgia’s hair is not blonde)..here is Jacks:

Jack’s Dad

My Dad’s favorite tool is a wrench. My dad’s favorite food is vegetables and fruit. I like my dad to cook me pancakes. My dad’s pet name for me is Punk. My dad looked really handsome when he went to a wedding. In his spare time my dad likes to wrestle with me. My favorite thing to do with dad is wrestle. I would like my dad to know that he is good at playing checkers and I love him.

Georgia’s Dad

My dad has no hair. He use to, but he didn’t want it anymore. Daddy looks like a dad. I don’t know how old he is, he didn’t tell me yet. He likes to wear his favorite shirt; he just got it. It is black and white with squares. Dad fixed my wheels on my bike. I like to ride my bike with my dad. We go to the park and he watches me. There are two slides. At work, daddy looks at the pictures on his computer. When he gets home, he talks to mom. Daddy reads stories to me at bedtime. I like Calvin and Hobbes. I love daddy so much! When daddy kisses me I say ‘ewwww’.

I hope everyone else had a love filled Father’s day…

…for little girls This is a session that is dear to my heart for a few reasons. For starters, this is Bob’s cousin and his wonderful wife who we have enjoyed many suppers with, celebrated many wonderful events with, and mourned a sad passing with all the while watching our families grow. They are also one of the VERY first families I ever had the opportunity to photograph. Since the last time I got to witness them through my lens, something very important changed. After giving birth to three gorgeous boys, they made the decision to welcome a girl into their family through adoption. This session happened very shortly after she arrived at their home…and editing the images brought tears to my eyes. Not only was their overwhelming joy apparent, but their connection was so evident that it filled every cell of my being with glee. The images of this mother and her little girl are some of the most emotion filled images I think I have ever captured. This little girl seriously won the lottery when she walked into their life. Three brothers to love her, tease her and play with her. A mother and father with endless amounts of love and energy to fill her up. My heart is bursting for you guys. Truly. Welcome to our newest little cousin!!! Georgia is thrilled to have a girl to play with when she comes to visit!!!

My Jack…scientist, explorer, passionate, fun, goofy…He still grabs my hand when I reach for it. He still hugs me without me having to ask. Everyday when he says goodbye before school I say ‘I love you to the moon’ and he says ‘I love you to the stars. I win.’ (because the stars are farther away than the moon) then he blows me three kisses as he runs to join his friends. My almost 7 year old. My Jackie Chan…

I know that I have many families waiting for their images to show up on the blog…crazy life that I lead I’m seriously behind. Before the end of the week, a very emotional(for me anyways) family session–I promise!!!

Last week when I was having an off day, I twittered that I would spend this weekend shooting for myself. It was a benign enough statement. It is something that a lot of photographers don’t have the time to do that much of…BUT, it is also super important. Because, as a photographer, you are not just a technician…you are also an artist. And, to keep that artist alive you need to take risks and shoot things you don’t usually shoot. Think outside the box…you need to do this to grow…and it is hard to do it when you are working. So, I take risks when I shoot and edit my own personal images. AND, I hadn’t done that in awhile. Soooooo…when I twittered that I was going to shoot for myself, my friend, Tara, twittered that she wanted to do it, too. AND, she added–how about a challenge??? Well,  when I have an off day, I try to remind myself of all the things I have to be grateful for. This is a wonderful excercise in keeping you focused on the positive and will usually help me out of a funk. Sooo…I created the ‘Gratitude Challenge’. 5 images that express gratitude. That’s what I said.

Well, I’m a rule breaker. So, there are more than 5 images. It’s my challenge, I can do what I want I had all these incredibly deep thoughts about what I was grateful for…and I was going to try and create images that captured that….but in the end, it all seemed…well, insincere. AND, my work is nothing if not SINCERE. What I decided to do was take my tweets about what I was grateful for and turn them into something. Because, in the end, the little things that happen everyday that bring you joy add up to a lot..So…here it is…if you want to see what I twittered go here:   http://twitter.com/shortandsweet IF you are another photographer who agreed to play along, PLEASE POST THE LINK TO YOUR GRATITUDE BLOG POST IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. I would love to see what you created. If you are not a photographer but you want to leave a comment about what you are grateful for I would also be more than pleased.  Enjoy!

When I told Jack that I was going to shoot him(sounds bad I know, but it’s what I said), he said–you haven’t done that in ages mom! He was eager to do it. And, when I slowed down enough to think about what I wanted to capture about my own kids, it helped remind me about what to photograph for my clients. In the end, I became grateful for this project. And, for all the lovely tweets, emails, message board comments…and now, hopefully, blog posts that people left me saying how eager they were to join in the gratitude parade. I know that reading all the things we all have to be grateful for will lift me through the week. Thank you all.

So…why did I go to Toronto??? I’ve been asked this question a few times. Well, this family is the reason. This is my friend, Dee…she and I met back in musical theatre and bonded over juicy gossip about boys and the ‘ingenues’. We used to sit in our cars, chatting for hours after rehearsal…waaayyyy back when we were teenagers. We have seen lots in our days together. In the early days of my relationship with Bob, she began a relationship with her perfect match as well…THEN HE MOVED HER ACROSS THE FRICKIN’ COUNTRY. I’m not mad at him or anything…she is happy there. And, they’re still crazy in love which makes me tingle with glee, but I miss her. This Christmas when I saw her as we often do–for an all too rushed visit, we decided I would come to Toronto. We needed days together. To feel connected again. AND you know what? It was such a fabulous idea. Only, now, I really miss her…more. I wish she lived closer.

Here is a sample of the joy that she has created for herself. It is part of a larger, slideshow project that I’m hoping to share one day…when I finally finish it. For now…a sample of images. And to my dear friends…we must do this again soon. Sooner.

The second of my Toronto families…Mummy Fi, Mummy G and their two fabulously good looking kids. Their little girl stole my heart instantly. Their poor little guy was under the weather, but he was a trooper and hung in there until we were done. During this session, there was some singing, some dancing and a whole lot of laughter…these kids will have one heck of a sense of humor. It was wonderful to be invited into their home. Just like the wall says-’Lucky’. Lucky kids indeed Thanks guys!!!

Hi there! Just popping in to share some images of my fabulous new maternity album!!! It is a 20 page custom designed album with an image printed on a metal inlay on the cover. Available ONLY to my maternity clients.

ALSO, people are always asking me what to wear… I have to say that I think that it is important to layer and accessorize and wear AWESOME shoes. If you truly need ideas, check out the catalogs at Anthropologie and JCrew(for adults)…Crewcuts(for kids). The outfits they put together(and the photography in the catalogs) are always a fave of mine. I also love 77Kids(American Eagle’s kids line) and Zara Kids. Plus, I think the Gap is a good stand by. You can never go wrong with Chuck Taylor’s OR flip flops in the summer…and Uggs on colder days.

I’m just saying this as Anthropologie’s latest catalog is an EYE CANDY BUFFET…check it here: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/shopbycatalog.jsp?catname=Jun09

Now…back to your regular scheduled programming Have a wonderful weekend!!!

This is the first of my Toronto sessions FINALLY!!! Lately, I’ve been trying super duper hard to find a happy balance between maintaining my business and maintaining my personal life. This is something that, as every working mother can attest, is difficult at the best of times…so…blogging has gone to the wayside. Consequently, I have many sessions to blog!!! Here is the first of them.

This is the Bruce family…I was a teenage musical theatre actor with their mom. I was then a university student with their mom. I was even once~gulp~roommates with their mom. This session filled me with joy–not just because I hadn’t seen her in WAAAAYYYY too many years, but because I got to see her full of life(literally–as she is expecting their fourth child shortly) surrounded by the joy and chaos that is her happy family. We LAUGHED a lot at this session. These kids are crazy…so crazy that I edited a good part of their session to Bishop Allen.

So, I guess you are wondering what my title means. hmmm…we went for lunch first as when we met to do the session, it was raining. During lunch, the youngest boy told me of a dream that he had…where his mom was a tiger and she had the baby. AND THEN SHE ATE THE BABY. His brothers found this quite amusing and kept calling their mom a B.E.T.(a baby eating tiger) during the whole session. In her defense, she is a super mom. I’m 95% positive she has no intention of morphing and eating her baby

So, on with the onslaught of images…I had a hard time narrowing it down for the blog. The first image is one of my favorite family images of all time. So, for anyone who is looking for a traditional portrait photographer–consider this fair warning…THESE are the kinds of images I love to take