I once had a Taylor…except I was dating Bob. I think I just used him for the extra shots. Don’t hate me   I love this…just something to make you laugh.

Did you know that the pronunciation of the name Janaya in Arabic means ‘fairy’? Look at her, this little fairy Her brother is inviting  you to come and meet her!!!

Remember them from their maternity session??? Their lovely little girl has arrived!!! Happy Monday!!

PS–someone once asked me to tell why I like certain images, etc…so here it is: I love the the first image of brother and sister in black and white…there is something so raw about it and the light is delish. I also love the image of big brother leaning in to give her a kiss…the sweetness of it. I love to recreate images from maternity sessions with the baby, so the image with mom and dad on the couch kissing with the baby on her lap is a favorite. I would display it on the wall with a similar one from the maternity. The family shots are some of my favorite newborn shots with a sibling ever–big brother was sooooo cooperative and good and the look he gives me in the one is killer. K.I.L.L.E.R. And, the final series of the parents with the baby I really liked how connected they were with her and with each other. I love how peaceful it all looks and knowing the truth of how ~ahem~ crazy big brother was at times, but how everyone was able to remain in the moment while the chaos happened around them. Is that enough??? oh! one little detail I love is the heart shaped bruise under daddy’s nail. I love that little detail. That is something one cannot plan

Thanks for checking in on me

Dana

 

I can’t wait to blog this session…it’s one of my favorite newborn sessions of all time. I know, I know–one should not play favorites, but it is inevitable. So, here is a wee sneaky peaky for Valentine’s day. All you need is love. And naps. And snacks. Snacks are important too…may your day be filled with all three Happy Valentine’s day!!!

…is one of my favorite things about my job. Today, I visited this family for the third time. It is like going to see old friends and marvelling at the changes in their life. Here is an image from each of their previous sessions:

And, today…with her new little brother

 

I just love how she was napping and then opened her eyes and for the briefest of moments remained peacefully looking into my lens So lovely to see you all again!!! I look forward to our next visit!

It’s that time of year again–break out your favorite toque, scarf and mitts!! Let’s grab a hot cocoa and have some fun before the snow disappears!!!

I was going to say ‘Calgary’ but more than half of my blog readers come from other places in the world so I’ll just say ‘Blogland’ We have opted to have a quiet evening at home to ring in the new year. It will be a little less quiet as, thanks to my friend Deanna, I have this song playing on repeat REALLY LOUDLY!!!

I feel truly blessed at how things have unfolded over the last year. Even more so when I look forward to all of the things that are happening in 2010. Thank you to all of my wonderful clients, friends and family who encourage and support me more than they will ever know!! Bring on 2010!!!

Today is my last official day before Christmas. I still have a little bit of work to do…orders to place, things to deliver, but then I will be away until December 29th. I will have access to email(thanks to my handy iphone), but I will be focusing on making this holiday a special time for my family.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite Christmas things. I thought about doing this while we were driving in our car this weekend and The Vinyl Cafe’s Christmas story came on. If you are not Canadian or you are not a fan of CBC radio, you might not know who Stuart McLean is. Nor would you know his fabulous radio hour. Such a shame. Especially at Christmas time. This year’s story was my favorite so far–Dave and Morley’s son buys his first grown up presents. I cried while we sat in the parking lot at Micheal’s waiting for it to end. Of course, I cry easily these days. You can listen to it on itunes under the CBC podcasts(the story starts about halfway through the podcast). It is called “Morley’s Gloves’ and it’s free and VERY CHRISTMASY …you can also buy past Christmas stories from itunes if you search ‘The Vinyl Cafe’…of course, all Canadians will know the beloved ‘Dave Cooks The Turkey’…something we listen to every year as we drive from my parent’s house to my in-law’s. And we laugh…big belly laughs…no matter how old and nerdy we feel. We still can’t help ourselves. That guy can tell a story.

Now that I have admitted to being a fan of The Vinyl Cafe, I feel I can also admit that one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time is ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ starring the always fabulous, Judy Garland. Her version of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Christmas’ in that movie is still the best version of that song EVER.

Thought we’d start the holiday off right:

Last night, I went to my friend’s house and treated myself and Georgia to winter ‘pedicures’…well, according to the girl who does them ‘not a pedicure, not perfect, but toetally fun!!’ She doesn’t have a website or I’d link, but I am hoping that they last awhile as I plan on wearing flip flops VERY SOON. Georgia got red nails with fancy white & silver snowflakes…she loved it so much she is now saying that instead of a hotel birthday party she wants a toe painting party!! Hotel birthday party??? Yes, Georgia’s favorite thing to do is go to a hotel, swim and order room service. That is what she wanted to do for her birthday…hmmm…I am thinking toe painting is a MUCH better idea!!

Soon, I’ll blog a session. I promise

I have to share this…several of my friends have actually emailed me this link as Jack is having a year where he is questioning this whole North Pole stuff…This is AWESOME!!! Thanks to everyone who alerted me to it’s existence!! Happy Monday everyone!!
http://santa.sympatico.ca/home/

It was cold. It really was. And crowded. Unexpectedly crowded(if you were unaware that the Grey Cup was happening in our city–it was here, did you know that?). But…they’re so cute!! And, so well dressed!! It made everything go so smoothly!

Waaaaayyyyyy back when I was pregnant with Jack, I took a prenatal class with a midwife in the inner city. The class was small. This couple was in that class. In fact, their baby was the first to be born. We have stayed in touch intermittently through the years…seeing each other occassionally. And, then facebook happened!! Thank goodness for facebook keeping me connected with people. I am well intentioned at maintaining contact with people, but sometimes, life gets busy. And, I learned through facebook that this family had welcomed another child(yay!! she’s so darn cute!!!). And, they learned that I was a family photographer…the rest, as they say, is history.

It was a quick session on a cold day, but I love the way it turned out. Stephen Avenue in the back, the grey cup crowds walking by, and the joy and love that oozes from this family. Such a wonderful afternoon!! (unless you are a Saskatchewan fan…and, who isn’t?)

**A note about their outfits…Aren’t they the best??? Coordinated without matching…coloful, a wonderful mix of pattern and personality. The mom’s sweater is from Bennetton. I asked.

**I am totally blogging out of order. No, no…I’ve created a new order!! It’s called ‘my fancy’…whatever ‘my fancy’ desires

I love the top left image…it’s such a good ‘mom’ image. I also love the baby images(this is the BEST age to photograph your baby). I love the middle one in the series of three the most. It’s like ‘little baby in the big city’ to me I love the middle one of the older daughter as well…so genuine and that wispy hair to the right gets me. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!