meg and siyani are married

Over the weekend my sister Megan was married to Siyani.  It was a beautiful weekend in Summerland BC and the Summerland Waterfront Resort was the perfect location for a party.  And what a party it was!!  Megan looked gorgeous is her gorgeous in her bright purple wedding dress and custom Converse boots.

I got to capture this face of his watching her walk down the isle toward him.  He had no idea she was going to be wearing a purple wedding dress.  I was expecting a little more shock in his face when he saw her, but I honestly think it was just so her, that it made him so happy.

the best part was when they were walking back down the isle after the ceremony.  Siyani just starts booking it and Meg stops starts laughing and then says: "Leaving me already?"  and then ran to catch up to him.  It was super cute!

portrait by their photograhper www.momentsunderframe.com

I am so glad that Chris and I were able to be there for their special day. It was a fantastic party and a lovely time to visit with friends and family that we haven't seen in awhile.  Once their photographer gets some more images up, hopefully I'll be able to share some of us together.

PASS Premier Tour

Its Monday afternoon and my phone rings.  Its my dear friend, and fellow photographer Marta (of VonGrey Photography) on the line. She has been dealing with a lot of personal trauma lately within her family, so I immediately thought the reason she was calling was bad news.  But instead she says:

Marta: Hey have you heard about this new PASS thing at all?
Me: Yeah.  I saw a bit about it on Gray Photography's Facebook page.
Marta: So they're doing this tour thing for it...
Me: The one that's in Seattle tomorrow?  The one Promise is gonna be at?!!!
Marta: Yup!  And guess what?  I kind of have tickets for half-price.  Would you go with me?  

ARE YOU KIDDING?!!  Um, yeah... I totally went with her!  ;)

There is just something magical that happens in a room full of photographers, and this time in Seattle was no exception.  You feel a connection, an understanding and this excitement pulsing through the room.  We were all so eager to hear from the chosen speakers for the tour and learn about PASS.

At this point you might be wondering, ok sounds great, but what is PASS anyway?  Great question!  And to be honest, before going to the PASS Premier Tour I didn't really have an idea either...but let me tell you.  If you can go (future tour stops and dates HERE) GO!!  In its most basic form, PASS = NO MORE DVD's.  This revolutionary software product is changing how photographers and their clients interact with the final images.  Its about super easy user-friendly storage 'in-the-cloud', sharing between photographers and their clients and then between clients and all their friends and family.  Where before we would spend time creating and shipping a DVD of final images to a client, who would then spend their time trying just to look at, never mind share the images on the DVD, now everything is digital: storing, viewing and sharing.

Super cool, eh?  And super easy.

Just learning about and viewing this new program at work would of been enough.  But no!  The tour is about way more than that.  Its about growing, developing and learning to be even better photographers.

An important part of that is what Promise Tangeman was there to share.  She pretty much has my dream job. She is a graphic designer who specializes in logo/branding creation and SHOWIT website designs.  I have been a fan of hers for awhile and a follower of her blog.  She shared so much wisdom on the subject of branding YOU.  Its so true (especially for people like me just starting out) that sometimes we try to develop our brand or logo even without first truly knowing who we are.  She said that its like creating a cover for a book before we've even written the book.  Her presentation detailed 3 steps: focus (know yourself and your target market), style (embrace your personal style as the "visual" for your business) and confidence (go out there and share what makes you different).

Then she unveiled her brand new e-course all about this topic.  You can read what she wrote about it HERE in her blog post.  Its currently only available to people at the PASS Premier Tour.  And yeah.  I so got one!  I think it will help me for not only my own business, but also for when I'm creating new blog designs for my own customers.  So excited about this!!  And so excited to get to meet her and talk a bit about design and life and necklaces from 31 Bits.  :)

Next up was Zach and Jody, the husband and wife team behind Gray Photography.  Marta introduced me to them a few months ago, and I have learned a ton from them in such a short time.  Their blog is truly a asset for photographers everywhere.  You have to peek at their website just for photographers HERE.  And every Tuesday on their blog they do tips and tricks.  I learn something new every time!

They are all about creating connections and relationships with our clients.  Turing the whole client transaction process into a lasting friendship.  They shared their philosophy which centers around 3 C's: Connect, Court and Continue.  My favorite quote they shared is from Howard Schultz of Starbucks.  He said "We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee."  And that's what photography is all about too.  Yeah, pictures might be an integral part of it...but the people are the most important.  So many  words of wisdom from this cute couple.

Thank you so much David Jay!!  You're an inspiration and as asset to the photography community! I enjoyed this experience and know that when I'm ready to take the next step in my business, your company and your services are exactly what I need.

Here is a video that just encapsulates the mood and everything that is the PASS Premier Tour.  Seriously, go if you can!  You won't regret it.

Pass Premier Tour from Showit on Vimeo.

Thank you so much Marta for inviting me to come along with you.  I had a blast!  And I may or may not have eaten a whole plate of olives.  (but that will be our little secret, right?!)

the hair diaries: may 2011

Ever since I got my pintrest account one of my favorite boards to fill up is my Beautiful Hair board.  And with my sister's wedding coming up next weekend, I had the perfect excuse to try something a little more daring that I'd had in my collection.  Here was my inspiration:

color: HERE /cut: HERE

Yes.  that is red with purple!  So yesterday my cousin and hair stylist Hannah came to visit and brought with her everything needed to make my inspiration come to life.  We spent hours cutting, bleaching, coloring and rinsing (oh goodness you should see my tub!). And in this end, I am seriously IN LOVE with my new hair.

Now the reveal:  before and after.

I love my baby bangs, the bright red and the vibrant purple.  The peek-a-boo purple streaks just shimmer in the sunlight.

It is so much fun to try new things with my hair.  Hannah and I always have fun creating and experimenting.  I think this one is my favorite for sure!!  This is going to be so much fun at Megan's wedding.  I can't wait to share with my friends and family.

MaieDae feature

This month I am so honored to be featured on MaiDae.  Savannah, the blogs owner, is so creative, inspirational and just plain sweet.  I had so much fun answering the questions she asked for her feature.  And guess what else?!  You can win a copy of my 52weeks book on her post!

Hop on over to MaiDae and check out the feature post.  I shared a lot about myself, why I decided to do my project, and what its meant to me.

Welcome to those of you visiting from MaieDae!  So glad to have you, and I hope you'll stop by again.  Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway!! :D

senior portraits

Earlier this week I had the privilege of shooting some senior portraits for the little sister of a couple of my friends.  She graduates this year and has only a few days left.  "senior-itis" for sure!!
We spent about an hour together near her older sister's apartment and found some fun and unique locations to shoot at.  That is so hard to do in a tiny town where everyone's senior portraits have the train tracks and the same locations around town.  But we used a hallway, a roof, a hidden staircase and some just blooming flowers for some unique and special shots of Ri.

I so enjoyed getting to know her better, and I hope she loves her portraits.  Here are a couple of my favorite ones.

Interested in having me shoot some portraits for you?  See more information HERE.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week.  I can't seem to make time stop enough to blog about what I've got going on.  But that's okay.. its what life is right now.  And I'm enjoying it.
Thanks for popping in and commenting when I do post.  It means a lot.

the tour begins

Today is day ten of living in our new house.  And slowly but surely we're getting things unpacked and in place.  It really is starting to feel like home already.  Our living room, dining room and kitchen are unpacked and as we want them, minus paint and decorating, of course.  So I wanted to share them with you. 

I got the idea for compiling pictures into one composite shot of the room from Kal Barteski.  She did it to share her super cute space in this post here and I decided to give it a try.  I wish I had a wide angle lens for such purposes, but alas, I only have a 50mm.  And that just won't do for interior shots.  I used my phone's camera for these shots. 

 this view of the living room is standing right at the front door.  its a big combines living and dining room.  very open with vaulted ceilings and recessed lighting, big windows that let in lots of light and a sliding door that leads to the back yard and our patio. 

 our large kitchen pantry separates the spaces, and man do I love it!!  There is soooo much storage in this house!  I'm a little in awe of our kitchen.  The house came with the dishwasher, stove and microwave/range hood.  Chris' parents were so kind and bought us the refrigerator as a housewarming gift.  And I have a GARBERATOR!!  (that's a garbage disposal for all you Americans!  lol). 

So there is the first half of my home tour for you.  Still to come: the guest room, office, master bedroom with bath and walk-in closet, the other bathroom and the laundry room.  We're hoping to get some paint soon to get started with my office and the master bedroom, so I'll probably wait and just share "before&afters" with you once they're complete. 

Its been a little slow here on the blog, but life right now is anything but slow!  But all good things.  I am now regular auxilary pioneering, which takes up my days off work and has been bringing me so much joy.  I've got 2 blog design projects in the works, and one more coming up.  Chris and I are planning our big vacation in August for my friend Katie's wedding.  I just finished her wedding invitations and she LOVES THEM!!  Chris is in another play that starts in June and has had a bunch of rehearsals and read-thru's.  So fun!  and my sister Megan is getting married at the end of this month. 

So yeah, crazy busy! 
But good busy. 

So thank you to all who stop by amidst this crazyness and say Hi.  I'm so glad to have this space online to share.