Diva Night at Rednecks for Gee's Girls :)

Well, we did it! Last Saturday, 29 fantastic women and one fantastic man opened up their wallets and their hearts for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer. I've been blogging about this fundraiser for a while now, and I am so proud of how it turned out. We had great fun, great food, great tunes and great people making this day a huge success. We raised $1500 for Gee's girls in all, and I know that these girls are doing something amazing. I am going to provide the links the a couple of their fundraising web pages so that anyone who reads this and wants to be involved can donate online to their efforts, and help them achieve their fundraising goals. Lisa and Jennifer lost their mother to breast cancer just last year, so this is a cause very close to their heart, and I really hope they will be able to exceed their goals this year. This will be the second year for the team in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, and I wish them all the best with their journey. :)

Lisa's Page

Jennifer's page

Also I wanted to thank all of the people who donated prizes for the event:

Scrapbook and Smiles and Paula Mason, who donated a huge scrapbooking basket with the Diva theme.

Tara Leigh Designs who donated a beautiful pendant and necklace to one lucky diva

Carolyn McColl, who donated a beautifully decorated scrapbook for the event.

Okay, I know you are all looking for a little dish, and I hate to disappoint! We had our portable studio set up in one side of Rednecks hall, and there was a big poker tournament in the other side. There was oodles of men who must have been wondering what the heck was going on. The pool table was covered, and filled with gift baskets, photo albums, and pink and white balloons! This one player wandered in to our den and got his cool hat stolen right off of his head, and it was used by several of the Diva's in their photos! Later on, he came back to collect his hat, and found himself being worked over by the Diva's. He had won a bit of coin at the poker table, and the girls suggested that he have his photos taken for a small donation to the cause. ;) He asked them: "Why would I want photos of myself?"
They replied: "Well, you can have your photos taken with all of us!"

:)

Our new friend Marco thought that was an offer he just couldn't refuse. We love this guy, and the word on the street is that he *might* just be single. I'm pretty sure I might be able to hook a gal up with the digits if she needs them. ;)

Our favorite Diva (or is it Divo?) Marco:




....and here's one of just about everyone who participated in our amazing event! :)

Thankyou EVERYONE for your partipation and support!

Thank you, Tara Barrows! :)

I met the lovely Tara Barrows (from 107.9 The Breeze) at the Cobourg Bridal Spectacular (Lions Centre) last month, and she was the most incredible hostess for the event. She is totally smooth and was ROCKING the mike completely! I had a chance to talk to her throughout the event, and I am so happy to have made her aquaintance. During the grand prize announcement, there was a bit of a melee on the stage, and she accidently skipped over my business as a grand prize contributer. I was actually sitting off to the side of the stage, thinking I was going to totally THROW UP if I had to go up there. Sometimes, the universe works in mysterious ways, because I didn't end up having to speak onstage (YAY!) and Tara ended up talking about my business the next day on the air during the morning show!!! :) Win-Win!!! Here's a clip from her show that morning that she sent me, and that my dear brother Roadie managed to upload and host for me....(LOVE you, RoadDogg!)

Tara Barrows Makes Me Blush, on 107.9 The Breeze :)

She has promised she will come and see me if The Breeze requires her to have some saucy head shots done! :) It's the least I can do after she recorded a very cool sound bite for me to use for promotions and stuff (which I am also going to beg my brother to hook up for me!)
Thanks again, Tara! You ROCK!!!

Maria ~ 6 months

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Six month old babies are probably one of the most fun ages that you can photograph. They are so bright and bubbly, and content to sit in front of the camera and smile like crazy!

Maria was no exception! Her parents got a gift certificate for photos as a baby gift from Mom's co-workers, and we've been trying to co-ordinate schedules, and finally it all worked out for one incredible session. She let us change her outfit numerous times, change backdrops and was still as sweet as can be. She made my job very, very easy!

Be Mine :)

'Tis the season for love and hearts aflutter! Here's a few valentines from the last couple of sessions....

Sometimes You Get What You Want ~ Jenny & Chris (Feb.3/07)

I remember one of the things Jenny said during our consultation many months ago.

"I want it to snow. A lot."

Well, Jenny got her wish and then some on her and Chris' wedding day, last Saturday. The snow was swirling around so much at Victoria Hall that you could literally not see to the road! While we were waiting for Jenny and her parents to arrive for the ceremony, someone asked what they were driving. Yep, you guessed it! A white SUV!!! We pretty much gave up on being able to spot them coming in, until we saw a pair of huddled figures making their way thru the snow....



You know, it's hard to tell from the above photo, but Jenny was grinning ear to ear! Nothing could have pleased her more, I think!

Chris and Jenny were such a great, relaxed couple and their wedding day unfolded perfectly around them. We even got a chance to go out for a few photos in between snow squalls! They were terrific sports, especially when guests kept asking them: "You're going out in all that SNOW?!!?" ;) We weren't out long, but we got some great shots!

One more thing I want to mention about the big day, is how Jenny and her brother (her man of honour) got up after the first dance and CUT A RUG!!! Man, those two can DANCE!!! It looked like they've been taking lessons for years, but apparently, that's not the case. They just have all the right moves naturally!

It was a great day, and I thank you for letting me share it with you both!




Congratulations Jenny & Chris!!!

Sisters ~ February 4

Brianna and Gillian were in last week for some fun 'sisters' photos. Their Aunt Michelle is a very good and long-time customer of mine, so she brought them to see me as a gift. We had lots of fun, and the girls were such naturals. They brought some special things to be photographed with, (which I always love people to do!) and I really enjoyed meeting these two lovely girls. Their session is also a surprise gift to their mom, so it was extra exciting for them. Here's a few shots from our shoot. :)



It was a pleasure to meet you, girls! I hope to see you again soon! :)

5 Daughters :)

Liz brought her 5 little girls in for some family photos last week, and I was very impressed at how well behaved they were! They were such beautiful, polite (and photogenic!) little girls, and I really enjoyed meeting them all. Of course, since I had 5 girls all in one place, I had to make sure we got a couple of photos with everyone dressed up in frilly pink costumes. I mean, such a great opportunity doesn't come every day! ;)

Brett ~ 12 Years Old

I don't always get the opportunity to work with older kids, as much as I do younger ones. It's really fun (and sometimes a bit challenging) to get the older kids to enjoy their sessions, and I love it when I see that they are starting to have fun. It's cool when they realize that going for a family photo session really is more fun that being hung upside down by their toenails. (J/K...I rarely do that to kids! ) Brett and his parents were terrific subjects, and it was a really easy-going session!




Thanks for coming in, guys! :)

Bridal Show Booth (and Why I love Brian McCartney!)

Well, it was a big show, folks! A very, very big show...and it was great to meet all of the brides of 2007 and 2008 who stopped by the booth to say hello and to talk about their dates. I am almost completely booked for the entire wedding season this year, and only have 3 Saturdays open between May 1st and November 1st. This year also marks a record number of off season and Friday or Sunday weddings as well. It's going to be a crazy wedding season, and I have so many great couples that I'm going to work with, so I'm very excited. This year will mark a year of learning from the best of the best in the wedding industry, and I am looking forward to the exciting season ahead!

ETA: To the June 28th bride from the bridal show...I've had another request for your date, so if you are interested in booking that date, I will need to hear from you in the next few days! :)

I must make a public THANK-YOU to one of my 2007 grooms, who hooked me up with the nicest display EVER!!! I have mentioned Brian before in my blog, when I photographed the wedding of his daughter Heather. Brian and I have no problem letting the hours slide away when we start talking shop, and he truly amazes me with the sheer amount of cool gagetry and equiptment he has in his arsenol. There is literally nothing I could imagine that he doesn't have tucked away somewhere in his world (unless I have borrowed it from him and am keeping it hostage in my closet, lol). When I started to dream about my bridal show display, he turned my idle ramblings into a concrete reality. I printed the photos, but that is all I did. Brian got the mattes, measured and cut each one, and divised an appropriate way to hold the thing together. I still cannot believe the amount of trouble he went to to put it all together for me. I am absolutely humbled at his committment to getting it done, and doing it right. Brian and Deb are getting married on April 14th, and I am very much waiting for my chance to show him my appreciation.

For those of you that didn't get a chance to see Brians handiwork up close, here's a few snaps from the show...

The whole table and display in behind:



Closer shots of the display:





So to you, Brian, I say: 'Thank You' and 'Well Done'!!! :)

More Gorgeousness.

I have done some work with Caitlyn before, and when I wanted to try some new stuff, she was so great to agree to come and hang out with me and look good for an afternoon. Her very good friend (and forgive me if I misspell your name!) Kailynn was celebrating her birthday that day, so we had to make sure to get her involved as well. Can't have the birthday girl getting overlooked on her special day! :)

Here are a few from our day, and thank you both for your help!












PS. Some keen eyed observers may recognize Caitlyn from this months Northumberland Kids Magazine cover, which we shot back in January.

So You Say He's Shy....? ;)

Rebecca had been looking forward to having their family photos done in my studio, but she mentioned to me in the beginning that her older son Jackson, might be a bit shy, and she was not sure he'd be into having his photos taken during the session. We started working with the boys and it quickly became clear that we had a couple of little hams on our hands. Jackson was actually quite crushed when it was time for Rowan to have a few by himself! :) We had a great time, just letting the boys be boys, and the photos from the session turned out beautifully!






Thanks for bringing your family to meet me, Rebecca! I look forward to next time!

Mommy2B :)

Erica and Craig were in to the studio to have some maternity photos done, as Erica is getting close to delivering their first baby. Now, lots of times people will tell me they don't know why a person would want to have their belly photographed during pregnancy, but I wish more women would do it. It's such a fantastic way to record one of natures most incredible experiences. Any woman who has had a child will tell you that her body did some pretty strange things in the last trimester, and that many times, she wondered if her belly would ever stop growing. It's that strange and beautiful metamorphasis from woman to mother that I love to capture.

There were lots, and lots of beautiful photos that I would love to share, but here are 2 that I know they won't mind me posting. :)



This one was one of my very favorites. :)



I am looking forward to meeting Baby P in the future!