There have been countless times in the last 36 hours when Whitney and I will say “oh we should write that one down!” but we have yet to do that. So here we go, getting some of that on record. Just real quick, because we have a date with some red wine, popcorn, and The Office. Its been a hard day, let me tell you…shopping, beaching, eating and driving. One thing we’ve noticed since landing in OC is that the people here are SO nice! And that’s a good thing since I’ll be honest with you and say we got lost a couple times yesterday, leaving the airport in our spiffy Ford Focus rental and trying to navigate our way to our hotel. GPS failed us but the boys at Starbucks pointed us in the right direction. Until we missed our exit. Then there was the guy at the liquor store – who apparently hugs palm trees as soon as he gets to the beach; at least he said so upon hearing our love of them, coming from cold & rainy BC. He directed us to the scenic Pacific Coast Highway which eventually brought us to our hotel. So we had the brilliant idea to have a picnic on the beach for supper. But we forgot that the sun sets a lot earlier down south. By the time we made it there with our wilted chicken salads, it was down and we were freezing! Oh and why were they wilted? Stopped by a grocery store to pick up drinks and promptly got proposed to. Yeah. Over limes. Ask me for the story later :) But the beach! The sunset! We were pretty stoked to be there nonetheless and took a few photos. But we ended up eating at the hotel, grabbed warmer clothes and went exploring in Newport. Wandered around Balboa Island…it was lovely. And let me say, thank goodness for the car rental. It’s just too bad we only have it for a couple days. Today, well after our alarm clock radio woke us up with our apparent theme song, umm…California Gurls…it started at Fashion Island. Eek. Shopping in Forever 21. Yikes. The soundtrack to the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic actually came on. I managed to behave, though. Had a fantastic lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, with a view of the water, then we set out for Laguna…
Read MoreEn Route to the OC
Hello from 10,000+ feet in the air. Woohoo, wi-fi on the plane, how spoiled are we? As I sip my ginger ale in my seat above the clouds, I’m reminded of the hilariously true video clip, “Everything’s amazing and nobody’s happy.” Whitney and I are en route to Orange County, California for a few days of sun, beach and….I’m one of the few & lucky attendees of The Jasmine Star Workshop! A full day of learning from the talented J*, wedding photographer and business woman extraordinaire. If you’ve been following my blog, you will have probably heard me talk about her before…particularly in this post. As soon as my workshop seat was secure, I got on the phone with my sister. We had been talking of a California trip for awhile. Ideally it would have been a road trip had we the luxury of more time, but here we are, mid-flight to the OC. And Whitney gets to experience a whole bunch of firsts, and I get to enjoy making fun of her for it! Ha, not really, I promise. We get to enjoy making fun of her together ;) Her random blonde comments are actually quite endearing…”Oooh I’ve never been on a train in the airport before….it’s like a sideways elevator!” And then, upon getting settled in our “steerage” seats, “where’s first class?” Um..at the front of the plane, we passed through it. “Oh. Oh, I’ve heard of the curtain before, but I’ve never seen it.” Brief confession time: the last couple weeks have been less than inspiring. It hasn’t helped that we’ve been experiencing a serious lack of vitamin D. I’d like to think that this trip was scheduled with that in mind…so here’s hoping that some distance, beach time, sister time, new friends, challenges and experiences will send me home with a fresh outlook and a healthy dose of motivation. I mean, if that doesn’t cut it, I’m in serious trouble! The all important, early-morning Starbucks. Especially since my body decided I wasn’t allowed a restful sleep last night. Yay for the cheesy airport drop-off pic! Next report will be coming from Newport Beach :)
Read MoreHappy Mother’s Day, Mom
“It’s like we’re doing an engaaaagement shoot!! You’re practising on us!” These were the shrieks I received when I tried to take some photos of my mom and sister. After I suggested they hold hands. I mean seriously, c’mon, where’s the love? There should be more hand holding. Nevertheless, I lost my ability to get a sharp photo because every time I went to click the shutter, I bent over laughing. I laughed at their loud laughter and the fact that maybe, if I looked at it from their perspective, maybe I could see the humour in their observations. But maybe you just had to be there. Instead of buying something for our mom for Mother’s Day, Whitney and I chose to take her on a date instead. Yes, you could say it’s a few weeks late but I think we picked the perfect day. Heeeelloo gorgeous sunshine and warm weather. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? We drove out to Ft Langley for the afternoon and lost track of time. Over a most delicious lunch at our favourite piano and martini bar, Eighteen27, we caught up, people-watched out the large, open windows and listened to the lovely sounds of the piano player singing in the background. From there we wandered the shops and then found a spot in the sun to sip our lemonade. And then there was the photo shoot :)
Read More(un)portraits of the Knotts
We had originally planned this session for a Saturday, but when the forecast threatened rain, we bumped it to Friday afternoon – I got out of work early :) – and it was quite possibly the nicest day of the year so far! The sun was out in all its glory and matched the warmth of this family; Mike, Erin, Aidan and Becca. They are awesome. Mike is the youth pastor at Sevenoaks Alliance, the church I work at. He’s great because I think he forgot of my involvement in a prank or two the youth kids and leaders played on him. But as a youth pastor, that’s one of the things you sign up for, right?! Actually, he and Erin have done and continue to do so much for the church. Erin, I have SO enjoyed getting to know over the past several months, working together on the contemporary service design team. This girl always has a smile on her face, regardless of what comes at her week to week, and has offered up much encouragement and advice to me. And wisdom. Aidan and Becca are pretty lucky to have parents such as these. Then again, they are pretty rad themselves :) Much fun was had and I think these photos depict the Knott family quite well: such beautiful girls See Aidan, THERE are those dimples we were talkin about ;) I love these – Aidan couldn’t resist sneaking in
Read MoreEngagement Session with Jennifer & Naoya
They met at school, in a sushi-making class. When class was dismissed, he wrote about her in his blog. She bugged her friend for his email address. If they only knew that some three years later, they would be engaged and planning a wedding. Another reason to love sushi, I’d say. When Jennifer and I were emailing back and forth about this shoot, she mentioned her interest in cherry blossoms seeing as her fiance is Japanese. I loved it and we both had the same location in mind – one of my favorite summer reading spots – the park at City Hall. Surrounded by trees just bursting with blossoms, we started there as the late afternoon light poured through the branches. All throughout our time together, you could sense the love that Jennifer and Naoya share. You could see it and feel it. In the way Jennifer looked at him, in the way Naoya would lightly touch her face. But maybe more than anything, in the way they laughed together. Before I say anymore, let me say this: Jennifer is a self-proclaimed “quiet” girl. That’s how I knew her before spending time with the two of them, and before witnessing the way in which Naoya brought out this other, radiant, carefree side to Jennifer. It was infectious. This is why I fell in love with photography, portrait/wedding photography in particular. The opportunity to connect with such people and document their happiness. This makes me happy. Jennifer & Naoya, it was an honor to get to share in your joy and I wish you all the best in your plans for the wedding and move to Japan :)
Read MoreAll things new
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5 When the days get overwhelming, these words run through my mind as a reminder. Spring itself is also a reminder, and with it have come all kinds of new experiences and opportunities to embrace. And for those – and for the reminders – I am thankful. “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” Psalm 143:8
Read MoreImage Quest & Jasmine Star
Oh what a day. I’m sitting here at my desk, with a thousand images, words, and ideas running through my mind. Today I had the opportunity to hear and glean knowledge from some very talented, very successful, and very genuine photographers. I attended Image Quest at the River Rock Casino in Richmond. Okay, so the day didn’t exactly start as amazing as it turned out. While I couldn’t help but smile, by myself, in my car as I drove home, I was cursing as I drove in. Maybe that’s too harsh a word. Regardless, the stop and go traffic + too much coffee beforehand + not really knowing where I was going + rushing in with just one minute to spare…well. You get the picture. I also didn’t know what to expect. I just hoped that walking into a room full of other photographers – presumably experienced, established, and therefore perhaps intimidating photographers – I’d get to make one friend out of the day. Make one connection. With that being said, let’s skip to my favorite part of the day. Not that the morning’s session with Blue Olive Photography wasn’t great in and of itself. First of all, I didn’t have to eat lunch alone with my nose in my book :) I met three great girls – Heidi, Emily, and Rose – who I got to connect with over sushi. And then there was the reason I heard of and came to Image Quest: Jasmine Star. If you don’t know who she is, check her out. Please. I’ve been following her blog for quite some time and through it, Jasmine continually offers inspiration and incredible advice. Seriously, I saw she was coming and I didn’t care what she would be speaking on, I knew I had to be there. I was hoping for the chance to just meet her. And thank her. Imagine my delight and starstruckness(?) when I not only got to do that, but also join her and her hubby/business partner JD for lunch! Well, their lunch, my dessert. Rose and I randomly ran into them and another lady, Philomena, from the convention and so there we were, the five of us sitting around the table, chatting about this and that. Jasmine and JD are two of the warmest, most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. The Jasmine you get to know online, is the Jasmine you meet in…
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