Living Proof Photography

Echo....

2009-11-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

Is anybody out there still?

I've jumped ship (in this case, blogger is the ship) and moved my blog over to my new domain at www.amandastratton.com. So my blog will go on at www.amandastratton.com/blog and I even plopped a fresh post on there to bait you.

And here's a link right to the RSS feed, so you can go ahead and put that in your reader right now ;)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/AmandaStrattonWaterlooWeddingAndPortraitPhotographer

See you over there, I hope!

BTW, this will stay here, and blogger has been an awesome platform for the beginnings of my blog. I love all things google, including blogger, but I wanted something that fit in with my site a little more smoothly, so there you have it :)

Feeling Stressed?

2009-09-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

... then head on over to my facebook page, and get yourself in on the draw for 30 Minutes of reflexology from Revitalize!

Each time I hit a milestone in the number of members that have joined, I give something away. At 200 fans, I gave away a $20 coffee gift certificate. At 250 fans, it was 25 cupcakes of the winner's choice from Cakecetera!

Well, at the end of last week, we hit 300! Since I did 20 then 25, now I'm doing 30 of something. I know that September can be a bit of a stressful time with back to school and the end of summer, so I thought there are probably lots of people who could use some help releasing tension.

I knew right away that if I was going to give away something to help people relax, it would have to be some time spent with Jenn from Revitalize. She is honestly one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and she's great at what she does!

So, if you're local and need a few minutes of just-for-you time, head over to my facebook page, and enter yourself in the draw!

Here's a link to the specific place where you need to enter:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4002630&id=113494292106&ref=nf

And to my page in general:
http://www.facebook.com/amandastrattonphotographer

Worldwide Moment

2009-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today I participated in the third annual Worldwide Moment. The idea of the Worldwide Moment is that at a predetermined time, people around the world take a photo for peace. The photos are collected into a gallery online and eventually in a real live gallery.

Here's the answer to the question "What are you hoping to achieve with this?" on the Worldwide Moment website:

We hope at least one person from every country participate, so that we can literally achieve a moment of worldwide peace between every nation. We hope this Moment is just the beginning of what's to come.

Anyway, I thought it was a pretty cool idea, and I was all set to submit a photo of my evening lecture (more on that later) but I ended up forgetting about it and just as the girls and I were headed out for a run (which is really a walk with short bursts of jogging at 3-year old speed), my BlackBerry reminded me about it.

So here's my Worldwide Moment photo, taken on my BlackBerry, of the girls and I out for a sunset run at 09.09.09+09GMT@09:09:

As for the earlier part of my day....

Today I got up bright and early, got myself ready for school, made myself a blueberry smoothie, got the girls dressed, out the door, and dropped off, and pulled in to the University of Waterloo parking lot for the first time ever. That old feeling--the one that comes with the pursuit of higher learning--came flooding back as I made my way through froshing first year students to my building. I paused for a moment and thought it was odd that the first year students were still froshing, but I thought maybe that's how they do it here at the UofW. Who am I to argue? I got to my class, opened the door, and it was totally dark. Nobody in there. In fact... nobody in any classes. Nobody milling about in halls. No professor-types hanging around. Then it hit me. Class starts next week.

If you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I consider this to be Classic Amanda. Just the sort of thing I do, really, except that I'm rarely early at all, let alone a week early.

So I got a student card, checked out my fancy new health and dental plan (hallelujah!), tried with no success to get a parking permit, and just generally wandered and got my bearings, feeling kind of silly and being glad nobody could tell that I'm a tool. Well, until I posted it here on the internet for everyone to see. It's okay to mock me, just please don't point and laugh.

Jayden: Portrait Photography at the Beach!

2009-08-31T12:14:00.000-07:00

I love the beach in Goderich, so when Mandy told me that it was where she wanted to get some family portraits and Jayden's one-year pictures done, I was really excited. The beach can be awfully tricky for shooting. Lots of wind and very little shelter can make it a bit difficult, but we had a great time, and even though it was kind of chilly, Jayden was happy as could be.

I used my Swing, Swing focusing and shooting technique (and some tickling) to get some shots of Mandy and Jason pushing Jayden on the swing.

I know it almost seems wrong to show a beach picture in anything other than colour, but I saw this one in chocolate as soon as I took it.

We didn't roam the beach quite as much as we did at Meaghan and Jonathan's engagement session, which spanned all three beaches - we stuck to Rotary Cove, but there was great variety there, too! I love this shot because it was so obvious that Jayden is the center of his parents' worlds, and you can see how much they adore him.

To me, these are the shots that say "Hi, I'm one year old!" because Jayden was really interested in his shoes. It must be awesome to find that world that fascinating.

Toward the end of the shoot, we went to the water to let Jayden get his feet wet, and I think he liked it!

Loook at those tiny little feet!

You can find more shots from this session on my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/amandastrattonphotographer

This was really a fun shoot, which was in no small part due to Mandy and Jason being such wonderful subjects and being so relaxed with Jayden. Thank you guys for a fun evening at the beach!

A Morning Shoot: Family Photography

2009-08-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

The very best light for photos, in case you were wondering, happens in the morning and the evening. For about three hours after day breaks and about three hours before night falls. For most people, the evening works best, but for this shoot, morning did, and it was one of very few opportunities that I've had to shoot in the morning light.

We brought Bruce along for this shoot, too. He's the skateboard tied to a rope dog you see the kids walking in these pictures. Imagination is a wonderful thing!

The kids also showed me their fort, which unfortunately for them, involved letting the cat out of the bag about them climbing trees in their fort. Oops!

Aren't these kids gorgeous??

I wanted to share just a few photos of these two awesome kids for now. We caught their baby brother at a bad time, and he just wanted to sleep, so I'm going to go back for another shoot with him, and then I'll share some more of this family, including an album design!

Thanks to Amanda for having me come out and shoot your family! Your kids are just wonderful, and I had a great time!

Emytt: Newborn Photography

2009-08-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

I know that most of my loyal blog readers have probably already seen these photos on my facebook page, but for those of you that don't follow me there,here there are!

Emytt was not even a week old when we did these pictures. That's the perfect time to get newborn photos like these. That's partly because newborns change so fast, and after a week, they look quite different already! It's also because at this age, babies are still sleeping a lot, and they aren't moving themselves around much even when they are awake, so they're very cooperative subjects!

Emytt's big brothers (who are as cute as can be!!) gave him this teddy bear to help watch over him :)

I love photos of babies crying and fussing. I think it's adorable the way they scrunch up their little faces. Emytt didn't give me much chance to take any. He was so content, and he slept for almost the entire time we were shooting. And he only had two accidents, which was also nice :)

I was so happy that I was able to shoot this session with natural light. It just seems wrong to go flash-crazy on a baby, so I borrowed my parents' garage loft and enjoyed gorgeous natural light.

I debated whether to grab this tray (which I normally keep fruit on in my kitchen) for the baby shoot, and I'm glad I did. And it illustrates how we can use things from your own house for your baby's shoot. Maybe not always the fruit bowl, but I guarantee there are awesome props right in your house :)

I have to thank Emytt's parents, Candice and Lee, for allowing me to do his newborn photos. I had a wonderful time, they let me do all the things I'd been planning for ages, and they didn't mind driving out to my parents' house in Ethel for the shoot. Thank you so much guys!

*I don't want to be misleading about my services, so I will point out that these were done with a backdrop, though generally what you're seeing in the background is actually blankets. I don't normally use backdrops, but because we used my parents' garage for the shoot, the location didn't have a whole lot of meaning for Emytt and his family. I won't be offering shoots with backdrops on a regular basis, though, except maybe for newborns.

Twenty-Seven

2009-08-19T22:37:00.001-07:00

Yup, I'm 27. I don't know why 27 sounds so much older than 26. I think odd numbers are like that. Anyway, 27 sounds so grown up.

It's funny, but when people hear how old I am, at whatever age, I get one of two very different reactions.

There are the people who don't really know me that well, probably have never seen me with my kids, and who are always really surprised to find out I'm that old. I like to think I look youthful and always will. I'm sure I'm just immature ;)

Then there are people who know me a little better, see me with my kids a lot, and probably know that I also did four years of post-secondary school. They likely assume I did the school thing and the kids thing consecutively and not concurrently. Anyway, they're always surprised that I'm so young.

Of course there are also the people who know me the best, and they're just surprised that year after year I continue to think my birthday is some kind of big deal even though most people my age have matured beyond that :)

So, my birthday present to myself this year was that I set aside my huge backlog of other work for an evening and got my new website up and running. There are still some tweaks and some more additions to be made, and I have some talking to do with my former hosting provider to get the old livingproofphotography.ca site moved, but I'm officially moved in to amandastratton.com now. Yay! Happy Birthday to Me!

I'll be moving my blog in due course as well, but I'm still working on the coding for it, and I didn't get it done before I decided I better pack it in because the girls and I are headed to do my niece's shoot tomorrow morning because she recently turned The Big 3! And my sister Tracey said she'll buy me some TCBY, and I love TCBY, so I think it's safe to say that between the company, the yogurt, and the knowledge that my new site is spreading photo loveliness to all the lands of the earth, it will be a good birthday. :)

I hope everyone else has a great day, too!

And since this day is all about me (what, it's not???)... I'm going to post a photo that Hilary from One for the Wall Photography took for me a couple weeks ago. Hilary is a truly awesome portrait photographer, so check out her blog.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who sent me supportive messages regarding yesterday's blog post. Your comments, emails, and tweets were truly appreciated. If you were hanging around twitter last night, you know that I debated posting that. I wondered if it was too personal or too negative, or too something else. I'm glad I posted it. Not only did it feel good to get it all out, but the affirmation in your responses was really uplifting. And I don't usually say stuff like that ;)

I'm On Empty

2009-08-18T22:20:00.000-07:00

I know the metaphor isn’t original, but it feels like the right one.

I feel like for the past year, I’ve been running on whatever tiny amount of fuel I had left when I walked out the door of my home and moved to my parents’ house.

And now I’m empty, because I never stopped to refuel myself. I thought that it was more important that I be strong and keep moving on with my life as if I hadn’t even noticed that anything changed. At first, I did feel better. Maybe I was getting better mileage without the weight of an unbearably difficult relationship.

But I was afraid if I stopped, took pause, reflected, or just sat still for too long, I wouldn’t be able to get back on the road. So I didn’t stop. I went to New York, I went back to school, I went to work on my business, I went on my daughter’s class trips, I went to Vegas, I went to the doctor and the dentist, I went to Niagara Falls, I went to Kitchener, I went to the grocery store, I went up and down the streets until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I went anywhere I could just to make sure I never stopped.

My days got longer and nights got shorter. I never went to bed until I was so tired that I knew there was no chance I’d get lost in thought before I was fast asleep. I never slept long enough to dream.

Everything got harder. My fuel got lower. I sputtered down streets I would have sped through before. But I still refused to stop. I didn’t want to look around. I wanted to focus on getting somewhere instead, even though I had no idea where I was headed, and I was pretty sure that wherever this was taking me, I didn’t want to be there.

I was exhausted, and the anger, sadness, and frustration that I was trying not to look at in my rearview mirror were pulling up alongside me every time I slowed down.

I fell farther and farther behind on everything. On bills, on work, on school, on parenting. I was more and more distracted, trying always to focus on anything but reality.

And then on the most unexpected of days, something happened and I stopped. And I cried.

For the first time since I had left Josh over a year earlier, I cried about it. I cried great heaving sobs and felt sorry for myself. In the past year, I had lost the family I knew, the job I had, my sense of home, and what felt like my entire identity. And every time, when friends and family members called or offered a hug, I’d wave it away. “It’s not a big deal.” “It’s for the best.” “It’s really a good thing.” “Stop freaking out,” I’d say to mildly concerned people, “it’s okay.”

And when that little ache in my chest crept up on me, I waved it away, too. For a year, I brushed it off. I told everyone, including myself, that I was fine. I wanted to be strong and optimistic, and happy in the face of it all.

But that ache persisted until that one night when I finally admitted I felt it. Like I finally noticed the gas light was on. As I watched Josh moving on, I realized I wasn’t. For all of my speeding away, I had only ever gone in circles. I hadn’t really eked out peace for myself. I had used every last ounce of energy I could to keep the appearance of it, though. And now that’s what I’m empty of. That energy is gone. There is nothing left to keep me just ahead of the ache.

I still think that I made the right decision leaving that day over a year ago. And if there is one thing that I truly believe in, it’s blessings in disguise. Or at any rate, I believe that there is an upside to almost everything, even if it takes a while to reveal itself.

But I am sad, too. I’m sad that I don’t have the family I wanted and that I thought I would have. And I’m lonely. Not simply for Josh, but for my sense of belonging and self that came from knowing all of my roles to play.

And sometimes I’m so angry I want to scream at the top of my lungs until I can’t scream anymore. And sometimes I’m so frustrated I just want to kick at the confusion until it cracks.

They’ve all caught up with me, these familiar strangers that have been chasing me the past year. So now, when most people might be starting to pick up the pieces and move on, I’m finally stopping.

I’m crying, and screaming, and kicking. And grieving.

Because all of these changes cause grief, and the thing about grief is that it will wait. It will wait until you’re ready. It will hang around in the corners of your mind, it will rest with a dull ache in your chest, and it will idle along in your rearview mirror, until you notice it, acknowledge it, and invite it in.

Grief doesn’t go away when you ignore it. It doesn’t grow. It doesn’t shrink. It doesn’t transform itself. It just waits. Patiently. Mostly silently. It waits.

I’ve seen people wait days, months, and years to acknowledge grief, but I don’t think it ever changes the way we experience it. I didn’t do my crying and kicking and screaming a year ago, so I’m doing it now. I’m pretty sure it’s the same crying and kicking and screaming I would have done then.

In the end, I think it’s the grief that will transform me. This past year, I’ve been going in circles because change upon change took place, and I refused to let the grief in. I’ve tried to search my soul and heart and mind, but I wouldn’t look in the places where I knew there was grief, because I wanted to pretend it wasn’t there.

I lost what I thought was me, but I never moved toward a new me, or a more authentic me, or the me I wanted to be, because I didn’t know where those things were. But I think the road map to them started to be laid out when I let grief in.

It’s filled me up first with the energy of anger and sadness and frustration, so that I can learn to be full again. And as I empty myself of those things, I’m finding little pockets to fill with different kinds of energy, and newfound pieces of myself.

And one day, in the who-knows-how-distant future, that lest vestige of grief will fall by the wayside, and I’ll move on down a better road. I just have to be patient with grief. Like it was with me.

Niagara Falls

2009-08-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last week, the girls and I went away on vacation together for the first time ever! It was also the first time that any of us had been to Niagara Falls, so I was really excited to be able to share that experience with them!

My mom came with us, and there are a few reasons I love travelling with my mom. One is that my mom is not a timeline stickler. This works well because I'm not a timeline follower. We left three hours later than we had intended to in the morning, and my mom was okay with that. I mean, sure, we both wanted to leave earlier, but were we going to let that ruin one second of our vacation? No, of course not! What would be the point?

So we left my place and headed out on the three hour drive to Niagara Falls, with the girls in the back seat. They were awesome little troopers, and we only had to make one stop for leg stretching!

Our plan was to stop at Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens on the way in, meet my sister Tracey and her daughter, Maya, and have a picnic lunch there. The kids blew bubbles, we ate lunch, they climbed trees, and we wandered the gardens. It was perfect and peaceful. I think I mentioned a few times that I could have laid down and napped there.

I had never seen cabbage like this before. I totally forget what it was called, but I declared immediately that if I ever get married, this cabbage will be my centrepiece. Well, not this exact cabbage, as I assume it will be decomposed by the time I ever get married, but one like it. I also thought the green plants on the lower middle would make a nice accent to said cabbage. And maybe some white peonies for a bit of luxury factor. Rotten apples not so much. You may mock, but I swear it's going to be really pretty.

Eventually, we decided we'd better head into the city to check into our hotel and get on with our other plans. We stayed at the Sheraton On the Falls, and I'm so glad we did. When I first started planning a getaway to Niagara Falls, I intended to stay somewhere cheap. But I decided that since this was my girls' first hotel stay, I wanted to give them at least a bit of luxury.

Of course, we made them carry the bags. They have to earn their stay somehow ;)

We had a room on the 20th floor, with a balcony and a gorgeous view of the falls.

The Sheraton on the Falls is also one of only three hotels with a direct indoor connection to the famous Fallsview Indoor Waterpark, but we didn't go there. The hotel was great, the service was good, and the TV in the bathroom impressed the heck right out of my kids. That's exactly what I wanted to give them--a break from ordinary and a couple of days of just having fun and doing whatever we want!

(I was impressed by the Sheraton's white sheets. When I look at hotel room pictures when choosing a hotel, all I'm looking at is the colour of the sheets. Hotels should have white sheets. It's only right.)

After having some hotel time, we walked down to the river (literally a three minute walk, even with two three-year-olds) and we got some tickets for the Maid of the Mist. At this point, I want to interject that I was not sure what to expect of the Falls at all. Of course I've seen pictures of the falls, so I sort of knew what it would look like. But I felt that maybe after waiting so long, it would be anticlimactic. I felt much the same about the Maid of the Mist. In fact, some people had told me that it wasn't worth the money (BTW, it was only $14.50 for me, and both of my kids were free) and that it wasn't very impressive.

Those people are boring.

When you're on that boat and get close to the horseshoe falls, you feel like you're caught in a storm of wind and rain. The rushing water drowns out pretty much all sound, and it takes a moment to get accustomed to the rocking of the boat. It's a cool experience just at that, but then when you get your bearings and look around you to see that you're almost surrounded by walls of water. Well, I'm sorry, but you have to be one of those really annoying people who tries too hard to be blase about everything to not be impressed and awe-struck. It was really cool.

I also have to ask something here. Somebody replied to me on twitter saying "check Canadian side of Niagara Falls too, some say it is better view." I've seen similar advice other places. I'd like to direct your attention back to my photo of our hotel view, as it best demonstrates my point.

I'm at a loss in understanding how it's even physically possible to see the US falls and not the Canadian falls?? It would seem that you probably can't even see the falls from the US, can you? Wouldn't you just kinda see a river ending? Maybe I should go over there sometime and check.

Anywho, after our Maid of the Mist adventure, we wandered around a bit, bought some tourist items (I got my usual mug!) and then we meandered around Clifton Hill. I'm embarassed to say I didn't know Clifton Hill existed, such as it is. I thought (can you see me blushing?) that Clifton Hill was a town near Niagara Falls. It's not. It's a street that runs right down to the falls and has kind of a "Vegas/Times Square meets Main Street Disneyland" feel about it. Things looked pricey there, and we didn't really do anything, but I think it was probably a cool experience for the kids just to see all the lights and be out late!

One thing that could have made our trip even better would have been knowing that fireworks and free concerts take place on Wednesday night and Friday night, but not on Thursday night, which is when we were there. If I had known, I would have gone on Wednesday so we could see the fireworks. But now we know for next time!

We finally went back to the hotel, gave the girls a bath for the sole purpose of allowing them to watch TV whilst in the bath, and then we hit the sack after my sister and I had a brief argument about air conditioning. The next morning we lounged around in the hotel room until checkout time. This was an important part of my vacation, and I'm glad the rest of the people with me consented to it even though I think I was annoying them with my lack of "get up and go".

Our main Day Two activity was Marineland, but this post is already really long, and I didn't take many pictures there, so I won't bother to write home about it!

Niagara Falls was the perfect choice for our first family vacation, and I'm so glad we went! Here's one final shot of Marissa having a cuddle with Grandma in the courtyard in front of the hotel. Such a beautiful and relaxing spot!

Anyone Wanna Hang?

2009-08-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

Since Marissa's birthday is over, that means mine is next. I know it makes me sound like a little kid, but I still love my birthday. I don't usually do anything for my birthday, but I still just like the fact that it is my birthday.

Shortly after I turned 26, I made a list of ten goals for my 27th year. I think about the list often, which is good, but I don't often work toward those goals, which is bad.

And now there are two weeks left until my birthday, so it's time to see what I can pull out the fire at the last minute.

1. Clean out my Inbox.
I can do this! I will do this! I intend to hit up Staples on Saturday for some paper so I can print out anything I need and delete the rest. I must conquer the inbox!!

2. Find a way to use my photography to help the community.
I did do Cans for Comments, but I wish I had done more, and would like to do more next year. I just don't know what to do. Ideas?

3. Finish 6 courses at school.
This was amended to four because I wanted my sanity back, and as of Saturday when I write my French exam, that will be done! I don't know if I'll pass French, but I did finish it.
3.5. Learn Vectors.
I could cram this in. I think I can!

4. Go to 3 places I've never been before.
I went to New York City and Las Vegas. And when this posts, barring anything unforeseen, I'll be in Niagara Falls. Yay!

5. Walk to Run.
Um, can we pretend we didn't see this one? I can't be done the 12 weeks by my birthday, but I can be on week 5. That must be good for partial points.

6. Call Missy. Scratch that. SEE Missy.
I saw Missy a couple of times. It would have been nice to see her more, but I'm sure we will soon!

7. Go out to dinner/chat/hang with 10 people I didn't know before.
Okay, this didn't happen either and I thought it would be the easy one. I did meet Lisa, Hilary, and Angela and hung out with each of them a bit. I can't really count actual shooting time, but Megan and Jonathan and I went for dinner together and it was a good time, so I could count it. That's 4. I need 6 more. Anybody wanna hang? Seriously.

8. Read the news once a week.
pffffft..... so didn't happen. I've realized, though, that I'm just not a news-reader. or watcher. or listener. I have a hard time watching the news because I get really upset about anything bad that happens, particularly to children. Like in tears. I didn't used to be like that. I would really like to follow current events, but I just can't handle it. I'm a terrible citizen. :(

9. Do one craft a week with my kids.
This didn't happen, either, and I do feel bad about that. We probably did 10 crafts.... maybe. If I do the other 42 in the next two weeks, does that count? No... I guess that's not the same.

10. TAKE TIME TO BREATHE
I don't think I did very well with this the past year. But I'm working now toward organizing my life so that it's easier to breathe. And I don't mean that I'm thinking about it. I'm actually doing things to get organized, which is new for me.

Wish me luck as I cram for my birthday. Next year, I think I'll have fewer goals.

And since we all like pictures, here's a quick shot from Vegas (the Hoover Dam, to be specific):

Taya and Bob: A Day After

2009-08-06T05:14:00.000-07:00

I love the idea of doing a Day After shoot. Instead of spending all of your wedding day taking photos, save the photos of just the two of you for a Day After shoot. That way you get more time with your guests and friends, and you also get more time for your photos. More and more people are opting to do this, and it doesn't have to be the next day. A lot of people do their day after photos when they come back from their honeymoon.

I had never done a Day After, so I was excited when Taya asked me to do one for her and Bob, and we did on the actual day after their wedding! Taya's uncle owns a beautiful property in Eden Mills, and it was such a pleasure to shoot there!

We actually didn't do that many photos with Bob's guitar. I apparently just liked a disproportionate number of them, and I'm not going to lie--I'm about to leave for Niagara Falls and I don't have time to go back and find new shots!

Thanks, Bob and Taya, for letting me capture your Day After! It was a lot of fun!

When We Wake Up

2009-08-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the last time in my life that I'll ever cuddle with a two year old curly-haired blue-eyed little girl of my own. Tomorrow is Marissa's birthday, and she'll be turning three. I can't believe how quickly time is going by. I know it's such a cliche to say it, but they do grow up fast.

I don't know what it is about Marissa turning three, but it seems so significant. Strangely more significant than Bria turning five. I think maybe it's that now Rissa is undeniably out of the baby stage. You can get away with calling a two-year-old a baby, but a three year old? Definitely not. A three year old is a pre-schooler. She's not even a toddler anymore, I don't think. She hasn't toddled for a long time, anyway.

So, tomorrow will be a kind of bitter-sweet day for me. I love my kids' birthdays, but this is one of the ones that will be tough for me as a mommy, which is odd because I don't even want to have another baby. The baby stage was really never my favourite thing. I guess what's bitter about it is the little voice in my head telling me I better wake up and smell the roses or soon the roses will be gone off to college and I'll have missed my chance. Things get so busy, and I feel like I haven't taken every advantage to really appreciate and cherish my time with my kids. I seem to always be sitting at my computer working, or running out the door... and now Marissa is three and I'm wondering where I was when she was two.

When the girls went to bed, just so I could hear her say it one last time, I asked Marissa, "How old are you?"
"Twooooo! And when will I be three?"
"When you wake up, Baby. You'll be three when you wake up."

And I better wake up, too, or I'm going to miss it.

Abby is One!

2009-07-31T01:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Amanda invited me out to shoot some One Year pictures of her daughter, Abby. Abby is just the happiest, cutest little thing ever. And it's immediately obvious that both of her parents adore her completely.

I loved her dress, and it worked nicely with the balloon :)

A couple days after our shoot, Abby started walking, but she stood for the longest she ever had while we were taking the photos above with her birthday balloon. I loved how excited her parents were, and I think she was pretty pleased with herself, too!

How gorgeous are those big eyes?!!

The whole family:

I've found that a lot of the time when I'm shooting portraits, and especially kids' portraits, I see the shots I'm taking as being part of framed sets or album pages. I'm not sure if it's just me, but when that's how I envision them to begin with, I love to see that come to fruition.

So, here's a vision I had of Abby's shoot while we were out playing!

(loving these MCP Actions Storyboard actions!!)

Thanks, Amanda for letting me help you capture Abby at this awesome stage in her life!

Swing, Swing

2009-07-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Most children love to swing, and younger ones especially have some of their best, heartiest, straight-from-the-belly laughs while they're on the swings. And the biggest, happiest smiles. So, naturally, parents want to capture some of those moments to preserve the sheer joy of swinging!

The trouble is that those big huge pushes that make kids squeal with delight also make them move pretty fast, backward and forward. I've been lucky enough to get a few awesome pics of kids on swings, and I took some of my girls just the other day, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some pointers on how to accomplish the task :)

First of all, you won't be using auto-focus. So check your manual to see how you can either disable it, or avoid triggering it. If you're using a Canon DSLR, I so strongly recommend using custom functions to move your auto-focus to the * button (you can reassign exposure lock to the shutter if you like).

Secondly, this is going to work better with an SLR camera than most non-SLR cameras because they tend not to take the photo immediately when you press the shutter button. But give it a try even if you're not sure about yours :)

Thirdly, give yourself some wiggle room by starting off with a broad depth of field. Use a narrow aperture (which means bigger f-numbers: f10 instead of f2), start with wider shots (that means 10mm instead of 70mm), and back up a bit from your subject. All of these things will result in a broader depth of field, which means that you can get a foot or two, instead of an inch or two, in focus at once.

So, here's what you do:

#1 - Find a good angle and watch your child on the swing for a moment. Pick a spot, or general area, on the swing's path where you want to take the photo--one that will give you the photo you want and a nice view of a smiling kid!

#2 - Allow a couple passes of the swing to use either auto-focus or manual focus to get the focus hitting in the right spot. You will have a bit of leeway if you've chosen a spot where you have a couple feet in which to get the shot. Once you've got your focus set somewhere in that area, don't touch your focus again.

#3 - Wait. Keep your eye to the viewfinder (or just watch the screen) and your shutter finger ready. When your child comes into focus, hit the shutter WITHOUT hitting the auto-focus. If you have a camera capable of "rapid fire" continuous shooting you might try that, but I honestly think that your odds of getting the shot are just as good doing it yourself unless you have a really high end camera that can shoot upwards of 10 frames per second. With a bit of practice, you will get used to the timing of your camera... unless it's a totally unpredictable camera.

#4 - Push. Shoot. Repeat. You will have some out of focus shots. In fact, at first, you'll probably have mostly out of focus shots. Keep trying and you'll also get some truly awesome in-focus treasures! The beauty of the swing is that kids are usually happy to be subjected to one more try!

The skills you're developing by doing this will translate well to a lot of other fast-action shooting. You could shoot cars on a track, moving animals, running athletes, and I'm sure much more with the same technique. If what you're shooting doesn't follow a repeating path allowing for a chance at focusing and catching it next time, use your manual focus to set the focus ahead of the subject's current position. When the subject moves into focus, snap the shot.

And if you just can't get it, just capture the moment. The photos below are so far from perfect, but as a series, I love them. I'm pretty sure I'm going to put the three of these in a frame, just like they are here. When I look at them, it just makes me smile. And, really, that's what photos are for, right?

So, play lots, have fun, and don't forget to put the camera down and have a swing yourself once in a while!

Stay Tuned

2009-07-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have so many photos to blog, but I'm just not feeling the blog vibe lately. Y'know? If you have a blog, you must know that once in a while, you just kind of feel like there's nothing in you to say. And, yeah, I know that I'm not supposed to be saying anything here... I'm supposed to be showing pictures.

But I guess I'm a talker at heart because I feel like a post with just pictures is as empty as post without pictures. I'm sure most of you disagree and would prefer that I not writing anything at all. :)

Here's a quick preview of few of the shoots I need to blog still.

Abby's First Birthday

Taya and Bob's Day After

Bob and Steve's Promo Shots

Kristy's Mendhi (her wedding was yesterday and I wasn't shooting it, but I hope it was a great time!!)

So, stay tuned for more from these shoots, and some others as well!

Celebration!

2009-07-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, so I thought I'd liven up the party with some inspiration for all the brides and grooms out there.

How awesome is that?!?
(And sorry if you've already seen it fifty-six times)

What I love about it is that this couple made their wedding their own and did away with some of the silly traditions that don't matter (you don't have to step-together-step down the aisle to Pachelbel to make your marriage legal) so that they could have the day they wanted.

What can you do to make your wedding day your own?

Have a great day :)

why RAW rules

2009-07-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

Photographers have a lot of different opinions about whether to shoot RAW or to shoot JPEG. I personally shoot jpeg some of the time when it's just for me, but when shooting for clients, I always shoot in RAW unless there's some reason not to.

I will admit that about 90% of the time when I'm shooting in RAW, I could be shooting in jpeg and be just as happy with the outcome. In fact, I've considered becoming a jpeg shooter and only shooting in RAW when the situation warrants it. So, I don't want anyone to think I'm being biased when I say that sometimes RAW is the clear winner.

I had a really good example on a recent shoot, so I thought I'd share it. Normally, I meter for faces when shooting. I am not the type of photographer who minds if a little bit of sky or a window, or some of the background is blown out. For anyone who's not familiar with that term, "blown out" means that the image, or that portion of the image, is overexposed to the point that there is no data there at all. It appears pure white.

In this scene, I've use Lightroom's highlight indicator to show where the sky and water are both completely blown out when metering for the subjects (the red bits are blown out).

I used Lightroom 2.0's gradient tool, and a bit of localized adjusting, as well as the recovery slider, to bring back that sky and lake.

I also have this shot done in reverse. I exposed for the sky and lake, and pulled the subjects up in LR using the gradient tool and fill light slider. This worked pretty well, but made for noisy subjects, so to me, it was preferable to get as close to a normal exposure on the subjects as I could without making the sky irrecoverable.

Here's the same shot, converted directly to jpeg, or essentially, what you would have if you used your camera's jpeg quality setting. I pulled this jpeg into Lightroom, but because jpeg's don't save the image the same as RAW does, the data simply isn't there to bring back the sky and lake the way you can with the RAW image.

For the sake of demonstrating this, I've reduced the exposure as far as possible, and used the recovery slider as much as possible, set brightness and contrast to zero. Nothing else has been adjusted.

If RAW processing isn't normally a part of your workflow, you can take that "fixed up" RAW, convert it to jpeg, and edit it as you normally would in your favourite editing program.

For this image, I took it into photoshop, then added a bit of a curve adjustment, and used the "Fresh & Colourful" and "Quick Edge Burn" actions from the Pioneer Woman Action Set 1, which were developed by Doug Boutwell, who is also the Photoshop mastermind behind the very popular Totally Rad Actions.

So, in conclusion, I think it's a really good idea to know when and how RAW can help you get a great shot.

If this is helpful to you at all, or if you have a question about any of it, please let me know!

Some birds lost their home :(

2009-07-12T04:36:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, I didn't lose mine.

I hope everyone else was as lucky as I was. My side of town is pretty torn up, and I know a lot of people have damage, but I hope everyone stayed safe while that storm tore through here yesterday.

This is my first time posting by email so hopefully it works. Is there a picture?
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Jaime and Jessy: Details!

2009-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I shot Jaime and Jessy's wedding. I loved the look of their wedding. Everything was very white and natural, and it just looked beautiful. So I thought instead of doing a regular boring preview post of one image, I'd share some of the little details. I love taking detail shots, and they always end up being some of my favourite images from each wedding, but I don't usually post many because I usually decide that blog readers would probably rather see people shots. So I think I'll start doing a detail post as a preview for all of my weddings!

The other thing I loved about this wedding was that I could have walked to it. All of my weddings so far have been out of town, so one of my favourite moments of the day was when I drove past my house on my way from the ceremony to the reception. I love travelling, and I actually really enjoy going out of town for weddings, but once in a while, it's nice to stay close to home!

I also want to thank Peggy Fleischauer, who came and second shot with me! Thanks so much for your help!

On with some details! I love white bouquets, and I also love lilies, so I was a big fan of Jessy's bouquet.

I think that little touches like these lanterns and bows on the aisles dress up an outdoor wedding nicely.

The lanterns again. I really liked them. (Don't mind the completely out of left field processing. I was trying some different things.)

The getaway car was pretty cool!

The reception was at the Kin Station, and I don't know if I've ever seen it look so good. I've personally never been a fan of huge head tables, mostly because I've sat at a few, and it's just not easy to talk to anyone, and you feel like you're on display or something, so I love the idea of "sweetheard tables" instead. This one is gorgeous, and it has a plus one for Jessy's daughter.

Really pretty table markers. Did I mention I loved all the white and natural colours? I loved it!

Thanks Jessy and Jaime for allowing me to shoot your wedding! I had a great time, and I'm so happy for both of you!

Bonnie and JM: Married!

2009-07-08T04:49:00.000-07:00

"Is it always like this?" Bonnie asked us. She meant all of the last minute things that needed to be done. "There's always last minute stuff," I said, "but it's not always this calm." Five hours before the ceremony, Bonnie had just hand-tied her gorgeous bouquets and made boutonnieres, and was moving on to finishing up table number cards.

JM walked into Bonnie's parents' house and casually said hello to the woman he was going to marry later that day, and then pitched in. An hour later, when Bonnie was in her wedding dress, and ready to rejoin the crowd downstairs, I asked if she wanted to do any kind of special entrance for the first time JM would see her. She said no and headed down the stairs. But it was still special, because it fit who Bonnie and JM are, individually, and as a couple. (And, for the record, JM still beamed when he saw her, even without the grand entrance.)

Bonnie and JM were probably the most relaxed couple I've ever seen, let a lone photographed, on a wedding day. They were the perfect bride and groom: simply happy to be together and to be getting married. They both showed the kind of quiet devotion that makes you sure there will be nothing in life that they can't get through together. They, their families, and their friends, were an absolute pleasure to spend a day with.

As I was trying to choose photos to blog from this wedding, I tweeted that I am so happy to finally be a good enough photographer that it's hard to narrow down my selection for the blog, rather than hard to find enough to post! I really did have a lot that I wanted to share, and I also wanted to try out my new MCP Actions Storyboard actions, so I thought I'd use them to show lots of images without too much scrolling. Don't know if I'll keep doing it this way, but I will say that the MCP Actions actions were super easy to use. Love them, and they will make album design a breeze. I'm definitely going to get some more! (Also, I should note that I DID NOT use the Blog It boards, which would have been even better, but I haven't bought them yet. I definitely think I will!)

Bonnie's dog didn't get to go to the wedding, so we got some pictures with him at her parents' house before we left.

I really love Bonnie's dress, which she got from Taylor's Bridal in Elmira. I also love Taylor's. A couple of my sisters got their dresses there, and it is definitely my favourite bridal shop in the area. They have truly awesome service, a great selection, and the prices seemed very reasonable to me when I was in there.

The "Funniest Moment of the Day" award goes to the one when this guy came up to Bonnie in the street as we arrived in St. Jacobs and asked if he could take her picture, then asked Angela to take his picture with her. I guess he was just excited to see a beautiful bride! People also cheered randomly while we were taking pictures downtown. It was fun!

JM and his men

The following is not an MCP Actions board. I know that because it took me many minutes to do instead of two. So please don't blame Jodi for my poor design skills.

And the day isn't complete without an adorable flower girl!

Some Bonnie details.

Isn't Bonnie's ring just gorgeous? I loved it! And I love the hammered metal look of JM's as well (I have no idea what that's called!).

Some pretty reception details

If you want to see even more form this wedding (believe it or not, despite this post exceeding the normal recommended picture limit, there are more)... check out the slideshow here.

Lots more blogging coming up this week, so stay tuned!

And, please, don't forget to head over to Angela Smith's blog and see some of the shots she did and to check out her other work. Angela did an awesome job second shooting, and she was great company, too! Thanks for coming out, Angela!

Awwww....

2009-07-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

The other day, Bria gave me this letter.

I love that kid!

(And I'll leave it to you to decipher it!)

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Canada Day! We didn't really do much today. The kids slept in until 11:00 today, so I think that was their Canada Day gift to me. They've had a long few days, which ended with going to Goderich to see fireworks last night. We had a great time, and the rain didn't start until right at the very end of the show. The kids loved it!

I tried my hand at photographing fireworks for the first time, and the results were... well... humbling is probably a good word for it.

I hope everyone enjoyed their day!!

Bonnie and JM - Teaser

2009-06-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I shot Bonnie and JM's beautiful and relaxed wedding in Waterloo. Bonnie had a wonderful calm about her, and the day flowed nicely because of it. I'll have a full post up soon, but for today, just a preview.

I also want to thank Angela of Angela Smith Photography from coming out and second shooting with me. Check out Angela's site and her blog!

Thank you Bonnie and JM for making me a part of your wedding day!

Summer Special

2009-06-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

School is out for the summer, and I'm excited for lazy mornings and lots of days with the kids. I'm also excited for Josh, because he gets a break from working ridiculously long, gruelling days doing audio production and teaching music lessons at Selinger's Music, and he gets to just have medium length gruelling days doing audio production. I'm happy for him, but I'm also happy for me, because it means that he wants to spend lots of time with the kids while he can, and I can do weekday shoots!

So, because my time is about to get slightly less precious as the girls will be wanting to spend as much time as they can with Daddy anyway, I'm doing away with my minimum investment for weekday and Sunday shoots during the months of July and August.

If you're familiar with my portrait pricing, you'll know that I got rid of my session fee and implemented a minimum investment of $300 on portrait shoots. From July 1 to August 31, there will be no minimum investment on portrait shoots. You won't pay any money up front!

Oh, and speaking of school being done, my prediction was wrong, and Bria actually asked me to take photos of her on her birthday and last day of junior kindergarten, so here are a few:

New Facebook Page!

2009-06-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

I published a new Facebook page recently, and I want to invite everyone to come check it out, and if you like it, become a fan. I really like the interface of pages as opposed to groups. Beginning July 1, I'll also be running some promotions just for fans, so come join us!

You can also find me at facebook.com/amandastratton, which is my personal page, but the truth is I'm pretty boring. If you want to see just how boring I really am, follow me on twitter at twitter.com/amandastratton.

See you around the net!

Last Day to be Four

2009-06-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Bria's last day to be four. I can't believe how fast time goes by and how quickly everything changes, over and over and over again, when you have kids in your life!

We went out just before bed to do a casual shoot to mark the day, just like we did last year.

When I saw this image on the viewscreen, I knew it was the one to post.

And this is why it was the one. Here's the shot I posted last year.

I don't know how to explain why but that face is just sooo Bria. And I know it may not look like she's changed much this year, but she has! Anyway, I just wanted to post these pictures today because I probably won't get actual birthday photos of her. As I said in a recent post, she doesn't always like the camera and today is her day, so I suspect the camera will stay on the shelf.

Happy 5th Birthday Bria! I love you too much!

Sweeet Straps

2009-06-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

A while ago, my sisters picked up a Sweeet Straps camera strap cover for me while they were at Scrapfest without me. I was immediately intrigued by its cuteness but a bit skeptical as to whether this seemingly simple little accessory would be any match for the rigours of professional shooting.

The Sweeet Straps cover is intended to make your existing strap more comfortable to wear, and the big questions was whether it would make a noticeable difference over the course of a wedding day.

The Sweeet Straps cover was really easy to put on. If anything I thought it slid on too easily, and might have too much space and it would slip around on my strap and I would have to constantly adjust it. It didn't. Even though the opening is large enough to accommodate a strap much wider than my little wee one, it stayed put.

I wore the Sweeet Straps cover to Chad and Jess's wedding. I'm a two-camera shooter at weddings, so I have quite a bit of weight on my shoulders and neck, and in the whirlwind of shooting, my straps often get pulled into weird places where they irritate my neck. I try to keep cameras on my shoulders, but inevitably, one ends up around my neck, which is hugely uncomfortable, and especially because I have sensitive skin.

With the Sweeet Straps cover, I didn't have a problem with it. I should mention at this point that I put the cover on my Canon 1D Mark II, which is a heavy camera. It really made a big difference in the comfort of the strap, and particularly over the course of the day. Usually after a long day of shooting with two bodies at a time, my neck is red and sore from straps rubbing on it all day. Not an issue with the Sweeet Straps cover on there!

I was really impressed by Sweeet Straps, and I think I'm going to invest in more. For starters, I want one that's a bit more subdued for weddings, but I love the one my sisters picked out for portrait sessions!

I do want to make a note to be clear that the Sweeet Straps civer is not, as far as I know, designed to help with weight distribution or anything like that. The STRAP ITSELF is more comfortable, but a heavy camera is a heavy camera, and a long day is a long day, and we should all be taking care of ourselves by trying our best to ensure we're not straining anything!

Click here to check out Sweeet Straps in the Together Create etsy store
or email Michelle about them at togethercreate AT rogers DOT com

Daddies Rock - the Winner

2009-06-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Before I even say who won the free Daddies Rock shoot, I am going to humiliate myself by telling you all that I cried whilst reading every single one of the nominations. I hope that all of the men who were nominated know every day how much they're appreciated for being great Daddies.

And because I like ado, I'm also going to delay announcing the winner by making a different announcement pertaining to both this contest and the Mommies are Awesome contest. You have no idea how hard it was for me to not be able to give every single person nominated a free shoot and a bunch of loot. Everyone who wrote in spoke so wonderfully of the people they love, and I felt absolutely wretched for not being able to give everyone something. So I've decided I will give everyone something.

On August 16 and August 22, I will be running portrait days for all of the people who were nominated in either contest. Each person who wants to take advantage of this will get a free shoot, an online gallery of their images, $50 to spend on prints, and a special rate on prints. I should just be able to fit everyone in across those two days, so I will fill the spots on a first-come first-served basis. It's not as good as the grand prize, because the location will be my choice, and the shoots will be limited in time, but I wanted to give everyone something. If I don't fill all of my sessions with nominees, then I will open them up to nominators as well.

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories with me -- I hope I can help you capture a small piece of that story that you can keep forever.

Drum Roll Please:

While all of the entries that I read were moving, one of the men you talked about stood out to me as someone who needs this photo shoot now. Someone who could use a break in life because he's faced a lot. His story was the kind that makes me feel down-right silly for some of the things I worry about. And his wife and kids have been through an ordeal right alongside him, and they deserve it, too. They deserve an afternoon together, hanging out and having fun and making memories because not only do they know how precious these moments are because of what's already passed, but they know that they're facing even more trials in the future.

I won't share the whole story unless and until I have permission to do so, and instead will only add that I know this family will cherish the moments captured at our session. The winner of the photo shoot, $300 print credit, disk of images, and all that goes with all of that, is Sheila's husband, Rob Schnurr. I can't wait to meet you guys and have some fun with your family!

Once again, thank you to everyone who nominated Daddies that Rock! I will be emailing all of you, and all the mommy nominators, tomorrow about the shoots in August.

Have a Fabulous Father's Day!

Photorapher's Kid Syndrome

2009-06-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my daughter Bria's Kindergarten class trip. I asked her in the morning if she wanted me to bring my camera and she said "Yes." Then she said "Does your phone have a camera?" and I said "Yes." And she said "Just bring that. Just bring your phone." "You don't want me to bring my real camera?" "No, just bring your phone."

See, my daughter has a recurring case of what is sometimes called Photographer's Kid Syndrome. The symptoms are a strong aversion to being in front of the camera and pained sighing and moaning at the mere sight of the camera. I'm fortunate in that Bria has frequent periods of remission, where you might not even know she has Photographer's Kid Syndrome at all. She looks and acts just like a normal child a lot of the time. But relapses can come at the most inconvenient of times, especially those special moments that a mom really wants to capture.

But that makes perfect sense if you ask me. What you have to understand is that Bria has probably spent a sum of hours being directed into good light, being asked to just hold on while I try one more, being plead with to just please please wait for a few minutes while mommy takes some pictures. So when a special day comes along for us to spend together, she wants to spend it with me, not with my camera.

So, the short story is that I didn't take my camera. But I did take my new BlackBerry Storm. The camera on the BlackBerry Storm is ridiculously slow, but I suppose it probably takes as good a picture as most phones do!

So, without further ado, here are a few photos from my BlackBerry of our class trip. We went to the Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory, then to the Lions Lagoon Splash Park in Waterloo.

Wings of Paradise was actually cooler than I thought it would be. And the butterflies were pretty.

One of the coolest things was seeing the butterflies at various stages of emergence from their chrysalides. It was pretty amazing.

Here's my own little bug at the splash park. It was a really great splash park, and would definitely be worth the drive to Waterloo from Listowel again!

And here she is trapped on the bus. No, she's not actually trapped. I tried to get a picture of her on the bus since she really doesn't go on the bus much, but this was the best I could do. I kinda like it.

Get in the Loop

2009-06-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

I've got some cool things coming up this summer. Here's some of it:

I have at least one more contest to announce that I think will be awesome!
I have some specials that I'll be running throughout the year, starting with the first of July.
From time to time, I'll be offering last minute booking specials when I have free days to fill up. These will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis. so if you want to grab one, you'll want to be getting updates!
I have a migration to a new website and blog coming up ASAP.

So, if you want to stay in the loop about all of the things coming up, sign on for updates! I've set up a form, using wufoo, which is an awesome little form-making tool, to get your info.

Click here to go to the form and get signed up for updates!

While you're here, I also want to remind people that the Daddies Rock contest closes for submissions at the end of this week. So get them in! I am loving the entries I've had so far!!

And since I didn't include a photo with the original post, here's one of my girls' daddy.

I don't have too many photos of my Dad, but maybe we'll fix that soon!

A Little More Vegas

2009-06-13T21:30:00.001-07:00

If there's one thing Vegas is not about, it's minimalism. The utter effluence of it all, while maybe slightly off-putting in principle, is crazy fantastic in reality. But in all of that grandeur, there are some beautiful, weird, and wonderful sights to see. Here are a few more shots from our tours of hotels. You could spend a full day just checking out the lobbies alone of all the hotels in Vegas. Here are a few favourite shots:

The Luxor, already a giant pyramid, is even more awesome with this whole 'Beaming to the Mothership' vibe going on. Very cool. This by the way, was our neighbour :)

Now, if you weren't impressed by the Bellagio's world famous water fountain show, or their lobby ceiling decorated with gigantic glass flowers from my last post, well then I guess you probably won't much care about this technicolor ferris wheel they had inside, either.

Or maybe flowers just aren't your favourite thing to see on a hotel ceiling. How about a colourful array of variously-sized umbrellas suspended above a waterfall? This was inside the Venetian.

Also, inside the Venetian. Hey, it's Venice! There was also really great shopping in the Venetian. And by that I mean, I couldn't afford anything in sight, but it was all oh-so-pretty to look at ;)

And if you're already in Italy, you may as well just pop over to Paris:)

The hotels are simply AMAZING to see. I don't care how many "Vegas on the Cheap" guides say to stay off the Strip and save some money, don't do it! Do anything BUT stay off the Strip. Honestly, the hotels ARE the sights in Vegas, so do yourself a favour, and soak one up really well! I'll soon be blogging about our hotel, which was phenomenal.

Tip Tuesday #9: EXIF

2009-06-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever taken a really great shot, and wondered later, Now how did I do that?

One of the great things about digital is that is records the camera settings and other relevant information, like time and date, for each photo. This is called the exchangeable image file, or more commonly, the EXIF. It's sort of attached to the jpegs or RAWs that come out of your camera.

How to find it
If you have a favourite photo editing/viewing program, check the manual or help file to see how to view your exif information. If it doesn't reference EXIF specifically, look for the term metadata - pretty much the same thing.

You can also get handy tools called Exif Readers that can be used to view the information while browsing your file folders, or as a plug-in to various internet browsers. I use IExif by Opanda. It's free, and it's a matter of right-clicking on an image and choosing to view the exif information, either in Windows Explorer or in Firefox. I don't think it's compatible with Macs, but a quick google search will likely turn up several that are.

Anywho, here's what you can see when you use it:

So you can see that you can check all of your settings for any given photo. Even cameras that don't allow you to change much in the way of settings record all this information.

Why should you care?
Even if you're not "into photography" per se, you might be interested to know that the exif contains the timsestamp for your images. Which means, for one, that you can get rid of the orange date and time printed on your photos. I have also seen Windows mess up the "Date created" and "Date modified" info it displays, giving inaccurate dates. The exif, however, remains in tact, and you can get the proper date from there. This might be handy if, say for example, your two daughters look remarkably alike and the only way you can tell whose baby picture you're looking at is by the date. I'm not saying that's happened to me... pfft... I can tell my kids apart... whatever.

If you are "into photography" per se, then as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, you can review the exif to check the settings on great shots so that you can recreate the same effects. More useful than that, though, is that you can use it to better understand the effect of all the different settings, and the nuances of your particular gear, so that you can plan those great shots more effectively. If you make a habit of really really paying attention to the exif information as you review your shots, over time you'll be able to predict the outcome of your shots better. Make a habit of paying close attention to the setting while you're taking the photos, as opposed to just getting the meter marker in the right spot, and you'll learn even faster.

You can also use the exif file and/or IPTC to ensure that your name is attached to the file as the creator and copyright owner.

IF YOU ARE "INTO PHOTOGRAPHY" PER SE:
Drop me a line if you're a photographer and you want to hang out with some other photographers on Monday June 15 in KW. Nothing intense - just drinks and chatting and whatnot. Shoot me an email at randomaddy@livingproofphotography.ca

Jonathan and Megan: Engaged!

2009-06-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

We had originally planned to do Megan and Jonathan's engagement session in Stratford, and I love Stratford and it's beautiful. But when I met up with them in town and Megan asked if we could go to the beach in Goderich instead, I was really excited. I love the beach in Goderich at any time, but for our evening shoot, it was even better, because the sun sets on Lake Huron and is just stunning.

The thing that made this location truly perfect, though, is that it's also where Jonathan and Megan went on their first date. And, is there such a thing as perfecter? Because they spent their first date at this very beach, enjoying a sunset just like this one. I was so happy that Megan asked to do their engagement shoot here, at a place that had meaning to their relationship and held great memories for them.

I had a great time with Megan and Jonathan. They were up for trying lots of different spots and ideas, and they oozed affection for each other, which certainly makes my job a little easier ;) Thank you guys for a truly awesome evening getting to know you both better, and for dinner afterward. That was so sweet of you!

Fellow beach-goers will recognize the road leading to Rotary Cove, one of three beaches strung together in Goderich. (note: it is the best beach to take kids to!)

Isn't Megan's ring gorgeous?

Again, anyone who's been there will recognize the largest salt mine in the world in the background. I wanted to get at least one shot with the salt mines there to distinguish this beach from any other beach.

We made it to the spot where Megan and Jonathan sat to enjoy the sunset on their first date just in time to catch the sunset.

A different take on the same sort of shot from the teaser post:

Once the sun had set, Megan wanted shots of them in the water before we left. Jonathan wasn't so keen, but he was a good sport about it :)

Megan and Jonathan - I can't wait for your wedding!!

All Cropped Out

2009-06-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, indeed, I'm blogging at five minutes to twelve to get my three in because today was the Crop for the Cure, and I just got home.

I want to send a HUGE thank you to my sister, Tracey, and my mom, because they did the vast majority of the work involved while the rest of us kinda sat on our butts and watched for the past several months.

And all of their work paid off because the Crop was a huge success and we raised lots of money for the CIBC Run for the Cure, which ultimately benefits the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. If you are not registered yet for the Run for the Cure, check it out and think about it. It's fun, it doesn't take long, and it's for a great cause.

I know that Tracey will be providing all the relevant info on her blog, so I really just wanted to thank her and my mom here, and point you over there. And of course, I want to extend my personal thanks to the people who have attended and shown us great support for the past three years. Without them, it wouldn't be much of a crop. Really. It would just be us sitting in an empty room. And that doesn't raise much money. So thanks!!

Daddies Rock, Too

2009-06-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

I'm giving away another shoot! This one is for Father's Day!

And this contest is going to be a little different. For the Mommies contest, the Mommy was allowed to choose any kind of portrait session, but because I know that so many families don't have many good photos of their Daddies, this time Dad doesn't get to choose. Why? Because I've come to realize that most men would choose, if they could, not to be photographed. I don't know what it is, but men just seem to be very uncomfortable staring down the barrel of a lens.

So let me know why you want your dad, or the father of your children, or just a great dad you know to be caught on film! Send your email to DadsRock@livingproofphotography.ca. You have until June 18 at 11:55 PM to submit your entries, and the winner will be announced on June 20, 2009.

The only rules are 1) You have to nominate a father, 2) The shoot has to take place in Southwestern Ontario, and 3) Have fun!

I'm looking forward to reading everyone's entries and letting you know who will get the free shoot, slideshow set to music, DVD of images, and $300 print credit.

And once again, by the way, the person who nominates the winner will receive a free shoot and a $100 print credit. So get nominating!!

Chad and Jess: Married!

2009-06-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

The thing I will remember most about Chad and Jess is how much they held hands throughout the day. Whenever they were within arms reach of each other, they held hands. And it was always a fluid motion, an easy connection; never an awkward tangle or a hindrance. They just looked like they belonged together, whatever they were doing. And I don't doubt for a moment that fifty years from now, you will be able to find Chad and Jess sitting together, holding hands and making each other smile, just like they did at their wedding.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding, and a gorgeous day for pictures. My friend Alan Nielsen, of Nine Live Photography, spent the day second shooting with me, and we both had a great time with Chad and Jess's family and friends. Thanks once again to Alan for the great job he did!

Here are a few more of my favourite shots, and I'll have a slideshow coming soon!

After the ceremony, we went to Mono Cliffs for a few pictures. This is also where we shot Chad and Jess's engagement session, and where they got engaged.

Then we headed to their reception venue, Mono Centre, which had beautiful grounds and scenery. It was a beautiful spot for the reception, and we grabbed a few more shots there before the party got started.

I love doing detail shots of all the elements of the wedding, especially the little things that couples (Okay, I think mostly brides) put so much thought into in order to make the day come together.

Isn't this cake amazing? Not to mention the adorable cup cakes.

And, one last picture, that I've been having trouble deciding whether I like. Any thoughts?

Chad and Jess - Thank you so much for making me a part of your day. I had a wonderful time, and I truly hope to meet up with you guys again!

Meaghan and Jonathan

2009-05-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I spelled at least one of their names wrong (I'm sorry, guys!!), but today's teaser is from Meaghan and Jonathan's engagement shoot. More photos and more about this fun shoot coming up soon!

I will be back next week with full posts for all my teasers!

Chad and Jess: Teaser

2009-05-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

I know, all I do is teasers. Here is one from Chad and Jess's weddings, which was an awesome day last Saturday. Chad and Jess were one of the first couples to book me for their wedding, and I had an awesome time at their engagement session and at their wedding.

I also want to thank my awesome second shooter, Alan Nielson, from Nine Live Photography. Check out his site to see how he showed me up by already posting five images to my one!

More to come from this wedding soon!

Vegas Teaser

2009-05-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since I've blogged. I've been so crazily busy. I really did intend to blog from Vegas, but my laptop was giving me a lot of trouble, so I didn't. And as some indication of how busy I've been since then, I hope to unpack my suitcase today, and I've been home for a week. On the plus side, I have Vegas, a wedding, an engagement shoot, and a few other things on my must-blog list. I just need to get to it.

Here are a couple of shots from our last night in Vegas, when we hit the strip to see some of those famous sights.

This first one is what the Bellagio is famous for:

And this one is what I will remember the Bellagio for - these awesome glass flowers suspended from the ceiling and backlit so they sorta glowed. Crazy cool.

Viva Las Vegas

2009-05-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

In the morning I leave for Las Vegas with my sister, Jenn. Well, that is if you can really call it morning. We have to leave her house at an hour which I would normally refer to as the last hour of night. But for the sake of denying that I am wiped right out, we'll call it morning.

This week has been insanely busy for me, and I didn't get done all the things I should have. Like packing. I didn't pack. I don't even know if I have clothes suitable for Las Vegas. I wonder if they have a Steve and Barry's in Las Vegas. I could afford some new clothes there, and that would save me packing.

I also didn't get Bria's lunches ready, set out outfits for the girls for each day I'll be gone, or transfer some episodes of something good to my MP3 player for the plane ride. Nope. Didn't do any of it. Probably won't now. And I'm okay with that, because, hey, I'll be in Vegas, and none of those things will really be my problem, except the last, and I'm so tired, I'm sure I'll just sleep on the plane anyway.

I've never been to Vegas before and I can't wait to see it. I'm going to try to blog from Vegas, but I will be busy devouring as much of the city as I can over the next four days, so I make no apologies if I don't.

I love cities so much. I've never met a city I didn't like. When I was a kid I sort of resented living out in the country because I so wished to live nearer to museums, art galleries, quaint little coffee houses, and probably even casinos. It's funny, now that I've grown up, my parents' house is one of my favourite places to be. I miss the peacefulness, the privacy, gravel roads, and long grass. Fortunately for me, I can still go home whenever I want to. In fact, we were just out there a couple of days ago, and I grabbed this shot of Bria, and my niece Eden in the back yard.

If I ever had to choose, I really don't know whether I'd say I prefer the bright lights of a big city or the starry nights of a country home. I guess it's a good thing I can keep taking little bites of each.

no such thing as competition

2009-05-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

You know when you meet someone for the first time, and you just like them right away? That's one of my favourite things to have happen, and, lucky for me, it happened today!

I went to Waterloo this afternoon to hang out with Hilary, who I've exchanged emails with but never met in person until today. We had a great few hours together, chatting about work and life. She was funny, kind, and great to hang out with. And even though she insisted that she's as chatty as I am, I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was holding back and I could chat her under the table any day of the week. ;)

And she's a photographer. She's a photographer roughly in my geographical market. She's a photographer roughly in my geographical market who shoots families and children, just like I do. Thankfully, she's all those things and also someone who sees other photographers just like I do: as pre-qualified-interest-sharing friends and not as competition.

Hilary launched One for the Wall Photography (how awesome is that business name anyway?) this past winter and is already busy tackling her first Spring shooting season as a professional photographer. Hilary's work is Fantastic (with a capital 'F'), and I would never have guessed that she's just begun her career in professional photography. Can you imagine where she's going to be in a few years? I'm looking forward to seeing it!

So go on over, and follow her blog!

And since it's become my habit to append a completely unrelated photo to each of my posts, I leave you with a series of outtakes entitled "Two Little Balls of Sunshine Loving on Each Other"

Cute, huh?

Spring Done Sprung

2009-05-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy lately that I have to admit I haven't been spending much real quality time with the kids. This past week, they mostly play while I work. So Friday after school, before the kids went to their dad's place, it was a welcome change to spend some time outside in the yard. It was a beautiful day, and I had a great time watching them discover all the new things that Spring has delivered. Kids are so in awe of the world around them--so fascinated and so full of questions about every little thing. It really makes you appreciate the simple things a lot more :)

I brought my camera out and had some adventures in extremely shallow DOF with my Canon 50 1.4 and a cheap set of macro tubes. Here's our afternoon - in extreme close-up!

The girls love watering the plants. We try not to waste water around here by watering the lawn, but I let them water the flower beds... probably too much.

Old Maple Tree and New Maple Tree

Random gardeny goodness.

I'm actually not a huge fan of the smell of flowers except for tulips. Tulips are my favourite flowers. I wish they grew all year.

One of the great joys of Spring for mommies is Dandelion Bouquets. The kids pick me a fresh one almost every day!

On an unrelated note, I wanted to let all the photographers (pros and enthusiasts alike) who also love to travel know that my friend* Bobby Earle officially opened up the Raddest Photo Trip Ever for bookings today. This is a trip to Southeast Asia guided by Bobby and his wife, who have travelled there extensively (and I think even lived in parts of Asia) and are also stellar photographers. So you get a guided tour from someone who knows what he's doing, and lots of along-the-way photography tips from... well, someone who knows what he's doing.

*Yes, by friend, I mean person I know from online who I've never met in real life. But I'm pretty sure he's a real person.

It's Monday

2009-05-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

How was your weekend?

My weekend was packed with photo-editing mostly, but I took a couple breaks. One was to go see Norwell D.S.S.'s musical production of Anne and Gilbert. I don't think I've seen any highscool theatre since I was in high school, and I really enjoyed it. It was really well done and very entertaining. It's done it's run, though, so you'll have to catch the next production they do!

My niece Rielly was a member of the cast and she did an awesome job! I took a few quick snaps of her on stage. Here's one:

What did you guys do this weekend?

Drum Roll Please

2009-05-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Before I announce who was selected as the winner of a free shoot, slideshow, disk of images, and $300 print credit, let me just say that after reading the nominations, I really wished that I could give this to every single one of the people nominated.

It was wonderful to read about these amazing mommies and to know that someone recognizes and appreciates what they are doing every day. The votes were spread out quite a bit because all of the nominations told stories about wonderful mothers.

The nomination that received the most votes was the one submitted by Heather. Heather nominated herself, and it was very clear that she would really, truly appreciate the photo shoot.

However, Heather's nomination presented one problem, and it is the reason that I've announced the winner late, as I was trying to decide what to do. Heather nominated herself, which leaves the nominator's free shoot and $100 credit unused. In the end, I decided that I would award that shoot to the person who received the second greatest number of votes.

So, Pam's step-mom will also receive a free shoot and $100 print credit!

As I said, I wished I could have given a shoot to every person nominated (and even to the people who nominated them). Thanks so much to everyone for your nominations!

Happy Mother's Day!!

P.S. I forgot to introduce my panel of international judges and awesome photographers:
For Canada: Curt O'Neil
For the United States: John Lo
For the UK: Simon Revill
For Australia: Kristin Anderson

Thanks, guys!
(And, no, I didn't actually set out to find someone from each of those countries, it just worked out that the people who so generously volunteered were each from a different country)

Homes and Lifestyles

2009-05-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

The 10th Annual North Perth Chamber of Commerce Home and Lifestyles Show is coming up this weekend, and I just got an email that the coolest thing I've heard of lately will be there. Skate 365 will be at the party with their synthetic ice that acts just like the real thing but DOESN'T NEED TO BE COLD! How freaking cool is that? Well, it's not cool... it's warm... I guess that's the point. So bring your skates! I'm taking mine.

There will also be a host of other presenters there, with all the latest and greatest in everything from makeup to tools and all points between. Check out the North Perth Chamber of Commerce website to get more info.

Incidentally, the Home and Lifestyles Show also won an award from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce recently for being innovative in the way it serves the community. So come check it out. Eat, skate, see stuff, and be merry!

The Home and Lifestyles Show will be open at the Listowel Memorial Arena on Saturday from 9 AM - 4 PM and on Sunday from 10 AM - 4 PM. And the admission is a measly $2, unless you're under 12, and then it's free!

Oh, and since it's Mother's Day weekend, the first hundred mothers to come through the door get a little something extra, so come early!

On a completely unrelated note, the Mommies are Awesome Contest has closed. Thank you for your submissions, and I'll be back later today to announce the lucky winner!

Hey, wanna see a random photo from my collection? This one's from NYC:

Have a good Friday!

You Gotta Be In It

2009-05-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

There are only a few days left to nominate great mommies in my Mommies are Awesome contest. The winner will be announced on my blog on May 8th, and nominations will be accepted until 11:59 PM on May 7th.

The winner will receive about $1000 worth of photographic stuff, and some other things to make their day as wonderful as they deserve. The person who nominates the winner will also get a free shoot and print credit.

So get your nominations in!

P.S. I have emailed to confirm all the nominations I've received. If you didn't receive an email from me within the last 24 hours saying that I received it, then... well, I didn't receive it. I will reply as soon as possible to confirm nominations received in the next few days, so if you don't get an email back from me, please give me a call (519.342.3852) and we'll get it sorted.

If email doesn't work for you, give me a call and we can arrange for you to drop something off to me in person. Looking forward to reading all the nominations!

RE: CHOOSING A WINNER
I won't be choosing the winner myself. I've enlisted the help of some non-local friends to help me pick the most deserving of the bunch, just to keep things as fair as possible, since I know some of the nominators and nominees personally.

And since yesterday's post had an unrelated shot of Rissa, today's has an unrelated shot of Bria that I took during a great walk we had with my mom on Sunday. She just sounded it out and realized it says Fresh Cake. She was surprised.

Monday Won-Day

2009-05-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Don't worry -- I'm not going to make all of this week's titles rhyming like I made all of last week's titles alliterative. Well, I might, but I have no firm plans yet.

Today I'm very excited because I finished in third place in the MCP Actions gallery wrap canvas contest, which means that I get a 16x20 canvas of the shot that I submitted to the contest! I can't wait to hang it on my wall!

From a professional perspective, I'm also really interested to see the quality of the Color Inc. canvas. I've never seen one from them before, but Jodi at MCP Actions had great things to say about them, so I'm excited. I love that they finish it nicely on the back. Maybe they'll be my new canvas supplier.

I want to really truly thank all the blog readers who voted for my image. It means a lot to me to have this canvas of my girls. I love that photo, and I think in years to come, the girls will love it, too. It's a perfect representation of their relationship right now.

And, of course, I want to thank Jodi at MCP Actions for running the contest. I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into her blog to make it such a valuable resource for photographers. And there are lots of contests over there, with the coolest prizes, so really, get on over there and check it out! Go win some stuff for yourself!

Here's a snapshot from today. I call it "Marissa + Chocolate Chips = THIS!" and it's oddly reminiscent of "Marissa + Cake = THIS!"

Sweet Stuff Saturday

2009-05-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

I try to be socially responsible as much as I can. But I will admit that I don't go to any special pains to make sure that I am when it comes to grocery shopping. But President's Choice Fair Trade coffee happened to come out at a time when I was searching for the perfect roast for making coffee at home, and it happened to also be reasonably priced, and the product of a Canadian company.

So I went for it, and it was hands down, the best home-brew percolator coffee ever that was. I had been trying coffee after coffee, trying to find one that tasted like I wanted it to, and President's Choice Fair Trade coffee turned out to be it.

I never thought much about it being fair trade, and to be honest, I kind of filed that under "silly marketing ploy" in my mental list of product characteristics.

Then about a month or so ago, I noticed President's Choice Fair Trade bananas. Tucked in there between the organic bananas and the pears. All the regular 79 cents a pound bananas were very green. All the organic 89 cents a pound bananas were very brown. The Fair Trade 89 cents a pound bananas were just right. So I bought them.

Immediately, you have to notice they're bigger. Why? I have no idea. Secondly, you notice they're easier to peel. Why? I have no idea. Thirdly, you notice they're kind of yellowy. Why? Again, no idea, but I suspect the root cause is also the root cause of the amazing taste.

My four year old said they taste like honey. She now insists on "honey bananas" all the time, and gets upset with me if I come home with the regular kind. Honestly - it's like a whole new fruit you never even tasted before. It was like until that day, I had never really had a banana, you know? Like when you're a teenager and you think you've been in love, but then you really fall in love, and you feel like a dumbass for having thought you were in love before, because obviously that wasn't love, because THESE are the real bananas. Oh, that went a little awry, but you know what I mean.

So, you'd think that when I noticed the Fair Trade grapes, I would have been expecting the out-of-this-world-mind-blowing-oh-my-gosh-you-have-to-taste-these-grapes experience. But I was still surprised. They were freaking fantastic. And at fifty cents less per pound than the other grapes, one pack of them balances out the extra I spend on five pounds of bananas.

So I needed to talk about this. I wanted my post to be about doing the socially responsible thing and buying Fair Trade, but meh... they don't need a silly marketing ploy, because the products are the real deal.

I have no idea why they taste better - they just do.
Can you taste equity? Does it taste like honey?

Things I Thought on Thursday

2009-04-30T10:02:00.001-07:00

I intended to post these on Thursday, but I watched a movie instead, so now it's a recap.

A) Alliteration - I think all my posts this week will have alliterative titles.

B) Bleach - Clorox Bleach pens are my new favourite thing ever. They're like a Tide to Go pen, but with gooey bleach-times-ten insides. My kids have a fair amount of white clothes, and the Clorox Bleach pen helps us keep our whites their whitest.

C) Chocolate - As if a chocolate muffin from Zehrs has 500 calories! What?!? No more chocolate muffins for me...

D) Danny Gokey - I thought Danny should have been the one to go home this week. I didn't think Matt Giraud or Kris Allen should have been in the bottom three. Allison was great, though. Something about Adam reminds me of Bono.

E) Eccentric English teachers - One of my particularly eccentric English teachers once said the worst thing you can wish for someone is that they'll never change. So true. Don't you hate when people act like you never changed? Come on, people, get with the times!

F) Film - I've been having fun with film lately because I bought Zehrs out of every roll of $0.99 expired 200 ISO colour film they had. Let me know if you see more!

G) Genius - Love really is the only thing there's just too little of. Good call, Hal David.

Believe it or not, I wrote all those points, including the first one, in that order, before I realized I could coordinate them alliteratively with the reference letter. Sometimes life just gives you the lemonade, doesn't it?

Miscellaneous Monday

2009-04-27T10:42:00.001-07:00

First of all, I am entirely shamelessly plugging the fact that I'm a finalist in the MCP Actions and Color Inc. canvas contest. I would so appreciate if people would mosey on over there and vote for their favourites as the winner will be decided by vote. If you happen to think my shot would be one of the best canvases, then I even extra appreciate it with a cherry on top!

Here's a link to the MCP Actions Blog where you can vote:
http://mcpactions.com/blog/2009/04/27/gallerywrap-vote/

Secondly, there is only a couple weeks left to nominate your favourite mommies in my Mommies are Awesome contest. The winner of the contest will receive about $1000 worth of photographic goodies, and a couple other little treats, too.

I have also had people mention to me that they know someone who is a good mom, but "she hasn't really been through anything." So I just wanted to make it clear that the winner will not be chosen based on who has been through the worst trials and tribulations. I do think that staying strong and being a good parent or member of a community through adversity is one way to be an awesome mommy, but there are certainly others! So please nominate ALL the awesome mommies you know, including yourself!

Thirdly, I loved the power outage today! That is not to be confused with the power outage on Saturday that halted dance photos with only one group left to do. No, no, I liked the one that happened today, because warning is nice! We spent the time outside and went for a walk and saw that so many more people than usual were outside enjoying the day as well. I know that the beautiful weather probably encouraged that as well, but I think the power outage helped, too. Josh and I were saying that they should just do this every few weeks for the rest of the summer. But for longer! I hope everyone else had a good afternoon, too!

Finally, because a post without a picture is like a night without stars, I'm going to close out with a few pictures from last year at Goderich beach. I love the beach, and the temperatures today had me wishing I had headed that way. Something about sand under your feet just makes time not count, I think.

BTW - Josh took the first two shots (I'm in them!) and I think I took the last one, but that might have been Josh, too. He doesn't read my blog so he'll never know... just kidding.

Dance Magic

2009-04-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today was Recital Picture Day at the Listowel School of Dance!

It was a busy day, but lots of fun, and we were almost done when the thunderstorm hit and knocked the hydro out. Almost.

The studnets, teachers, and parents have been working hard all year to prepare for the recital, and they looked great today in their costumes! I didn't get permission to share anything else, so all I'll show you is Bria's pictures. Isn't that an adorable zebra costume?

There will be two performances of Jungle Book next month, on Saturday May 23 and Sunday May 24, both at LDSS. Everyone is invited to attend!

Juxtaposition

2009-04-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school, when studying a piece of literature, one of my favourite elements to discuss in an essay was juxtaposition. I just liked the word mostly, and you can usually find a way to use it, because good writers, like good musicians (or maybe even photographers), realize that disparity creates messages. The difference between two notes, not either of the notes on its own, tells a story. The contrast between the smooth lull of one line of poetry and the stuttered cacophony of the next is a beauty all its own. So there was usually always some way to work some meaningful juxtaposition of disparate ideas or images into an essay, or even a short paragraph answer. And I think the teachers gave extra points for using the word correctly.

As I've transitioned into tertiary studies, however, I've found that they're much less impressed by it. Still, it's remained something I look for. Not just in literature, but in life. I find (completely accidental) poetic uses of juxtaposition in the world around me all the time.

And then sometimes, like today, I find something that makes me say, "What were they thinking? Do they give no consideration to juxtaposition?!?!"

Such was the case when I was driving home from Toronto today, and upon approaching Ontario Place, I saw this:

I will say nothing of the fact that the logo for Ontario Place makes it look like some kind of tobacco commission or racetrack or something (doesn't it? it does to me). But then they go and stick this billboard there underneath it. The man seems angry, or possibly just fatally disappointed with life in general.

And the thing is that as traffic crept along the Gardner, for several minutes, this was all I could see of Ontario Place. It's tobacco/racetrack logo and this angry man staring me down. I gotta say, it didn't make me want to go to Ontario Place.

So maybe it's my unusual hyper-awareness of odd juxtapositions in life, but I couldn't help but think that maybe Ontario Place should have held out for a different advertiser for this, one of only two such billboards visible from the expressway. Surely, some company dealing in fun or puppies or rainbows could use the prime advertising space.

PS & FYI:
On a "Yay! Ontario!!" note, the Cosmetic Pesticide Ban - one of the strictest in the world - came into effect yesterday, on Earth Day. Yay, Ontario!!

Another MCP Actions Contest

2009-04-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I already won one contest from Jodi at MCP Actions, and I so don't even a little bit deserve to win another, and therefore should not even enter it because it makes me seem greedy, but how do you pass up even a chance at a free canvas?

You don't.

So get yourself over to the MCP Actions blog and enter your own fabulous shot in the contest to win a free canvas from Color Inc. If you are a photographer or aspiring photographer and you're not reading the MCP Actions blog, you're missing out. It's easily my favourite blog about the technical side of photography. The wonderful part is that Jodi, who is the brains behind it all, makes the technical side seem simple. And her Photoshop actions make it much easier, too. So check them out!!

And you don't have to be a professional photographer to enter this contest. If you have a shot that you think would make a great canvas, then enter it! Go on. Do it.

Oh, wait, first check out the shot I'm entering:

Official bit: I am entering this photo in the MCP Actions/Color Inc. Win a Gallery Wrap Canvas Photo Contest at http://mcpactions.com/blog. I certify that I took this photo and give both parties permission to use this photograph on their blogs/sites.

I chose this shot because I've been dying to get it as a canvas pretty much since I shot it. I have a whole vision for my family room wall, and a big old canvas of this is the keystone of the whole thing. So, if I don't win, I'll be saving my pennies up for it anyway.

Now hurry - the contest closes April 23rd, so get at it!! Click here to go to the contest post at MCP Actions

TIp Tuesday #8: Feeling Overwhelmed?

2009-04-17T18:51:00.001-07:00

Don't worry - I do plan to go back to the indoor lighting stuff! I've been really busy cramming for exams and have been neglecting my blog duties.

I wanted to do a Tip Tuesday, though, that is really something of an interjection, but a very important one.

All of these elements of shooting can be very overwhelming if you're tackling it all at once. If you are referring to a cue card of things to consider each time you raise the camera to your eye, then you will feel overwhelmed. You simply cannot shoot effectively while you have to consciously consider all of exposure, noise, depth of field, motion blur, metering modes, white balance, exposure compensation, highlight and shadow detail, composition, perspective, focus points, etc, etc, and especially not if you aren't yet 100% sure of what any of those things entail.

So pick one thing. One thing for this week, or two weeks, or month, or as long as it takes until it becomes internalized. And it will, and you won't even realize it. But one day you will say "Hey, I never even have to think about moving my focus point anymore--I just do it!" and you will be able to cross that off of your cue card of things to actively consider because it will just happen.

I remember once upon a time when my one thing that I was focusing on was making sure that I checked my ISO a lot. Any time I was taking or thinking about photos, I would remind myself, "Check your ISO." I gave myself permission to let everything else go on auto-pilot (or just not be considerd - YES, that's okay, too, while you're learning) and have that be the one thing I would think about. And it worked. Now I check my ISO, and adjust it accordingly, all the time without even thinking about it.

At other times, it's been "Check your Shutter Speed", "Where are your focus points?", "DON'T TILT THE CAMERA, DON'T TILT THE CAMERA, DON'T TILT THE CAMERA" (It took a while to cure myself of tilt syndrome), "Is this the right focal length for this shot?" and currently, "What metering mode should I use?"

Doesn't my current one seem like a weird thing to just now be focusing my attention on? I think it probably is, and it's not that I didn't take time to understand metering modes a long time ago. The point of this exercise isn't to understand something - it's to make it second nature. I want choosing the right metering mode to become something that just happens. I want my fingers to just do it before I even notice my brain thought about it.

And if you don't believe that's possible, just ask anyone whose camera I've ever used and they'll tell you that my fingers do a lot of things without my brain even noticing. I don't even realize that I've changed ISOs, focus points, even shooting modes on people's cameras until they pick it up again and say "What did you do to my camera?"

I would love to hear if anybody decides to try this, how it works for you. I just wanted to share it because this is what has worked for me over and over, and continues to work for me.

For now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go celebrate finishing another course at school with some Ben & Jerry's, because it was on sale this week and I haven't had Half Baked in years. And yes, that is a spoon right there in the bucket, because I'm home alone and I can do that if I want to, which I do.

Casey & Greg

2009-04-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

A swarm of people rushed Greg inside the little chapel where Greg and Casey had decided to have their first look at each other on their wedding day. Casey had arrived, and was about to get out of the car. Greg stood hidden in a corner, surrounded by groomsmen, and Casey stood ten feet away in the entry way, surrounded by bridesmaids. When she turned the corner, Greg's face lit up. Everyone in the room was smiling, some of them through tears. The unrefined joy was nearly palpable. In that moment, it was clear that Casey and Greg aren't just two people with love between them; they're two people surrounded by love.

Through the photos, the ceremony, and the reception, it only became more obvious that every single person in attendance was simply and without condition, happy for them. It was a beautiful day that absolutely overflowed with love and support, just the way a wedding should.

Thank you, Greg and Casey, for making me part of your wedding day. I was honoured to be able to capture it, and spend time with your families, who are some of the friendliest, warmest people I've ever met. Best of everything to all of you!

* * *

We started the day off at The Dufferin Country Museum. It has very unique indoor locations, and beautiful grounds with lots of photo opportunities as well. Greg and Casey had their first look here, and then we did family and bridal party photos. This was the first time I've done the photos this way at a wedding, and it was great. Not only did it mean that guests didn't have to wait after the ceremony while pictures were done, everyone got to go relax for a bit in between photos and the ceremony.

Their intimate, candle-lit ceremony and their fun-and-laughter-filled reception both took place at the gorgeous Monora Park Pavilion. It's a hidden gem that you'll probably have to get directions from someone local to find. But it's worth asking!

* * *

Thanks again to Casey and Greg! See you soon!

Google Reader

2009-04-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

This is mostly for my mom, but also for anyone else who needs a good feed reader and isn't sure what to do. Fairly often people tell me that they couldn't figure out how to subscribe to my blog, so here goes:

I love Google Reader. I'm sure there are others worthy of recommendation, but I use Google Reader and can personally attest to its awesomeness, and so I do.

If you click on the link at the bottom of my page that says "Subscribe blah, blah, blah", it will take you to the URL for my blog feed. That alone doesn't get you subscribed. Next, you need to put that URL into a feed reader.

So that's where Google Reader comes in.

1/ Get set up on Google Reader
Go to www.google.com/reader.
You may already have a Google account--you will if you use Blogger, Gmail, Google Analytics, Google Calendar, Google Alerts, or if you've signed yourself into the Googleverse in some other way. If you do have one of those things, you should be able to use the same username and password to unlock the potential of Google Reader.

If you don't already have a Google Account, you'll have to register to create one. It's easy, free, and will make you feel good. Then you can sign in to Google Reader.

2/ SUBSCRIBE
I recommend opening Google Reader in one tab, and then going to do your blog-surfing in another tab. The reason I recommend this is that if you're already signed into Google Reader, it's easier to get subscribed. I'm about to subscribe to the Scrapping Turtle blog (long overdue!!) so let me walk you through it.

Method A:
Click on the subscribe link on a blog, or the RSS button and it will take you to the feed page I mentioned earlier.

Clicking on or

will bring you to this option:

Choose to subscribe using Google. You may want to check the box that says "Always use Google to subscribe to feeds" so that you can skip this step in future.

Now it will ask you whether you want to subscribe to it in Google Reader or add it to your homepage. I suppose you could choose either, but we're talking about Reader, so click on that option.

Method B:
This method is especially handy if there is no subscription link on the blog. Highlight and copy the full blog URL in your browser's address bar. Go to your Reader tab.

Click "Add Subscription"

Paste the URL into the box.

(For mine, you would paste livingproofphotography.blogspot.com)
Click Add. Watch as the blog feed appears. Clap.

3/ REPEAT
Go to all your favourite blogs and do the same thing. Now go back to your Google Reader tab, and refresh it. You will see a list of all the blogs you love. You can now check whether there are new posts and even read the posts right from that page if the blog is available in full in the feed.

4/ ORGANIZE
Make Groups. I have groups for my favourites, my friends, a few different kinds of photo stuff, business stuff, and a JUST FOR FUN folder, which contains random things like my OED word of the day feed. Groups help keep your feeds organized, and also let you prioritize them.

There are a couple pitfalls of feed readers:

One is that you will start to accumulate unread posts. I don't know of anybody who actually keeps up with their reader. Every few weeks, when it gets up to 200 or so, I go have a run through and scan the ones that aren't my die hard favourites (which of course, I have kept on).

The second pitfall is that you don't have to actually go to the blog. And this leads to blog-stalking instead of blog-talking. Don't forget to still pop over to the actual blogs once in a while and drop a little blog love (which means leave a comment!).

And, in case you didn't catch one of the other zillion links to Google Reader in this post: check out www.google.com/reader

Cooking with Amanda

2009-04-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

I really like taking photos of food. No particular reason - I just like it. I don't really think I'm terribly good at it - it's just fun. And since the Pioneer Woman is always posting photos of food, and her recipes, I thought, hey, I could do that, too! Then it would be like I took all these pictures of food for a reason.

So yesterday at lunch time, I realized that it's been a long time since I did a proper trip to the grocery store. I went foraging through my fridge and cupboards to find enough ingredients to pull together a lunch for Marissa and myself.

I found some crescent rolls (currently on sale 3/$5 at Zehrs, just so you know), but croissants didn't seem like much of a lunch. So I rolled it out, rearranged the doughy triangles, and pinched all the seams together. Then stuck it in the oven until it was golden brown.

Then I schmeared it with cream cheese, and topped it with fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped pecans, and some sliced olives from a questionably old but previously unopened and okay-smelling jar on the top shelf of a cupboard.

Then I thought, Hey, I could put it back in the oven on broil for just a couple minutes and it would melt the cream cheese a little, and maybe do something favourable to the other ingredients. Amd the result was...

... which caused me to erupt into cries of "No! No! No!" until the smoke detector started going off, and I started yelling at it: "I Know! I Know! I Know!"

Marissa stood in the doorway to the kitchen, fairly unaffected by the smoke detector because, frankly, my kids are used to that, but laughing at me all the while. And when I showed her our lunch, she said "I'm not eating that." And I couldn't really blame her.

But there was no way I was going to cook something else, so I found some cheese and crackers and sandwich meat for her, and I got rid of the burnt edges and some of the more deeply blackened pecans, and tried my little concoction. And you know what? It was kind of awesome.

Still, I don't think Cooking with Amanda will become a regular feature.

Seriously?

2009-04-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

Are you kidding me?

It was cute in October.
It was gorgeous in November.
It was part of Christmas in December.
It was just a given in January.
It was wearing thin in February.
It was actually looking up in March.

But April... come on now, that's just playing dirty!

Winter, I hate to be the one to have to tell you, but you've overstayed your welcome. We want you to leave now. This snow day thing was a nice gesture, but I'm sorry - we're tired and the party's long over. Please go. Thank you.

Greg & Casey

2009-04-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

It's coming! It is, right now, two minutes to midnight and this only my third post this week, but I had a super busy week this week, and I just handed in an essay with only four minutes to spare if that gives some indication of how crazy it's been.

So this counts as a post to make three this week, and I'll be back right shortly with photos of Casey and Greg's wedding that I shot last month.

Here's a sneak peak:

Because Mommies are Awesome (Free Stuff)

2009-04-03T23:39:00.000-07:00

My mom is amazing. She is one of my best friends. She's a great listener and gives solid advice (which I've finally learned to listen to). She's let me come back home three times - and once I was an invalid and she took care of me, and most recently, I brought two kids with me. She's the first person to offer to help whenever there's a big job to be done, and she's the last person to leave when it's being done. My mom is the kind of person that you can call at 2 AM just because you're sad or lonely, and she won't hang up. She's the mom who still calls us to make sure we're home safe when it's storming. She is a person who is willing to share everything she has in in her power to give with someone who needs it. She is strong, smart, and caring, which is a great combination.

My mom is amazing.

Do you know a mom who's amazing, too?

I want to hear about fabulous moms, and I want to give one lucky mom a chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- an absolutely free session, a slideshow of the images set to music, and a disc of the high resolution images so she can print and reprint all she wants, although she likely won't need to since she'll also get $300 to spend on prints, albums, or canvases.

More than that, she'll get a fun day out, with whomever she wants, doing whatever kind of shoot she wants. She can choose an individual shoot, a couple's shoot, a family shoot, a shoot for the family dog... whatever she wants.

We'll visit some beautiful spots to take some amazing photos, and I might just have a few other little surprises in store to give her the awesome day that she deserves to have.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a free session and $100 print credit as well!

The rules:

* The person you nominate doesn't have to be your mom - just a mom. Two other eligibility rules I'm stealing from Me Ra Koh's rules: 1/ motherhood starts when you start feeling like a mother, so a woman who has miscarried or lost a baby still counts as a mother as far as I'm concerned; and 2/ you are welcome and ENCOURAGED to nominate yourself!!!

* The nominee must reside in Southwestern Ontario unless you want to ship one of us somewhere.

* Tell me who you know, what makes her a fabulous mom and person, and why she deserves my artwork for free. Please include a way to contact both you and your nominee.

* You must e-mail me the full story : mothersday@livingproofphotography.ca. Feel free to include pictures, videos, or whatever you feel best tells the story of your nominee! My junk mail filter seems to be under the impression that my inbox is more elite than it really is, so please please also drop a comment here to let me know you nominated someone. That way, I can make sure I have actually received all nominations.

The winner will be announced on May 8, 2009 in time for Mother's Day, and nominations will be accepted until May 7, 2009 at 11:59 PM... so get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

This contest is part of the Giving is Awesome initiative.

Oh, and by the way, it was my mom's birthday on April 2nd, and I didn't blog it, so Happy Birthday Momma!!! Wanna know how old she is? This is all I'll say:

Tip Tuesday #7 - Natural Light Indoors Again

2009-04-01T04:06:00.000-07:00

So, if you checked out flash indoors, then you know the big issue there was the harsh shadows. Naturally, when one encounters harsh shadows using one's flash, one then attempts to take the same photo without the use of flash. Naturally.

Sometimes one finds oneself very frustrated with one's camera after that.

Today's Problem – your camera has exposed for something other than your subject, as in the photo above. This can happen just as easily outdoors as it does indoors (probably even more easily), but for today, let’s talk about ways to deal with it inside. In the first image above, my camera was set to Portrait, which is basically the same as Auto for our purposes here. You'll notice I just went straight for Manual shooting to fix my problem, but here are some other things that can work, too. Thanks once again to Bria for modelling and choosing a great location and poses!

#1 – Close the blinds, curtains, doors, weirdly positioned lights
When we are indoors, we get narrow shafts of light from all of these things which make for a scene that’s not evenly lit. So try to create more balanced light, so that your camera’s meter has a better shot at getting things right. This may indeed be all you need to do to get an acceptable exposure. If it’s not, or if you don’t want to mess with your feng shui, read on.

#2 – Increase your exposure compensation.
In my little pocket-sized point and shoot’s manual mode, this is the only way I can control exposure, and it is really all that’s needed 80% of the time. If your scenes or subjects are coming out too dark, you’ll want to choose an exposure compensation value on the + side of the scale. This tells your camera to take what it thinks should be the right exposure (amount of light coming in) and increase it.

The only snag here is that your exposure compensation has a certain range, so you can adjust it somewhere between 1 and 3 stops depending on your camera. If you move it to +3 exposure compensation and it's still too dark, then you need to work harder.

#3 – Meter on your subject, or closer to it
On a lot of point and shoots, if you place your subject in the center of the frame and half-press and hold the shutter, your camera will not only lock focus on the subject, but will also lock exposure. Read your manual to find out if you can do this, or just give it a whirl and see.

Other cameras may have an exposure lock button (the * button by default on a Canon camera) that performs the same function independent of focus lock. Set up your frame excluding the offending bright spot, press and hold the exposure lock button, and recompose. Your camera maintains the original exposure.

Metering modes can also be a great way to control your exposure, but it’s a subject for a different day. Or consult your manual and learn by playing.

#4 – Shoot Manual
The other thing you can do is shoot in Manual (the real kind, where you set aperture and shutter and ISO), which requires less holding of your fingers in what I feel are awkward arthritis-inducing positions. This way you can have total control of the exposure, and with a little chimping*, you’ll get it right every time. You will also come to know where on the meter the indicator should be to get a good exposure of your little bundle of joy’s face, so no matter what the conditions, you can throw it in Manual, get in close on your subject, and set your exposure virtually instantly, and it won’t change when you recompose your shot.

Don’t fear Manual. Embrace it.
I guarantee you will come to think of it as the easiest way to shoot.

NOW HOLD ON A MINUTE!!
If my background was properly exposed before, and you just told me to increase the exposure, won’t it be overexposed now? Yes, it probably will be. You’ll have to use your judgement to decide whether it’s acceptable or not. I personally don’t mind some bits of blown out window or a too-light wall in exchange for a well-exposed subject. If, however, you're getting everything all blown out and it looks like your child is on the planet Hoth, about to bed down inside a ton-ton, then you should probably rethink the locations of common play areas or get friendly with your flash. Indoors, though, this is usually not too big an issue as there isn’t such a huge difference between the lighter and darker areas of a room.

At this point, I want to say that indoor light can be amazing light if you get a handle on how to use it to your advantage (and that's coming up in Indoors Low Light #4 - More Tips for Shooting Indoors). However, because the focus of these posts is getting better shots of our kids, I'm not going to assume that you have total control over where your child is positioned. If you do, please call me... I need to know your parenting secret.

NB: General underexposure is coming up on the next Tip Tuesday, so stay tuned for that! Then the final one will be some tips from little old me about how to use the light to your best advantage indoors. Then we can move on to something else.

*The term “chimping” refers to reviewing your image on the LCD after taking it. Sometimes people will make fun of those who chimp a lot, but I think that’s kind of like making fun of a manufacturer that has strict quality control. Chimping serves an important purpose, especially if you take the time to learn about the histogram. But I digress.

What do you think?

2009-03-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

I've been posting a lot of non-photo content lately, and a couple of people have said "Hey, how come you don't post photos anymore?"

So, I was wondering what the general consensus is around here about whether people want to read that non-photo stuff. Let me know whether you're liking it:

What's your take on photo blog content? ( online surveys)

And by the way, the answer to the question of why I don't post photos anymore is pretty much that I don't have any to post right now! So if you want to see more - tell your friends about me! (was that shameless begging for a plug from friends, family, and strangers? Yes, yes, I think it was!)

By the way, I made sure to post this before the clock rolled over to midnight so that nobody would think I was using this cop-out of a post to count toward next week's required three posts.

I think I'm in love

2009-03-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

I've found someone, and he makes me put on a happy face. I'm sure everybody's trying to guess who it is, so let me start by saying it's not that cute guy I see downtown every so often. It's also not that guy who smells so darn good. Nor is it the one who always has something clever to say to me.

It's Dick Van Dyke. Circa 1965.

Don't get me wrong, Dick's quite attractive now as a distinguished-looking 84 year old with white hair. (Isn't white hair always nicer looking than gray?) But oh, back in the day, he was something else.

I've spent a lot of time with Dick Van Dyke circa 1965. We keep Marry Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on a running loop around here. And occasionally I steal some alone time with Dick in Bye Bye Birdie or Fitzwilly or episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show. Somewhere in between Rob Petrie and Albert Peterson, I fell completely in love with the amalgamation of leading men that I've come to think of as "The Real Dick Van Dyke."

And then curiosity got the best of me, and I know you should never google your romantic interest, but I did. Oh, but I wasn't looking for topless photos to ogle. I was looking for dirt. For some sign that where Caractacus Potts leaves off, a lascivious skirt-chasing scoundrel begins. Mafia involvement maybe. A string of illegitimate children. A rumour that he voted for Nixon. Anything to disprove my silly belief that Dick Van Dyke was at all similar to his Circa 1965 on screen alter-egos.

I found nothing. Well, I shouldn't say that. I found him quoted as saying, "I am a song-and-dance man and I enjoy being myself, which is all I can do." No, Dick, no! Don't tell me that! Don't tell me that Burt-Rob-Caractucus-Albert Petrie-Potts-Peterson-Fitwilliam is... gasp.. the real you!

And the sick part is the reason why I didn't want to believe this: he's a bar-raiser. If The Real Dick Van Dyke was a triple threat in Hollywood, he's an octuple threat in the world of single women. He's tap-dancing atop a pedestal. He's funny, he's ivy-league smart, he's genuine, he loves children, he has a heart-melting smile, he's got boyish good looks and wisdom in his eyes, and he has the soothing voice of a 40s crooner. Wouldn't life with The Real Dick Van Dyke be simply fantasmagorical?

And this is terrible. Because how are we ever to be happy if that's what we need to find?

So, yes, I went looking for dirt on Dick Van Dyke. Because I don't know how to settle for anything but the best, and my ever-more-intense crush on the men he portrays was telling me that I need to find a man who is everything they are, combined. So I wanted to find out that they don't exist. That such a man can not be expected to be found, and that it would be okay to settle for less. And it's sad, really, that we live in a world where a single girl doesn't even want to hope for too much anymore.

But I found no dirt, and so I'm doomed to hope and hold out for the best. Men like The Real Dick Van Dyke do exist, somewhere out there.

Or at least they did. Circa 1965.

Follow Me

2009-03-28T00:12:00.001-07:00

Without the intonation, it's hard to tell that the title is a Simpsons reference. Did you see the one when they went to the beach for the 4th of July? Yeah, the one when Lisa doesn't have any clothes, so she gets all new clothes, and she acts cool and gets new friends and Bart gets jealous and rats her out for not being cool, and then eventually there's this touching sibling moment, I think. And Homer goes to the store to purchase illegal fireworks, which are, of course, hidden behind the fridges. He comes back from the store with like a turkey baster and some kind of food, and fireworks, and some other stuff, and Marge says "I don't know what you're planning, Homer, but count me out!" or something like that. And then Josh and I have this joke where whenever we buy items that seem kind of suspiciously dually-useful, we say "I don't know what you're planning Homer, but count me in!"

Yeah, that episode.

Well, when Homer goes to the store, the clerk says "Follow me."

There, now it's not an inside joke. I hate inside jokes.

Oh, wait, I had a point.

I have a new site and a new blog! It's a total overhaul! So, oh right.... Follow Me on over to

MY NEW SITE | MY NEW BLOG

All of my posts have been transferred from this blog to the new one, so don't worry, you'll never be over there reading a post and I reference another post from the past and it's kind of a joke but you don't get it because maybe you didn't read my blog when I wrote the original post, so it's really an inside joke between me and my more loyal blog readers. Well, that might happen, but then you could easily search for the earlier post right there from that page, and then you'll be on the inside too. That's how I wanted it to be, cause I hate inside jokes.

See ya over there.... unless you just decided you don't like my blog anymore :)

EDIT: I am such a tool. I totally didn't even mean to post this yet because I wrote it and then decided that I'm making a really big change to my business. But I forgot that I had set this post to go up. So there are no links there. I'll let you know when it's ready, and until then you can just be sorry you wasted two minutes of your life reading my Simpsons babble. Sorry!

make me an offer I can't refuse

2009-03-26T02:00:00.000-07:00

I once read an interview with a man who lived through the depression in his early twenties with a young family. One of the things he talked about was that within his neighbourhood, they began to barter and trade. They would swap services, exchange household items, and help each other out whenever possible. Money didn't change hands because, simply, there was no money. His family and his neighbours' families came through the depression relatively unscathed, and he attributed this to the way they pulled together and shared their strengths with each other.

It makes sense.

So I'm officially open for offers of barter and trade. I don't even know what my services could be bartered for. I do want a treadmill... and I could use some plants for my flowerbeds... and my car needs some work... and I need to learn vectors...

I guess I'm open to hearing any offers really. Times are tough right now, but life is still beautiful and should still be captured. If you want custom photography and just can't afford to make it a priority given this uncertain economy, take stock of what you can offer that I can't afford, which is pretty much everything. Maybe we can start something here.

And that's my $0.02 for today.

EDIT: Okay, I got interested in bartering and went googling about it, and apparently everyone is talking about bartering right now, so I guess we won't start anything, but maybe we can extend to the media-free rock I live under.

Blogs I Think You Simply MUST See

2009-03-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a stalker of blogs. I love to cruise blogs and I consider Google Reader to be just about the best thing going. My subscription list is heavy on the photography side, but my perusing time is most happily spent on blogs that are more about the words than the pictures. I have two folders of blogs whose updates I await with breath that is baited: "My Favourites" and "JUST FOR FUN" (yes, it's in capitals in Google Reader).

So, because I like to imagine that I'm fabulous enough to be entrusted with the task of identifying the most fascinating people on the planet to keep tabs on, I thought I'd share some of my note-worthy favourites with all of my blog readers.

1/ Kristin Anderson Photography - all of her work is awesome, but her underwater photos are freaking phenomenal. It's amazing to catch glimpses into the world beneath the waves through her eyes, and you can feel the passion she has for it in every post. It doesn't hurt that she lives in Australia, and I continue to be fascinated with all things Down Under. (did that sounds dirty?)

2/ Nothing But Bonfires - I first found this blog through a twitter tweet. It is one of those blogs that's not necessarily always about something, but it's so well written that you won't want to miss a single post, whether it's about Holly's upcoming wedding, her latest travels, or a bad fashion decision from her youth. I'll admit, it's probably the blog equivalent of a chick flick, but I guess my blog is, too.

3/ The Pioneer Woman - Lori from the Scrapping Turtle told me about this blog. It's great if you are an impatient blog-stalker because there are usually several new posts a day, so less refreshing Google Reader in anticipation of your next blog fix. There are to-die-for recipes, pictures, wild horses, guest spots from photo, food, and other experts, and all sorts of awesome. Oh, and free photoshop actions. Everybody loves free actions.

4/ Wil Wheaton dot Net - I forget how I stumbled upon it, but I do remember saying out loud, as I sat alone in my living room, "Shut Up! This is not Wesley Crusher's blog!?!" And I was right. For although I was first drawn to Wil Wheaton as the actor who portrayed the subject of one of my earliest crushes, I got hooked on his blog because it is fantastically written and has nothing to do with a fifteen year old TV show. I even read a post that I did not understand at all about role playing games. Just one, though. Mostly now I stick to the other posts. If you're looking for a birthday gift for me, he also has some books available for purchase. Just, you know, if you happen to be planning ahead.

There are a lot more blogs in my lists, but these are some that I thought pretty much anyone could enjoy. I might be back another day with some more!

Tip Tuesday #6 - Harsh Shadows

2009-03-23T12:34:00.001-07:00

A few people have asked me about shooting in low light, and are experiencing different problems, so this will be a three-parter, starting today with Amanda's request.

Amanda's photography is focused primarily on her gorgeous baby daughter, and photographing children changes the rules of low light a little bit. The reason for that is that you can't usually use the slow shutter speeds that you would if you had a stationary object or cooperative adult to shoot, because kids move, and you usually want to freeze the action with a shutter speed of about 1/100 of a second or faster.

If you haven't already done so, please read Tip #5 to understand how this decision about shutter speed will affect our range of other options.

I asked Amanda if she could share some photos with me that demonstrated the problems she was having, and she graciously obliged.

Low Light #1 - Harsh Shadows when Using Flash

Harsh shadows are caused by having the flash aimed directly at your subject, who casts a shadow on the background. For this tip, I'm going to assume that you've already decided to use flash, but be sure to also read the rest of the Indoor Shooting series here on Tip Tuesday to explore your other options.

BOUNCING THE FLASH
The best way to get rid of harsh shadows without forfeiting the use of flash is to point the flash at the ceiling or wall, which bounces the light back onto the subject, but also spreads it out and softens it so that the shadows are softened, too. You can play around to find out the best points to aim your flash at in your house. Places that usually work for me are high on a wall or a part of the ceiling that is as far away as possible from the subject. Pay attention to where shadows are falling on the subject's face, and find a spot that makes for flattering shadows. Chances are good that your kids have a few favourite spots to sit and play, so with practice you'll become a pro at hitting the sweet-spot for bouncing.

Notice the difference in shadows between these two photos. The first used direct pop-up flash in auto mode. The second used a bounced flash. There are still shadows in the second one, but they are softer and fall more pleasingly downward. Moving the subject away from the wall a bit would have improved the shadows further. Special thanks to Bria for arranging this little studio set-up and coming up with her own poses.

Try to use a neutral coloured wall - white, whitish, gray work well. This helps to get an accurate white balance, and lighter colours reflect the light better, so you don't lose as much of it. However, I've bounced off of deep dark blue and other coloured walls with good success in lighting - just be prepared to adjust your white balance later. Glass windows and doors are pretty good bounce candidates too, but you do lose a lot of light power.

BUT I CAN'T MOVE MY FLASH
Bouncing the flash is only possible if you have something other than a pop-up or fixed flash. A lot of higher end point and shoots will allow you to mount an external flash. I know for sure that Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and Pentax all make point and shoot cameras that have what's called a hotshoe to mount a flash. (And for Amanda: if I'm correct, your Canon S5 IS does) These are more expensive than some other point and shoots, but if you want to continue to learn more about photography, they're a great option because they also allow you to control a lot of other things.

Purchase an external flash that allows you to move the flash head up and down and side to side to bounce it, and it will do wonders for your indoor photography. Look for a flash that supports TTL technology with your camera brand--this means that it will figure out how much light to put out all on it's own. Your flash should also let you make minor adjustments easily to get the light just right. I have used Canon flashes and Sigma for Canon flashes, and can recommend either for their ease of use. For other brands, sorry, but I've got nothing. Remember, the things to look for to help with your indoor photography are a good range of motion with the flash head for bouncing, and TTL capability so you can just click away without having to dial in settings too much.

BUT I CAN'T MOUNT A FLASH ON MINE
A couple of options exist for you. One involves flash triggers and light stands and a partridge in a pear tree, and is not really a good option. Really not. For one thing, you'll lose the ease of grabbing your camera and taking a quick shot of your child, pet, or favourite plant doing something cute. For another, you now need to know a lot about balancing and positioning the lights.

The second option is to diffuse your light somehow. You might try the Gary Fong light diffuser for pop-up flashes, The Puffer, or something similar, if your camera is constructed in such a way that it will fit it. I've not heard great reviews about this item, but I'm sure that it will reduce the shadows significantly. It likely also reduces your light output, which your camera will likely not account for, and may occasionally result in underexposed photos. But I'm just guessing there as I've never used one.

Your third option is to get really clever about positioning, and finding ways to hide the shadow. Try to place your subject near a window so that natural light balances the flash and reduces the shadow.
.Dark or busily-patterned walls won't show it as much. A shadow that moves downward is less icky-looking, so shooting from above can help. Having your subject far away from the background will reduce the shadow, but may create black hole syndrome (to be discussed in one of the posts of this low-light series as well). Getting as far away from your subject as possible will also soften the shadow, but is probably not always possible unless your entire house is very open-concept.

Your final option is to not use a flash, and we'll cover that in the next Tip Tuesday, which will probably come before next Tuesday, but I like the name.

I'm sure that you can tell by how troublesome all of these options sound that point and shoots with on-board flash as the only option are simply not an ideal tool if you're serious about getting rid of these shadows. It may be time to invest in a higher end camera if you want to keep improving your photography. Or stay tuned for the "not using flash in low light" installment of Tip Tuesday and give your camera a whirl at that.

*As a disclaimer, I should say that I really don't know a lot about the capabilities of various point and shoots, having only ever owned two different ones. However, I will assume that if you have any interest in these posts at all, you have probably invested in a high end point and shoot or a consumer SLR, and that is who my advice will be directed to for the most part.

Coming Up in the Shooting Indoors Series:
Part 2 - Natural Light Indoors
Part 3 - Black Holes and Blurry Things
Part 4 - More Tips for Indoor Shooting

As always, let me know if you have any questions regarding this post, and remember that the best way to learn is to play! If you have a Tip Tuesday topic you'd like me to cover, shoot me an email at tiptuesday@livingproofphotography.ca.

Paddyfest

2009-03-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time coming, but here, finally, is a smattering of Paddyfest photos. I have to say that I had such a fun time with these girls. They are all awesome people, and every single one of them, in my opinion, would have made a terrific Paddyfest Amabassador.

Here's a quick slideshow of some of my favourites from our photo session and from the competition:

If there are other folks out there who would like this kind of photo, I would LOVE to do more. I think it is, in particular, a fantastic idea for graduation photos. I mean the cap and gown may be traditional, but photos like these are about capturing you at this stage of your life, just before your world is about to change. I would be thrilled to be able to do this for more people, and with more time to individualize the shoot.

Thanks again to Dawn and the other Kinettes for making me part of Paddyfest!

Tip Tuesday #5 - Exposure Porridge

2009-03-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

There are a few basic things that need to be understood before very many other questions can be answered. So this post is going to be a very basic explanation of exposure. To a lot of people, it sounds scary to say that we're going to talk about exposure, but I promise to make it REALLY easy to understand.

Dictionary
We use the term 'exposure' because we are literally referring to the amount of light to which we expose the film or digital sensor. If you exposed it to too much light, your image is overexposed. If you exposed it to too little light, it's underexposed. If you got it just right like the perfect porridge, you'll have a proper exposure.

So when we talk about exposure, we're talking about how much light gets to the sensor, and how to get that to be just the right amount of light to create the image we want.

Tools of the Trade
There are four things that affect how much light our film/sensor gets exposed to.
1) ISO
2) Aperture
3) Shutter Speed
4) Ambient light

ISO – Most of us are fairly familiar with ISO because with film we had to choose an ISO grade, even for our point and shoots. ISO refers basically to how quickly your film will change in reaction to the light. Or to how quickly your digital sensor will record the light. The higher the number, the faster the film will react to the light, or with digital, the faster the sensor will record the light. For that reason, the setting is called the ISO Speed.

Aperture – an aperture is a hole. In photography, the aperture is the hole in the lens that light passes through. It’s adjustable, and the aperture setting is how big the hole is.

It’s expressed as fractions of the focal distance (f) – so f/2, f/4, f/16, f/22, etc. We all know that one-sixteenth is less than one-half. So it follows that a hole that is f/16 is smaller than a hole that is f/2. Usually, however, these numbers are just expressed as the denominator (bottom number of the fraction) – 2,4,16,22, etc. or sometimes with the f but without the slash – f2, f4, f16, f22, etc.

So bigger numbers equal smaller holes equal less light coming through the lens.

Shutter Speed – the shutter, as we recall from the last tip, is a set of plates in front of the film or digital sensor that keep light from getting to the film or digital sensor. Shutter speed refers to how long the shutter is open and letting light get to the film or digital sensor.

We’re usually talking about fractions of a second, and like aperture settings, shutter speeds are quite often expressed using just the denominator. So a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second will quite often be displayed as 250 on your camera. If you see a " symbol being used, it is in place of a decimal. So if your camera reads 4 – that’s one quarter of a second. If your camera says 0"5, that’s 0.5 or one half of a second. 15" is fifteen seconds. There is also bulb (or just B), which means that it will stay open for as long as you hold the shutter button down. I’m sure there’s a good reason it’s called bulb, but I don’t know what it is. Feel free to enlighten me if you do.

Ambient Light - This is the one that you might have forgotten to think about because it’s the one you can’t control. But to my mind, that makes it the one you have to think about first, longest, and most often. Great photos begin with great light, which is partly about having enough light for a good exposure at the settings you want to use. This could also of course include flash, studio lights, your car headlights – it’s not necessarily all daylight and super-high-efficiency fluorescent bulbs, but I guess I forget about the other things a lot because I’m mostly a natural light gal.

THE PORRDIGE - So you’re probably realizing that in order to get that Golidlocks exposure, we need to BALANCE these things. And for now, that’s what we’re after is just to understand the relationship between these things, and how they all have to work together to achieve the right settings.

If our image is overexposed, we could
A) use less light or find an area with less light
B) speed up our shutter
C) set our aperture narrower
D) use a lower ISO setting
E) a combination of any two or more of the above

If our image is overexposed, well.. the opposite. LIkewise, if we had our image perfectly exposed, then decided we want to use a faster shutter speed, then we have to compensate by
A) adding more light
B) opening our aperture up wider
C) using a higer ISO seetting

Does that make sense? Does any of this make any sense at all? Or is my explanation completely confusing and useless, suggesting that my dreams of becoming a teacher are probably ill-fated?

If you have any questions about this post, please don't be afraid to email me or call me, or post them here. I'd love to help. If you're like me, though, reading about something is the WORST way for you to learn, so go play!

I feel like this bit of foundation of knowledge will let me answer a few questions people have sent me, so that will start either Friday or Saturday.

Tip Tuesday #4: Let's Get Visual

2009-03-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

Vi-su-al.
I waaaaaaanna get visual.

So it occurs to me that a lot of people probably don’t really even know what’s going on inside a camera. So the first in a series of Tip Tuesdays to be posted over the next few days is this: my kind of goofy, but easy to understand explanation. The following animation should help you visualize what's hapenning inside the camera, and also understand why I barely passed eleventh grade art. Use the numbers on the bottom to navigate and Enjoy!

Pretty cool, huh?

FAST FACT: Light is constantly moving all around us. Light moves in straight lines – it doesn’t bend or curve, but it bounces off of just about everything, so sometimes it looks like it does (like how the light down the hallway gets into your bedroom, even though that’s not a straight line. It’s actually bouncing off of everything in the hallway and into your room). When we see something, what we’re really seeing is the light that’s bouncing off of it and into our eyes. That’s why we can’t see it in the dark! (duh)

In order to understand lighting in photography, it’s important to understand that light is ALWAYS moving. ALWAYS.

I'll be back this week with special episodes of Tip Tuesday, maybe featuring more of my crappy animation skills! Yay!

Doing it THREE times a Week!

2009-03-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

.... blogging, that is!

I'm committing to blogging three times a week for the rest of the year. How committed am I? Well, if I fail to blog at least three times per week during the rest of 2009, the first THREE people to call me on it publicly in any given week will get a freebie.

For locals, or anybody willing to come here or ship me to them, the freebie will be a portrait shoot with one included high-resolution digital file. Which means, theoretically, I could be giving away three shoots a week... but the high stakes are meant to make me blog more loyally.

For non-locals, the freebie might be anything from some weird Photoshop action/PaintShop script I just cooked up to an iTunes gift certificate or free download or something like that. I'm not really settled on anything yet.

Where can you call me out publicly?

-on your blog (just send me the link)
-on Twitter by reply to me (AmandaStratton)
-on your Facebook status or in a Facebook note (befriend me first or I won't see it)
-on this blog - just leave a comment on my latest post!

What doesn't count as public?
- emails to me
- direct messages to me on Twitter
- private messages on Facebook

Why does it have to be public?
well, mostly so that everyone will know who the three people who called me out first were, so when I tell the fourth guy he's too late, I'll have some proof!

The definition of a week.
A week is from Sunday to Saturday.
So if I blog on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of one week, I might not necessarily blog until Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the following week. The intervening Wednesday to Wednesday when I didn't blog at all for seven days doesn't count. Why? My game: my rules. :)

Oh, if you're wondering why the picture of the hot boots, I don't know. I just like the boots, and posts are better with pictures, right?

Tip Tuesday #3

2009-03-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I should just go stick my tail between my legs and never mention Tip Tuesday again. But I'm going to revive it instead!

A few people have written to me asking about how I processed the photo that I entered in the Shootsac contest, so I thought I'd do a blog post about it. I actually couldn't find the image in a Lightroom catalogue, which means it was probably in a catalogue on my laptop drive, so this won't be exactly the same, but it will be essentially the same processing. Also, I originally used PaintShop Pro for extra editing, but I just got Photoshop, so I used it for this one.

For Clients - this is also a great example of what I mean when I say you will receive the proofs or images with "basic edits" (see photo #2), and how that is different from full processing.

So, first of all, here is the SOOC (straight out of camera) image.
This was shot with my Canon 20D and 70-200 f4L NON-IS (hello, ghetto!)
ISO 400 . f/4 . 1/500 . 122mm

By the way, in case you're interested, by SOOC, I mean really SOOC. When I import my images into LR, I apply the LR preset "General - Zeroed" and batch process from there. This sets everything to, well, zero, and I prefer it to applying Auto-Tone on import.

Here's the same photo with basic editing (just adjusting contrast, white balance, and applying LR's "Sharpen-Portraits" preset.)

But I thought I could bump this photo up a little with a different take on the processing. So I applied one of my absolute favourite presets, Dirty Old Car (I give them weird names), then tweaked it to get this:

And here's what my LR settings looked like. The major thing is the split-toning. I think split toning is great for unifying an image where there are a lot of colours working against each other, like this one.

Next I did something that I don't do very often. I pulled it into Photoshop not just to fix something, but to do some "effects" as well. First of all, I cloned out the pole sticking out of Bria's head. Sometimes you just have to make the best you can of a location and know that you will need to fix something later, and this was one of those cases. After that, I duplicated the background layer, applied lens blur, and used a mask to get rid of the lens blur where I didn't want it.

A Note About Photoshop: I just got Photoshop, so I am playing with it a lot but if you remember the first Tip Tuesday, I said I don't use it. I still LOVE Corel PaintShop Pro and think it actually has a few advantages over Photoshop. If I could take everything that is good about each, I could make the perfect photo editing program.

I have been sleeping so much

2009-03-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Not having my computer, though endlessly frustrating during the day, is the blessingest blessing of all at night.

I'm starting to get used to going to bed not because I'm so tired that my work is getting interspersed with semi-lucid dream-visions of myself as a vampire slayer (don't ask), but because it's night time.

My mom was kind enough to bring over an old laptop that was kicking around her place but doesn't get used much anymore, and it's great to try to keep up with email, although it's a pain to type on because the keys are different, and oh, it's a half-Japanese keyboard. no lie.

What it's not capable of is photo editing, so all of that remains on hold except when I can sneak over to Josh's place, and duke it out with Vista, a colour-wonky LCD, and other familiar strangers, in a battle for my livelihood.

I will say that it was nice to come home from Casey and Greg's wedding at 1:30 on Saturday and go to bed instead of staying up until 5 AM obsessing over white balance and noise control and which of my 50 presets is *just* right for each photo.

Tomorrow my Daddy (yes, I said Daddy - don't judge) is bringing me a loaner desktop so that I can get cracking again. So having watched some TV, typed my way through this blog post with what suddenly feel like giant clumsy inept fingers on this odd keyboard, and having done absolutley NOTHING else, I think I'll be off to bed now. I may as well enjoy this last bit of serendipitous freedom.

Night all!

I WON (and I'm sorry)

2009-02-26T19:55:00.000-08:00

I won the Shootsac Contest on MCP Actions!!
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, see my latest blog post.

My computer isn't working, so I finally came over to Josh's and checked my Google Reader, and I was so stoked when I saw that Jodi from MCP Actions picked my photo to be in the top ten. Just at that, I was doing my little happy jig infront of the monitor. Then I clicked the next blog post, and my heart stopped a little, just for a sec when I saw that I won. I'm so so so happy right now. Not only will I soon be the proud owner of a super-cute Shootsac, I can also say that Jessica Claire chose my photo from the bunch. How cool is that?

Okay, so some non-photographer types may not know who Jessica Claire is, but she was named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine, if it gives you some idea how cool it is to have my photo chosen by her!

Thank You So Much to Jodi and everyone at MCP Actions, and thank you to Jessica and everyone at Shootsac. I feel my cute factor rising already!

And the I'm sorry part...

I hate breaking promises, but my computer has crapped out on me as of yesterday evening. I use a laptop, and first it was just a matter of holdng the cord in or somehow rigging it just right so that I could charge it, but now it won't charge at all. I tried it with two different cords and there's just no way to get the juice in.

So the Paddyfest photos are being held captive by my computer. I came over to Josh's place and tried to figure out a way to do something, but I've got nothing. I feel really bad because I've been promising to have them up for a couple days, and I shouldn't have fallen asleep the first night cause then I could have had them done before my computer became a paperweight.

If it makes anyone feel better, it's going to make my life really difficult until it comes back from Dell.

Atleast I'll have a pretty Shootsac to ease the pain.

Oh, speaking of Shootsac and laptops, Shootsac also makes the cutest laptop bag known to man, which also has the cutest name: the HipSlip. Cute, huh?

MCP Actions + Shootsac =

2009-02-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

CONTEST

I'm entering a contest to win a free Shootsac from MCP Actions.

What is MCP Actions you say? Well, MCP Actions is one of those great companies that helps photographers make great work by streamlining some of the tasks of processing using Photoshop actions. Actions are basically sequences of steps that you might perform over and over, made into a little one-click-and-you're-done tool. MCP even has a free action for resizing for the web, which if you're a person who posts photos to the internet, you know can take a lot of time without the help of an action.

What is a Shootsac? Shootsac is a company that makes a lens bag (for those of us with poor memory, it's also handily called a Shootsac). Shootsacs are so cute. You can interchange covers on them to get a whole bunch of different looks, they look basically like an ordinary over-the-shoulder bag, and they make it a little less obvious that you're walking around with a few thousand dollars worth of gear attached to you... if that's important to you. And I've heard that a Shootsac is just as easy to use and as much of a lifesaver as it seems to be, so I would love to have one. Okay, so mostly, I think they're super-cute and the usefulness is a bonus. Sue me.

Anyway, the contest required that a photo be submitted illustrating why the contestant deserves to win a shootsac. So I enlisted the most gorgeous models I know to try to help me win based on looks alone. That's my shot up there at the top.

Wish me luck!

Wanna enter, too? The contest closes tonight at midnight, so you still have time! Hit it up at http://mcpactions.com/blog/2009/02/10/shootsac.

And I'll back tonight with some Paddyfest photos. I promise this time. Unless I fall asleep with the kids again. :)

Paddyfest Ladies: Sneak Peek

2009-02-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Meet Krista, Amber, Nichole, Emily, and Stefany.

I haven't finished processing the shoot I did yesterday with the Paddyfest Ambassador Contestants, but I wanted to post something right away because I had so much fun with these girls.

At the last minute, I threw in some little suggestions to Dawn, the Ambassador competition chairperson. Just tiny things, like "let's get a new location, let's do completely different photos, and let's ask the girls to wear completely different clothes." I was so happy that everybody was on board. At least one of the contestants didn't find out until 11:30 the night before that I was asking them to bring something special along, and she still did. I was delighted that these girls were willing to have some fun, and they did! I had a great time with them!

Super huge thanks to the North Perth Public Library for letting us overrun them completely.

I'll be back with more photos tomorrow or the next day.

Vagina Monologues Winner

2009-02-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

I had five commenters who wanted the free ticket to the Vagina Monologues, so the simplest way seemed to be to generate a random number from 1 to 5 (using a number generator, not in my head), and choose that way, based on the order in which the comments appeared. So that's what I did. And the winner is.... drum roll please....

Melissa!

Melissa, if you could contact me and let me know what day you'd like to go, then I will go to Theatre 311 and ask them to hold a ticket for you to pick up. The show is running Thursday (probably today by the time you read this), Friday, and Saturday. We'd better verify that there is a seat available, though, because apparently the response to the show has been really great.

I wish I could have bought a ticket for all of you because it is a really fantastic show with such an important purpose. It's not just about the message it is sending, but the purpose of the play--the way you will feel when it's over--was, for me, what it's all about. This play isn't just saying something; it's doing something. That's pretty darn cool in my books, and frankly, my books are not filled with accolades. I'm terribly hard to please.

Oh, and to Dawn: I am so looking forward to spending the day with you and the Paddyfest Ladies. I have some cool ideas and I can't wait! (and watch for that blog post soon folks)

Jess and Chad: Engaged!

2009-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

Chad insisted on going to Mono Cliffs on a Tuesday night after work. He wanted to be at the lookout for sunset, so Jess, after a long day of work, was being rushed down a forest trail in the near-darkness, for as far as she knew, no particular reason. When they finally arrived at the spot that overlooks a breathtaking view of the valley, Chad dropped to one knee in a hurry to have the last of the waning sunset light his proposal. What he hadn't considered was the steel grate he was kneeling on, and that it was a combination of sharp ridges and large holes. So he knelt, in pain, afraid to take the ring out of the box and try to place it on Jess's finger with nervous hands, lest it should slip through the grate into the canyon and be lost forever. Nonetheless, Jess happily accepted, and there in the darkness, they were engaged.

Yesterday, Jess and Chad and I went back to Mono Cliffs and around Shelburne for their engagement shoot. I had so much fun with these guys! Here are a few of my favourites from the shoot.

I'm so happy Jess and Chad chose me to be their photographer, and I can't wait for their wedding!

Vagina Monologues

2009-02-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

I literally just walked through the door from seeing the Vagina Monologues. Okay, I peed and I twittered about the Vagina Monologues, then I sat down.

To preface this post, I want to say that I did not expect to like the Vagina Monologues. I love theatre. I also have no problem saying the word vagina or any other word naming a part of the anatomy, male or female. Well, except for duodenum - I just always stumble over it.

So, it's not that I'm a prude or anything. I guess I thought I wouldn't like it because I thought it would be trite, or condescending, or try to be intimidating, or a little too "feminism in your face! ha!" if you know what I mean.

It wasn't any of those things, and I feel like the biggest lame-o in the world for ever thinking it would be. It was amazing. I am an English major, and generally pretty articulate, and right now I'm fumbling for words trying to find the right one to explain what it was. I could wait and try to think of something, and post later, but I won't because I don't want to waste any time telling you to go see it!

So just trust me, and go see it.

It's playing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of next week, so call 519-291-2033 and reserve your ticket now at Theatre 311.

Okay, what the heck, my mom paid for my ticket, so I'm going to pay it forward. Leave a comment here and tell me why you want to go, and I will choose someone at random on Wednesday (I'll devise a system) and buy you a ticket to go. Why? Cause everyone should go see it, so this is my special late V-Day treat for my blog friends.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day (the other V-Day)!

(In case there's any question, I just want to say that I am not in any way affiliated with Theatre 311. I have nothing to do with it - I didn't check whether it was okay with them if I offer to buy somebody a ticket to their show. I mean I've met and talked to Stef and Justin, the owners, but I'm pretty sure they don't like me. I apologize to them if they don't appreciate me insinuating myself into their thespian world. The play is just really good.)

The V-Word

2009-02-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

Yup, that V-Word.

The Vagina Monologues is being performed at Theatre 311 tonight and next week Thursday through Saturday by a very talented local cast, including my sister Tami!

You can reserve tickets by calling the theatre at 519-291-2033, or you can chance it and try to get a seat just by showing up. I honestly don't know whether that is usually possible or not, though, so probably best to call ahead. I do know that there will be one extra seat available on the night that we go, because my sister has given my Dad a free pass on seeing this one. ;)

I've never seen the Vagina Monologues before - snippets on TV, but never live - so I actually have no idea what to expect really. I'm sure it will be great, though! If you've been to see the show already (it's been running since Thursday), leave a comment!!

Oh, and a portion of the proceeds, according to the Theatre 311 website, will be donated to Optimism Place in Listowel, so your ticket comes with a wee bit of good karma at no extra charge.

I'm going tonight (Saturday), so if you see this blog post and it makes you decide to go, find me downstairs at intermission and tell me that, and I'll steal you an extra truffle. I'm willing to do the time.

I have no idea what photo to attach to this post, so I'm just going to leave it, and say Please Come out to Theatre 311 and See the Show! Be a patron of the arts. Doesn't that make you sound cool?

The Longest Day - Finale

2009-02-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

A while ago, I posted the first of 10 episodes of "The Longest Day" - a reality show about 24 photographers coming together to promote WPPI, and also to support two amazing organizations - Thirst Relief and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

Well, the final ep has been posted, and contains both teams' short films and PSAs, and an opportunity to vote for your favourite! The winning team's charity will receive a $1000 donation - the not-so-winning team's charity will receive $500.

I know that it is probably of most interest to photographers, but they are actually pretty fun to watch for anyone I think. You can catch all the hilarious episodes at thelongestday.tv.

The winner will be announced at this year's Wedding and Portrait Photographers International 2009 Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas next week. I, unfortunately, won't be there, but I'm looking forward to finding out who wins. I had a clear favourite, but I'd hate for my influence to sway votes (ha!ha!) so I won't say which one I voted for.

Love/Loathe

2009-02-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Want to know 50 random things about me - half of them being things I love, and the other half being things I loathe?

If the answer is no, I recommend that you stop reading.

25 Things I Love

1. overpriced yuppy coffee beverages
2. reading and having a tea while it's raining
3. the first day in autumn when you have to wear a sweater
4. getting up early and having a quiet morning after going to bed early and having a good night's sleep
5. seeing someone I haven't seen in a long time and feeling like we just saw each other yesterday
6. when people use a big word incorrectly, and it's obvious they use that word incorrectly often (I'm sorry but it's funny)
7. debating things with people who appreciate the spirit of debate
8. action movies at the theatre
9. tricking people... about anything
10. Getting good mail
11. Anybody else who finds Deep Thoughts and Steven Wright to be funny enough to cure nearly any degree of discontent
12. Teenage Wasteland, Beast of Burden, Bohemian Rhapsody, Invisible Touch, If You Wanna Be Happy, Patience, At Last, Walking on the Moon, Bad
13. Remembering something funny and having it strike me as funny all over again
14. my front porch
15. getting the giggles with someone who gets me
16. long hot showers in the winter
17. when I can tell I'm annoying people by not getting worked up about things that they think I should get worked up about, like someone bumping my car while parking next to it
18. really bad TV movies, especially on a Sunday afternoon
19. when you get to the checkout and something costs even less than you thought
20. brand new white socks with blue jeans
21. that feeling when I've been out really late wearing uncomfortable clothes, and I come home, put comfies on, put my hair in a ponytail, put moisturizer on my feet, and get into bed
22. people who can joke about their own misfortune
23. when I come up with a cool new phrase
24. anything serendipitous
25. Marc Jacobs clothes, even though I can't wear them

25 Things I Loathe

1. When I make a tea and forget to drink it
2. When people talk about kids in front of them as if they're not even there
3. almost all breeds of small dogs, but especially chihuahuas
4. feeling embarrassed when I call someone from an online forum "my friend"
5. that they decided to remove the doubled ending consonant from words like "travelled" in the US. Maybe eighty million Germans can't be wrong, but eighty million Americans can, and declaring them correct doesn't change that.
6. "forcive habit", "suppose to", "could of", "workout regime", "acrossed"
7. people who call strangers by nicknames or terms of endearment that should be reserved for people they know
8. when I remember someone who doesn't remember me
9. having to read books I don't enjoy
10. going to see a movie at the theatre and realizing it would have been just as good (or no worse) on a small screen
11. not knowing how to thank someone adequately
12. when people demand that they receive a level of service beyond what others are receiving
13. the news
14. when people think that me not being religious means I'm a bad person
15. when people don't know or just don't follow the rules of right of way at a four-way stop, or block intersections, or don't stop to let people out of parking spaces and into traffic
16. people who don't pull over for emergency vehicles
17. when I can't remember what date the milk expires, and the tag is gone
18. doing dishes and putting away laundry
19. when I'm busy enjoying and appreciating something and someone reminds me that it will end-- like summer, for example
20. people who act like they knew someone who's passed away better than they really did
21. being underestimated
22. the fact that my computer can't multitask
23. when teenage girls wear tiny shorts/skirts and t-shirts, and nothing else, outside in ten degree weather
24. the way most commercials for medicines don't even say what the medicine is for... I guess I have to ask my doctor if it's right for me, cause I have NO IDEA what it does
25. "The Secret"

It Lives! (er... it will soon)

2009-02-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

If you've been following my blog for a long time, then you may remember it's little brother, North Perth Daily.

Originally, before my life was crazy, I started North Perth Daily because I was going out every day and shooting anyway. I had just switched to digital shooting and got stocked up on gear, and I would sneak out after the kids were in bed, or any time Josh would let me, and shoot whatever I could find, always in and around North Perth.

It was really cool getting into photography again because I was constantly looking for a picture, making an effort to see the beauty, or the potential for beauty, wherever I went. And mentally filing all those great shots away for later when I could get away with my camera.

I wanted to do something with the photos I was taking, and I think I may have actually set up the North Perth Daily blog before this one, just as something to do, not really intending that people would care that much to see it. Around the time when I actually started posting my North Perth photos, I also started my business, went back to work full time, and of course was still mom to a 1 year old and a 3 year old.

My late night rendezvous (rendezvouses?) with my camera became fewer and farther between, and my kids begged me not to bring it along as a distraction when we went out together. So North Perth Daily slid further and further down my list of priorities, and then when I left North Perth last Spring, I crossed it off the list altogether.

Well, I'm back now, and I'd love to start sharing those photos again, but this time with a twist.

I'm going to relaunch North Perth Daily (with a few tweaks) on March 1, 2009, and I'm inviting everyone to contribute. If you have photos taken in North Perth or closeby of ANYTHING that reflects what life is like here, and you'd like to share them with others, please let me know.

I don't want the blog to be about me and my pictures. I want it to be about us. After all, I bet the thing that has kept all of us here in this small town is the wonderful sense of community that we have.

If you have a photo to submit, send it to me at northperthdaily@livingproofphotography.ca. You can also share a story that goes with it, information about yourself, what you ate yesterday, whatever you want. Basically it's your blog post, so you have control*. If you want it to be anonymous, let me know.

So, let's have fun together, let's share our lives with each other, and let's celebrate the place we live and the people who make it feel like Home!

Oh, and if you've got something community-oriented coming up that you'd like me to come take pictures of, let me know. I'm always looking for cool things to shoot.

* I reserve the right to exclude any submissions that include obscenity, nudity, or any gratuitousness of things that should not be gratuitous. I don't intend to censor anybody, but let's keep it respectful. If I decide not to include your submission for any reason, I will let you know, so if you simply don't hear from me, it's because I never got your submission, not because I thought it was inappropriate. Please try again. Don't make me do this on my own - that didn't work!

Guess Who?

2009-02-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

I was going through some photos (actually ALL of my photos) for something (which I'll write about shortly), and I came across this one that I really liked but totally forgot about.

Anybody recognize the silhouette?

I'd say the Canadians have a distinct advantage in guessing!

And for the non-Canadians... who's watching American Idol? We are so into it this season, and there are some really talented people on there! Bria and I try to guess whether people will get through to the next round or not, and Marissa gets mad at us every time we say we think the judges will say No. It's a fun game, and it's insane what a good ear Bria has for music for a kid her age. She doesn't just know who is good or not, but can make these really insightful comments about their performances. I guess she comes by it honestly, since her Daddy is pretty musically inclined too! Maybe when she's five she'll be hammering out Genesis drum tracks on my washing machine like he was doing on his Mom's at that age.

this isn't so bad

2009-02-03T12:44:00.001-08:00

... the unemployed life, that is.

My day has been like Saturday except ten times better because 1) I'm not quite as busy as I usually am on a Saturday, 2) I get to be at home, which I usually don't on a Saturday, and 3) I get to remember every so often that it's Tuesday and tomorrow will be yet another pseudo-Saturday!

Last night, Bria wet the bed (she's been drinking a lot of water at night because she has a sore throat) so the kids ended up sleeping in bed with me, and as they stretched their way awake, we all cuddled and chatted in short mumbles punctuated with long yawns. I have no idea what time we woke up this morning. I didn't look at the clock. It didn't matter.

When we finally went downstairs, we decided to make breakfast together, and for the first time in a long time, that didn't involve cold cereal or toast.

We made waffles--from a box, but that's my undomestic goddess version of homemade. I made poached eggs--my favourite! We made some strawberry gick for on waffles. (Strawberry gick is blended strawberries with a bit of real maple syrup added for sweetness. I used frozen strawberries, but thawing them is my undomestic-goddess version of growing my own.) And there was cheese, yogurt, apple juice, and hot chocolate, too. It was a great big giant feast of a breakfast that would have made June Cleaver clutch her pearls and fall right off her pumps in envy.

Unfortunately I ruined the first two waffles and the kids filled up eating the scraps of them before the rest was ready. Que sera sera.

After what turned out to be brunch, we had some errands to do, and we all went downtown. The first bit was okay, then we went to the new dollar store to get some supplies for Bria to make Valentine's Day cards for her class.

Bria started to go in a different aisle, and I told her to come back. She yelled at me, loud, and let me just say, that new dollar store has great acoustics. Oh, the echo. But a beautiful thing happened. I realized that I have all day, All week actually. I don't need to get the little heart stickers and pink glitter and red stamp pads right now. And because she didn't listen when I said, "Calm down right now or we're leaving", we left. I don't usually blog about my kids misbehaving (which is largely because they don't much) but it felt like such a little triumph because usually when they do misbehave, I become a pushover mom. When you only spend a couple hours a day and every other weekend with your kids, it is really hard to spend that time disciplining them. And I have been so guilty of that. So I'm really glad now that I have time to teach my kids things like the fact that it really is not okay to scream at people like that. Not just in theory. There must be at least one mom out there who gets me on that!

So we came straight home, Bria apologized, we cuddled, and Bria went down for a nap. Marissa was hungry so I got her some crackers and cheese, and watched her make little sandwiches with them. I didn't just absent-mindedly supervise her meal; I watched her make crackers and cheese. I sat in anticipation of her triumph as she worked on breaking the strips of cheese into little chunks that she could fit onto the crackers like puzzle pieces. And she gave me lots of 'mooches (that's smooches) cause she says she likes my 'mooches the best.

Yeah, this isn't so bad.

It's just after four o'clock, so I better go get the kids up from their naps. They've been asleep a while, and we have a lot to do before we all tuck in and watch American Idol tonight.

Not so bad at all.

Crop for the Cure 2009

2009-02-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again!

This is the third annual Crop for the Cure, and we are so excited about some of the things we're doing this year. I am really proud to help put this event on with my mom and sisters, including Tracey who is kind of the boss of the whole thing.

Living Proof Photography will be a sponsor again this year, along with so many others. The response to the Crop is amazing. From individuals to small businesses to large companies, we get so much support for the event from sponsors.

The Crop is taking place Saturday, June 6, 2009 at the St. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre. I love the theatre as a venue. It is a great building with history and character, and a very nice looking little grassy spot. And pssst.. they do weddings!!

Click the picture to check out the website at www.cropforthecure.ca
I know that June seems a long ways off, but the tickets are going fast, so get yours right away!

P.S. For any of you that don't speak Scrap, a Crop is a scrapbooking get-together, and is a lot of fun.

I'm Very Zen (and I'm giving away a free shoot)

2009-01-26T19:24:00.000-08:00

That's my excuse for not blogging.

Here's my credible source to back me up on the merits of that:

Do you have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?
- Lao Tzu

I was being patient because everything was in ridiculous upheaval and I was waiting to see where all that dust was going to settle.

It's been nearly two weeks since I last posted, which has been unlike me since my early days of blogging. I want to say that I've been gathering wisdom, and that I just feel instinctively that it's time to move forward now, but the truth is I'm just bored.

I'm bored with not shooting.
I'm bored with caring about losing my job.
I'm bored with the anticipation of free time.
I'm bored with staying still.

So unsettled mud here we come! Wait, did I say WE? Well, yes, I did, because my boredom has prompted me to invite someone to do a free shoot, and a little mud may be involved!

I'm offering up one absolutely free shoot including your favourite five images fully edited on disk in high resolution printable format to one person (or maybe one couple... we'll talk!)

The hitch? Well, the hitch is that I'm offering this to someone who is willing to a do a Winter Wonderland Trash the Dress session!

The catch? I've never done a Trash the Dress session before, so I'm asking for a leap of faith.

Let me just say that my vision of a Trash the Dress is not really of setting out to trash the dress. It's more like having a respectful disregard for the eternal preservation of the dress. It's about getting the absolute coolest shots imaginable without worrying about a little dirt and snow.

I don't want to take photos of you pouring condiments on your gorgeous dress.

I want to showcase the dress in all it's glory in a "fashion meets bridal" sort of way.

It will be cold, it will be damp, and it will be awesome.

Oh, I had a hitch and a catch -- I guess that means I do need a perk!

The Perk? I'm also inviting anybody out there with an interest in professional photography to come along and play! I know there are people out there because I've talked to some of you, and you are some cool people!

So... if you want a free Winter Trash the Dress, send me a message at trashmydress@livingproofphotography.ca

If you want to come out and play and shoot with me, send me a message at
letsplay@livingproofphotography.ca

Why two separate email addresses? 'Cause, like I said... I'm bored. (And also the little web-bot spammy things pick up email addresses posted on blogs pretty quickly, so I like to make up random ones that I can block later! Clever, huh?)

How My Day Went Today

2009-01-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Bobby called me out on not posting, so here goes. I've actually done about six drafts of posts since New Year's Day, but I was in such a funk, they kept sounding really... funky? (and not in a good way)

Then last night I got Bobby's blog police comment, and I started writing a post about, among other things, how I felt 2009 was going to be so much better than 2008, when a lot of not-so-good things happened. And, since I missed the NYE Resolutions Posting Bonanza of the blogiverse, I also included that my only resolution is to not use drive-thrus because they're not very environmentally friendly.

I was tired, so I didn't post it because I didn't think my proofreading was probably up to par. I was planning to post my "2009 will be so good" post after I finished work at my day job today.

Then today I found out that I only have two more weeks of work left. I'm redundant. (I do repeat myself a lot). However, since Bobby asked for this post, and Bobby is Down on the Downers, I'm going to list 10 great things about losing my job. I haven't thought of them all yet, so I anticipate some lame ones near the end.

1. I'll get to spend a lot of time with my kids.
2. I guess this makes me a full time photographer?
3. I only have to shovel the driveway every other day to take Bria to school.
4. It should be easier to avoid drive-thrus if I have to sell my car.
5. I can go on the "Recession Diet" and hopefully lose a lot of weight.
6. I might find a job I don't actually suck at. (cause to be totally honest, I'm not exactly winning any receptionist/assistant awards here)
7. Maybe I can put the time into photography that I need to in order to make it work as a full-time career.
8. Sure does take pretty much all of the "Cons" off of the "Pros and Cons of Going Back to School Full Time" chart.
9. Now I don't have to replace the work pants I ripped last week.
10. Afternoon naps. Need I say more?

Here's a rainbow picture to make this post seem even more happy:

I guess that's kind of sad looking as far as rainbow pictures go. Oh well... you take what you can get.

Feel free to let me know some more reasons why it's great not having a job! Seriously... the only way I know to deal with stuff is to make light of it a bit, so feel free to join in. I guess that probably makes me a flake or something, but whatever... at least I'm generally happy flake.

Anyway, I'm going to go hang with my kids now!

P.S. I always get in trouble for not telling people things and I didn't want to have to call all the people I should and tell them, so that's why I blogged about it. I guess anybody who doesn't like me enough to follow my blog didn't need to know... :P

The Longest Day

2008-12-30T18:39:00.000-08:00

A while ago, twenty-four world-class photographers from around, well, the world, got together for 24 hours, knowing only that they would be split into two teams for some kind of secret mission.

That mission was for each team to create two things: one, an original film that was somehow about photography, and two, a PSA for one of two charities, Thirst Relief and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

There are going to be ten episodes of the kind of "behind the scenes making of" stuff, and then there will be a vote for which team did the best job. Watch episode one right here on my blog ( ^ up there ^ )

I know maybe not everyone is into the whole world of photography, but there is $5,000.00 in total going to these two charities, and they are both amazingly worthy, so please support this effort. If you do nothing else, watch my blog for when the final episodes are posted and go vote!

All of these photographers are also coming together to promote the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International 2009 Convention. I can't afford to go because I'm tucking all my extra pennies away to pay for school, but I hope to make it next year!

Because they deserve a shout out, here's all the 'togs that got in on this deal:

Jessica Claire, Bronson Pate, Jasmine Star, Chris Humphreys, Ann Hamilton, Kevin Kubota, Michele Celentano, Steve Bebb, Catherine Hall, [b]ecker (who is indeed cool enough to be simultaneously like Madonna and have just one name, AND the artist formerly known as Prince, and have a symbol in his name... apparently), Katie Humphreys, Kenny Kim, Jim Garner, Alisha Todd, Joe Photo, Jen Bebb, Brook Todd, Jules Bianchi, Gene Higa, Amber Holritz, David Jay, Robert Evans, Dane Sanders, and Bambi Cantrell

Seriously check out their work. You will see how very very far I have to go, but I'm okay with that - check 'em out! I'm pretty sure all of these folks travel, so if you can afford them, these are some of the best IN THE WORLD to have capturing your life and making you look fabulous. And just so you know, the Bebbs are homegrown right here in Canada, so if you like to shop local, they'd be your best bet!

The whole thing was spear-headed, as far as I know, by Ron Dawson of F-Stop Beyond, who makes videos, and seems to hang with photographers a lot... I don't think he is a photographer, but if you need a video made... call him! There were also creative consultants (videographers extraordinaire) Lloyd Calomay of Red 5 Studios in Orange County and David Robin of David Robin Films in California.

If you got here and didn't click on any of those links, please do! It took me a really long time to put them all in, and I wouldn't link to something unless I really thought it was worth seeing, so if you've got time, please visit them!

Christmas-Time

2008-12-28T20:15:00.001-08:00

It was Boxing Day, and most of the family - about 25 of us anyway - were at my parents' house for Christmas dinner. A few us stragglers stood around the island fixing our own plates while a half a dozen kids aged four and under were being wrestled into seats at the little table with theirs. Wine bottles were being uncorked, baskets of rolls were being passed, seats were being stolen, and plates and silverware were being clinked. It was the chaos that has intimidated just about every newcomer into a corner. It was Christmas at my house. It was my home, my family, the way it has been for as long as I can remember.

And it was the answer to a question that I've been asking myself a lot this Christmas season. Since I'm a person who observes religious holidays with a half-hearted attempt at best, why do I hold Christmas so dear?

Family. A full house. The chaos that happens when there is too much love, laughter, and happiness to be contained by four walls.

For just a moment, I took it all in, and I had my answer. Christmas morning at my house, with my girls, is of course so precious to me, but Christmas Time for me will never be complete until I have stood at the center of that din and realized that just about everyone that matters in the word to me is safe and happy and together. It happens so seldom, and I'm grateful for having had just a few seconds to appreciate it.

* * *

Okay, on with the show. I did take some pictures this year.

I didn't get back into my house really until Christmas Eve (and we're still not all set, to be honest) so we put the tree up and decorated that evening. Then we tried to do our Christmas-Eve-in-front-of-the-tree portrait. This was as good as it got :-)

The girls put out egg nog and cookies for Santa, and the leftover Reindeer Food in case Rudolph and his pals were feeling peckish. And of course, a letter for Santa.

The kids (and I) love taking breaks to play with the toys as they unwrap them. They totally loved the Potato Family bucket.

Two days before Christmas Bria decided that the ONLY thing she wanted was a Fur Real Friend. Thankfully, Santa had time to get her one.

Rissa loved the dress-up stuff. Here she is - Sir(ette) Rissa-Roo!

And, here she is, half way into a Princess costume, pooped out in front of the dress up box, which is also my new killer purple ottoman with tons o' storage.

Oh, and I am still "Cans for Comments"-ing. I'll make my first donation on January 2 or 3rd or thereabouts - have to check the food bank hours.

Picture Quiz

2008-12-23T05:00:00.000-08:00

I stole this from my friend Bobby Earle's blog. He is an amazing photographer and so worth flying in from California if you want some seriously hot wedding and engagement photos.

This is how you play:
Use Google image search to answer each question. Then choose your favorite image. It's a good time waster.

Age: 26

A place I'd like to travel to:
so hard to choose just one, but top of the list at the moment would be Italy

My favorite place: again, so hard to choose, but I think my favourite so far is New York City

My favorite object: books

My favorite food: vegetable pizza

My favorite animal: my cat Benni, who is not related to these guys

My favorite color: pink

The town where I was born: Walkerton, Ontario

The town where I live now: North Perth (and, hey, some of my own pictures comes up!)

A past pet: Marble, my most loved dog

A past love: red wine

Friend's nickname: Kissy Piggy

My screen name: living proof, Amanda Lee

when this was one of the options, how could I have chosen any other picture?

A different Amanda Lee

My first name: Amanda

My middle name: Lee (you see where my screen name came from)

My last name: Stratton

One of my bad habits: staying up too late

My first job: babysitting

My grandmothers' names: Ila and Bernice

My college degree: will be English literature

What I'm doing right now: wasting time!

A Christmas Miracle

2008-12-21T08:39:00.000-08:00

When my nephew Parker was five or six years old, I was driving him somewhere and he was regaling us with what I think was a mix of actual knowledge about armadillos and fantasy (for example, did you know they can take their arms and legs off?). The talk turned animals of a more domestic nature, and we started talking about pets. Then Parker uttered what is possibly one of the saddest sentences a little boy can:

"My mom's allergic to dogs, so we can never have pets.
I have sea monkeys."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Parker has since then had a fish, but the fact remained that his mom is allergic to dogs, and he and his sister Keely have resigned themselves to the fact that they can never, ever have a dog. or a cat. or any of the cool pets... just sea monkeys and other smallish sea creatures.

Nonetheless, Parker steadfastly insisted that the only thing he wants for Christmas this year is a dog... adding "but I know that won't happen."

So you can imagine their disbelief when their dad, Jamie, opened the door Saturday morning and let Chloe come running into the house. Chloe ran down the long hallway and right to Parker and Keely.. and they just sort of stared and looked confused.

Then the conversation went something like this:
Parker: "Uh, why is there a dog in the house?"
Dad: "She's our dog now."
Parker: "But why is she in the house?"
Mom: "She's going to be part of our family now. She's your dog. She's going to live with us."
Keely: "Mommy, are you still going to be here?"

That was priceless. They finally believed that this was really their dog, and Chloe was staying.

Chloe didn't waste any time getting into the thick of it with the kids. It was amazing how comfortable she was right away in her home. She didn't seem stressed at all, and she warmed up to the whole family immediately.

The kids were anxious to take Chloe for a walk, and I was pretty surprised to find out Tami, who has long been a non-friend to dogs, had actually gone out and bought Chloe some jackets for her walks!

And yes, that's proof that Parker's a responsible dog owner in his right hand.

Isn't she cute?

I think Chloe's a lucky dog to get a family who will love her and take awesome care of her! But I'm sure Parker and Keely will count this as nothing less than a Christmas Miracle!

ShowIT

2008-12-21T01:17:00.001-08:00

ShowIT Web Pro is a program for making photo slideshows, and is a product of David Jay's ShowIT company. I've had it for a while now, but just got it all figured out and made my first slideshow! I had Miss and Paul's engagement shots handy because I'm also working on a sample guest book of their shoot, so I used theirs to throw together a quick slideshow. Well, relatively quick, for a first attempt!

Check it out:

I think I'm addicted to slideshows now. I'm going to be on the prowl for good slide music, so if you know of any... hook me up!

Cans for Comments - TALLY!

2008-12-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well, the comments were all in, and as of yesterday morning, the final count was 38! I know that doesn't sound like a lot compared to what some people get, but it's a lot more than I normally see in a week, and is the product of a lot of support people showed for the cause! Thank you all so much!

HOWEVER

Word on the street (okay, in the newspaper) is that the food bank is already all set for Christmas (Yay! Go Community!!) and what they really need is for people to sustain their contributions throughout the year. So for now I'm extending this to January 1, and I'm going to try to post lots to earn those comments and get some more cans! Then I'll be hitting the grocery store the weekend after that to make a dent in the food bank need for 2009.

I hope that's okay with people. I feel like I'm kind of going back on my commitment, but in reality I'm extending it and just trying to serve the community the best I can, which was the whole point anyway!

I'm going to keep this up, and I think I'll be making monthly donations, based on comments. So put me in your feed (I recommend Google Reader) and know that if you want to drop a comment, you'll be helping provide relief to some people who need it.

B & H

2008-12-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry, photo friends, this isn't a blog post about some amazing sale at B&H.
It's better - it's my amazing nephews!

My sister Jenn's boys are so adorable and they are such great happy kids. I am so behind on posting these ones, too. Some of these were taken in the summer when B turned 6 months old, and some last month when H turned 4 years old.

What a cutie! Look at those big blue eyes!

We didn't time this shoot very well, and we caught him a bit tired, so I didn't get too many smiles out of B, who is normally a very happy little guy!

Fast forward a few months...
H wanted silly photos, and one of particular request was a shot of him upside down on the couch!

H and I had an agreement, and for every sit and smile photo he got to do a silly photo, so here's one of the sit and smiles.

A big brother helping out his little brother.

Just a bit of a family resemblance, huh?

I love these boys!!

Tonya + Gary + Family

2008-12-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so try to pretend there is snow on the ground in these photos and I'm not three months behind on posting my portrait sessions. I just didn't want to let this one go without posting for a couple of reasons.

One is that I needed to make sure Heather knows that I'm keeping the job of assistant open for her to take... just as soon as she's old enough to work. Heather's been in attendance at two of my shoots now, and she is the best "helper-for-a-day" in the world! At the first shoot she even managed a Mark II and 70-200 and took a shot of me (which we won't share cause let's just say I didn't show up "camera ready" that day) and on this shoot with her family, she lugged my big old camera bag around willingly. Here she is with Chelsea:

And here are their brothers. I love this shot. Which is another reason I wanted to share--I got some shots I really liked :p

The third reason I wanted to make sure to share this shoot is that Tonya and Gary were so in love it was just oozing! They were so adorable together, and they were naturals in front of the camera.

Thanks for the shoot guys! You have an awesome family!

Cans for Comments

2008-12-08T08:24:00.001-08:00

I was checking out Anne Ruthmann's blog and saw that she is doing an awesome thing called Cans for Comments. There are a lot of bloggers doing this, and each is agreeing to donate one canned/boxed/non-perishable food item for every comment left on their blog.

I am jumping on this bandwagon and will be hitting the grocery store on Tuesday December 16 to donate one item for every comment left on my blog between now and then to the Salvation Army food bank, which serves the local community.

So, if you're a blog stalker, now's the time to become a blog-commenter! You can comment on any post anywhere on this blog, and it will count.

If you don't know what to write, then answer a question:
What's Your Favourite Part of Christmas Dinner?

Okay, I realized I should give a little more info:
if you don't see where it says "post a comment", to post a comment, click on where it says "x comments":

I don't use word verification and you can also comment anonymously.

The Fifth Day of Christmas

2008-12-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

The Gift Card Sale has ended, but you can continue to purchase gift cards, regularly priced (and still a fantastic gift!!) by clicking here:

Click Here to Purchase your Gift Certificates at 15% OFF

The Second Day of Christmas

2008-12-02T00:15:00.000-08:00

It's Day 2 of the Living Proof Photography Gift Certificate Sale!

Today is also my sister Tracey's birthday, so today's giveaway was chosen by her. Anyone who purchases a gift certificate today will receive a few items from Tracey's favourite store, the Scrapping Turtle! The Turtle is an awesome store, so next time you're in St. Jacob's, be sure to check it out, or hit them up online!

And if you like scrapping, definitely check out Tracey's Blog. She does beautiful layouts, and this month she is on the Guest Design Team at the Turtle. So go over there and say Happy Birthday!!

Click Here to Purchase your Gift Certificates at 15% OFF

I also wanted to take the chance to answer a few questions people asked on Monday!

1/ Can they be used for wedding bookings?
No, unfortunately discounted certificates can't be used toward wedding bookings. They can, however, be used to purchase prints or other products after the engagement session or the wedding day, so you can still get a great gift for the future Mr. and Mrs. on your list.

2/ Do they say an amount or a product on them?
By default, I will ship the $100 certificates worded as "$100 credit or one free session" and all other gift certificates with a dollar amount indicated. All the certificates are made to order, though, so if you want something different, email me or call me (519-342-3852) to let me know.

3/ If I buy one for myself, do I have to book a session now?
Nope! You can buy one now and use it whenever you like!

4/ Do they expire?
Nope!

Winteriffic

2008-11-18T14:31:00.001-08:00

If you know me, you know I despise winter. Cold and I don't get along well. If I could, I would hibernate from January 2 (don't want to miss Christmas and New Year's) until oh... March 1. I don't like walking in the slush; I really don't like driving on ice; I get irritated with the way my nose runs and my eyes tear up when I come in out of the cold; and I hate the pile of boots and coats and snowpants and hats and mitts that has to live beside the front door; and I hate how long it takes to get it all on.

And yet... there is something about the first big snow that I love. It's so beautiful the way it clings to the trees and fences, pure bright white snow stretches out in a smooth blanket across fields, the scent of wood burning in fireplaces in cozy homes floats on the crisp air, and childrens' faces light up when they see it all for the first time each year.

So this past weekend, when I woke up on a Sunday morning that is the best a winter morning can offer--snug in my bed, no alarm clock, and a big picture window open on a wonderland--I thought I definitely need to learn to appreciate winter more.

So after I picked the girls up from their dad's place, we had a winter fun day Mommy style - inside. We made special hot chocolates with candy canes and whipped cream, put together a gingerbread house, periodically gawked at the snowscape out the window and stopped to delightedly exclaim "it's snowing again!"

I think I'm going to try to enjoy this winter. So far... I'm doing okay. We'll see what happens when it's time to go out and play in four feet of snow. ;)

My girls L.O.V.E. hot chocolates...

Even though Marissa was a little wary of the whipped cream at first.

So then we set out to build our gingerbread house (from a kit - I'm not that crafty). Marissa was just amazed at all the candy.

Bria worked hard. "I'm not sure I have enough gum balls for this":

Marissa commited a few random acts of silliness and then deserted us to go watch Wizard of Oz.

But we kept building and before long we had created what can only be dubbed "The Masterpiece!"

Which my awesome niece Rielly actually did most of the work on.

It was a great day. I hope I can keep up my winter-loving fun for the next few months. Heck, maybe I'll even let the kids enjoy winter kid-style: outside.