it’s called image explorations.

this was my first year attending IE but it most definitely will not be my last! i had such an amazing experience for the week i was there. i met some truly inspiring people and made some wonderful friends too. i spent the week learning from one of the worlds top ten wedding photography duo, steve & jen bebb. i loved their candor and willingness to share their knowledge and especially their wonderfully sparkling personalities! they helped me to push myself beyond my boundaries and try things that…. maybe, at least in my mind, i wasn’t quite ready to try yet. and for that, i will be forever grateful! thank you steve and jen!

their wedding is at st. ann’s academy in august – it’s such a beautiful venue.  i haven’t photographed a wedding there yet so i am really looking forward to it!  until then, enjoy a few more images from their engagement session.

here’s a sneak peek of their engagement session yesterday. i was thrilled when we came upon this field of flowers!

so take a look around and enjoy the new digs.

a few weeks ago, we went to the beach. it was great to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather we were experiencing. the fresh air felt so good! here are a few pictures from our walk. i loved capturing all the textures that were on the beach. i wonder how they’d look on photographs???

as i sit here at my keyboard and think about what i’m going to write today, i am overwhelmed with all the possibilities that 2010 holds. oh, don’t get me wrong, 2009 was a GREAT year…  for the most part. on the personal side: we finished and moved into our new house, spent an incredible two weeks in hawaii, bought a flip mino hd video camera (and i totally LOVE IT!!), came to terms with the diagnoses of ADHD for our son,  followed up with learning all that i could on the disorder to help him succeed in school and life,  celebrated my daughter’s academic achievements for grade six, took lots of LOA days from my “day job” to spend more quality and quantity time with my family, went to see kenny chesney in calgary with the “girls”, enjoyed many camping trips, spent quality time with friends, watched our son learn how to swim and play guitar, watched as our daughter built amazing new friendships while continuing to nurture the old ones, and grew even closer to and more in love with my husband of fourteen years, and finally – and this IS A BIGGY, i realized that i am NOT supermom nor am i superwoman! there, i said it!

on the business side: i attended wppi for the first-but-certainly-not-the-last time, launched  my RAD GRAD portrait campaign,  bought my most favorite lens ever, did a few boudoir sessions (which i loved and will be doing more of! ooh-la-la-boudoir!),  attended a fast track photographer workshop in seattle with dane sanders, offered some new products to my clients, and gave back to my community.

looking forward into 2010, i know that i will face many challenges.  i think i am ready for them. whether or not i can rise above them all remains to be seen but i know that i will do my very best to succeed. i feel like i am more focused now than i ever have been with my business. and it feels good! it has taken me many years to get to this point but i’m sure it’s the right decision for me to make.

i have decided that instead of being just an all-round photographer, i will be putting my focus on weddings and boudoir, making them my specialty. i LOVE shooting weddings and engagement sessions! there’s just so much love, joy and raw emotion during a wedding and i just love being a part of such an important day with my wedding couples. it is truly an honour to me. and even though it’s something new for me,  i LOVE shooting the boudoir sessions when i did them! boudoir photography is a great way for woman to feel sensual and sexy.  i believe that every woman should feel good about herself and love the skin she’s in and boudoir photography is a great way to affirm this.  i will also continue to embrace my RAD GRAD campaign and see where it takes me. i LOVE working with this age group! they have so much energy and enthusiasm and i love hearing their big dreams about where the future will take them.

now, that doesn’t mean that i won’t be doing any family sessions – i may still take the odd one. they’re just not going to be my priority. but don’t worry, if you already have a family session booked with me, we’re still going to make it happen.

i’m still working on setting all of my goals for 2010 – setting goals is not as easy as it sounds. but i will be sure to share them once i get them figured out. until then, i’ll leave you with a boudoir image of one of my favorite clients! wishing everyone all the best in twenty ten!

jim and catherine met through mutual friends about 5 years ago. at that time, jim’s wife had been diagnosed with cancer and he was seeking help thru others. about a year later, after his wife had lost her battle, he began to ‘notice’ catherine and wanted to know more so he asked her out for a cup of tea. both were nervous but enjoyed each other’s laughter and decided to visit again soon and share more tea. over the next few months, catherine also shared her own story with jim – family loss thru divorce.

in their early discussions, both agreed that friendship was their priority. however, it wasn’t long before it turned into much more. weekends became too short. holidays together were planned and enjoyed. and then they decided to take a big step forward and began living together. they became an informal couple and decided to call each other companions – always reminding themselves we were friends first. they purchased a farm house, bought some cultivating equipment and seeded their first garden. there were successes and failures in the garden but they knew, regardless of the outcome, the plan was right for them. omnivore acres was alive and so was their love for each other.

this fall, while discussing birthday presents for each other, they soon agreed to celebrate more than just their birthdays. they decided to formalize their love and life together through marriage and share the same last name. rings were made and a private ceremony was planned for december 28, 2009 at the oswego hotel, victoria, b.c., with only witnesses present.

that’s when catherine contacted me. they attended a wedding that i photographed earlier this year and loved my work and asked if i was available to capture them exchanging their vows.  i am so honoured that they asked me to be a part of their special day. and i love that i am able to help them share the love and joy captured with the images below with all their family and friends around the world.

they are now more than friends, companions, partners and lovers – they are jim and catherine gowans. congratulations to you both.

now, on with the blog post – i love taking pictures. that’s no secret. but what i love even more than that is when my clients love the images i create for them! and i love it even  better than when they want to create a leather album as a keepsake from their session.

below are some shots of a boudoir album that i recently designed for a very favorite client of mine. it’s a christmas gift for someone very special in her life!

20-hinged-pages of amazing images, rich colour, with a leather exterior, all wrapped up in perfect packaging!

contact me now to book your boudoir session for valentines day – it’s not too early!

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earlier this year, a fellow photographer and blogger extraordinaire, lindsay stradtner designed with a wordle template and graciously shared it with everyone.  check out her site.

i finally got around to personalizing her template and designed a wordle  just for my family. i knew immediately that this was something that i wanted to hang on my walls so i decided to have it printed on a 10×20 canvas, since canvas art is so popular right now!  and though i haven’t quite decided where exactly i’m going to hang  it yet i absolutely LOVE it!!

p.s. don’t mind the dust! LOL!! i’ll get to it one day… i swear!

don’t forget to leave a comment because for every comment left between now and december 10th, i’ll be donating a canned good to my local food bank.

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so, what exactly is “cans for comments” you ask? well, for the next 10 days, i will be blogging every day (i promise to do my best) and for every comment that you leave on my blog, i will donate a canned good to the local food bank. how great is that!!

how do you leave a comment?  just click on add a comment at the bottom of any post, enter your name and email addy and leave a little blog love! simple! and all for such a great cause!

here are some other amazing island photographers that have joined in as well! feel free to leave some blog love for them too! (i will update this as more join in!)

erin wallis

kim kalyn

thanks for leaving your comments!

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i was really looking forward to their session. i remembered little c from the daycare and thought he was such a little cutie! when we met yesterday morning, it was a perfect day!  it was overcast (perfect lighting), not raining and best of all, the temperature was very mild.

it was great meeting you sutton family and i hope we get to work together again one day! enjoy your sneak peek!