Kirsten & Greg - Engagement

Kirsten is a fellow photographer here in Vancouver and is planning a very small, intimate wedding in January. I LOVE intimate weddings and I jumped at the chance to work with someone in the industry! For their engagement photos we went to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club where most of their time is spent. Kirsten has been into sailing since she was a child and Greg shares her passion so it was a propos to be around the water and a multitude of boats. I can't WAIT until January!





It was a chilly day, to say the least, but both Kirsten and Greg were troupers and they managed to stay both warm AND dry! There was a slight drizzle but nothing that we couldn't handle.

Jacklin McMynn - Bridal Shoot

Hycroft Manor is ALWAYS an amazing place to photograph highly sophisticated and gorgeous brides. Jacklin definitely falls in this category! These images really bring out Jacklin's beauty, warmth and inner joy.




I think both Jacklin AND Graham were a bit surprised as she was getting her hair and makeup done. Graham had never seen her so 'done up'! I think he was a little worried (hee hee) but he LOVED the final results! Jayna Bussiere did an AMAZING job (as usual)!










At this time of year in Vancouver, it's difficult to find much greenery let alone greenery that isn't soggy. But we found some beautiful ivy that contrasted well with the outside wall.

a new surprise coming...

I was hoping to keep this a secret but I just have to give you a little hint... there's something new on the horizon and I'm just doing some tweaks here and there before the big 'launch'... stay tuned!

Barack Obama

It's official! Barack Obama is the NEW President of the United States of America. I realize I'm stating the obvious - who doesn't know the results of last night's election... But I'm compelled to verbalize it, in any form, in order to wrap my head around the vast significance of this event. We all the know how many "firsts" this involves so I won't bother with the redundancy but it will be very interesting in the next 4 years to see what actually evolves compared to the 'change' Americans have been promised. I'm excited to witness all the events (whatever they may be) and watch how Obama handles what he has been dealt.

I have been quite impressed so far with how he conducted himself and handled his campaign; with dignity, integrity and good old fashioned hard-working ethics. Although I am not American and had no say in the election, I will be affected indirectly and the fact that a real man of character and principles (in my humble opinion) now presides over the nation south of our border, instills a sense of optimism that the world could actually become a better place. Barack Obama is only one man. But if one other person emulates the same level of tenacity with a high sense of propriety as a result of studying the methods used by Obama, it creates a positive chain reaction.

That being said, (all emotion aside) it still remains to be seen how much actual influence Barack will have in the Nation's Capitol...

Holiday Special!

For the month of November (and limited dates in December) I'm offering a Christmas special for family portraits! This has been a HUGE hit the past few years so contact me as soon as you can to book at sitting. Currently I only have a few dates left on weekends and they're going fast.



A lot of people prefer to have some GREAT pictures of just the kids and a few prefer to include the whole family. It's completely up to you!





This is my ABSOLUTE favourite time of the year! I have so much fun with all the kids - it makes me feel like a kid again!

Canuck Place & CHC Helicopter

For the past 4 years Canuck Place Children's Hospice has hosted their "Gift of Time Gala" to help raise awareness, as well as money, to help children cope with life-threatening illness. This year, A local helicopter company, CHC Global Operations, donated a helicopter ride for the auction held at this year's Gala. I was lucky enough to go along for the ride and take some breathtaking sunset images with the lucky winners!






I've been to Canuck Place Children's Hospice and I'm impressed with their level of care and commitment to these children and their families. Please think of Canuck Place if you're considering donating your time or money to a good cause!

And thank you to Dennis and Guido, the pilots at CHC, who provided a safe, fun and breathtaking trip around our beautiful city!

Marathon Training - Update

Phew.... Training for a marathon requires much more discipline than I thought! I've always gone running every morning so I thought this was going to be a BREEZE! Was I ever wrong. At this time of year, when the sun rises much later and sets much sooner, finding time to run during daylight hours has been a challenge. Which is why I've made running in the dark work for me. I wear LOTS of reflective material and run on 'busy' roads - if you can call any road 'busy' at 5:00 in the morning!

That being said, I'm up to 15 miles! My training is coming along great (albeit challenging).

Now the bad news... looks like I'll be in Mexico during the time I was supposed to run the actual Marathon... hee hee... Oh well. I think I'd much rather be shooting in Mexico than running 26 miles in Seattle during the winter!

My next 'exercise' project? I start training for a triathlon next month. I'm starting with the swimming portion - my weakest area of all time... Once again - I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Please note: this isn't the end of my Marathon hopes...

Crystal & Miko - Engagement

OH MY! I L-O-V-E Crystal & Miko! I had the BEST time with them this past weekend! It's great coming up with unique ideas and new ways of capturing people's personalities but this shoot tops them all!

Crystal wanted to do a 1960's theme so we came up with several different looks that epitomized that era. We started with a pin-up style shoot complete with bicycles.





The next "storyline" was a sailor back from war:



And the final idea was... well... I'll let you decide...




Miko was incredible! I don't know of very many men who are so confident in who they are as a "man" that they're willing to go through what he did for his fiancee. Dude, hats off to you!

You may recognize Crystal. She's been in such films as "Good Luck Chuck", "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer", "Scary Movie 4" and more recently on TV in "Bionic Woman".

Here are some more images that I thought were timeless. As much as I LOVED the theme, I also wanted to capture something more. Emotional. Provocative. Loving.

CIBC Run for the Cure - RESULTS

Thank goodness it wasn't raining this morning! It was a beautiful sunny day for the 5k Run for the Cure.



Mind you it was very cold and for the first kilometre I couldn't feel my legs. After about 2k I was able to get the blood flowing and ran much smoother. I finished in 32 minutes which was consistent with my 10k run (1:04).

I didn't have any of my friends with me this time... 8am on Sunday morning isn't exactly easy for a lot of people. But I DID meet up with one of my BEST friends: it's GREEN!



I always have her with me on movie night (haa haaa). M&M's with a box of popcorn - yum! But I digress...

The BEST part for me was the finish line. Not the fact that I crossed it but standing there watching everyone else come in after me. The smiles and look of accomplishment on everyone's face really lifted my heart.



Most of these people don't run on a regular basis. But their lives have been touched by friends, family members or even themselves who've had breast cancer. A lot of them have lost loved ones to this disease.




Side note: Next year I'm DEFINITELY dressing up!



They're not running 'cause they "like" to run, they're running (or walking) for a purpose that far exceeds the desire to exercise. Every person who crossed the finished line looked like they had just saved a life. The great part is, each one of those people who ran (and raised money) WILL eventually save many lives! What an AMAZING feeling that is!

For me to witness this unbelievable sense of humanity, among over 13,000 people, was quite overwhelming. I stayed close to the finish line for a long time watching this beautiful scene. Eventually the cold took over though and I was forced to head home... NFL, cozy warm clothes, a cup of tea and a bag of M&M's... :-)

(Let's not talk about the Seahawks.... :-( )

CIBC Run for the Cure this Sunday

I'm off for another run this weekend. This time for a GREAT cause! It's very close to my heart 'cause cancer runs strongly on my Mother's side. I'd LOVE your support and cheers - it always helps me run faster... If you'd like to donate (you don't have to though) you can go online to my personal donation page It's SO easy!

But if you see me out there, be sure to wave and say "hi"!