Life :: Canadian National Wakeboard Championships

Well, this past weekend was the Canadian National Wakeboard Championships. Why they decided to run them in the middle of the South Thompson River is beyond me... All the water-ski events (and anything to that sort) generally happen at Shumway Lake.

The sunday we went - for the semi-finals - was unbelievablly amazing. Not a single cloud in the sky, warm weather... Not unlike typical August weather... Unlike this August. The weather this year has been very touch and go... They lucked out running the Canadian National Championships this weekend - had to be one of the most beautiful weekends all summer!

And, I couldn't take anyone but my favorite neice! :) Sofia enjoyed the sun, and relished in the chance to play in the river... Such a little water baby.... and such a ham!!

We saw some good runs... but my favorite photo has to the be following. The poor kid tried multiple times to land his jump, to no avail... until this time. I looked like he was going to biff it, and go down, but he held his ground, stuck it, and recovered... Amazingly! :)

And... like I said, Sofia played in the water, went under at one point, but that didn't faze her... She kept trying to go deeper, but still step over the waves...

Pets :: The 'Misfit House'

So, I was lucky enough to spend a week, house sitting at the aptly named 'misfit house' with all the misfits and shelter rejects...
Between the neurotic golden retriever - Buddy, the ball crazy, dog reactive mix breed - Cricket, the blind cat (aka the one with no eyes) - Peek-A-Boo, the wobbly, crazy cat (aka the one with Cerebral Hyperplasia) - Jello, and the foster kitten with the broken leg - Henry... I not only had my work cut out for me, but I also had a lot of entertainment.

Peek-a-Boo wasn't overly photogenic... but who could blame her with someone strange in the house.
Henry, however, as all 'woe is me' since his cast was put on. I spent many evenings with him cuddled next to me... until he started kicking me with the damn splint... And many a nights nestled between him and Jello using their body heat to keep me warm... not like it was needed in the warm weather we've been having lately...

Life :: Kylie, Sofia and Shane

Well... Here's a lot awaited shoot!
For nearly 8 months, Kylie and I have been talking about doing a shoot with Sofia. I'm so eager to get some photos of her, and play with my camera, that I was so excited, reguardless of it being cloudy, overcast, and threatening rain (which is did spit on us for a while). It was relatively cold and dreary for an August day around here.

My poor niece LOVED the swing. She was happy to spend hours swinging on it... rain or shine. She screamed when she was pulled out - only to find her love of the slide too...

Once she had enough of the slide, and we returned to the swing... we extracted that crazy grip of hers and wandered around a little. She went and chased the seaguls, and wandered down the pier with us... before playing in the river with Shane - against Kylie's wishes...

She was one cold little girl who was very grumpy when she left the river and went for lunch...

I love photographing her... Get her in a good mood, and Sofia is normally all smiles! She's such an easy model, she just loves to play, and as long as mom is not too far away, she'll smile for hours. I absolutely adore her smile - just lights up a room with the twinkle in her eyes...
God I heart that kid... proud aunt? I think so...

Pets :: Katy and Arthur

So, I found myself spending most of my summer with these two while their family was running around the province camping... Good for me... extra cash, and getting out of my house... sucks for them... or so you'd think.

Does he look as mischievious as he really is? I definately lost some pizza toppings, some cheese, and some tea to Arthur... I tried to teach him manners... but he's a counter surfer, and his family seems okay with that... Arthur is definitely the more outgoing of the two.

Once she warms up to you... Katy's not as quiet and innocent as she seems though. If you're going to hear the two of them running around the house, you can bet Katy is the reason for it... She's the one who started it all, and she's the one who eggs Arthur on...

And... one of my favorite features of their house...

Their balcony! It's only a short walk to the beach, of which I kinda regret not doing... But I definitely spent many nights watching the sunset on the balcony! :)

Pets :: Fizz and Scrappy Doo

So Angela and I needed a bitch session a short while ago... so we took her dogs down to the beach. I used the excuse to take some photos of them playing on the beach. Unfortunately, due to the low light and my amateur skill, and pets looking absolutely horrible under flash... not a lot of them turned out. I did manage to take some decent photos of the sunset though...

Of Angela's two beasts... Scrappy Doo is the water love, athletic, ball crazy, stress pot of a dog. Fizz is the laid back, younger (ironically) with bad knees. He tended to wander away and visit everyone else on the beach... but Scrappy definately had a lot of fun chasing the sticks we tossed into the river for him.

After we threw the sticks a few more times... we went for a walk down the River Trail... at least until it met with the roads. Explain to me how you can have a 'River Trail', that deviates from the river for an extended period of time...?

Life :: Mom's Garden

Something has GOT to be said for Summer. I mean, I'm usually an autumn girl. Hell, I AM an autumn girl - nothing strikes me as beautiful as the leaves changing colour... something between the sunlight, the changing leaves, and the crisp cool air just signifies life to me (I guess that's kinda odd in a season where everything is 'dying').
But, alas... photographing flowers can definately have it's perks.

I am always at a loss of what to get my mother for Christmas... so this year, I've decided to take some photos of her garden and frame them in a series for her... She's always one to like the thoughtful, hand made gifts...

 

That being said... I guess I do that a lot. A few years ago (has to be about 7 now), I took our old dog to get some professionally done photos... Last trip her and I did, and less than 2 weeks later, we had to put her down. Let me tell you, giving those photos for Christmas was hard.

And then, a couple years later, I got photos of our current dog, and cat that I had taken... and initially planned on sneaking in a good one of my horse... before she was mine. Little did I know, I was chumped that year, when, before I had even THOUGHT of the idea to convince my parents I wanted a horse... they had bought me the horse I planned to use as a pawn...

Maybe this is not such a fail-safe plan...

Wedding :: Julia and Kristian

A couple months ago, one of my best friends got engaged (Yay! FYI. You still owe me $50) and asked me if I'd be interested in doing some wedding photography for her. I'm just an amateur photographer, and had no idea what to do... so I resorted to my resources!

One of my friend does professional photography as a side-job, so I contacted her and picked her brain for a couple emails. I managed to get a whole list of things to make note of while photographing... Lists of photos to make sure I get, things to make note of, etc... And an invitation to photograph a wedding with her on the long weekend in August.

It was a really great learning experience for me, as I've always been interested in using photography as a side-job/extra income... unfortunately for me, the city I'm in is SOOO hard for amateurs in anything from new careers, to hobbies, get a start in... so naturally, I jumped at the chance of working with my friend, and learning from her.

Unfortunately for us, the wedding she was photographing was her friend... Both of them were totally excited to have a second shooter, but the normal contracts/info sessions/etc. did not happen... So although I didn't learn what normally happens... I did learn a lot.

For instance... a polarizing filter and lens hood would be quite beneficial... especially in the bright sun common during summer weddings in our area... So, I did manage to stumble upon a polarizing filter, and lens hood at Future Shop, at a very decent price... Let's hope they work like they're supposed to be.

I managed to hang out and join Chelsey in shooting right from the brides parent's house as they were getting ready...

To the brides place to get dressed and meet the limo... And off to the park for the wedding...

We managed to get the candid photos right after the ceremony...

And even some shots in the water park and playground with the bridal party.

Thanks to having my own hands on experience, and first hand knowledge from Chelsey, I managed to take a close look at my photos and live and learn from them. Thus, definitely got a polarizing filter, a lens hood, and some new photos sessions to try them all out with.

Maybe, hopefully, this is just the beginning of a long run with a passion of mine... Here goes nothing! :)