Happy Birthday Austin!

This month marked my nephew's first birthday. It's unbelievable how fast this year has gone by, and how quickly he's grown. Here are a few images from his first year:

Calgary's Cutest Kid Contest

A local radio station is hosting a contest to find Calgary's cutest kid. I've received notices that several kids I know were entered. In fact, I've taken pictures of several of them in the last few months. Take a look at these cuties and judge for yourself. And if you have a moment, take a look at the galleries and vote for the cutest.

Baby burrito

This sweet girl looked so cute all swaddled in her cozy pink blanket. But it was no time at all until she wriggled her arm out. I love newborn pictures. They're so unpredictable. You just have to be patient and wait for the moment.

Double the cuteness

No, it's not pictures of twins, but pretty close. With only a little over a year between them, these children were a handful. But the parents had a lot of great ideas to keep their blue eyes twinkling. These children are obviously adored.

I lost my pickle smile

Kids are so much smarter than we give them credit for. I love it when they show me that all my attempts to control a shoot are in vain. I thought we had it all figured out with this family. We had a few code words to guarantee smiles from this active three-year-old, including "pickles", "green boogers," and a few others. As we were getting to the end of the shoot, and energy was flagging, I tried to get one more smile by asking "Where's your pickle smile? I really like the pickle smile." The reply came with the most serious pout, "I lost it." Even without that last pickle smile, we had a great shoot, and got some fun pictures. 

Award winning images

Today I received notification that three of my photos, which I submitted to the Worldwide WOW Photo Contest, won awards. All winning entries will be showcased at the Worldwide WOW Photo Exhibition and Gala in support of the Empowering Families Program, helping low-income families break the cycle of poverty. I'm honored to have my photos recognized by the judging panel. The photos will also be displayed at the 2008 Digital Photo Expo in Calgary, October 4 and 5th.

JOY

1st Place Hope, Faith & Elevate

INDIGNATION

Honorable Mention Faces Around the World

LOOKING FORWARD

Honorable Mention Global Travel

Sweet baby girl

I love making photos of newborns. They're so beautiful. And it's such a privilege to be among the first visitors. These pictures were captured when Naiya was not quite two weeks old. Her parents were already settling into their new role and they were so comfortable and willing to do whatever I suggested (even at the risk of the inevitable accidents that happened when the diaper came off.) Tina has been more than a client. She's offered so much support and inspiration. I'm so happy that I could give her these pictures of her beautiful daughter, and I look forward to watching this family grow.

Trinidad

A couple of weeks ago I took a whirlwind three-day trip to Trinidad to join a team doing urban ministry as they helped to host an open-air concert in downtown Port of Spain. Two local soca artists and team of teenagers from Canada was enough to draw a large interested and interesting crowd. The music was great, the message inspirational, and the people watching was at its best.

One of my favorite models

One of my great friends has also been a very gracious guinea pig for some of my best photographic experimenting. A few years ago, she and her husband were brave enough to let me shoot my first wedding--theirs! When I suggested to Dana that we try belly pictures, she didn't even bat an eye. And she again invited me into their home when their daughter was just 10 days old. I had the honor of being in the way of the first projectile puke during our newborn photo shoot. I'm so honored to have been a small part of Dana's growing family over the years, and just a couple of weeks ago, I again had the pleasure of making some family portraits, just a couple of days before her daughters first birthday. They were all fantastic to work with. Here are a few pictures from the family shoot. You will recognize Dana and her family in several of the galleries on my website as well.

All in the family

How a photographer makes a family picture with herself in it:

1. Line everybody up, making sure there's room somewhere for herself to jump in

2. Take several frames of everyone without her (doing a silly dance so the baby will look at the camera)

3. Get in a good aerobic work out setting the camera timer and running to get in the photo, several times

4. Combine several photos to get everybody at their best (I'm not telling how many!)

Here's the result—my gorgeous family:

Careful, careful

It's always nice when a client shows concern for your welfare. It's especially heart-warming when she's not even two years old. As we climbed around on the banks of the Bow River for a family shoot, Molly was safe in her daddy's arms. But I, on the other hand, had to look out for myself. "Sha-sha (care-ful), Romi," she said, over and over, as I stepped from rock to rock. Thankfully we all made it back to safe ground without any mishaps. Family photos with two children under two is a challenge, but they were so cute, and we had fun making pictures on the rocks, in the grass, at the playground, and on the train tracks. I loved their look of denim and white. The whole feel was so fresh, fun and summery.