Snow. It's a love hate thing.

Nothing makes snow more fun than kids!  I'll admit I went through years of hating the snow.  Not so much the initial snow, when it's all fluffy and pretty like a bright frozen blanket of silence.  It's right after, usually by the afternoon when it turns to a slushy mess then freezes and becomes a dirty crusty sloppy sludge covering the streets for a week after.  Maybe it's a resentment I harbor from having to wear mittens as a child.  Totally useless for sign language and my little digits would still be frozen afterwards, again nothing but frustration trying to communicate with my parents as a kid in cold weather.  Now with a son nearly three I'm finding some love in the snow again.  Watching his eyes get wide at the wondrous white world that has taken the place of what he sees everyday makes it so fun again! 

So who knew that family photos could be so fun in the snow?! You may remember this little guy from his 1st birthday session back in June.  http://grinningweasel.blogspot.ca/2012_06_01_archive.html

I was super exited to head up the mountain in search of snow with them for a family session just barely in time for Christmas!   We had a blast...although I'm pretty sure their dog Gus had the most fun of all! And now I officially have 2 reasons to love the snow again.  Can't wait for my next snowy session! 

It's the End of the World & I Can Feel Pretty Good About It.

 It's December and potentially the end of the world in 15 days so naturally I got to reflecting a little on this past year.  I've been so fortunate to have so many families ask me to capture some of their most memorable moments & there have been a lot this year!  From newborns to families to dogs and YES I even broke my own rule and did a wedding!  I have been honored to be contacted by many returning families & filled with pride from all the referrals & testimonials as well as humbled by sessions that didn't go as well as I wanted.  It has been a tremendous realization that the best part of a session that doesn't go as planned (and when dealing with small humans it will inevitably happen) is that I get to be a business with a conscience!  No matter how good the session I always go on to think of all the things I could can WILL do better.  I don't get that vibe from very many businesses I deal with.  I can guarantee that UPS isn't staying up at night wishing they'd delivered that package on time...to the right house...or maybe phoned last week when it got to their RICHMOND? location and I have to pick it up by tomorrow?!  (whew, thanks for the vent)   But I do.  So thank you to all the families of 2012.  Thanks for making me smile.  Thanks for letting me see you grow.  Thanks for playing along.  Thank you MOST for the frustrations!

   "Embrace frustration.  It pushes you to learn and grow, broadens your horizons, and lights a fire under you when your work has gone cold.  Nothing is more dangerous to an artist than complacency."

 Okay, that's enough of the 'wordiness' on to some pictures!  I go into every session a little bit nervous.  A good nervous, with really high expectations of what I want to capture.  (and as a side note if you think it's easy I dare you to take that camera that takes really nice pictures and have a family stand in the middle of a field staring at you blankly waiting for you to direct them how to 'look natural')  Well despite knowing the Breu's pretty well, their son Nash had me really nervous!  He's right up there with my son for looking straight at the ground and running away at the mere mention of a camera.  I love it when I'm prepared for the worst and instead I get pure magic!  Thanks Nash for reminding me to always expect the unexpected!

Mr A's 1st Birthday

  It seems like just yesterday I was doing a newborn session for this little guy.  Well look out world, Mr A is ONE!  Cue the balloons and cake!  I think it's fair to say he had a pretty good time, and the fact he finds yawning the most hilarious thing at the moment made my job pretty easy! You should turn 1 more often little guy, I had too much fun!

Caption Contest!

   While editing this shoot of these adorable twins I came across some that just had me howling with laughter.  The interaction between them was priceless!  Thought maybe it would be fun to do a caption contest of one of my favorites!

  Add a comment here on the blog for a funny caption & the best one will win a $150 gift certificate for a fall photo session!  Contest ends July 31 2012.  This contest is in no way affiliated with Facebook or it's associates.  Good luck!

Spring Bliss

    This is one family that I absolutely adore!  Last fall they moved to this gorgeous property in Pemberton where they became the proud owners of Off Road Body and Towing.  And as they say they're living happily ever after and expecting baby number 2!  I could have not asked for more in a shoot as to have both such a beautiful family and a beautiful location...sigh, I was in bliss.  Can't wait to come back this summer and meet the new addition!

 

 

 

Red Balloons

She was worried that her daughter wouldn't co-operate.  

"Don't worry." I said. "I'll bring balloons."

Then the wind took them away 10 minutes into our shoot.

She didn't quite get the balloons she was promised, but was still so perfectly precious.

 I wish I could just keep her in my pocket. 

Two Little Lovelies

My first words to their mother was, "I'm so sorry." when she arrived at Strong Start with her 2.5yr old and a set of twins just a few weeks old.  To which she replied, "I know. I cried."  I liked her immediately.  My apologies were unnecessary though, so much so that we joked that she must secretly have a nanny for how rested & well put together she was!

     As it turns out their mama was just blessed with two of the most serene lovelies you'd ever hope to meet.  It was so much fun capturing these two & I can't wait for another session with them!  

Bumpin'

  Next to the spectacular scenery of Squamish pregnant women have got to be the next greatest thing of beauty that we have here in abundance.  So how lucky am I that I get to photograph them both together?

  I'm not sure I really grasped the beauty of pregnancy until I got to experience it myself.  And let's be honest, I had grand delusions that I'd look even remotely as perfectly bumpin' in all the right spots like Tina here.  Instead I rapidly morphed into some sort of over-inflated water balloon.  But in spite of having to buy shoes one and a half sizes too big so they'd fit around my ankles the beauty of the experience is still the same & I look back on photos of my pregnant self to see someone who was so overwhelmingly happy and excited about life that the beauty of it is stunning....ok, maybe once I get past the shock and awe that my body could even expand to that state and still return somewhat back to normal.  I'm so glad I have those photos.

   On to Tina!  .....so who says you can't plan an outdoor shoot in February?!  It was a little chilly, but Tina braved the elements and was stunning to say the least.  And might I add agile?  She still had no problem jumping the fence at the golf course to snap a few on the other side!  Again, I'm envious.  Tina, you're absolutely lovely & I had such a great time doing these photos for you.  Congratulations, I can't wait to meet your new little girl!

 
 

A Little Bit of Love

  Amongst the millions of reasons why having a child is such a wonderful experience is re-living some of your own childhood memories.  With Valentines day almost here & an adorable little card made by one of my son's playmates at daycare I was reminded of all the glitter and glue that went into making Valentines as a child.  Making that little box that would fasten onto the front of your desk & eagerly waiting to see if Kevin S. would drop one in my box.  (Oh dear I hope he reads this and it makes him blush....the awesomeness of FB...but I digress...) 
  This handsome little stunner has been peeking those gorgeous brown eyes out of his mama's Ergo at me for months & I couldn't have been more thrilled to finally have the opportunity to photograph him.  Seriously, I dare you not to fall in love with him.  I am nothing short of positive his Valentines box will always be overflowing. 

 

Hey, thanks again.

The past year was fairly successful for me as a new and growing business and I really have YOU to thank.  Over the course of 2011 I tried many avenues of advertizing.  All of which have helped to some degree, but the majority of my business has come from referrals from you.  And I for one think that should be rewarded!!!  So in keeping with my theme of appreciation I've decided to introduce a Rewards Program!  

Here's how it works:  You refer a friend to Grinning Weasel, they tell me who sent them and they get an instant $20 discount on their session.  Once that session has taken place you, the referrer, receive a $25 credit towards a future shoot.  Yep, refer a handful of friends and you've got yourself a free shoot!  Hey, you've earned it!






Thanks again to all the folks who've given me kind words of encouragement and gave me that little push to really give this a go.  I'm absolutely LOVING it! 

The Gift

    This one is a really special one for me as it was a true gift from beginning to end.  A few months back some 'Squam moms' got together and purchased a gift certificate for a newborn session for Tami.  I was particularly interested in how her birth would go because she, like me, had a caesarian birth for her first.  Tami was awesome at keeping me posted on how things were going with her pregnancy and the internal battle in her mind to decide what route she wanted to take with the birth of this one.  A battle I have in my mind all the time although another birth is quite a ways off for me.  She was scheduled for another caesarian in mid-December, but as the time grew closer she decided to trust her instincts and let her body guide her through it and that date came and went.....so did the due date.... Days passed but Tami unwavering waited patiently for her body to let her know it was time.  That time finally came on Christmas of all days!  Tami, herein referred to as 'my hero', gave birth naturally, without the use of any drugs on Christmas morning, and was home in time for Christmas dinner with her beautiful new baby girl Emi.  What a gift indeed! 

    We also had to capture a few of her doting big sister Kauri.  She was so helpful during the shoot and I just looooved the one I caught of her showing off her goggles for me! 

Thank you Tami for being a hero, for trusting your body & giving me hope that next time I might also be lucky enough to have that opportunity. 

Gratitude

  Not a day goes by that I don't wake up feeling grateful for all that I have.  A healthy happy child.  A wonderfully supportive partner.  A warm safe place to call home in what I think is the most beautiful place on Earth. Fabulous family & friends..... none of this escapes me.  I've often contemplated, especially in that first year of my son's life, just how enormously difficult it would have been if I didn't have this amazing network in place.  No matter how wonderful of a day I've had with my son, once 7pm rolls around and his father walks in the door I feel a great sense of relief that I can have a bit of a  break.

  Back in December I got to thinking about how glad I am that we moved here.  The community in Squamish is one like I've never seen before.  I can't even express the warm fuzzy feeling it gives me to know that my son gets to grow up here.  That for him not only will tremendous natural beauty be the norm, but so will being part of a greater community that supports one another and has great pride in the place they call home.

 So, I began a search. A search for a way that I could use my passion to somehow be a greater benefit to this community.  There was no shortage of charitable organizations, and in the end I found one that really spoke to me & clicked with what I do professionally.

 The Open Door Society is a non-profit organization who's mission is to empower single mothers through emotional, physical & spiritual support.  Here in Squamish they support a number of women by giving them free childcare, including snacks and a lunch for all.  They also facilitate numerous workshops for the moms to learn about things that will help them both in their career as well as their personal life.  Possibly the most important part is they give these moms a network of support & a little bit of time for themselves.

  This is why I am VERY excited to announce that starting from January 1 2012, 3% of every shoot I do will be donated to The Open Door Society.  In addition, for every new 'like' my Grinning Weasel Photography Facebook page receives I will be donating 25 cents.  But that's still not nearly enough.  So come spring we're planning to have a photo session day for all the moms so they can have a nice portrait of their child, or them with their child....as any mom can attest we don't get many of those!  But we're still not done!!!  A plan is in the works to organize a Spring Mini Shoot from which ALL the proceeds would go towards Open Door in their fundraising efforts to send some moms to summer camp with their kids.

  If you'd like more information on The Open Door Society please visit www.opendoorgroup.org/
 

 This is my Thank You to everyone in this community that has welcomed me with open arms and shown me what it means to be able to call Squamish home.