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!