Stephanie and Andrew contacted me a while back to arrange an engagement session during their visit home this summer.  They were open to suggestions for locations, so I quickly offered up my new favourite location that I used for a wedding back in May, and they were excited to try something new.  It was well worth the 50 minute drive from town.  The lighting was just perfect on this evening and Stephanie came prepared with a change of clothes and the most awesome shoes I have every seen.  I think I can speak for all of us when I say we had fun.   Did I mention this was my favourite location?

I had the pleasure of visiting the community of Conne River one day in the end of July and had sessions with two families at that time.  Will I photographed when he was one, and Jenna and Daniel I was meeting for the first time.  (Cool how two of the three children have the same names as my kids).  It was nice to drive through a community where every single person I passed that day waved to me, even though I was a total stranger.  That is one of the things i love about small towns in Newfoundland.  The scenery here was breathtaking, and I enjoyed spenging some time capturing these spirited children.

Jen and Dwayne were married on August 1.  The day started out in a downpour of rain, but as you can see from the blue skies below, turned into a beautiful sunny day.  As no wedding is complete without a minor disaster, Jen took her dress out of the bag only to find a pen mark down the front of her dress.  Luckily a friend knew that Tide to Go was in order, and the mark disappeared (after a few applications). 

We took a few photos in front of the old elementary school here in town.  The girls in fact ended up standing on the faded yellow lines where they used to play square ball as children.  I love locations like this, and even more so when it has a connection to the people I am photographing.

Keeping with the birthday theme, Kylie also celebrated her first brithday in August.   I was asked to attend Kylie’s first birthday party to capture the memories for her mom and dad.  I am jumping ahead a few sessions for this sneak peek, as Kylie’s momma is very anxious to see how these turned out.  This was my first birthday party,  and I had a blast.  Actually, I had the pleasure of attending the marriage of Kylie’s parents back in 2006, and theirs was the first wedding that I photographed.  I covered the reception, and a few other moments throughout the day, as I was not their main photographer.    I am forever grateful to them for that opportunity.

Kylie’s first birthday was fit for a princess, with a gorgeous three tier cake, decorated by a family friend.  It was a hot day so the children young and old enjoyed time in the kiddie pools and on the slip and slide.  And there were activities suitable for all ages.  Finger painting for the other babies, and a pinata for the older children.

Thank you for choosing me to be a part of this day.

I am working hard this week to complete at much editing as I can before we go on our vacation next week.  I did complete a few sessions today so you will see these over the next few days.

Gavin celebrated his first birthday last week, and to celebrate we got together in July to have a first birthday session.  I have long loved seeing babies have their first birthday cake, from the first time I saw this tradtion when my good friend’s twin brothers turned one.  I think I was about 13 then…. my how the years go.  Gavin was a little unsure of his cake at first, but towards the end he seemed to really be enjoying himself and ws constantly trying to like the icing off his lips.  MMmmmmm!  This cake session was different from others I have done in the past, as this was not in a kitchen, but in the grass.  What a picnic!

Here are a few others from my session with Gavin.  He was such a cutie, with the cutest pacifier I have ever seen (an actual stuffed monkey was attached to it).

Peonies are one of my absolute favourite perennials.  They don’t last long in the garden, but they sure make quite an appearance when they are there.  They make great arrangements as well.  I “borrowered” these from my mother in laws garden (which once upon a time was my garden, and these were planted by me – back when I had time to garden) for a mini session with my daughter.  Since I had them I figured I would try out a few still life photos as well.  When I first started my journey as a photographer, this was my subject of choice (as they didn’t move around quite as much as my two active children).  I am considering adding stilllife as well a Newfoundland scenery to my website for anyone interesteding in adding such a piece to their home.  I am ordering this on canvas for myself today!

It has been really busy here this week, and I took a couple of nights off to visit my parents at their summer home in Greenspond.  Now to catch up on everything before my holidays….. As promised Karen, here are a few more photos from your wedding day.  I love incorporating every aspect of the wedding day into the photographs of that day, and if that means rain, then we use umbrellas.  I like to sometimes play with the vintage look and textures, and although I don’t do it very often, I love the result when I do.  And as well, a few from our trip to the local pool hall in Port Aux Basques where we also went for a little session out of the rainy weather.

Just a few from my last wedding of July, which took place in Port aux Basques.  We were limited in locations on this day due to rain and a wreckhouse wind warning.  It wasn’t even that the rain was so bad, but the wind make it seem worse.  Luckily it did hold off at times, and we found a secluded area in Cheesman park where I was albe to capture some beautiful memories.  I’ll be back to post some of those later.  But first here are a couple from the church and beforehand.  I haven’t posted anything like this yet., but wanted to include a couple this time. 

I was thrilled with the image I made of Karen and Eric’s ring exchange.  This particular church did not normally allow for photography during the service, but granted me permission to shoot a few from the back.  My new 200mm performed well and I got this image to look as if I were standing right in front of the couple.  For most of the ceremony photos I was standing right at the entryway to the church, which was a good thing actually, as the intense wind had caused the door to fly open at one point, and I was right there to close it before it could cause too much distraction to the couple during their vows.

I am starting to catch up on my editing this week…. so far it looks promising and I am almost up to mid-July. 

I love capturing children at play.  I followed Bree and her cousin Hunter around Corduroy Brook Trail as they explored all it has to offer.  These two were full of spunk, and it was enjoyable to watch them interact.  My favourite part was when Bree asked her mommy if she could give me a hug.  Too sweet!

I love summer and reminiscing all the fun I had as a child.  Sprinklers and pools were on the top of my list of things to do (and still are).  I came home the other day and found William entertaining himself in the yard… the light was just perfect so I encouraged him to continue playing…. til the water turned cold.