I had the pleasure of photographing April when she was pregnant with her daughter two years ago, and again when her daughter was born.  I was thrilled to be asked to photograph her wedding as well.  April and Keith had a beautiful day.  There was a whole lot of love and laughter between these two as well as their family and friends.   April was a beautiful bride who was just beaming all day long.  It was a fun wedding, complete with a visit from Elvis himself.

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.

Riesha and Steve had a beautiful warm sunny day for their wedding (a rarity it seems in Newfoundland this summer).  Riesha looked beautiful in her cathedral train that was passed down by her mother and also worn by her sister.  Jennifer’s once again was responsible for the decorating and the flowers (which were lovely shades of green).  Their reception took place at the Glynmill Inn in Corner Brook, and we took adbantage of the lovely grounds there for their photos.

This wedding took place on July 4th in Green Island Brook, near Flower’s Cove.  It was a cold windy day, with a temperature of only 8 degrees, so we had to get creative with our photo session on the beach, and used the colourful fishing sheds as our shelter.

My brother has been visiting us this week from Yellowknife.  We haven’t seen his family since last May when they got married in Florida, which was also the first time I got to meet my handsome little nephew Jack.  This was my second time, and what an enjoyable week it has been.  My children love playing with him, and he loves to wake up every morning to go find his “friends”.  We spent a considerable amount of time trying to capture some photos of the four of them together.  There are a couple of my favourites.  Jack. Jenna, and Philip have amused themselves playing Ring around the Rosie.  Typical 2 year old Jack however loves to get right to the fun part.  His version of the song:

Ring round rosie…. ashes, ashes….. all fall down!

William joined in reluctantly for mommy.