Boudoir photos

When I knew I was heading down south I called up a friend of mine who wanted me to do some special photos as gift for her significant other.
We had a great time collaborating over a couple bottles of wine. The images came out great and she discovered how much she loved herself - a win-win situation I think.

Beth & Martin - Couples photos

Last week I had the opportunity to photograph my friends Beth and Martin. They realized that they had never had any photos taken together, except for self portraits. You know... arm stretched and hope it turns out.

Beth and I volunteer together with Girl Guides of Canada. She's a very enthustiastic Guide leader and an employee of the municipality. She is never without a smile no matter what the situation.
Martin plays a mean trombone and last year we were both members of the Keyano College Community Band.

When I suggested that we head down to the river by MacIsland they were thrilled. This is an area where they often go for walks as Beth lives in the area.

I had a great time guys!

Weller family

A high school friend of mine, Kari-Anne, wanted to get some family photos done and loved my style. When I knew I was heading south I contacted her right away to see if she was still interested.

She definitely has three very busy young men. I followed them around the park and then we went for ice cream!

Thanks for spending the day with me guys!

*UPDATE*
I got a cute email from Kari-Anne a couple of days later to tell me that when her mom asked the boys if they had gotten their photos taken the three of them replied "No, we just played and then we went for ice cream."
I loved hearing that. I want all of my clients to feel as though it wasn't really work, more like just an experience.

Jenn & Jeff E-session

So, I apologize for posting the photos out of order, but I was so excited by the photos I did for Jen and Jeff yesterday that I had to get to them right away.


Just a little bit of background, Jeff and Jen were our bestman and groomsmaid at our wedding. Jeff has been best friends with my husband since they were four years old. In a very weird coincidence, I met Jeff and Jen in the Dominican about two weeks before I met my husband and four weeks before we went on our first date. It was a very chance meeting in the Punta Cana airport done over an Edmonton Sun newspaper, but memorable nowadays.

I had told them last year when they got engaged that they would have to let me do engagement photos for them and I'm so glad that we were able to make it happen. It resulted in some fantastic images.
We headed out from Blackfalds to Big Valley, about 45 minutes away. A little town I had never heard of before, but Jeff works for a concrete company and travels all over Alberta and had been here a few times. We had so many fantastic backdrops that it was hard for me to pick my favourites to show you.

Enjoy!


The one above is my absolute favourite from the shoot as I think it's the most natural of all of the shots and it captures exactly how much in love these two are.











This one isn't the best photo of the bunch but I had to post it. As I was laying on the ground trying to catch Jeff and Jen this tumbleweed tried attacking me. Tumbleweeds are apparently very vicious things. One also attacked the ring while we were photographing it on the tracks, knocking it off.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a very busy last few days. Yesterday alone I did three shoots!

On Thursday night, I met my friend Beth and her boyfriend Martin down by the River at MacIsland for some couples photos. As they assured everyone that they told about shoot, no it wasn't engagement photos.
We had the perfect weather for photos that night!

Friday was a day of travel as I drove down to Gibbons. I'm shooting a friend's wedding in Sherwood Park in May and they wanted to get family/engagement photos done and this was the only weekend I didn't have shoots in Fort McMurray before the weather turned. So I booked a few appointments with other friends and family. Unfortunately, my friend's grandfather has been very sick and they had to leave for Ontario, so I won't get to take photos of them this weekend.

On Friday it was great to see my mom for the evening. We headed into Edmonton to the Misericordia Hospital to see my friend Rachelle and her husband John. She was my college roommate and recently had a preemie baby. She had complications which caused her body to reject the baby and they had to take her 11 weeks early, two days before my husband and I left on our honeymoon. When we got back she was a little overwhelmed by all of the family and all that was going on so I promised to visit once the baby was a little older.

Gabrielle was born at 2 lbs. 5 oz. and was a whopping 5 lbs. 12 oz. when my mom and I saw her Friday night in the Intermediate Care Nursery. She had a lot of trying times in August, but she's a tough little girl and they're expecting to release her on Monday, which would have been her due date.


On Saturday, bright and early, I hit the road and headed to Sylvan Lake to meet Kari-Anne, a friend from high school, to shoot photos of her three boys. It was great to see them and we had a fun time getting ice cream.
Then I met up with Jen and Jeff for some engagement photos. We went on a road trip and had a blast.
Afterwards I headed into Red Deer to do some boudoir photos for a friend of mine.

I'll have lots of photos to post so stay tuned!!!

Vanessa & Brad E-session

Vanessa and her fiance Brad joined me for an engagement shoot on Saturday afternoon. It was the perfect time to capture all of the great fall colours.
This pair are getting married next year in Cape Breton, but wanted to get some photos done early in case they want to use them for their invites. In fact, Vanessa is the younger sister of a former co-worker of mine, which is how we connected.

This was one fun couple. After assuring me that they both took horrible pictures and would most likely break my camera, I think the images look really good!

Let me know what you think!


By the way, I must mention that once Vanessa put her headband on I picked up on a celebrity look -a-like right away. I think she looks like dead ringer for Molly Parker, best known to me as Paul Grosse's love interest in Men with Brooms. (Can you tell I'm Canadian?)

Whew!

So, I did it.
I finished my second 10K this morning. I did one last year after being persuaded by a few of my friends, but I didn't train for 1 1/2 months beforehand due to being on vacation and getting out of my training schedule.

This year, I sprained my ankle back in June. I hardly remember what I was doing when I sprained it, but it hurt! I was on crutches for a little while but the nurse didn't set them properly so I ended prolonging my recovery because I walked on it sooner than I should have.
I rolled it again in August while on a run during a camping trip and so I was a little iffy about running the 10K this year.

Well, I decided at the last minute to go for it and luckily I know the race director (Thanks Becky!) who let me enter.

I managed to finish in 1 hour, 28 minutes. Not too shabby.
Last year I finished in 1 hour, 33 minutes, and my only goal this year was to finish and beat last year's time. Maybe I'll aim for another five minutes off next year... we'll see.

Stay posted for some engagement photos I did for Vanessa and Brad yesterday. They were a cute couple and the photos came out great.

Bedroom eyes

I had the opportunity to do some "Boudoir" photos with my friend Nicole last night. Not only is she a good friend, Nicole was also my bridesmaid at my May wedding.

We've done some travelling together and braved BVJ. She's one of the coolest girls I know. She can glam it up or be one of the boys. It was definitely fun — we'll have to do it again!!

Busy Week

Well, I'm currently sitting at my booth at the Fort McMurray Women's Show.

It's definitely been interesting so far. I'm meeting lots of nice ladies and making a lot of good contacts.
So far this week I've been working at the newspaper, going to school and volunteering for the United Way this week. In fact, I was volunteering for my favourite event - the Classic Shootout. Basically, a whole bunch of community members get up on stage and entertain everyone with their vocal stylings. Some go a little further than others.... like my friend Ross Jacobs.
This year they had a few new additions, both in the local talent and at the judging table. Plus they added an extra evening of entertainment with a "Canadian Idol" type of evening on Wednesday. The lineup was completed by former Canadian Idol contestant Jaydee Bixby.
Thursday night saw a great evening of performances and events, including a guest appearance by Canadian Idol judge Zac Werner. Stay posted for photos of him jamming out with the band and crew at the end of the performance!

Women's Show

Just to let everyone know, there's an upcoming Women's Show in Fort McMurray at the Syncrude Sports & Wellness Centre on Sept. 12 to 14.
I will have a booth there with some of my photos, as well as information and a draw for a free portrait session. Stop by and say hi!

Also, all 2008 portrait and wedding package prices will be in effect until Dec. 31, so if you book for next year you will still get 2008 prices. I anticipate raising my prices in 2009 but not a large amount. Those looking for a great deal though, as well as ensuring I'm available on their date, are encouraged to book early... and often, lol.

Jacquie