Tot Shots Photography » Family

Dog Sledding | Calgary Family Photographer

admin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:43:44 +0000

A few weeks ago we headed out dog sledding for the first time. I tend to be a fairly mainstream winter activity person…skiing mostly…so this was a bit different. The funny part was that I probably would not have even thought about it, if a friend (from NY) had not recommended it when they were here visiting at Christmas. It is pretty sad that it takes visitors from another country to recommend activities in your own backyard but that is typically how it goes. Although I will totally take her recommendations in New York:)

I have to give a shout out to the company that we used – Snowy Owl Tours. They run a fantastic operation and it absolutely apparent how well the dogs are cared for and how much the employees and dogs love their jobs:) It is encouraged that everyone give the dogs some love for the great job they do. Well, you did not have to tell my children twice! I totally would have thought that the dogs would be a little skittish but I was wrong. They were rolling over on their backs taking in the belly rubs (my lab does not even do this:)

My son even had the opportunity to drive (with my husband’s help). He loved it!

Love affair | Calgary photographer

admin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:18:37 +0000

with food! I have been tweeting and talking a lot about food and new things that I have been trying lately so thought that I would add it here too:) Anyone who knows me, knows I like food…good food. Which by my definition means fresh, colourful, tasty and healthy food. This love affair started back when I was little and my mum would take my brother and I to the grocery store. Once in awhile we were given money for a treat. My brother headed straight to the chocolate bar display and I would head promptly to the produce section and choose a new fruit or veggie that I had not yet tried. I understand that this is not normal and I am not certain as to where this came from. My mum cooked very healthy and prepared everything from scratch – junk food was rarely brought into our house…so you would think that I would head to the junk aisle when given the opportunity. Amazingly though, no – although don’t get me wrong…I enjoy a bag of Miss Vickie’s every so often:) I am super happy to say that this weird trait has rubbed off on my 4 year old. She is the child yelling through the grocery store…”We need cilantro…we need quinoa”. Proud mommy!

So with that background in place, I am constantly looking to tweak or better my diet (with diet I do not mean weight-loss program…I mean what I feed my family everyday). I particularly get more inclined or have more time to think about this at the start of each year. During the busy fall/Christmas season our diet suffers a bit and a refocus is required in the new year. This year, based on a lot of discussions with friends and clients about cancer and other diseases my interest has been focussed on the link between our diet and our health. So when I came across an interview with Kris Carr, the author of Crazy Sexy Diet, on Danielle Laporte blog (a blog that I love and follow on Twitter), I knew I had found something interesting – the title in itself is fun:). I promptly purchased the e-book and blasted through it. Now I have not gone full force vegan or even really scratched the surface of what Kris discusses but the few things that I have done are making me feel pretty good. For me, I was looking to easily add more greens and plant-based proteins to our diet and to eliminate some of the dairy and meat. After watching Food Inc last year, this has been on my mind and I have been slowly incorporating more vegetarian meals to our menu. My introduction of black bean burritos and sweet and sour lentils went over well in the fall so I have decided to up it a bit this year. There has been a lot of green drinks, smoothies and salads that I have trialling here over the past month and it is going well. The kids are enjoying some of them and I am LOVING how I feel. The change in my energy level (yes, even I can have more energy:) and even the change to my skin has been neat to see. It is amazing how many people lives are affected by life-threatening disease and it is hard to know what the variable is that has the biggest effect but I personally believe that what we nourish our bodies with goes a long way…even if it is just to feeling better (which may be half the battle). Since this is a photography blog…

Give of Yourself | Calgary Family Photographer

admin — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:36:47 +0000

I was honoured to work with this incredible and loving family a couple of weeks ago. This family was referred through my Give of Yourself program that I started 3 years ago on the first anniversary of my mum’s passing (February 5th). Their daughter was diagnosed with osteosarcoma 4 years ago and needless to say the last four years have been extremely challenging for them. It is amazing to see the strength of faith and family shine through and I am honoured to be able to give this family a gift to capture their love and strength and funlovingness:) May your family continue on the road to recovery.

Playing catch-up | Calgary Family Photographer

admin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:53:27 +0000

So when I get away from blogging I always find it a bit difficult to know where to begin when getting back. I have decided to jump back in with a mass post with a bunch of sessions that happened prior to Christmas that I did not get a chance to blog or did not blog because they were gifts. The post is filled with many clients that I have seen over the years as well as new clients. The last picture is of my own children from my “session” to get a few pictures for my grandma. I am terrible at prioritizing my own pictures so you will see this was not well planned out…it was a spontaneous 10 minutes prior to school with crazy hair and uncoordinated outfits (I think that there was even some breakfast on their faces). But it is real! I will be back posting on a regular basis and have a bunch of awesome shoots to share from the last couple of weeks:)

Oozes LOVE!! | Calgary Family Photographer

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:03:17 +0000

Yep, this session oozes it! This is one of my FAVOURITE families to shoot. I have been privileged enough to be documenting their lives for many years now. They are so in LOVE as a couple, which of course, flows right over into their girls. It is an absolute pleasure to work with a family like this (and not only because it makes my job easy) but it makes me feel special that I get to do this job. This is exactly what I want to do everyday!

We decided to do a studio/location session so we could take advantage of the gorgeous weather and the beautiful, mature trees in Garrison Green. I love having access to this park!

T & S, it is always a pleasure working with you. There are a ton more coming!

This next series cracks me up!

So in the middle of shooting mom and dad, the little one snuck in…they always want to be in the shot if they are not supposed to be;)

Birthday Baby | Calgary Baby Photographer

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 03:57:47 +0000

This the final session for one of my Watch Me Grow clients. It is amazing how quickly a year flies and how much these babies change. I am honoured to be able to capture the milestones for this clients.

This little guy’s 1st birthday party is tomorrow so I wanted to have a little sneak peek up for mom. I am also heading into a birthday weekend for my son;) I can’t even believe he is turning 6! I will have more on that next week.

R & R, here is a little peek. I will have the rest up early next week. Hope that C’s party is a blast!

Happy Baby! | Calgary Baby Photographer

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:13:10 +0000

This family has the biggest smiles! This is the second time this year that I have had the pleasure of working with them. We had planned a studio/outdoor session but Calgary weather has not been cooperating. So we did the studio portion first and then met a few days later when the weather improved. I am glad that we had the opportunity to get outside…I think that I have been feeling a little cooped up lately;) The little guy is at the age of just wanting to move so it was really fun to get out and let him roam around. L & R, it was a pleasure working with you again. I will have the rest up soon.

Happy Belated Father’s Day | Calgary Baby Photographer

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:02:10 +0000

I got the opportunity to meet this little guy and his mom and dad last week for his 6 month photo shoot. I was hoping to have a few pictures up for this dad’s first Father’s Day but it did not happen. So Happy Belated Father’s Day. The little guy is at a super fun age…sitting up, interactive and still had lots of rolls! So cute!

N and S it was a pleasure to meet you. I will have the rest of your gallery up shortly.

Summer sessions | Calgary Child Photographer

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:42:55 +0000

I had to share one of this client. The family has been to visit me many times but it had been a couple years since we have done an update. The girls are gorgeous and the family is awesome to work with. I will share more from this shoot but just one for now.

Summer sessions are almost completely booked and I will be starting to book for the fall soon (it makes me a bit sad to say that as it feels like summer is going to be short here in Calgary). Please let me know if you would like to take advantage of the summer sessions and we can get outside and enjoy the summer while we have it;)

Sunshine | Calgary Children’s Photographer

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:27:04 +0000

A little more sunshine from last weekend’s sessions. These girls were a pleasure to shoot. I have shot the whole family in the past but this time got the opportunity to update the girls portraits. They are so well-behaved and adorable! Love their beautiful, colourful outfits! I was so happy to hear their mom had gone out to purchase a DSLR after my last social series so that she can start to really capture all of the girls’ events (without the delay of a point and shoot).

June has been incredibly busy and I promise to try to share as many sessions as I can but I am also trying to get as much volunteering in at my son’s school as I can. In addition to 4 nights a week of their soccer (and a couple nights a week minimum of my own)…needless to say a bit busy. I am looking forward to July and the children’s schedules slowing down…I think they are too;)