Merry Happy Christmas Eve! ::Brooks Family & Portrait Photographer::

The Fleury's are incredible, Natalie, April, Ken and Karli braved serious winter to get their family photos!

Specifically they braved -30C something with the wind! Geordie says I can't state the "with wind" temperature because it's cheating. Anyways, it was cold cold cold. We were hopping in and out of vehicles like crazy trying to stay warm and do some different locations.

It was actually a little crazy out there but we still managed to get some photos taken and with these few little sneaks I wish you all a very merry Christmas Eve!

You might recognize Karli from Kayleigh and Jesse's Wedding, she was a bridesmaid.




You can never go wrong in a tire yard!

Hermalize & Jan :: Brooks, Alberta Portrait & Wedding Photographer::

Okay, okay... I know you people are out there!!! :)
Thank you to everyone who has commented already (thanks Mom! so reliable :) Really, I would love to hear from you and would love to bring in a big bag to the food bank. Lets comment for cans!
(For every comment this week I will donate a can to the local food bank)



This is a portrait session that I have been excited about for awhile. I met Hermalize a few months ago and she said to me:
"We're waiting for Winter to arrive and then we'd love to get some portraits done."

This isn't something I hear often, it's usually the other way around, people waiting for summer, but check out how great winter is for outdoor portraits!

It's so great when people get into winter and it is such a great time to be out there in the crisp air getting great imagery.
Jan and Hermalize were so fantastic to work with and it certainly was not warm out there! They even laid on the ice for me, talk about great models! I had such a fun afternoon with them!

I know this is so wrong... so very very wrong... but I LOVE the cold. I love the sound of a crisp day like when it was -40C. The cars just crunching along on the snappy snow and the exhaust that just expands into giant plumes in the air. There is something so cozy about a cold day, and something special about it, I love the feeling of my nostrils seizing up when I draw in that first breath of freezing air. Of course there are downsides to the cold, like cars not being able to start, but that is another story....

Without further ado: Jan and Hermalize (Thank you for your awesomeness!)

I really like this one.




Can you say sweet!


I loved this location, and this series.




Okay - Cheesy or Cool? I can't decide:


These two are ridiculously happy!


Brrr....


Brrr.....Brrr... Brr.... Thanks for being such good sports!

Cans for Comments - Brooks Alberta Photographer

I saw this great idea on Chris+Lynn Photographer's blog, so I am adopting the idea and I hope you'll take part.

Cans for Comments...for every comment that gets left on my blog in the next week, I will donate a can to the Brooks Food Bank. It's an easy way to give and I'd love to hear from you too!

Look out for some awesome posts this week as I have two very great sessions coming up that are sure to be off the hook.

Thank you for participating!

Happy Holidays!
Rachel

My Mom is Sixty

This is something I am not terribly proud of....
What? You don't get it... haven't you noticed the birthday cake?

Apparently I was making a cake for a 6 year old, not a 60th birthday.

Words that fumbled out of my Dad's mouth when he saw the disaster that had occurred in the kitchen was:
"Rachel, as soon as people know it's home-made they'll love it"
This said as I was waiting for some level of REAL reassurance that it wasn't THAT bad.
SO bad in fact that only two slices were eaten by the end of the night (and one by me) I actually thanked the guy who was eating the second piece and wanted to give him a hug in good spirit. Surprisingly the cake actually tasted quite delicious (if I do say so myself) but looks were fooling people. It did not turn out one bit the way I had envisioned.

ANYWAYS, cake aside, the party was out of control. I guess I need to get out more often because when the parents and their friends are killing it on the dance floor at 2am to The Rolling Stones and The Who and my bones are tiered, it's a little embarrassing.

My wonderful mother turned 60 on the 12th and our family friend Lorne, aka "Shorty" turned 60 on the 10th so the bash was a combined party and the house was full to the rafters with people and I think everyone had a sore throat from yelling over each other in conversation.

I have a pretty awesome Mom and a pretty awesome family and it was so nice to celebrate this brilliant event together.
I must also comment on the ridiculously great music selection that Geordie put together that kept people be-bopping around for hours!

Happy Birthday Again Mom!


Wee hours...

Theo & Aaron are Brilliant!

Okay, Okay... Tadaaaa!!!



I loved this session so much that I just can't decided on one or two images so you are getting 8, plus the previous post = 9 which is only relevant if you are Theo. :)

Theo was my very first friend when I came to Brooks. She invited Geord and I over for a sushi making party, which I still think was a bit of curious invite because Geord and I were in the beginning stages of our courtship and people were curious who I was. I am so very thankful for that invite because I knew right away that I wanted to be this super chic girls friend. Oh and Aaron was alright too ;)

I already said it once on my blog but I'll say it again. Good friends make such a huge difference in my life, and I am always so grateful for their sparkly presence and positive influence. So with a heavy heart I am in denial that Theo and Aaron are taking off to Saskatchewan to be closer to their family. This photo session was a "We lived in Brooks" session and I loved the crazy sunshine and flares that we got and also another afternoon I got to spend with these fine folks.



Yeah, wicked sun flares!




Seriously though, how great is this sun!


My oh my what a good looking couple!




This has got to be one of my favorite. I love that the light is just about shining from their lips. This is truly Theo and Aaron; a big bright ball of sunshine!

Sneak Peak

I'm not even going to say who this is.... any guesses? My comment box is now user friendly and doesn't require any crazy commitments to the system. Maybe I'll have a contest in the future when I post pictures like this to see who knows who it is. Do you know who this is Brooks people?

I have so many wonderful brilliant photos from this session but I'm not ready to post them yet. I did want to tease you with this one though. These two people are truly magnificent and I can't wait to show you who they are....soon.

The Family

This image of Olivia TOTALLY expressed my excitement for posting these pictures.
These are the great people that come with Geordie! His brother and sister in law, Pete and Donna and of course beautiful nieces Olivia and Sophie, both of whom have graced the blog before!

I can photograph these cats every day of the week if I wanted but I am always glad when we set some time aside to get silly and serious in front of the camera.

By the end of this session Olivia asked me "Rachel, is it okay if we stop taking pictures now, I'm getting tiered of it"
Her honesty was brilliant! Boy I love these girls, and get to call them Family! How lucky am I!



Good Sisterly Love


This could be one of my favorites of all time.

Jesse and Kayleigh Paddock are hitched

Ta Dahh!!! The Stunning Bride and Groom!



Okay... SERIOUSLY! Could they look any greater!
Like I mentioned in their engagement blog posting, I was very much looking forward to photographing this wedding.
Kayleigh and Jesse are two of the happiest bride and groom I have ever had. YES! I said that.
The ceremony was emotionally charged and very beautiful and everyone in the wedding party was totally into the photography we did outside at a nearby farm in Brooks. I was very impressed with the bridesmaids who were bare legs and all out there. I wanted to thank them so much for their enthusiasm as I dragged them in and out of cars for photos.

I was also super lucky to have Roxy Grove from Bella Vita Photography in Duchess assist me with this wedding, and help make sure we were as quick as possible in that very chilly wind.

I could go on and on about how much fun I had... but I'll add commentary to the images as I go....



Ummmm yeah... awesome! AND Kayleigh stayed in these almost all night!






See...HAPPIEST!


Thank you ladies for braving the cold!


The boys stayed toasty enough in their suits!








Kayleigh and her family did an exceptional job of decorating the Heritage Inn Banquet Hall, her Dad, Daryl put this fun sandbox together for them


There was a milk and cookie shooter bar set up too. I kept an eye out for someone who was doing milk shots and apparently there was a young girl sneaking milk shots frequently, but unfortunately I only heard tales of it and didn't get to photograph her.




When I left the dancefloor was packed and everyone was dancing around in step.


I love doing weddings in Brooks, Alberta and getting to know such wonderful people. Jesse surprised Kayleigh with a honeymoon to The Mayan Riviera for 2 weeks and I hope you both had the great time you deserved!

Sully's Garage

As promised... a peak at our 'wild' night out in Patricia. If you are a person that has never heard of Patricia and has never been to The Patricia Hotel, boy oh boy, you're missing out. It is an authentic taste of cowboy country. AND Dinosaur Provincial Park is just a jaunt down the road.

This band has been around Canmore, AB for a very long time and it was so fun to see them live in Patricia!