Baby Neilson, at LAST! :: Southern Alberta Family Photographer ::

Lauren and I have been trying to co-ordinate a little session with the whole family since Liam was born. (It's not un-similar to the Stettler story) Lars works out of town, they live WAY north of Brooks (that is probably a bit of an exaggeration) and it's been tricky. Here we are though, Liam is 7 months old. You might remember Lauren from her maternity session.

Lars, Lauren and Liam and I played inside on the -30C day and had a blast! Thanks for bringing me back up to Paradise!

** Side Note: They live on a farm on HWY 36, North of Brooks and as I was driving up there, the sun was bouncing off the bright white prairie, the willows orange bark was a striking contrast and I let out a sigh of "ahhhh I love living here".

The house had so many little nooks to photograph in.


We did have to have a dinner break!


He's going to be one strong rancher!


I know... there is a little nudity in this image, but it was such a cute moment that I just couldn't resist posting it!




This one is such a pure moment. Ahhhh.... family!

Stettlers all in one place!!! :: Brooks, Alberta Photographer ::

OH MY GOODNESS! This was an event!
You will remember Mireille from her Mireille Stettler Design posts, here and here. She also has her own website here.

If you've seen and read those posts then you'll know she's also my best friend and this is her entire family!

I have been wanting to photograph these guys all together for a long time but when Natalie and Gilbert and Lena live in New Zealand and Dominic, Clara and Reuben have moved to Nova Scotia and Patric is somewhere above you hang-gliding and Hans-Peter is hiking some obscure peak in Kazakhstan and Mireille and Gabor are moving their stuff home from New York and Silvia is skiing all over the world... well you get the point! This was a big deal!

I booted home early on the 24th to hang out with these guys and we had such a beautiful day, the sun was shinning the ice, the river was pretty smooth and everyone was so festive and excited... probably because it was Christmas Eve and not cause I was yelling at them all to "work it...common guys...work it!"

Here are some goodies from the day.

I'm truly lucky and grateful to have a family like the Stettler's in my life. They are truly wonderful people and I am glad that Mireille became such a big part of my life cause she brought her whole family with her!

Also... 'cause I can pump tires here, because it's my blog!.. Mireille is designing and MAKING my wedding dress! Jackpot! Yeah, she's not bad :)

Thanks Stettlers!


These guys aren't funny at all.


Nova Scotia Troupe! Clara and Dominic are expecting again and young Reuben gets a little sibling. They are also talented musicians and we love it when Dominic knocks on the door to come in and just play our piano.




What a beautiful little girl!


And a handsome young man!


What a cozy family, I love Lena's little Uggs!




This is how these guys are, pulling , dragging, and helping each other into all sorts of fun and adventure!

Brooks Family Photographer :: Joanna, Andre and Sophia in Canmore ::

I could tell from the moment I walked in the door on New Years Day that this was going to be a fun day. It was all laughs and Sophia just kept cracking me up, she was one of the easiest kids to photograph, just her lovely little self.

Most people would think I was nuts for picking up a photo session on New Years Day... and this is a secret... shhh... we went to bed at 10:30pm on New Years Eve!! Shhh...! Geordie and I were both battling a cold all holidays and were just beat. The fireworks woke us up at midnight, that's pretty sad.

It felt great to be up and frolicking outside with Joanna, Andre and Sophia along with the 10+ runners we saw jogging at 10am on NEW YEARS DAY! Talk about getting a head start on their resolutions. Geez!

Here are some fun little moments to start off the year!





I like how un-impressed Sophia looks here! Joanna and Andre live just down the street from my parents in Canmore and have for ages and our paths don't actually cross often so it was really great to get to know them a little bit.



We did some maternity stuff too, what a good looking mama!




Sophia wanted to get up on the couch with Joanna and insisted on putting her arm by her head too! This was such a cute and wonderful little moment.



I think they're going to have a blast when #2 comes along!!

Brave South Africans! :: Brooks Alberta Family Photographer::

Well, here we are! Back from the depths of the Holidays!

I hope everyone had a spectacular Christmas and is full steam ahead on their New Years Goals! Not Resolutions... Goals! :)

The holidays were very very busy for me and that means I have a LOT of blog content. I was lucky enough to photograph 4 families while I was home in Canmore! I love people that love winter photography sessions, they are really open to the adventure!

This next family was particularly adventurous!
Deon and Cecil came from South Africa to visit their daughters, Este and Nanda for their first winter experience ever! We had a great time in Banff along with Este's husband Stephan and son Deon and Nanda's husband Johan. They were very brave coming from such a warm climate, but I hope these images will stick with them as a great memory of their Holidays!



What a handsome little guy! And all smiles for most of the morning!


I couldn't believe my luck when I saw these shadows as we were driving by this wall, it was a very un-planned stop, but I am crazy about the shadows of the trees!





What beautiful Women!


Nope... still can't resist a good sun flare!

Brooks Alberta Wedding & Portrait Photographer :: Christmas is OVER!::

It's official... the holidays are over. I'm going to linger for one more post because I haven't yet added this photo.

We came home for Christmas this year to an upside down tree, one of my Mom's latest ventures. She is one mighty creative lady and so I wanted to share this with you before it gets taken down today along with all the decorations and packed up tightly for next year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

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!