my rainbow..

this is so not a "regular" photo blog..
sigh..no, this is more of a heart blog..

the last couple months i've been in this funky place in life. and don't email and ask what this funky place is, cuz i'm still trying to figure it out. lot of personal struggles and pain..lots of questions to god, you know, all the "why" questions we ask him in times of despair

well the kids and i went out to kelowna for my mom's store's, woodcreek cottage, annual christmas shopping days, where i was going to work for her/with her.
during the drive up, the kids ..are listening to their traditional "on the road audio stories" and i am thinking and talking to god in my brain.

the weather is kinda iffy..wants to snow and be nasty; the roads were ok, altho there were times of nasty winter driving. altho "NASTY" here in bc/vancouver is FAR from the NASTY i knew when we lived in saskatchewan, so i dont think they're as bad as everyone else does.. in fact, they make me look like wonder woman, driving with the kids, thru the mountains during winter..chuckle...

BACK TO MY STORY..small rabbit trail there..sorry. :)

so i'm driving thru some gross roads/weather, asking god when this funk i'm in is going to disapate. then no word of a lie, as i'm driving, the sun suddenly appears, and a rainbow appears.

i instantly fell apart and started to cry.

and i heard god say to my heart: "I wont let you drown in this. I promise you that." kinda like noah in the bible.

wow.. i was in utter awe.
so i pulled over the car, kids wondering what the heck i was doing, and took a picture of "my rainbow".

thanks god.. you always know JUST when to show me your coolness..you always know JUST when to show me just how much you love me..sigh..
xoxo

google or googol?

so..i met a woman thru 1st canadian barter exchange that i am a part of.
she has a company called googol learning. and told me that it's really spelt googol.

i asked what is a googel? or google? she gave me the definitions:

Goo·gle (gōō'gəl) Pronunciation Key
A trademark used for an Internet search engine. This trademark often occurs in print as a verb, sometimes in lowercase: "A high school English teacher ... recently Googled a phrase in one student's paper and found it had been taken from a sample essay of an online editing service" (Chris Berdik).

goo·gol /ˈgugɔl, -gɒl, -gəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[goo-gawl, -gol, -guhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros and expressed as 10100.

why do i tell you this? better yet, why does she know?!?!?

her company is called googol learning. it's a remarkable business she has, that makes learning for kids fun.
she even gave me a couple cd's for the kids, put to music, and using these great puppets that she has created teaching about math!
rosie listens to it and just have a blast!

here's some of the shots i took of susan jarema, founder of googol learning. and a link - media page - to where she has some of the photos i did for her.

so when you use google.com next time, think about what google really means!! :)

tony's fish & oyster bar

there's this really cute, but fairly popular fish and chips place on granville island named tony's fish and oyster bar. a dear friend of mine that i met thru bni, eng, was/is doing their new designs, publications and website. they needed new photos, she asked me, and i said heck yes!

i brought along my dear lover to be the food designer, which he did an amazing job! and on the first shoot, my long-ago friend tanya assisted. the second shoot i did, i was able to "get 'er done" by myself.

here's the photos they chose for their stuff...

oysters
mussells
fish and chips with clam chowder
seafood platter
and bananas foster dessert




















it was so fun.. i could get into shooting stuff like this.. i told lover, who is doing his culinary arts program at the art institute downtown, that we'd make a great team..he designs the food, i shoot the photos.. :)

pumpkins..

our harvest tradition has come again...pumpkin carving..

as usual the kids draw their designs and their mother tries to carve them out without butchering her hands, as she doesn't use the "proper" pumpkin carving tools..

however, all is well and aside from the nastiness of the "orange goop" that rosie did NOT want to touch--wait, maybe that was caleb-- we made our masterpieces:

rosie - the kitty cat
caleb - the ghost and "BOO" on the back
me - well the little dorky-faced one.. :)

and the illuminated picture sucks..and i will take it again..

but the story of WHY it sucks? well, the children's mother is a fraidy cat - she saw and heard the bushes move about out front and booked 'er back in the house, before caleb knew what the smack was going on.. :)

we'll try again tomoro night.. ;)

i simply love autumn

throughout october i took some pics here and there any everywhere of my second favorite season..autumn..

here's some of my faves..the first couple are out my car windown when we were driving home from my 10K run in kelowna via highway 7..then downtown, then some at riverview hospital in coquitlam..

something about the colors that makes me so warm inside..

my friend's book

i got an email from an old friend..
she's not old, but we've known each other before j and i got married..so 15 years ago, i guess.

i guess she started writing a book..tres cool..something i WILL do one day. anyhow, she knew i was a photographer so asked if i'd offer my services.

you bet i could!

so she needed an initial shot of a girl, looking peaceful.
so meryl, from our missionburnaby team was totally game for it..sorta. i had to get her to relax a little first, then we got a shot. a portrait of a peaceful woman..so cool.























then i got an email a couple months later from my friend lorene, who is writing the book, asking for a couple more photos..one depicting rahab in the bible, a very rich woman who was a high end harlot, and the other depicting the sinful woman in the bible, full of shame and despair.

sweet i thought..always up for a challenge. but who on EARTH am i gonna call on to depict those..those arent the most becoming roles to depict..so i thought long and hard and had an idea..

so i called on darlene to depict rahab and megan to depict the sinful woman. they were up for it.. knowing my friend was writing a book for woman on women inthe bible who struggled, just like us today, but different times.

i talked to them about these particular women who they were depicting..rahab, a very regal looking woman. the sinful woman, ashamed and hopeless. i think i got them into character and captured it well..

it was a great experience..i really enjoy these types of projects..























i cant wait for my friends book to read..and to see some familiar faces in it too! :)
i'll let u know about it! :)

room with a view..

last week the views i was getting from my bedroom room were breathtaking..
just a few snaps.. mmmm.. fall is here with a vengance!

autumn family photos

we are in the THROWS of autumn down here in the lower mainland..the amazing colors of the leaves on the trees..the crisp air.. ahhh, my favorite season..and an AMAZING time to do family photos!!

i had the pleasure of taking family photos for jeremy, robyn and little samuel. OH MY WORD - samuel is THE cutest little guy! we had fun walking thru riverview hospital this afternoon and i just HAD to get some of these up.. enjoy.

business headshots

so with wedding season winding down, i've been looking at other means to keep my camera-a-clickin'.. :)

and lo' and behold i have found something i LOVE to do...headshots!

the past couple weeks, i've had the pleasure of photographing some really amazing people, doing really amazing things with really amazing amounts of passion!

meet ivar for start...he is a personal injury lawyer.
he is one of THE most sweetest guys you will meet - you will love him the moment you start talking to him and it is very evident he loves what he does!




















next meet ritchie..another great guy who has very strong family values and i'm sure will one day make someone a good dad and husband..he's a mortgage broker and has just started his own business.














then we have "the power team", made up of tyler hoffman, winnie leung and rob kaufman. these three great people are PASSIONATE about what they do and are marketing themselves big time..take a look at their website: www.poweredby3.net















and then we have sweet angel.. :)
really she is an angel..small in stature, beautiful blond..but get her talking about fitness and you have a roaring lionness! she is totally dedicated to what she does.

















so here are some of their photos from our photo shoots together...click on their names and it will take you to their online sites.

if you or anyone you know if looking for headshots for business - your website, business cards, advertising- or for model and acting, give me a shout.
i will guarantee we'll capture you and your zeal about you do and we'll have a BLAST doing it!


;) tracey