It's Officially Official!

We are moving the studio! I have had my fingers crossed about this for a long time and I didn't want to blog about it earlier as I thought maybe telling everyone would jinx it somehow. Yesterday was a long day as I was tying up the loose ends in the office and processing as many orders as I could. I have to move the computers tonight and "with my luck" who knows how long those computers will be down!

So Marty's Business and mine will still be together and I will be housed in the back of his space. Officially I will be down there Mon-Friday 9 until 5 starting tomorrow. So all future sessions, meetings and pick ups will take place down at the studio on the bottom of Scholten hill.

I am really super excited to start this new venture with all of my past, current and future clients. Madchen Studios will have more room and the space is being practically built before my eyes with the comfort of you guys in mind. I hope to post some photos soon.

Until then I will close with one of the sessions shot in the old "home base". *sniff the end of a great first official era of the studio's progression IT seems only fitting that the shot is of this little sweetheart who is a membership customer. I had three sessions with him this year and it has been absolutely astounding to watch him grow!

sweethearts

I did a session with these four little cuties a few days ago and have been wanting to post their sweet little faces ever since they stepped foot inside the studio. I first met them at a wedding I shot in July, and I was so very lucky to have such adorable children in the wedding party. the only one I hadn't met yet was the baby as she was still nestled in her mommy's tummy that weekend. I just found out that she made her appearance only a week after the wedding. These kids got along awesome in the studio and they all seemed to enjoy themselves (with exception of the little one who did super awesome as well) I really enjoyed seeing them again and can't wait to do another session with them in the future!

New life

On the evening of the "laptop incident" I did a really fun session with Adam and Holly. They are expecting a brand new bundle of Joy right before Christmas. They are honestly super excited about their new arrival and it seemed like the more time I spent with them the more I was getting excited for them. Their easy going nature and tenderness that they displayed was contagious. These two are going to make a great Mommy and Daddy to this little one!

TLC

I don't even know where to begin this post. It's so sad to me I imagine myself telling the story in another dimension wrapped in a wooley blanket in front of some fireplace hunched over cuddling myself with the fibres and some very nice scotch. Instead though I am writing this in my husbands warm long underwear and a cup of java in my cool office. It seems as though one of "my best friends" is very sick. Last night after a super long day of shooting and processing I went downstairs to watch television with my hubby and blog about these 'oh so cute kids" that I had photographed in the last couple of days. I grabbed my laptop and plunked my very heavy midsection on the couch. I noticed right away when I tried to open it's beautiful silver lid. The bracket holding my mac was bent and where it closed, it was giving me this wonky half smile. "marty, something happened to the mac". He just looked at me and said " I know" . So now this panic sets in, I open it up and it looks okay, but it won't find the network. So as I do a restart so I can hook up to the computer upstairs he tells me this horrible story about how he took my "work friend" up to the washroom to check his facebook after work. He tells me that the dog came in to say hello. He the tells me that the dog used his nose and flipped my "friend" out of his hands and sending it crashing into the bathtub beside him. For those of you that know me even a little bit, you know that I love my family, my hubby, but I also so love my electronics. I was debating this little fact as I looked at him and the dog so comfortable on the couch, waiting for the mac to restart. Needless to say it didn't restart, just a blue screen. I got that "unreasonable and inconsolable" tone in my voice as I told he would probably never see me again because now that the laptop was gone I would be changed to my desk until Christmas because there was now no option of taking work anywhere else as my silver little buddy was dead. That they and facebook killed my machine that made late night blogging possible. Late last night as I was falling asleep I thought about my macbook and all of the little trips we took together. I thought about us in the dominican airport, on the patio sipping drinks, and camping out at Elkwater. I took it everywhere I went and it makes me so sad. All of it seems so long ago and so much like a dream. However this morning when I woke up I still got the blue screen and nothing else. A few hours of sleep did give me some clarity though...MY friend will be fixed...it just needs to go to the doctor for a few days. Now on to search for the perfect professional to work on my baby.

Anyways just because it does indeed make me feel better to look at these photos of the these cuties I will leave you with a few photos that I shot over the last two days. There were delightful to photograph and were so different even though they are fairly close in age.

The Sanders Family

I had the awesome opportunity the other night to meet the rest of this little gals family. I must say that they are this little perfect threesome. I must admit I felt badly for the daddy as he had to squeeze into my basement studio as he was very well over 6 ft tall. I think the cosiness of it turned out rather nicely. I think the little one did extremely well since about half way through the session her teething symptoms really started to flare up. It a terrible way to get nice rosy cheeks, but they photograph so well. Here's your early peek mom and dad!

Time to catch up for the weekend

The last ten days of shooting has been fabulous! I have met some great people and have seen some awesome family dynamics. I always get a little warm fuzzy in my heart when I see my families interact. I want to thank all of you for your patience if you were waiting to see yourself up on the blog. I truly loved everyone of the last sesions that we all did together, but unfortunately I got to spend way more time under my desk, and less time blogging than I wanted to. Anyways, I put together a little collage showcasing some of my favorite images from the past few sessions. Enjoy!

3, 6, and 9 months

I was very fortunate in the last few days to photograph these little cuties! The first little gal I met was 3 months and super happy to be photographed and in the studio. Honestly these is nothing more precious than that little 3 month old grin. She was ecstatic to be naked and the accidents were minimal! Here's a little sneak peak from her "cheeky" session



The next little guy to come and visit me was Declan. I had the opportunity 6 months ago to photograph him while he was still brand spanking new to the world. He was a delight! I absolutely love to see how much they have grown in the past little while. It's also super cool to see how much he looks like his parents as all of his expressions and features are growing past that little itty bitty baby stage. Here is his little sneak peak, this no we had no accidents to report, (mom and dad, I don't think Declan is going to win the 2008 Madchen studio body fluid award this year!)





This last little gal, i must say is a very serious 9 month old. she did some serious playing and lots of leaf removing as we begged her to look up and smile. Isn't she a sweet heart? We had a lot of fun with her, moving her to different locations to see if we could get her full attention. I guess you could say we are just not as exciting as grand old mother earth!

a little help from my friends

spell check is most definitely my friend. This is especially true in the minutes before my morning coffee starts any effect in my body. Currently, as I take a bite of my tim hortons boston cream donut, I see 6 red underlined errors. now normally I don't think my spelling is that atrocious, but I think it's the level of motor skills need to type away when half asleep, or half awake, depending on where I am in my morning coffee. I honestly think there should be two level


it seems that everything is a go for the studio closure on Saturday except for one thing. I am having trouble getting a hold of my 1:00 appointment. If you know of someone who has an appointment with me this weekend who's name is Krista or anyone who has a 1:00 session, will you please let them know that I am trying to get in touch with them and that I can be reached at 403-979-2676.

On a side note, (which is weird as this is a photography blog) Here are just 3 from my last two sessions. This little baby I shot on Thanksgiving afternoon. They say hair is one's crowning glory, if that saying is true, this one is going to rule the roost as she was given the most precious amount of hair that I have seen on a newborn.




This family I managed to squeeze in over the holidays. they were delightful as they wrestled the two littlest ones into their arms for a quick family session.

Well worth the wait

On Thursday Morning I got to meet this "little" guy. I say little, because he is just a month old, but he's really not so teeny. He had his parents wait the full two weeks over his due date, before he came into the world. But I Feel that he was definitely worth the wait. Again my little studio was filled with the ooey gooey goodness of baby. and there was lots of it as this little guy was over ten pounds and counting. His dad brought in his motorbike helmet to use for some of the photos which I think was perfect for this strong little guy. Absolutely perfect he was in every way! Thank you for letting me in on your best kept long awaited secret!

Another little man at 6 months.

I met this little guy back in February when he was a newborn. I must admit that time flies so fast. It's so hard to believe that he is already 6 months old. The last time he was in the studio he was in the studio he made a typical newborn mess, (he didn't hold that crown for long though) but oh this time no messes and lots of crazy super cute smiles. When his mom told me what he was going to wear, I was so excited. There is nothing better than a baby in a hat. The little hats just seem to make their faces and characteristic smiles sparkle. I can not wait to have him come back in. It's a shame that I will have to wait another 6 months. "sigh"

The K. Family

On Monday morning I got to meet this sweet family from out of town. The older little girl and I gelled pretty good. I must say she was a complete natural. She did absolutely awesome for a little girl her age. The smaller one took a little coaxing, but with some magic and bubbles we managed to pull out a few smiles. The poor gal had her shots earlier in the week and she was still feeling the after affects. But boy when she smiled, the whole photo lit up. But seriously, who needs smiles when you have eyes as bright and gorgeous as theirs!! Even mom and dad got in on the photo action.

Ready for the Pro Model Series

This little guy is one of my girlfriend's babies. Honestly, I haven't seen much of her this summer because I have been working so much. I must say that I have totally missed out. Rylan is oozing with that "gerber" baby goodness. He was an absolute pro when it came to giving us the expressions and smiles that we wanted. It is too bad that I haven't been able to bask in his baby glory earlier...but that's going to change. His smile and mannerisms are infectious....and I am now addicted to this little one!!

Back in the Studio

I shot a real sweetheart yesterday. she was twelve weeks old absolutely stole my heart. I don't think she felt the same about me though. In fact think I may have bored here a little. You see, I got lots of clam straight looks out of her, but no smiles...and no tears. She did smile for mom and Dad though, so we did manage a few keepers. Here are some of my favorites.

My first Doctors Appointment

On a personal note, i finally made it to the maternity clinic. After an hour and a half we know know that the babies heart is good, my weight gain is almost where my pregnancy was at full term or and the pain in my hip isn't exactly normal. It looks like it's back to physio I go. The kids got to hear the baby today and I think it was a great moment. My son even held my hand when they were applying the jelly on my bump. All in all it was good day in maternity land. I felt so good this morning I even snuck down to the studio for a quick couple shots.

Maria turns one!

I photographed maria a month ago. I had almost forgotton how adorable she was. Looking back over her edits my hearts just melts at the site of some of these. I was talking to her mom as one of my faves is a photo of her crying. It turns out mom likes crying photos as well!

This was a birthday session, complete with the balloons and homemade cake. Doesn't it look fabulous. And the tutu? I think it's fabulous and really brings all the colours together in the shots! The photo just go to show you that anything can happen with a one year old. Birthday cheers soon turn to birthday tears.

Grad 2008 is over!

AS the summer has finally began, grad season is officially over. The young adults that I shot this year will start their last somewhat worry free summer with their friends from high school. It's hard to believe that in a few short months they will be back at the books starting to make a place for themselves within the world. I ended grad season this year with a bang. in fact I had three grad shoots within 36 hours. Here is a sampling of the fun from last week.


The First of my grads last week was Jocelyn. My son accompanied me on the shoot and I must say he is quite enamored with her at the age of five. She was super sweet, of course gorgeous and was super courteous. She had such a pleasant demeanor and that made her very easy to photograph. Good luck at U of C next year Jocelyn!






The next grad I shot was Belinda and her date. I must say that they are a very sweet couple. They both made me laugh. In this shoot we went through it all, spiders, catapillars, gust of wind and of course a bees nest. What grad shoot isn't complete without the appearance of a nice bees nest. Thank you for allowing me the oppourunty to shoot your grad day, it was fabulous getting to know you and your families!






The last shoot on Friday was with Natalie and some of her friends. It was great to see the excitement as everyone arrived and saw eachother all "gussied" up for the first time that day. It took quite a bit of organizing, but we did get everyone involved at the end, and the girls did some great "sex and the city walking" to finish off the shoot in style. I can't wait until Natalie and I get together next week to really give my camera a work out!