Archive for January, 2006
One of the greatest joys we have as photographers is building lasting friendships with our wedding couples. But even better than that is when they call us with the amazing news that they are about to embark on parenthood! How amazing it is to watch a couple’s relationship grow and their love evolve to a level at which they are ready to unselffishly committ to spreading that love further to the gift of a new life. Over the past year we have had many opportunities to share in the life changing expereinces of our client’s bringing new life into the world. Our Focused Elegance Family is growing and changing and we absolutely love it! It gives us a chance to reconnect with our clients on a completely different level. Over the next several months we will share with you some of the amazing gifts our clients have brought into the world!
Baby Sienna was born on June 29, 2005 at 3:44 am. 6lbs 14 ounces - almost a year after her parents were married! Proud parents are Lisa and Dave. Way to go guys - we are thrilled for you!!!!!
Here are a few images from Sienna’s first portrait session:
Tanya
January 23rd, 2006
Our primary print advertising vehicle of choice is The Complete Wedding Directory. It is published each December and covers the entire lower mainland (and can be found virtually anywhere that you would find wedding magazines.) They have a related website that actually covers all of Canada, and we tend to get a lot of our web hits from this on-line directory.
This year for our print ad we selected 4 images from Kim and Chad’s wedding this past summer. Here’s the full-page Ad:
The main image is of Kim lying on her back on top of her dress. She’s actually lying on the floor in the living room of her Maid-Of-Honor’s house. I am standing on a step above and shooting down at her.
Here is a ‘behind the scene’ shot that Jeff took illustrating this:
Sometimes you just have to put your faith in the photographer, especially when they say “trust me”. What feels silly or looks silly from one perspective can be magic from another viewpoint. 
And yes, she elected to wear her bejeweled flip flops all day!! She chose comfort over style.
(BTW, those are my feet at the top left side of the image)
The wedding and reception were held at The Redwoods Golf Course on 88th Ave in Langley. The golf course has an AMAZING view of Golden Ears Mountain. Very picturesque and photographer friendly.
So the 3 insert images of Kim and Chad are taking at various locations around the golf course. We wanted the supporting image elements to help communicate love and romance, but with a touch of whimsy, and we hope you agree.
So a big thanks to Kim and Chad for permitting us to use them as models and to share some of their day with 1000’s of other people.
Tanya
January 18th, 2006
Well, this past weekend Tanya and I were down in Seattle visiting with Tania and Ken Shepard of Studio E Photography.
We first met Tania at a photography workshop last summer where she presented a talk on marketing and branding - and found that our approach to the ‘business’ of photography was very similar. The goals and values for their studio mesh very closely with our own.
This was our second get-together since then and it gives us a chance to discuss and compare notes on all aspects of our businesses - pricing, marketing, sales, branding, new products, hiring, photoshop - you name it, we discuss it. The Seattle and Vancouver markets are similar enough that we can take what we learn from each other and implement with similar successes.
This time though Tanya photographed a Jewish wedding with Ken on Sunday. Ken is a great guy, very laid back, been photographing for 25 years, and has a great knowledge of lighting, especially under tough wedding circumstances. It’s great to tag along with other photographers and every photographer would agree that no matter your skill levels, there’s always something to learn or some technique to pick up. Not to mention that photographing a wedding for fun where there is no pressure involved, allows the creativity to flow more freely and enables one to see the couple’s wedding story from a different perspective.
Whilst Tanya assisted at her first Jewish wedding, I made my regular pilgrimage down to Fry’s Electronics. Fry’s is like a Costco, only it’s rows and rows of motherboards, hard drives, software, computers, home theater equipment, etc. It’s a life-long duty as a once high-school computer club member to attend any Fry’s that I’m in the vicinity of. It’s in the bylaws, I have no choice.
BTW, Tanya is very much looking forward to the time when we book our first Jewish wedding. The reception and dancing are a hoot - she had a smile on her face the entire night.
Sorry no pictures 
We kept our gear at home for once….
January 17th, 2006
Tanya and I had dinner at the Hart House Restaurant the other day to celebrate her birthday. It’s was Tanya’s 3rd 29th birthday
For any of you guys looking to take your lady to a fancy restaurant, this is the place. I like it because I’m a pretty picky eater and don’t really like a lot of francy froo froo food, but at the Hart House they offered a relatively normal chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and vegetables. At the fancier restaurants I’m normally having to order a chicken ceasar salad because I can’t pronounce the other foods.
BTW, for any brides-to-be, it’s also an excellent facility to hold both your ceremony and reception, with plenty of photo opportunities in and around the area. The food and staff are both great. Two thumbs up.
Jeff
January 4th, 2006