Sometimes you have to dig deep. Challenge yourself, push yourself and hope for the net. Creatively I’m always looking to do this.  It feels scary and right before I try something new I always try to convince myself out of it.  Then my gut takes over.  That place inside of me that tells me to jump and the net will appear.  It’s only after the net catches me (indeed it always does) that I realize how important it was to let go. Those butterflies in my belly and questions in my head are erased when I look back at what I learned, what I accomplished and how I need to do it again (and again and again).

The other day I worked with this lovely muse.  We relied on each other to push ourselves and explore themes of sensuality and womanhood.  We drank wine, listened to music, talked of love, marriage and life.  Essentially we both played roles, I, the photographer and director (I made her play games of peek-a-boo!) and she, the model and muse.  We both had moments of feeling silly, but our comfort grew with each giggle, belly laugh and desire to explore a new aspects of ourselves.   I want to thank my dear model and muse for letting me capture such vulnerability and strength. Her ability to come on board for this little adventure and give of herself  (body and mind) was greatly appreciated.

I loathe to call this a ‘boudoir session’ because for me, it was so much more than that.  I think it would more apt to call it a “creative self-exploration session”.  This was a first for me, so I might need to keep working on the title;)

Part I

This month’s 10 on 10 fell on a very busy day.  Busy, but damn good.  See for yourself…

I need to stop reading three books at once.

As if.  I freakin’ LOVE reading. The more, the better!

Lazy morning involving cartoons and these two couch potatoes.

Sunshine in Vancouver, means GET  YOUR ASS OUTSIDE AND CELEBRATE THAT GIANT LIGHT ORB IN THE SKY.  So, we did. Complete with sidewalk chalk.

Off to a newborn session. Can you say…13 days old? So unbelievably fresh and sweet.

Speaking of fresh and new, I headed to the labor and delivery wing of the hospital to photograph a birth.

Baby on the way…stay tuned.

Back home to my peeps where a dinner party was happening and my hub was hosting with panache.  Some of my favourite peple greeted me and of course, more little girls to fill the house.  Just the way I like it.

Such a lucky woman I am to live this life. Thanks to everyone who plays a part in it. xox

Now head on over for a glimpse of Bethany’s world.

Things are percolating over here these days.  We eagerly watch for signs of Spring and cheer when we see the crocuses push up from the ground and provide some much needed colour to our grey, wet, west coast winter.  I think the promise of sunshine and milder weather has people thinking about outdoor photography sessions again.  I’m very excited to have a group of women whom I affectionately call ”my birth mama’s” who are set to give birth in the next month.  I am so excited to have to opportunity to document these births and my phone now rests beside the bed every night in anticipation of “the call!”

We are making plans for summer holidays (yes, I’m a keener).  Summer is most definitely my favourite season and I long to squeeze the summery goodness out of each and every day of the short season, so I’m starting to plan accordingly.  All this talk of the future does not diminish our daily zest for life.  We are firm supporters of whimsy in this house. Why just this morning the girls and I broke into a feverish dance party before school.  There were high kicks, hip swings and lots of fist pumping.  Fear not, “we will not let the grey get in our way.”  Could just be our new anthem…

Some photos, because well, just because.

Look who I found in my bed. Okay fine, look who I find in my bed all the time.

Lots of playing “hairdresser”. Be forewarned, if you come over you may leave with a new ‘do.

Yes, those are panties on our heads. What did I say about whimsy?

Tulips.  A Spring tease.

Good day. Good night.  Good everything to everyone.  xo

Sometimes I’ll be walking around my house and all of a sudden I’ll notice the quality or colour of the light in one of our rooms.  That’s what will make me stop, go get my camera and find a subject.  Obviously my kids are almost always around so they become my muses as well. However, sometimes it’s just enough to try to capture the light.  The essence or feeling that it imbues.

I walked into the living room in the late afternoon one day and noticed the beautiful diffused light coming through our patio doors.  I also saw my youngest daughter playing in her own little imaginary world.  Check. Check. Et voilà!

Okay. I will admit they had me with their tagline:

ARTIFACT UPRISING //

inspired by the disappearing beauty of the tangible /

bettered by a community of inspired storytellers /

driven by the belief everyone has a story to tell. Tell On.

I mean, I just think they nailed it.  Not to mention their products look lovely and the design was very appealing.  So, I ordered a photo book and just received it recently.  The paper quality was amazing.  The colours were true and vibrant. I was very impressed.  It feels sooooo good to get the photos out of the computer and into something I can hold in my hands and share with my kids. I can’t tell you how many people I talk to who tell me all of their photos of their children live on their phone or computer.  I will try to tone down my audible gasp, but I’m also out there trying to preach the good word.  In our digital world, I can’t stress the importance of the “beauty of the tangible”. Memories made. Memories saved.

I may be passionate about getting our digital photos into hard copies to hold, view and honour , but I’m also passionate about mama’s taking the time to be in the photos with their children.  From author Aidan Donnelley Rowley:

I’m everywhere in their young lives, and yet I have very few pictures of me with them. Someday I won’t be here — and I don’t know if that someday is tomorrow or thirty or forty or fifty years from now — but I want them to have pictures of me. I want them to see the way I looked at them, see how much I loved them. I am not perfect to look at and I am not perfect to love, but I am perfectly their mother.

As mothers we are accustomed to being in a place of giving, serving, caring, helping, sacrificing etc.  These are things we all do because of our love for our children. As part of your gift to them, let them see you in the visual history of their lives.  Be present.  Be perefectly you. That’s who they know and love.

Don’t wait until you lose that 5 lbs, colour your hair, or tell yourself you’ll get in the ‘next’ photo.  Be perfectly imperfect, but be present.

So, part of 2013 includes writing down goals for myself.  One thing I learned from my fellow Shutter Sisters is the power of setting intentions.  Gulp. Here I go.

I’d love the opportunity to marry my passions of motherhood and photography and begin to capture births.  Yes. Real. Live. Births.  The emotional roller coaster, the anticipation, the laughter, the tears and that tender moment when mother meets child for the first time.  It feels like a natural progression for me as I photograph women celebrating their beautiful pregnant bellies and I photograph their sweet babies. The part in the middle is rather important and deserves to be captured.  It is a life changing experience after all.  Women in labour have great power.  Why not honour it with photographs that tell the story of the moment when your life changed?

If you are interested, I am looking for couples in the Vancouver area who would be interested in having their birth photographed. No charge as I build my portfolio.

Thank you!

She asked for another lunch date with me.  Of course I said yes.  We had our first one of this kind last year and we both enjoyed it.

So, I went and picked her up from school before the lunch bell rang.

We headed to a french bakery in the neighbourhood.  We loaded up our plates with scones, croissants and everything non-gluten free.  We are rebels like that.

The times when it’s just her and I are so special.  Everything seems a lot quieter (is that what it’s like having one child?) and there are more moments to simply be a witness and an observer.

Man, I love this kid.  Everything about her.  The more I get to know her, who she is, who she is becoming, the more I feel it is an honour to be her momma.

For this ’10 on 10′ I was in Seattle for a workshop with the illustrious Jasmine Star. Three photographers applied and were selected to have a ‘photography makeover‘.  Thirty people, including moi, were then chosen to be part of the live audience filmed by CreativeLIVE. Photographers from all over the US and Canada came together to be a part of this amazing day.  If you know anything about Jasmine Star, you know that she is quite literally that…a star.  This woman not only looks the part, but she talks the talk and can definitely walk the walk.

It was an action packed day on the set and here is a little sneak peak of what went on behind the scenes…

Can you find me dorking out in the front row?

We even had homework!

This cute couple were nice enough to model for a fast and furious stylized photo shoot. Big kudos to the three photographers that were put in the hot seat to shoot these two on the fly (with the whole world watching!).

Let’s get this party started…

Girls getting silly with Ms. J. Star.

A nice way to end the day and my quick trip to Seattle.

Thanks to everyone who was at the workshop.  I’m looking forward to getting reStarted!

Now go check out what life looks like for the talented Jessica Deane.