Escaping the desert and shooting a beach wedding in amongst the cedars on B.C.’s west coast was definitely a highlight for me this summer. It was literally one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever been a part of for a wedding celebration. Both ceremony and reception were all in one magical spot at Wya Point Resort - in Ucluelet, BC. https://www.wyapoint.com
Here’s the highlight reel from Zoe and Phil’s wedding…
Authentic. Raw. Vulnerable. Inspiring.
These are the feelings that are conjured up when I go through these images of Erica and Kyle’s wedding. Their little munchkin, baby Denny, was also a huge part of their day - what a total sweetheart. Their ceremony was held at the Tod Mountain View location and their reception at https://www.sunpeaksgrand.com The Sun Peaks Grand Hotel.
They both were literally the sweetest couple and they went out of their way to show how appreciative they were of mine and Dennis’ (second photographer) efforts. Gratitude goes a long way in my line of work and this wedding was filled with it.
Here’s a few of my favourites from this wedding…
These two little Toy Aussie’s are actually legit little Instagram superstars. They are both sponsored by Everything Doggo - a pet supply company - http://ww.everythingdoggo.com as you can see they’re sporting their super cute bandanas for our shoot together. They are a team these two, and loved immensely by their humans. It was interesting to me how they worked together. You see Kaia is the white one and is completely deaf. Her eyes are her lifeline. They are so intensely beautiful as you will see in the photos.
It was a real pleasure seeing how this little family unit interacted with each other.
So much LOVE.
Be sure to check out their Instagram accounts: @kaiafluffkins and @lillyfluffkins
Here’s a few from our session together…
It was a wedding of 8,762 hugs, 6,549 kisses and thousands of tears - of JOY of course. I think Stacey and I witnessed about that much - So much love and laughter and moments of unbridled, pure happiness. Carlee and Kevin’s first look took place high above Kamloops in the rolling hills of Knutsford, BC. Then we moved to the downtown of Kamloops for their church ceremony at St. Andrew’s on the Square, a venue that never disappoints. After our time at the church we went for a walk through the downtown, checking out the vintage car show - Hot Nite in the City http://www.hotniteinthecity.com - and then to Viva Bridal Shop where the shop owner, Anthony Salituro, met us to cut his very first dress mid wedding day! in preparation for the reception at The Rex http://www.therexhall.com
Thank you Stacey (Second Photographer Extraordinaire) - you are a legend. And a joy to photograph with. Check out her amazing Noir Stories here…
Wedding Coordinator and Gown Provider - the legend himself: Anthony Salituro at Viva Bridal
Florist: Vicky Gregory
http://www.woodlanddesignstudio.com
MUA: Trista Rowbottom
Hair Stylist: Chatters Hair Salon - Kamloops, BC
Groom(smen) Outfits: Tip Top Tailors
Live Band: Side One
Here’s a collection of some of my absolute faves…
Victoria Street - kamloops, bc
Urban Wedding in downtown Kamloops
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Harvest Golf Club wedding in Kelowna, BC
Read MoreNala is a six year old German Shepherd/Lab/Border Collie X. Yup, she’s got a little bit of everything in her, including an intense will to survive. You see, only a few months ago she was diagnosed with cancer right before Christmas. It was a really stressful ordeal for her parents. She was diagnosed with a mast cell tumour and it was a shock to both of them as they thought it was just a cyst. They had to cut out a large piece of tissue to ensure that they got all of the mast cells. It obviously was a much bigger procedure than what they had expected. Then the wait began to see whether the biopsy results showed if the tumour was low grade or if it was more aggressive and had spread. It was the longest week ever.
Luckily the results came back that the tumour was low grade and the surgery was successful! It has been a bit of a recovery process for her as the surgical wound was so big but now she is cancer free!
Bringing Nala in to the studio to get her portrait taken was a way to celebrate her and how strong she is.
Well, it's been another successful year for my February Fundraiser. Just wrapped up all of my editing on these sessions and I wanted to say thank you to each and everyone of you that supported the work I do. Whether you were a client that booked a session, or recommended me to someone you knew, or "hearted" my photos or wrote sweet comments about the dogs. It was all so amazing to feel the love and support from my community of followers, friends and family. Thank you!
I also want to give an extra love blanket hug to Nicky Michaud for her support with getting the word out there and also to Blair Wayne Harper from Dex Knows Best Dog Food who stepped up and donated bags of dog food to all those clients that booked and participated in the fundraiser. I feel blessed to be in a place where I can use my skills to help out animals and their families through my dog photography. I enjoyed every moment spent with these furballs and I can't wait to do it all over again next year.
If you are wanting to have your dog photographed I do offer dog portrait sessions all year long!
Here's a little slideshow of all the dogs that participated this year.
Thank you again everyone!
Celebrating... Sadie May, Ozzie, Pepper & Eddie, Elli, Nala, Hudson, Xena & Jaxson, Connie, Chester M, Hazel, Chester D, Sable, Luna & Rocket and Sadie.
Graduation season is almost upon us! Read on for more information on booking a personalized session with your son or daughter, or family photos with Kathryn Learie of Owen Imaging.
Read MoreI feel like I’m a “just do it all myself” kind of person. I find it challenging to ask for help with most things, business and personal tasks. I find it easier to just do it myself and I don’t necessarily like bothering people to help me out. So running a business on my own for the last 18 years has definitely been challenging at times and as I get older I realize that my time with my kids is so fleeting and finding time with my husband and my friends super challenging. There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day for everyone. Anyone else feel this way?
My business has just turned a corner. I decided to try out a client management system. No more storing everything on sticky notes and in my head - haha! The system is called Dubsado. I’ve been using it just over a month now and it has helped me immensely in keeping all my clients organized. I would encourage anyone else like myself who feels they can “manage it all themselves” to go check them out! It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and my brain. I also found that they have a huge library of free template forms as well so you’re not having to create everything from scratch.
Their website is: www.dubsado.com and if you’re interested in giving them a try, use this code to get 20% off your first month!
Copy and paste:
https://www.dubsado.com/?c=kamloopslightchaser
And then there’s the dogs that make you laugh and cry a little.
Meet Xena and Jaxson. Xena is an 8 year old Staffordshire Pitbull and Jaxson is a 6 year old Pitbull/Rottweiller/Hound. Jaxson is the black and white dog and he likes to completely think outside the box when it comes to sitting. You’ll see. They hadn’t been in the studio for more than 2 minutes and Xena was already cuddled up next to me on the couch.
Here’s a few from their session…
Meet Elli. She brought her favourite stuffy to the session which meant more to her than any dog treat (first time ever have I had a dog bring their own stuffed hippo). At least I think it was a hippo. It made her smile, quite literally the whole time. Happy to be there, happy to be out with her people, happy to be sitting waiting for her stuffy to be given back to her as payment for being a good listener. Elli is a 6 yr old Aussie Shepherd/Border Collie X who listened so well she made me look good.
Our biggest challenge was trying to get her to not smile. LOL.
Here's a few from her session...
Meet Sadie May. My first pup to be photographed for this year's Heartfelt Fundraiser. She was pumped for her session! Although I had to wait for her to not be soooo pumped so I could capture her sitting still, hehe. Good luck, right?! She was a rockstar though. Sadie is a 7 month old Lab that is currently in training to become a service dog at Cedar Hills Dog Academy. Thank you so much Jackie for bringing her in!
Here's a few from her session... (sigh).
So, over the years I have developed a certain style to my wedding work which seems to strongly speak of big sweeping landscape shots and dramatic lighting. I’m a sucker for these things and I’ll be the first to admit that. I LOVE that beautiful connection between light and wind and how we are feeling in that moment when we’re surrounded by trees or on the edge of a field. But this time I wanted to focus on the human connection. No sweeping landscapes. Ok, maybe there’s a few in there. But more of the tender, quiet and not so quiet moments from their wedding day.
Here’s a few from the past few years.
I have had such a wonderful response from so many people out there who have reached out in response to my February Heartfelt Fundraiser! One company in particular is a new dog food company and local Kamloops business owner, Blair Wayne Harper, of Dex Knows Best Dog Food (Premium dog food that has free delivery right to your door!) has reached out and offered a pretty sweet incentive for anyone booking for this fundraiser in the month of January. This company will be giving away one bag of their dog food to each person who books a session during this fundraiser! So, be sure to book your dog portrait session soon and be a part of helping our local charities. Sessions are $195 and $50 of that money goes to one of these charities - you choose:
BC SPCA (BCSPCA),
Angel's Animal Rescue - Merritt, BC or
Cedar Hills Dog Academy- Service Dog Program
