family portraits

A special day for a beautiful couple. Congratulations Matthew and Zara!

13+ years and 4 beautiful children later they have tied the knot! It was a gorgeous, if not slightly temperamental, Alberta summer day.  There was loads of sunshine, a little breeze now and then, and a few tiny showers that you could have gotten away without an umbrella for.  Being an outdoor wedding at the brides’ childhood farm, kids were able to run around, adults got to enjoy the gorgeous (award winning) gardens.

While people arrived from both near and far Zara kept well hidden in the house and Matthew greeted guests outside.  When you share the same building, playing hide the bride can be difficult, but they managed well.

getting ready
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The groom patiently waiting for the bride to make her quick trip around the expansive vegetable garden.  

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The family was involved in nearly every aspect of the celebration, Matthew and Zara's children preceded her down the aisle with her sister. Zara's mother was her escort, giving her away at the end. 

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The wedding went on as weddings do, there were tears and special words, smiles and a couple laughs. It was perfect. 

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The ring bearer did his job famously well, so the neverending circle of love could be placed on each others fingers.

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The flower girls got right in there and decorated up the grass for their parents.

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A beautiful family!

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There are a variety of opportunities for formally posed images at weddings, but sometimes you just need to toss in some variety. Matthew wanted to get his teams socks in the picture, and why not catch the sisters photo bomb in the back? everything is a memory.

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Let the celebration continue with supper, drinks cake and toasts

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Back to film continued

The journey continues on re-learning how to shoot with a film camera, adjusting settings based on how images turn out.  My kids continue to be subjected to my experimentation with this process, but they don't seem to mind to much - for now anyway. 

Fall, leaves are turning, kids are exploring. Throughout Spruce Grove and Stony Plain a person can find piano's placed in different public locations for people to play a tune or plunk on the keys. We found one of the pianos at Stony Plain's Rotary Park, the kids enjoyed a few minutes of piano fun before heading out for a walk.  A different day we pulled out popsicle sticks and challenged the girls to build a house or some type of stick building. That was an entire weekend project. 

So each fall the kids love raking up leaves and jumping into them, really who doesn't enjoy that pastime. Here are a few of my favourites from that roll. 

Following fun with leaves is Halloween! Thanks to the kids grandparents we had pumpkins to carve this year, unfortunately last year there was a shortage and no carving happened. Pre carving was a little twister game fun and some cheeky Ryder pictures.

And the snow starts falling....the poor rose bush bending under the weight of new heavy snow. Another indoor day for the kids so more game playing, this time some battle ship.

So we do at times venture outside for some snow play...these are the most recent in the film journey, just this past March in fact when we get crazy swings in weather and snow quite often.  Why not use a big rubbermaid tub packed with snow to build a "castle".

So still lots for me to remember and take into consideration when shooting with a film camera, it is an exciting journey and I am looking forward to its continuation.  I'd like to give a shout out to Canadian Film Labs for the development and scanning of the images. They offer a custom experience and have great educational information to help their clients succeed in shooting film. 

Winter Tea Party and Family session

Were we just a little bit crazy, maybe, but even if they were a little cold the girls had a great time having a tea party, tossing candy canes and skipping along the trail! 

 

Fall sessions

Fall, well this year it was a couple weeks long and we seem to have jumped right into winter. Before the snow fell though I had the opportunity to do a quick session with my cousins and their families.   What a way to commemorate a 60th birthday for my uncle - their dad - then with an up to date family portrait.