I think it’s about time I shared some joyful things on this blog again.  I’ve been having a really good week, business-wise.  And the non-business stuff isn’t too bad either.

• Amazing Shows – I saw The Glitch Mob with Free the Robots and Deru at Element a couple of weeks ago.  It was so awesome!  My friend Irene and I went and got right in the middle of the dance floor for the openers, who were great.  When Glitch Mob came on, we had to move to the outskirts.  Short people like us get anxious in big crowds, and this crowd was going crazy!  Glitch Mob really knows how to get and keep an audience going. We danced so long and hard, I could barely walk the next day.   I’ve been a huge fan of edIT for a while now, so I was really excited to see him perform with Glitch Mob.  I can’t wait to see another great show, which can be a rarity in Victoria.  I hear Jeremy Fisher is coming back soon though.
• 2011 Weddings – I’m suddenly starting to hear from a lot more couples getting married in 2011, which is making me excited for the future.  Still booking some last minute 2010 weddings , which I also love because they’re sort of unexpected.  I especially love the 2011 brides and grooms who are really serious about photography.   They’ve checked out a bunch of sites and finally contacted me because they really love my work.  I think that’s my favourite thing ever: people really loving and getting what I do.



• Sweet Animals – I love animals, as you can tell from my work with animal rescues (and my cool cat, Freddie).  My friend Lynn went on vacation to Italy for a couple of weeks and I took in her two cats and foster cat.  I think I’m addicted to the affectionate head-butts that her cat Millie does, though she did hurt my nose a couple of times.  Above is a photo of Olivia, a foster cat from the Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders.  She’s a sweet girl, but she’s been in foster care for quite a long time.  I’d love to see her go to a wonderful home.  She can be shy, but once she gets comfortable with you, she’ll come out for pets and snuggles.  If you’d like to adopt Olivia, go to the Animal Crusaders website to fill out an adoption application or contact me.
• Babycakes – I’m trying out some vegan and gluten-free cooking and baking lately.  I found this great baking book, Babycakes from a bakery in New York City.  It has pictures of almost everything, which is my number one desire when choosing a cookbook.  My friend Jon and I made some red velvet cupcakes, which came out a little too dense because we unsuccessfully substituted gluten-free flour for spelt flour, but some of my friends liked them anyway.  Then I made some vanilla cupcakes with garbanzo-fava bean flour and they were super yummy.  Dying to make the banana chocolate-chip bread next.
• Meeting Other Photographers – I recently met a bunch of local wedding photographers and it’s so nice to talk to people who are in the same business as I am.  The internet is a wonderful source of knowledge about the business and technique of wedding photography, but it’s really nice to get a local perspective sometimes.  It’s also great to know that if there’s ever an emergency, I have a bunch of pros I can call to stand in for me.  I also love looking at their blogs and seeing what kind of images they produce with the same locations and light as I’m working with.  If you’re a local professional photographer, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
• Clue – Rediscovered my love for the movie Clue a few weeks ago. My friends and I have been fiendishly playing the board game recently.  I got a 1970s version of it at the Salvation Army for about $2.50.  It’s missing most of the character pieces, so we just use the funny game pieces from Cranium instead.  Miss Scarlet always seems to win.
• Summer sun; stunning mountain views while driving down highway 17; having drinks and fabulous food with the girls; working on a secret surprise for my website visitors;  “Fools in Love” by Inara George; It Happened One Night; Jimmy Stewart reading a poem about his dog; pretty Etsy letterpress-printed notecards; former clients who leave me glowing Google reviews or write me touching Facebook messages or emails.

This week has not been going my way, so I thought I could use a dose of positivity, a la Gala.

• Fun and Fabulous Clients! – I’ve had more portrait shoots than I can handle (almost) in the past two weeks and they’ve all been so fun.  I feel like I learn something every session and get better and better at photography and working with people.  I’ve got a bunch of new images to add to my portfolio now.  It was so worth spending most of my weekend editing.  I also booked a wedding for this August with a really fun, laid-back couple.  I’m really excited to be there for their wedding and to work with them again.

• Good service – A pipe connecting to my hot water heater sprung a leak on Sunday and I almost freaked out because I was scrambling to get some editing done that day.  A friend of a friend recommended Plumb-Perfect. They were here less than an hour after I called them and had it fixed in about fifteen minutes.  That’s impressive.  I also got a flat tire on Sunday night, filled it up on Monday morning and drove to work.  But it was still leaking when I got back.  I brought it to Canadian Tire Tuesday morning and they fixed it while I waited, for free, because it was one of their tires.  I have to admit that these little things frazzle me a bit.  I haven’t been living on my own for that long and I’m not used to calling businesses for help.  These guys just made life so much easier, and not for too much money.
• The library – I’m loving the library so much since I cancelled my cable to save money.  I’ve started working on my 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list again and the library has about 9 out of every 10 DVDs on the list.  Their online hold system is super handy too.  I’ve also been taking out a bunch of novels and business/marketing books.
• Hearing great music on the radio – I’m loving CBC Radio 2 during rush hour.  Sometimes it’s not my style, but sometimes they really nail it. I heard a newer Hayden song the other day.  I haven’t heard him in years, but I loved him a lot in high school. He’s cheered up a bit, or at least his sound has.  Then they played 27 Jennifers by Mike Doughty, which is one of my all-time favourite songs and I was singing along loudly while driving down the Pat Bay – “You might be the one that I’ve been seeking for. You might be the strange delightful.”
• Great friends – As always, I’m so grateful for my friends who always seem to come through when I’m feeling overwhelmed: letting me borrow their car, giving me a ride, making me dinner, commenting on my blog or Facebook, and sending me silly e-mails.  Love you guys so much.
• You! - Thanks to all of  you for reading and commenting on my blog.  It makes me feel great to read nice comments when I tend to be overly critical of my own work.
• Playing with off-camera flash; Richard Simmons; Richard Simmons on Whose Line is it Anyway?, sunny days!; sweet mama’s boy cats; tax returns; thinking about costume making; sparkly hula hoops; rewatching Batman and realizing how Tim Burton-y it really is; turning off the heat in my apartment.

Writing all that out definitely makes me feel better.  What are you loving this week?

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays.  I’m still struggling with a month-long cold and exhaustion, but I had a fabulous time at our New Year’s Eve circus party!  I made a shabby chic big top out of streamers in my friend’s dining room and we had a photobooth with funny props and ghetto lighting (one flash, on camera, in an oddly coloured room).  The below photo was taken by Miss Nancy.  I’m the one with the tiny top hat (i.e. the only one who wore a costume).

Are you all making great resolutions (and keeping them so far)?  I think my resolution will be to make monthly resolutions, or goals.  This month I aim to get rid of this cough, go back to the climbing gym (and buy some shoes for it), and finish up some lingering paperwork.  And maybe try to keep my kitchen counters clean for once.

I’m going to admit a flaw in my work to you, dear readers (and potential clients, eek!), in the hopes that it will help you better understand me and will help me grow as a photographer.

I suck at posing.

When I shoot portraits, I typically let people pose themselves. I usually ask them to stand or sit in a certain location and then just shoot away. I ask them for suggestions of what kind of shots they what and what kind of poses. I try to get them to show their personalities.  I try to make them laugh and be silly.  Sure, I can pose people in a way to make them look really good. I even have a book on it. But I find traditional poses very boring.  I want to see people for who they truly are.

I find letting people come up with their own poses creates the best photos, really showing off their personalities. For example, for the photo below from a Halloween wedding I just shot, I asked Lyndsey and Brennan to stand on the stairs, with one of them standing a few steps higher and both on opposite sides of the stairs. They were looking at each other and I suggested Brennan reach out his hand toward Lyndsey. I thought it might look cheesy, but sometimes cheesy makes the best photos. I stopped giving instruction and just took a bunch of photos. She took his hand. Then the below happened. Perfect Halloween wedding portrait. And it’s all them. You’re not going to get that if you’re constantly ordering people around. Sometimes our weaknesses can be our strengths.

Note that this probably isn’t the final edit, and the web format isn’t great for dark photos.