Wednesday 26 November 2014

Ooooh Baby - photos that is

I haven’t had a chance to do a newborn session in ages, so I was soooo excited when my Facebook messenger popped up with the news that K’s newest addition was ready to be introduced to her adoring public!



This family already has two adorable and sweet boys, and I just know they’re going to love having a little sister.



Seriously, look at this gorgeous family!





It was an eventful shoot, with my flash sync cable quitting suddenly, me breaking one of my studio lights and the shooting overlapping nap time, but everyone handled it like champs and we got some beautiful shots!

Thanks again for inviting us into your family for a short time!

2014 Fall Sessions Part 3

Look at this cutie pie!  She and her family came out to capture some memories on a chilly, and… you guessed it, windy day at the end of October.



It was so easy to photograph this beautiful family, and I was really touched by how kind and caring these sisters are with each other.


More after the cut!

Fall Sessions Part 2

Although autumn is a beautiful time, it’s also a very windy time as the leftover heated air from summer meets the colder, heavier air of autumn.

These guys braved the wind and chilly temperatures without complaining, and the kids were all awesome!



Seriously, what a great looking family - I had a lot of fun on this shoot!


Tuesday 25 November 2014

2014 Solar Eclipse

On October 23rd, those of us in North America were treated to a partial solar eclipse or lunar transit. If you’ve been reading this blog you’ll know that I’m a space fangirl, so of course we headed out (down a veerrrrrry bumpy gravel road, haha) to watch, and it was spectacular!

First though, a photo of my tiny, sleepy puppy…


You might look at that photo and think that she is neither tiny, nor a puppy, but you’d be wrong.  She weighs a mere 34kg and is only 9 years old.

Moving on to the main attraction…

I don’t have a proper solar photography setup so I had to make do with half a pair of “eclipse shades” that weren’t nearly big enough to cover the front element of my lens.

The “dirty” spot on the face of the Sun was actually a massive and very active sunspot grouping.  It unleashed multiple strong solar flares, but unfortunately no very meaningful coronal mass ejections, which are what give us aurora.

You can view more photos after the cut!



2014 Fall Sessions Part 1

When I look at our current temperature of -14C, with a forecast low of -26C, it’s hard to believe these photos of this lovely family were taken only a few weeks ago!

Knowing that warm days were coming to an end for the year, this family came out after a full day of school and work, and braved the wind to have their family photos made.  I have to say, they did wonderfully and it was great to have a chance to catch up with another school family. :D



Monday 24 November 2014

Light The Night - Winnipeg

On September 27th, 2014, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada hosted their annual Light The Night charity walk at The Forks to “bring help and hope to people battling blood cancers.”

We originally attended to support my sister and her union local, but at the last minute my son decided to participate, so I stayed behind with my mum.

It was my first time viewing the completed Canadian Museum for Human Rights building, which adds even more beauty to Winnipeg’s skyline.


See more photos of the walk after the cut…


Sunday 5 October 2014

Four Generations

This is a super-fun family!  I know Sue from our kids’ elementary school - and she is HILARIOUS.  If you’ve been checking out this blog for a while, you know that funny is one of my favourite qualities in a person, haha.

This is Sue and her family, and her in-laws and their families.  All great people who are so down-to-earth and were so easy to photograph!


more after the cut!

This Place Looks Familiar

If the setting looks familiar, that’s because it’s the same yard featured in the previous post.  This lovely lady is L’s sister, D and her handsome son and their sweet dog.

Have I mentioned that I’m a dog person?  Love me some pups!


D made those stained-glass panels.  They are even more beautiful in person!


D is quite the photographer herself and it was fun to discuss gear with someone else - we use the same camera body, lol.


September Family Photos in Winnipeg

This session was a treat for me.  L was the principal at my son’s elementary school for the last 5 of his 7 years there and over those years, we spent many hours discussing our philosophies on the education of children, parenting, marriage, hockey, lunch programs and a million other random things.  The beautiful matriarch of this family is just a truly incredible person; an amazing educator, and a real inspiration to me.  The rest of the family is pretty great too, haha.


Look at these gorgeous kids!



Keep an eye out for this awesome family to reappear in the spring, and again in the summer!


Thursday 28 August 2014

NERD ALERT

I’m a nerd.  A space nerd.  The stars, the planets, the galaxies, the vastness, the mysterious behaviour of our own planet and its interaction with the universe - I can’t get enough.

Relatively speaking, I know very little about space, but I’m ok with that because it means that every time I fall down an informational space rabbit hole, it’s a new adventure and I come away with a renewed sense of wonder at our tiny insignificance in the whole of space.

All of this was really just a wordy introduction into some more aurora photos.  I regularly (meaning daily, sometimes many times daily) check the auroral conditions on a few websites:

Space Weather Canada

The Geophysical Institute of Alaska

Ovation Short-Term Forecast

and I have a specific calendar in iCal dedicated to important Astronomical happenings throughout the year (Solar Eclipse around 4pm on October 23rd, 2014 - be there or be square, but practice safe viewing!)

Last night looked to be fantastic for auroral viewing.  A good activity level (low to stormy), clear skies, a nice breeze (to keep some of the mosquitos down), cool temps (for comfort) and just a couple of days past a new moon (dark skies).

We could see a faint auroral haze when we first arrived at our usual spot:



Nothing really spectacular happening there yet, but overhead is one of the coolest sites in the skies: (turn your brightness up for this one)



(that’s the Milky Way, in case you’re having trouble picking it out.)

Soon the skies started waking up though:


And it wasn’t long before the awe-inspiring interaction between the Sun and our planet’s outer defences put on a magnificent show!


Enjoy!  You can view the entire set here.

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Winnipeg Family Photographer August 2014

Back again - one of my favourite families to photograph.  This family is so full of love, kindness and FUN!



I also discovered a new (to me), beautiful location in the Charleswood area that will be equally beautiful in all seasons.  Fall portraits would be especially stunning I think!

Wednesday 16 July 2014

Discount on Summer 2014 Portraits!

Wow, a 3rd post in the month of July… it’s kind of scary, actually.

This is what happens when you work in the public school system though, and have summers off, haha.

Book any portrait session (with the exception of weddings or commercial services) before September 30th, 2014 - and receive 10% off!

This means that maternity, newborn, 1st birthday, pet or engagement sessions are only $90!

Family sessions start at $135!

To book your session you can message me on Facebook through the Zaniac Photo page, you can email me or you can call or *text* to 204-510-1174.

I hope to hear from you soon! :D


Tuesday 15 July 2014

Cougars and Foxes and Polar Bears… OH MY!

I’ve been waiting about 3 years for Journey To Churchill at the Assiniboine Park Zoo to open!  We went for the first time today (To Journey to Churchill, not to the Zoo) and it was soooo worth the wait!

If your jaw dropped when you saw the new admissions prices (I’ll admit it; mine did), go on a Tuesday.  Everyone (over the age of 3) gets in for $10!

I can’t even tell you how amazing it was to see the bears swimming around and wandering in a more natural setting, instead of being confined to the pathetic enclosures they were in before.  The muskoxen, wolves, caribou and seals were awesome too, but I’m all about the polar bears.



More after the cut!

Monday 23 June 2014

More Random Stuff

So, blah blah, got a new lens, shot a wedding with hilarious people… what else?

Well, it seems as though most of the photos I took, I only uploaded to the Eff Bee, and not to Flickr - what’s up with that?

We went to the Manitoba Museum one day, and I uploaded those to Flickr, so here are some photos from the museum…


I think my son might have actually taken this next one.  This is my favourite part of the regular museum - seriously, an entire ship inside a museum?  How cool is that!?!?!?  


Pretty cool.



My kid is such a goof.  An incredibly awesome, cool goof, but a goof nonetheless.


LOOK OUT, THERE’S A BISON HEADING RIGHT FOR YOU!


Maybe I’m the goof…

Don’t tell him that.

More after the jump…

Well, it’s been less than a year

So that’s something, right?

I took a bit of a break from photography this past year.  Between working, parenting and the coldest winter in almost 120 years… well, I just wasn’t “feeling it”, if you know what I mean.

I’m back though.  Although I’m not a fan of summer, I realize that other people usually are, and that this is the time they usually want/have time for - photos!

It’s not like I left my poor cameras sitting lonely for a year though.  I did bring one or both out a few times.

I got a new lens back in August of last year - here are the first test shots I captured with that new lens.


But wait!  There’s more!