2017 AA Champs!

After a tough season in the AAA Potter Division, the Oak Park Varsity Raiders football team ended up taking the AA Vidruk Division title in a strange set-up that I still don't fully understand.  I give kudos to the Kelvin Clippers and Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings who fought hard to make it to the semi-final and final games.

Always looking forward - here's to the 2018 season back in AAA!  GO RAIDERS!

Winnipeg 2016 HS Football

It's not just family photos that have been keeping me busy.  

I also became a football mum for the first time this year!  I generally make no secret of the fact that hockey is my favourite sport to watch, but I would gladly watch my son and his teammates play football any day of the week!  These boys have worked hard all season long, and it's been a privilege to be witness them grow as players and young men.  

It's also been great to reconnect with the parents of some of my son's teammates whom I've known since they were all in preschool together, and to meet new people as well.  

One way or another, our season ends on Wednesday and no matter the outcome of the big game - I couldn't be more proud of these kids!  Proudly a member of the OP Raider Nation!

GO RAIDERS!

Winnipeg Autumn Family Photos

September and October are always popular months for photos, and this year was no exception.  Although the weather was particularly unpredictable and overall pretty rainy, I was still lucky enough to catch some time with these four families!

Some of them you'll recognize from previous photos, and a couple of them are new to the Zaniac family.

more after the jump.

Winnipeg Party Photos

You might recognize this beautiful family from a previous wedding.  Barb is an incredible teacher at the school my son attended during his elementary years, and now she's someone I consider a beautiful, wonderful friend.   Her son was married to his sweetheart earlier this autumn and I was lucky enough to be included in the pre-wedding festivities.

Spending time with this family is truly a gift.  They are kind, welcoming and hilarious!

More after the jump.

Rainbows and Love and Friendship - Oh My!

July 9, 2016 marked the first ever Pride march in Steinbach, Manitoba.  This was an event surrounded by no small amount of controversy, but that's not what I want to focus on here.

It was a privilege to participate in this event and witness the coming together of humans from all walks of life and many different beliefs in a celebration of love, friendship, community and togetherness.

When I say that Zaniac Photo is For Every Family - I mean it.  <3

More after the jump.

Winnipeg Graduation Photos

High School graduation is such an exciting time.  You've worked hard for at least 13 years to accomplish this goal - and you deserve to be celebrated!

With that in mind, I'd like to congratulate Shay on her hard work and perseverance and wish her the best in this next stage of her life!

You are a courageous and beautiful young woman and you will no doubt do big things in your life!

Assiniboine Park Zoo January 2016

What to do on the last day of winter break?  Hit the Zoo of course!

I think the last time we went to the Zoo might have been during winter break the year before, so it seemed fitting.

The polar bears surprisingly weren't terribly active while we were there, but we got a chance to see plenty of other animals.

I think this is probably my favourite series of shots from that day:

More after the jump...

December Family Photos in Winnipeg

C has been my neighbour and friend for about 10 years, but the only time I've ever done any photos for her was the time that she needed a single photo for her son's school project!
This year she decided that photos of her and the kids would make a great Christmas gift for her family - and she was right!

We found a little window of time that they were all free in between trips to the rinks and headed off in the cold.

More after the jump...

Winnipeg Family Photographer December 2015

This was a really fun shoot!  Not only did I get to catch up with mum, who's been a friend of my sister forever, but I got a private concert from her extremely talented sons!

Seriously, these guys are amazing!

More after the jump.

Surprise, we're getting on a plane!

So, my mum is the president of the Manitoba Federation of Union Retirees, and occasionally she gets to has to go out of town on business trips.  My son always asks to go with her and the answer is always, "no" because he has school/she has meetings or conferences the whole time/his airfare would be expensive, etc.

Well, this time she was going at the end of November, and I thought - "hey, why not".  It was in between terms at school for my son,  and the stars aligned for the rest of the usual issues and I decided that he and I would go with her to Ottawa, but it would be a surprise!  Neither he nor I have ever been, so I was really excited.

I booked tickets and hotel rooms, coordinated with his teachers and even managed to pack our suitcase without my son having any clue.  I told him he had an orthodontist appointment on the morning of our flight, but we had to leave early so we could take Grammy to the airport.

When we got to the airport, I told him that we were actually there to catch our flight (Grammy was taking a later flight on a different airline) because we were going to Ottawa.  He was very surprised, but just as excited as I was.  I even managed to get him to take a selfie (albeit a kind of reluctant one, lol) at the airport before we boarded our flight.

We had a blast though and we walked sooooo much.  Downtown Ottawa is very walkable.  They're currently building a light rail system (lucky!) though, so I think the construction actually rivalled that in Winnipeg this year, which is a pretty significant accomplishment if you ask me!

Parliament Hill is absolutely stunning and it was incredible to see - something everything Canadian or fan of Canada should have an opportunity to see at least once in their lifetime.  

We ended up trading camera favours with an adorable couple who were also visiting Parliament Hill for the first time.

We're big fans of poutine, so we made it our mission to try a different poutine every day, since we were so close to Quebec.

Really though, the star of the experience was the sightseeing.

The remains of Canada's unknown soldier.

More after the jump...

Winnipeg Autumn Family Photos

I bet this family looks familiar!  Every single time I get to photograph this family, I realize how fortunate I am.  Seeing these boys grow up is such a pleasure!  I am so thankful that they have allowed me to be a small part in the family traditions they make.

So many smiles, and even more laughs!

We do this next shot every time and I love it!

More after the jump.

Winnipeg Senior Photos 2015

Have you ever walked on a railroad bridge?  If you’ve watched the movie, Stand By Me, then you remember the scene where the boys cross the railroad bridge.  If you haven’t seen the movie - watch it right now.  Seriously.  Drop whatever you’re doing and watch it.

WARNING - some NSFW language, and some viewers may find the scene disturbing.

I am not the copyright holder of this material and I make no claims of ownership.  This material is owned by Stephen King, Act III Productions and Columbia Pictures.

Anyhow, in my opinion, this is an extremely accurate depiction of walking on a railroad bridge, even if it’s just a few metres onto it…

Before these photos were taken, I don’t think I’d ever actually been frozen by fear before.  I didn’t realize I was such a chicken!

In my defence, the gaps between the railroad ties are HUGE, and they’re not perfectly even and railroad bridges are kind of shaky, and even if there are sides on the bridge, there’s a good metre wide gap between the wall and the end of the railroad tie.  

Did I mention that the gaps are huge?

I’m not ashamed to tell you, beloved reader - I crawled like Verne until I got back to solid ground.  Then I took some photos.

The beautiful Ms. M was much more brave.

More after the jump!

Winnipeg Aurora Photos 2015

This summer was a tricky one for viewing the Aurora from our location.  There were quite a occasions when the atmosphere put on a show, but unfortunately for the majority of those times, the Winnipeg area was under cloud cover.

 *sad face*

We did manage to catch a show at the beginning of September though.  Sorry for the intrusive watermark.  I can’t remember why I used that one.  I regret it now, but I’m too lazy to change it.

Be sure to scroll all the way to the end to see another September gem!

This was an interesting display.  It wasn’t the most colourful, nor did it cover a huge expanse of the sky (relatively speaking), but it had some fascinating features to it just the same.

This particular shot shows a beautiful swirl that really conveys the motion of the band.  It was like a celestial conveyor belt, swirling in on itself in a continuous loop.  Also note the bright blue proton arc in the upper left region.

September held other astronomical wonders for us as well!

Check it out after the jump!

Winnipeg Family Photos 2015

Jaime was one of my first clients waaaaaay back when she was pregnant with her first daughter.  I was delighted when she called me to do maternity photos for her again a few years later.  This summer, I had the privilege of making some new photos for her and her beautiful daughters.

We thought a lovely golden hour shoot in August would be good, so we met at one of my favourite locations and set out.  I think we lasted 20 minutes, maybe 30.  We were chased out by the mosquitos!

We got some lovely shots, but agreed that we’d try again in the fall when the leaves were changing the mosquitos were (hopefully) gone for the season.

October was free of mosquitos, but chilly!