Blog
Resting peacefully
2 Comments
Her last weeks of life were not the easiest, both for her and us. She experienced a stroke that left her partially paralyzed and very weak. We each took our turns letting her know that, when the time came, we were ready for her to go on. Those days were the hardest. We all thought that that weekend would be her time to leave.
But then she regained some vitality exactly a week after her stroke, surprising all of us! She was finally completely painless and she grinned and joked until her last conscious moments, *hitting her forehead* at my inability to drive a stick shift and getting stuck in the bumps in her home’s driveway. She ate  ice cream, jello and pudding as her last meals. Her best and last one was having some Ben & Jerry’s Brownie Fudge Ice Cream!
She slowly sank into unconsciousness and passed away peacefully in the night of Friday to Saturday.
I share this with all of you because it is part of my own healing process and I think that, although this was hard, I feel that her very last week is beautiful to remember. Her sly smiles and jokes are what I want to remember of her in her last days and what I want all of you to remember of her as well. My mother was a grand person, full of generosity, smiles and the voice of reason to me and my siblings. She is greatly missed, but her time with us will be cherished on forever.
**In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.**
Walker Girls!
These precious little girls were simply the BEST! And like I mention in the sticky post about my family, they were just what I needed that particular early February weekend! I mean, could you resist those eyes or smiles? They made the whole world fade away with their giggles, chatter and joyful laughter! Just looking at these again brightens my day, don’t you agree?
Family Health and limited sessions in 2011
Any thoughts and prayers are welcomed and you will all, current clients, friends, family and even you, who has newly discovered my site, understand that I will be limiting my availabilities to Sundays only and all viewing sessions will be during the weekday, either afternoons or evenings. In other words, this leaves exactly 2 availabilities a month for sessions and no more.
I love photography and everything that surrounds it, from giggling kids to their crying fits, sleepy to poopy newborns and everything in between. That is why I *need* to keep doing what I love and you will still see me smile and laughing at your session, each and every time. This is what will help me help my mom and dad through these difficult months. However, she is my first priority and therefore I am saving those Saturdays so that I can be there for her, for my siblings and my dad, for my kids and my friends.
Thank you for your time and patience, but mostly, thank you for your friendship and the opportunity to photograph your family and keep me smiling, reminding me why we are all here for each other.
Great article!
As I do most nights before I turn in, I do my “rounds”. I usually quickly check my email, stop by the “patch” (private closely knit community of friends going on 7 years of online friendship!), then finish with Facebook where I quickly scan through everyone’s posts and see if anyone I’m following has mentioned anything urgent or of particular interest. Well, as often happens, my great friend Andrea Burns always finds great things to share both personally and professionally. Tonight she posted a link to a great article titled {Do Photographers Really Make Money} that I thought was downright fabulous. So much in fact I had to highlight it here, Twitter and Facebook!
Whether you’re a pro, amateur, current or prospective client, this article is a great read. Someone once told me the following (or I read it somewhere, I have a very fertile imagination and can easily imagine someone telling me something when I actually only read it!): If you aren’t {making money; pricing appropriately; etc} with regards to your photography *business*, then it’s a very expensive hobby. The essence of that has always stayed with me and it is part of what keeps my feet firmly planted on the ground pushing my business to where I want it to go. Making it a hobby is fine, but I honestly can’t afford such a hobby, no matter how passionate I feel about it. This is my business, my last baby; not my part-time/weekend hobby.
And to be clear, I have nothing at all against anyone that does this as a hobby. They are very fortunate and I am very happy for them. My hope and  life goal is that it can be {just} a hobby one day, if I ever tire of the business of it, which frankly, I also love!
Shameless plug!
I just wanted to take the time to mention that I’ve added Wendy Mathews’ website & email addy two posts down. So if anyone you  know or you yourself are looking for a place or wanting to sell, please check her out!
Learning in Progress {Montreal Children Photographer}
In early November I had the HUGE pleasure to photograph a different kind of crowd. A little more then a dozen little people and their Pre-K teachers! The kids from Learning in Progress, a GREAT home based preschool program (and truly, this is not a daycare, but truly a preschool!) got the chance to see my sillier side. Here are just a few of their cute little students.
My man C was super easy to photograph and was willing to laugh at any jokes. Maybe it helps that I met him once before, although 2 years is a long time to remember at that age!
This little lady was the shyest of the bunch. I was very lucky to catch her smiling this one time. She was too cute for words!
This next little man was just SO easy to work with as well! Such a natural! Look at those soulful eyes!
Miss T had it down to an art form, let me tell you. I took exactly 4 images of her, two head shots, two full length. I need not have bothered with the back up, they were IDENTICAL! She’s got the posing and smiling down pat, and it looks natural and effortless!
Another lovely little miss that was a joy to interact with. Very cute and witty!
And finally, a shy little girl that reminded me of my own. I got her out of her shell easily enough, just had to remember how my oldest girl reacts to strangers and we got along just fine! Here’s the proof!
If you know someone with a small (as in, no more than a dozen or so kids) daycare/preschool that are looking for a different type of school portrait, link them up! Even better, get your own child’s daycare/preschool to shoot me an email or even give me a call.
Wendy Mathews – Real Estate Broker {Laval Photographer}
Before the end of October I had the privilege of photographing this beautiful woman for her Realtor portraits. If you are looking for a place or wanting to sell, please check her out! She’s a fantastic person all around! Visit her website here or contact her via email.
Fall Colors {Laval Children Photographer}
While taking some fabulous fall, although chilly, birthday portraits of our new 6 year old, the littlest one wanted to join in the fun too.
I ended up with this gorgeous piece titled : “Réflexion” which translates roughly to “Thoughts” or my artistic translation “Deep thought”
… which won 3rd place people’s choice for fall theme while it was on display at one of our cities many public libraries! Can you believe I didn’t even find the time to visit the expo myself?! Well, I didn’t find the time to blog either!
Happy Birthday!
Continuing our fall timeline, my own 5 year old turned 6 mid-October! How dare she, right? I snapped a few images when her Grand-parents came over, a few on her actual birthday and honestly, none at all during her kid-only party. Being the Queen Hostess of the Princesses (and Prince!) Royal Ball, there very literally was no time to spare! Of course, now you all wonder how wonderful everything must have looked with me using all those official titles! lol I’ll see what I can dig up from that day, maybe someone wielded another camera??
WELCOME!
Welcome to Nayanna Arts. My name is Andrée and I will be your photographer today. Keep following and you might stumble onto some great specials, irresistible sneak peaks and much MUCH more. Being a mother of two, you might find that it gets quiet between posts, it’s not from lack of trying, trust me 
On top of being busy with the household, working this great adventure that is photography, I also wear the toolbelt around here and I always have a new project at home that is taking up the remaining time I actually don’t have. But stay with me and I’ll show you what great people, places and things I find through my lens.