On the other hand, it is a subject that is also quite serious. This is a real industry, not just a playplace where you can have some good laughs, try stuff out at the expense of other people’s precious memories and then decide you’re hanging it all up after making so many people regret their investment in you, no matter if that investment was only their time or if it was massive amounts of money. They invested their hopes and feelings in you as a professional, you BETTER have the chops to back it up!

If what I’m saying is out of the blue for any of you, please go ahead and read this fantastic blog post about some of the points of contention we are currently dealing with in this industry (and many other parts of the artistic industry in general I’m sure) http://www.photographersdonotbend.com/2012/03/27/what-i-am-and-what-im-not/. Everything that was said is dead on. Except for the *ten years in business* part, I could have written every word. I hope that by the time *I* am “ten years in business” we’ll all be laughing about this point in our industry’s history and how it was a growing pain that just had to happen, sort of like going through the *terrible twos… and threes…etc* with your children or anyone else’s child you know.

Thank you to all my clients that DO value my work, not just because they LOVE it (thank you for that too!), but that they monetarily value it as well. All the love for my work in the world will not pay my bills. Those of you that actually put your money where your mouth is, I bow my hat to you as you truly know the value of what you purchased and I really don’t have to defend my work to you. You make all the hard work and long hours worth it by standing beside my work.

I’m also putting together my very first true Newsletter! What out for that in the coming weeks! I ran a couple specials over the holiday, a boxing day/week thing. One was for past clients and the other for potential new clients. Here they are. If you fall into either category, call or email before midnight today!

http://mim.io/dd8122 & http://mim.io/4f7022

Well, first of all, WHY hadn’t I heard of him before??? Probably because I hadn’t yet joined the PPOC (currently an observer level member) nor was I also on DWF (The Digital Wedding *and Portrait* Forum), where apparently he is talked about on several threads! Off I went to check out his website and search on DWF for more information about him. Wow, the reviews and comments I found were, of themselves, very convincing! Then I listened to his videos… Himself, sitting in front of a very streamlined looking computer setup, white background, no fuss, no muss, just telling it like he sees it, all about photography and Photoshop. I was sold at that point already.

Of course, being that I never (or at least try not to too often!) take a decision without tangible opinions, I asked a fellow DWF member & Montrealer what she thought of his seminar and she was gushing over it.

So, Thursday, September 22th & Friday, September 23rd, I will be attending this FABULOUS seminar and hopefully I’ll be able to inhale as much information as I can and further my craft as well as my editing process. If I can spend less time sitting at the computer and more time either shooting or with my family, then that is money well spent any day!

And it made my day, my week, my month. Made my face hurt I smiled so much! As I walked into a hardware store, I couldn’t help but wonder why no one else was smiling as broadly! Why wasn’t anyone pointing it out to their kids, looking at it in awe. I just wanted to stand there and stare at it until it faded. It lasted for over a half hour, easy. It was still there when I came out of the first store. If I could see a rainbow like that everyday, life would be that much sweeter. Now, the sad part, I had NO CAMERA ON ME! Not even my phone!! But the image is imprinted on my retina and I will hold onto it for as long as I can. Hopefully, next time such a beautiful thing is laid in front of my eyes, I will have the means to still that image forever, to enjoy for a lifetime.

However, I do have many other beautiful images to share and will do just that in the next few posts!

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.**

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.

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!