Toronto Bootcamp!
In early October I found myself taking part in this fantastic small but very insightful workshop in Toronto, made possible by Kerry Allen and his fantastic site, Photography School House. They usually feature a free webinar every week or so! Worth every second! A few images of our very gorgeous models.
Girls, I'll send these along very shortly!
And finally, some of the other awesome peeps I met there, all fantastic photogs in their own rights!
You can find her awesome work here at Julie Rhodes Photography
My now dear friend Nathalie from Lilifoto
And a quick thinking pic, I was taking a picture of the gentleman in the back, who was also photographing myself, and another one of our attendees put his camera in front of mine so I quickly refocused! He thought to "ruin" my shot, but actually made it better! haha! And I would totally mention each of their names except that I honestly can't bring them back to mind! I'm not entirely sure who's arm that was, Todd?
If you know me personally, you totally know that I have the hardest time with names! I will usually repeat someone's name after they've told me and I also have to connect their name with something particular about the situation, themselves, ANYTHING to help me remember. At one time I think I knew everyone's name there, but alas, that information is buried in my brain somewhere!
Going out with my Local Photog Club, APAL {Laval Photographer}
One weekend in September I had the chance to participate in our local photography club's Nature outing. This was a great change of pace.
This fern was in the middle of the forest itself, but a lone ray of sunlight lit it up as if it were made of gold!
Having fun with some extension tubes, trying to get just the right part of it focused. I had to stop breathing and wait for a lull in the breeze. Probably spent 10 minutes on this lone flower!
We honestly lucked out this day, this Blue Heron just kept posing for us without a care. This I took from the other side of a little area of water, but at one point I was literally a few feet from him and he didn't leave! Once or twice he would go to the middle of the river and then when some of us left the mini "lagoon" he would come back to pose some more! It was quite unheard of! Photographing a bird usually so shy with a 50mm and getting great close-ups is normally impossible, but that's what this is!
If you look closely enough, you can make out people beneath the bridge on the water's edge... that would be some of the other photogs of our club getting their own nature shots!
I kept walking through the forest of "les Chutes Wilson" and was just amazed at the beauty! I could have posted 2 dozen of just my favorite images and still have more to share. One of the last images I captured are of this area bathed in sunlight through some still green leaves and more of a light golden color. It was breathtaking. This image really doesn't do it justice, but it comes close!
Although I'm no landscape photographer, it sure is fun to take a more Zen approach to photography and simply let the scene around me dictate what I should take from it. I should do this again soon, with winter whites as my muse.
Laura & Marie-Eve {Montreal Maternity Photographer}
[lang_en]It's been a long while since I've been here. I've been busy busy! Working on revamping my brand and hope to slowly incorporate it to the new website. Yep, new website coming, all custom made, courtesy of my very talented husband! I had an absolute BLAST this afternoon with two very good friends of mine. They probably couldn't have planned on timing things so perfectly, but fate had another idea. They found out they were both pregnant at about the same time with only a week or so between them! DREAM come true for these best of friends! They are expecting a boy and a girl between them, but don't be fooled by their shirts ;) As soon as they figured they would go through this pregnancy together, they immediately wanted to share their maternity session ! Both beautiful women with beautiful features! [/lang_en] [lang_fr]Je me suis TANT amusé aujourd'hui avec deux bonnes amies. Avoir essayé de planifier leurs grossesses ainsi, elle n'auraient jamais aussi bien réussi. Elles ont apprise qu'elles étaient toute deux enceintes avec seulement une semaine et des poussières de différence! Un RÊVE pour ces deux meilleures amies! Entre-eux, elles attendent une fille et un garçon, mais ne vous laissez pas confondre par leur chandails ;) Aussitôt qu'elles ont réalisé qu'elles seraient enceinte ensemble, elles ont décidées qu'il fallait ABSOLUMENT partager une session de maternité! Aucun doute! Deux si belles femmes, voyez vous même! [/lang_fr]
Mont-Tremblant {Traveling Photographer}
Actually, my husband and I finally celebrated our 5 year anniversary by spending a "skiing" weekend at Mont-Tremblant. Well, in all honesty, HE skied while I walked around ALL day and took a few pictures ;) Here are my very favorites. Trust me, it took a LOT to whittle them down to these, I started out with over 250 captures!
Condo/hotel on the mountain side
Apparently a very famous little church, I haven't looked for it on the official site, but it's associated with just about any Mont-Tremblant site :)
Silhouetted
Sunflares :)
An absolute FAV
One of my favorite areas full of color and "characteristic" architecture
I couldn't resist! He was standing right in front of a "Santa's workshop" type of store.
These next ones are from the top of the mountain, and this is with the free lift ticket I was given by tourists going home early from their 3 day stay :D
The snow is literally glued to the trees! It's just so beautiful!
Sunflare through icicles
How about snow covered icicles?? They look like alien fingers!
WIDE open aperture!
A view on my way to the look out area
I was running out of time, really, I had 20 minutes left before I HAD to go take the lift back down the mountain to meet-up with my husband ,so I climbed to the lookout through THICK snow with my "walkin' boots" and I was running up the stairs when I just SAW this beautiful vision, the light was just gorgeous so I ran back down to take several shots, and then did so at all 3 flights of stairs, which is why the panorama through the holes in the stairs changes:
More sunflares!
More trees with the GORGEOUS blue sky! I barely touched these, I adjusted contrast and brightness and nothing else really. Didn't need to!
Sun flare through a tree :P
Some boarders taking a break watching other people ski by. A couple of them looked up wondering what the heck I was doing! lol
GORGEOUS view!
Top of Tremblant! That's where the BIG lift brings you.
Going down the lift, I couldn't resist, I hit my head on the top of the lift a few times taking some of these. Oops. I also took a few sticking my lens out of one of the small windows. Others, like the first one, I took through the scratched up plex-glass windows. Think it adds charm :)
Loner lift on a smaller "hill" if the mountain
A Buddha votive holder at the Asian inspired restaurant we ate for supper. (Sort of small, but the food was DELICIOUS!) We had planned on eating at another restaurant but it only opened at 6 and we had to be out of there by 6 if we wanted to take advantage of the Scandinavians baths before our massages :)
Speaking of which, this is the restaurant we originally wanted to eat at:
The same street I photographed earlier with all the colors and architecture, but from the top and just past sunset
Thanks all folks:) Thanks for looking :)
Fireworks! {Montreal Photographer}
I had the IMMENSE pleasure to go photograph the international fireworks competition last night, starts at 10pm and lasts all of a half hour, but WOW, what a half hour! This morning though, my undereye bags have bags of their own ;) But it was SO worth it! I met up (through meet-up groups lol) with Montreal's Shutterbug Group and met 4-5 other members and had a blast. They we're each so fun to chat with and I got some new tips and pointers to jazz up my shooting and I hope they each came away with something too :D I would have loved to photograph the people around me, but we we're too far for the fireworks to illuminate the people enough, well, for my current lenses anyway, they kept hunting for focus... oh well, still got a lot of amazing shots and would you believe they we're all handheld?! Well, I won't post the badly shaky ones... well, maybe one! lol
Old Port Fountain
Camera shake that WORKS ;)
Love the colors
The show you can see when you are ON site
Green burst reflection
Twin hearts
This is what Id call my clearest image of the night :D
The moon and its reflection on the Saint-Laurence
The Old Port Clock Tower we were shooting from
The line up to get out of the parking lot we walked through, CRAZY!
Thus why I took the Metro to and from ;)
San-Antonio {Traveling Photographer}
Just a quick blurb about a FANTASTIC trip I made to San Antonio in April. (Yeah I know, catching up :P) The best kind of trip too, a MOR trip... now, what the heck is a MOR trip you ask? A Mom's ONLY Reunion :P It was JUST the thing we all needed, a bunch of us friends that have been chatting together for over 4 years now. We've had 2 past reunions, which included our less than 2 year olds (they fly free :P) but this one was KID FREE! Gosh, it felt AWESOME! Every mom should be able to have some time away from her family to reconnect, re-energize and feel like she can tackle her home and kids or go back to her work/home lingo a lot of us know so well! Here are a few Travel pics I took while there :D I added a special gallery for trips (not that I'm going to be having a LOT of them, but hopefully a couple more are in my future! :P)
Sunset on Plane
San Antonio Riverwalk
You cannot visit San Antonio without seeing the Alamo :)
Flags
This picture doesn't truly give justice to the sheer amount of people that we're there, I kid you not!