A friend of my step sister's is living for a while in Vancouver and so we got together recently for a visit and she brought along her adorable little boy.  My boys (13 & 11) just loved hanging out with him and I couldn't resist pulling out my camera for a few shots.  

I photographed the spring line of boys clothes for local company Path and Laftr in two sessions.  The first in Horseshoe Bay with two of our seasoned models and the second at Eagle Harbour beach with a new addition to the modelling team, and man what a fantastic job he did.  The clothes are for sale at select boutiques across Canada and online at http://www.pathandlaftr.com.  Many of my boys favourite clothes are from Path and Laftr and I know for my youngest son, it has a lot to do with the super comfy and soft fabrics.  Here are a few shots from each session.

This beautiful lady and her husband were an absolute delight to photograph.  We were not able to get any outdoor photographs as the weather was not co-operating in West Vancouver that day, but their home was a beautiful backdrop for us to capture a glimpse of their life together before babies arrival.  Ideally, maternity sessions are best done during month 7 or 8, when your belly is nice and round but your not uncomfortable, which can happen during that last month.  Maternity sessions take between 60-90 minutes and can include a couple of outfit changes.  I try not to over pose or over style my maternity sessions because I'm a big fan of natural looking, realistic images.  However, I do try to encourage a few shots of an exposed belly, even though I know most of us don't sit around our house with our shirts up during pregnancy (unless your lucky enough to live somewhere super hot).

A few of my favourites from a session at Eagle Harbour beach with a super family.  Winter sessions are not very popular, especially with Vancouver's notorious grey skies and drizzle, but I think this proves that with a added bit of colour pop and tone adjustment in photoshop, it can work really well.  I have worked with M and A (mother and son) quite a bit over the past couple of years photographing her line of boys clothing called Path and Laftr.  The design and quality is fantastic and I can personally recommend them as my boys have accumulated a good supply.  She is currently having a huge end of season sale so please check it out at http://www.pathandlaftr.com.  

It's difficult for most people to envision how a piece of art or an enlarged photograph will look on their wall and often clients will underestimate the size that is right for the space.  Well thanks to Jill Levenhagen of http://www.jilllevenhagenphotography.com, it's now much easier.  She has developed Lightroom templates that help photographers show their clients how different sizes will look in a room with furniture.  Take a look at these examples.  Many people think that an 11x14 print is big and that it will really stand out, but as you can see, on a large wall it does not.  What looks great is a 20x30 and you could even go larger for an even more impact.  Next week, I'll show some examples of her templates designed to show clients groups of prints hung together as a collage.  Thanks Jill!

Ok, so this is not so much about showcasing my photography work as it is me showing off a bit of my creative side.  I love succulents and particularly love seeing them all huddled together in a wonderful receptacle of some kind.  I wanted something for my bathroom counter that isn't too high that it will block the nice view of the trees but is big and bold and a bit modern.  The hunting and gathering began.  

I found a fairly inexpensive succulent hanging basket at a local grocery store.  It had some nice big and bold plants which are tough to find at this time of year.  Then I came across a wonderful concrete bowl at my favourite local florist called Limelight in West Vancouver. http://limelightfloraldesign.com.  It wasn't cheap but it's perfect for what I wanted and it's big!  I picked up some succulent/cactus soil, drain rock and a few smaller succulents from a local nursery that actually had a pretty good selection.  http://www.mapleleafgardencentre.ca

For those of you that know me, know that I don't tackle the unknown without doing a fair bit of research on the internet, so of course I did that.  You really can find out the answer to just about anything on the web.  A good tip I got the internet, is to place lots of drain rock first, then place the plants into the bowl (still in their containers) and play around with the layout until your happy.  Good advice!  I didn't have all my plants in containers because I had to remove them (carefully) from the hanging basket, but I still played around with the layout before adding the soil.  Once your happy with the look, you fill all the spaces with soil.  I had some smooth black rocks that I sprinkled on the top in any free areas, but there weren't many.  Second helpful internet tip;  use a soft paint brush to brush off dirt that will inevitably fall into the plants.  So here it is!  Overall, I am pretty stoked with my first attempt and I think it meets my goal for big, bold and modern.  Now, the hard part is keeping it alive. 

Below is a before and after photo plus a few shots in it's new home.  Don't you love before and afters?  

A late spring session at Whytecliff Park with such a lovely family.  They purchased one of my donated family sessions at a local fundraiser and it turns out we live in the very same neighbourhood.  The day was not overly warm or sunny, but they didn't let that bother them.  It even started raining during the beach shots and it just made them smile more.  Talk about making my job easier.  It was an absolute pleasure.

While vacationing at lake Osoyoos, our friends took us to a beautiful lake for some cliff jumping.  For those of you that don't know me well, of course I didn't jump.  I had a camera to hold.