The family farm…

I have to say that on Saturday evening I photographed one of the best families ever. Although I think that of all my families. But this one was really great because of the story behind the portrait…

Sherry and Chuck dropped by on March 7th. They had heard about my photography from friends and wanted to see what I was all about. We had an immediate connection and I realized quickly that these were my kind of clients! They LOVED everything I did and were open to suggestions! Before they left they told me that they had a family farm in Sarto (about a 20 minute drive south of my studio). The farm had been in the family for 4 generations and Sherry and her sister and their families would spend many weekends there – in the summer they would go quadding and in the winter, snowmobiling! She told me the farm had a lot of sentimental value and they would love to have a portrait taken!

But then, they got busy and so did I until in early September I get an email from Sherry asking if we could set up a session date to do this portrait. Well, at that point I was in the midst of my busy “Back to School” sessions and it was difficult to connect – by we did and we booked the session for Saturday, the 20th of September. As luck would have it – the weather was as perfect as it could be! It wasn’t hot – but very comfortable and no wind!

We arrived at the farm at around 5:30 pm and I was like a kid in a candy store! There were so many fabulous areas to photograph! I didn’t know where to start first!

This was the first time I met 18 year old Brandyn and 14 year old CJ. CJ had an altercation with a branch or something like that earlier in the week – and he had had a huge goose egg bump above his lip – but by Saturday the swelling had gone down and unless you looked closely – you couldn’t tell! These boys were open and friendly and very good looking and quite a pair of charmers! Tammy and Dave drove up a few minutes later and 5 year old Jerrett jumped out of the cab of the truck and said “I am the Cookie Monster!” and I knew he would be a blast to photograph. Young Kennedy (8 years old) was a very lovely young lady, but she liked to ham it up for the camera, as you will see in one of the photographs by the old truck!

I had an absolute blast – and here are several (okay a lot) of images from the session. I can’t pick my favorites – they’re all fabulous!

We started off just to the east of the farmhouse under these trees.

I asked everyone to just hang out and chat or do whatever they wanted. CJ and Jerrett were watching the acorns fall from the tree!

We then walked towards the gravel pit and the area where they had been busy cutting down firewood. I loved the logs and got quite excited and used this area to do a lot of the portraits!

I really enjoyed the image in colour – but for some reason I much prefer the nostalgic look of the next two images more…

I love this shot – Brandyn was showing Jerrett how to break the twigs and Jerrett was so thrilled when he actually broke one in two!

On the way back to the gravel pit I noticed CJ patting Jerrett’s head and I could just see a bond between the two of them.

Along the way I noticed an area where it seemed to have layers of grasses and asked the family to sit on the different levels. The colours are fabulous and what I love about these shots is the laughter and joy. These families seem to enjoy being together and it showed!

In this first photograph in this series I noticed their attention wander. One of the neighbours was driving a quad or a bike along the gravel road – and he kept going back and forth! I guess he wanted to see what was going on!

And then we photographed Tammy and Dave and their two children…

On the way back to the farmhouse, there was this small gravel pit – and I loved the curving lines and seeing one of the sheds in the background. The sun was going down at this point and the lighting was fabulous!

Our next stop was the old rusted cab of a truck. This is where I really went crazy! We started off with the setting sun behind the family, and I noticed Chuck and CJ waiting and just hanging out and chatting…

And Kennedy, was patiently waiting for the rest of the family to assemble. What a gorgeous little girl! I LOVE this shot!

Another awesome shot. Notice the dust in the air in the center of the photograph – this is where the neighbour was going back and forth again and raising a dust cloud – I love it in the atmosphere of this image!

Then the sun was quite low and I turned around and got some more awesome images. Look at the dark dramatic sky to the east – this photograph has such a nostalgic feel to it!

And here is a gorgeous shot of Tammy and this is one of the images where Kennedy was hamming it up!

Okay, now this was just TOO funny! We were done at the old truck and headed back to the farmhouse, when CJ and Brandyn (ages 14 and 18), held hands and skipped (yes – they skipped) towards the farm! I got a few shots of them doing that and I warned them that I had the camera in hand and that I did get some shots and also that I love to Blog … they just grinned.

Kennedy can’t believe her cousins are that silly!

Sherry then made a request. She said that when Brandyn and CJ were just little they had a photo taken sitting side by side on the porch and could I take a photo like that? Of course!

Our last photos were taken around the farm house. Again, I really love these images!

Then I pulled out my ‘fish eye’ lens and captured this shot…amazing….

I want to say THANK YOU to Sherry and Chuck, Brandyn and CJ as well as Dave & Tammy, Kennedy and Jerrett. I had a BLAST and I love your ‘homestead’! I think your parents will be thrilled with their portrait!

P.S. I will be photographing Sherry and Chuck and their boys after I come back from Africa – so stay tuned for those images!

a couple in love…

Last December I had a call from Cal. (Cal is the local Sun Life rep.) He wanted to buy a Gift Certificate for his wife, Karen as a Christmas Gift. On July 10th Cal came in for the Consultation meeting – alone. This is a rarity I find! Most of the time it is the woman that makes all the arrangements. Cal had some definite ideas of what he wanted. He brought along some samples and we just chatted and I got a chance to know Cal a bit better and I knew I had a feel for what he was looking for. On the 17th of July they both came in, with their beautiful dog, Belle.

I must say that this was one of my favorite sessions in a long time! I could just feel the closeness between Cal and Karen – in fact sometimes I think they didn’t even realize I was there!

Here are some of my favorite images from their session…

And, of course, Belle is an important part of their lives as well…

When they came in for their Premiere Showing viewing appointment, I played them a slide show of their images, using Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love” and Kenny Chesney’s “Me and You” and I have to admit that I got goosebumps watching these images appear on the screen accompanied to some powerful, romantic songs! Following are my two absolute favorite images!

Cal wrote in an email following the Premiere Showing appointment…

“This is the year we both turn “50″, so we decided we would like to preserve this time forever. Marlene made us feel so relaxed and at home in her studio. She was so patient with our puppy (and us too!), that the time we were there flew by. When we went to view the pictures with her, she had made a video with music and it was so touching. We are so pleased with our photos and can’t wait to show off our pieces of art that Marlene created for us. Thankx Marlene, you made turning “50″ lots of fun.”

I LOVE clients like this! Thanks Cal and Karen (and Belle).

Manitoba’s unpredictable weather…

Saturday, Sept 6th I had a family session booked for 6:00 pm. I photographed the first family at 5:30 on my “Western” Set. It was overcast – but the lighting was soft and even – something that is perfect for outdoor portraits!

When we were done this small family – we noticed a few raindrops – but it was okay and the rest of the family arrived and we immediately went to the west side of my property to photograph the family of 10. I had just set up the pose and taken 13 shots and it started raining – and we ran back inside. We waited about 5 minutes and it had stopped raining – and out we went again! The following three images were taken with it being very overcast – and by the time we were photographing the last family I noticed it get darker and darker! The lighting was so bad – we had just moved to another location when the wind whipped up and we raced inside – just missing the torrential downpour!

We hadn’t photographed everything that they had wanted and so we scheduled another date and 5 days later the family of 4 came back and these are the photos from that session!

And we got some great images! Manitoba weather is very unpredictable and we often have to book ‘rain dates’ – but it gets difficult at this time of year as so many of my clients want outdoor portraits – that I literally run out of days to photograph! So, if you’re thinking of having an outdoor portrait done – starting booking for July – and you’ll be guaranteed that we will be able to reschedule if necessary! An advantage to using the early summer months to photograph is that we have daylight longer and so we have more time!

“Back to School” photos – 2008

I just finished my “Back to School” photos last weekend and all the production has been done and sent to the lab. In fact some of the photos are back already!

I really enjoyed the sessions this year – the kids were fabulous – lots of fun and easy to photograph! Here are some of the 289 kids I photographed this year!

Here are two brothers that have been coming into the studio since Nicolas was little. I photographed Ethan’s newborn sessions and have seen them grow! I always find it interesting that what an older brother does – the younger one has to copy!

Two more brothers. Bailey brought in a golf club and he informed me that he had golfed many times throughout the summer and he would rather not go back to school! Gabe said the same thing – he wasn’t ready to go back to school.

Breanne and Stephan have been in the studio for school photos for a few years now – Breanne doesn’t like to have her photos taken – but she’s such a pretty girl and I think this year’s photos was the best one! I loved how Stephan showed his personality by the way arrived with this awesome hairstyle! I think this was his best photo yet – and I think it was because he was just so comfortable and got a chance to show his own personal style!

This time I had four siblings come in. You can tell they’re related – they look so much alike! Easy to photograph – and Sara is graduating this year – hopefully she’ll come to see me for her grad portraits!

Can two brothers be more opposite? I love how Walker’s mom said he could do whatever he wanted to do – what a cool look!

Last year I photographed these girls, along with their parents and dog, on their property in the country. We did some fabulous sunset photos and we ended the evening by photographing them silhouetted in an open door in their old barn (you can see it if you go to my web page). When their mom came in to view the images and place her order, she said that the girls had said that they had a great time at the family session – because they didn’t have to smile once – or look at the camera! All the shots that evening were silhouettes!

When I photographed Andrea this year, I was a bit sad. I have photographed Andrea and her sisters for quite a few years and just this year I photographed sister Leanne for her grad and Tracy previously. I remember when I photographed the girls in a “Charlie’s Angel” pose and Mom ordered it for her husband (Herb) as a surprise and she had me write “Herbie’s Angels” on the photo – it was a blast!
Andrea is so gorgeous – and I remember the first time she came in the studio she was so tense.

This is the first time Justine has been in for school photos – but I had the privilege of photographing her twice in the last couple of years. She has the most beautiful smile and was so easy to photograph!

Meet Jack! His brother Andrew couldn’t make it for photographs this year – but he is graduating so perhaps he will come in next spring for grad photos! Jack and Andrew have come in for school photos every year since I started them in 1999! Jack wasn’t thrilled to be here so early on Saturday morning – but I still got some great shots of him!

4 sisters – beautiful, beautiful girls! And so much fun to photograph!

This time I had 4 brothers. Look at the curls on two of the boys! Just look at Graham – he’ll have the girls chasing him in a few years! Jordan was hamming it for the camera and he really wanted mom to order this image – but she wanted one to match the other photos. But Mom doesn’t know this, I did order some wallets of this pose for Jordan! They’re coming in for a family portrait tomorrow evening and because I’ve photographed them several times – it will be a breeze – and loads of fun with these 4 energetic guys!

This year I offered a School Calendar and here is a sample of Victoria’s calendar. I have photographed Victoria and her sister Mikayla – who both dance at http://www.stoneybrookdance.com/. Sister, Stephany doesn’t dance – but she has a gorgeous smile!

These kids were so much fun! They have also been in the studio before – I did their family portrait last fall and we had some great shots of the family! I love it when kids do their ‘own thing’!

Another new item I offered this year was a personalized Magazine Cover. Amber and Braedon both chose one – and they had so much fun deciding what the headlines were going to be! Just imagine looking at this photo 20 years from now – it will be absolutely priceless!

Let me say again that I had a blast photographing all these kids this year – can’t wait till 2009 rolls around! Thanks to everyone!

My friend Patty – the Energizer Bunny!

Patty is a fabulous wedding photographer! I had the privilege of helping her photograph Sandra & Elliot’s wedding in June. So I’ve seen her in action – her clients LOVE her – she LOVES photographing weddings!

But the thing I like most about her is her willingness to teach me all she knows – and also to go out for lunch with her – and to photograph her! A few weeks ago we were sitting on the patio at Pasquales on Marion, enjoying a fabulous lunch. I picked up her camera and got some awesome shots of her! She is so expressive and gorgeous – it’s a joy photographing her!

Here are two images that I took with my camera (they’re the same image). The first one is the raw image right out of the camera. The second image has a bit of the “Marlene touch” added to it.

She posted some of the images I took with her camera on her blog – check it out! You’ll see what I mean about gorgeous!!

Thanks Patty – you’re the best!

Beautiful, busy and bright – that’s Allie!

Meet Allie. Isn’t she just adorable!?

I met her mother just a few months ago when my friend Ilene suggested that Melanie would be able to help me with some copy writing. At our first meeting I felt that we just ‘clicked’ and found her to be very easy to talk to and extremely efficient and insightful. I knew she would be able to help me in what I needed for my business! It wasn’t long before she pulled out photos of her two year old daughter – Allie. What a beautiful little girl with the most gorgeous blond curls and big blue eyes! At our second meeting, Melanie said she would like me to photograph little Allie, and on July 18th they came out to the studio.

Melanie had told me she liked my antique white armchair as a prop – and I had the studio set up for them when they arrived. We placed Allie on the chair and I took my first image – and for some reason, Allie wasn’t happy with the studio lights. I captured only 4 images with the chair and this was the best one! I love little children’s chubby legs…

I decided to take Allie out of the studio set-up and moved into my window-light room. She seem to be fascinated with the window and the view outside…

But, Allie was very inquisitive and soon tired of the window – so I brought out some soft pink feathers – she was mesmerized with them for a while!

From all the wonderful, expressive images I captured that day, following are my two favorite ones. Now I just have to decide which one I want to display on my wall! Any suggestions?

Enjoy the long weekend!

two active little boys…

This post is a long time in coming! This family was in the studio in early May. Today I was just finishing up their DVD and once again was smiling and laughing at some of the wonderful images captured that day!

When Micheline came in for her personal consultation she told me that her two boys, Alec, 4 years old and Jesse, 2 years were very active and she wanted to capture their liveliness and personalities.

At the session I spent more time watching their antics than concentrating on photographing…but I must admit the images were wonderful. After viewing the Slide Show of images at the Premiere Showing, Micheline said that I had succeeded in showing her boys personalities! What a compliment!

Here are some of my favorite images from that session…

Little Jesse was distracted by my background light.

I just love this family shot – it’s probably my favorite!

And when it was time to photograph the boys individually, Jesse picked up my green chair and said he wanted to go first.

Once again – he was mesmerized by the background light!

Then it was Alec’s turn – and he picked the blue chair – and he gave me these awesome silly expressions!

He played peek-a-boo by hiding behind the chair…

I just LOVE this image!

Alec did give me some sweet expressions as well!

And then it was time to photograph the boys together. For any of you that have boys – you know that what one does – the other one has to copy. You can just see how close these boys are and I loved watching the interaction between them.

Thank you Ray and Micheline and boys! I can’t wait to watch your boys grow!

a shy girl comes into the studio

Shanley called me a few weeks ago asking about family portraits. As I always do, I invited her in for a consult to find out exactly what she had in mind with this session. She asked if she could bring 3 year old Mikayla along as well because Mikayla is very shy and it might be nice to meet me before the session. The family of 4 came in for this consult and I watched her cling to her daddy. After a wonderful conversation about what they wanted with this session, the date was booked.

The day of the session arrived, and little Mikayla was just as shy as ever! So I decided to try some relaxing poses and this was everyone’s all time favorite!

A few images of Mikayla and Daddy…

and – success – we got a smile from her! and look at that gorgeous dimple!

The reason for the session was to photograph little Aiden – and he was a very precious, cooperative little boy!

And this one just makes me melt – I love the tenderness on mommy’s face and the hand cradling little Aiden’s head…

We got a few images of both children – here Mikayla is trying to get Aiden to smell the flowers!

But one of my all-time favorite images is this one. I was photographing little Aiden in this basket and Mikayla kept walking into the image – I love the way Aiden’s eyes followed Mikayla – this is just priceless!

Thank you Paul and Shanley, Mikayla and Aiden!

A brother for Zander…

Kerri is a sister to one of my favorite clients, Jen. Kerri and Barry just had their second child. I was chosen to photograph Zander when he was just two months old, and now Zander has a new brother – Keegan – and they chose me once again to photograph the family!

Zander came in with a big smile on his face and was ready for the portrait session – but it didn’t take very long and he said ‘all done’. That’s a two year old for you! But before he was ‘done’ we got some great images! This was one of our favorite ones…

We were going to try a few more of the family – but as you can see – Zander really had had enough! This is so typical of two year olds – I just love it!

But then, the session was to be about 2 month old Keegan – and he did cooperate.

I love the way that Keegan is holding on so strong that you can see him pulling on Daddy’s shirt!

Just look at those gorgeous eyes!

Love this image as well!

I can’t wait to see little Keegan grow! Thanks Kerri and Barry!

My “Kids Together” Days…

For the past several years, I have offered an Option to my existing clients that have children. The last two years have had 4 months that have 5 Tuesdays – and that is the day that I offer this option. Last year I was almost fully booked on all 4 Tuesdays (I usually photograph only 8 sessions a day). This year, there are two ‘fifth’ Tuesday’s that I was not available – so I had only two dates – the first one was in January and the other one in July. But it was so popular I added an extra day. So this July I had 13 sessions.

Oliver and Gabriela were my first children. I had the joy of photographing Oliver when he was 4 years old – he came in with his mom and dad – and the most fun part was when he drove around my studio on his tricycle! Little Gabriela joined the family several years later and he just dotes on her – you can just see the special bond these two have!

Jen, the mom of these three children was in this evening with her mom, planning an extended family portrait. Jen said she had been waiting to see the photos from the “Kids Together” sessions on my blog – so, Jen – your wish is my command! Jen and her mom Sandra told me that their walls are covered with “Marlene” portraits – how wonderful is that??!!!!!

Here are Hudson, Jadyn and Logan – beautiful children!

Riley came in with has parents a couple of years ago – he’s a very grown-up young man! The family was thrilled when Jarrett came along and they love playing together. It was great to see Riley carrying little Jarrett and just doting on him!

Oh I just love these three girls!!! Kallie came in when she was just a few months old – she was such a precious baby. In very quick succession, Kamryn and Karys came along. They always are shy when they first come into the studio – but this time the came in with smiles on their faces! Gorgeous little girls – I can just see their Daddy having a tough time when the boys start coming around!

Here are three more sisters that I have photographed numerous times. They live on my back street and so I get to see them occasionally. Alexa, the oldest is quite a young lady and she loves to suggest poses. Renae is a perfect middle child – she seems to be day-dreaming and always has an angelic look on her face – I totally understand her! Lauryn is busy – and loves to mimic her sisters. Her gorgeous blond curls and big eyes just make you melt. I absolutely love this image!

More girls! Courtney (another red-head – I just LOVE red-haired children) is a diva and just loves to pose for the camera – you never know what you’re going to get – she always surprises me – I love her smile! Whenever Kayla gave me a smile, she always tilted her head. She did this again and again – and by the time the session was done I was laughing at how cute that little quirk of hers was!

Talk about precious! These two are so much fun!!!!! When Zane first came into the studio he was so shy – but not anymore! Mom decided to bring in lots of the kid’s stuffed animals and a very special blanket that had been made for them by grandma. We got some great shots of the two of them playing and looking at the camera – but when Holly lay her head down on Zane’s lap – and Zane looked down at her – I knew that was the shot! Mom Jody agreed!

You know what I like most about this image? The story behind it. Mom brought Chandler and Jackson in wearing the perfect outfits – very nostalgic looking. They’re looking at a pocket watch which belonged to great-grandpa. You’ll need to ask Tammy about the story behind the watch – it really touched me. I keep saying how every portrait tells a story and this story is priceless.

Here are three more children that I have photographed from very young. Nicolas, Ethan and Summer. My favorite image was the one when Summer was just a few weeks old and the look on the boys faces when Daddy held Summer in his arms just made me melt. These boys just adore their little sister and I think you can see it this image!

The grandmother of these children is another good client. She makes a point of bringing in her grandchildren for yearly photographs. And it is no easy task – as not all of them live in Manitoba. It is always a challenge photographing multiple children – but I think this image really shows their personalities!

Two more children that I’ve photographed since they were little. Mackenzie & Lucas. So well behaved and easy to photograph – and obviously they love each other. They did anything I asked of them and I just LOVE this shot where they’re leaning together! You can see little Lucas on my web site with not a very happy look on his face. But since then he’s been great to photograph!!

There is a bit of an age difference between Shae-lynn and Annikah – but I always see how Shae just dotes on her little sister and Annikah just adores her big sister. Both these girls were in Walt Disney World about a year ago and they still talk about it! They are so excited for the chance to win a trip to Disney World – and they do say that you can make things happen by believing it will happen! Did you know that we are giving away a Walt Disney World trip for a family for four this year in celebration of my 30 years in photography???? Call to find out how you, too can get a chance to win! 204-326-1813 or toll free 1-866-604-0560.

My last session of the two days! Lilah called to ask if they could bring in their dog, Holly, for the session and since both Nicole and Bailey are a bit older and I knew that it would be easy to photograph them with the dog I said yes. What a gorgeous dog! Bailey likes to laugh – and on most sessions he just can’t stop giggling – and it is so infectious! Nicole has grown up so much since I first photographed her – she is a gorgeous young lady! What a great ending to two busy days!

Thank you to these 13 families that gave me the opportunity to create images that continue to tell your unique ’story’.