2009 you're supa fine.

Such a busy day at work! I'm looking forward to a couple of hours of relaxation before I head out on the town. Jax is too, I'd wager, as he's sitting in front of the computer screen glaring at me expectantly, which is usually his cue that it's time to nap ... or get treats. Or nap and get treats simultaneously because he's kind of an amazing cat.

Me and Jamie are working on this big Jax-related project in which we will build him a cat scratching post tree. I'm determined to find some nice looking carpet pieces for cheap, some rope to wind around the columns, and the most comfortable material ever crafted for the snuggliest little Mr. Jax bed ever at the top. I am pretty determined about it being so awesome that it will blow Jax's mind on a daily basis. IN ALL CAPS.

Anyways, tonight ends 2009 and what a crazy year it was.

This year I :

1. Finished my first year in the Visual Arts program! I nearly lost my mind, but it was totally worth it.
2. Took pictures for the Book Man ad campaign on a super hot day under searingly hot lighting. I also made some bookmarks!
3. Dressed up a bunch of my friends as Alice In Wonderland, and later, as Peter Pan... and I plan to carry on with these crazy kinds of photo shoots well into 2010. It's not a photo shoot until someone is wearing three inch heels and hot pants.
   
4. The world lost an amazing woman and mother in February. I cannot even begin to describe to you how wonderful Mama Pirkko was. I will forever miss her smiles, her hugs and her pancakes. In 2010, please consider making a donation to The Canadian Cancer Society. 
5. I became an aunt, and my brother became a dad in March when Connor Logan Watson was born.  
6. Sarah and Kevin had their first baby, a little girl named Aleksa Grace. 
7. My cousin Melissa and her partner, who I affectionately called Kenny Loggins ... like the singer, had a baby : Lillia Grace Irene. My little cousin Max is now a big brother! 
8. My cousin Jamie and his wife gave birth to a little boy named Arin.
   
9. I visited Thunder Bay twice! On the ride home, I was sandwiched between two sweaty people. Awesome.
   
10. Alicia came to visit! We saw some frightening dolphins. (I had a whole conversation with Mel about this yesterday. Dolphins are kind of scary.)
    
11. I got to see another little baby in an ultrasound! I can't tell you whose baby it is, because it's a bit of a secret, but I was an emotional wreck. I can't wait to meet the little guy in the spring. 
12. Little Red Riding Hood portraits in the autumn! And Superheroes in November!
13. Not to mention all my poster work for Bootstrap Theatre! Look for Awakenings in May. 
14. I found a job here where I work with people I love and get to recommend zombie movies to people on a daily basis. Freaking awesome.
15. My man graduated! 
16. The very first baseball game of the year! And only baseball game of the year. I TOTALLY HIT THE BALL! 

I'm not sure what 2010 will bring, but I do know  I've got lots of plans already setting themselves into motion. I can't wait to see what happens in the next year! ... Hopefully it doesn't involve flesh eating zombies. Fingers crossed, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fashions for wee ones.

Pretty in love with the fabrics and prints from Bonpoint for babies. What with baby fever spreading across my nearest and dearest, I wish I had the money available to grab these adorable little scarves and hats for their little ones.77 pounds for a tiny little yellow cardigan is a bit out of my price range these days though! Luckily, snuggles are free. Clothing and image from Bonpoint.

Sketchbook In Wonderland

When I'm planning a photo shoot, I generally jot many ideas and things down in notebooks. For the Alice In Wonderland shoot in June, I made mountains of notes and little sketches about how I wanted each person to look, as well as how I wanted the shoot to play out. Below are some of the sketches! I also found lots of inspiration from 18th century France, the movie Marie Antoinette and the headpieces of the beautiful Ban.do.

Little Camera, I love you.

I got this camera at a little antique shop. I just love it's square little shape and delicate little text... look for it in photo shoots... someday.

Christmas is ridiculous.

ly AWESOME! I went to Thunder Bay just before Christmas this year, and spent a small fortune on Starbucks Gingerbread Lattes whilst catching up with a handful of people I haven't seen in forever. (Well. Months at least.) I am a nervous flyer, and spent the trip back home sandwiched between two sweaty people, so I'm definitely thinking that my next trip down will have to be an awesome summer road trip, full of summer road trip songs, singing at the top of my lungs flying down the highway, and visits to quaint and creepy out of the way spots. I once made the trip back from Thunder Bay to B.C. in two days with Brad and a van full of stuff. The van was so full the seats were pushed forward at an incredibly uncomfortable 90 degree angle ... awesome.

While there I took some pictures of my little cousins, and it kind of blows my mind how much older they are than last time I saw them.

I also met up with my best friends -- we spent a good chunk of time watching Christmas specials in our pajamas, and it was FANTASTIC. Dallettes brought down her wee little one from Quebec and I got to meet the beautiful Aleksa Grace, who looks like a carbon copy of Dallettes, except that when she smiles she looks exactly like her dad. Coffee and bookstore shopping with Alicia, Partini with the family, and portraits of Melissa's brother's little Taylor one afternoon. Such a great trip!

So many great things happened in 2009 -- (my cousin Melissa had a baby! Lillia Grace!, and Dallettes became a first time mama!), not to mention various fun portraits, bookmarks at the Book Man and a visit from Alicia in August. And, starting off, my cousin Gen will be visiting at the beginning of January and I will show her the mountains, the oceans, and a thing or two about singing along to songs at the top of one's lungs whilst speeding down Vancouver side streets.

Superheroines!

The Superheroines set will be available to view in C Building at UFV on December 7, and will be up over the Christmas holidays.

Printing, printing, printing.

In the photography lab printing up a storm of images. All final projects are due at the end of this semester and I very well might lose my mind. Luckily, I love spending my evenings printing away in dark labs. (Above image is a film print from the Balloon Lady series.)

Best Ad Ever.

Jax totally interrupts the photo shoot that isn't about him. I think if we added the text, "It's such a good deal, even Mr. Jax can't believe it!!!!" this would totally work. BEST AD EVER. Please also note that I spent the last twenty minutes of the shoot PLAYING WITH DINOSAURS. Better get your gift certificates before the dinosaurs do!


(Shot earlier today during for the Book Man. The final image is currently up on their website.)

Moved!

Eventually everything for this blog will be connected to what it's supposed to be connected to, but for now I'm getting mighty tired. It's about 2 a.m. and I've spent many hours fixing and moving and tweaking things around whilst watching horrible vampire movies from the 80s.


I am planning a new photo shoot for January when my cousin Genevieve stops into Chilliwack on her way to Australia -- something crazy abstract and slightly ridiculous. I imagine poofy hair, weird concepts and something reminiscent of only the most awesome styles of the 19th century. I can't wait! I'm still in the process of editing the Superheroes shoot shots (14 hours of super fun portraiture, some of which occurred after hours in The Book Man. A bookstore! After hours!!!) but the final images for the gallery will be up on display at UFV on the 7th. 10 biting contrasted images of before and after Super Women!