edisonphotography

Marie + girls

2010-03-10T14:02:00.002-05:00

The second night we were here we went to the Hard Rock cafe for a nice quiet dinner... it didn't happen. Instead we fell in love with the staff as they had us laughing until we cried and our stomachs hurt. So we went back the next night ... and the next night....

In that time we met Marie. She is the sweetest person!! In one of our chats we heard a bit of her story - she had a rough couple of months. And you know what - you have a decision when bad things happen. You can get bitter or you can get stronger and move on changed. Marie cut her hair, started working out and has an awesome attitude on life. We had to wait until Tuesday afternoon to photograph her and her daughters because she was building a house with Habitat for Humanity. You know - what most single moms who is actively involved in her daughters' lives while working a full time job does. I love Marie.

So, we wanted to give her something. And the best thing we can offer her was some memories of this time in her life - where she could choose bitterness or love... and she chose to love. Just look at how her entire face beams. Love.

Meet 9 year old Brianna - she loves to read fantasy books. She is a helper - getting up early to help make breakfast and school lunches. She loves her sister - even when she's a brat. She is poised and confident - at supper someone came over to our table, and Brianna held out her hand to shake and said "Hello. I'm Brianna." with so much confidence - you would think she was 25. Brianna also loves fashion and modeling. Watch out world!

And meet 7 year old MacKenzie. Like my 7 year old Madison she fell in love at SeaWorld and wants to be a dolphin trainer. She's a little munchkin who probably did 100 cartwheels in our time together. She giggles easily. She doesn't sit still because there is a run, cartwheel or spin just waiting to bust out.

Sisters - one minute loving... the next fighting. Got to love it.

Marie, Brianna and MacKenzie - it has been an honour getting to know your family. Thank you for supper and for many laughs.

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

WPPI - Valley of Fire

2010-03-10T10:20:00.005-05:00

This is my fourth year coming down to WPPI. Every year Sunday is my favourite. Usually there are not as many classes or activities on Sundays - and so we take the day off, rent a car and go exploring!! It's become a tradition that I love.

I'm not much of a city gal - so I love to get away from the glitz, lights and noise (and smoke! Is this the last place on earth you can smoke in a building?) and just re-focus. When Mark and I travel - we're the same. I remember when we were in Europe - our highlights definitely were when we rented a car and just explored the countryside and small unknown towns.

In past years at WPPI we've gone to the Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Ghost Towns... but every year I return to my favourite place. Valley of Fire.

So this year we took a minivan AND a car of all of us Canadian gals (where are all the guys this year? The women are representing!) and off we went...

We shoot each other as models each year - great practice for photographers to be shot and be reminded what it's like to be on the other side of the lens. Look how ridiculously excited we get.... ha ha.

Kathy just wanting to snap!

The other constant in my WPPI travels is Sandra... every year she and I have made this trek together!

And the last two years Nataschia has joined our travels

Finally we keep going and get to the Valley of Fire. It's an hours drive at most out of Vegas - and so gorgeous!

Oh! And look who else is at the Valley today...

ANd then the fun begins. Oh - did I mention it was RAINING all day? Raining in the desert. Strange.

Funniest moment ever... Nataschia spinning, spinning... and crashing into the bushes!! Feet right up in the air!

Look! A smiling elephant!

The one thing I always feel when I go to somewhere like here or Grand Canyon - is how small I am. A reminder that as huge as my problems may seem - in perspective... they're a drop in the big wide ocean.

Then we drove home a different way along Lake MEad - stunningly beautiful. But a visual reminder to drive safe - eeks!

One of my favourite places here I haven't visited since my first year here - love it!

Self-Timer photos never grow old....

The drive home - every corner was more beautiful than the last.

Then all of a sudden we saw a glow... Vegas!

A great day!!!

So much more to blog - stay tuned!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Print Competition

2010-03-07T11:33:00.005-05:00

I've been coming to WPPI for 4 years... and every year I say I'm going to enter the print competition. Every year I procrastinate or chicken out. This year I missed the cutoff. But... then they extended the deadline and I decided I HAVE to do this!! So, I decided I only had time to get one photo ready, printed, matted and shipped.

Entering the room for print competition I felt ill. Nauseous. These are international print judges from the UK, Australia and across the US. Multi-award winning judges looking at my photo? It seemed Like two separate worlds of mine colliding. The world where I read magazines and blogs of these award-winning photographers and drool over their images. And me sitting at home in Ontario at my computer editing, sending emails, ordering prints and working away. We spent a couple hours of watching the print competition - learning so much from their critiques. SO much.

Well, when my two worlds collided these are the words I heard....

"Photography standard"

"It's art I would hang in my home"

"Great black and white"

"Beautiful, timeless pose"

"Breathtaking"

"it looks real and not over photoshopped"

It was a great experience and now I'm eager to up my game and enter more next year.

And then I logged on to Facebook, and found this new review on the edison page from Angela (the bride in this image):

"The depth of a beautiful photo is just a reflection of the depth of the artist behind the camera. I don't know how she does it, but when you look at Krista's photos you recall what you were thinking in the moment. She will bring out things you thought were only knowable from the inside. Her photos aren't simply pictures, they're diary entries."

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

WPPI and Vegas Day 3

2010-03-06T17:23:00.002-05:00

After a long day of classes and heads full of information - we headed out for supper. Armed with our cameras as always...

We went for a walk through the mall off the strip and found a Betsey Johnson store. I've loved her stuff since I was in high school drooling over magazines. Seriously - would these little numbers not look adorable as a wedding dress - or as a reception dress?

We told the staff straight out that we weren't buying anything - but could we try on some stuff? Not only did they say "yes" but helped us pick out outfits, shoes and accessories. Don't all girls love playing dressup? And Nataschia is seriously mulling over going back there to make some purchases....

Nataschia getting a wee bit excited

Then we met our new friend Rian who insisted Nataschia needed a makeover. Now. He was hilarious. Almost had her convinced the trend is to wear eyeshadow all over your hand up to your elbow. "Really Rian? I'm not sure..."

Doesn't she look great?

Our friend Rian...

And then we met p with more friends who had just flown in - we suggested Hard Rock for their dinner of course... and we popped in to say "hi" to our newly arrived friends - Kathy and Barb.

We met back up with Marie who wanted some new photos of herself. Love this girl so much. We hope to do some photos of her and her daughters in the next couple days... when she isn't out being the top server for all the worldwide Hard Rock restaurants or building houses for Habitat for Humanity....

Such a fun night. And remember a couple days ago I blogged about listening? It's been reinforced here. As we listen to our new friends stories that live here in Vegas we hear stories of miscarriage, death of loved ones, people walking out on them, big dreams and more. We are pleasantly surprised to discover the people of Vegas may have a tough exterior - but I think each one we spoke with told us about some charity they're involved in, about people they love and adore. The people here are beautiful. Keep watching for their photos.

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

WPPI and Vegas Day 2

2010-03-06T15:03:00.003-05:00

What a great couple of days!!

My classes with Cliff Mautner... wow. Seriously any photographers out there... HIGHLY suggest you go to one of his workshops or bootcamps. His control of light is phenomenal and he is born to teach. A GREAT couple of days of classes. Because I was there to learn and not to shoot... I actually don't have much to show from class. I really was concentrating on learning the light and the techniques - not just snapping away in my usual fashion. I've taken a bunch of workshops - this might be the best one yet.

Couple from class though....

1:30pm Harsh sunlight in Vegas. Every photographer's night mare, right? No way! Cliff showed us great ways to tackle what is normally thought of as "bad light" and control it to make it amazing light... naturally. No flashes.

And a couple inside as well....

And then out for supper with the girls.

We wanted a nice quiet super to talk about all we had learned that day. Nothing crazy or fancy. SO we went to Hard Rock as it's nice and close. And then we met our favourite server Christian... and well.... I have never laughed so hard in my life. Turns out what our souls needed was not a good quiet heart to heart that night but to laugh our stress away.

Yeah - we also met Gene Simmons.... aka "Gary".

Nataschia challenged Christian to bring each of the staff over for their picture to be taken... hilarious. Check out her blog.

After we ate, Christian took us up to see the amazing third floor where they hold concerts and had amazing music memorabilia. And we did a mini photo shoot....

Look at these great displays!

And in the Beatles room....

And down to the store to try to get us to buy cool stuff - like this hat.

Laughing is so good.... so good. I'm so thankful for my great girl friends and our new Vegas friends! More hilarious pictures to follow of yesterday (day 3)... let's just say Betsey Johnson is involved!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Las Vegas... we're here!

2010-03-04T10:19:00.003-05:00

So yesterday we did our loooong day of travel to Las Vegas! We're here - yay! Here's some photos form day one of Rosita, Nataschia, Sandra and my adventure!

Nataschia and I have this funny thing... her company colour is turquoise and mine is yellow. We are always pointing out our colour... "Oh look... this entire magazine spread is yellow clothes... guess they love me more than you." "Oh look at this adorable turquoise ring... guess I'm cooler than you..." and so on. Ridiculous. But when I was eating Mike and Ike's (yum) and these two fell into my hand... reminded that yellow and turquoise actually look great together. :-)

Rosita - love her. She hasn't travelled a ton - we had so many laughs about her WAY overweight luggage, losing her passport, and on and on. She makes me laugh.

And we're there!!

Sandra my constant travel companion to Vegas.. and I already confessed my love for N and Ro above. Love these girls.

Oh - and my new bangs. Thoughts??

If you haven't been to Vegas... this is what you see when you step into the airport. The grocery store. The pharmacy. The lobby. Anything. Slot machines. (not Nataschia - she's not at all those places).

Thought this was hilarious. A Best Buy vending machine. Buy an external drive or ipod or... just like you would a Coke. Crazy.

We were completely bushed but needed supper. It was 8pm here - 11pm at home... but we needed some eats! So - we went to our favourite pub we frequented last year... the 9 Fine Irishmen!

It's loud but awesome. Great live Celtic Music!

The view on the walk over to New York New York (where the pub is)

And a couple of my gals...

Finally - elevator back to our room and we're out!

Today I start my classes... can't wait!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

I'm a student!

2010-03-03T01:30:00.002-05:00

As you know, we just got back from Disney. We spent a day at Magic Kingdom, then Animal Kingdom and then Epcot. I have to say - I think Epcot was my favourite. Not only did it have the best rides (Soaring! Space Simulator!) but we learned so much! One thing my kids thrive on is learning random trivia. Madi could sit for ages and learn about animal facts or other cultures... she loves facts. So we try to incorporate this love of learning into our vacations and play. We want our girls to know learning is fun - not something to endure. You got to remember... I married someone who has spent wayyy too many years in school. Mark loves school, learning... and kicks my butt at Trivia Pursuit!

I also love learning - and as a photographer I know that I have to continue to learn to grow and to be inspired. So each year for 4 years in a row now I've made the trek to Vegas for the largest photography conference there is - WPPI. It's an amazing week of learning, making new friends, being challenged, and coming away inspired.

This year I debated maybe not going. Is it the best use of my time and money... do I really want to leave my family for another week...

Then Mark set me straight. He reminded me yes, I could read books and learn through various forms.. but nothing inspires and encourages me like a week at WPPI. Each year I come back ready for the wedding season with a new passion and drive. I need to go.

So, tomorrow I head out for a week. This year I'm doing something new... I'm going a couple days early and attending "plus classes". A small (25 students) class with some of the world's best photographers! The teacher I chose is "Cliff Mautner". I'm excited as I absolutely love how he controls light. Can't wait to learn!

Oh... and I may have a bit of fun as well! With so many of my good friends also going (along with 10,000+ other photographers) a good time is always guaranteed!

Here's a few photos from previous years.

2007 - the first year!! What a great trip! Sandra, Tracy, Melanie and myself headed out - going to the Grand Canyon and valley of Fire... I loved standing at the edge of the canyon at sunset and belting out songs with these gals I barely knew at the time.

Blog entries here and here, here and here (Grand Canyon!)

2008 - This year my good friends Jen and Beth joined Sandra and I. So much fun as again we explored the Grand Canyon, Valley of Fire and even pulled an all-nighter to see the sunrise at the Valley of Fire. Oh yeah - and I may have lost Jen in the desert and had to call a park ranger to help find her.

Blog entry here

2009 - This year Nataschia joined Sandra and I. We took time to walk teh strip this year and stil got out to my fave place... yep. Valley of Fire.

Blog entries here, here and here

and 2010's are soon to follow!!! This year Nataschia and Sandra are back... along with Rosita! I best get to bed - have to be meet them early in the morning for our flight. They won't tell me the exact time of the flight... I have a habit of thinking we can squeeze in one more thing and maybe I'll stop at the store on the way and oh! why don't I go grab a drink and... then I'm late. So being left in suspense I best show up on time. Glad Sandra is there to keep Nataschia, Rosita and I in check...

I will be checking email while gone - just might not be as fast at responding!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Listening

2010-03-02T10:10:00.002-05:00

If there's one thing I love more than anything in a person, it's a good listener. As I tell my girls frequently (as they interrupt over and over) - listening is loving. In today's rush, rush, rush.... to have someone stop, and listen is a gift. Giving you that moment as yours alone.

One thing I always like to do when I first get to a wedding or photoshoot is just talk. I might not pull out my camera right away - instead I'll ask the bride how she's doing. And listen. And throughout the day, if I'm talking to the couple - I try to put down the camera and give them this moment just to listen.

My photos tell a story and share emotions. If people have only seen my lens all day, and have not connected with me - the trust isn't there. Obviously I can't do this all day - I'm there as the photographer not guest! But - if I take the time to listen, it creates a better image and it helps to calm the bride in a day full of frenzy!

Recently I got sent two images of myself at recent 2010 weddings - note... no camera in the bride's faces. Just listening.

taken by Nataschia and Laszlo and Angela's Ontario reception...

And Andrea just sent me this one that a guest took at her wedding....

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

We're Baaaaaack

2010-03-01T09:06:00.002-05:00

So we are back from vacation!! We got back in time to see the hockey game of the century and enjoy the snow. When I left I wasn't sure about our decision to do a road trip this year for our annual Florida trip... but as Madi said "Road trips are more fun! You get to see so much more and not just sit in a boring plane." We had a great time!

And now we're right back into reality with dentist's appointments this morning and me leaving in two days to go to Vegas for a week. I hope to blog more soon - it was a great time away!! - but in the meantime here's a couple favourites...

There's so much to share! Here's more of my favourites in this Facebook album HERE.

Now off to reality....

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Road Trip!

2010-02-19T09:17:00.002-05:00

It's road trip time, gang! Every year we go down to Florida to visit my in-laws and this year for the first time we thought it would be fun to drive! I'll let you know if we were right or not in a couple days. We are taking a few days to get down. Last night we left after work and got to Dayton, Ohio. Today we are driving to the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky and then on to Georgia. Tomorrow we get to Florida!

Needless to say.... I'll be away from work for a few days. I am aiming to "unplug" and will only have computer access at hotels. If you are trying to reach edison... I will be answering emails March 1st upon return.

I thought it would be fun to hear about the trip from my girls. Here's from my 7 year old Madi. Maybe next time Eden will share.

Hi. I'm Madi and I'm on a trip. We are going to Florida. We are driving. It is a big drive to Florida. On the way my tooth was bleeding because it is wiggly. On the car ride we stopped sometimes. My favourite part is listening to audio books and listening to music. The music was mostly "Glee". I love Glee, how about you? On the trip we went to a hotel. Our hotel room was attached to another and it looked like a Pioneer house. At the hotel I saw a humongous icicle. We are back on the road. Bye.

Thank you to everyone pet sitting and watching our house and such! THANK YOU!

And now - we're getting back on the road again!

celebrating life and love,

Krista

Family Day

2010-02-15T00:48:00.003-05:00

Last week for SuperBowl we were at a party at Nataschia and Mike's house. Nataschia's brother-in-law had compiled a competition for SuperBowl... each person had to fill out a sheet before the game started with their predictions... length of national anthem, songs song at Half Time as well as actual Football stats (to which I'm clueless). It was so fun with everyone egging each other on and the fun competitiveness.

So when came home and looked on the calendar and saw Family Day was a week away - I had an idea! Let's start an annual Family winter games competition for Family Day. I contacted my family and was surprised to find everyone was available. YAY! So yesterday afternoon, the games began.

First we divided into our two teams - and came up with team names and songs. Our team was the "Glowing Hearts" and the other team was the "Make Beleafs". The songs were hilarious.. .and the games were off! Here's Madi in her competition gear - she is hands down the most competitive person I've ever seen. Had to ban trash talk after awhile...

First game was each team had to pick a team member (kid) to get ready for outside. The first team to have their team member dressed in snow pants, jacket, boots, hat, mitts, and scarf won. The catch was - each team member had to put on one article of clothing for the participant... so they couldn't just pull it all on themselves.

After we all got bundled, we went outside for our first game.

Each team was given a spoon - we did a relay to see who could fill the bucket the most in a timed race. Our team won... might have had something to do with my brother dragging his feet and kicking the snow into the bucket instead of just the spoonful he was suppose to. hee hee.

The next game was an ice cube on a spoon relay race. Around the tree and back to the start.

The rule was "whatever happened behind the tree - stayed behind the tree" - my brother Dave and Mark tried to knock off each other's ice cubes... boys will be boys.

Or you can use the spoons toe at snow - ewwww.... gross.

Then it was on to the sledding races. There were races for speed - two people going at once trying to be the first to the bottom - and for distance.

Dad marking Kirsten's distance

And some of the pairs... me and my sister

My brother and his wife...

And just pure winter fun...

The last game was throwing snowballs through the tire swing. My niece Kirsten kicked all of our butts!! Eden continually walked up and threw handfuls of snow through the tire swing - thinking she was scoring points for us all.

Kirsten beat us all at the throwing through the tire swing game!

At the end, the score was tallied and sad to say... The Make BeLeafs won. This year.

A very fun day - and can't wait for next year when we win the trophy back form them!

Introducing the Make BeLeafs - Mark, Kirsten, Mason, Melissa, Madison, Marcie, Dad

and the Glowing Hearts - Mom, Hannah, Cohen, Dave, Eden, Me (Me and my mom are so much alike!)

Hope however you spent Family Day... you took time out to celebrate the loved ones in your life!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Love Day

2010-02-14T23:06:00.004-05:00

Since we moved out to the country, we have found a great church community we have really connected with. I love that they're real, unpolished, spontaneous and full of love.

So, when a couple in the church hoped to get married but things were a bit tight... our church threw them a wedding. Forget Sunday morning service - what better "sermon illustration" on Valentine's Day than a wedding! People pulled together and in a few weeks of planning... Dale & Angie had a beautiful wedding. This couple who just adore each other - and the church's support of them are awesome examples of Love.

I signed up to second shoot - the church is blessed with a few photographers! Bethany from Sweet Media was the main photographer, and Sarah and I assisted. I love second shooting.

Anyways.. here are a few of the morning!

Angie was so nervous before the ceremony. A few moments of quiet is always healthy for any bride's jitters!

Angie having a chat with her son Kody....

Wait... you need to see Angie's face. She looked beautiful!

Angie was most nervous about her vows - they had both written their own vows for each other (I always love this!) and here she is moments before the ceremony re-reading them and re-reading them....

Showtime! Angie's brother walking her down the aisle....

Nerves disappear when the right guy is holding your hand committing to forever.

I love this photo. Dale and Angie are new Christians, and the symbolism of the cross between them and the smiles on their faces is beautiful here.

Hoping the boys don't lose the rings before they get to Dale and Angie. They played with them over and over....

The happy couple!!!

The boys celebrating the new couple - confetti!

Um... I love this flower shot. Thanks to the best man John for helping me find just the right crack in the wall to put the flowers!

Thank you wind for being just right for the veil!

Handsome Dale....

They're so happy together!

Dale and Angie - for someone who is a visual learner... thank you for being the best sermon illustration ever. :-)

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Facebook

2010-02-13T00:12:00.002-05:00

I remember when I joined Facebook it was to stop getting the annoying "friend requests" from old friends. And then suddenly I found another friend I hadn't seen in ages and ages... and oh! I love that photographer's work... and hey! my bride next week is on here.... and......

We all know how it goes.

Sudden;y phrases like "I Facebooked her" make sense. Or "talking" with a friend often means chatting on Facebook chat. We recognize people in the mall that we've never met because they're in a mutual friend's photo albums.

Today I was snapping a picture of Madi playing with our dog Olivia... and Madi said to Olivia "Oh... mommy will put your picture on Fcebook for you..." Weird.

Anywho, why this Fcebook chatter? I have a pet peeve.

I'm listed on Facebook as "Krista Hall Jefferson" (look me up - holla!). That way if people knew me as "Krista Hall" they can search and find me - or if they know me by my married name. My pet peeve is this....

-if I list my name as "Krista Jefferson" all my friends from high school days who don't know my married name... tough luck. Can't find me. I had a good friend I was eager to find as we had lost touch over the years... but I didn't know her husband's last name. SO frustrating!

-if you hyphenate your maiden name and last name ("Hall-Jefferson") then it does not work to search for Krista Jefferson. It reads it as one whole last name. So then only people knowing my maiden name find me.

-if you have a favourite nickname... say I liked being called "Kris" and used that... again, people can't find me!

Phew. I feel better now having venting on that. I don't know - I could be way off... these are just a couple things I've observed. Happy for your feedback though.

And while you're on Facebook - why not join our Edison Page!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Be Yorsef

2010-02-12T18:48:00.003-05:00

I found "Be Yorsef" scribbled on the back of one of Madi's homework sheets recently. I got her to translate Madi-Phonics into English for me. "Be Yourself".

I felt like having it framed.

This is a big message we try to teach our girls. Especially Madi. She can be shy and tends to be swayed easily. I try to reinforce with her all the time to just be who you are. Doesn't matter what people think. Even though I don't let my kids watch Glee with me - they adore the soundtrack. So I always take the opportunity to remind them that the message of Glee is that these high school students had the courage to not care what people thought... and do something they loved.

Last week Madi came home from school with one of the most important announcements in a school calendar. The Valentine's class party was coming up! Then, Madi went on to say she had asked the teacher if she could bring in a bunch of Eden's dress-up dresses for the girls to wear. (Nice thing about a small country school - there's only 5 girls in the class). The teacher said "sure" and all week I dreaded it. I envisioned Madi being laughed at and ridiculed. Grade two girls are starting to think they're a bit too "cool" sometimes. I tried to casually say "you're sure you want to do this". Yes. So then I tried a new tactic - "Now, don't be sad if people don't want to dress up..." and preparing her this way.

So today she packed a big bag of dress up clothes, put on her tutu over her clothes, her heart headband on and trotted off to school. I waited for the crying heartbroken Madi to arrive home off the bus this afternoon.

Why do I encourage her to be herself and then act shocked when she does and it works out?

Yep. You guessed it. She came happily skipping off the bus. Said all the girls wore the dresses - and that the boys had wanted to... and that it was a great day.

Lesson learned by me: Be Yorsef

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Good Advice

2010-02-09T22:33:00.004-05:00

I like to read people's blogs... and tonight I was reading Jasmine Star's latest post ca;;ed "Just Because" and it reminded me of a story I have to share!

When Mark and I were really newly married.. I'm talking a couple weeks... maybe a month - we finally went to the bank to open a joined account. I was on my lunch break and in a hurry - we met at the bank, signed papers and then I had to boot it. It was an older woman serving us at the bank. I asked her if I was done as I really had to get going... and was relieved when I got the "go ahead". I threw Mark a "Bye Mark!" over my shoulder as I started to leave.

This nice bank clerk called me back.

I don't know why - bank clerks are like police officers to me. I know I've done nothing wrong, but I still feel like they could get me in trouble. I felt like a kid going to face the principal.

"How long have you been married?" she asked me. She was obviously a little upset and I was worried what I forgot to sign on the forms.

"A month" I replied.

"And you didn't kiss your husband goodbye?"

I sat there with mouth open - this was not the response I was expecting from her. She went on...

"Every time I leave my husband, I make sure to give him a kiss goodbye. I never know if that is the last chance I will have to do so. I have been married a long time, honey, and I still kiss him good bye every single time. Now get back here and give your husband a kiss goodbye."

That was 13 years ago... and I have never forgotten her words.

Here's my boy...

Celebrating life, love and my hubby,

Krista

Laughing as we go...

2010-02-09T13:00:00.002-05:00

Growing up I remember my mom and her good friend Mrs. M together. It was embarrassing. They'd laugh until they were crying. They'd take us to the local fair and insist on talking in Texas accents. Or would wear clown noses. But always laughing... and laughing... and laughing....

I love my girlfriends. I've been blessed with many good friends over the years - and although I don't see my girls often... I love them. So when an opportunity comes along to spend time with one of my gals... hello! Yes!

This past weekend I was shooting Laszlo & Angela's Ontario portion of their wedding and invited my friend and fellow photographer Nataschia to come along and shoot with me. Since it was a late night we stayed over and came home Sunday afternoon.

Nataschia is one of those friends I'm just stupid with - like Mrs. M. We laugh too much and I'm sure we embarrass our kids.

We got a flat tire on the highway on our way home. So we did what any sane person would do. We laughed.

Then we got out the cameras and snapped the grand event. Laughing as we go...

Here we are completely getting blown away by the cars whizzing by us on the QEW

Our saviour! After about 6 tow trucks and a police car had stopped... finally the right truck came. Hello CAA!

Here's our rescuer in action...

Um... not sure what Nataschia is doing here. Climbing in the trunk?

Just another reminder to laugh. To enjoy life. Stressing over a flat tire wold not speed up the process. Making an adventure and laughing about it... makes the whole thing that much more enjoyable!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Lacie & Angela

2010-02-07T11:31:00.002-05:00

Back in December I had the privilege of shooting Laszlo (Lacie) and Angela's wedding in Budapest. These two are so full of life it's unbelievable. They love life and love and everyone they come in contact with. It's beautiful and powerful to observe.

Yesterday was their Ontario reception. My good friend - the lovely and hilarious Nataschia came with me to shoot and we had a great day! We started off at Angela's parents farm in Stouffville. It was fun to see the gang from Budapest on Canadian soil!

One of the first introductions that was offered - was to Angela's grandparents. I think I'm in love and may consider quitting wedding photography just to photograph them from now on. I love them.

After getting dressed in their wedding attire - Lacie and Angela braved the cold for a moment alone.

We did family photos outdoors - brrr.... and then Angela said "I'm running now!" and grabbed Lacie's hand and was off!

I. Love. These. Two. Crazy. Kids.

After we went inside for a couple of minutes to thaw... Angela's aunt gave her fur coat to Angela to wear. So fun!

I love the contrast of the formal fur with the cows and the barn.

Mmmmmmm.... hello gorgeous light.

And we're off to the reception!

It was so fun to take a big yellow school bus to the reception!

Lacie having grown up ni Hungary had never ridden on a school bus before. For him and his sister - this was a "first"!

The gang was all singing and then Angela's dad brought out hs harmonica - so fun!!!

Cutest thing ever.

The reception was stunningly beautiful... but the real beauty was Lacie and Angela. As she said in her "speech" - our love is magic! She reminded guests that the night was about celebrating love - not just the love of the newlyweds... but the love between whoever you were with that night.

And dance they did. I would not be surprised if they were still there partying right now.

I can not begin to describe how much I laughed last night watching all this joy in one room. My face hurts from smiling.

Lacie & Angela - thank you.

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Boogie Man Girls

2010-02-07T11:14:00.002-05:00

As a parent, I have a dream of my girls growing up and loving each other. Enjoying being together - maybe even working or living together. Friends will come and go - but you r relationship with your sister is forever. When I see sisters that are grown up and who are tight... makes my heart happy. Gives me hope that my dream for my girls may come to fruition.

Enter Julia and Summer.

Julia loves to write. Summer loves to draw.

They are twin sisters with three younger brothers. Julia wrote some great kid stories with her brother's in mind, and Summer illustrated them. Now they are being published! Watch for their book about "When I met the Boogie Man" in Chapters soon!

Here are a few photos of the lovely Julia and Summer.

Summer - the illustrator

Julie - the author

Sisters. Getting along. My dream....

I love this picture - it shows the contrast of the "little girls" room with these now grown teenagers... who are authors and illustrators!

Julia and Summer - can't wait to read my girls your books!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Random

2010-02-03T12:48:00.002-05:00

I just looked at my OLD blog about my kids... I've blogged about them since they were babies. It was so fun to look back... here's a few things that made me laugh out loud:

Friday, March 28, 2008

Yesterday driving in the van, Eden says "Let's pretend this is a boat and the road is water..... Mom, do you know how to drive a boat? And does this boat have any music?!?"

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Madi is diligently praying for purple eyes. Eden is praying for one purple and one red.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Yesterday Madi was scratching her butt so I said "What are you doing?" And my daughter (who is so strange) looked at me very seriously and replied "I'm taking an eyeball out of my eye and a light bulb out of my bum." Huh? She never smiled - just dead serious. She is so bizarre....

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Madi wakes up every morning and just yells some random word or phrase. Today's was "Not for sale!" Just over and over and over at the top of her lungs until we went in there. After some questioning we found out that "pies" were not for sale.

And here's a few funny old pics I grabbed to share!

Sigh. It goes way too fast. I think I need to shut the computer off and go hug my girls for the rest of the day.

celebrating life and love,

Krista

Bryan & Andrea - Ottawa

2010-02-02T22:44:00.000-05:00

Although Bryan and Andrea both are from the Hamilton area originally, they consider Ottawa home now. They held a lovely cocktail party at the Army Mess Hall in Ottawa for friends from the Army and Andrea's law firm - as well as other friends and family who came together to celebrate this great couple! With all the officers in formal uniform, and the great jazz music and venue.. I could close my eyes and imagine myself in a completely different era. It was a fun night of old and new friends together to celebrate in a casual setting. Here are a few sneak peeks!

Don't you just love Andrea's cool hairpiece?

Andrea and the boys...

Now - Andrea and her boy!

As I headed up to the ladies cloak room to get my things to leave.. I had to take "one more" photo of Andrea... I have a weak spot for checkered floors!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Ottawa Fun

2010-02-02T12:12:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I was headed to Ottawa to shoot Bryan & Andrea's reception... and so we decided to make a family weekend out of it! We left Friday afternoon and got there late... ready to spend the day on Saturday doing nothing but swimming and hanging out at the hotel. Saturday night I went to the reception - amazing! - and Mark and the girls watched movies. Sunday we took every one's advice and went to the Museum of Civilization. Loved it! And then Monday we went to the Rideau Canal.... something I've always wanted to do! A fun weekend getaway!

Jefferson hotel tradition... jump on the beds!

Loving the totem poles at the museum!

Eden's favourite part of the museum was the kitchen in the children's museum part.

Madi loved dressing up in the traditional clothes from all the different countries

And on to the canal! We forgot out skates (doh!) and thought we would rent... but they were out of kids skates! We had fun sliding around on our feet instead.

Mmmmm.... Beavertails.

What? I even made it into one picture!

Now we're working on thawing out after a COLD weekend - but lots of fun!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

ThinkSpace

2010-02-01T11:19:00.000-05:00

When I had an email from Debra to do some photos for her new venture "ThinkSpace" - I just loved her vision. She has a great space right downtown Burlington - a beautiful portion of an old home with lots of parking and great businesses all around. I love downtown Burlington already - great shops down there!

Here is a bit of Debra's vision in her own words for ThinkSpace...

ThinkSpace Burlington is about two things – one about having a cool place to meet for strategy discussions or for client presentations. The space is over 100 years old (think huge baseboards and mouldings, hardwood flooring) and the intention has been to make people feel safe, relaxed, open to discussion, and most importantly, thinking creatively.

The second focus is to build a business that brings together diverse interests and opinions in order to innovate with a 360⁰ perspective. Often this will mean opposing perspectives and values coming together in dialogue and trying to have their opinions respectfully shared and listened to. This second focus will take time to build but the process is helped tremendously if the space is conducive to making people feel safe.

To throw a third element into the mix, part of the hope with ThinkSpace is to find a way to promote right brain thinking. Looking a things differently and not in an always logical manner. So being creative and open is what hopefully people and organizations will feel comfortable doing when they come into the space.

LOVE this!!!

Here is a sneak peek of the space! More to follow - it's an amazing space. Great job, Debra!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Bryan & Andrea

2010-01-31T08:44:00.004-05:00

A week before Bryan & Andrea's wedding - Andrea had a a very special delivery. Bryan arrived home from Afghanistan where he is serving. A week of wedding preparations, family arriving from as far as Hungary, and general busyness of planning a wedding in Hamilton when you now live in Ottawa... didn't leave Bryan & Andrea much time alone together. After the ceremony, and family photos we went outside (brrrrr.......) to snap a few photos of Bryan & Andrea. When I was taking this photo here, Andrea said "This feels like the first time we've been alone since Bryan got home!" This is one reason I love the portrait time at weddings... weddings are all about the couple... but in the busyness leading up to the wedding the couple rarely gets time to just be together. So after the ceremony and such are done - to be able to just get away from the crowd and "be". No decisions about flowers, seating plans, vows, or food... just be together. When I look at this photo below I'm reminded of the months of Bryan and Andrea's waiting to see each other... and finally a moment together alone.

Let me share a bit about their beautiful day!

We started at Bryan's place - great to finally meet Bryan!

This made me smile when I saw this at Andrea's hotel room...

Beautiful Andrea getting ready...

What a stunning bride!

This photo in the elevator was fun as we rode the elevator up and down until we got it...

I love when I get to ride in the limo - makes for great photos! Off to the ceremony with Andrea and the girls...

The moment dad "gives away" his little girl... gets me every time.

The ceremony was in an absolute stunning church in Hamilton - St. Joseph's. Gorgeous!

I love these little stolen glances...

Right after the ceremony, the newlyweds were waiting for the wedding party to pile in the limo... instead of standing around freezing, I grabbed them for a minute. ALl we did was cross the street and walk a few feet down Locke Street in Hamilton... and got some of my favourite images of the day.

I loooove this one of Andrea looking back with the blowing veil - seems timeless to me...

The beautiful couple

This photo has the feel of old film... makes me happy.

What a sweet moment of father and daughter....

I loved all her purple details!

Love this bouquet!

I believe my lovely cousin Kathryn who assisted me grabbed this great capture!

Sigh. I love this look of adoration....

Without further waiting... here's their slideshow. Enjoy!

I am in Ottawa where I photographed the second celebration of Bryan & Andrea - watch for that to follow!

For now - thank you Bryan & Andrea... thank you for letting me document this new beginning for you both! I hope this week together is full of good memories before Bryan heads back to Afghanistan!

Celebrating life and love,

Krista

Bryan & Andrea

2010-01-28T00:11:00.002-05:00

I had an amazing wedding this past Saturday... but I'm only going to share one right now to tie you over. I'm shooting their second reception in Ottawa this weekend - can't wait! Bryan (just home from Afghanistan a week before the wedding) will be in full military attire and Andrea is wearing a funky hairpiece... can't wait!

Celebrating life and love....

Krista

Show and Tell

2010-01-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

As a kid, I loved show and tell. My mom didn't.

One time in kindergarten I forgot my show and tell when it was my turn. So I ate a napkin.

Another time I forgot again. My mom asked what I showed. I told her "my underwear". She was horrified! I assured her I only meant my "long underwear" - and that I had simply pulled up a pant leg to show off my new flowered long johns. When she asked me what the kids said I told her: "All the girls said niiiiiiice (in a sing song voice) and all the boys said YUCK." ha ha. We still use that line a lot.

So, without eating a napkin or showing off new underwear... I thought I would offer you some show and tell.

First... I received a great package in the mail recently from today's bride. She lives in Ottawa and so we haven't met in person to go over the final details of her wedding... so she sent me a great outline of the wedding, her invitations and even a sneak peek of her dress! All colour coordinated - even the folder it was in. This made me so happy.

And the second thing I wanted to show and tell are albums!

I LOVE albums! I think every wedding needs an album.. to walk away with something complete, finished and of a high quality that will last for your 50th anniversary... and 60th and...

I adore our albums. We get them made by a company in Italy and they're stunning. I like to show people them... but in case we haven't met in person let me show you a couple here, dear Internet.

A gorgeous 16x12 leather cover embossed with their names. Clean, timeless cover.

The pages lay flat - making for amazing panoramics!

We like clean designs that are timeless.

Parent albums are offered in the exact same album design... just smaller! Here is the 16x12 leather album, with an 8x6 parent album with dustjacket.

And inside you can see they're the same albums - just different size!

Enough show and tell for one day. Maybe next time I'll eat a napkin. Or not.

Celebrating life and love,

Krista