What I know for sure

This week I've been going through our family photos and the kids' baby books. One thought keeps coming to mind. There's a reason why we all cherish photos - hang them proudly in our homes, create albums and scrapbooks, frame them as special gifts...

Looking at an image can remind you of how you were feeling at that moment. In the past week I've re-lived our babies growing before my eyes. I've remembered how I felt on our wedding day like it was yesterday, though it was seven years ago this October. The nervousness, the excitement and the special quiet moments are all captured in those images. Knowing that we are a part of creating something so special for other couples is the most rewarding part of our business.

What I know for sure is that memories are to be cherished and photos are such an important part of keeping them close to our heart. Our kids love looking through albums with us because each image tells a story about them and us as a family. Time goes by quickly and before you know it your baby girl turns five and asks to try out your lip gloss. Take a moment to treasure your memories with photos and keep them close to your heart. I know I do.

Amanda

Location location location

In photography, a great location can help to create a memorable picture. When all of the elements in a photo are working together the image comes to life. How lucky are we to live in the Niagara Region, a place with such a wide variety of locations to choose from.

Many of you have been asking about location ideas for engagement sessions and family portraits, so we thought we'd tell you about some of our favourite spots.

• Ball's Falls Conservation park
• Morning Star Mill
• Port Dalhousie - great pier with two lighthouses, a beach, park and popular shopping area
• Any of the wineries in the area (there are at least 70!)
• Niagara-on-the-Lake. They do great things there. Especially in the spring when all the flowers are out. Beautiful and historic downtown area as well as a park on Lake Ontario with a really cool gazebo
• Many walking trails along the Niagara River
• Queenston Heights - There are some great monuments, stone work and paths.
• The Niagara Falls Botanical Gardens (a favourite among our Brides & Grooms!)
• Niagara Falls - the falls itself and surrounding area. One of the great wonders of the world!
• Montebello Park in St. Catharines (great rose garden in the summer)
• The Welland Canal - walking paths and viewing stations

So as you can see there are lots of great locations for photo sessions. We'd love to hear about your favourite spots. If anyone knows of a great location for a photoshoot, or have a "hidden gem" of a spot let us know! Post your comments on the blog or email us today.

Spring is in the air!

In honour of the arrival of spring, here are a couple of shots from last year to get us thinking about what is to come. Especially since the weather is going up to 12 degrees this weekend! I can't wait!

Samantha & Jason

Meet Samantha & Jason,

They were the winning bidders at last year's Investors Group Comedy / Slient Auction night. We donated a free portrait session to the Investors Group for the auction portion of the event. Samantha told us that they were "hovering" near the table where the portrait session was located cause they really wanted the session. "Hovering" is an auction term which means "stand near what you want and if someone bids, you up your bid". A very effective way of getting the item you want!

They were a great couple and we got some wonderful pictures. I'm glad to have met them.

Click here for the slideshow.

Make your own fun

So now that we have a hamster (yes another mouth to feed) we've made him part of the family. Today was his cleaning/feeding/running around day and the kids and I decided to have a photoshoot while we were at it (he wanted some photos for his blog). Matthew was wearing his hamster handling gloves while Sydney helped with some carrot treats.

Things were going smoothly until we got a little silly with some of the pictures (try to guess which ones!). We even tried some horror lighting for scary effects! Then Sydney arranged all the stuffed animals on the stairs to watch the show, turned on the Blues Clues music and Matthew started air guitaring. The big finish was an impression of a rock n' roll hamster which brought down the house!

The kids downloaded the images to the computer with me and helped with "recommendations" for the image processing. See if you can guess which ones they helped create. :)

It just goes to show that no matter what you are doing you can have fun with it. (Especially if you have two super kids with you.)

We even made a slideshow! Click here to view. (Slight warning associated with this one. There are two pictures that the kids insisted on putting in. They are slightly, well, evil looking - but they found them hilarious. You have been warned.)

Music from the slideshow is from Jack Johnson's album 'In Between Dreams'.