Calgary Blooms
The blossoms were really late this year, but man were they pretty. They are such a reminder to get outside and see how beautiful the world can be...and, as a friend of mine said, especially because their beauty is so fleeting. So excited to have had a couple of sessions in the blossoms this year. Here is one of them :) Can't wait for their wedding this fall.
Georgia sat beside me while I was editing these. She made me edit one and put it in...can you guess which one?
~ Dana
Friday's Favourites--Ned The Phone Monster
I was backer number 3 for this Kickstarter. Just saying...
I think this is an INCREDIBLE idea that my good friends at The Happy Family Movement have come up with. It's not that I hate technology. No...it's definitely not that. I truly think that we as a society are just in the 'learning how to deal with the invasiveness of it all' phase. I can see it in my friends and own family. The way the handheld devices affect us. And, if I'm totally honest, I have seen it in some of my family sessions. We all need to put down our phones more. Email can wait. Facebook can wait(it really can)...but your kids will not wait. They are getting older and you are missing out every time you check your phone. This isn't meant to guilt you...I know sometimes you HAVE to check it. But...sometimes you have to leave it behind. No job in the world pays you enough to be on call 24 hours a day. Okay...maybe being Beyonce...maybe that job, but there are very few openings. Why not make it a fun little game with Ned The Phone Monster. Because I call tell you that the best thing I have started doing is leaving my phone behind sometimes. It annoys my husband(and probably some of my friends) when it takes me a while to answer a text message, but I am truly not bothered by it ;) Patience is a virtue after all.
So...go support this awesome kick-starter and get your very own Ned. I can't wait to get mine!!!
~ Dana
Nenshi, Police Officers, and Ice Cream -- Oh My!
So, if this had been a normal engagement session, I would be telling you all about how she used to babysit my kids and how her parents are our neighbours. I'd add something witty and sentimental. But, this wasn't a normal engagement session. This engagement session was epic. Now, I don't often photograph in downtown Calgary, but in Spring...when the trees aren't quite full yet and the ground is kind of muddy...well, the dry streets of downtown seemed like a good idea. So, I made the trek downtown one spring evening recently and on the way there I saw 3 SEPARATE car accidents on the Deerfoot. THREE OF THEM. Seriously. People...drive more carefully. And, then, while I was driving around looking for a parking spot, I saw our famous mayor Nenshi. Just walking down the street...I would have pulled over and got a selfie with him if I had the chance, but alas...it all happened so fast. I was mostly surprised that he is actually able to walk down the street without being mobbed by people making this request. But, there he was...strolling along. All by himself. After I finally found a parking spot, I met up with these two love birds whose wedding I am excited to be shooting next summer. Right after I warned them about the goings on at downtown parks, an odd and slightly frightening man who was clearly high on drugs approached us angrily saying 'you think you're so smart'. Then, for good measure, he added 'you're just like thousands of others.' As he rode off on his bike, I nervously added 'billions...we are literally just like billions of others'...we chuckled and moved on. But...the most interesting part of the night was yet to come. While we were shooting inside of Wonderland(the large head sculpture outside of the Bow Building), a young man came running up to us. He stood on the other side of the sculpture from me huffing and puffing...clearly out of breath...bent over at the waist. I resumed shooting and then from out of nowhere a police officer came running up to us. He was clearly exhausted and out of breath. He was also yelling 'stop him!!!'. It all happened pretty fast, but I do remember looking over at the young gentlemen and seeing him shake his head right before he ran off. To be clear, I did decide not to stop him out of concern over my own safety. I am not sure why the security guards from the Bow Building didn't do anything...in fact, they mysteriously buggered off. And, anyone who has ever been inside of the Wonderland sculpture knows how rare a thing it is to not have them making sure that no one climbs it. Well...seconds after the perp(yes, I am now talking like a '70's cop show) and his pursuer disappeared, the Bow Building was surrounded by police vehicles. We decided that after all that action, we certainly deserved ice cream.
So, if you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a session, there is an extreme example ;) hahahaha...I will say that we laughed and laughed and had the best time despite of all the chaos. Aside from being crazy in love, this couple also obviously laughs together a lot. I think that is a great combination to secure a wonderful future together.
Thanks for being so patient in waiting for your sneak peek guys! I hope it was worth the wait!!!
~ Dana