upandaway

I often get asked what is my favorite thing to shoot. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this question. First off I am not a person who has a favorites. I am passionate about music, and there are many bands I love, but I would struggle to pick a favorite. I don’t have a favorite place, for everywhere I have travelled owns my heart in a different way. I suppose I do have a favorite person… But I always hated in school when you had to pick your favorite colour, I never had one. Sometimes I would just say purple to get the teacher off my back. Deep down I knew I couldn’t pick one colour, how could I when my true self knows that every colour has a place in my heart and speaks to me different ways. Ok so back to the first question, my favorite thing to shoot.  I have realized over the last little while is that I don’t have a favorite thing to shoot. What keeps my life interesting, and keeps me inspired is getting the opportunity to switch things up. I love getting to travel and concentrate on shooting a beautiful landscape, or capturing a foreign land through fresh eyes. I love capturing a the deep connections between father and daughter. I love going to 3rd world countries and hearing the stories of people whose faces continue to speak to me long after I have left them. I love working with models, or working more conceptually. 

Basically what I am saying is that I LOVE diversity. At the end of January I had the chance to shoot a band called The Stars Of Talk Radio based out of Malibu and Nashville. Darryl and I knew these guys from our Nashville music days (sometimes this seems like forever ago but really we have only been gone about a year).  When living in Nashville I actually shot the lead singer, Brenton Brown’s album cover for his solo project. I was thrilled that he wanted to work with me again for his side project. The guys were up in the great white north playing some shows and we were able to work it out to get these shots done for their upcoming album. The whole vibe for these shots was to make it look like they are old war photos that have been scratched faded and survived many years. So note the effects are intentional. I had so much fun working with them and hope to get the opportunity to photograph them again. However next time I insist we have the shoot in Malibu!

If you want to check out the band here is the myspace link

http://www.myspace.com/thestarsoftalkradio

It has been a busy few days tying up loose ends and brainstorming ideas to make Up and Away amazing! We are committed to improving and evaluating our business. After much searching I have discovered the most fabulous albums in the whole wide world. I kid you not, they are the kind of albums I dream of at night. I had no idea there was actually a company out there that made my dream albums. They are so unique, they are like the couture of all albums. The only downside, fabulousness does not come cheap. However if any of you have some spare cash out there and want to have the most amazing wedding album ever (or any purpose album for that matter)… we should talk. For serious I am not exaggerating how awesome these albums are. They are fine art to the max. I have nice more traditional albums but none like these. I am going to order one, so when I do I promise I will post pictures.  I am posting some photos to display the albums, but they don’t do them justice. Also note they are not my photos. 

Because no post would be complete without one of my photos here is a teaser from a shoot I did for the oh so brilliant Aria on her 4th birthday. How fitting for our new name! More from this shoot to come!

Oh and thanks again for reading our blog, it means the world to us!

We first met Justin January 2009. We had just moved back to Canada from Nashville because Darryl was asked to do a 5 month canadian tour with a new up and coming local artist. Justin was the bass player for that tour (oh and by the way, he is AMAZING). We got to know each other very well over the next few months as we were together every single day. There is no personal space when you are on a tour like this, there is no room to yourself, no day to yourself… you basically do everything together. On that tour we probably laughed harder than ever before  as over tiredness and life on the road makes people a little loopy. We discovered that Justin was not only a great bass player, not only funny but also a truly great person. Justin and Melodie were not engaged at the time and I was unsure what to think of this Mel girl. I knew I liked her and that she was good enough for Justin when she sent him a care package while we were in Ontario. This care package was not just any care package, it was jam packed with so much loot, and so much stuff that I had never even heard off! After that I was excited to meet her, and knew that she adored Justin. Melodie and Justin got engaged shortly after our tour ended, Darryl and I couldn’t be more thrilled for the two of them! We really believe in them as a couple, they are a dynamic duo that are fully in love.

Calgary has had such a mild winter, it has been the best Canadian winter I can recall. Sadly Justin and Melodie did not get married on one of the pleasant warm winter days. Nope, on their wedding day it was -27C (not including the windchill). Justin and Melodie were determined to get some outdoor shots. So we worked some quick magic and shot for about 15 minutes outside. 15 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot but when it is that cold, 15 minutes is a VERY long time!! We then proceeded to our indoor location to complete the remaining shots. Once we could all feel our hands again things went great. Basically Justin’s whole wedding party were musicians so the guy shots kind of look like band  shots, which I like! I was very tempted to post about a billion shots of the guys being… well guys, and making us all laugh, but I decided to narrow my vision. Just trust me, it was a fun time. The girls, were all wonderful, they were practically as sweet as Melodie (I say practically because, really you can’t get sweeter than her). 

The reception was perfect. The speeches were heartfelt, but always laced with some superb wit. There were tears, there was so much laughter my stomach hurt. The food, delish. The room looked like a winter wonderland.  One of the truly special moments at the reception was the father daughter dance. Mel’s father had brought in Bob Carlisle, the artist who wrote and recorded the legendary song, ” Butterfly Kisses”. He sang his famous song while they danced lost in the moment. Mel’s dad was probably the most emotional person at the wedding, it was very cute. My other highlight was simply watching how Justin looked at Mel, with such pure love and adoration. Something so beautiful. Thanks Melodie and Justin for trusting us to capture your day! 

First off we are back from Hawaii!!! We feel refreshed and relaxed. I plan to blog about it at a later day so I won’t tell any stories about that now. Darryl and I have travelled so much throughout our relationship (well technically Darryl was traveling way before I came into the picture) that home has really become a sacred place. We had a fabulous trip but truly there is no place like home.

Now to Tabitha, Ryan and Livie. What can I say??? When I look at these photos I still get goosebumps! When Darryl and I drive to meet up with our clients for the first time you never know how things will go. It is always a bit scary, like going on a blind date. I usually worry about if they will like me, and if we will gel. Will they feel relaxed around me, will I feel relaxed around them… Darryl probably has none of these thoughts, he doesn’t stress like I do (supposedly I am exactly like his mother). 

This shoot was kind of like a perfect date, Darryl and I felt that we connected with them right away! They must have felt relaxed around us too because we caught some intimate moments. These photos are so beautiful to me, not just because the people were beautiful, but because of the love behind the photos. I don’t think you can fake photos like that.  Livie was adorable, and I couldn’t believe how brave she was. It was a pretty warm day for November, but we do live in Canada. She was a bundle of smiles and even when she started to get cold, she didn’t cry (well not till the very last photo). She just cuddled in, which made for some of my favorite pictures ever. There were a few moments where her lip quivered, sooo cute. Oh and lets be honest, is there anything sweeter than a father cuddling with his daughter? I think not. 

Tabitha and Ryan it was a pleasure to meet you! I honestly walked away from that shooting high on life. As soon as we got in the car I was basically screaming at Darryl that I love my job.  

Oh and one more thing… major props to Darryl! I really think this was his best work yet! He probably captured some of the bests shots of the day. He is a quick learner and definitely a natural.  

 Above shot, is taken by Darryl, one of his most proud moments!

The photograph below is taken by Darryl, my most proud photographic moment of my protoge!!

Kim and I met years ago because she was roommates with one of my best friends. Back than she was beautiful, sweet and fully likable. It had been years since we had seen each other, but when we did this shoot I realized she was still the same Kim. Although in many ways she is the same Kim, in other ways her life is completely different now. She is married and has a kid and seems to be extremely in love with it all. I was thrilled to get a glimpse of her happy new life. We went to Fishcreek for these pictures and I fear I underestimated the distance to the first location (sorry about that). Satnum and Darryl chatted soccer while Kim and I caught up. Thanks Ashley for putting up with the long walk and cold! 

We took some family photos, but this session was mostly about Maxwell. He had just had his first birthday and needed to have some photos taken. He was so smiley, and his cuteness factor is off the charts. It is easy to want kids when I am surrounded by such cute kids all the time. 

Thanks again Kim for getting us to take your photos, it was so great seeing  you again!

Well speaking of up and away… up and away Darryl and I go tomorrow morning (at the lovely hour of 4:30am) to Hawaii!!!! It has been far too long since I have had a holiday. We do a lot of traveling but most of it involves some sort of either photographic work or gig (Darryl besides being an excellent photographer is also a full time musician). Even if I am not shooting I am normally photoshopping at least a few days. But not this trip. I am bringing my camera but I will only take pictures for fun… 

We are excited to go back to Hawaii because this is where we got engaged (november 2006). Incase you are interested the story goes something like this Darryl was in Hawaii to play some shows and he was able to get me to come along for the ride (lucky me!). We arrived a few days before the concerts so that we could enjoy the island. Darryl thought it would be fun to rent a little jeep so we could get around the whole island ourselves. The first day we went out with his road manager, Phil and his wife Shanell. We had a great time driving all around taking everything in and snapping lots of shots. I had no clue that Darryl was actual doing this mostly so he could scout out the “perfect” location to propose. So the next day we went out alone, the first place we went to was a great look out point of the island. Darryl told me later he had heard it was a great spot and had to check it out to see if it was a better spot than his other option. We took some pictures which are very funny to me now because I can now fully see how nervous Darryl was in them.  You might be able to see what I am talking about in the photo below. The next spot was the side of a mountain that we had spotted the day before and thought would be great to go back to and spend a bit of time hiking around it. We got to quite a nice ledge and Darryl said we should take a self timer photo, which was not out of character as we always were taking self timer pictures. His goal was to get the timer to capture his accept moment when he went down on his knee to propose. Sadly he couldn’t get the ring out of the cooler bag he had it in (along with celebratory drinks) and the flash captured him kind of half way in between. But the moment was still perfect.He got down on his knee and asked me for my hand. I was shocked, I had  no idea he was going to pop the question. Of course I said yes, I knew what a catch I had.  We had quite the whirlwind relationship, it all happened so quick (it’s quite the fairy tale story, maybe I will share the rest of it in another post someday). I never thought he would propose to me that soon, everything I had heard about guys is that they need lots of time… I am so glad he proposed when he still had the full element of surprise. 

The whole proposal experience was surreal! We were the happiest couple in the whole world. There has not been one moment I have regretted us being together. Not one. I love Darryl more than sparks and shining dragons… and everything else in between and beyond. 

Sorry about the long story. Here are some pictures from our epic engagement day… Do check back while I am gone because I am getting so organized I have some posts already queued and ready to go up at a magical time. 

ALOHA!!!

 Above is us touring on the first day… for fans of Lost, that is a location they use often. Below is Darryl looking very nervous… about an hour before popping the question.

 The view from where we got engaged taken with my professional camera. That photo is probably one of my best selling stock images. Fully paid for that trip and more with just that one photo. 

 It was such an amazing sunset that night! 

I know I use the word fun a lot. But seriously… Sarah and Nathan were fun, fun fun. Sarah is another person who heard about us through Jillian. She was so set on having us photograph her wedding (July 2010) that she switched her wedding day so we could shoot it! From our first communications I liked her!!! She was friendly and extremely witty. I found myself truly laughing out loud reading some of her emails. The first time we met in person was this past October for these engagement photos. Sarah was the one who found this brilliant location. Our adventure did involve a step ladder and some sneaky trespassing as there was a high barbed wire fence around this gold mine. It would have been quite funny watching us all as we attempted to skip the fence and pass a baby and loads of gear over. The shoot was good times from start to finish! I felt like we really connected with Sarah and Nathan.  I think you can probably see it from the pictures but Sarah and Nathan are sooo stinkin cute and playful. They are clearly in love! As this shoot was mostly to celebrate Sarah & Nathan engagement, Odin did a lot of sitting around… but he was a perfect little gentleman. 

Some of things I loved about this shoot, the people, the location, the colours (in the outfits and the surrounding area), the patchy snow on the ground, the sunny sky and Odin’s awesome hair… just to name a few.

Sarah and Nathan I can’t wait for your wedding! I am fully on board with your vision and think it might just be the most FUN wedding ever!!! 

 Lisa heard about my work through her friend Elaine (check out previous post). When Lisa and I first began to plan her shoot she told me that her 3 year old daughter Ayva, had a huge personality. First off, 3 year old girls are so much fun, might be one of my favorite ages to shoot! Secondly, big personalities? Even more fun! Ayva lived up to her mothers description! Our shoot took place on a sunny October day in Calgary. Ayva started out a bit shy, maybe it was all our lights and Darryl’s strange accent? But we soon had her won over! I don’t want to overlook Bennett, he was the man! Sweet hair, major cuteness factor and he didn’t talk back once… 

Because Darryl and I are so new to Calgary everything is new to us. We are having so much fun discovering new places all the time. For this shoot we went downtown Calgary. We were roaming in a back alley and found a great red wall. We were about to shoot a few shots there when someone came out the back door of the building. Due to previous experiences I got a little worried thinking they might not want us shooting there. Instead the nice man fully surprised me and asked if we wanted to shoot inside his gallery. GALLERY!!! Did I hear you right? In my head I was thinking this would be AWESOME, but I didn’t know what to say to him. Should I say yes? So at first I said… “Oh no thats O.K. but thanks for asking”. It only took me a few seconds to realize I would be a full idiot if I didn’t take this opportunity. The gallery was amazing tall ceilings, huge windows, fabulous art. We did a few shots in the gallery but there where some people there taking photos of the mans art so I didn’t want to stay too long. I am so thankful to that mystery man. My one regret? I was too shy to ask if he would be willing to let me shoot there again. Silly shy me. 

Thank you Lisa, Kevin, Ayva and Bennett for a great shoot. I hope you love your photos!!!! 

 Darryl was trying to show Ayva how it is done! 

Elaine heard about my work through Jillian (from my previous post). Man I love word of mouth! Elaine is also an interior designer! Elaine found a great old barn just out of the city for us to use for our shoot. Prior to the shoot Darryl and I went to check it out, it was definitely a prime location! Sadly we had a bit of a tough go with unpredictable October weather. We had moved around the shoot a few times due to weather. Finally we had a day booked and everything looked great. Than on our drive to the shoot crazy winds picked up. When I say crazy, I mean CRAZY!!!!!! Storm clouds were forming and things looked quite ominous! I was furious at the weather network for not warning me about this. HOW DARE THEY. We kept driving hoping that by the time we reached our destination the rain clouds would have passed and the winds would have calmed down. When we all arrived at the location the weather had not subsided. We had to make a plan. The field with the barn was not going to work, because the winds were too strong. You don’t believe me??? The gusts of wind were over 80km/hour. That was some SERIOUS wind. I could hardly stand, let alone the kids. So we needed to find some shelter. Thankfully Darryl and I remembered a place we had passed the other day when we drove to check out the barn.

This alternate location ended up working great. It had a mostly closed roof to protect us from the rain droplets and three walls to shelter us from those fierce winds. It was still cold but they all did great! Emma was such a trooper. I loved that Elaine brought the tea party stuff for Emma, and the truck for Carter! This shoot didn’t turn out how we planned but in the end, I think it might have turned out better than the field would have! 

Thanks for braving the cold, the wind and the rain! You guys were amazing! Maybe next time we can shoot at the barn? 

Jillian is a star! Jillian heard about my work through our mutual friend Alison (you may remember the photos I did of her family from the summer). Jillian was so excited to work with me, which made me SO excited to work with her! Excitement is infectious! Jillian is an interior designer ( I saw a glimpse of her house, and it was FANTASTIC). Thus she is a creative person, with lots of ideas. I had a great time brainstorming ideas with her. 

The shoot happened on a beautiful October day in Fish Creek, Calgary. Camden was a doll, she smiled the whole way through the shoot. Camden was so cute with Charley, I think she wanted to be her best friend but Charley was unsure. We got a few great shots of the two of them, but I promise you Charley looked pretty terrified in some of the out takes. Jillian and Brett were such friendly easy going people, it made our jobs easy. I am so lucky to work with such creative/fabulous people. Big thanks to Brett for carrying the chair all around. Isn’t it fun how one prop can make a shoot so unique? 

Jillian is a star not only for everything I previously mentioned but also because she is like my own personal publicist. She has spread my name around and thanks to her I have got loads of work. Darryl and I are so grateful! Thanks a million. We can’t wait to work with you guys again! 

Kristy-Anne & Darryl

P.S. Give Camden a hug for me!