Finally! I made it to the end of the year! Phew. And in decent time if I do say so myself. This project has been perfect for me. After finishing a 365 Project in 2015, I needed a bit of breathing room.  I ended up shooting almost daily anyway, but without the pressure of needed to shoot every day. I am so happy I have all of these memories documented, and I am planning another album to be printed of this year. 2016 was so good to us, we brought Gryffin earth side, we had some fun family trips, and I got to spend about 75% of it at home with my boys. My camera has blessed me immensely, and continues to, as it allows me to see so much beauty in my life and in the hustle-bustle of our everyday. Thank you to everyone who followed along in this series this year. I have heard so much positive feedback, and it totally makes my day every time, so thank you all for coming and reading (or if you skip over the word vomit and head straight for the eye candy, that’s ok too!)

So our final week of December was obviously filled with Christmas activities. Our Christmas this year was busy, crazy and pretty awesome. Archer is at such a magical age and he got us all right into the Christmas spirit. And he still talks daily about Christmas “in a long long day” (next Christmas). Alright, I’ll get to the good stuff…

Christmas Eve watching for a sign of Santa and Rudolph’s nose in the sky

Christmas morning we got up before Archer (like the giddy children we are) and patiently waited for him (and the sun) to arrive. He was so helpful, opening gifts for Wilfrid and Gryff. And he still spends a solid chunk of his days alternating between Iron Man, Batman, Captain America and Hulk and saving the world.

Unfortunately the food coma settled in and I didn’t capture anything in the afternoon. I am not happy with myself about that, but I did get a few of the McGregor cousins at Grandma and Papa’s.

A few cuties in there, I’d say.

Thanks again for following along this year. It has been amazing! Stay tuned for some 2017 projects I have on to go – including another 365!

Xo, B.

Archer was beyond excited for the first big snow fall of the season. We had just got his Avengers coat and snow pants in the mail, and he could not wait to get all geared up and play outside. We took full advantage of both of Gryffin’s naps, and he went out again with Eric when it was time to shovel. He had an absolute blast! There is nothing quite like seeing those rosy cheeks on a smiling face!

When you teach your son to throw snow balls, you open yourself up to a world of torture.

Did you guys get out to play with your kids, too? I hope you followed it up with some hot chocolate and marshmallows like we did (just marshmallows for Arch).

B.

I’m throwing it back a few months to the cutest family session ever. This mini session at a local orchard was so much fun, and I was so pleased with how the images turned out. Megan and Mike were super laid-back about the session, and Evie was the perfect little ham during the whole thing. The most amazing part of lifestyle photography is watching natural interactions unfold and seeing how families love on one another. The best images come from the in-between moments, as you can see below. Thanks Mike and Megan, I hope you are still loving these as much as I am months later.

Our little Gryff finally cut his first tooth at almost 8 months, and it was a doozy. I’m talking no sleep, red cheeks, won’t eat, clingy little snot ball. We finally found some relief in frozen fruit stuffed inside a mesh popsicle (what would you call these things?), followed by a bath in the sink with big bro. Now, this series may paint a picture of a nice fun time for all, but the clean-up I tell you was no joke. I think I used 4 bath towels to soak up the water on the floor, and I had to wipe down all of the cabinet doors and countertops in the entire kitchen. Not even joking, the entire kitchen. Was it worth it? 100%.

Sometimes there are things you need to do. Like shower, or get dressed, or cook dinner to feed your family. But sometimes it is way more fun to stay in your pyjamas all day and play instead. I’m not always the mom that is down on the floor playing pretend with my kids, but the times that I am are so special. And although dinner was a bit late and Eric came home to find us all still in pyjamas, it was an awesome day. And the laundry basket in the kitchen is proof that I was at least attempting to get some laundry done. That counts for something, doesn’t it?

In an effort to finish off this series in decent time before my 2017 projects begin, I am going to keep the chatter to a minimum. This weeks post is a little all over the map, but without further ado…

One of Archer’s favourite activities:

Mr. Gryff in a sea of bath tub letters:

A lunch date with Dad, and a pout because lunch had to come before cookies:

And a little glimpse of the finer moments between naps, meltdowns and time outs:

Happy New Year everyone! 2 more posts to go!!

I have had a few people ask me recently where I get my inspiration and how I keep learning new things when it comes to photography. With my boys changing and growing every day, there is always something to inspire me. Taking images of them will never lose its appeal, but my creativity definitely ebbs and flows. The photography community online is so amazingly supportive and there is always someone to talk to or something new to explore. In particular I am part of a small group of photographers that I now consider some of my best friends, and a few of them led me to some ebooks last month, both of which were big inspirations for me. So if you’re looking for something to spark your creativity or a gift for the photographer in your life, check out the links below.

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Week 45:

I tend to avoid harsh light. I don’t feel confident shooting in such harsh situations because I don’t ever think the light provides enough detail for the story without casting harsh unforgiving shadows on my subjects. In November I purchased two photography related books which kind of sparked a bit of creativity in me. One was Everyday Composition by Karen Osdieck, and she really got me thinking about lining up my shots, using my environment to frame, and the way your eyes travel through images to read the story. Now Gryffin follows Archer everywhere, and Wilf is usually not far behind. When I saw them all sitting in this patch of harsh light my instinct was to leave it and not grab my camera, but then I saw the lines, the way they were frames between the door and the counter top, and how the shadows fell off to the right, and I went for it. Are they spectacular images? No, but it was a first step out of my comfort zone.

Literally all I have been seeing after reading Karen’s book is lines, frames, reflections, and compositions. Our Monday night routine at the arena was not a let down…

Week 46:

Another book I read in November was Stories of Home by Kate Densmore, and one of her exercises was to try to tell a story in one image, and then in a set of 5-8 images. So one morning while Gryffin was napping and Archer wanted to paint (in his underwear, obvious, because that’s how he rolls), I gave it a go.

The story in one image:

And the story in 7 images:

One of my goals for 2017 is to be more intentional when shooting, and capture more variety in my image sets. This exercise from Kate really inspired that for me..

Well anyway, I hope that answered some questions for a few people, and if it was boring, at least the eye candy wasn’t too bad, right? 😉

Cheers,

B