Just when you think you know love, something little comes along to remind you just how big it really is.
A peek into the first 48 hours of little Mayzee’s life in her parents arms. She was born at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton on February 5th. They recently celebrated her 2nd birthday and these photos are a keepsake of her fresh newborn days.
12 creative photography challenges over the course of 12 months, with a focus on one creative technique/challenge per month. For the month of January we attacked Low Light and here are the photographer’s who submitted their results:
HUAWEI P30 Pro 35mm
ISO 5000 f 1.6 1/250
Edited with LR mobile
Taken in the early morning in January from my bedroom window.
Billie Lang Photography
Canon Eos 80D
35mm f/2.8 macro lens
The Unattractive Doggo
Canon / 35mm
ISO 4000, 1/100, F 2.2
LR
Miranda Wensel Photography
Canon 6D/ Sigma 35mm
ISO 800 f/2.8 1/60
Edited in LR
“My husband the snowmobile mechanic under the shop lights”
Forever 22 Photography
Bridge and Boulder Photography
ISO 1600, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/60 sec
Black Label Photography
They braved our unpredictable Alberta weather and drove all the way from Airdrie.
Last March I was happy to be able to host a “Thank you” giveaway to all my past and future clients. Madison, Zach and baby Maisey won a spring family session!
They braved our unpredictable Alberta weather and drove all the way from Airdrie the night before and rented a hotel in Edmonton to be able to participate. I met them at Wagner Natural Area, one of my favorite spots to capture sun flares across the field and warm golden hour light. We didn’t get any early spring warmth that evening. There was still snow on the ground, and the wind was crisp but all I received during their session were plenty of smiles and lots of lovin’.
All I received during their session were plenty of smiles and lots of lovin’.
The three of them are such a great example of a closely connected and caring family. Zach and Madison met while being employed at the same bar and they developed an instant connection. Their lives together fit like a glove. One year into their relationship they found out they were expecting a baby and that only brought them closer together. Maisey is the light of their life and everything makes sense with her in it.
Their beautiful baby girl was only 7 months but she was (and still is) the epitome of little lady style. Madison has a great eye for styling not only her home but also her wardrobe. You can visit her INSTAGRAM PAGE to see for yourself!
Quality time is their love language.
All my clients receive a questionnaire sent to their email shortly after booking a session with me. This is so that I can get to know them better and capture moments that are true to their relationship. Madison described the things they like doing together as “spending as much time together as we possibly can”. It sounds to me like quality time is their love language.
If you are curious about what your love language is, head on over to Beliefnet.com and take the test! Not only do you learn how you receive love but also how you express it!
Let me start off by saying that Skye & Lucas are the definition of what it means to live and breathe the outdoors! Their outdoor engagement session says it all. They are avid fishers; hunters and compete in annual snowmobile races and mud bogging events. They had been together for a little over 5 years. They are parents of a twin boy and girl with another one on the way this summer!
All we needed was a lake, a firepit and their fishing rods.
When they contacted me about celebrating their love with an outdoor engagement session, I knew exactly where to take them! They put their trust in me to create an experience that was true to their lifestyle. After all, they drove upwards of 4 hours from the north to a location closer to me!
Chickakoo Lake Recreation Area is located in Parkland County. Many photographer’s love it for it’s beautiful forest and intimate bodies of water.
I only asked them to bring a couple things…their fishing gear. Also some camping mugs to set the mood for a typical day on one of their adventures. They arrived with Tim Hortens in their hands and it honestly couldn’t have been any more fitting! We did a lot of laughing and a little waiting for the fish to bite. It was an overcast day so it ended up being on the chilly side but these two were absolute troopers! They were happy to get a fire going so we could warm our frosty fingers. I got them chasing each other and giving piggyback rides to keep the blood flowing but it also helped get the laughter rolling! Near the end we had some sunset peek through the trees and our time together was complete.
We did a lot of laughing and a little waiting for the fish to bite.
Below are some photos from their session! If you would like to see more of my outdoor sessions, please visit my Blog. You will find more information about Chickakoo Lake Recreation Area by going here.
The day came to dress my daughter in her little traveling dress. It was an extraordinarily warm late summer afternoon. We were the first to receive this Bailey’s Blossoms dress in the mail.
Amy and I met online through The Unraveled Academy and when she asked if I would like to be part of her traveling dress project, I had a pretty good idea of what she meant and I said yes! I may or may not follow some very talented photographer’s on Instagram. One of them in particular own a gown with which they pack up and take with them across the continent and photograph themselves in this dress throughout their travels.
The little traveling dress project is somewhat similar, but instead of one dress and one woman, this is one dress and 8 little girls with 8 different photographer’s, 4 states and 2 provinces and how we saw this vision unfold through our lens. The following photos are of my daughter frolicking around in the pasture at the back of our acreage (when we were worried about our unpredictable Alberta weather but gifted a sunny, spring-like day). Little sister was running around us, flitting in and out of the frame but you’d never know it!
For my daughter, this was a beautiful dress with lace and a skirt to twirl in; for me, this was a beautiful girl and a pretty dress to twirl and dance, throw leaves and blow bubbles in. And at the end of our fun little shoot together, she danced in it one last time and we packed it up for the next little girl who would jump and spin for her mother to capture the magic through her eyes.
I’d love for you to visit some of the other photographer’s little traveling dress photos in their blog posts:
If you’d like to know more about our project, please visit
and leave me a message!
When we began chatting about a location for the Miller’s extended family lifestyle session, we threw around some outdoor locations and the North Saskatchewan River banks was one of them. Little did I know it was where all the kids used to hang out after high school so it really held a lot of memories for them. That spot had also changed a lot since they had graduated and went from a secret hang out to a developed parking lot and walking trails – but beautiful nevertheless!
The Miller kids grew up as grain farmer’s and if I know anything about farming, you rise with the sun and turn in with the moon; your life is all about dust, dirt and heavy equipment every spring and fall. But that’s also what ties you together as a family and grows a bond that stands the test of time. When you work hard together, you also play hard together, and that’s what I witnessed firsthand when I photographed this family! I think they said something like they were the “serious” type but I didn’t have to work very hard to get those smiles cracking and feelings flowing 🙂
I think it was extra special when I found out that the sibling were buying their parents a family session for their mother/fathers day gift. There really isn’t a better way to show how much you love someone than by making memories that you can look back on and cherish for years to come.
If you are looking for a killer nail tech, I would go follow Danica Miller on Instagram and Kayla Lovli Photography who shoots intimate weddings and human connections!
To see more blog posts like this one, head on over to Forever 22 Photography and hit the menu button to see more! Don’t forget to leave some love for the Miller’s Extended Family Session blog post in the comments!
In a field of golden light they laughed and played until they were out of breath…
Those were the first words that popped into my head when I thought back on this golden family session filled with sun rays, crunchy grass and a hint of crispness for the month of October. It was a beautiful night. A photographer’s dream!
I could tell that mom and dad spent lots of time with their little human’s because whenever I asked them to go off and have some fun together, they didn’t need any encouragement. Olivia was full of life and her little giggles rose and fell through the evening every time mom would swing her round and daddy would toss her in the air. Little Gage was only 7 months old but he was just as happy, and his favorite part of the night was tangling his mama’s beautiful, long strands of hair…
This night was one of my favorite’s and to this day, I always look back on that fall night and pray for many more such golden sunset sessions to bless my clients with. And the spontaneity and emotion was all there for me to capture. You can’t force connection – and this family had it all!
All this sunshine and warm temperatures got me thinking about a spur of the moment romp through the forest with my sister last spring!
There’s this little park close by that is full of trails and natural foliage out near Onoway, Alberta and it’s kind of a little gem. When we got there, it was sprinkling already and our dreams of sunrays through the trees kind of got dashed but Priscilla has as much gusto about posing in the elements as I do about shooting in out-of-the-ordinary areas. So you may see some beautiful tresses flowing in perfect ease or a full skirt swaying around elegant legs, but I see goose bumps on her arms and a few droplets caught in ordinary places…whatever you see – we forget about the elements and I can’t help get lost in the moment when capturing magic like this dreamy session!
Needless to say, we’re still waiting patiently for those golden hour rays for our next adventure!
Back in August I had a mini session giveaway on my Instagram account Forever 22 Photography and Garden family were the winners!
It was such a fast a furious session but we had so much fun romping around in the fields at Imrie Park – tickling, hugging, wrestling and rolling around like all happy families do.
The two oldest siblings attend a music elementary school in Edmonton and I was overjoyed that they brought their Cello and Violin! These darlings thought they were rusty but to have talent at that age is a real gift and it says a lot when their parents strive to encourage whatever talent’s that surface!
Summertime seems like such a distant dream but it’s now only 4 months away!! Remember when it was half a year away? Bring on the summer vibes!
Happy 3rd birthday Arial!
(November 5th, 2017)
I just want to take a minute to thank all our friends and family who were able to come out and help celebrate Arial turning 3 years old – and that we missed those who could only be here in spirit ❤
Matching sister sunflower headbands by Littles Handmade
Twirl dress by Lavender and Mint Boutique
Cupcakes by O How Sweet It Is
Looking back on Arial’s one month photo when she was just a little body, so helpless, so fragile and so amazing to her at 3 years old, so full of sass, brains and personality – its almost breathtaking how time goes by and your once fully dependant child becomes independant in so many ways yet is still needs loving, caring for and direction. It really goes to show how much we need God’s care and direction in our life as parents!! With two little lady’s needing my love and attention now, sometimes I don’t get to respond to Arial’s needs as quickly as I used to or stop and do as many spontanious activities like we could so I have to work extra hard to make time for her and pay attention to her needs. That may be why she became very much a Daddy’s girl since Acadia was born – even though the two of them always had a very special bond. Even more so now!
A few of Arial’s favorite things:
We all know she LOVES food, especially meat and when asked what she would like for supper, she responds with “meat” ! She is a little adetureseeker and when spring arrived this year, she was outdoors almost from sun up to sun down – as long as someone was outside – she was too! She has aomewhat of an addiction to motors just like daddy – she would never let Shawn leave the yard if he was test driving a quad ot dirt bike for resale! She is in awe of nature, from new flower discoveries to all the berries we found around the yard this summer, to the many birds I would educate her on and romping with the dogs. She’s a bit of a water bug like daddy too and more of her artistic bone started to shine this fall when we had to spend more time indoors coloring and creating with playdough. And all girlish dreams came true when she started to wear headbands after watching me dress Acadia up in hers and her once great bow denial has now turned into somewhat of a “I’ll wear this until it bugs me”. Shawn also has to buy double the candy nowadays because he’s got two sets of sweet teeth in the house! And last but not least, she’s beginning to understand who made her and who watches over her and she prays and thanks God for her food like a little adult ❤ ❤
It’s been fun getting to know her and godwilling we’ve got many more years to go!
Every day I am reminded how much attention and loving a toddler needs and in the process you get to know what excites them and makes their eyes light up. For the longest time it was all about Dora the Explorer…until I took Arial to Value Village for her Halloween costume and we started looking for the Little Mermaid dress…and then it started to become all about the Disney princesses. But lets back up to when it was just about Dora and Boots and Boots and Dora!
Arial would jump for joy when it was Dora the Explorer’s turn on Treehouse so I began planning a party around the little Mexican senorita and hit up Pinterest for ideas. I started out with a Mexican fiesta – bright colors, piñata, tacos and cupcakes and from there it turned into a 3-foot Dora piñata, Dora and Boots cut-out, succulent decorated cupcakes, tie die and the taco bar! I blame Pinterest for most of it but also the insanely artistic bone in my body that needs to go big or go home! Thank God I had some help from my friend Tori to start off with creating Dora the piñata as I’ve never done anything remotely paper Mache-like in my life, and then Shawn cut out the plywood face holes and sanded the wood down and my mom helped string many a tissue paper tassel!
Just to give you an idea of the kind of work it takes to build a 3-foot Dora piñata from scratch: It took 6 nights at approximately 3 hours a night to cut out the cardboard, staple her together to form a structure, cut the newspaper strips for paper Mache (and make the half and half water/flour with salt so it doesn’t start to mold) and layer first the head and the body separately (up to 3 layers), fill with candy once dry and hard as a brick, then attach the head and body and construct some more, cut the tissue paper for her body and work from toe to head lining her with glue and tissue strips – last but not least – her eyes, nose and mouth! Needless to say, she was quite the undertaking! You have been forewarned on attempting this project! I will also say how completely proud I am of her (after fixing a slight wardrobe malfunction) and we call her Lego Dora ❤ Arial was IN LOVE!
Decorating was on a much smaller scale – though I may have worked myself sick the night before the party to get everything just right – Shawn even beat me to bed! But my sickness passed and all I could think of was seeing the look on Arial’s face when she woke up in the morning and we brought her out to see her birthday party surprise!
I don’t think I’ll soon forget (I don’t think ever!) the light in her eyes when we showed her around the next morning, from her gigantic number 3 balloon, to her Dora piñata and all the fun decor. Nor will I forget how she kept telling me over and over how much she loved everything and what a good job I did ❤ ❤ ❤
But as everyone who came to help celebrate, they also know how sick our precious girl was. We had been fighting cold sores all week and winning but the day of her party, our birthday girl started to loose her appetite and not long into the day she was getting fevers. It was hard. But to this day she only remembers the fun and happy parts of her party and still talks about how all her friends came for her big day. And that’s really all we could ask for! She started getting her appetite back the next day and thank God we got our ball of energy back so quickly!
From the little ones blowing like crazy on the party horns, to lots of fun with the tie die, filling our faces with tacos and hammering down on Dora the piñata (I couldn’t make myself swing the broom at all and managed to salvage her face) to all the thoughtful gifts – thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making Arial feel so loved even though she felt so ill.
I grew up with birthday’s being a big deal, and I really can’t help making just as big a deal for our girls! Thank God our little lady’s birthdays are 6 months apart because April will be around the corner in no time!
❤ ❤ ❤
November 7th, 2017
(the day Arial turned 3 years old!)
We woke up to cupcakes for breakfast, matching tie die T-shirts and an Olive and Papaya handcrafted wooden camera for Arial’s birthday present from us! We love you, Arial!
Forever 22 Photography 