Love the Fall: Morin Family Session

It certainly is a small world and, even though Dustin Morin and I had been on worship team together numerous times at Jericho Ridge, I had no idea that he was Mike Olnyk's cousin. I did an extended family session for Mike and his wife, Kim's, family back in July and was excited when Dustin's wife, Christina, contacted me for a family session of their own this fall. We have had such a gorgeous fall and, this particular day was no exception.

This beautiful Sunday afternoon at Campbell Valley Park was perfect for photos and, even though it was pretty chilly, the kids managed incredibly well and kept their eyes fixed on the camera nearly the whole time - most of the time with gorgeous smiles on their faces! Christina brought along her sister to help make the kids smile (an awesome idea for any families booking with me in the future!) and it worked like a charm. Jon also came along with me so I had a great time playing around with the reflector and adding just those little extra touches of light when necessary. All in all, I had a great afternoon with this family and hope that they enjoy the results :) Here it goes...

 

As you can see, smiles were not in short supply from these gorgeous little kids!




Their daughter Savannah (I hope I spelled that correctly :) ) is about the same age as my youngest, Jacob, and she is ADORABLE! I couldn't believe the smiles she was giving out! The picture on the right is particularly special to this family as apparantly they have one just like it of Josh when he was a baby. Now they can do some side-by-side comparisons :)



This little man has a name that is close to my heart, Joshua. My brother, Josh, passed away in 2003 but our oldest son, Benjamin, has the names of both of his uncles, whom we miss dearly, in his name. Whenever I meet another 'little Josh,' it makes me smile. This little guy had so much energy but was SO patient with the whole photo process and, as a result, Dustin and Christina, you're going to have a few photos of him to choose from ;) Here are some of my favorites!









It can't be fall without at least one photo of leaf throwing!



This little girl has an irresistable smile!



A few classic brother/sister moments :)












A few of mom and dad while Josh burned off some energy and Savannah spent some QT with Aunty :)






As we ventured out to some new spots, the light in this particular field was gorgeous so we got a number of combinations here and this one of Josh and Savannah is one of my favorites. I love her little booties!






And last, but not least, a few more of Christina and Dustin :)



Dustin and Christina, you have such a gorgeous family and such an appreciation for life that is evident in the way you interact. Thank you for sharing this beautiful afternoon with me and, Amanda, thank you for coming along and helping entertain that awesome neice and nephew of yours.

I love meeting other people who understand my incessant need to document as many moments as possible with the people you love and, knowing what you've been through recently and your appreciation for life and health, it makes it that much more exciting to share the results of our afternoon with you.

I truly hope you enjoy the photos and that they serve as visual reminders of the things that are clearly most important to you both in life. Enjoy :)

Willms Family: Extended family shoot well worth the wait!

I had the pleasure of meeting Kristen at a 'mom and me' bootcamp through the rec centre when she and her family of three had just moved here from the island. Now they are a family of four and I was so excited to meet the rest of Kristen's family just a few Sundays' ago.

Kristen and her 2 brothers and sister had purchased this as a Christmas gift for her parents a few years back but, as I greatly understand, had a hard time finding the perfect time to get the whole group together and finally the stars aligned and I got to meet the rest of the Willms.

 I had such a wonderful time with this family exploring some different areas of Campbell Valley Park, including a tall grass area that I may have to return to for future shoots, and generally enjoying their company.

 As with a lot of extended family shoots, it was really hard to decide on which photos to post as there were so many fun interactions to capture and, with such a photogenic group, my list of 'favorite' shots needed to be paired down quite a bit. But, after a bit of hmm'ing and haa'ing, I've got it down to a manageable amount and am excited to share them with this family and all those who have already had the pleasure of knowing and being a part of the Willms' families lives.

Enjoy and thanks, Kristen, for allowing me to be a part of your family for a few hours!

Here are a few of the whole family to get started...
    

I can't believe how good the kids were for the whole shoot! Stuart, being just a day older than Benjamin, was awesome considering how hard it is for me to get Ben to look at the camera for a few shots and Heidi was a trooper too. The adults are always a treat to photograph because they listen so well ;)



The girls, the guys and the whole family!






And now for siblings as they truly are and a funny shot of the guys orchestrated by the ladies!



Stuart was really into these shots where he got to be in the center of attention and I love how they turned out. He's such a little ham!







Kristen's sister hadn't really had many photos of her and her husband since they were married and I think he endured the camera clicks quite nicely :)



A few of the Bylengas :)



You can just tell how much fun Grandma and Grandpa have with their little grandkids. So fun to see!



Next, off to the tall grass for some more fun! At this point, we were probably already an hour into the shoot and every one was up for having more fun so I tried to get every possible combination. I completely understand that it isn't very often that you get this many people in one place at one time!




Now for some of the couples... First off, Kristen and Eric!









And last but not least the two that it all started with. I love the way he still looks at her with such love. Family dynamics are wonderful to watch and it seems like the kids in this family have been given a great pair of role models to learn from.




Some more sibling shots! I've often wondered what it would be like to be from a family of four who are all close in age and hope that I can negotiate my husband into at least letting us have one more if not two more kids so we can find out. Though I sense that it would be crazy when they're all young, I love the idea of having a crew of best friends to grow old with. Looks like you have that, Kristen, and I can tell you appreciate it.



Dad & his boys and Mom and her girls...



Even though I already captured some of this couple, I had to put this photo up because this dog is too cute not too. He was such a great poser and I love the way his ears perk up!



A couple more of Mr.Stuart




Last but not least, one more shot of all the 'kids' and what's a family shoot without a fun jumping shot. These 7 took the jumping shot very seriously and I love how it turned out!



Thanks to everyone in this wonderful family for spending some time with me. I had so much fun getting to know you guys and take it that Willms family gatherings would be a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy and have a blessed year ahead.

February 20, 2010: Keith and Melissa & Bambino

I was so blessed to be able to photography my good friends, Keith and Melissa, just days before their beautiful little boy made an appearance. We thought we were a few weeks ahead of the game but Hudson surprised us and came early so we fit this maternity photoshoot in just in time!

A

Dec.28, 2009: Christy and Paul Engagement Shoot

Christy is a friend from our old church, Blue Moutain Baptist, and a fellow pastors' kid. We were so excited for her when she heard she got engaged and I was thrilled to do some pictures for them. It was such a fun shoot with the highlight probably being when I had to get on Jon's shoulders for a particular shot.

Here are my absolute favorites:

A

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Oct.24, 2009: Wheeler Family Photoshoot

Awhile back I was able to photograph Josh and Brady - the Wheeler boys and this time I got to photograph the whole family and even get some of just Ken and Shauna on their own.

We had a great time and the boys were so much fun!

Such a beautiful family to photograph and there were a lot of favorites to choose from!

A

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Oct.18, 2009: Zacher Family Photoshoot Pre-Baby

With my great friend from work Val and her husband Ed, expecting their second child in April, I was happy to take some family shots for them at Campbell Valley Park this October morning. Daniel was incredibly well behaved and we had a lot of fun together!

Here are my favorite shots:

A

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Sept.26, 2009: Matt and Candice Maternity Shoot

I was so blessed to be able to photograph this awesome couple in the final weeks before they welcomed their little guy into the world. Candice looked AMAZING for 39 weeks pregnant and Matt was such a good sport during the hour(s) of photos. Below are some of my favorites!