Celebrating 41 Years of Marriage: The Forrester Family

Jon and I met Mike Olynyk right after we were married and had started attending Blue Mountain Baptist Church. We got involved with the youth group shortly after we started attending and enjoyed working with Mike and seeing his passion for youth.

It was so hard for us to leave Blue Mountain when we moved to Langley so we were thrilled when a little piece of Blue Mountain came to us and Mike and Kim started attending Jericho Ridge as it provided a chance to reconnect.

I was so excited when Kim asked me to do an extended family session for her side of the family in honor of her mom and dad's 41st wedding anniversary. Mike and Kim arrived first so here are a few shots of them to start things out.

I love this photo on the right - such a beautiful couple!



The next family to arrive was one of Kim's sisters and her brother in law and their 3 adorable kids. I love the boys matching shirts and we all had a good laugh at the men of the family who were apparantly sore from some recent adventures involving lazer tag :)

Kim's other sister and fiance arrived next and you could tell they are very much in love! I love extended family shoots because I get to meet so many new people but it turned out that I actually knew Kim's sister, Dawn, as our kids had the same daycare provider when we lived in our townhouse. Such a small world!

Kim's main request was to get a nice family shot of the whole bunch so we made sure to get group shots in a number of locations all around the Derby Reach Heritage Site. Looking through them after, I couldn't believe how many shots we got where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling. What a photogenic bunch!

Kim had wondered how well the kids would fare for the full hour and a half so she came prepared with goody bags to give them when the shoot was done but they were incredibly well behaved. They were even acting as my artistic directors, setting up all of the shots you see below so instead of just one 'cousins' shot, we have quite a few to choose from!

So much love! You can tell these cousins love hanging out :)

We couldn't go without getting some shots of the 'original family' so here are a few of the 'sisters,' Glen & Sharon and one of just Sharon and her girls!

Three generations of boys & three generations of girls!

Second most important on the list was a shot of Glen & Sharon with their beautiful grandkids. I couldn't have asked for more co-operative subjects and smiles on Glen & Sharon's faces say it all. They are definitely proud grandparents!

Some more shots of the original 'Forresters!'

We were approaching the hour+ mark and decided to add some fun jumping shots in.

Some sibling shots - gotta love the 'headlock' pose in the bottom right photo. I'm pretty sure half of the photos of me and my brother growing up display that pose.

The cousins!

We were almost at an hour and a half now but were able to squeeze a few more combinations in before the end of the shoot!

And now for the long-awaited goody bags! Kim, you are one smart aunty :)

And, last but not least, one of my favorite family shots!

A huge thanks to Kim for setting this up with your family and including me in this great celebration of love and commitment. Your parents are such an example to those of us early on in the marriage journey. You have a wonderful family and, Mike, it looks like you inherited a great family-in-law. Enjoy and God Bless!

Engagement Session: Ben & Sarah

I had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful couple on a somewhat cloudy Friday morning at Granville Island. We met in May when they approached me about doing their wedding and I already knew Ben through my husband and the Abbotsford connection. I love doing engagement sessions because it's just me and the couple and I have so much fun getting to know them - in addition, they're usually a lot more co-operative than toddlers :)

We started out near Bridges and made our way around Granville Island finding some awesome locations.

Here are some of my favorites!


Sarah brought along this red balloon and I love the touch of extra color it adds in a lot of these photos - I love creative clients :)

Such a cute couple :)

I love this bottom sequence because it's kind of like the 'photo booth' style where they are just being themselves and I get to capture it on camera.

We were fortunate enough to have partly cloudy conditions for the first little bit of the morning and a fairly quiet Granville Island as well so we took advantage of it and got some great shots overlooking the water.

I had so much fun with these two and they were so natural with every pose and expression - it makes my job easy!



I really wish I lived closer to this location because it certainly has a lot to offer!

At this point we were probably already an hour into the shoot and still having a ton of fun.

I love the non-chalant-ness (that's a word, right?) of Ben's pose in the picture on the right. He's playing it cool but you can tell by his expression that he's aware he's got a great girl!

A few fun ones with black & white & color!

Another fun sequence totally inspired by the wonderfulness that is this couple. Notice Ben's 'class picture' pose in the bottom left hand photo ;)

Love these ones :)

An attempt to get a few down by the beach but the sun was starting to mess with our plans at this point so it was back to the shade :)

Being a fan of shoes myself, I love their shoes so I had to showcase them in a photo!

Almost to the end of the shoot and having a bit of fun with the poses!

Now the real fun begins - Sarah had suggested doing some jumping shots but I never imagined that two people could get so much air and still look so great. Nice work!

Yep - these photos below need no explanation. Those are melons :)

We entered the underground parkade to get a particular shot that Sarah wanted and I found a nice yellow backdrop so we made a quick pit stop for a couple photos and then off to our last pose.

Sarah had seen shots like this online so we tried to recreate it and the traffic actually co-operated with us :)

One final shot of Sarah's gorgeous ring (and beautifully manicured hands :) )



Sarah and Ben - I had a fantastic time spending the day with you guys at Granville Island and I have no doubt that your wedding day will be even more fun. You are a great couple and I"m so happy that you found each other and that I get to photograph your special day in September. Can't wait!

Howard Family: Shipyards, Smiles & a Sunny Day!

When my friend, Alison, contacted me about doing a photoshoot for her and her family, I jumped at the chance! Despite all of the time-wasting tendancies associated with facebook, I have to credit the social networking site with allowing me the chance to stay connected with so many friends from high school - Alison is one of those friends! She and I were band buddies, proudly playing our clarinets (yep, if Jon and I had met in high school his football-playing self may never have interacted with my band-geek self!) and going on a lot of awesome trips together with the beloved Ms.Behenna (an amazing band teacher!) Now, years later, Alison is married with two beautiful kids - Colton and Sidney and an awesome husband, Bob.

I headed out to a new location - Britannia Heritage Shipyards in Richmond and, even though the sun was blazing that afternoon, we found tons of awesome shady spots and so many great backdrops that it was incredibly hard to narrow down my choices for the blog but here they are! Thanks so much Alison and Bob for letting me be a part of documenting this awesome but, I'm sure exhausting, stage of your lives as a family! (It was good preparation for the three year old stage that's coming quickly for me!) I had a blast!
I was super impressed with both kids ability to keep their eyes fixed on the camera - definitely not an ability all kids possess!

These siblings are so cute together :) I love the protective, loving older brother look that Colton is sporting in the bottom left picture. Reminds me of my brother! Fast forward 12 or so years and that's going to come in handy!

As we wandered through the Shipyards we found lots of great shady spots for photos and both kids were super patient and willing to smile in almost all of them! I was definitely able to capture a lot of different looks from Sidney - the joys of being 3 :)

I definitely recognize the 'headlock pose' in the top right photo - classic big brother :)

I absolutely love their co-ordinating outfits! The bright colors worked so well with the backdrops at this location. I also love Sidney's pose in the top right photo - for a 3 year old who moves around a ton she sat still super well in the family shots!

Love the kids expressions in the kissing photo below!

Some more of the handsome Colton and funny sibling interactions ;)

A gorgeous family and a gorgeous day :)

Time for some individual shots - Alison and Bob, you have gorgeous kids!

Being 3 years old, Sidney loves to move around so I figured this little sequence would work best for showing off some of her best shots. She was such a ham for the camera and I LOVE the dress!

A few more of the kids :) At this point we were probably an hour into the shoot and they were still hanging in there!

Some shots of mom and dad - such a great looking couple :)

Love this blue backdrop! At this point, Ben, Jon and Jacob, who had come with me as we were off to a BBQ afterwards, had found us (even though I tried to run past them so Ben wouldn't cry) and Ben started inserting himself into some of the photos of the kids. I left those pictures out but it was pretty funny! He and Sidney were becoming friends :)

A few of the kids just being kids - Colton got some pretty great air :)

As we headed back to the entrance to the shipyards we got a few more family ones in front of the boat and I snapped a few quick ones of Alison and Colton just to make sure we had all possible combinations!

Thanks so much Howard family for a wonderful shoot! I had a great time getting to know your kids and I can tell that they are so loved! Alison, it was so great to reconnect with you after a number of years and I wish you and your family all the best! Hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed hanging out with your beautiful family!

Lung Family of 3 (Derby Reach Heritage Site)

A number of years ago we started attending Jericho Ridge Community Church in Langley and have met some awesome families in our time there. There is especially a great community of women at this church and, this time around on mat leave, I've been able to join some other mothers in the Friday morning gathering on the 'time starved marriage.' I met Kara through this group and through the mass baby showers every 6 months that Jericho Ridge is so awesome about organizing and was so excited to have an opportunity to photograph their family before the arrival of a little brother or sister for Jonas!

We headed to Derby Reach Heritage Site - a first for me - and I was so pleased with the venue. Beyond the awesome scenery it was an absolutely perfect day for photos considering the forecast was for rain all day. As I waited there for the Lungs' to arrive I couldn't help but praise God for the beautiful place we live and for granting me just the right amount of picture perfect cloud cover!

Here are a few of this gorgeous family!

I love the bottom photo and think it will be particularly special if Kara ends up having a girl :)

With Jonas turning 2 on Friday, I couldn't believe what an awesome listener he was the entire time! Way to go little guy :)

Being a mom of a 2 1/2 year old myself, I'm learning to come armed with some toys to help 'encourage' participation amongst the little ones and the Thomas the train worked fantastically for Jonas!

Kara looks just gorgeous, especially for someone who is only weeks away from giving birth!

Such a beautiful family!

Even though there were plenty of backdrops at the Heritage Site, we headed across the street to get a few pics overlooking the water and, again, I was so amazed by this beautiful spot and, on a cloudy Wednesday afternoon we had it mostly to ourselves. I love the way that Howard and Kara are looking at each other in the bottom right photo. Such a loving couple!

And Jonas was still happily co-operating - kind of a dream kid from a photographers' stand point.

We were trying to get Jonas to kiss Kara's belly but he wasn't into it. When I suggested that he and Kara both show their bellies, he started to perk up :)

Quick wardrobe change in honor of our Stanley Cup finalists and there were just too many to share here so I had to share a handful!

Kara had mentioned that she had some photos taken when she was pregnant with Jonas like the ones below so we decided to recreate it. I can totally empathize with other moms who are trying not to shaft the second child simply because they're the second child :)

With the end of the photoshoot in sight, we decided to get a few final ones of Jonas and his mommy before he has to share her with another little one and the end product was adorable.

The love this family has for one another is so evident in their interactions and you can see it in every photo. Jonas was such a great sport, Howard, you had such an awesome attitude throughout the whole session and, Kara, I can't say enough how amazing you look!

Thank you guys so much for letting me get to know your family a little more through this experience. I am really looking forward to the arrival of your little one (though probably not as much as you're looking forward to not being pregnant, Kara :) ) and getting to know your family better in the years to come.