miou: a sneak peek | ottawa photographer

This is what our Tuesday morning looked like.

Life is good and I can't wait to share more images from my session for Miou.

Be sure to visit their website and Facebook page to learn more about this very special brand of fair trade childrens clothing. 

as seen on: the boo and the boy AND desire to inspire

the boo and the boy

desire to inspire

These features have everything to do with Andrew & Nataliya's vision, blood, sweat, tears and sheer genius. But seeing my images on another blog just makes me smile, so I'm sharing them with you. 

eloveution: flower

Earth, 114 million years ago, one morning just after sunrise: The first flower ever to appear on the planet opens up to receive the rays of the sun. Prior to this momentous event that heralds an evolutionary transformation in the life of plants, the planet had already been covered in vegetation for millions of years. The first flower probably did not survive for long, and flowers must have remained rare and isolated phenomena, since conditions were most likely not yet favourable for a widespread flowering to occur. One day, however, a critical threshold was reached, and suddenly there would have been an explosion of colour and scent all over the planet - if a perceiving consciousness had been there to witness it. Much later, those delicate and fragrant beings we call flowers would come to play an essential part in the evolution of consciousness of another species. -- A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle.

I think this perfectly describes what it means to be a parent. It is to create the conditions necessary to help a little flower blossom and fill this world with colour and fragrance.

shhhhh

Pardon the radio silence. These past few weeks have been filled to the brim with photographing events, shooting a boudoir session, booking weddings, location scouting, BBQ's and brunch with friends and an out of town trip. I will be back to shooting portraits as soon as this rainy weather get's sorted out. I'm working on a beautiful concept shoot right now and planning everything has been very exciting. I really want to start doing more of these as I'm thoroughly enjoying the whole process. I can see it all in my head and I hope to share these images with you mid-July (assuming of course the weather cooperates). Until all that, here's my rascal child, waaay past her bedtime watching Top Gear. I should have known that 4 hour nap would come with strings attached.

christina and family | ottawa photographer

Andrew & Nataliya had me over on a Sunday morning to photograph their growing family and a few spaces around their exquisitely renovated home. There is a sheer brilliance radiating from this family and it shows in the life they have created together. You will walk away inspired after spending time with them. 

 For those of you wanting to see more on the interior design aspect and some totally amazing before and after photo's, be sure to visit the house tour section on Style-ing w/ children.

Between renovations and getting their home styled and organized for a photoshoot, this was a big undertaking for this family. I got the easy fun part. Having so much to work with (great space, beautiful people, perfect lighting, beautiful pregnant belly and cheeky little girl child), my job was effortless and ridiculous amounts of fun. Christina was my constant companion and I felt like I had a wee little humming bird following me around.

 Everything you need to know about this stunning Marimekko Unikko hand-painted poppy wall can be found here.

collaborating with style-ing w/ children

Over the past 2 years I have drawn endless inspiration from blogs. Which is why I am so appreciative of bloggers who take the time to share beautiful little details about the journey they are on. So grab a cup of tea and spend some time getting to know the family behind Style-ing w/ children. In the continued spirit of documenting the road less traveled, this family is doing something unheard of and moving to a smaller more efficient space before the arrival of baby number 2. Decisions made from instinct, those are the one's that set you free.

baby bird | everything is maya

I find myself bursting with pride and giddy with joy over the littlest things when it comes to her.

Today, Maya joined her cousin Olly on his pre-school excursion to the Experimental Farm. Her Aunty Kiera was one of the chaperones. So here I am excited she'll be off on her own little adventure, that she would get to spend time with people she loves and people she's meeting for the very first time, that she would get to sit on a school bus and spend her morning at a farm with lots of beautiful animals. And that she would get to do all this with out me there. Very very exciting stuff for this mama. I picked out her clothes last night, ironed them, hung them on her door and stood back and smiled while imagining her in it. So fun!! 

Maya is growing more and more confident. We tried day care one day a week for three weeks last year and it created so much anxiety in all of us. That was the time Maya grew attached to her puppy. To this day I regret not listening to my instincts. The notion that your child will lack socially from not being in daycare is a very popular one. I've had people mention this to me bluntly with arrogance and gently with the intention of love & guidance. So we gave daycare a try, against my instincts and it didn't work. We were both utterly miserable.

So I started focusing on time spent with people we love and how much these experiences were helping her evolve. Our life is filled with play dates, playgroups, excursions, time with loved ones and long beautiful walks exploring nature. Maya is growing so confident in her world of love. And she is growing into her independence gently.

I think I may have captured her very first "Mom, you're embarrassing me" look.

 

maya is wearing

cardigan & shoes - from mama

white shirt - from nana ypie

skirt & socks - cousin laurens hand-me-love

hair tie - aunt lori