Catching up with the adorable Miss C!

I know, I've been a terrible blogger the last few months. It's been a busy summer and I need to do some catching up!

Starting with this lovely family, we spent a really fun morning at Bronte Creek Provincial Park playing, feeding the peacocks and running around. And I do mean run, the lovely Miss C. is a track star in the making!

More to come, I'm limited to five photos per blog entry and there are just so many sweet images of this lovely family.

Need a Very Young Victim (Um, Subject!!!!)

In my last newsletter I alluded to a new product - a very cool storyboard for little ones, and I need a volunteer to make a sample for you all to see.

I'm looking for a young child age 2 - 3 yrs old who takes direction well, and when caught at the right time of day has a fair bit of patience (gummy bear bribes notwithstanding!)

My volunteer should be able to sit easily on a low stool without assistance, be quite expressive (I promise that I'm willing to do anything myself that I'm asking this little one to do!) and isn't shy once having had a chance to get to know someone new (past clients who already know my fondness for photographing this age range are welcome to contact me too).

I ask that other children in the family are cared for at home to avoid distractions during the photo shoot. The session would take place on a weekday (flexible timing) and take about an hour in my northeast Burlington studio.

Mom & Dad will get a 12" x 12" print within four weeks, with a discount rate on duplicates if desired.

For more information (or to let me know that your little one is a perfect fit for this session!) please email me at sandy@theintrepidlens.com.

I can't wait, this will be lots of fun!

Reflections on Motherhood

For my blog readers, clients & Facebook friends who are moms (or about to be!), enjoy!

Why I Do What I Do

I started out my photographic career as a capturer of the inanimate. Landscapes, flowers, architecture. Of course I took photos at family events and was usually corralled into taking a snap whenever a group photo was required.

Taking portraits however was another story. It intimidated the beans out of me! I felt like I was invading personal space, that I wouldn't be able to make my subject feel comfortable. That I wouldn't do justice to the loveliness that can be found in a gentle smile or the twinkle of the eye.

Years ago I decided to face my fear (as I suppose one should with anything that makes one anxious) and signed up for a five day photography course in Savannah, Georgia with a photographer who's work I'd come to admire - and had heard wonderful things about his seminars. This wasn't to be a specifically technical course, this was to be a journey in discovering who we wanted to be as photographers.

I could write for pages and pages about what transpired over those five (and unexpectedly frigid!) days one April in Savannah, but for the sake of brevity I'll just tell you about one key outcome for me.

One of our assignments was to journal our experience, and we started off on the first page with a request to write down what we hoped to get out of the course. Mine was simple. Capture Joy.

And with every person I've since photographed this has been my mission. Yes, sometimes with the little ones I'm also capturing a pout, frustration or the start of a meltdown...but that's what little ones are about! But for the most part, it's about love, affection, humour and above all joy. My absolute honour to be there with my camera to capture it.

The photos attached to this blog were taken a few weeks ago on our street. One very lovely neighbour and her adorable daughter Miss L. As a mom to a teenaged daughter heading off to university very soon, those mother - daughter moments warm my heart like nothing else can.

Pure Joy. For these two, and me.

Thank you to Craig Tanner for helping me to open this door.

Another Gallery Canvas Sale

Ouch, how did I let more than six weeks pass since my last blog entry? More coming soon, I promise - I have some terrific session images that I've been looking forward to sharing with you.

In the meantime, my wonderful canvas company is holding yet another sale. 30% off all sizes!

Applies to:

• Images from past sessions
• Images from upcoming sessions (you'll just need to decide on a size, and I can assist you with that. One of my new layout software programs is designed just for canvases!)
• Fine Art images (from the right side of my website when you get the welcome splash page at http://www.theintrepidlens.com)

Sale ends this Saturday, August 29th. Please call me at 416.888.4230 or email me at sandy@theintrepidlens.com to receive pricing info.

Gallery Canvas Sale - ends Saturday July 10th

Another fantastic sale from my very favourite canvas supplier!

30% off all sizes (from 8x10 all the way to 30x40). Even if you're not yet sure which images you want to have wrapped onto these gorgeous canvases you can still take advantage of this sale.

You can pre-purchase a size and I can send in the images to be printed at a later date (that's where my new design templates mentioned in the July newsletter can help out!)

Contact me (sandy@theintrepidlens.com or 416.888.4230) if you're interested, sale ends Saturday. Oh - and this sale applies to fine art images as well!

Worldwide Photo Walk - Oakville, will you join me?

This post is for my blog readers who like being behind the camera once in awhile too, enjoy exploring and meeting new people!

For the third year, Scott Kelby (a renowned photographer and Photoshop trainer extraordinaire!) has organized the Worldwide Photo Walk for photographers of all levels of expertise. Point and shoot camera enthusiasts are just as welcome as those with pro level cameras.

This year the Walk will be held on Saturday July 24th, I've signed up for the Oakville, ON trek starting at 2 pm in downtown.

If you'd like to join in, please visit http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/oakville-on-canada/.
It's free, and there are chances to win prizes too.

I'll be photographing in the area (hopefully finding some great new portrait session locations as I explore downtown Oakville), and I certainly don't mind giving out a few pointers along the way if you're looking to improve your camera and composition skills.

It would be great to see you on the 24th (and to catch up on a patio with cold refreshments afterwards!)

P.S. Gallery Canvas Sale coming this Thursday, thanks to my Canvas printer for the heads up. Let me know if you have any portrait session images that are whispering to you that they want to go BIG and BEAUTIFUL on your wall!