{travel documentary} paris

We were in France in late September, and I think it was one of my favourite times to be there. This autumn season had a richness of colour and a lightness, a tingle of magic that other seasons did not. We were there for two weeks of sunny, crisp, scarf-and-sweater-but-not-quite-coat weather, and the only time it rained was for twenty minutes the day we arrived. Plus, of course, I was there with my favourite people in the world. (Even if that did mean a jetlagged toddler who decided it was dance party time at 3am, and only really accustomed himself to the time zone on the night before we left.)

Jorge and I put together a video of our trip, which you can watch here.

Highlights of the trip: watching Jorge talking at Motion Plus Design in Paris, and bursting with pride. (While I pushed our stroller back and forth for an hour and a half, in a venue crowded with noise, to keep Matthias asleep so I could listen.) Walking the city from the time we woke up til late into the night, and sunsets that coloured Paris with fire.  Beautiful parks in unexplored corners of the city. CROISSANTS. (All day, every day.) Hasty dinners of baguettes and cheese in our tiny shoebox Airbnb apartment, where Matthias literally slept in the closet. Fifteen minutes when we got separated at the St. Lazare train station, and God answered prayer and brought us together again, literally seconds before our train was to leave. Renting a car and travelling to the coast of Normandy; staying in a rose-covered cottage and realizing that life actually does have fairytale elements. 

It was wonderful. I am thankful.

we'll live on coffee and flowers

In October, some friends and I had a little unofficial photographer's retreat. As in, we left our husbands behind and took our kids along and all ended up in a rambling old Airbnb home overlooking Shawnigan Lake in Victoria. It was full of furniture that looked like it belonged elsewhere but had somehow ended up here, and creaky hardwood floors, and little handwritten notes from the owner on everything, nicely requesting that we touch nothing at all. (We're still not quite sure why we couldn't hang our coats on what was clearly a coat-rack.) But huge windows overlooked the lake and the fog, and occasional pieces of sunshine found their way inside, and we had fun. For a few days, we barely slept (because the kids were up most of the night), drank copious amounts of coffee, and took SO MANY PHOTOS.

P.S. You can find Jamie's work here, and Katrina's work here. Such lovely talented photographers :)

{vancouver portrait photography} patterns of fairytales

This evening was a fairytale, hair threaded with gold and light painted with sunset.    

Christine is a massage therapist, and our portrait session began in her sun-filled home.  She is a collector of beautiful things; every blanket, table, and plant was a reminder of the loveliness she finds in the everyday.  

We wandered down to Tower Beach afterwards, and witnessed magnificent waves crashing upon shimmering pebbles.  I think we both were a little in awe of the incredible beauty; I kept feeling like "Please pinch me, IS THIS REAL?!"  So in love with these photos.

& this was 2014

What happened last year?

Everything blurs together and then suddenly focuses.  Our son was born, and that was the end of life as we knew it and the beginning of something full of blessing.  This is our Matthias, our gift of God, a few hours after he was born.  Every time I look at this picture, I remember the pain and exhaustion of standing up, of holding my camera steady in the low hospital light, but the knowing that I would want to have taken this photo.  And every time I look at this picture, I am so glad that I did.  He's not wrinkly anymore, or red, and his hair is much lighter and he's twice as big, and sometimes this photo makes me want to cry.  So maybe this is my favourite photo of 2014.

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But that's not it.  In 2014, I met so many amazing people, so many happy families that laughed together.  I captured so much joy, and that is what I want to share with you below.  

(Disclaimer: I tried to choose just a few favourite photos of 2014.  Truly.)

{vancouver engagement photographer} boy meets girl with big brown eyes

I'm trying to update my blog more frequently.  I really am.  And I really thought I was...until I looked at the date of my last blog post, and it was October.  

October was when I photographed this engagement session.  I love it very much, mostly because I love these two people very much.  (Also because Vancouver is spectacularly beautiful on moody autumn days.)  Ger is my brother & Amanda is the Brazilian girl with big brown eyes that he fell in love with; I am so thankful God brought them together, and I can't wait to photograph their Brazilian wedding at the end of January!