Jamie Delaine Photography

RSS Feeds.

2008-12-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

Not sure if my RSS feeders are correctly updating, but please check out my NEW blog and update your RSS Feed.

NOTE: Lots of folks are still having a problem with this, you need to RESUBSCRIBE YOUR FEED.
http://jamiedelaine.com/blog/index.php/rss

See you there!
J.

Vote for Laurell!

2008-12-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

Hey lovely, lovely blog readers; I have been neglecting you, but I've been in the mad rush of the last few days of this semester. There is a myriad of super-exciting stuff coming up in my life in the next six months and I can't wait to share my heart on here, but right now, I need to remain mysterious about it all. :) However, the lovely Laurell who I photographed this summer has been nominated for an MSN inDiscover Award and I wanted to call on all of you to VOTE for her!

This girl is so talented; check out these videos I recorded at her gig at the Media Club a few weeks ago! And after you've done that, GO VOTE.

See you soon!
J.

oh, holiday shopping.

2008-11-28T15:06:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season is upon us! It seems to be coming a lot earlier this year; which I can't complain about. A few years ago, it was almost December 20th and I just kept thinking, "It doesn't feel like Christmas, It doesn't feel like Christmas" and that was depressing. So, it's safe to say, it FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS! The stores are playing all the Christmas tunes, a Faith Hill Christmas special was on TV last week (DVR'd and watched it twice!), and today, I went to the malls to shop! You think I would be shopping for Christmas gifts? Um, no! Today was about me. I'm a little self-centered hey? Well, I had not been shopping in a loooooong time so I hit up my favourite store (at least around here--nothing beats a Banana Republic outlet, but I would have to cross the border into WA to get to one!), RW & Co. Americans, I think this is, *gasp* an only-Canadian store...seems impossible--usually it's the other way around! I pretty much cleared the store out. ;) Well, not really, but I got two camisoles, a gorgeous blouse, and this tight little black dress that fits me so perfectly I think I may just live in it this holiday season. Oh, as well as a skinny purple headband and some faux diamond studs. And a cardigan!

After I did some damage there, I did sneak in a little bit of Christmas shopping; finished two gifts for friends and got one item for my brother. I passed by Payless Shoes and before I knew it, came out with two pairs. I found this absolute steal; check out these silver pumps!! I ADORE THEM! & They will go so perfectly with my "tight little black dress that fits me so perfectly I think I may just live in it this holiday season."

And just because I like to keep my style eclectic; I found these babies for $6.

Happy Shopping!!

beauty

2008-11-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

Lately I am just finding the biggest joys in the smallest of things. It's like God has just opened my eyes to his creation for the first time! Every morning I drive East along the most beautiful country roads on my way to school. It's a twenty minute drive and I love to just put on a worship song and look at everything I'm driving past! It's seriously SO incredible some mornings. Yesterday morning it was a clear, gorgeous day and I was driving at eight o'clock just as the sun was rising. WOW. It was a cold morning as well and everything was just so stunning.

I had to run some errands downtown Langley in the afternoon after class, and while I was driving home, I was headed North. If you know the Lower Mainland/Vancouver area, you know that there is a massive mountain range everywhere you look facing North. Well I know this, but how often do I stop and look at it? We had a cold-ish weekend (lows of 35, highs of 50) and there was fresh snow on the peaks of the mountains. I was driving north and I couldn't help but say aloud, "This is SO stunning. I live in SUCH a beautiful country." Sunday evening my Mom and I with our dog went for a walk in Ft. Langley and the sun was setting with the most incredible sky in the world. Usually Vancouver is pretty overcast and grey; it's rare to have blue skies, but when they are blue the sunsets are incredible. Anyway, I have just been marveling SO much at the beauty God has created. I am seeing Him in so many aspects of my daily life. Awesome.

A rainbow last Autumn.

The gorgeous sunset of Arizona.

The stunning hills of Sedona, AZ.

A Saturday Full of Laughter

2008-11-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I am truly too, too fortunate to be able to have days like this. I have been wanting to put together a fun shoot with two of my old high school friends for months. Basically all Autumn. But y'know, school got in the way and it just never happened...until yesterday! We were planning to head down to the beach but it was just too cold (well, 50 degrees: that's cold!) so we stayed at Melissa's beautiful house and shot most of the day inside. We spent a total of 4 hours shooting and had so much fun. It was so good to see these girls again and I laughed so hard that day I believe I sprinted to the bathroom twice. Yes, they are that funny.

Morgan & Melissa & I

Melissa and Morgan.

Sooo many more photos coming, but I think I'll wait until I reveal my brand new blog... say it isn't so!!!

jess @ the shaky monkey

2008-11-22T17:58:00.001-08:00

Last night was such a perfect evening! There was a wind and storm warning in effect over the majority of the Lower Mainland, which is always exciting. My parents and I were driving on our way to Chinese food last night and the power for the entire street went out with a big boom: pretty cool to see. Thankfully the restaurant still had power and we had an amazing meal. I just love Chinese food...y'know...the North American kind. Hah! Anyway, after Chinese my Mom and I hopped over to this cute little coffee shop called Shaky Monkey. My friend Jess works as a barista there and last night she was having a little concert. I love hearing Jess play. Whenever she house-sits for us she records a new song on my Mac and then I have them all on my Ipod. I'm such a fan. ;) Anyway, here's some beautiful photos of Jess doing her beautiful thing!

She's so entertaining when she babbles in between songs. ;)

Love you Jess!! And you could possibly kill me, but I'm sure people want to hear your music, so I'm going to post these beautiful youtube videos. These videos were recorded by the girls Jess' counselled--on the floor of a camp cabin last summer in Ontario. ;)

This song is called "Lynsey's Song."

This song is called "Maybe"--and it's one of my favourites.

And finally, SOO good. Sheesh, I love her. I love her lyrics and she's just so honest and pure about love and relationships. Amazing. Gotta be one of my favourite "break-up-but-not-bitter-about-it" songs. She's so transparent. SO excited to see what God has for her and her music and her life.

January Mini-Sessions

2008-11-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Something I have been dying to co-ordinate for about the past six months has been what I like to call "portrait mini-sessions!" The summer wedding season was just way too busy to even consider doing this. But now that the new year (2009! wow!) is coming--how could you ask for a better time to capture some great portraits than the first few weeks of January?

As you can see, all of the details are listed above. Prospective clients, if you have any other questions feel free to comment here and I'll try to answer them as best as I can. There are six available time slots as listed below--Sign up for your time slot by emailing jamie@jamiedelaine.com or giving me a call at 604.537.8534.

Time Slots (January 3rd)
10:00AM -
10:45AM -
11:30AM -
12:00PM - Lunch Break
12:45PM -
1:30PM -
2:15PM -

Hope to see some wonderful couples+families+babies+kids+teens in January! :)

2008-11-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hey Blog Readers! Something I've been working on for a few weeks is starting a monthly e-newsletter. If you'd like to sign up, please enter your name and email below. Thanks!

The Beginning

2008-11-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

As part of my ongoing attempt to answer most/all of the questions from the "Ask Jamie a Question" post I am here to tackle yet another! It's been fun doing these; I really appreciate the comments I get from fellow photographers letting me know it's been helpful--I'm doing it for you guys! :) If you missed the other answers, you can check them out here: Before and After Processing and Interacting with Clients. So, the question is...

I would like to know how you became so successful at such an early age? How did you start marketing your business and getting so many weddings booked per year? Did you start second shooting with someone to begin with? Who? When was your first wedding "solo?"

Oh, you are so sweet! How do we define success? Success in my eyes is getting to do what I love day in and day out and God has blessed me so completely in that area. I feel like this is the question I get emailed to me the most often and the one I feel least qualified to answer.

However, as far as marketing goes, there are a few “key” things I did before I started my business. I started Jamie Delaine Photography in June 2007, but since January 1, 2007 I had been a part of the OpenSourcePhoto Forum created by David Jay. I was only 16 at the time and I had an interest in photography after a vacation to the East Coast. I had a lot of fun with my dad’s Rebel XT camera and wanted to see “what else I could do with it!” I stumbled across DJ’s blog which then lead to the forum. I was amazed with what I found! A whole network of professional wedding and portrait photographers full of business and practical shooting knowledge. I just soaked it all in. I read, read, read, read, read—All. The. Time. Seriously. I’m sure I spent hours on that forum. Every new aspect of business that would come up as a “I wonder” question in my mind, I would do a search. Bam! (Did I just say Bam? Wow.) There would be pages upon pages of discussing about things like setting prices, marketing online, setting up a blog, getting your logo on blog images, interacting with clients, figuring out album predesign, etc.

From the OSP Forum, I got connected with a lot of photographers online. I posted a topic one day about looking for second-shooting opportunities and a few weeks later a Seattle photographed named Libbie Mistretta sent me an email. She had two weddings back-to-back on a Saturday and Sunday in Bothell, WA which is only about two hours from my home in Surrey, BC. I jumped on the opportunity for my first chance to photograph a wedding with another photographer! I think that was on August 16th and 17th, 2007. I had such a fun time with Libbie and it was a wonderful “introduction” to weddings. From these two weddings I got about thirty portfolio images that I then placed on my portrait site. When I look back now, it’s just hilarious as I had sections for babies, kids, teens, families, travel and then….weddings. 4 Sections for portraits, 1 pathetic one for weddings. It took me three months to put those images up—I was so hesitant to jump into this business, believe it or not! Anyway, I did. During the last three or four months (since June) I had been photographing family portraits and pictures of my friends just for fun. Well, my first wedding photography clients found my name through grad pictures I had taken for my friend Jess (want a trip down memory lane? The photos are here!) The bride emailed me and asked if I took wedding photos and if she could get a quote. I responded, yes, I do photograph weddings, however my experience was currently limited to second-shooting. She emailed back, liked my quote, and I was booked! This beautiful bride was Tamara and I was there to capture her wedding to Dean on May 18, 2008.

Another invaluable thing in business is networking. One of the first photographers I emailed was a couple from Vancouver known as Chris+Lynn. I saw Lynn on the forum and sent her an email about second-shooting opportunities. A few months later, we met up for dinner with Tim Co. (one of their photographer friends from Florida who is also a part of OSP!) at Cactus Club. I was just amazed at the industry’s willingness to help out young photographers. Honestly! I look back on that night, which was only a year ago and I am just amazed at Chris+Lynn+Tim’s willingness to meet with a young, shy, newly-turned-seventeen year old and inspire her in her business. Networking is just soooo wonderful! Another example, when I knew I was going to be in Arizona for two weeks in March, I emailed a handful of AZ photographers (once again, via the forum!) and asked if they had any weddings I could tag along at. Unfortunately none of the weddings aligned with my schedule, but I got lunch offers from quite a few photographers and we made a get-together out of it! I met with Melissa Jill, Rachel Priddy and Jen Schleicher and we had such a good time getting to know one another. This meet-up then brought another opportunity just this summer when Melissa Jill was looking for a photographer to second-shooter with her in San Francisco in July. I saw her posting on the forum and emailed her and she called me back right away and said she’d love to have me! Creating a network of photographers is so valuable---and bonus, it’s fun! I love meeting new people. I could go on and on, but I won’t—you get the idea.

As far as finding clients and booking weddings, it was a combination of word-of-mouth (how I got my first wedding!), online marketing through my blog as well as networking with other photographers. Chris+Lynn sent me the super sweet couple Kristina and Marshall way back in April and I’m so glad they did! I’ve also found facebook to be an invaluable tool for marketing. I keep my facebook page and my facebook group updated with all my latest blog images and some more information on there. I find that not everyone will read my blog, but lots of facebook “friends” like to keep tabs on my work via the group. It’s awesome if you can “tag” your clients in the facebook photos because then your images will be on facebook for all to see—next thing you know clients will be coming your way!

the summer sun.

2008-11-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

For being a girl who really likes rain, there's just something about that warm glow of the sun. I think I fully started to appreciate sun more when I became a photographer... I'm finding out that I prefer warm sunny images to dark moody ones. :) It's amazing how much light can change the look of a photograph. I think that is the key to becoming a better photographer! Learning how to manipulate light and use it to your advantage; something I am trying to do all the time.

Blog readers, I hope you are all doing well! Thanks for stopping by; this is basically just a blog post to say I'm alive (I feel terrible if I go more than 48 hours without blogging, so I rarely do!) but just swimming in schoolwork and business tasks right now! I'm excited though! God has been totally blessing me lately and speaking such truth into my life; I'm excited to share what's up--one thing I do know is that I booked two completely awesome couples this weekend for summer weddings. That always makes my day!

Here's some photos of me working my Shootsac during the summer in Chicago when I stayed at Sarah's house. Sarah took the photos of course. This was during a fun little break while we (Sarah, Vickie--the other intern--and I) were shooting Emmy and Alan's incredible wedding.

Oh sun, I miss you. This wedding was held on such a beautiful day; I've never seen blue skies so incredible.

I miss these girls a lot!

Happy really late Tuesday, or early Wednesday. ;)

shabbir, lesley, wes & kendra | family

2008-11-16T21:21:00.000-08:00

Oh what a beautiful, beautiful day! I've been realizing lately that almost every portrait session and wedding day blog post I write starts with a description of the weather. But how can I help it? I check the weather network literally every day leading up to the shoot. Saturday's family session was no different! The forecast called for 90% chance of rain, and we had anything but rain, in fact, it was arguably the nicest day in November yet! The sun was out in full force and it just made for some absolutely glorious light.

Shabbir and Lesley and their two children Wes and Kendra are such a treat. Lesley heard about my work through my friend Jess (here, here, here and here) and her family. Turns out Lesley and Shabbir were youth pastors at the church Jess' family used to attend a few years back! They've been family friends for years, so it was neat to hear about that connection. Seriously, such a photogenic family: I just could not get over how cute everyone was while I was snapping away. Thanks again Bell family!

Look at little Wes!! He was SUCH A JOY! He is 5 and Kendra will be 1 year in a few weeks and he is just enthralled and captured by her. He has the cutest giggle.

Check out Wes' air! He had some major bounce.

Love these two of Kendra.

Those eyelashes!!

I can't say enough about how sweet these kids were together.

Possibly my absolute favourite family shot from the session. So candid!

That laugh again. :)

We finished up the shoot at Lesley's friend's beautiful house nearby.

Watch the slideshow below or click here to have it open up in a new window! The song is "Simple As It Should Be" by Tristan Prettyman.

lyla veinot designs

2008-11-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

My Auntie Lyla is my only "blood" Aunt--she is my Dad's only living sister (the only one I've ever met) and my mom doesn't have any sisters. I have two beautiful aunts through the women my Mom's brothers married, but it's neat having an Aunt I am truly related to. My Aunt Lyla is my second mom. Her and her husband Steve were married in 2000 and I was a Jr. Bridesmaid (10 years old! Craziness) at their September wedding. My family always jokes about what it means to be a "Peterson" (My Dad's side of the family). There are a lot of very unfortunate traits: inability to sit still, overanalyzing everything, wanting everything to be perfect all the time&refusing help from others, getting audibly frustrated, blowing off steam and ranting to those around us (which can end in crying for us female Peterson's). Those are the general Peterson traits, but the characteristics Lyla and I share are SO much more. My Mom, Lois, and Lyla are best of friends, which is super cool. I want a friendship or friendships as cool as they have with my future sister-in-law(s). They actually lived together in an apartment while my Dad and Mom were engaged. Lyla and my Mom are complete opposites, which doesn't surprise me, seen as Mom and I are opposites and Lyla and I are the same!

Lyla and I will get up and organize something in your house while we're talking to you, we will pull out the crossword section from the newspaper at the dinner table to keep our hands and minds occupied while we are having a conversation, we both love interior design, we both read like crazy and like most of the same kinds of books, we share similar music taste (she recently introduced me to Adele, and I have introduced her to Duffy. Lyla is also a very loyal blog comment and I'm sure you'll see her comments on at least half of all of my posts. I have two very huge blog-supporters in my Mom and her!

A few years ago, Lyla decided to pursue her dream of becoming an interior decorater: something she has loved for so long! She hopes to leave her office job behind in the near future and focus on interior decorating full-time. There is no question she has beautiful taste. Last week, I went to her house to take photos of her designs--isn't her house immaculate? She always says it's in a mess, but it never is. ;) I always joke that I am going to have the "dream wedding team" in a few...5...10? years. I have my Mom, who is a fabulously creative organizer and then there is Lyla, who has a very sophisticated and upscale taste (I think my Dad is afraid of the upscale part.) I also have my two beautiful friends Joanne (who also has a ridiculous beautiful eye for decorating) and her daughter Shawna who is just so creative in everything she does it hurts. Back to Lyla's house...

Her main family room, sitting area.

Their adorable powder room--feels very French, non? :) The painting is of the parliament buildings in Prince Edward Island (MOST beautiful place! Can't wait to get back there someday) was a gift from Steve's parents, who are P.E.I natives.

The living room where we have spent many a Christmas Eves.

I love her little vignettes all over the house.

Steve and Lyla's dining room.

Ohhhhhh k. Just my favourite by a long-shot. Steve and Lyla have been renovating both upstairs' bathrooms over the past few weeks and their guest bathroom was recently finished. Isn't it GORGEOUS? Lyla knew I would love it because I love style like this. Wow.

The Guest bedroom they recently made over as well; a fresh coat of paint and bedding and this room has such a clean, vintage sort of feel.

I have to say that I just really really love that shot on the right here. I do. I mean, it's Lyla who decorated it, but I just really like the shot. That dresser is...I think 60 years old? My Dad had it in his room or something when he was a boy? Then I think the story was his nephew painted it white to have in his room and Lyla has been chipping away at it to restore it to it's original colour.

The Master Bedroom. Funky hey?

& Then some new portraits of the lady herself.

Thanks Lyla! It was a fun morning. :) Always appreciate the tea: hah!

Christie & Rebecca & Jamie Delaine

2008-11-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

One of my number one reasons for going to university was to connect with other people, to find community, to meet new friends. It was my prayer that God would bless me with a few great friends out of the whole experience. At TWU, where I'm attending school, they do what is called an Orientation Week or O-Week the first week of September. Basically, everyday is full of assemblies and tours and meetings and games and eating and pretty much 6 days of just hanging out and really trying to get students connected and interacting with one another. On one of the O-Days, the first-year students went on a day trip to Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver. I'm not sure how many first-year students there are, but I know it's at least 600 or so, so we had at least five school buses caravan-ing (not a word...get over it) down the highway. On the hour drive there, the leaders on each bus organized a "speed-dating" game. The student sitting closest to the aisle would move forward or back a chair every minute. As awkward as SOME interactions were, it was such an effective way to get to know almost the entire bus in a half hour. Seriously though, exhausting. Try answering, "What is your major? Where are you from? Are you dorming or commuting? What do you want to do about university?" 30 times in a row. And then factor in the movement of the bus and the sudden stops. Fun times.

It was through this game that Christie and Rebecca both sat down beside me. As we rattled off what we were doing, I found out that Christie is a science major and Rebecca an art major. I asked Rebecca what area of art she really loved and she replied Photography, I'd love to do that after school. I was so excited I blurted out, "That's what I do full-time right now! Well, I guess not full time right now because I'm in school full-time right now, but if there were enough hours in the day I'd still be full-time, but I was full-time in the summer and I'm going back to full-time next April when I'm done school!" --y'know or something approximately like that was said at sixty words a second. Then a few minutes later I think Christie asked me what area of Business I wanted to specialize in after I graduated and I gave her the whole "I'm only here for 8 months because I have a wedding photography business that I'd love to pursue more!" Turns out, she adored photography as well. Before each of their "minutes" with me was up, we exchanged first and last names and tried to remember the spelling so we could find each other on facebook later that day. & we did! Also, turns out that these two girls I connected with were roommates at Bible School in Spain last year! Of course! Rebecca is from Kelowna, which is the interior of BC (and where the famous Gary Fong lives...for all you photographers!) and Christie has lived in Haiti with her family as missionaries for about the past six years.

These two have been SUCH a blessing to me, and I am so fortunate to have met them. They are such amazing women of God and I am thankful that I had the chance to meet both of them this year. So since September we have been trying to plan a day to meet up for a shoot and man, schedules are ridiculous. It seems that every hour I am not in class or doing homework or in group project meetings I am at home working on my business or at another shoot! However, Monday there was no school (Fall Reading Break) and I had to make the commute for a meeting anyway, so we got together for a little last-minute session. Blog readers, you've known for a while that I have been itching to go out and shoot, to do something creative. It finally happened and I loooove how it turned out! These shots are all from my camera, and the ones of me were taken by Christie--Rebecca used her own camera so I don't have any of those.

Meet Rebecca, an amazing photographer and artist!

This one is just stunning. Absolute absolute favourite.

Good style hey?!

& then there's Christie, who is just so naturally gorgeous.

P.S. That chair? Yeah, we found it. We pretty much just pulled over to a little field and said, "This looks good! Let's go for it!" Then we found a cute little house and a little chair and all these other wonderful things. I love shoots like this.

Christie reminds me of Gisele in the photo on the right. I think it's her hair. ;)

Rebecca in action.

There's meee! With freshly dyed hair as well; I had eight month roots, so it's nice to be blonde again.

Mmm. Love this. I like to get right up close in people's faces during my portrait shoots--once Christie got used to it, the result was stunning! Haha! Don't blame you for being a little freaked out. ;)

My crazy idea.

Mmm, yup. Pretty.

Cute house hey? I love Rebecca's hat. She has a ridiculous sense of style. She cracks me up too, I believe the next words out of her mouth were, "I don't know how to work the house guys! I'm not feeling it!"

I LOVE THIS of us!! We definitely just set the self-timer and hoped it focused okay and it turned out so great!

.
I'm a shortie. :)

A little behind-the-scenes, all photos by Rebecca except for the one she's in...obviously.

Watch the slideshow below or click here to have it open up in a new window! The song is "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer.

just another rainy friday.

2008-11-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

Doesn't get much more attractive than this, folks.

I made this little quiz on Facebook once,

a "how well do you know Jamie Delaine?" quiz.
One of the questions was: when does she feel most beautiful?
The answer? After a run.
I'm powerful, accomplished, productive.
Even without makeup and blow-dryed hair...Yes, it's possible.
Life at it's finest. This is how it's to be lived, for little moments and days like this.

If you are a twitter follower of mine, you would have seen these two updates on Friday.
1. "i'm going for a run" just came out of my bro's mouth. end of the world. woah. i immediately changed and off we go. pumped to have company!

2. &my sedentary bro kicked my behind in a 5k. pretty sure the last time he ran a 5k was 2yrs ago. i run them 3x a week. life is unfair folks.

I love running. I love the feeling of stepping out my front door into the fresh air with my floppy eared black doggy by my side, Nikes laced up, Ipod headphones on and ready to go. Every step I run I get stronger, and the next time, I can run longer. There's something so satisfying about the progress of learning to run; running harder, faster, longer. It's a time for me to think, to get away from textbooks and computers and the internet and just (if anything) see a little bit of the world. So often my day consists of waking up, going right to my car, entering into a whole bunch of different buildings, driving home and going to bed. How often do we take time to just go outside? Not that often, in my case. Running solves that lack of outdoors for me. & nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done.

This run was hilarious. I don't think I have ever run in rain QUITE this heavy. I think there was one post about a rainy run a few months ago: here it is. Oh wow. Ok, I called that a few months ago, turns out it was over a year ago. Oh time! Anyway, this rain was pretty serious. About two minutes into the run we were already soaked. My makeup was gone by the 1km mark and I took my wet sweatshirt every minute and wiped my entire face off. I'm a trooper, what can I say? ;)

Here's to many more days lived in the moment.

alanna & stan | engagement

2008-11-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

Meet the beautiful couple, Alanna and Stan, who I will be spending my birthday with next summer! Yes! These two have booked me for August 1, 2009, one of the most popular dates of next year with it being a long weekend in August and all. Alanna and Stan attended the same school of graphic design as my July bride, Lesia (of Chris+Lesia) which is also how Alanna heard about my photography. We had just had a quick phone conversation back in June when she booked me, so I had yet to meet Alanna+Stan. Saturday there was a forecast for rain (surprise, it had been raining for the last five days: Vancouver, Vancouver!) and I emailed Alanna the morning of to give her and Stan the option of rescheduling. These two were up for anything and we decided to go ahead as planned on Granville Island. It turned out to be a beautiful day, even though Alanna brought along the cutest umbrella to use in our shoot! As you'll see from two of these shots below, we decided to "fake" the rain (in Vancouver! I can't believe we did that...) just to make use of it! Oh man, I am even more excited for their August 1 wedding now that I had the pleasure of hanging out with them for an hour and a half. I also happen to have a special place in my heart for graphic designers--they inspire me!

Ok, how cute are they?

They both have the greatest smiles.

Mmm, this is an absolute favourite. So serene.

My favourite shot of the day; for sure!

I think Alanna needs to be an umbrella model; this photo would be a great ad. ;)

We decided to sneak into the market for a few different shots. It's really handy, y'know, because if we got hungry we could just grab an apple and keep shooting.

Cute!

Watch the slideshow below or click here to have it open up in a new window! The song is "I Don't Know" by Lisa Hannigan. Which also happens to be the cutest song and one of my favourites right now.

jason mraz | live in vancouver

2008-11-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

Saturday night the beautiful and wonderfully talented Jason Mraz played downtown Vancouver at the Vancouver Centre for Performing Arts--I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't even know this venue existed! It's so beautiful! I love love loooove live music. x4. For real. Yup, believe it. :) So, I was actually in Chicago at the Barlows, on my birthday no-less, when I saw that Mr. Mraz was coming to Vancouver! I immediately facebook'd my best friend Jess who was serving as a camp counselor in Ontario and also messaged my brother Brandon who was away for eight weeks at an internship program in Seattle. As you can see on this map, the distance was quite amazing. ;) Ah, I'm such a nerd! Anyway, we were all brought together for this amazing night.

P.S. I have this love/hate relationship with concerts--it's like a homesick feeling. I always wish that I could go and re-experience the concert again and again and again for the whole week. That's why I would rather see a movie I've already seen when I go to the theatre rather than a new one. I like to experience things again. That's why I read books twice.

So, you see, the people above in the photos with me are maybe two of my favourite people in the world. Maybe. I just love them soooo much! The top right hand photo is of Lisa Hannigan who opened for Jason and was FANTASTIC. Artsy. Folksy. Indie. In a Vintage Dress. Beautious. Check out her myspace for sure! Jess+I were head over heels for her. Jess has a thing for Ireland. ;) & then there is Jason Mraz doing his thing on the bottom left.

Story time folks! Ok, see that photo on the right? Well Brandon took that of Jess+I on his cameraphone. The concert had this cool thing before it started on the screens that if you wanted to text a photo or a message to the number listed they would play it on the screen. So Brandon sent this photo in and throughout the night it played on the screen! And, if you check out the photo on the left, there's me and Jess! We're famous! Another funny story: the photo that kept flashing right before ours was of Erin Gilmore, the beautiful Vancouver wedding photographer. I've never met her, but we're Facebook friends and with her amazing blonde curls, you can't mistake her. ;) I messaged her this morning on Facebook and turns out she was the one who took that photo on the left and once she knew it was me she posted it on Facebookk. So thanks again Erin! :)

This photo would just be Brandon & I and our sexy faces. Yup.

thursday's thoughts.

2008-11-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

I do not in any shape or form have a plan for this blog post. I'm sitting in one of the many study areas of TWU, with a cup of hot water (life of a student, I swear 50 cent teabags everyday, or twice a day, add up!) looking outside at the torrential rains. Seriously. Rain, rain, rain. I really love it. It just gets me all inspired and creative, but at the same time, restless, because right now I don't have that much time in my life to be inspired and creative.

Here we are, November 6th. I cannot believe that two full months of school has flown by already; two months since I wrote this entry the week before school. Four weeks left of semester one; which means four weeks and one semester left of my university career; as far as my eyes can see that is. I am turning into a really big twitter freak. I seriously adore it. If you want to know in one-sentence updates what is going on in my life, follow me. I find the emails that I receive telling me I have another "follower" really exciting. I do. So please make my Thursday. All of this talk about twitter to say that one of my favourite photographers Millie Holloman twitter a quote the other day: "life is like taking a trip, you can only see what's in front of your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." Isn't that great? So true. The lovely thing I am learning and believing more everyday is that God can see the whole trip; it's like God has these unbelievable high beams that are gazillion times better than my car's crappy headlights. He has supernatural headlights. And to boot, He made the road I'm traveling on. Just hard to get my mind around sometimes.

Lately I've just been getting a little itchy all over. Not literally; bad image--but figuratively. I just have sooo many things I want to do, and I am such an impatient person in the way that if I want something, I am just going to go and GET it. I'm not going to wait. Why wait when there is this great big world and I serve a great big God who is desiring to bless me and challenge me and see me experience amazing growth as I learn and pursue everything I have dreamed about? This time of waiting in my life is wonderful and good and right for me right now. As an entrepreneur I can just sit and dream sometimes about where I want to take my business, what other kinds of businesses I desire to open, other opportunities that will come my way. But right now, it's a little hard to act on any of those dreams--the capacity to which I am committed to school and work right now is so healthy for me. It's teaching me patience. It's teaching me to trust that I am in school for a reason! I have this desire for learning for a reason. But at the same time...I'm fidgety. A few days ago I was in the middle of another one of my oh-too-regular five hour studying stints and I just felt like screaming, "Where is my camera!? Give it to me! Let me step out the front door into the pouring rain with a friend and an umbrella and let me CLICK! PLEASEE!!" I seriously considered acting on my desire but I stayed inside and went back to economics.

I am just looking forward. Sounds like a sentence fragment, doesn't it? I am just looking forward. Forward to what? The best I can explain it is, forward for the sake of moving forward. Progress, growth, expansion; learning to love more, learning to give more, learning to listen more, learning to be a better daughter, friend, cousin, niece, granddaughter and eventually wife and mother. I was running yesterday and a list I had wrote about two years ago came to mind... "101 Things I Want to Do Before I Die" -- I have to dig it up again and maybe blog a few things I wanted to do. It's neat because I wrote it two years ago, and the last time I looked at it, God has already fulfilled about 15 of the things!! And this was without me actively pursuing them, it has just been His gifts and His blessings. Awesome. Anyway, my list is something I want to pursue more with purpose and also revise a little bit. I mean, seriously, after writing 90 things in one afternoon I got a little hyper. If I remember correctly, one of the 101 things was "Dress up really fancy. Go to a Ferrari dealership and convince the salesperson I have enough money to purchase one. Spend all day with them negotiating all the details and taking it for a test drive. Spend hours meeting with them and phoning your "husband" at home to discuss it. At the last minute, decide you don't want to purchase it." Seriously, Jamie...Seriously! Haha!!

So thank you for reading my rambles. Thanks to my blog readers who actually check this blog regularly for my regular rambles. I love it. I love your comments. I love my twitter followers. I love my facebook friends. I love the emails of encouragement you send: I. Love. It. :)

& I love this photo. Alaska Cruise, 2008.

darren & angela | wedding

2008-11-04T14:46:00.000-08:00

Oh oh oh oh oh! That's the only way I can think to start this blog post. This was just the most amazing day for more reasons than one. First off, it was a big ol' family affair for Jamie Delaine. November 1st was the wedding of my beautiful cousin Angela to her fiance Darren. To make it even greater, the day's festivities took place in the church I grew up in! I have probably known more than half of the day's 200 guests for more than ten years, and was related in some way or another to a quarter of them. Hah! I am still just so honored that Angie, who is a photographer herself, chose me to do the photography for her and Darren's day. Angie is a huge fan of Autumn, and the day didn't disappoint. We were just all so, so blessed on Saturday--first of all, the forecast totally, completely called for rain and seen as I've yet to had a rainy wedding day, I thought (as I have before!) oh no, here goes! But, the whole family was a-prayin' and the morning was absolutely beautiful. We photographed portraits before the ceremony and the rain started to come down about ten minutes after we went into the church. So awesome. :)

Don't you just love this shoe shot? The pattern behind is actually two funky lampshades side-by-side.

Oh her dress was sooo stunning; she found absolutely everything she wanted!

These flowers were so fitting with the Autumn day.

The photo on the left is one of my favourites; it was such a true reaction from Angie's dad the first time he saw her in her dress.

The back of her dress was my favourite.

Angela and Darren chose to have a "First Look" and do all the photos before the ceremony--which always makes the day go sooooo much smoother! She was so excited and so was Darren; adorable to capture.

This photo makes me laugh! Darren gave Angela this pellet gun for her Christmas gift last year. The whole reception was full of Redneck jokes, because Darren is pretty much a self-proclaimed one. Ang totally reminds me a movie poster in this pose. Hah!

Angela and I both spotted this tree at the exact same time and knew we needed to use it. I love the orange leaves!

Doesn't she look like a stinkin' model? Ridiculous.

A favourite.

Haha! The whole park was really, really soggy and wet from the non-stop rain the day before, so Angela was very prepared with these very attractive boots under her dress.

I loved all the lights Angela had hung behind the stage during the ceremony; it was gorgeous for photos. I also looooove this shot; at almost every single wedding my favourite image is the recessional photo of the couple.

Watch the slideshow below or click here to have it open up in a new window! The song is "I'm Yours" by Carolyn Dawn Johnson. I thought I'd go with the family theme, as she also happens to be my second cousin...but on a different side. ;)

mike & amanda's album

2008-11-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

One of my absolute favourite part of photographing weddings is the finished product: the wedding album. It's SO rewarding when I receive these stunning leather-bound albums at my door and I just can't wait to rip the box open and re-live the day as I flip through the pages! Mike and Amanda's wedding album arrived last week from KISS Wedding Books. It's soooo gorgeous! I love feeling the leather, it's incredibly soft--just amazing. I love the bright green colour Amanda chose as well, it fits their wedding colors so perfectly. Photographers, this album was designed by the incredible Amy @ Albumesque.

Aren't they just the cutest things ever? I love this first dance spread.

Some more samples from inside the album. :)

urban wedding magazine

2008-10-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

You may remember Kristina and Marshall and their beautiful wedding full of amazing details on August 31, 2008. Well, something pretty excited has happened in my business in the last month! Their wedding was chosen to be published in the Urban Wedding 2009 Directory, a Lower Mainland/Vancouver publication. It has been an absolute dream of mine to see my wedding work in print since this business became a reality last year! It's so exciting to hold the magazine in my hand. These cute little mags (they are only about 7" by 7" in size) will be available at bridal shows all throughout the Lower Mainland for the next few months. I've also added a new section to my website, called press, to display this current publication and hopefully ones in the future!

autumn, not fall.

2008-10-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure when I discovered the word Autumn, probably around age four I'm guessing, but I know that ever since then I've liked it better than Fall. I love how the word Autumn look... a pretty uncommon order of letters. It rolls off the tongue better than Fall. I hear Fall and I think splat. On your face. On the ground. Not pretty. Autumn is a much more romantic word, don'tcha think? Autumn. Autumn. Autumn. My favourite season by a longshot. The crisp air. The slow reappearance of scarfs and boots and tights and sweaters. Tea becomes my best friend once again. Coffee comes alongside for special occasions. Autumn means a new school year is starting, kids are back in school, one grade finished another one starting, Thanksgiving and family time is coming (and now already gone), Christmas is drawing near and finally, the new calendar year is coming: 2009. I'm just at such a place of excitement in my life right now. Although overwhelmed at times, I know that God is working all things out for good--more than good, for wonderful! I can't wait to just walk in everthing He has planned for me. Enjoy these photos of just some of the beauty He's created! Wow.

Why do I like dead leaves so much? So pretty.

I was taking these photos before Paul and Shawna and the kids arrived for their session last Saturday, and I saw this tree, this sun, this park. I thought, y'know what: if it didn't rain so dang much in Vancouver, I'd want to get married on a Saturday just like today, under this tree in the beautiful Autumn weather. Just a random Jamie thought that you get to hear. :)

I love the light pouring through the leaves. I'm definitely going to be printing some of these photos BIG and framing them somewhere in my room.

paul, shawna, jacob & cole | family

2008-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

We had such beautiful beautiful weather this weekend! Autumn was out in full-force and I was so excited when I saw the sun peak out from under the clouds just in time for my family session with Paul & Shawna and their two boys, Jacob and Cole. I've definitely mentioned this family on my blog before and did a session with Shawna and her boys one afternoon in January at their home. I've also blogged about just random days hanging out with Shawna and her litle ones. Shawna is a blogger and I love reading her blog to find out what's up in their family every week. I just adore this family and I feel like I'm related to them sometimes and that their boys are my little cousins: I think I'll just start calling them that. :)

Cole's so happy in this one. :)

Oh beautiful light.

Look at Jacob's hand reaching for Cole's! Cuuuute!

His skin looks like porcelain: what a doll!

I way-underexposed this shot, but I love how it looked in B&W.

OK. TOO PERFECT! Jacob did this totally on his own.

What a happy little dude--I just love him so much!

One of my favourites:

Such a cute picture of these two:

Watch the slideshow or click here to have it open up in a new window!

Interacting with Clients | photographers

2008-10-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

As part of an ongoing goal, I am trying to make my way through the Ask Jamie a Question Day questions, one step at a time. You all asked some really great questions, including:

"Do you have any tips or ideas that you use for how to interact with your clients? Like, how do you set them up in a "pose" and get all the great expressions? I'm always curious on if there's a better way to interact with my clients and what to say to them, etc...I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on that!"

I loved this question because honestly when I started photography a year ago, this is all I thought about! I used to get SO stinkin' nervous about what to say, how to act, what to talk about, how to direct clients, trying not to make the session awkward--ah, I was a wreck! The most important piece of advice I could give is that IT GETS EASIER! It really does. Get out there and practice, practice, practice. It really helps to first get very comfortable working and posing people you know--that way if you ask them to do something and it kind of looks funny, or doesn't turn out how you want, you can just laugh about it and move on! Shooting your friends just for fun is not something you should stop doing once you start making money in photography, it'll constantly help you get better and better! Check out this shoot I did for my best friend Jess a few months ago: to this date it's one of my favourite shoots because we are just so comfortable with one another. Another blast from the past is a graduate session with my friend Rachel from early October 2007. Wow, I cannot believe that was only 12 months ago! Life is so crazy.

As far as interaction goes, here's a rule: never stop talking! The art of small talk is so key. If it's a portrait shoot with just one subject ask about their job, what they do, talk about past shoots you've gone on, talk about places you've visited--I just talk my face off--which I'm pretty good at doing. For engagement shoots, this is the fun stuff! Who doesn't want to hear a love story? Ask about where they met, how long they've been dating, talk about wedding details, plans, where they are living, dogs, etc, really anything will do. Just be interested in them!

Posing is something that I've been trying to "step up" in my business lately. A few months ago, I felt like I got to the place where I could take a nice camera with a nice camera lens, put two beautiful people in the shade and tell them to just "interact" and wah-la! A natural looking, solid photo. Which is SO true--but I've been challenging myself to step it up with my posing and take my photography to another level. I read a lot of photography blogs for inspiration, and obviously if you are reading this, you do the same! I love looking at wedding and fashion magazines and advertisements--I'm also inspired by just watching how couples interact naturally. Work with different levels in the environment you're in, try different variations of standing, sitting, different angles--it's all about just putting yourself out there and trying something new. Usually I'll start by telling the guy something like, "How about we get you right behind here and just lean down and wrap your arms around Jane's waist. Jane just look up at John for these next few." This usually leads to awkward laughter and then a lot of fun. As the clients gain confidence in you throughout the course of the shoot things will begin to flow so much more naturally!

As far as actual "talking" and interacting goes while shooting portraits during a wedding day or on an engagement shoot, I say a LOT of things like "Perfect! That's awesome! Hold that right there! That's so gorgeous! Holy crap this is amazing light! Just turn and look up at him right...there, yes, perfect. Now lean in a bit more--you can never be too close during an engagement session." Ah, it sounds quite hilarious when I type it out. I laugh a LOT during sessions--like waaaaaaay too much, way too much! My cheeks hurt after a shoot because they are just been exercised the entire time. If you're having fun and laughing and at ease (or pretend to be at ease in the beginning, hah!) your clients will most likely be as well.

I hope this helps!

my mom's 51st birthday

2008-10-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

My mom, my best friend, my everything, turned the amazing age of 51 on October 18th! Because I was a little busy shooting Sarah and Mike's wedding that day, we celebrated with a buffet brunch after church on the 19th! It was such a gorgeous gorgeous day and church was incredible. The brunch was a lot of fun with just immediate family and close friends--It was such a fun time to celebrate my mom!

The photo on the top left is Brandon and my Mom, and on the bottom right that's my Grandma (who will be 93 in January!!) and my Auntie Sharon.

All the girls! I love them all. L to R: Auntie Lyla, Auntie Sharon, Mom, My cousin Kristy, Me & our friend Joanne.

Oh my parents... ok, first they start off with a self-portrait, they check it out & decide they aren't happy, they attempt again, with much protests from my Uncle Steve and Brandon (check out the hands reaching for the camera) and finally they give in. :)

Just me and her!

The whole group of girls! Looks like we didn't really care about much of the men today for some reason...maybe it's because we're prettier? Hah!

My amazing parents, married 20 years as of last February.

I love this shot of them.

We finished the afternoon off by driving to White Rock to check out one of the BC Lottery Homes--of course one of my favourite things to do. I love homes! Here's to another fabulous year Mom!

sarah + mike | wedding

2008-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Oh Autumn! Sarah and Mike's wedding on Saturday, October 18th was the absolutely perfect autumn day. And I mean perfect. You see, Fall and Winter are the two rainiest months for Vancouver (actually Spring and Summer are too, hah!) and it poured on Thursday and especially Friday. Nevertheless, the forecast all week was calling for sun on Saturday, but who believes the forecast? Turns out: it was true! I remember back when I met Sarah and Mike in May, Sarah said her plan was to say and believe, "It's going to be pouring!" so when it came to the day she wouldn't be disappointed. Safe to say, we were all thrilled. The sun was out, the colour of the leaves were in full force: absolutely amazing. I honestly could not think of a more beautiful setting than Stanley Park and Granville Island for the portraits we took after the ceremony.

Sarah and Mike, thank you both so much for being fantastic clients. You are so sweet and it was such a priviledge to be there as part of your day. You made me completely comfortable and I felt right at home with both of you. I hope you are both having an incredible time in Mexico right now!

I started the day with Sarah in North Vancouver at her parent's house.

I loved the fabric of this chair with the white shoes.

A quick bridal portrait before leaving for the ceremony:

How cute is her dad?! I loved how happy he was truly was on Sarah's wedding day: shows how much he must have known she would be in good hands marrying Mike.

Married! (It was such a cute church.)

Off to Stanley Park with the bridal party: first of all, the men.

The girls, being supermodels, y'know. Can you get enough of that light?! It was so incredible.

Are you kidding me: this is SO a favourite. Sarah does a wonderful "model" face. :)

I just noticed how both of their blue eyes match the colors of their reception perfectly. Gorgeous!

Then it was off to Granville Island for a more urban feel.

How CUTE! A shot from one of my favourite series of the day.

So classic.

The reception was held at the beautiful Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. What an incredible, incredible venue. The reception had a full ocean view, including this beautiful pier and a harbor full of yachts. Some amazing light once again!

Fun reception details.

I love just how completely happy Sarah looks in this one! It's so adorable.

& a hug with her father to finish the night off after their dance together.

Watch the slideshow or click here to have it open up in a new window!

faq: processing | before & after

2008-10-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

I got quite a few questions a few weeks ago on my Ask Jamie a Question post, and I thought I'd combine a few of them and do a little post about my post-processing workflow. First of all, I shoot everything in RAW, because I've just found it allows me the most flexibility in terms of editing and recovery when my exposures are not-so-perfect! I know, shame on me, but not every photo I take is 100% properly exposed, and for this reason, I love RAW! I also love warm photos, and I find that Canon cameras, by default on the Auto White Balance setting, produce really cool photos--which I hate! Ahh, blue and green tones make me cringe; I love the warmth.

The number one thing you can do to improve the colour and look of your photos is to expose correctly! I shoot all manual which ensures that I, not my camera like Av and Tv settings, am in control of reading the light and setting my settings! It's great. It takes a lot of practice, and when I started shooting manual I'd move to a different light and totally forget to change my settings. I shot a lot of all black photos, or all white photos! Haha, but in practice and over time, I am pretty much able to nail my exposures 99% consistently.

Left: Unedited photo right out of the camera
Right: I processed in LR, bumping up the white balance to a temperature of 6000, adding a little contrast and a slight vignette! That's all. Simple hey?

Ooh, I love this edit. Once again, I love the warm colours!
Top Photo: Right out of the camera, no editing.
Bottom: Batch-processed in LR; correct color temperature add a little contrast. Also, for this shot I ran an action in Photoshop I created for a little extra "something"--Basically it was just a light brown multiply layer on 30%!

Left: Unedited, straight out of the camera
Right: Batch processed in LR (colour, contrast, vignette) and then brought into Photoshop and once again added a multiply layer at 30% (that's what gives it that great warm feel.)

Top: This is an example of a straight out of the camera unedited image that I have underexposed! I know, I know; terrible hey? But look! I shot in RAW so it turns into the bottom image.
Bottom: Batch processed in LR, bumping up the exposure a little more than usual to brighten the image. A vignette and color, with contrast!

I hope this has answered some of your questions: let me know if there are any more by commenting and I may "edit" this post and add them at the bottom. :)

The Stewarts

2008-10-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

I met up with the Lori, Don, Kyle and Devon on Wednesday afternoon in the beautiful city of White Rock! White Rock is amazing; I just ADORE it! I was commenting as we were shooting that I never go down to the beach enough. It's only about thirty minutes from my house and I loooove the beach when it's rainy and kind of moody--for one, no crowds! The beach on a summer day is just so full of people and cars: not a fan. Back to the Stewart Family! I'm so glad the rain held off; it started pouring today and it was raining pretty hard yesterday as well. This family drove about an hour to the shoot, both ways--thanks again Stewarts!

I loved this green door that I found.

The boys!

I loved this location; it was right near the front door of a restaurant and at one point the manager came out and looked around the corner--checking out what we were doing. Then he went back inside. :)

Pretty cool mural hey?

I LOVE Autumn! I think the leaves look so amazing.

One of my favourites; so cute!

More great color.

Watch the slideshow below or click here to have it open in a new window! The song is "No Sunlight" by Death Cab for Cutie.

portland, OR | travel

2008-10-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in Friday's post my family spent all of Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Portland, OR. What a beautiful city! I have been blessed enough to have been raised in a family that does a lot of traveling--especially throughout the United States. I think we had been to Portland probably twice before, but I never really got to "experience" it! I think the problem with having been raised taking two or three vacations a year is seeing too much at such a young age; I took a lot of what I experienced for granted. Because of that fact, I have such a "bug" to travel back to almost every state I've already been. I think when I was a kid, it was all about getting back to the hotel, questioning where we were going to have dinner, wondering where we were driving to tomorrow. It's probably only been the last two years that I've really grabbed a hold of the true blessings traveling holds! I just love it. I love just taking a couple hours and walking around a city; especially at night. One of my absolute favourite, favourite memories in the entire world was August 2, 2007--I walked around the city of Paris in all its glory until after midnight. There is SO much beauty in the world it just blows my mind and just draws me closer and closer to God every time I see it.

OK, so that was a side-track about my traveling experiences, but back to Portland. A wonderful weekend of...a little bit of rest (not that much sleeping in!) but mainly time with family. Family is the most important thing in my earthly life to me--almost all of my dreams and plans are centered around the wonderful gift called family. As my brother and I grow older, we're attending different schools, no longer driving together to youth events, he's worked part-time for the past three years, and as my business just continues to grow and grow I feel like our family of four rarely gets together as a unit! Vacations are a time of "re-centering" for us and I love it. Just random times of laughter in the car or conversation over dinner, nothing is better.

Friday evening and all-day Saturday was spent with my mom at the Rose Quarter Arena attending the Women of Faith Conference. It was amazing, as always! The speakers and the music was just amazing. (Side Track: Have you all seen this video, called Honest Wedding Vows? It cracks me up when the groom says to the bride, "You think everything is amazing. It's the only adjective you know.") Saturday night my Dad and Brandon picked us up and we went driving around some cool parts of Portland they had scouted out earlier. We walked mainly around this area called Nob Hill--it's SO neat! I found this incredible clothing store: it's like Portland fashion defined in a store. I love that. Think warm cozy knits, with a little bit of military fashion, with a dash of hippie with a little bit of indie groupie--the store had flooring that was the child of green shag and green astro-turf. I only had literally ten minutes to shop but I scoured the store the best I know how and changed into eight outfits in the time period of five minutes and found a shirt. Success! Ah, I don't think I can explain to you how beautiful Nob Hill was! The first store I spotted was Paper Source and I knew the area was going to be fantastic. Throw in the changing autumn leaves, the endless supply of cute little coffee shops and the fact that I was wearing my favourite brown riding boots: a good day.

We decided to go to dinner at P.F. Chang's --one of my favourite favourite restaurants!! We don't have any of them in Canada...or at least not in B.C. anywhere, so we love going out to eat for some good Chinese food there when we're in the States. The last time we went was in Arizona in March. I secretly want to be asian; I love learning about asian culture and especially asian design. Anyway, we had to wait for over an HOUR for our table, but thankfully Powell's Books was right across the street! One of my dad's co-workers had told him about the "best" bookstore in Portland that we had to visit. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. The store had I think, seven or eight different rooms: all labeled by colour that contained different sections! I headed right for the "Business" section, of course, and picked up a few great books and then I finished with a few books from the Christian aisle. We finally got our table at P.F. Chang's and had an amazing meal. When we got back to the hotel, I scurried down to the hotel gym and had a great late-night workout. Phew! After all that, we were finally in bed.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to Aloha, a suburb of Portland to attend LivingHope Fellowship Church, pastored by Jess and Brenda Strickland. Brenda is one of my mom's friends from way-back-when and it was neat to see her again and attend their church. I SO enjoyed the worship and Jess' teaching. My family always comments on how great it is to be able to feel "right at home" when we attend churches in other cities. No matter where we are, we're instantly connected through our faith!

I realize I have written a very long short story and it's time I concluded. I find my "vacation blogs" are always suuuuuuuuper long because I'm usually writing them on my laptop while we're driving on the highway--which is what I'm doing right now. When all you are staring at is mile after mile of dotted white lines, I don't really have a motivation to stop writing. Enjoy the following pictures--a random smattering from our trip.

Our favourite restaurant! We're pretty much addicted. Out of the four meals we ate out this weekend, three of them were at Applebee's. Sheesh.

OK! HAH! Story: so the first night (Thursday) we stayed in Seattle, just because we didn't want to arrive into Portland really late. So, my mom found this hotel with a great rate, especially under the "Senior Rate" which was 50+. Well, both my parents are over 50 and my Dad will be 60 in 2 months, but we don't think anything of it. So because we got the "senior rate" for our room, look what the nice people outfitted our toilet and bathroom with!! Yessss!! I always wonder what I would do if I got stuck on the toilet seat and couldn't get up. Problem solved.

Oh autumn leaves!

Brandon has a hard time smiling for photos. He likes to rock the "uninterested" face.

Dad and I; and just me prancing down the street.

We were walking along the street when I spotted someone I recognized! OBAMA! Say it isn't so. I was pretty star-struck and had to snag a photo to prove I saw him.

Mom and I.

Photo on the Left: CUTE, right?
Photo on the Right: The face Brandon gives me when I make him take photos too long. As he was moving, he was probably saying, "And THAT'S enough." -- I'd bet $50 US on that. And not just $50 CDN. $50 US! And if you know anything about our plummeting exchange rate lately, you will know that that means I'm pretty dang confident that he was saying that.

scott + aubyn | maternity

2008-10-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

Scott and Aubyn are two of my most favourite people in the whole world. &That's not an exaggeration! I first met Scott and Aubyn three or four years ago, when my family started attending Southgate Church. Scott is the youth pastor at Southgate Church and my brother Brandon and I absolutely loved the youth program at Southgate. We got connected right away and the friendships I have built with the other youth and the youth leaders will last for a lifetime, I'm sure! When we started attending youth, we got plugged in to a Lifegroup right away and I attended a Grade 9/10 girls group led by Aubyn, Scott's wife! I'll never forget that the first evening I attended Aubyn had just got home a few days before from their honeymoon. They both attended Trinity Western where they met--Aubyn's father pastors a church in Eugene, OR and Scott's father is the senior pastor of our church.

Scott and Aubyn give and give and give to the church and their city continuously. I am SO inspired by their marriage and their relationship as a couple. Since they got married they have led the Grade 12 boys&girls lifegroup at their home every Tuesday night during the school year. I attended all of last year and loved every minute of it. Scott is also a worship leader at the church and Aubyn often sings on the worship team. Scott is just SO creative and if you know me, you know that creativity inspires me and his music and his love of art inspire me so much! And then there's Aubyn, who has been my role model since I met her as a fourteen-year-old! She is one of those individuals who just shines God's love wherever she goes. I could just go on and ON about these two but I think you'd just have to meet them for yourselves. :) So, it was during our lifegroup last year that Scott and Aubyn announced to us that they were pregnant and expecting their first child! Ahh I was soo excited for them and immediately offered to photograph their maternity session--these two deserve it more than I can express. You are both going to be AMAZING parents! :) I can't wait to meet this little guy or girl in two weeks!

Favourite!

Can you believe how amazingly-gorgeous Aubyn is? She's 8 1/2 months pregnant and as my mom would say, "she's all baby!"

We finished up the shoot at their house where they had this pretty sweet laundry machine just sitting outside.

Scott is a HUGE fan of music--he breathes it like oxygen--and he often puts headphones on Aubyn's belly so the baby can listen to music! Cute huh?

These photos make me smile: I couldn't believe that Aubyn was up for riding a bike! I don't know if I'll be able to when I'm two weeks away from giving birth. This was Scott's idea and I looooove the orange colour of the bike--so "autumn!"

Watch the slideshow below or click here to have it open in a new window! The song is called "Sing, Sing, Sing" by Chris Tomlin and it's AMAZING! I love it.

women of faith conference 2008 - infinite grace

2008-10-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

My Mom and I first attended the Women of Faith Conference back in Fall 2003 when I was in eighth grade. It was such an amazing time of fellowship with other Christian women and just taking 24 hours to spend time laughing and crying and listening to stories of God's grace and amazing-ness! We attended in 2004 in Vancouver again, and then in 2005 in Seattle, and I think again in 2006 in Seattle? I'm trying to remember, but I know my Mom and I have been at least three times. There was a conflict the last two years with the dates, as Women of Faith is no longer making the trek up to Vancouver, Canada and Seattle is our only other option! I believe the Conference was in Seattle at the end of June 2008, but it was my high school grad weekend and it just wasn't going to work out.

However, we saw it was in Portland, OR on October 10th and 11th and were so excited! We've been looking forward to this since last Spring...well pretty much since we left the last Women of Faith Conference. Portland, OR is soooo beautiful. I am not that familiar with the city (we've only been here once or twice, I think?) but I can't wait to get outta the hotel here in a few minutes and see some sights on the way to dinner downtown. I love the Northwest; Vancouver, Seattle, Portland...some pretty amazing cities. Every year the conference has a theme, some of the ones in the past have been "The Great Adventure," "Irrepressible Hope," "Contagious Joy," and this years is "Infinite Grace." I always leave so refreshed and inspired! I had a wonderful sleep in (I consider 8 o'clock sleeping in!) this morning in our Seattle hotel and I am just so pumped for this three day vacation.

The beautiful city of Portland, OR. Image Credit: Google Images

All About the Number 4

2008-10-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

The amazing Kristy Behrs over at Wreckless Photography tagged me in this fun little questionnaire. I just "heart" Kristy's work and the girl inspires me like nuts so make sure you check out her blog.

Four (4) things I did today…
1- Cried while making the 25 minute commute to school while listening to "You'll Come" sung by Brooke Fraser of Hillsong. Don't ask me why I cry when I am in awe. I just do!
2- Desperately tried to breathe through my day, regardless of my lack of sleep last night. I was at the Passion Conference downtown and didn't get into my bed until after midnight. Sad hey? I'm terrible on little sleep.
3- Checked off almost my entire to-do list! It's quite entertaining when I'm tackling my to-do list. I'm usually running all around my house, packaging DVDS, printing labels, scanning contracts, answering emails, scheduling shoots/meetings, pulling my hair out at how full my calendar is and then boiling cup after cup of hot water to make green tea to make this activity all possible.
4- Marvelled at how glad I am the price of gas is coming down. It's come down about 15% in the past two weeks! Yay! Americans, it's still more expensive that your gas, so don't complain to me. I won't hear it.

Four (4) things on my to do list…
1- Study like a madwoman tonight for my Economics mid-term tomorrow and my Business midterm on Thursday.
2- Location scout this evening for a sweet maternity shoot tomorrow for two of my favourite people in the world, my youth pastor Scott and his amazingly beautiful wife Aubyn.
3- Enjoy a relaxing dinner out with the family before driving my brother to his bible study group.
4- Answer all of the questions from the "Ask Jamie a Question Day" post a few days ago!

Four (4) of my guiltiest pleasures…
1- Waking up on a Saturday morning, getting outta bed to go to the bathroom (I just gotta go!) and then climbing back into bed with a good book. Staying there for another two hours.
2- Pumpkin Pie. Need I say more? A-MAZ-ing.
3- Going to a huge used book store and spending a couple hours there. I love to look through every aisle, and just completely stock up on everything my heart desires. I love the mood of used book stores; I could just people watch forever.
4- Dreaming. Dreaming about life, my future, my family, my travels, memories. All of it.

Four (4) random facts about me…
1- I have always dreamed of living somewhere on the East Coast; whether that be a small home in Prince Edward Island, a plantation somewhere in New England, or just a small home in Maine. I adore the feel of the East Coast. The abundance of white architecture, the ocean, the crisp air.
2- I'm such a morning person! Well, I'm not one of those folks that comes "bounding" outta bed all ready to start the day with a smile, but I much prefer my mornings over evenings. After about 10 o' clock at night, I'm really really useless. Don't ask me anything because you'll probably get a jumbled answer.
3- I find myself very incapable of writing short answers to any of these questions. I am learning that I'm not a "girl of few words"--I like to write, a lot. That probably explains the five full journals I have over the past four years of my life.
4- If I wasn't a photographer, I would go to school for Graphic Design. Typography is my absolute favourite.

Four (4) people that I want to tag to pass this onto to hear more about...
1- Sarah Barlow
2- Kristen Leigh
3- Leah Tan (a sweet photographer who I just met last weekend here in Vancouver!)
4- Melissa Jill

Enjoy!!

joe&jodie + mary&ernest | family

2008-10-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

Mary contacted me quite a few months ago about setting up a family session for her and her husband Ernest as well as her brother Joe and his wife Jodie. Joe and Jodie have lived in Los Angeles for the last year and a half, so when we finally co-ordinated a date where the whole fam would be in one place--back in Vancouver. I was terrified it was going to rain--especially since we had a limited window before Joe and Jodie were on their way back to sunny California. The rain managed to hold out just fine (a few sprinkles but nothing major!) and I had such a fun, fun time with this bunch. I was pretty much laughing the ENTIRE time; and that is not an exaggeration--if you have ever spent an hour with me, you know when I laugh my whole face gets into it. My cheeks hurt after this shoot--a good sign of some good company. Thanks again fam! Mary and Joe, I hope your mom enjoys these photos as her surprise Christmas present. :)

Joe and Jody; completely sweet--I loved the colour of Jodie's sweater against the Fall leaves.

Mary & Ernest:

The whole fam! Dogs included. Meet Nelson & Joey. Yes that's right. In this group of six we have a Joe, who married Jodie, and then Mary's dog named Joey, after Joe.

The dogs just like to chill on yellow slides sometimes.

Such a sweet family.

I love that they were up for completely random posing on playgrounds!

The "boys"--Joe, Nelson (the dog) and Ernest. Little Joey is poking her head up too.

Love this shot! Haha, Jodie works for Rock & Republic Jeans in L.A. so of course everyone is completely outfitted in the best denim.

Thanks again you guys! Enjoy!

oh rain.

2008-10-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

there's nothing like standing on my front lawn in my slippers,

and letting the rain fall down all around me:

not even caring that my flat-ironed hair is frizzey-ing by the second.

it was just what i needed to wake my brain up,

back to studying i go: three midterms this week.

send good vibes! thanks for the rain, lord.

&welcome autumn.

Said the Whale (with dancing animals)

2008-10-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

I am kind of embarrassed (side note: do you know that every time I type the word embarrassed; I spell it wrong? Somehow I always think there is one r) that this video makes me laugh like NO OTHER. I have watched it about 12 times in the past 48 hours. It's great entertainment while working and studying. Oh sheesh. You have to give it a chance; the first minute of the video is GOLDEN. Sheer brilliance. It's by a Vancouver indie band called "Said the Whale" (who I had never heard of before my brother shared this video with me!) They have such a neat sound; I haven't had a chance, but I'm going to check out some of their other songs for sure. I hope this brightens your Friday morning.

vanessa & josh | wedding

2008-10-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I spent my beautiful sunny Saturday second-shooting a wedding with Melody Davis all around the Lower Mainland. It was fun to second shoot for Melody, as just six days before, she had done the same for me at Jason and Nicole's Wedding! I started the day off with Josh and his groomsmen in Langley, and met Melody and the girls at Vanessa's Dad's beautiful home also in Langley. After a sweet and totally God-centered ceremony, we all headed off to Vancouver where we photographed portraits in Gastown. The reception was held at the Waterfront Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The entire day was simply a fairytale: Vanessa's dress was stunning on her and I had a pretty big obsession about her shoes, just wait until you see them!

Vanessa and Josh put together a seamlessly stylish day that truly celebrated their love! Obviously, just being a second shooter, I didn't have the privilege of meeting either of them until the wedding day. They are both dolls and just so much fun. They actually first met at TWU, once again, another TWU couple: oh Christian schools! ;) Josh was Vanessa's tutor in one of their Business classes, and that was the first time they became friends. Another note, can I just say one of the goofiest wedding parties ever? They were so up for a good time!

Warning: Major photo overload. I didn't post a slideshow, because I wasn't there for the girl's getting ready, parts of the ceremony and reception, etc, so there are about 35 shots below.

Oh details! Will I ever get enough? I loved Vanessa and Josh's crisp black and white with a splash of green color-scheme.

Cutest. Ringbearer. Ever.

Cutest ringbearer feet (x2) ever.

The ceremony was under three tents in the backyard, and as always, I loved the moment where Vanessa's dad walked her down the aisle and gave her away.

Amaaaazing: their first prayer together as husband and wife.

Married!

Vanessa and her half-brother; don't they look alike?!

During the portrait time, Melody photographed Vanessa with the bridesmaids while I took Josh and the groomsmen for a few shots.

Oh boys. They got a little creative.

I had so much fun taking these shots! It's so rare that I have 30 minutes to "just" focus on the guy's shots; it was a blast.

A fun group pic! Don't you love the bridesmaid's bouquets?

Really really ridiculously good-looking people. :)

Vanessa and Josh really had this exact shot in mind and even brought rose petals specifically for the portrait time. It turned out so cute, but if you saw the series it's hilarious; Josh definitely ate some petals.

The men like to do kung-fu. I was really impressiv with Josh's height in this one, so I had to blog it: check it out, his foot is covering his face! Dedication & Commitment, I tell ya!

Cute cute cute. Amazing shoes.

AH! How funny is this?! Melody totally spotted this in the alley and framed this shot; I can't take credit for it, but I just loooove the caption; we should have crossed out girlfriend and wrote "wife."

I love the lights around Gastown.

Woah.

Once again, Melody's idea; isn't it adorable? The man playing the guitar said, Oh, I can move if you like and we were both like No! We need you in it! :)

So serene!

Ack, they are SO cute.

One of my favourite photos from the day, hands down. Love it in B+W too.

More bridal party fun-ness. This was on the rooftop terrace of the hotel.

This is a shot I didn't want to miss. I caught Josh doing some pretty amazing posing while Melody was off setting up another shot.

Finally a reception detail to finish it off!

Vanessa and Josh, THANK you for allowing me to capture your day and Melody, thanks again for SUCH a fun time. You are SO sweet!

thank-you cards.

2008-09-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

Kristina and Marshall's classy thank-you cards just arrived at my doorstep about forty five minutes ago! We put these on a rush order, so Kristina, if you are reading; these will be shipped out to you and Marshall in the next few days! I never offered thank-you cards before Kristina asked, but I did this little design for them and I love how it turned out: classic & simple. They are simply a 5x7 postcard with a pearl/shimmery texture and are just gorgeous!

ask jamie a question day.

2008-09-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love blogging. I truly do. I love rambling on and on and on about nothing and everything in my day, my week, my life, my business, my faith, school; you get the idea! But sometimes I wonder what you, my wonderful blogreaders want to hear. What should I blog about next? My favourite pair of shoes? My favourite photo taken by my tiny cell phone? My favourite coffeemug? Anything you want to know? My favourite season? When I first knew photography was what I wanted to do? My first wedding? My first portrait shoot? My two favourite vacations? (There's a tie between two of 'em!)

Ask your questions, now! And when I need something to blog, I'll refer back to this post and blog, blog, blog away. Can't wait to hear what you come up with.

Laurell at Wired Monk

2008-09-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

I pretty much just love, love, love live music. In my perfect world, I think I'd go to an acoustic show every week. On Friday night, my family went out to Wired Monk in Kitsilano to see Laurell play. I photographed Laurell in the summer, and since then have seen her play one another time at Wired Monk.

But this time was different! It's actually a really random story, but I photographed Laurell on a Monday, and then two days later, Brandon met her after a church service in downtown Vancouver. A bunch of the musicians from my church were leading worship downtown, and Laurell was talking to the band afterward, saying she was looking for musicians to accompany her at some of her gigs! Brandon sort of half-recognized her (he pretty much half looks at anything on my blog: "oh yeah, nice." Hah!) and they talked about how random it was that just two days before I had met her. Anyway, Brandon played lead guitar with Laurell Friday night at Wired Monk and it was so neat to see him doing his thing. He has such a great ear for music, and my Mom and I were just blown away that he basically memorized all Laurell's songs in one practice; two hours before the show.

While I was listening, I was wishing I had brought my camera to snag a few photos to have something to accompany this blog. Aha! My dad had his blackberry and it was as simple as snapping a few photos and emailing back home to myself. I love technology.

That would be him in his sweet scarf; it was really hot up there, he probably didn't need it. But...y'know. Fashion calls.

Thanks for the great show Laurell! If you are interested in hearing Laurell play she'll be at the Media Club Vancouver on October 16th; and you can also check out my brother there! :)

my growing book list.

2008-09-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Isn't this an unbelievable stack? These are all of the books I have bought in the past few months that I haven't gotten around to reading...pretty much the only time I do read is right before bed. Though, unfortunately as of lately, I work on the computer until about eleven at night and then crash right into bed. After about ten minutes of reading, I'm pretty much exhausted! My favourite nights would have to be the ones where I'm snuggled under my covers by 9:30, book in hand, and then I can just read until about 10:45. Perfect, I tell ya!

Lately I've been enjoying "Can't Buy My Love" by Jean Kilbourne. I bought it from Half Price Books thinking it was a business book, as it was in the advertising/marketing section, but turns out they had misfiled it. It's actually categorized as Social Sciences/Women's Studies on the back cover. I'm glad I bought it anyway! Studies about advertising fascinate me; this book is definitely eye-opening. Each chapter goes through a different 'lie' that advertising projects onto consumers.

People will always let you down, but this product won't. It's also shocking the different ways women and men are portrayed in advertisements. The subtle (or sometimes overt) sexuality of cigarette advertisements is scary. The idea that alcohol is always there for you; a comfort in difficult times. There's also a recurrent theme of trivializing human relationships and marriage and turning to so-and-so's product instead. It's really sad! But eye-opening at the same time; I think it's important to be aware of how the media is portraying things like friendships and relationships & marriage and sexuality in order to protect ourselves from it. Anyway: all this to say, it's a great book if you are interested in finding out what kind of lies we are being fed everyday. You'll never look at a magazine ad the same way again!

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekend. I'm looking forward to a wedding with Melody Davis tomorrow and a restful Sunday of nothing-ness.

jason + nicole | wedding

2008-09-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

I was so afraid we were going to be covered in rain last Sunday. Normally, this wouldn't bother me, because generally I adore the rain, but in the case of Sunday, September 21, rain was the last thing I wanted for Jason and Nicole's wedding day! The forecast called for light rain on Saturday and heavy heavy rain on Sunday. Oh great. I immediately went into action, scouting locations that we could snag some great shots in regardless of a downpour. Saturday came and so did the heavy rains. I prayed that the skies would run out of rain for Sunday after using it all up on Saturday! And that is exactly what happened! SO happy!!

This is a little known Jamie Delaine fact: I have never had it rain on a wedding day. Out of the ten weddings I have photographed this year, zero rain. Zero rain! In Vancouver! That's unheard of! I guess I'm just lucky. I was joking with a bride at my last meeting (whose wedding is in April, a very rainy month) that we'll see how long this streak of mine can keep going.

Nicole and Jason are two of the sweetest, kindest people in the world. They are so fun to talk to, and just put everybody around them at ease. They eloped in October 2007 and decided to plan their 'wedding' for September 2008. It was such an honor to be a part of their day; I love how laid-back and casual it was, but as the same time, just a wonderful celebration of their re-commitment to one another.

As I mentioned in their engagement session post, Nicole is also Dean's (of Dean+Tamara) sister; it was such a blast to get to be a part of yet another celebration in their lives. I saw so many familiar faces and Dean was one of Jason's groomsmen! So fun. Their ceremony was at the picturesque Milner Chapel in Langley with an evening reception way up at the 'Peak of Vancouver' Grouse Mountain.

Love the vibrant colors in Nicole's bouquet!

Nicole's sister Stacey and mom Sherry helping her into her gown.

Classic bridal portrait outside the getting ready location.

These two cute little kids ran outside after us and made sure they got a photo of their own!

SO adorable, Nicole!

A great fisheye shot of the church, thanks to my second shooter Melody Davis!

Loved the bubbles they had outside; such a cool detail.

Melody snagged this shot: isn't the flare awesome? So pretty!

Ahh they are too cute!!

Finishing up with a beautiful reception on the top of the mountain!

Watch the slideshow or click here to have it open up in a new window!

During a break Melody and I had we were taking a few self-portraits for fun! I love to get some photos of my second shooter and I whenever I remember; just fun memories of the work day. This cracks me up! The photo on the right was when I was holding the camera out, the photo on the left is when Melody finally took over. You see...I'm 5"2 with short arms, and Melody is 5"9 with not-so-short arms. Perfect for self-portraits if you ask me!

Thanks again Nicole+Jason!

it's finally here...and i'm giddy!

2008-09-22T21:01:00.001-07:00

Three months of hours and hours and hours of work and late nights and lots of green tea, my brand spankin' new site is finally done! I am SO excited I could scream...and then giggle from the sound of my scream but I'm also so exhausted that I think I would fall over if I exerted that much energy at this time of night.

(Thanks to Sarah Barlow for taking a lot of my new promo shots!)

On the new Jamie Delaine site there are a ton of new images from this summer's weddings, engagements and portrait sessions as well as a handful of slideshows up. If you snoop through the "Jamie" section I'm sure you'll learn a lot more about me than you ever wanted or cared to know. If you go to "Behind the Scenes" under "Jamie" you can watch a promo video by Hello Tomorrow Videography of Adam and Lesley's Engagement Session in July. Thanks Mac for doing such a great job!

There are a few other people I need to thank in this whole process! Thank you so much, David Jay for creating the amazing program known as ShowitSites--it is such an amazing tool and I've enjoyed learning how to use it and seeing all the power it has! Oh, and a big, big thank you to Showit Support for answering all of my stupid little problems so speedily.

Next, to all of my incredible, amazing, wonderful, fun-loving clients I have had the opportunity to meet and photograph this summer. I've been able to witness the most beautiful ceremonies and receptions and capture some beautiful relationships. So thank you!

All of the music playing on the Slideshows section of my site is by Canadian artists who were kind enough to bless me with their songs! Check out Laurell, Maclean, Jacob and Lily, Matthew Walko, and Swingset Champion--thank you SO much!

Ok, enough talking about the site, just go check it out! Enjoy!

denise + brock | engagement

2008-09-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening I drove out to Langley, only a couple of blocks from my University to meet Denise and Brock for their engagement session! I had met them both for the first time only about two weeks previous, and just had an absolute blast talking to them about their wedding at Starbucks. Denise emailed me inquiring about wedding photography while I was on my Alaskan Cruise, and it was just the sweetest email. She was just gushing about my work and how she was so glad she found the perfect photographer and that I was available on their date of June 6th. Denise graduated from Trinity last semester, and her fiance Brock is just finishing up his degree this semester. It was great to be able to chat about all things school-related and talk to two 'veterans' in the whole University experience.

They even met at TWU! During the first week of school, there is an Orientation Week for all freshman and new transfer students. There are a huge group of students that volunteer to be leaders and helpers during this week. Denise was one of the leaders, and Brock, a transfer student, didn't know where to go next. He went up and talked to Denise and they haven't stopped talking since! They are SO much fun and I was very inspired by this shoot; I had an amazing time actually getting out of the office and out of the books and spending some time doing what I love.

There's this great vintage gas station right near where Brock lives.

They have the best smiles!

This willow tree is directly behind Brock's apartment building; it's been a favourite of both of theirs since he's lived there.

This old car was such a SCORE! When I location scouted I had no idea it was hiding in the weeds.

Told you it was a score.

Amaaaaaazing; Denise is too beautiful.

Even though it was thick clouds everywhere, the sky was so calm and felt a little 'stormy' to me; kind of dramatic!

I love this rusted wall I found. These two totally know how to work it!

Check out this location; fantastic.

Watch the slideshow or click here to have it open up in a new window!

little reminders.

2008-09-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Post-it notes are just so handy. I used to use them for my "to-do" list, but that just got realllllllly messy and disorganized. Now I swear by my iCal to keep my school, work, personal and church commitments all mapped out. Problem is, now I can't remember anything without my iCal. My mom will tell me about an event in the upcoming week and I won't be by my computer, so I'll go, "yeah, sounds fine, I can do that!" Well then I get to that day and forget all about it. Oh Jamie.

Anyway, I've found a new use for these cute little yellow stickies: some amazing verses that God has been showing me this week in my morning devotions. I can quickly copy them out and then have them by my workstation all day! I love it.

Isaiah 49:23
"Then you will know that I am the Lord. Anyone who trust in me will not be disappointed."

Proverbs 16:1, 3
"People may make plans in their minds, but only the Lord can make them come true. Depend on the Lor din whatever you do and your plans will succeed."

meetings, meetings, meetings.

2008-09-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am becoming a bad blogger; but right now I'm in full-blown "meeting" season. In the past two and a half weeks alone, I have had seven meetings for Summer '09 weddings. Seen as most of my schedule has been filled with these meetings and not as many shoots, I have been a little lacking in blog material. But honestly, I adore meetings. It is just so great to relax with an adorable couple over a cup of tea at Starbucks! I love it. Well let's face it, I'm a wedding photographer because I love weddings and I love talking about weddings. Every couple has a different story, a different relationship, a different plan for their day! I get to meet the coolest couples and I'm so excited at all of the 2009 weddings I have underway already! What's next on the agenda? Well, I have three weddings coming up in the next six weeks here and then the rest of the winter will be mainly portraits and more meetings...

And yes, you may have noticed the new splash page of the site. The whole site is coming soon, sooooo soon, I just like to be a tease.

...ok, maybe just because I can't find time to finish all the little details.

Darren + Angela | Engagement

2008-09-14T17:25:00.001-07:00

Another simply, gorgeous, magical almost-fall day in the Lower Mainland was the backdrop for Darren and Angela's sweet engagement session. The sun was absolutely STUNNING; some of the best light this year to date, no doubt. This e-session was unique for me as Angela is my second cousin! Well...our grandparents were siblings, so whatever that makes us--we have a relatively small family, so we know all of our "extended" cousins in that sense. Angela and Darren got engaged just at the beginning of the summer and have been planning an Autumn wedding for November 1. When Angela told me that she wanted me to be their photographer, I was so honored! I'm SO excited to capture every detail of all their plans for their wedding day in just less than six weeks now.

Watch the slideshow, set to one of my favourite Brooke Fraser songs below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

Video Blog.

2008-09-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

So, my first video blog! It's a pretty lame first one; only about 45 seconds in length, but I hope to be doing these more often about what's new in my life. It's a lot easier just to talk to my blog readers than type! Sometimes I get a little sick of typing...do you know the feeling? The hand cramp feeling? My pinkies get tired from pressing the shift key as well. Kind of lame, I know.

do you twitter?

2008-09-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

I held out on getting Twitter for the longest time, because quite frankly, I didn't really get it. I still don't really get it, except somehow I feel oddly connected to everybody I 'follow' when I see a one or two sentence updated on what they are doing at the moment. You can update it by cell phone or online, which is kind of cool! And I even have it synced now with my facebook status, so when I update my twitter by phone (say, in the middle of class or something!) it simultaneously updates my facebook. Cool hey? If you are on twitter, give me a shout, or just start 'following' me! My twitter name is jamiedelaine.

Oh and I realize that in the follow screen capture of updates, it looks like I am dying right now. I am not! I do have a lot of work, which explains the slower blogging lately--as I'm currently balancing a full-course load as well as Jamie Delaine Photography. I may complain sometimes at my schedule, but I really do love you all! Thanks for all of my dedicated blog-readers, you guys seem to be multiplying each day and I love reading all your comments. Much love!

mike, debbie, jackson and kinsley | family

2008-09-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

We've been having such beautiful weather here in Vancouver it's unbelievable! No rainy days for the first 7 days of September, and none predicted for the next 14. Pretty unthinkable in the Northwest. On Sunday afternoon I took a drive out to downtown Vancouver to meet up with Mike and Debbie and their two children Jackson and Kinsley. Mike and Debbie are 'distant' relatives of mine--Mike is my uncle Steve's (who married my dad's sister Lyla) brother...does that makes sense? I had yet to meet Debbie or their kids, so it was SO nice to meet another part of my 'family.' They live in a really cool part of downtown and showed me around to some great spots they visit often with the kids.

Jackson SO loves the camera.

Isn't this boy going to be an absolute heartbreaker? He has some incredible locks.

I love the light and colour in this one, just so adorable.

So sweet together.

Kinsley was a little fussy, but I managed to shoot away when she was looking all calm and sweet and adorable just like this!

This wooded area was absolutely beautiful; very surreal!

When Debbie was playing with Kinsley, Jackson saw her stomach and said that his sister was naked! Haha. Gotta love little ones. :)

Do kids get cuter than these two?

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

kristy's baby shower.

2008-09-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

If you are a regular blog reader, you have probably heard about my cousin Kristy and her husband Vince. I posted photos of their mini maternity session, Caleb's first day of life, and Caleb's newborn shots. Today was Kristy's baby shower, hosted by my auntie Lavonne in her beautiful West Vancouver home overlooking the ocean. It was a wonderful celebration and so much fun. I loved all the details Lavonne had co-ordinated, so here are a few shots!

Stunning cake, isn't it? Created by my friend, the ever-talented Shawna.

Some great details of the food-spread:

Gift time!

How CUTE are those shoes??! Oh I just love 'em.

This is Laney, isn't she sweet? We had so much fun together. This is her hanging out in a Babies 'R Us bag, because obviously, we all want to do that. We had a super-fun morning of playing hide and go seek with my aunt and uncle's Border Collie, a competitive game of tag, and some kitchen dancing, because "that is the best spot because of all the space to move." Yes, Laney, exactly.

LOVE these cards that Kristy had a friend make for a birth announcement slash thank you note.

The man of the hour himself, Caleb.

My auntie Lyla and her...sister-in-law's nephew. Yes. Hah!

Seen as I was taking all these photos, here's the one photo I'm in from the morning.

What a fun day! Thanks so much Lavonne for co-ordinating everything! :)

jamie delaine: in action.

2008-09-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

One of the advantages, or in some cases disadvantages (haha!) of having a second shooter, is getting some pretty awesome images of yourself in action on a wedding day. Oh my. Thanks, I guess, to Sherry for taking these! :)

This is me being all super stealth during some beautiful speeches at Kristina and Marshall's reception. Forgive me for my bad posture, photographers, you know what I'm talking about: this is a pretty heavy set-up I have going on in this photo!

This would be right before the ceremony began. In true Jamie Delaine style, I can't stop analyzing this random smile I always catch myself doing when I make an appearance in wedding day photos. I think it's a random "I have ten things on my mind right now, and I feel like I'm focusing on a handful of things, but I'm so stinkin' excited that this is what I get paid to do for a living." Yes, that's the smile.

kristina + marshall | wedding

2008-09-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

Oh wow. Seriously: that is how I can express Kristina and Marshall's wedding day in a two-word sentence. From the first email Kristina sent me back in March about their August 31 wedding in Port Moody, I knew I would just be in love with this couple and this wedding. Kristina had so many ideas about colours and the 'look' of her wedding, from linens to flowers to fashion: all of which was brought to life by Jeanette of Delovely Creative.

Kristina and Marshall set up a wedding website as well, which I absolutely loved! Their 'story' was on there, as well as told during the reception speeches. These two actually dated way back in high school, but didn't see each other until six years after graduation at a friend's wedding. Kristina was living in Denmark at the time, with Marshall here in Canada. They began to date long-distance and continued for two years, with Marshall moving to Denmark for a while and ultimately, Kristina leaving the life she had built in Europe to be with Marshall here in Canada.

Getting to witness your wedding day, Kristina and Marshall was absolutely amazing. Thank you SO much for allowing me into your lives. Enjoy re-living your wedding day through these photos.

I started my Sunday morning in Belcarra, hanging out with Kristina and her beautiful bridesmaids as they prepared for the upcoming day.

Loveee the shoes of course!

I am just in LOVE with netted veils; Kristina's was so fantastic, and I loved the cream flowers.

Some last minute touches.

How cute is this?

I think I could take pictures of this hairpiece all day long. So classy.

I had my wonderful second shooter Sherry helping me out, and she started with the guys at Kristina and Marshall's beautiful Port Moody apartment in the morning.

A cute moment from their "First Look" in Port Moody.

After that it was off to the beach to take a few more shots...

Before we headed to this beat-up furniture store building I have been eyeing for months! I am so glad that Kristina and Marshall are up for anything, because I adore locations like this one.

Can I just say one of the most beautiful bridal parties ever? I adored Kristina's idea for the bridesmaids "dresses"--so chic, and I was loving all of the girl's four (or five?) inch black high heels!

Marshall's sharp-looking Hugo Boss suit went so well with his black skinny tie.

The light was SO perfect! And I loved Kristina's amazing Nicole Miller dress.

You are SO beautiful Kristina.

I thought this shot of Kristina's Mom almost tearing up during the family photos was adorable.

After all the photos were done, it was off to the church! Kristina's family background is Danish, so fittingly their ceremony was held in the Danish Luthern Church of Vancouver. The chapel was stunning with its traditional pews and stain glassed windows.

Love this shot right after their first kiss as husband and wife!

Their love-filled, casual reception was in Old Orchard Hall--the venue had beautiful views out to the water below through the large windows! I love some good detail shots as well:

The newly married couple listening to some very heart-felt speeches.

There was some amazing food and dessert at this wedding; both in look and in taste.

Marshall and Kristina's first dance was to "Like a Star" by Corinne Bailey Rae. It fit the mood: classy, chic, elegant: of their cocktail reception so well. The slideshow at the end of this post is also set to the same song.

And a final first dance shot, taken by my lovely assistant, to end this massive blog post!

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

the search for the perfect bag.

2008-09-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

I have been in love with my Macbook Pro since I got it in April of this year! I adore Apple products and absolutely everything Mac--and it makes sense that I needed a shiny MacBook Pro to match my desktop iMac. However, the one thing I have been in search of since April is the perfect laptop bag! When I travel, I stick my laptop in the outside flap of my big roll-on camera bag, which works just great--same thing for transporting on the way to weddings. However, for school or any of my client meetings, I found myself just carrying my laptop unprotected! Which consequently has led to a few scratches. :) However, I didn't want just any bag. I wanted a pretty bag. Ladies, surely you'll understand what I'm talkin' about!

Finally I sat down in google and typed in 'designer laptop bags'--and the lovely company called Knomo Bags popped up in the search results. Helloooo prettiness! Simply gorgeous. They don't have all of their bag stock available for purchase online through their website, but I found mine through a third party website. It was on sale too! Helloo, good deal alert. It came in six or seven swanky colors, but I saw the yellow and knew it was mine, all mine. Finally, my Macbook Pro has a home.

featured: my favourite 10.

2008-08-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a facebook group for Vancouver Wedding Photographers. Hold the phone for a sec: can I just say how much I LOVE facebook? Not only is it a fun way to waste a few minutes a day, but it's also great marketing for me. I have a facebook group and a facebook page (both of which are a month behind in updating, but hopefully that will change in the next few days): my clients have left the sweetest/nicest reviews about me and my photography and I just think it's so much fun! Check out this latest review from Denis and Abby:

"I hadn't met Jamie until our engagement shoot, so I didn't know what to expect! The shoot went by really smoothly and we had a lot of fun together! She is definitely talented, and I'm so glad I got her now, because in a couple of years, I probably wouldn't be able to afford her. She's got a great eye for detail and is very laid back in her approach, which was nice. We were quite efficient in getting our photo shoot done in only an hour, and I credit Jamie and her great eye for that.

She also understands the needs of her clients and how excited we get to see our pictures! The teasers were up within 24 hours, despite her having to do a wedding, and the slideshow was up in around 2-3 days, which is incredible. You can read my wall and see just how many great comments we've received on our pages - it's like we just got engaged.

Can't wait to see what the wedding pics are going to look like!"

Isn't that SWEET?!

But back to why I started this entry! So, in our Vancouver Wedding Photographers group, which was created by Tracey Heppner, they are featuring a different photographer every week. Tracey asked me to kick it off! (Thanks Tracy!) Part of the requirements were to pick some of my favourite 10 wedding photographs that show my 'style'--Here are 10 from this year's wedding season. And I can't say that these are my absolute favourites, because I have NO IDEA how I would decide that for sure. But I do like these! :)

Tamara's beautiful dress:

Another shot from Tamara + Dean's wedding: I just love the rush of light coming in from the open church doors, and Tamara with her dad.

They had a really fun bridal party as well--we did some walking in the streets.

Arguably, my favourite recessional image from this year! Chris+Lesia look so joyful.

They also had rockin' dance skills.

Oh, Michael and Emma! So ADORABLE together.

The next two shots are from Mike and Amanda's wedding in July. Love it!

Love this moment too, by a dirty old fence on the Sunshine Coast for Nathan and Paula's wedding.

Possibly my favourite mother/daughter capture: from Taylor and Lisa's wedding.

I enjoyed that walk down memory lane: hope you did too! :)

lesley + adam | engagement

2008-08-27T10:54:00.001-07:00

Lesley and Adam's engagement session was an absolute blast! We spent three hours walking/cabbing it all around Gastown, such a cool spot of Vancouver. It was actually kind of funny, because we had been planning this shoot for a month, trying to find a date that would work. We finally picked one, and when I showed up in Gastown, so many roads were blocked off. There was a little thing called Tour de Gastown going on, which involved hundreds of bikers and crazy on-lookers! Woo, that was a challenge. Good thing that most of the locations I had scouted were "out of the way" alleys and that sort of thing.

Keep an eye out, because I have a feeling you'll be seeing this couple again soon...maybe in a different medium: perhaps video? Perhaps on a new website?

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

Spinning towards the future.

2008-08-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

See those little words, wrapped around and around in circles? That's what my head fills like right now. Filled up, to the brim; full. I have so many things on the go, sometimes I think I have gone temporarily (well, let's hope it's temporarily!) insane. I have a lot of new things in the works for my business--I am always growing, always changing, always expanding, always thinking--and I can't wait to see them come to life. One project in particular I've been working for the past two and a half months on.

This summer has been a crazy amazing full-time adventure, and starting Saturday I will be attending Trinity Western University as a full-time student for the Fall and Spring semesters. As a kid, I always dreamed of going to university and never considered that I wouldn't attend! So even when God handed me this incredible career a year ago, and then when He just exploded handfuls of blessings into my life over the past two or three months, I knew I still needed to try the University thing, if only for a year. It'll be a fine balance between social activities, school work and my business: but I'm doing this for me. It's so easy to just have the "me" in your business completely swallowed up. It becomes all about what you're doing, what you're accomplishing, who you're meeting, where you're going:: you can forget about "you!" and in my case, my life goals, my purpose--I'm hoping that these next crazy 8 months when I'm doing full-time school and a full-time business will help me to step back and say, "Who is me? What does she desire out of her life?" It's a weird feeling jumping into such an incredible career right out the doors from high school. I literally graduated and started working ten-hour days at my computer the next day. Eight weeks has gone by and here I am! And I'm about to step through another door in my life, the University door...most likely wearing the shoes pictured above. :)

the joys of photobooth.

2008-08-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

What do you do with one week on a cruise ship with a Macbook Pro?

My week in photobooth pictures. :)

caleb hunter | newborn

2008-08-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning I visited my cousins Kristy and Vince, to photograph some newborn portraits of twenty-day-old Caleb Hunter. Kristy has such a cute sense of style and has been anxiously awaiting her first baby's return, getting the nursery in order and everything decorated perfectly. I just love how everything turned out and Caleb is so adorable!!

Alaska - 2

2008-08-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hello blog world! I am still coming to you from the mysterious state of Alaska. I truly had no idea what it would be like up here before I came! Also, I know I said I wouldn't be blogging again on this trip, but what can I say? I like my readers way too much. And I enjoy blogging! And taking pictures and blogging about them. So it's a win-win-win situation: what gets better than that?

One more photo of the amazing glaciers in Juneau, because I can't resist.

Last night we went through some incredible scenery; probably the most beautiful sight of the week yet! Amazing skies and mountains and snow and ocean and wow. There is this 1/3 mile running/walking track that goes all around the cruiseship and yesterday afternoon I spent about 45 minutes speedwalking outside, just listening to my ipod and taking it all in!

Today our ship docked in Skagway, Alaska in the morning--we went out into the town about noon to explore! It's such a cute little town, I think the population is about 10,000 but so many cruiseships stop here that there are a lot of tourists.

My brother is cute, hey?

This is my attempt at being cute, too.

Brother and sister.

Fact: Jamie Delaine will never turn down a piggyback ride. Unless she has just met you. Or if you haven't brushed your teeth recently. Or if you are smelling a little funky. Or if you are shorter than me, because I'm not sure how that would work, logistically speaking. So I have a few requirements!

Dad and Mom

We stopped in at this great touristy store that had so many wonderful hats and sweatshirts and socks and magnets and keychains and everything else touristy and wonderful! Stores like that just amuse me. I love it. We bought a few knick-knacky things, but of course, my dad and I discovered the hats. I swear I come across as ridiculous on my blog.

We stopped in at "Glacial Smoothies & Espresso" before we headed back to the boat. Seen as smoothies was in the shop title, pretty sure I had to have one. They were SOO GOOD! It took me about 10 minutes to decide which flavor to have because they had about 15 and I can be indecisive... I ended up with blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and grape juice. Good, good.

Note, the nice seed in the middle of my front tooth. Just in case it wasn't noticeable enough, I thought I'd zoom in. I truly have no shame: life is no fun if you can't make fun of yourself! I have the worst teeth for catching pieces of lettuce or seeds or corn or whatever else feels like staying a while. Oh, this photo makes me laugh.

I have this fascination with bicycle photos! I took so many when I was in Europe last summer and when I saw this cute bike against the blue wall, I had to stop and snap. :)

Here's a little gem of my brother and I at dinner the other night. I get such a kick out of genes, and how two people can have so many similar features. It really comes out when we make silly faces or are laughing...when we're serious we just look angry... not alike. Haha!

And to finish off this entry, in case you are wondering what I look like when I blog, this is pretty much it!

alaska

2008-08-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Since Sunday, my family has been on a one-week Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver up to Alaska and back down again! We're at the halfway point now, and we've been enjoying the rest for sure. It is absolute heaven to wake up at whatever time I want and literally have nothing, nothing, nothing to do all day long. Beautiful. There honestly isn't much to blog because we have been doing nothing and loving it! I have been taking photos though, so I thought I'd quickly blog some of them on our very, very ridiculously expensive internet connection. No joke: I paid $60 for 100 minutes...I've been trying to desperately ration those minutes over 6 days. Not as easy as it sounds, because even a quick log-in to check facebook and my email takes about 5 minutes--the internet is also painfully slow.

We pulled out of the Vancouver port Sunday evening and it was cool to see the city from a different angle than I'm used to. Here's a part of the Seawall: a 10k running/walking/biking/rollerblading/whatever-you-feel-like route in Stanley Park. I have never ran this, and it's on my list of things to-do! And soon! Maybe this Fall.

Just a random ocean view:

As we were unpacking in our "stateroom" (seriously, there are no "rooms"--they are all "staterooms"--haha!) I was looking through all my fall clothes that I had brought. I think I'll call this my Alaska outfit:

What do you do when nobody can seem to take an in-focus, well-exposed photo of you, the photographer when you are on a family vacation? Well....this.

Oh Cheese of all cheese. Self-timer family picture sans brother. Love it.

Last night we were having dinner downstairs in one of the restaurants when somebody said that they spotted a whale. So of course, all of us went to the window to try to snap a picture. He never made an appearance, but I LOVE this shot. The water just looks so calm and surreal. Amazing.

This is what happens when my brother gets sick of self-portraits. I love the fact that my face is so obviously attempting to somehow infect the face beside me with the same enthusiasm. Not happening.

Today was the first time we got off the ship, and we docked in Juneau, Alaska. Yesterday morning we were docked in Ketchikan, Alaska but we didn't disembark...we had to be up at 6AM or some ridiculous time for that.

We went into this awesome wool store and we found a plethora of treasures. Haha! My dad grabbed his hat and wanted me to try it on. Of course I wanted him to take a picture. My mom watched all of this, terrified it was going to turn into The Bay in Downtown Vancouver circa last Christmas:

I was desperately looking for a zip-up wool sweater that fit properly. Because these sweaters are just ugly and traditional enough that they "work" if you know what I mean. Just last winter I bought a big swedish looking sweater from American Eagle, which cost twice as much as these ones did! Unfortunately, as you can probably tell from the photo, none of them were that figure-flattering. I was totally digging that plaid one though.

You gotta love passerby's offering to take family pictures. I also love their comments, "Woah. That's a camera you got there." - Yes, yes, it is.

On the bus ride up to a group of glaciers, we drove by these amazing mountains. I just snapped this out the window, but I love how it turned out. So beautiful!

And here is a shot of the glaciers we went to see!

We're back on the cruise now, and we're headed to Skagway, Alaska, where we will be in port tomorrow morning until the evening. Then we'll be headed back to Vancouver where we will arrive on Sunday morning. Because the internet is so expensive and slow, as aforementioned I don't think I will be blogging any more vacation photos! Hope all your weeks are doing well. :)

P.S. In case you are wondering how I've been blogging all these sessions when I've been away; I've just been very very sneaky. I pre-scheduled a blog post for August 18, 20 and 22nd just to keep all of you readers happy. Love J.

jason + nicole | "engagement"

2008-08-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

The temperature in Vancouver was just beautiful last week! I met Jason and Nicole on a very warm and humid Friday night where they live in Crescent Beach. I just adore this little community. It is right on the water, full of neat little alleyways and grassy patches, and lots of colorful buildings. Nicole brought her sister Stacy along to be the appointed "dog-watcher" when Nicole and Jason's two dogs, Onyx and Brandi were not part of the photos. :)

The reason I titled this an "engagement" session is that Nicole and Jason were legally married last year, but are planning to have the wedding they never had this year on September 21, just a few weeks away! I am so honored to be their photographer. Nicole also happens to be Dean's (of Tamara+Dean) sister, whose wedding I shot in May. I was so excited to be given the chance to be a part of another event in their family's life.

I loveeee this shot! It's like a little family photo. :)

After we got a few shots with the dogs, we focused on just Nicole+Jason!

This is another favourite:

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window! The beautiful song is "Raincoat" by Kelly Sweet.

mike + sarah | engagement

2008-08-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday evening I visited one of the coolest areas of Vancouver called Yaletown to meet up with Mike and Sarah for their fun engagement session. These two are getting married on October 18 and I'm so excited for their Autumn wedding. I have a not-so-secret love affair with Fall/Autumn and everything that goes along with it: I'm sure once the leaves start turning there will be a myriad of posts about how much I love it, but for now: back to Sarah and Mike! One of the first things they said is how they were not photogenic and not that good in photos...uh...liars! They were so relaxed and giggly and just amazing in front of my camera. I totally had a blast with them.

I loved this location I found, the windows were so great!

How cuteeee are they?

Sarah, don't kill me for this one. We were shooting and she gave this big open-mouth laugh and she said, "Is my tongue blue?" I just ate a whole bunch of blue jelly-bellys. Haha! I loved it.

I think this was the point where Sarah tried to eat Mike's face. :)

A quick outfit change and a beautiful view of Vancouver's buildings.

I love the closeness in this photo.

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

charlotte deirdre | newborn

2008-08-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Deirdre was born on August 2 at 10:02pm to Rachel and Sean, who you may remember from their super-fun maternity session a few months ago. This was the first time I had done a maternity+newborn session with the same family and it was a lot of fun! Childbirth is so amazing to me...last time I saw Rachel, Charlotte was there in the photos too, but just in Rachel's belly. I'm so glad I got to capture this time in Rachel and Sean and Charlotte's life. Enjoy the photos and the slideshow!

Can you believe this hair? Seriously!

I loved the Charlotte's Web sign on her nursery door; so adorable.

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window! The song is "Morning Lullabies" by Ingrid Michaelson.

laurell

2008-08-14T13:41:00.001-07:00

On Monday evening I had the absolute pleasure of meeting up with Laurell and her manager Sarah in White Rock. I had gotten in touch with Laurell a couple of weeks ago, regarding using some of her music for some slideshows on a new website (shh! keep the new stuff coming on the down-low!) -- I first heard of Laurell's music about three years ago, when she released a worship CD and I've been listening to her on her myspace page ever since! When Laurell mentioned that she needed some new promotional images for a new CD coming up, as well as some press releases I jumped on the chance to spend the evening with her.

Can I just say that this is my absolute favourite shoot: ever. That I have ever ever done. Laurell had put so much thought into every outfit and look and the whole evening was just relaxed and a lot of fun. As you can see from some of the photos in the slideshow, I think I spent a good portion of the shoot with my face flat on the concrete or sitting eye-level shooting. The whole shoot had such a vibe that I just adored! We went to so many different locations which led to a huge variety of images. I walked away feeling very inspired and actually, a little refreshed in my photography. I think it's important to have a shoot like this every now and then that pushes you creatively and gets you thinking out of the box. Enjoy!!

Thanks again you two! Laurell, for being an amazing model and Sarah, for being the best "shade-provider" I could have asked for. :)

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window! The song is "Shut the Door" by Laurell, of course.

Oooh! And if you'd like to see Laurell live and you live in the Vancouver area, make sure to come on out to the Wired Monk coffeshop in Kitsilano on the evening of August 28th. You'll be sure to see me there! :)

nathan & paula | august 9, 2008

2008-08-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

I woke up at the very ungodly hour of 4:30AM on Saturday morning, to start the travel to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia for the wedding of Nathan and Paula. Thankfully I did have some company for the hour drive, hour line-up and hour ferry ride. Eileen Whitmore came with me and served as my wonderful second shooter and assistant for the day! Thanks Eileen! Nathan and Paula's wedding day was unique in so many ways: for one, it was on Paula's grandparents summer home which has a massive amazing view of the Pacific Ocean in all its glory. Incredible. You could literally hear the waves crashing during the ceremony. Nathan and Paula also chose not to have a bridal party, because they both had too many friends to decide which to include/exclude! The day was relaxed, fun and full of some incredible incredible food. Nathan and Paula also had raspberry sorbet as part of the dessert buffet--I think I like these two. :)

I was really feeling Paula's Grecian theme: the dress, the hair, the shoes: adorable.

I loved this idea; it totally tied in their beachy theme.

Paula and her dad walking down the aisle.

You can't tell by this photograph, but the whole ceremony looked out on the ocean, right behind the arch. Amazing!

Paula has the cutest laugh!

Ceremony close-ups have to be some of my favourite shots. I love all the emotion you can catch. It truly is the most "candid" emotional moment of the day.

After the ceremony, we walked down to the beach for some more photos.

I love this shot that my second shooter Eileen captured. Such a great angle!

I saw this fence and those weeds and knew I needed to use this spot! I said to Paula, How do you feel about sitting down in your dress on the ground here? I love brides who are up for it!

We had some amazing skies.

I love the locations we found, I don't think I've had a wedding with this much variety before.

One of my favourites!

So sweet. This was completely unposed. Paula is due with her and Nathan's first child in January and they are both so excited for it to come.

Some glances during the speeches.

Paula and Nathan also decided against a head table, or even a sweetheart table, but rather sat with their friends! Love it.

Their first dance to "These Are the Days" by Van Morrison...anybody who has their first dance to a Van Morrison song is a friend of mine. Who else is just in LOVE with his voice?

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

simply resting.

2008-08-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a little disappointed in myself; it's been four days since I last blogged. I was on quite a blogging roll, and enjoying it, too. I haven't gone four days without blogging in a long time (with the exception of my trip to San Francisco earlier this month: even then I blogged the morning I left and then a day after I returned!) Anyway, this blog post is going to be a little scattered: and I guess this is what happens when I go four days without blogging; too much to write!

I shot Nathan and Paula's beautiful wedding on the Sunshine Coast yesterday. We had about three hours of travel time (including driving: waiting in lines, ferry, then driving) on each end of the ten hour wedding day coverage: safe to say it was tiring, but so worth it. My next wedding is not for three weeks: this will be my first week without a wedding since the end of June. I'm looking forward to a week away on an Alaskan Cruise coming up--I just feel myself needing the break real soon. I've done what feels like a lot of traveling in the past few weeks/months, shot a lot of weddings, worked with some amazing couples and I'm thrilled with how my summer has being going so far. I have been so blessed; no doubt.

When I was in Chicago, Sarah played this amazing song from her Ipod on our way downtown one morning. It's called "How He Loves Us" and it's by Kim Walker of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. It's an eight-minute live song that blows my mind every time. Kim's passion is incredible. I was talking with my second photographer/assistant Eileen yesterday as we were coming home from the wedding about God's love. It truly is so incomprehensible that I feel like I experience just a tiny bit more of it every stage, every season, every year of my life. What a gift that Kim Walker has! God has ministered to me through her song so abundantly this week.

Sarah sent me the .mp3 and I immediately put it on my iPod. I went for a run on Friday (long overdue; last time I had ran was Monday and I was craving it!!) and when "How He Loves Us" came on at the end of my run I ran twice as fast and ran 1/2 mile more than I was planning: the song is just that good I didn't want to stop. Also, listening to how amazing and loving and caring of a Father we have, I knew that he would give me the strength to run 100 miles if I needed; so surely I could run another half a mile.

I encourage you to watch/listen to Kim's song at the end of this post and just take today to reflect on His love, His rest. I know that's what I'll be doing. There are some beautiful blue cloudy skies out in Vancouver today (rare! usually we are all clouds and no blue!) and I'm planning to stretch out on the back deck and read a good book. A well-deserved rest.

alan & emmy | august 2 wedding

2008-08-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

During my time interning with Sarah at the Barlow house, I had the opportunity to second-shoot with her on the August 2nd wedding of Alan and Emmy, an absolutely beautiful couple! They were married at Willowcreek Church in Barrington, IL and the reception was held at the amazing Apple Orchard Emmy's parents have owned for the last twenty years.

Loved Emmy's bouquet: she had her initials E and H in little crystals admist the flowers!

I was mostly hanging out with the guys before the ceremony and Sarah was covering Emmy and her girls. Here's a shot of Alan and his men looking very suave.

Emmy's dress was so incredible and wait until you see the lace bolero she wore it with.

Emmy and her father, walking down the aisle to meet Alan:

I fully enjoyed Emmy and Alan's beautiful ceremony. The pastor gave a very powerful message on the choice and the decision to love one another. Emmy and Alan declared "they will" love each other and commit to one another, not that "they do" because "I Do" is for the present, "I will" indicts the future. Such a good message!

I very much enjoyed watching Sarah during the bridal party portraits time. She has such a great, fun style! It's really great to get opportunities to work alongside various photographers; everybody does something just a little different. I love it. We had some AMAZING skies in Chicago that day. Wow.

This is SO fun. I think this was the awkward moment when Sarah told them to just 'make out in the middle' and they were a little shy...

Watching around the beautiful property.

Hello, beautiful couple!

She has a fantastic laugh.

I told you!

Mmmm, such a favourite.

Details, details, details. This wedding was stunning. Sarah and I kept saying the whole evening, "This is pretty much my perfect wedding. Right here."--so in the end we decided we'll just save some money and get married on the same day, at the same venue. Yeah, good plan, hey?

Introduced for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Alan

Their first dance was very cute and classic.

Every detail was so perfectly coordinated: including this classically simple cake.

I just love the idea of a sweetheart table: a table for two. It's so personal and intimate and really...the day is pretty much just about the bride and groom right? The bridal party can get out of the spotlight for the evening. :)

Sarah and I were looking at this light out of the windows inside the venue as the sun was going down and we knew we had to take Emmy and Alan outside for a few portraits before the night was over. Isn't the sunset stunning?

Mmm. So warm.

Some fun with some sparklers while we were waiting for the Hay Rides to start.

The whole wedding was full of so much love and life and fun. I loved that the real "program" of the reception was over by about 8 o'clock and the guests were free to fellowship and enjoy the company of other guests and to visit with the bride and groom. There were even hay rides that us photographers definitely took advantage of. The tractor drove two trailers all around the property, right up into the beautiful apple orchards. At dusk, the light and the sky was gorgeous; what a fun activity after the reception! The reception also had a free espresso bar (hello!!) and a photo booth (I have to admit we went in twice...pictures will come soon).

I don't think I have ever had this much fun at a wedding. I also don't think that I will ever shoot a wedding by myself again! What a difference it makes to bring somebody along that you know and can laugh with while working. Sarah, my fellow intern Vicky and I were laughing the whole day. We were there for 10 hours of coverage, but after our working hours ended at 9:30PM, we stayed until 11PM! We actually got a little crazy as well and fully enjoyed dancing to some music that I never want to listen to again (rap? hip hop? R&B?) and singing a pretty rad Karaoke rendition of "The Time of your Life" by Green Day. Oh my goodness it was fun. If any Vancouver photographers are reading this right now, email if you are fun and would like some consistent second-shooting gigs! :) Because I was just second-shooting, I don't have a slideshow to post of the day, but you can check one out on Sarah's blog.

I cannot believe everything is over and I'm typing this back in my Vancouver office! This week has gone by incredibly fast. Sarah and her sister Natalie are already making plans to come visit Vancouver in December and I'm coming back out to Chicago next May! Meeting new friends so far away is really a bummer; sometimes I wish I had a private jet and a bottomless bank account so I could visit for a random weekend every now and then. But that's just a dream. Happy late Wednesday night, or early Thursday morning.

steve's birthday

2008-08-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday night, Sarah, Vicky, Natalie, Andrew and I were invited to Steve's birthday party at the White Chocolate Grill in Naperville. Steve is a photographer as well, who has assisted Sarah in the past and is just starting to get into weddings as well as portraits. It was a lot of fun, and it's safe to say we were laughing the entire night through. The food at the White Chocolate Grill was just amazing! And they had some really great decaf coffee; which I'm always a fan of, obviously!

I have to say, we all lived up to the dress code of "Dress to Impress"--Steve is a real fan of fashion, and he wanted the dress code to be stylish and sophisticated. I think we definitely were. How fun is getting dressed up?? So fun. One of my favourite parts about hanging out with Sarah is that we are the same pant size. Yesterday we were at the Chicago Premium Outlets and I tried out a pair of ash-gray skinny jeans. She loved them and we went up to the till together with two of the exact same jeans. That being said, I wore her amazinggg wool jumper from Banana Republic to dinner and just loved it.

A sweet self-portrait.

Sarah at dinner!

Me, doing my best model pose outside. Please excuse the blurry photos.

The whole group outside the restaurant.

Happy Birthday Steve!

Ok, I have a story about this. For some reason the topic of learning how to tie a tie came up, and then Steve and Andrew got into a pretty intense tie-tying battle. I love this series.

After watching that epic battle, Sarah and I decided to give it a go with our necklaces. Who could put our necklace on the fastest...WITH our eyes closed. Yeah, I won! Woohoo.

I just love this. So amazing. Randomness and quirkiness makes me so happy sometimes.

And here's a fun slideshow of our evening!!

in the city.

2008-08-03T12:13:00.001-07:00

Here are a few more photos from my trip so far! These were taken on Thursday, when we spent the whole day in the city. Starting at Laura's, one of Sarah's past interns, apartment that she shares with her sister. We walked to the beach and hung out on the beautiful and hot sand of the Michigan Lake. That was really cool; I have never seen a lake so huge--if you blindfolded me and dropped me on that beach I would have sworn it was the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean for sure! We just spent a chill hour or so there, just talking and me and Laura sharing indie bands that we adore. Haha!

Next, it was back to Laura's apartment to just hang out some more, before we went to Whole Foods for lunch. I think we have one right downtown Vancouver, but I've probably been there only once? If that. And I definitely haven't ate there. They have a great section with hot food and a salad bar. Add in some more hanging out and relaxing time, finished with some incredible americano at the coolest coffee bar Laura showed us. Such a fun day!

This is my "I'm drinking really good coffee" face.

We saw this in a store window. We affectionately named it the world's ugliest wedding cake.

Some quick shots from Laura's apartment: so amazing.

Of course, last night was another fun day, as we celebrated Sarah's friend Steve's 23rd birthday at a restaurant. We did not stop laughing for about four hours. After that, Natalie and I laughed so hard we were crying, and I'm pretty sure that is laughter is the best medicine I'll be healthy until I'm 82. Yeah. It was THAT bad. I think Sarah and Vicky would testify to that.

my birthday with the barlows.

2008-08-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

My birthday every year is so different and I just love it. Life is boring when it's all the same. I've had birthday parties in my backyard, at a waterpark, the pool, a bowling alley, Boston, Paris, and this year: Chicago. So perfect. The Barlow Family has done nothing but bless me since I've arrived! I find it so amazing that they welcome all of Sarah's interns into their home with just open arms and totally inconvenience themselves for us. The family really tried to make my birthday special and were so sweet about singing me happy birthday, even little two year old Julianna.

Nancy, Sarah's Mom, decorated the room Vicky and I are staying in: (It's called the Olivia Suite, even though five-year-old Olivia and two-year-old Julianna share it)

Just a quick birthday self-portrait before we left for dinner:

Natalie and I outside Grotto Restaurant.

Sarah and I outside the restaurant as well! Trying to catch the last bit of light before the sun went down:

Vicky, the other intern and I.

Blowing out the candle on my lemon sorbet: sooo good.

Pretty much one of the best gifts I have ever been given. Sarah was SO intent on finding out exactly what I liked oh-so-subtly for the days before. She got me a Banana Republic gift certificate (my favourite clothing store), the new Where the Light Is: John Mayer CD and Concert DVD (my favourite singer) and dark chocolate (my favourite dessert...well tied with lemon sorbet, but she had that covered) and then she went and wrapped it in a bag from Target. (They have the best stationary and wrapping stuff there!) And...we went to such a funky restaurant, but beforehand, we went to Target (which I love!) and then browsed through Pottery Barn and Crate&Barrel. Amazing. Seriously. I also got to wear the new pair of four-inch-heels I bought when I was in the city on Thursday. Fantastic.

happy birthday to me!

2008-08-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

At two minutes after six o' clock in the morning (PST of course!) a few handfuls of years ago, a little girl named jamie delaine was born. And here I am, posting at the exact. same. time. eighteen years later! This year I'm celebrating my birthday with Sarah and the Barlow family in Chicago, IL. Last year, I was in Paris on my birthday and this year I'm in Chicago. Not a bad two birthdays, if I do say so myself.

This is Sarah's adorable and beautiful sister Natalie and myself,
taking the typical Chicago touristy photo at The Bean...or Cloud Gate in Millennium Park.

So much has happened this year it has just been absolutely mind-blowing and just completely humbling at the same time. God has poured out his blessings on me, every single blessed day: truly AMAZING what I have seen happen in my business and personal life over the last twelve months. I am so excited to see what the next year holds and just can't wait for all the growth and change I am going to experience. I'll be sure to post some more photos of my adventures here in Chicago, but right now I'm headed to this BEAUTIFUL lake in Glen Ellyn where I'm going to go for a birthday run.

mike + amanda | july 26 wedding

2008-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

After Mike and Amanda's fun, adorable e-session a few months ago, I was definitely looking forward to their wedding! It was a perfect July day, not too hot, not too breezy, a little bit of sun but just enough cloud to make for some amazing photos. I started the day with Amanda and her girls at Spa Utopia. After all the hair and makeup appointments were finished, we headed for some pre-ceremony pictures at Amanda's aunts house. Mike and Amanda chose to see each other for a "First Look" in order to fit in the wedding portrait session before the wedding: which I love of course! It makes the ceremony and reception flow so much more smoothly and just makes the day more enjoyable in general. Thanks again for such a beautiful day you two: you are just too sweet and too considerable and too adorable to be real. :) Hope you are having a wonderful week in Mexico right now.

I loved Amanda's feather hair clip. Definitely reminded me of the 20s or something:

Mike waiting to see his bride for the first time:

How CUTE is that?

The guys, just hanging out:

This field was so great:

One of my favourite bridal party photos!

An officially way too cute flowergirl that was a little distracted during the ceremony.

Their whole day was so emotional, they both teared up!

Almost always my favourite image from a wedding is as the bride and groom are exiting the ceremony!! Love this capture.

Some fun details:

I almost wanted to cry during the many toasts: Mike and Amanda's families are so great.

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

caleb hunter

2008-07-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, my only female first cousin Kristy and her husband Vince had their first child at 10:03pm Sunday night. His name is Caleb Hunter and here's some photos I snapped of him during our short visit yesterday on the way to the Vancouver Airport. I can't get over how CUTE he is. Seriously. He was only twelve hours old in these pictures! Usually I'm not a real baby person, sometimes they look a little squishy and odd at first: but he is so beautiful. This is so exciting for our family, because it's the first great-grandchild for my grandma. Also, Kristy is an only child, so it's the only grandchild for both of her parents. And then, with her being the only girl out of my five first cousins: that's pretty special as well!

The happy parents!!

I was so excited that I got to see him before I had to leave for Chicago yesterday. Speaking of that, I had a veryyy long day. I was supposed to fly out at 2PM in Vancouver. Well, they were calling for volunteers about 40 minutes prior to boarding time, who would give up their seat as they had overbooked the flight. (Is this normal practice? Like honestly...don't you know how many seats the airplane holds? I don't understand). They kept calling, calling, calling and I saw a couple of people go up and volunteer their seats. Well, I get up there to board and the guy says to me, "Oh, sorry ma'am--you were one of our volunteers." Honestly. Yes, he said that. "You were one of our volunteers." He didn't even say, unfortunately you were bumped here's what you can do. I was not a volunteer! Sheesh. Whatever. So I was a little upset, because I was already just exhausted from my Saturday wedding and basically my whole life lately.

Turns out I left Vancouver at 3:15PM, flew into Denver. Had about 40 minutes there to check my email, grab a quick garden salad with chicken and then I flew from Denver to Chicago. A direct flight would have been MUCH nicer. By the time I got my baggage and we drove to the Barlow's house here in Glen Ellyn (30 minutes outside of Chicago) it was 12:30AM. I had a good sleep though, so I'm all ready for the week's events upcoming. I should have Mike and Amanda's beautiful wedding blogged by tomorrow as well. Until later!

all ready to go!

2008-07-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

This is my 'I'm all packed up and ready to fly to Chicago so double thumbs up!' face. I have many different expressions, y'know. Woah. I cannot believe it's July 28th already. The last few weeks before a trip always fly by and these last few days were no exception. With my four local weddings, and travelling to second-shoot a wedding in San Francisco, quite a few portrait and engagement shoots, working on a new website and deciding on new promotional materials: I am pooped to say the least. Combine that with the never-ending 'to-do' lists to ensure my camera and personal stuff is all packed for my trip makes for a very hectic time.

I am SO excited to meet Sarah and to settle in with her family for the next week and a bit. I also can't wait to see Chicago, because out of the twenty-five US states I've been to, Illinois is NOT one of those! I'm also excited for just a nine-day break--honestly, I love my job, but I have never experienced a more crazy month in my entire, entire life. Complete exhaustion defines me right about now. I'm looking forward to a refreshing time in a new city with new friends.

My Mom, Brother, Aunt and I are stopping by the hospital to meet my cousin Kristy and her husband Vince's new baby boy!! We waited up late last night to hear the news. Kristy's Mom lives about two hours away, and by the time she heard about the labor and caught a ferry, she wasn't at the hospital until 11:45PM. The baby was born at 10:03pm and weighed 7 lbs 13 oz! We didn't get the phone call until 12:35AM, because Vince wanted Sharon, Kristy's mom to see the baby and know the gender first. The boy's name is Caleb Hunter--isn't that cute?! I'm sure I'll snap a few photos.

Happy Monday, everyone. Wish me safe travels!

taylor and lisa | wedding

2008-07-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 12, Taylor and Lisa were married at St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco. They had a beautiful reception at The Westin right downtown on Market Street. Of course, I was assisting the lovely Melissa Jill and you can check out some of her shots from the day here!

One of my very favourite shots: loveee the moment between Lisa and her mom!

Lisa fixing her brother's boutonniere as her dad looks on.

I loved this shot! I rarely get this perspective from up above, because I'm so short, but I lifted the camera high above my head and it turned out perfectly.

A sash with a brooch? She is a girl after my own heart.

The Westin (where the girls got ready) had the sweetest lounge room in their restaurant downstairs. I just loved the wallpaper.

They rented a trolley/cable car in true San Fran style.

Loved the details; such a sweet, classy affair.

Their first dance was to Fly Me To the Moon by Michael Buble. So much fun!

Lots of laughs during the reception, as always. Aren't they just so cute? Melissa, thanks for inviting me along to shoot with you and for the opportunity to spend a weekend in a great city. Taylor and Lisa, I wish you all the best and congratulations once again!

nathan + paula | engagement

2008-07-25T09:42:00.001-07:00

Paula and Nathan are tying the knot on August 9, 2008--yes, that's right, in just two weeks! I talked to Paula on the phone back in March or April when she was searching for a photographer for their August 2009 wedding. I had not heard from her for a few months when she contacted me just three weeks ago. Nathan and Paula had just found out that they were expecting their first child in January and decided to move the wedding up a year. I'm SO excited for their beautiful wedding: they are having a celebration with 120 guests on Paula's grandparents' beach-front summer home. Thanks for making the drive out to Fort Langley all the way from Vancouver last night you two. Pleasure to meet you and see you soon! :)

Oh, how pretty is sunlight?!

After a quick outfit change, we were ready to go. Don't you just love Paula's heels?!

One of my favourites:

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

Melanie, Serge & Kennedy | Family

2008-07-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have known Melanie and her family for at least ten years now. We attended the same church up until about three years ago and I grew up in Sunday school with her two younger sisters. Mel comes from a family of six kids, and I remember lots of after-church Sunday brunches with everyone. Now she's married to Serge and they have Kennedy, their two-year-old daughter who looks exactly like her mom! Kennedy is FULL of life, that's for sure. She will talk your ear off about everything and makes the funniest faces. If you ask her to smile, she'll say "Cheese!" and scrunch her face up real big. If you watch the slideshow I'm sure you'll see the same face on 1/2 of the photos.

Melanie and Serge had picked out some great spots for us to photograph in Abbotsford where they live, including Clayburn Village: this cute little historic spot I didn't know existed! After we finished up there, we drove to the water and got a few shots along the beach as the sun was setting. Thanks for a fun evening you guys!

Ok, folks. Settle in: there's a funny story about this next shot. It was in front of this shed, just near the side of the road, so I got the family to sit in front. We're just shooting away, and I'm really liking the light and everything and this older man walks by with his little chiwahwah. Here was our ensuing conversation.

[Chiwahwah Man]: Oh, is this a...photography thing?
[Jamie Delaine]: *polite laugh* Uh, yep! *more giggles*
[Chiwahwah Man]: Oh.
[Jamie Delaine]: *Silence* (Wishing he would leave and let me keep shooting!)
[Chiwahwah Man]: I used to teach photography a few years ago.
[Jamie Delaine]: Oh, really? That's awesome. *more laughs* Yeah, I really love it. It's great. *giggle*
[Chiwahwah Man]: Do you want me to give you a few tips?
[Jamie Delaine]: Um, no, I think I'm okay, thanks!

At that point I just stared into my camera and started to take photos again, hoping he'd just move! And then very slowly, he started to walk down the road with his tiny little dog. A few minutes later, I was thinking, "Why didn't I say yes?" Seriously: I am so curious as to what the "tips" he was offering were. Was he going to give me a lesson on formal groupings? Oh sheesh. Anyway, hope that makes you laugh! Mel and I laughed about that for the next ten minutes.

Just stopping to smell the flowers!

Love this one; one of my favourites. Isn't the Fresh Flowers sign cute? Apparently just the owners of the home run it. There is always flowers out front, with a little sign that says "Be Honest" and a bucket where you pay for them!

I love the light just before the sun sets. Gorgeous.

These are called 1, 2, 3 Whees! They look like fun. I wish two giants could grab my hands and let me try sometime.

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

Kristy, Jay & Cyan | Family

2008-07-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

The first of my two family sessions on Monday evening was with Kristy, Jay and their daughter Cyan. Kristy is really good friends with Chelsea, whose family I photographed a couple of months ago. Kristy and I have been trying to set up this shoot for about the last eight weeks, but scheduling conflicts and sickness got in the way a few times. I was amazed to hear that when Cyan was only three days old, she had open heart surgery. Cyan's first birthday was in May and I can only imagine the celebration that would have been: what a scary thing for a family to experience at such a young age. Because of that, Cyan's health is not always the best and she's been battling a little bit of a cold/flu for the last few months.

But we finally got together and made this session happen, and I'm so glad we did! Kristy had a bunch of great ideas for the shoot, and brought two adorable outfits for Cyan. I was also really loving the tiny rocking chair that snuck in for a few photos. So adorable!

This has got to be one of my absolute favourite images from the session:

Oh my gosh. Red shoes, are you kidding? So cute!

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to have it open up in a new window!

san francisco sight-seeing

2008-07-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

So I finally found twenty spare minutes to resize these photos and get them up on the blog! These are from a week and a half ago, and the 72 whirl-wind hours I spent in San Francisco with Melissa Jill shooting Taylor and Lisa's wedding (I promise to post up a handful I shot from that wedding as well.) We walked around the city on Sunday, the day after the wedding for about six hours, just shooting and talking and seeing the sights. I LOVE doing that in a new city. I had been to San Francisco before, but definitely saw some neat and different areas this time!

Here's the breakfast place right across from our hotel room that we ate at all three mornings. I know, we're not that adventurous: but it was reasonably priced, relatively quick and very good! :)

Our hotel, Sir Francis Drake.

Some shots inside the fancy lobby.

Love the architecture around San Fran.

The "Seven Sisters" in Alamo Square (apparently wiki calls them the Painted Ladies!)

We sat in this grassy shady park for at least a half hour just hanging out and relaxing. It was so calming I don't think any of us wanted to get up. Except Tim. He was getting a little fidgety. We tried to get a self-portrait of the three of us with Melissa's camera, and seen as Tim had the longest arms, he was appointed the photographer. We tried like twenty times, and they were all out of focus and blurry. Partly this was because Melissa refused to change her custom settings and just make it easy to focus using the shutter button!! Sheesh. Haha, just kidding girl. In the end we got one photo in focus, but Melissa made me promise not to post it here because we all look a little unfortunate. That's what twenty failed self-portraits and a wide angle lenses will do to a person.

Here's a photo of Melissa and I...once we gave up on the self portrait.

Cute little flowerstand.

Then it was onto Chinatown!

That's all I got! I took a few shots at nighttime the last night I was there as well which I may post up in the next few weeks. I had two family sessions last night that are in the blog line-up, and also have two e-sessions in the next three days. Coupled with a wedding on Saturday, I'm going to be a blogging fiend before I leave for Chicago on Monday to stay with Sarah Barlow.

michael + emma | july 19 wedding

2008-07-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

Michael and Emma were officially married in Seattle temple on July 18, but threw a big reception and a small ring ceremony for the next day: which I was there to capture. Their wedding was held in Michael's parents backyard, a beautiful property in South Surrey. I don't feel like I could accurately sum up the day in one short paragraph!

The weather was just perfect, some beautiful sunshine with a slight breeze. The ceremony, the portrait time, the speeches, the dinner, the dancing: it was all full of love; a whole lot of love! And a little goofiness. Emma and Michael are two of the goofiest people--and I love goofy. I don't think I have seen a more affectionate groom than Michael to his bride. Emma is sweet and kind and shares my shoe fetish, which her dad claims goes back to the toddler years. Michael and Emma, I felt very welcomed and loved by your family and enjoyed witnessing your first day as a married couple. I hope you are both having a wonderful time in Oregon for your honeymoon!

The wedding had this beautiful, 'garden party' type theme:

Emma's shoes and lace dress (did I mention she adores lace too? My kind of girl) -- oh and check out the leopard print on the inside of the shoes!

A few bridal portraits before the ceremony.

I loved the lights they had hung across the ceremony site/dance floor for later; a great idea!

Love the vintage feel of these two.

I was just in love with this field! I found it last week when I was out location scouting and knew it would be perfect for them.

A fun party was waiting for them back at Michael's parent's place after portraits.

The speeches were filled with laughter and tears, I loved some of the expressions I caught.

Michael delivered the most beautiful toast to his bride at the end of the speeches: promising to always honor, cherish, respect, love and take care of her forever. It was very emotional and I think I saw a few tears in the house! Emma's look here says it all.

Meet Maceo: the ringbearer! His dad carried him down the aisle during the ceremony and then carried him over to Michael's best man to give the rings. Hah! He was just chilling on the grass eating some strawberries when I snuck up on him and caught these.

The first dance, to "God Blessed the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts.

At the end of the night, they planned to make a quick get-away and just start enjoying their vacation together. After a crowd of family and friends followed them to the front door it wasn't that "quick" but after a few hugs they were on their way. Make sure you check out the slideshow to see the hilarious decorated car they drove off in.

Watch the slideshow below, or click here to open it in a new window.

a visual.

2008-07-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

As I was processing Chris and Lesia's wedding, I found this quick self-portrait (with a cameo appearance of a blurry Lesia). In case you were ever wondering what I look like on a wedding day: here's your visual. And yes, this post does contain some relevance because in a half hour I'll be running out the door to capture Emma and Michael's day, probably in the same dress outfit as this photo. ;)

Enjoy your Saturday, folks!

birthday details

2008-07-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I realized my birthday was coming up pretty quickly. It's on August 1st, but somehow it seems that every year the majority of my friends are away! And for the last two years I was away on my birthday as well. This year is no exception, as I leave in 9 days for Chicago, and won't be back until after my birthday. I wanted to celebrate before, but I didn't have anything planned.

Maybe it's just my love of wedding magazines, but when I hear party, I immediately think centerpieces, patterns, details, flowers, dessert! But I've learned (through failed attempts at craftiness) that it's easy to just think about something beautiful, but to actually make it come to life is entirely different!

I decided I was going to test my domestic ability: and no, I am not destined to be a cake decorator, designer, or event planner, but after a long afternoon of cupcake-baking and final touches I'm really pleased with how everything turned out. Here's to birthdays lasting for two weeks! :) After all...it's a birthday MONTH right?

an unexpected gift

2008-07-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

To use a quote from Finding Forrester, there really isn't much that can beat "An unexpected gift at an unexpected time." If I receive a handwritten card or note or anything cute in the mail, I just get so excited and thankful. It's something about another person sitting down, taking time out of their day to do something for someone else. It's so selfless and whenever I am blessed like I was last week, it reminds me stop and think beyond myself and to give my own unexpected gifts.

Last March when I visited Arizona for Spring Break vacation, I met up with three photographers in the area one day for a quick lunch. Rachel Priddy was one of those photographers and we've stayed in touch since then through quick facebook notes and a couple of emails. She asked for my address a month ago saying she had something to send me. Right away, I was so curious! However six weeks went by and nothing had come yet...so I kind of forgot about it.

But after I left for San Francisco on Friday, my mom let me know via email that a really cute package had arrived. I knew it must be from Rachel right away! That night in San Fran I got on Melissa's computer and Skyped to my parents back home. My mom "virtually" walked me through my package; opening the bow, the box, showing the cookies: it was so funny. The cookies are created by a company called Flour Pot Cookies -- their website looks so cute! Brides, if you are looking for really cute favors for your guests, look no further than this website.

Rachel knows me too well; I remember talking about the two pairs of shoes I had bought the day before our photographer lunch at DSW Shoes in the Spring. She took notice! :) There was six individually wrapped cookies in this box, one of which I have already inhaled--it was veryyyyy good. Oh, and incase you are wondering, the ribbon isn't edible. Not that I tried to take a bite out of it, or thought it might be or anything.

She attached an adorable note on the front that said:

"Jamie, (well actually she put Jaime but she spelled it wrong...I love you anyway Rachel!)

I had this all picked out and wanted to send
for your graduation - BUT they don't ship to BC!
So it took a detour to AZ and I hope
they still make you smile!

Love Rachel"

In answer to Rachel, yes, they made me smile! I can't believe how thoughtful you are, and I wanted to share with all my blogreaders how wonderful she is. Much appreciated girl.

chris + lesia | july 10, 2008 wedding

2008-07-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is officially the most amount of days I have gone before blogging my last wedding! I apologize! I just got home from San Francisco on Monday night, and Tuesday was a crazy game of email catch-up, phone calling and location scouting downtown for some e-seshs coming up.

But, now onto Chris and Lesia's wedding day--you both are so sweet. From the moment I met you two at your engagement session, I knew your wedding day would be wonderful. If I could describe Chris and Lesia as a couple it would be casual, in such a positive way. Lesia was a very relaxed bride and Chris is adorable with her. Their wedding day was full of unique details, including some great bouquets adorned with chocolate brown leaves (so cool!), an incredible artisan cake that was absolutely delicious, little cookie favors for the guests that mirrored the cake design, not one but five flowergirls, I could go on and on! It was truly a joy to witness Chris and Lesia's ceremony and their day: Congrats you two!

Venue: Cecil Green Park House
Flowers: Amoda Flowers
Cake: Kreation Artisan Cake
Music: Yaletown String Quartet
DJ: Ceroc

Lesia is so beautiful, isn't she?

You know I always love a good shoe shot.

The beautiful venue for the day. The ceremony took place outside on the back lawn, while the reception was inside the beautiful home.

Lesia being escorted by her father down the aisle.

Love this moment.

The ceremony was at 7 o' clock so there was definitely some beautiful light going on.

Married!

A quick portrait or two before the party began.

Lesia and her five flowergirls.

The speeches were filled with lots of laughs and tears, there are an abundance of family and friends in Chris and Lesia's lives that appreciate and love them so much.

Chris and Lesia have been dancing a style of dance called Ceroc together for two years. They had a beautiful choreographed dance as their first dance that was so much fun to watch.

Watch the slideshow below or click HERE to see more.

Chris and Lesia | Wedding Sneakpeek

2008-07-11T08:01:00.001-07:00

Chris and Lesia had a beautiful wonderful gorgeous wedding last night. I won't say much about it; I'll leave that for the full blog post next week. I should really be getting ready to go, but enjoy these images. Thanks so much again Chris and Lesia; you are both so beautiful and adorable!

double-packing

2008-07-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm frantically packing for two events; Chris and Lesia's wedding (which I'm leaving for in 3 hours) as well as my San Francisco flight tomorrow morning (which I have to leave the house at 9AM for!) Packing my bags for a wedding is one thing, making sure all batteries are charged, equipment is all accounted for and clean, memory cards erased and re-formatted, laptop charged, business cards, ack; it's a lot. I won't be back from this wedding until after midnight and after backing up all the files will probably crash in bed at 1:30AM. Then it'll be up and at 'em in the morning, as well as last minute packing. Because honestly, I am the worst packer. I always, always, always forget something obvious. Like pajamas. Or toothpaste. Or a hairbrush. No joke.

My favourite thing about flights though is reading: all I need is one good book and the time just flies by. I picked this two-volume John C. Maxwell book up at Costco last night and can't wait to start it! It contains The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork and Winning with People.

Have a fantastic weekend. I will probably blog Chris and Lesia's wedding next Wednesday and my San Francisco wedding+trip after that. :) Be patient!

tuesdays events.

2008-07-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

I started my day with my biggest guilty pleasure. Two pieces of rice bread with almond butter, two scrambled eggs, a cup of coffee and...(no my guilty pleasure is not breakfast!) The Bachelorette Finale.

Oh, I just love it. Yes, it's stupid. No, I would never date multiple guys at once. No, I would never kiss a handful of different men within the same week. No, I would never go on the show. Yes, I shamelessly enjoy every season of The Bachelor and the Bachelorette. So sue me!

I watched the Bachelor season when Brad (total jerk!) was the star and watched him turn down two beautiful girls, Jenny and DeAnna (but I always loved DeAnna) and then have no answers for them during the "After the Final Rose" special. I was so excited when I heard DeAnna was the next Bachelorette! I didn't watch the first half of the season (no time for TV some weeks) but I have watched the last month of episodes consistently. My verdict? Jason is the one for me. Hah!

I was not really that shocked at all when DeAnna picked Jesse last night. Fine, have your professional-snow-boarder-half-the-year-not-sure-how-i'm-going-to-make-a-living-after-i-can't-snowboard / "blow-it-up"-nugs-giver. Yeah. Check out that completely unfair description of the guy! I'm harsh, I know. But to give him credit, he was sweet and adventurous and different and unique and cared about her and I'm sure they'll be happy: obviously she has different taste than me. Oh, side note: she has fantastic style!! Seriously, every outfit she wore was so great! And their wedding date is May 9, 2009: wonder who their wedding photographer will be?

I knew what her decision would be and saw it coming, but hated to see Jason get so involved and so crushed, especially when he's so well-dressed all the time (kidding! sort of.) Y'know, when I started typing this entry, I really had no intentions of getting into all this detail about the Bachelorette or the fact that I love a well-dressed dude.

Alas, it was a Tuesday and Tuesday is always sort of a funny day. Monday is always super productive for me. Back in the office, emails to answer, orders to ship, entering bills to do, etc. Tuesday is all the leftover little tasks that I pushed aside on Monday. I picked up a package from the post office, went to the bank and dropped off a client order in Langley yesterday morning then I went to my friend Shawna's and vegged for a couple of hours with her and her fam. I got to watch her make another beautiful cake, this one for her mom Joanne's birthday which was yesterday. (Happy Birthday Jo!)

Isn't this great? I got to watch the whole process:

She's so talented!

#2: graduation

2008-07-07T16:49:00.001-07:00

A-MAZ-ing! Love the colors, love the candelabras! Love the damask!

Personalized cupcakes for every grad by Shawna - Something very exciting for her coming up soon, stay tuned brides!

A few detail shots from the amazing graduation banquet my church hosted two Saturdays ago (time flies!!) - Hang tight blog readers, I have an engagement session coming up in the next few days, another beautiful wedding at Cecil Green Park at UBC and then this weekend I will be in San Francisco shooting a wedding with Melissa Jill. Can't wait to blog like crazy when I return.

heather + sukie | wedding

2008-07-04T17:10:00.001-07:00

Since the moment I met these two, I was looking forward to being a part of their wedding day. I knew it would be unlike anything I had ever experienced, as they were having a Sikh ceremony and reception as well as a Western ceremony and reception. It was a very eventful two days, but I had a lot of fun experiencing a new culture and observing a new religion. I feel like I learned a lot! Heather and Sukie, congratulations once again on a beautiful wedding. Enjoy!

The Sikh ceremony was on Tuesday morning at a Sikh temple in Vancouver. I had no idea what to expect, and I don't think Heather did either--which put my mind at ease! Shortly after I arrived, Sukie arrived as well as the temple. There were many traditions that were carried out from the moment he arrived. The first was introductions between the family, where the male members of the bride and the groom's family exchange garlands.

After this, everyone drank tea and had refreshments in the Langar Hall downstairs, while Heather was still hidden (the bride is not present during the introductions outside). After tea, the ceremony began. All men and women were required to have their head covered during the introductions outside, during tea and the ceremony and then for lunch afterwards as well. Heather was so cute: as I was eating a quick bite after the ceremony she came up to me and said (referring to my headscarf): "You look like one of those foreign journalists!"

Heather's parents both escorted her into the temple after all the guests were seated, including Sukie at the front of the room. During the ceremony, the bride and groom sat side by side at the front. All the men present sat on the right side of the temple and all the women guests on the left. Sukie and Heather were not supposed to speak during the ceremony, but I caught this moment after all the events had ended.

Aren't these details amazing? I was in love with all the colors.

Now onto the second day, Wednesday morning. The ceremony and reception were both held at Cecil Green Park House at UBC an amazing venue with great views of the mountains and the ocean. I arrived just as Heather was starting to get ready in the morning.

All the bridesmaids and Heather did their hair and makeup in a Library, so I knew I had to make use of the surroundings for a shoe shot!

An emotional moment with Heather and her father.

And on the other side, too:

The Cecil Green property is full of amazing doors and neat corners for photographs.

Heather and Sukie planned lots of time for photos, which was amazing for me! Heather also pulled out this adorable lace eyelet parasol for beach shots.

Their bridal party was a blast and had some great ideas, haha!

Wednesday evening was the Sikh reception, an affair with over 250 guests. I loved Heather and Sukie's grand entrance and first dance.

They also had great entertainment at the reception, including music videos before the bride and groom arrived, a family slideshow and this incredible group of young dancers. They danced a traditional dance that must have lasted over five minutes, I was in awe!

What a fun two days--thanks again, Heather and Sukie for letting me capture your wedding...twice! Watch the slideshow below, or click here to open it in a new window.

my crazy mouth

2008-07-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

This week has been, quite simply: crazy! I am very worn out and very much looking forward to the weekend. Between returning phone calls and emails, an amazing engagement shoot, two days of shooting a wedding, and a complete office re-organization and cleaning late last night, it's safe to say I'm glad I have my Saturday off! I think all of this crazy busyness is affecting my speech.

I always joke that my mouth doesn't really work after 8pm, because most of my words end up all jumbled and screwy and I say things like, "Yes, I'd love boffee": translation black coffee. Somehow the effort of forming two separate words is just too much work in the evening!

Yesterday evening, my Mom and I teared ourselves away from our computers (she works from home as well) and went for a walk in the park with Taylor. We were chatting about how many changes are taking place in my family's life over the next year and how many already have for the past. My mom turned fifty last year, my parent's had their 20th anniversary earlier this year, I just graduated, my dad turns sixty this year, my brother will start to drive, etc. Anyway, this beauty comes out of my mouth: "I'm looking forward to next year with Branishing off high school as well." That, ladies and gentleman, means Brandon finishing. Yes.

So today! We were running around getting all sorts of errands finished (shipping an engagement guest book, a handful of thank you notes, running to homesense, shopping at urbanbarn, dumping off a load at valuevillage, dropping off a friend's sweater I borrowed: all very exciting things.)

[Mom] You know we're going to have to get a Starbucks after this.
[Jamie] We are?
[Mom] Mmhm.
[Jamie] Sounds good to me...I'm so glad I've turned you into a Stim Horbucks fan.

Yes, folks. Check out that little gem: Stim Horbucks. Would you like a translation? So would I! Jamie's brain, could you please tell Jamie's mouth what you were meaning to communicate? Oh, whats that? I think the message is coming... ah yes.

[Jamie's Brain] I'm so glad I've turned you into a Starbucks fan rather than a Tim Hortons fan.

I laughed about that the entire drive home. I just repeated it over and over and over and over again. Stim Horbucks. That is brilliant! I couldn't have thought of that if I tried. Where does my mouth come up with this stuff?

Have a beautiful weekend everyone.

denis + abby | engagement

2008-07-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

I have to start by saying that I just LOVED these two from the moment I met them on Monday! They are so comfortable with each other and are just adorable together; which definitely makes my job easier. We laughed a lot, walked around Jericho Beach to some really cool spots, and just had a fun time in general.

Abby contacted me a couple of months ago about her wedding photography. She was having a conversation with one of her co-workers and it turned out the co-worker was the brother-in-law of Chris Jaksa (of Chris+Lynn)--Abby was looking for a wedding photographer in her budget and C+L directed her my way! Denis and Abby have been engaged for a year, and are planning a wonderful wedding here in Vancouver on the May long weekend of 2009.

Denis and Abby met four years ago, while Abby was attending UBC for business and Denis was also studying business at an Ontario university. They met at a Chocolate Party (sounds like my kind of party!) when Denis' business class traveled to BC to compete with UBC students. They have both lived in Toronto together for the last two years, but were back in Vancouver for a friend's wedding last weekend. I'm so glad we managed to meet up to create some great pictures together. Next May feels like so far away--it's rare that I photograph engagements ten months before the wedding date.

They're so goofy together!

I love this series:

Y'know, just holding hands and hanging out in front of the Vancouver Hostel.

Cuteeee!

The light in this area was so great; it was a bit of an overcast day, but there was this one spot of sun that was shining through the trees like their own personal spotlight.

I love all the textures and patterns in this shot; the fabric of her dress, the stripes on his shirt, the texture of the denim, the grain of the log and the detail of the sand. Throw a diamond ring in there and it's pretty much perfect.

We had fun with the fact that Abby is 4"11 and Denis is a foot taller than her!

We snuck into the Jericho Sailing Centre to play with some of the great colors by the lockers.

Also found this great ol' car seat:

Thanks again Abby and Denis; you are too fun!! Make sure to view the slideshow below, or click here to open it up in a new window.

denis + abby | e-session teaser

2008-07-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

I met up with Abby and Denis (who are planning a May 2009 wedding) last night. We shot around the beautiful (haha!) Vancouver Hostel and the Jericho Beach area. Usually I have time to put the full blog post up sooner, but that probably won't be until Thursday. I've been away all day shooting a Sikh wedding and I have the Western ceremony and Sikh reception tomorrow--Thursday will be my first full-day back in the office.

Here's a few "teaser" images for you two! Enjoy.

the dress: graduation

2008-06-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

This past week, I finally graduated. I'm finally done; finally moved on; finally free! The last year has been an absolute juggle between my business and school and I'm so thankful to be able to focus 100% on my business this summer (as well as sneaking in some rest). I'm headed to TWU in the Fall for just one year of school (majoring in Business). Those eight months of full-time classes as well as running a full-time business will also be challenging, but exciting!

Anyway, this post is all about the dress--isn't it always? I've always been mature for my age, especially in my fashion tastes! When it came to buying a grad dress, I was very set in what I wanted. First and foremost, it needed to be black! Classy, elegant; I was set on black. And there needed to be no crystals, no sparkles, a lack of crinoline, no-lace up backs and no strapless styles. Yes, I knew what I wanted! Well, my criteria, I soon discovered, ruled out almost every single dress in the whole world.

I've always been such a HUGE, huge, huge, huge-I don't know how many times I can write this--HUGE fan of Monique Lhuillier and her dresses. I have a love affair with the timeless quality of lace, and Monique uses lace in a lot of her designs. I also have loved the "sash" trend I've seen in wedding dresses the past few years--I added that to the list of what I wanted. We found the perfect seamstress to make my dress in White Rock, Kristine of Bernardi's Bridal. She is just incredible, and completely custom-designed my dress from the photos I brought to our design meetings!

"Miranda" by Monique Lhuillier:

The sash inspiration (although I ended up tying it a different way):

Another dress I could fall in love with!

And the dress that started the whole black lace idea; Drew Barrymore at a Gala event.

After three months, eight fittings, and ...some money: here's the final product. Exactly what I wanted; perfect!

(Photo by Michael Wachniak)

michael wachniak | portraits

2008-06-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of discovering the beautiful (hah!) back alleys of Cloverdale with Michael Wachniak. We were out to capture a few promotional images for his website and blog. I rarely photograph sessions in the harsh sun, but it was a fun challenge and I enjoyed playing with a little bit of sun flare! :)

a monday morning with jamie.

2008-06-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

I wake up at 8AM. Roll out of bed with greasy hair and question, "Why can't my blow-dry and hair straightening magic last more than 24 hours without turning to muck?!" Get over the fact that that is how God made my hair. Throw myself in the shower, get out of the shower and put the same T-shirt back on. Grab my yoga pants and my Nikes and Ipod. Stop for a break to read the bible and eat eggs. Swallow 24-hour Claritin. Put in way-too-many-eyedrops. (Thrilling, right?) Out the door I go with Taylor.

Run 1km. Question why I am running at 8:30AM on a Monday morning. Mutter to myself that at least it's sunny and not that cold. My Ipod that is shoved in the waistband of my yoga pants keeps slipping. Run another 2 kilometres. See a rat scamper across the road. Think "I've never seen a rat run across the road." Run 100m. Think, "It's pretty cool that I just saw a rat run across the road and didn't scream like a girl. I must be pretty tough." Run another 100m. Keep closing my eyes, alternating one at a time because my allergies are screaming at me. I wonder if it's safe to run with one eye open. I stop closing my eyes. I start walking at 5KM and go back to alternating my eyes. I run, charging up a big hill and when I reach the top I feel like I'm going to keel over. Back to walking.

I finally reach my house. My favourite thing to do after a run (it's a little twisted, I know!) is take a look in the mirror. It's quite funny. I always wonder how so many short pieces of hair I didn't know I had can be sticking up at all angles. The random bobby-pins I've placed to keep these mysterious short pieces in place have always slipped towards the back of my head. My lips are always dry, my face red. But today, I got the added bonus of completely blood-shot red eyes. Joy.

More eye-drops. A Halls cough-drop for my throat (they are the only thing that keep me from wanting to punch my throat in anger! Somehow violence makes me ignore the scratching feeling?) Another shower and after all this kafuffle, doing my hair is out of the question. A quick ten-second braid makes me thankful I have long hair. The End.

Well the End of Monday Morning. On Saturday morning we made the drive down to Seattle (Issaquah, WA to be specific) to move my brother into his dorm for the next eight-weeks. He will be doing the Summer Generation Interns Program with The City Church. We spent Saturday loading his stuff into his tiny home, buying groceries and other miscellaneous items like wash towels and paper plates. We were busy with that until 7pm. After dinner, My Mom and Dad and I crashed back at our favorite hotel, the Redmond Marriot, and watched Juno--I loved it! We just got back at about 9pm last night, and I arrived home to about 15 emails to answer. My brain felt like it was going to explode so I made a quick to-do list of about twenty-five items that need to be checked off in the next three days. Eeek.

Well, enjoy YOUR Monday--even if it hasn't been eventful as mine yet. Hah!