winterfall

I feel like I just missed a few months of my life - this early snow has me all confused. It makes for funny looking 'fall' photos as well. Here's hoping for some sun to melt it all and for the return of some tolerable weather for shooting outdoors.

If you follow (or even look at) the blogs of other photographers out there, you will often see that they post sneak peeks from their client galleries on their blogs pretty frequently - almost daily, in some cases. You will notice that I do not. It's not that I don't want to, you see. I can't even begin to understand how they come up with the time to do it - I can barely get my processing done in a timely fashion with everything else that has to happen in my little corner of the world. And really, I am not THAT busy of a person. Sure, a 10-month-old is a handful but some of these other gals (they are mostly gals) have multiple children and they still manage to do it. I am in awe of their time-management abilities or maybe I should be jealous of their lack of need to sleep? Maybe some day when my kidlets (hoping to have one more) are in school I will have enough time to do more blog entries. Until then, you will have to settle for random updates!

Here is a shot of the little man with his winter head gear...

you complete me

Wow - so I am overwhelmed by the response to my new site and the interest in sessions for the fall. Thank you all for your kind words about the new look! And an even bigger thanks to all of my loyal clients who have gotten on the horn and booked me up until the end of the year. Yep, unfortunately I am completely full for 2009. I do have a cancellation list (which is already getting long) if you want to add your name, so fire me a quick email if that is the case. Here is where I would usually say, "Sorry that I'm full...", so Canadian and all, so I am not going to say that because I am happy, happy, happy to be back doing what I love with clients that I love (and hopefully love me!).

Little J turned 8 months old on Aug 11th and is soaking up life like a little sponge. He is just getting brave enough to try crawling but hasn't become mobile quite yet. He is a happy fella and he just learned to give kisses which I love! The requisite photos are posted below.

We are headed out for vacation for the next two weeks (back Sept 8th) so if you contact me and I don't get back to you right away, that is why. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Cheers,

Leah

presto - change-o!

It's amazing how accomplishing something seems even more satisfying now that I have a little almost-8-month-old busy boy who would much rather play with mommy than let her work (I appreciate his concern for the work/life balance...). If you arrived here via my web site then you already know that something has changed. I have finally launched the new site that I have been working on for a while and I am sooooo happy! Creating a web site is like going shoe shopping - trying on all sorts of looks, colours, styles until you are happy with how it appears. This is also my downfall because I have to see what every colour and style look like before deciding. This has saved us a lot of money on shoes...

Schedule-wise, I am currently booked through the end of September. I am taking limited sessions per month so please contact me in advance so I can be sure to fit you in. If you are looking for Holiday photos, the latest date for a session that will have guaranteed delivery is November 15th. Sounds far away but it really isn't!

Sorry - no photo this time! Gotta spend some time with the little man...

status update...finally!

It's a rainy Monday, so I thought it would be a good time to update my blog and get things rolling. I am taking clients again, officially, but I am doing a very limited number of sessions per month. Summer and early fall are almost completely full with repeat clients who have been stalking me since Joshua's arrival (love you guys!). If you are looking for a fall session, please email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

The new web site is under construction still but shouldn't be too much longer (ha ha ha - wishful thinking). I am going to try and update my packages and prices on the old site so that it is at least current. Here is a quick summary:

All packages still include the session, digital negatives (print and email sizes), and retouching (and other goodies, depending on the package):

new.life: (for newborns and immediate family) $425
good.life: (children, family, etc.) $395
real.life: (good.life plus prints) $495
fast.life: (for specific photos, i.e holiday cards) $295

My web site will have more detail soon, I promise. I am looking forward to getting behind the lens without poor Joshua looking at me like "Really Mom? Again?".

ahhhh...summer

So I came back to visit my blog and realized that I hadn't posted anything for a couple of months - oops! I have been busy with my little guy, of course, but also trying to keep up with the emails asking when I will be back and trying to get my web site updated so that I can actually get back. I am planning (tentatively, of course) to start shooting again in the very near future. Summer and fall are my favourite times to get outside and get some great photos, so if you have been in contact with me regarding a session this summer or fall, I will hopefully be able to accommodate you. I am keeping a running list and will book sessions in the order I have received requests. I will be sending out a mass email in the near future with more information, so if you want to know when I am up and running again, please email me and I will add you to the list.

For the sake of complete transparency, I will be increasing my prices over those listed on the web site currently and the packages will be changing slightly. Don't worry - all packages will still include the session, the digital negatives and retouching, just like before. I have just simplified things based on my experiences and clients suggestions in the past few years. The price increase is unfortunately necessary as my time is even more valuable now and I will need to have child care for my little guy during sessions. Again, don't worry - I am still one of the most affordable photographers in Calgary when you consider everything that you get with my packages.

So, now that we are done with the business side of things, here are some recent shots of my little monkey who just turned six months old. He is such a happy little fella and loves to smile for me now which is a photographers dream!

hello? Spring??

Without the vast quantities of Easter chocolate calling my name every time I go to the store, I wouldn't believe that it is already April. March was a complete blur - but I did manage to get some shots of Joshua around the three month mark. It is a different experience having your own child available every day for taking photos - I find that I am taking less than I thought because he is so much fun to play with that I forget to stick the camera in his face. We are very much looking forward to spring - poor little guy hasn't had much fresh air in his life thus far.

Still working out the logistics of getting back to shooting and taking clients - and a new web page will be unveiled some time soon! I am very excited about that. It has taken longer than planned but that pretty much sums up my life right now...lol. I'll keep you posted!

two months too fast

I blinked and Joshua turns two months old today - he is such a good little guy, so mellow and happy. I couldn't be luckier - unless he decided to start sleeping for 8-hour stretches soon. I have been photographing him relentlessly - it is so hard not to when he is so available and I can do it whenever I want. So, I thought I would post a few more photos just in case anyone is looking!