Back to the Twin Cities

I had such a great time the last time I was in the Twin Cities, and I can't wait to visit again. Though the moniker "Twin Cities" might conjure the image of an expansive concrete jungle, the cities have in fact placed an emphasis on their green spaces. With the Mississippi River serving as the divider between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and the University beautifully bordering the two, it's a great place to shoot. From clever students, to charming businessmen, to fitness stars, to the best of BFFs, I met some really great people who were so much fun to shoot. I ended up with some great shots that have that cozy end-of-Summer feeling. I'm looking forward to heading back to Minnesota in the Spring!

Campus Life

Since I've left it, I admit to finding campus life pretty fascinating. I went to campus with V for a small shoot. The shoot was great--we managed to fit in a ton of different scenes in the short time between V's classes. The campus is filled with old buildings that look straight out of the 70's interspersed with newer buildings featuring a mix of glass, wood, light concrete, and even some indoor greenery--bonus. The students on campus seem to be the exact same ones who went to university when I was there (only they seem much younger now... strange). There's a distinct buzz of young life in every direction you turn, and you can feel that even the professors and administration personnel feed off that energy. It's an uplifting place to be an outsider, but it certainly doesn't feel like real life (even if it felt like the most real form of life I had experienced when I was attending).

Love Is In The Air

One of my closest friends from my childhood is getting married. Like I imagine it does for a lot of people, the news of a big life event like a wedding brings about the most reflection when it involves friends I've known seemingly forever. I start thinking about the friend (how grown up she is, how time has passed, the series of events that got her to this point, how cool it's going to be to attend her summer wedding in the woods) and of course, I start thinking about myself (wedding?! marriage?! life-long commitment?! ...ahhh!). Even though marriage brings about different feelings for us at this moment in time, I can't wait for her wedding, and am so happy I was in town and able to attend her bridal shower. Congratulations, J!

On The Water - Part 2

I spent another great evening on a nearby lake doing part two of a shoot with K. The lake was really quiet and we were able to get some great running shots with the last little bit of evening light. K, who works on the lake, told me that Spring is one of the nicest times to enjoy the lake, because along with Fall, the weather is nice but the hoards of summer beach-goers haven't arrived yet. I'll take advantage of the peace and quiet while I can.

Festival Du Bois

When I was a kid, my parents would take me to the annual Festival du Bois: the "largest francophone event west of the Rockies". I have fond memories of it mainly because of the silly frog hats, but especially because of la tire d'érable. It's called maple taffy in English, but that doesn't do it justice. La tire d'érable directly translates as "the pull of maple" and when you pour maple syrup onto a mound of snow to let it harden, you get a deliciously sticky treat that you can pull off the stick like you would stretch a piece of gum out of your mouth. That visual might not paint a pretty picture, but it's the closest thing to a piece of heaven-on-a-stick that you will ever get.

As an adult, the Festival du Bois still boasts a selection of funny frog hats and a myriad of plaid-clad festival goers. But of course, something I never noticed as a kid, most of them are adults, and most of them are there for the terrific music. They bring in artists from all over Canada who put on great shows over the duration of the festival. I got the chance to witness a more intimate performance, held in the living room of a house-turned-museum from 1909, where of a group of five artists played together for the first time! With standing room only, it gave the feeling of being cozily circled around a (vintage) coffee table with good friends.

Come Hell or High Water

I had a really enjoyable shoot on the lake the other night. It was K's first time modelling, but she seemed like a natural in front of the camera. I'm sure the fact that she works on that very lake helped her feel at home. Wow--what a place to show up for work every day! There was a great moment on the water when we switched ends of the canoe. To keep everything balanced, I shimmied down until I was lying flat on my back in the centre of the canoe. While I held my camera tight to my chest, K stood slowly and carefully straddled her way over top of me to the other end. Mission accomplished. (I'm sure it looked amusing if anyone was watching from the shore.)

Though my current life-plan wasn't to be living in BC at the moment, I'm looking at the opportunity to shoot in the scenery here as a definite silver lining. (Not to mention the "rough" winter that has been averaging between 10-15°C.) Between balancing the two of us along with my camera gear in the canoe, trying not to have my blind dog fall off the dock, and chasing the last bit of light until it was gone, it was certainly an entertaining shoot. Thanks, K--looking forward to shooting with you again!

Images in Use

People often ask how the images in my online library are used. I'm always sure to take a screenshot whenever I come across one of my images online--those ones are easier to track. However, for every photographer, there's nothing like the feeling of seeing your shot in print--or even better, blown up on the wall of a shop (see below). Some of these images are from my current portfolio with Getty Images and iStock and some are from my older one during my internship. If you ever see any of my images in print--snap a shot and send it my way! I always like seeing where they pop up.

Siblings Make the Best Models

I'm so lucky to have this lovely lady as my sister. Growing up, I wasn't a very nice older sister, but it must have been my "tough love" that turned her into the tremendously caring, truly thoughtful, very driven, charmingly awkward, and overall pretty amazing person that she is today. Yep, I did all that (that's what I'm going with). When we can keep her unruly curls in check (and as long as she doesn't scuff up her beautiful face playing rugby!), she's such a fun person to shoot with. Thanks for being such a good sport, V.