Mya, seaside editorial published in Selin magazine.

Mya and her Mom met me in front of my apartment and we walked down to the second beach to shoot.

I was carrying my gear and the wardrobe and we chatted as we walked.

We found a place that was sheltered from the wind and alternated in changing in the washroom and sometimes on the beach. Mya’s mom was a wonderful help and kept an eye on the gear while we moved around the beach hiding from the wind and finding a shady spot from the sun.

I sent the images to the agency for selection and then I sent my favourites out for publication. I wanted to surprise Mya and the agency and I did. This spread, Mya, seaside was published in Selin Magazine Issue 39 Volume 32 and you can get a copy here.

Jordan, Her Place editorial for GMARO Magazine.

I love working with this powerhouse, Jordan, a single mom I met when I was working in a restaurant. They are a manager at the facility and I bumbled my way through an expo position. I had no idea what that position was until I started there and they offered a kind hand in learning the ropes and are always up for creating together.

I brought the wardrobe and we mixed a few pieces in from their wardrobe and I created images around their apartment. A huge fan of plants’ natural light and minimalism it is easy to create together in their space and make magic. I love this shoot how it came together and how it was published. The magazine chose the two-page spreads and I love them. Wait I already said that, I think you know what I mean.

This shoot was published in GMARO Magazine April 2024 Issue #05

Let's take a look at some lights.

I live in a beautiful neighbourhood in Vancouver, nestled right next to the ocean. It is the West End and I love it. I have lived here for 8 years, half the time I have spent in Vancouver and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. My apartment is a perfect live-work studio for my work and I am nestled in a variety of outdoor backdrops that you can see in a variety of my work.

I wanted to post my gratitude for this holiday season and share with you some of the lights that are placed in my neighbourhood every single year. I took a slow shutter abstract approach, I love when lights make patterns in an image.

Please enjoy this winter interlude of the lights in my community. My neighbourhood.

A very kind compliment.

I often shoot test images for models.

These are images the model uses to create their ‘book’. That book is used by agencies to choose someone for a project. It’s kind of a cool thing, to get to introduce them to the industry and photograph them for the first time. Kind of like putty in my hands.

This is Wolf, he was recently chosen by a formative agency at Faces West a conference where models are showcased and chosen to move on and move up in the industry based on their ‘books’.

Wolf’s Mom called me one day to thank me because the images I took of him, film images with natural light in my studio helped him get chosen and move on in his career. He has only ever shot with two photographers. His mom wanted me to know that my photos were the ones that helped him get chosen because they were the ones who represented the real him. She asked and was so proud to tell me that the photos were authentic and he looked at ease.

I was gushing for the next few hours because I never know what next steps these models take and to know the specifics of this journey made me so happy.

I am so very, very grateful to do what I do.

50

Yes, I am. I turned 50 on July 5th and you know what I love my birthday.

This year made me love it even more because the celebrations are stretching into the month and the outpouring of love has me feeling so grateful that when I am opening my eyes in the morning I speak gratitude before anything else. Try it, it will change everything and bring so much more to you to be grateful for.

I have a friend who I have been paddling with for over a year now, we met during the pandemic and started to paddle our kayaks together. Now we both have paddleboards and continue our adventures outside of English Bay.

Knowing that I love my birthday we planned an adventure. the location was a surprise and all I had to do was drive. So drive I did, and the reveal was incredible. As we passed Cultus lake she was wondering if I knew where we were going but because my geography is so terrible I didn’t so I said no. Then 30 minutes later we were in our camping spot, exploring and inflating our boards to get out on the lake. The glacier water is beautiful emerald green and perfect for a dip on a really hot day.

The second day found us hiking to Linden Lake, the journey up the mountain was arduous but getting to the top and taking another dip in the icy glacier water was worth it.

We have paddled in Stave Lake, Pitt Meadows and now Chilliwack Lake. Another bonus of this fabulous friend is she loves to plan menus and prepare the food, so her gift was an entire spread over 3 days including individual cakes for each of us to share on the big day. Complete with champaign too. Remember my gratitude, it goes above and beyond what I can express here. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I brought my film camera and 3 rolls of the new Kodak Colour Plus film I picked up from Beau Photo.

To everyone who made this birthday so damn special, thank you, thank you, thank you. I am over the moon with gratitude and so excited for this decade. Age is to be welcomed and celebrated ladies, not hidden or fibbed about.

So the next time you see me feel free to give me a hug. I am double vaccinated and welcome a big squeeze anytime.

Van Gogh, a day dream.

Have you been to see the Van Gogh exhibition yet?

It is meant to make you feel like you are in a daydream and if you ask me that is exactly what it felt like.

I stood slack-jawed for a while and it took about an hour before I realized that it was playing again and I was looking at the same work. I slipped into his world and was completely enveloped by the experience.

I have been celebrating a milestone birthday this week and it has been magic. I am feeling like I am living in my own personal day dream. My friends are making this new chapter for me one full of love, gratitude and connection. The one thing that has come out of this crazy time for me is learning the value of connection. Specifically the connections that serve you, and the ones you can serve in return.

So this blog post is celebrating this wonderful new chapter, with wonderful people in my life filling me up with love and nurturing this weird little beings creativity. Thank you, thank you, and once again I love you.