André is ONE!

Look at my cousins’ cute little guy!!! Click images to view larger

Ashley & Jacob – e session

Some cute lovers who are cutely in love

Kimberly, Kai and kids

Sneak peek at the first blossom session. I could barely choose what images to post there are so many good ones!

Curniss & Chris

The other evening with this couple was great.  We trekked along Centennial’s paths – to further reaching areas I don’t usually go to on a typical shoot – but not surprising with these adventurers.

Curniss and Chris are travelers that love and embrace the outdoors  and have stories to tell.  They have a blog which documents their travels which is chock full of amazing pictures and enthralling, detailed accounts of their experiences. It’s worth a gander!

Excited to celebrate their marriage with them, friends, and family later this year.

Things of Port Arthur

A walk around Bay & Algoma neighbourhood this morning.

I chatted in the street with a woman who asked me what I was doing, and I said I was just out on a walk to take some pictures.  She said “there isn’t much that’s beautiful around here is there?” to which I said, you gotta look for the little things!

Personally I find a lot to be lovely about this neighbourhood.  Aside from the community feel while walking around, there is tons of visual appeal, right?  Signage, urban decay, treed streets, ART! Painting and prettying up courtesy of Die Active Art Collective, fun alleyways, beautiful window displays.

Some of my favourite shops are around here!  I gotta add a serious thanks to the City of Thunder Bay for installing the Pedestrian Crosswalk at Cornwall and Algoma making it waaaaaaaaay easier to cross the street. Thumbs up for walkability.

Click on images to view larger!

 

If you’re interested in seeing what people you’ll run into in Port Arthur, click on over to the blog I totally ripped this post’s title off from: People of Port Arthur (by the author of Eating Dirt – a great Tbay blog)

Spring Sundays

It’s very much a spring day today!  Warm sun, no bitterness in the wind, enough snow has melted that there are massive patches of dry grass, and the air smells a little more alive.

So, I’m relatively kid-free on Sundays, therefore I reserve it for shoots, editing, cleaning the house, spending time with family, and time for myself.

I had a shoot scheduled this morning, early enough that I had time to do whateverrrrrr I wanted for a bit afterwards, so I indulged in a walk at the marina.

Prince Arthur’s Landing is really one of my favourite locations in Thunder Bay.  It’s a place to bring the family, it’s a place to feel connected, a place to go alone, a place to people watch, to sit and think, to be active, and to see lots of dogs (I saw at least three this morning but photographed zero, sorry).

 

Creating as a form of healing

A while back I wrote about using photography as a form of mindfulness and I’d like to add beading and jewelry-making onto my list of avenues for healing.

I first started making jewelry two years ago while I was in school for social service work. I just started out by beading wrap bracelets at night after the kids were in bed, but I soon found other outlets for creativity.  A good friend and I began dabbling in silver-smithing together and we’ve been of great influence to each other.  Mostly inspired by rocks and gems – pieces are earthy and comprised of mostly natural materials.  Everything is one of a kind, handmade.  From hand cut and stamped silver, to pieced-together chain, to rings soldered together from scratch.

The materials I gravitate to are leather, agate, jasper, shell, quartz, amethyst (local!!), turquoise, lapis lazuli, sterling silver, glass, other stone: rough and polished.

Even the process of picking out materials is therapeutic!  Going through the silver catalogue, tumbling my own stones (a month long process), sauntering through the bead store and picking out what catches my eye.  Sitting over my table, arranging it all together, forming a complete piece for someone else to love.

This has been such a venture so far, and it isn’t slowing down.  If I only had more hours in the day I could get to all the ideas I have!  If there’s one downside to creating, it’s time constraints.  But I enjoy that I can do this in the company of others.  I regularly work with a friend, and if I’m really in the mood to get crafty while the kiddies are around, I will get them to “help”, by picking out beads, or handing me tools, and they really love being part of the process.

I’ve been selling locally at craft fairs, but have been hoping to have things in stores, that is my next big step.