Imagine you just turned 9.  You’ve been sick for a year.  Your bones are becoming brittle and break.  You’ve had more biopsies, bone marrow tests and poking and prodding to last a lifetime.  And you still.don’t.know.what is wrong.  You watched your friend become crushed under a play structure and be told she probably won’t make it.  You cry at night for her.  Not.for.you.  And now imagine that your face may have to be reconstructed due to the drastic surgeries that may be taking place soon…

Your heart just fell didn’t it?  When I heard Jade’s story (and believe me, this is oh so abridged), I knew I had to capture her spirit with my camera – and soon.

We tried to do our session in late December, but she was too ill from her last surgery.  She wasn’t well on Friday and her Mom worried she wouldn’t be able to do the session again the next day.  But she woke up feeling strong and excited…so did I!

These are just a couple of the many beautiful photos that we captured during our session…I promise to post more, but I wanted to give her Mom something to look at while Jade is at the hospital again.

We had the perfect day full of laughs (especially since Mom had to translate for me since my french is…painful) and we realized that some things break all language and age barriers {monkey poop!}!  But what was really special was my drive home from Cantley…It was cold with a slight snowfall, but it was sunny.  And guess what?  I saw a rainbow!  Right then and there I knew Jade would be okay…I sure hope I’m right.

Thank you for Opening Your Hearts ~ It is so worth it to connect and give.

Shona xoxo

(ps.  The little girl mentioned is out of her coma and ‘out of the woods’ so to speak!  Yay!!)

And the world smiles with you.  It’s true.  Every.Single.Time. I look at this image I can’t help but smile at the sheer joy my daughter is radiating.  She loves the beach, sand and all things mermaid, so each summer when we make our annual pilgrimage to the West Coast (where I’m originally from), I have to make her into a mermaid in the sand…

So why am I posting this summery photo now…when it’s cold and snowy?  Well, the good folks at iheartfaces are having a wee contest with the title of “Smile”.  I decided to finally participate and I can’t wait to see the other submissions.  You can check them out here:

Enjoy your week!

Shona xox

First let me say, Merry Christmas!  Ours got off to an interesting start with my in-laws being stranded in Britain due to the storms/airport closures, my sister-in-law being super sick and then on Christmas Eve my poor daughter threw up at church.  BUT, these issues pale in comparison to what other families are going through at this time of year….

I received some beautiful and very heartfelt nominations for my Open Your Heart campaign and I had an EXTREMELY difficult time choosing.  However, there was one submission that struck such a chord for me as the nominee’s future is very uncertain at the moment.

The winner of the Open Your Heart giveaway is…

Jude! This wee girl (and her family) has had to endure more this year than any 9 year old should ever have to face.  She is a strong and mighty spirit who had another surgery this past week, but I was so very thankful to learn she was able to sleep in her own bed last night and wake up with her family on Christmas morning.  2011 will continue to be challenging for her and her family, but with our collective positive thoughts I hope that they will find the strength to face whatever challenges lie ahead.  I can’t wait to meet and photograph you Jude!!

Jenna & Mariette ~ Your letter was beautiful, thoughtful and heart wrenching.  Thank you for Opening Your Heart to me and trusting that I will help however I can.

Thank you again to all that put forth a nomination.  I did not make this decision lightly and I will continue to keep you and your family/friends in my heart.

Much love & healing thoughts,

Shona xox

Have I got a fabulous post for you!  For the first time I am teaming up with two AMAZING photographers (and ladies) for a very special Christmas project.  Kelly MacDonald Photo in Woodstock, Ontario started this idea and Melissa Weicker (Whitecourt, Alberta) and I have decided to join her.  It’s such a fabulous project and I just want to say a big THANK YOU to these wonderful women for opening their hearts and encouraging me to open mine…Please check them out and if you know someone in their area, encourage them to submit entries!!

Without further ado, here it is!

I had a gorgeous wintry Christmas Card mini-session with these two beauties yesterday and it was magical!  I definitely got into the Christmas spirit and can’t wait to design their card!  I’ll post it once Mom makes her final decisions!  Have fun choosing S!

Previous clients:  It’s not too late to order some Christmas Cards!  I’ve recently updated my prices, so please contact me for the changes.  Time is running out!

Shona 🙂

I almost fell over when my daughter said that on Sunday morning…it was c-c-c-cold.  But I had a new hat (prop).  I was hopped up on coffee.  AND, I was all pumped up to try new techniques after watching a photography course all weekend (that goes back to a previous post on irritating my family with my constant drive for challenges and improvement).

Now, in all fairness, I warned her that it was cold and that she couldn’t just chuck the hat on over her pj’s.  She agreed to my styling and braved the chilly morning to grab these beautiful images of her with her new short hairdo….sigh….I had a hard time getting that chopped off earlier this fall, but I had promised!

And she was a human Popsicle by this point, so our final shot of the morning was…

Stay warm!

Shona xo

Don’t you just love a crisp, sunny fall day?  This series would look so great either as a storyboard or as a series on 8×10’s framed on the wall…LOVE them!

Enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts!!

Shona

Yup, I do.

I’m always trying to be the best photographer I can be and I am constantly (to the irritation of my family) practicing, reading, researching etc.  That’s good and all, but it also means that I sometimes just miss those moments.  Those snapshots in time when the light stinks, the angles are wrong, my camera settings are on the green square (gasp!) and they look all too flashy for my liking.  But you know what?  They’re perfect to me…because at least I took the time to capture the moment without driving my kids nuts while finding the light when all they want is Halloween candy!

So, forgive the snapshots, but here’s my kids…in all their glory!

These images make me laugh…good and evil at it’s best.  Okay, my son’s not evil, but he’s…um…spirited shall we say.  He wanted to be Spiderman because he’s into all things that are superheroes!  My daughter, however, chose to be a leaf bag when we were raking last week.  This would not do for a former Geography/Environmental studies major.  We had to turn her into:  Enviro Girl – Defender of All Things Green!  *insert sound effects*

Note:  For those of you not in Ottawa, the candy bag she took out was our compost bucket from the city’s composting program 😉

Today, although most of the Hallowe’en snow (blah!) had almost melted, my son begged me to make a snowman…This poor lil’ gaffer is more of a slushman with lopsided arms.  Oh well, my son was happy until….

…our oh so “innocent” dog, Sitka, decided to try and eat “Slushie’s” nose!  His two favourite things in life are carrots and popcorn.  Campbell did, however, get his nose back to it’s rightful spot 🙂

Hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed my snapshots, no matter how sad they are 🙂

Shona

I had the pleasure of photographing these two cuties this week and they stole my heart…{Big A} loves and I mean loves birds!  She walked around saying, “Birdie, birdie, birdie!” so I brought a few invaluable wee decorative birds to grab her attention and boy did it work…until we had to take them away…sorry sweetie!  I finally clued in that I should just tell her they flew away and then she was okay with it!

Throwing leaves was also a major highlight and made for a wonderful, spontaneous image 😉

And then there’s {Little A}…At 7 months she is so full of life and giggles!  She was also exceptionally good for my ego as she thought I was the.funniest.person.ever!  However, I’m not sure if I should be offended that she laughed hysterically when I ran or not…oh well, we got this image, so that’s all that matters!

And one more because she’s so stinkin’ cute, I can’t post only one image!!

Thank you so much for a wonderful, although chilly, morning {D & P}!  I hope you enjoyed your sneak peak!!

Shona xo

A funny thing happened on the way to Grandma’s house…Picture this:  I’m standing at the bottom of the stairs trying to herd the troops so we can get to Grandma’s house for supper.  Down prances my daughter in a leotard, tiny brown shorts, head band and wrist bands to boot.  It took all my strength not to laugh…a lot.  I asked her if that’s really what she wanted to wear and, like any liberated six year old she said, “Uh, that’s why I put it on…?” with a look like “duh Mom??”  (*Aside…isn’t she a bit young for the ‘tude?*)

On the short drive I kept looking in the rear view mirror thinking I had to record this time in her life as she is so alive, free spirited and confident in what she likes.  I hope with every last fiber in my soul that she doesn’t lose this along the way as it’s what has always made her so special and unique.  She’s always had this je ne sais quoi about her and I love her for it.

This past week on the only non-rainy, warmish day we finally did it.  We caught her spirit and her ‘Jane McEnroe’ look.  We have been talking about this session for months and she has been begging me to do it as I wouldn’t let her get her hair cut until we did…it just wouldn’t be the same without her hippy do.

So without further ado, I present my daughter channeling her inner ’70s look…

These rockin’ glasses were actually found at the bottom of the ocean in Hawaii when she was not quite 2…I like to pretend they’re some 60’s movie star’s shades, but that might be a stretch…a girl can dream though, right?

and last but not least…I shall call this one, “Lost”.

Happy Monday!

Shona xox