My last post was about having vision and trying new things…well that I did!  I attended an OCF (off camera flash) workshop in Ottawa this past weekend which was led by Ali Hohn.  I was joined by some rather amazing photographers from Ottawa, Petawawa, London ON & New York State.  It was a fantastic opportunity to network and play with gear…there was a lot of sweet glass strolling around Ottawa!  And, we were less than inconspicuous with the soft boxes & umbrellas.  At one point I felt a little weird as people were taking pictures of us taking pictures…my 15 mins of fame are now over 🙂

The actual studio stuff wasn’t super new to me, but using it outside was definitely something new!  I learned that…well, that surprise surprise I want more gear!  It never ends, really.  😉

There are so many images and sessions to share, so I better get started!  Young Schyler was our go-to model as she was the daughter of one of the photographers who traveled to attend.  She was so sweet and put up with soooo many things (bugs, sand, goosebumps, sleep deprivation etc. etc.), but she was a trooper and never complained to us once (her Mom, now I here other reports on that…lol!).  But seriously, thank you so much for all that you did kiddo!

Day two had us creating images on the hill with some rather amazing models…whoa…My camera went into overdrive!

The afternoon/evening was spent honing our skills…unfortunately Mother Nature didn’t cooperate, so we didn’t quite get the sunset images I was hoping for, nor the night lights…but what can you do?

Here’s a few more images from the day:

Day 3 was spent gazing through my camera at some more beautiful people…life’s rough, huh?

There’s so many more images I could share, but I’ve probably lost you all already 😉  Thank you so much to all of our models!  You were amazing and we couldn’t have done the workshop without you!!

Shona xo

The past month has been a little crazy, but I’m not complaining!  I have managed to visit 4 provinces, see some old friends, visit with family, enjoy new sights and learn from some amazing teachers.  Needless to say I have a lot of blogs lined up to go along with the rather full calendar of sessions I have lined up for May.  Bare with me!

My first adventure was a fabulous mini-holiday to Montreal with my sister-in-law (thanks Kim!!!) and the kiddos.  The weather was unseasonably warm and we took advantage of walking everywhere.  We also learned that we both navigate far better above ground than below! 😉

Old Montreal is absolutely beautiful and I think Kim was sick of hearing me say, “Oh this would be an amazing spot for a session!” or “Can you wait a minute while I take a picture?” {of no doubt some obscure thing that I’m sure she thought I was nutso for taking a picture of in the first place}  Thankfully she is as patient and forgiving of me as she is with the kids!

If you haven’t been to Montreal, Notre-Dame Basilica is a must.  It’s just stunning!

We also visited the Biodome, Insectarium & Botanical Gardens to see the beautiful butterflies flying around us.  The kids were quite impressed, but also a little disappointed that they wouldn’t just come and land on their hands like the chickadees at home!  And as luck would have it, one did land on Auntie Kim so that just added fuel to the fire!

Thank you again Auntie Kim for a most wonderful birthday present!  We had such a great time 🙂

…I miss my babies.  I mean REALLY miss my babies.  That’s a good thing though.  A little separation can make us appreciate each other more, now can’t it?

Since one of the downsides of being a photographer is never processing your own work, I thought I would take some time to look at older images and get to work on them.  These darlin’ images were taken back in January.  That’s actually not bad for me as I have some from last summer that I still haven’t got to!!  Yikes!

My little Mermaid…

He looks like he’s practicing that GQ pose in the first image…

And I promise, no photoshop voodoo on those beautiful blues.  They really are like that!!

Only problem is looking at pics of them, makes me miss them more!!  See you soon babies!

xoxox

My “baby” is 3.

He says he’s a big boy…until he’s tired and would like to be carried around.  Secretly I’m okay with this as he’s such a snugly kid when he’s not getting into mischief and I know this will not last forever.

Capturing images of him at this age is also a challenge.  I can’t stand the “say cheese” looks he gives me and much prefer natural smiles, mischievous looks and knowing smirks in my photography.  He’s also learned all my “photographer mom” tricks and will engage with me and my antics, but keep his head down.  Thanks son.

I was therefore thrilled to capture him in his element.  Wearing his “piderman underwears”, jumping on the bed and stomping like a dinosaur.  This is what being a boy is all about isn’t it?

Earlier this year, he also discovered how to give me a “thumbs up” with excellent coaching by his big sister.  He was so proud of himself, it was cute 😉

And after an afternoon of silliness, he lay down for a rest….NOT!  He is soooo faking it here.

He is there, I am here and I am feeling sorry for myself 🙁  However, he was two weeks overdue and had to be induced (both my babies refused to be evicted…), so I’m thinking of this as payback!  We will have his requested blue cake (?) birthday party when I return!

Happy Birthday, baby boy!! xoxoxoxo  Mwah!

Mommy

I had the honor and privilege of photographing the NPSIA Soiree earlier this month at the NAC. For those of you who don’t know, NPSIA is the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. The school is well renowned for training students in international affairs and many alumni have gone on to various key leadership positions. More information about the program may be found on their website.

To quote from the event website:
“The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) Benefit Soirée is a non-profit event hosted by the incoming class of NPSIA at Carleton University. This year marks the 13th anniversary of the event in which the students of NPSIA organize an evening of engagement and entertainment for the benefit of an international affairs related issue. The evening normally consists of a general reception, an address by a keynote speaker, dinner, and a silent auction, with all proceeds from the evening benefitting the associated charity. The intent of the evening is to raise awareness and funding for an international issue while permitting the leaders of today to mingle with the leaders of tomorrow — namely, the future graduates of NPSIA.”

This year, the class chose to support the Canadian Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti and invited Mr. Conrad Sauvé, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Red Cross, to be the keynote speaker.

Although I was there to “work” (I use the term loosely…you’ll know why when you see the beautiful food I was able to indulge in), I found it to be an extremely informative and inspiring evening. Thank you to Julia and the rest of the NPSIA Committee for inviting me to attend. I hope you enjoy the images!

Yup, I did.  It was a painful day for me.  I will never forget standing in the hall of the old CS building, finding my student number, sloooowly dragging my finger across and seeing that big ol’ F there.  WHAT?  Are you kidding me?  I knew I wasn’t doing well (especially on the final exam when I truly had no idea of what they were talking about…maybe that should have been my first clue??), but I was essentially an A student, so I figured I could pull off a pass!

Oh, how wrong I was!

Now in my defense, I signed up for the wrong class that I needed to satisfy my BSc in Geography.  Instead of the all around CS class that had a smattering of pascal programming, I signed up for the “lets-weed-out-as-many-people-as-humanly-possible-from-a-computer-science-degree-by-making-them-solve-all-problems-related-to-man-kind-with-pascal-programming” class.  Oh ya, it was awesome!  Apparently I don’t take hints well as on the first class in this massive lecture hall they outlined how 1/2 the class would drop out by the legal drop date (REALLY should have paid attention here…).  Then of the people remaining, 1/2 of them would fail the midterm (by some miracle I passed…barely).  And then of those stubborn folks remaining, 1/2 of them would fail the final.  Presto!  Giant human CS sieve would solve their enrollment problem!

But wait!  I’m stubborn and I really couldn’t believe it would be THAT hard.  I’m no genius, but I have always done well in school because I busted my butt.  Why would this be any different?  Um, because it involves PROGRAMMING!  Apparently my big brother got ALL of the brain cells involving computers…lucky guy!

So, to make a long story longer, I decided to redeem myself, many many many years later and customize my beautiful new blog.  For the most part I did it, but there are still some weird glitches that no one can figure out.  I’ve tried everything I can think of, but it’s probably a little space here or a blasted comma there that is messing me up.  The white flag has officially gone up & I’ve hired someone to fix the issues…:(

In the meantime, if you’re looking at this on firefox, it should be perfect except for the sticky drop down menus.  If you’re looking at this on Internet Explorer, those same menus work (go figure!), but other issues show up (weird spacing/font size, little icons on weird places etc.).  However, the actual posts look great in both, so go with that and ignore the rest until it’s fixed!!  Please forgive me for posting before it’s fixed, but I’m impatient…

Oh, and about that credit I needed?  I took the appropriate class the following term and giggled the whole way through…couldn’t believe how easy it was!!  DUH!

AND, because I can’t post without an image….

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Shona 🙂

EDIT: ARGH! Even the web designer said, “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Awesome!

A funny thing happened on the way to making this image…you see I bought some candy hearts to photograph.  I’ve always wanted to do this {and a macro lens would have made this oh so much more fun ;), but I digress} and what better time than on Valentine’s Day.

And then, I made my fatal mistake…

I left them alone with my son…

No, he didn’t eat them all, but he did lick the sayings off of most of them!  Lucky for him they were pretty lame {hot date, urgr8, lost love etc.}, but come on!  Ah well, never a dull moment with the boy!

Here’s what I managed to capture along with one of my favourite poems by Roy Croft {which was also read at our wedding}:

Love

I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;

I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there,

And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple.

Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.

You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.

Happy Valentine’s Day! xox

Not sure what to get your sweetie for Valentine’s Day?  Or maybe you’re like me and you just get yourself something because, well, after 10 years of marriage, you know how that goes… 😉

How about a beautiful, hand crafted gift certificate from Shona Reid Photography?  Beautifully made and customized to fit your occasion/wording and pre-wrapped to take the stress right out of it.

I hope to hear from you soon & look forward to working with you!

Shona

REMINDER: If you are expecting or have already had your baby, please contact Shona immediately to secure a session.  Newborn sessions are best done within the first 14 days of life before that first big growth spurt. They are more likely to sleep, be curled up and look like a brand spankin’ new babe, so don’t delay!

If you didn’t get that canvas for Christmas that you were dying to get, now is the time!!  Canvases are a gorgeous way to display your images either on their own or in groupings.  Best part is they are ready to hang, so there is no additional cost for framing.  Here’s a sample of one of my recent canvases (it’s 20×30 and g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s.):

Beautiful 1 3/4″ thick canvas that truly shows off your photographic art!  Depending on the image, you can have a coloured border or wrap your actual image around the sides.  In this case, we didn’t want to lose any of the image on the side, so a black border was used.  Looked stunning!

UV protected and durable too…The Mom of this little cutey even remarked that the canvas made it almost look like a painting 😉

I may be switching canvas companies for various reasons and if I do, my prices will have to go up.  So, now’s the time!  Get ’em while the goin’s good at 10% off the already low prices.  Your images will thank you!

Deal ends midnight this Friday (January 22nd, 2010), so don’t delay!

Shona

A good night 🙂 

It’s Christmas Eve and not a creature was stirring, except for this mouse.  I really wanted to give this beautiful Mama-to-be a preview before Christmas as she was drop.dead.gorgeous and oozing with sweetness to boot.  I kid you not!  I almost got a cavity editing these images! 

But seriously, this couple was amazing!  They were up for anything I suggested, enthusiastic, comfortable in front of the camera and so very loving to each other and their baby bump.  I can’t wait to meet him!

Enjoy your sneak peak & have a very Merry Christmas!!

Shona xoxo