Canada: Part Three

The cute Barteski-Kostenchuks!  :)

love this one... :)

Penn's expression cracks me up!
Thanks Kal, Dan, Pilot, Penn, Crash, and Norman the Frenchie.  :)

Intermission: Emily and Charles

My day took a crazy turn yesterday and so much slipped through the cracks...(including my Shutter Sisters post...SORRY TRACEY! The Kostenchuck fam is not ready to post yet either.

However, I did look at my files and realize that I have a BAZILLION sessions that I haven't blogged yet. I had no idea how much they'd been stacking up. So here we go...time out from Canada to meet cute Emily and her adorably grown-up little man Charles. So, she found me online (which sounds weird when you put it that way). But their shoot was so much fun that we ended up having lunch afterwards. She's really smart and animated, and tells the best stories. In fact posting this is reminding me that we really need to get together for sushi again, soon!

The only bad thing about her is that she looks like a super model, which always makes me feel like I need to lose 20 pounds, and spray tan, and get my roots done, and also get braces, botox, and a tummy tuck and before we get together.   :)

This is only a partial sampling of Emily's shoe collection which should be displayed in a museum, or at least an art gallery. If it was possible, I would have had her put them all on at the same time. This was the closest I could get. Love little Charles' feet in there too.

More from Canada tomorrow (hopefully).  

Canada: Part Two

I'm calling it her "Glam Session", but it was really a hmmm...what should we do? How bout we roll through a few thrift stores, slap on some lashes and see what happens kind of shoot. The best kind.

We started in her studio. Which when I think about it, was very surreal. I think I've probably written about this before, but I'm going to again. I found Kal's art, before I ever knew anything about her. It was like 6 years ago. We'd just moved, and I was feeling isolated, lonely, homesick. I'd just had a baby, hadn't made friends, wasn't working. So I had lots of time to surf the web. Somehow I stumbled on her Love Life site, and completely fell in love with her work. I think it's because I have a crush on graphic design. And the way she paints feels very graphic to me, in terms of how she crops things and incorporates words with her images. Her WORDS are like an extra dose of magic sprinkled into everything. So I was really taken by her art way before I even knew what a blog was. It was later, maybe two or three years, that I happened onto her blog and found out that the person behind the art was just as amazing. And really, how could you write like that if you weren't? 

So here are a couple we took in her studio.

 And we took these I think before she even knew about her new Wings Gallery Show...how cool is that?

Lashes make the world go round.

I swear, there is never a time that I feel more at home than when I'm playing dress up. Which totally doesn't make sense because I could live in sweats. And I think it's such a chore to even blow dry my hair. But when it comes to shoots like this, I morph straight into a 12 year old. Pink? Yes please.

This one is for my mom because she loves Norman. She calls him "the Frenchy", which goes perfect with his Glam Shot. Go Norman, work it. 

We tried to get one of Norman in my camera bag, but it wasn't quite happening. Next time.

Then we hit the streets. I swear, you Winnipeg photographers are so lucky. There is SUCH great shooting in that city. My camera would be on permanent overload.

There are two new loves that I took away from The Peg:

CANNED CHARDONNAY. Can I get a what what? Perfect for pedicures.

And ETHIPIAN FOOD. It was my first time, and now I'm hooked. I mean what is better than eating dinner with your hands? Anyone know of a place in San Antonio?

Part Three tomorrow: The Kostenchuck Fam

See you then! :)

Canada: Part One

There's so much to say about everything...Winnipeg, Oregon...why I decided to cut the trip short. How excited I am about the new business. How long my work days have had to be in order to make stuff happen. There's so much, I'm not sure where to start.  

I'd originally booked my ticket for this whirlwind trip. I had this idea that I wanted to put together some sort of online publication about artists and designers and photographers. At the time it all sounded fun and great. I'd lined up a bunch of really amazing people to interview and photograph. But by the time the trip had arrived, my life was swallowed up by BAGS, and new websites, and the major learning curve that is associated with doing stuff that you've never done. Consequently, my little artsy project had been shoved into the backseat of my priority list.

And that left me in Winnipeg: "Knock knock!" "Who's there?" "Oh, just a random girl from Texas without a purpose". 

So the view from my hotel room which should have made me feel excited about a new adventure, really just made me feel small and embarrassed.

And then this really sweet package was delivered to my room. I'd been so wrapped up in what was going on inside my head. It hadn't even occurred to me that someone might be glad to have me there. 

There were all kinds of Canadian treats inside...even Faux Smarties! I realized that when you're feeling vulnerable, a little welcome goes a long way. Thank you Kal. :)

And we ended up having such a great time. Kal took me all over her adorable neighborhood, which made me a little bit homesick for Sebastopol and the days when we could walk to everything. The bakery, the post office, the pub, the movies. Winnipeg just like that... a really sweet city with so much character. 

We didn't know what to do with our lunch at first. It was tuna fish, surrounded by rice, wrapped up in seaweed. Sounds weird, but it was so good. And I know my mom will read this and make it today, since she pretty much keeps Nori in stock as a staple. I wish I was more like that. I'm lucky to have bread or milk, let alone seaweed in the cabinets.

Kal organized this amazing spa appointment. She wouldn't admit this, but if you ever suspected that she is a total celebrity in Winnipeg, you would be CORRECT. One of the girls that worked in the salon reads her blog (really, who doesn't) and they stayed open just for us (her). I was also lucky enough to meet her super sweet friend Tammy, who came along with us. My only regret was that I was SO TIRED that day. We had just finished doing Kal's shoot, which meant that we'd started drinking wine around...oh maybe noon. I really have no idea but it was too early for my non-day-drinking self. Even in Mexico when people are sipping margaritas all day. If I do that, I want to be in bed by 5. Of course the pedicures didn't help. So it was all I could do to string together a full sentence at dinner.  

Here's what it looked like from her side of the camera. She wrote what might have been the sweetest thing that anyone's ever said about me as a photographer. I feel like if I live up to even half of that, then I was a success at this work.

And there's so much more, no way I could post it all today. So here is a little tease for tomorrow when I post Kal's Studio Tour, and Glam Session (you know I had to bring a little bit of Texas?!), and yes I did get her to agree to HOT PINK lipstick! Stay tuned.  :)

Link-O-Rama!

Sorry there were no posts while I was gone. Each day was packed, and the wifi in the hotel would only work for 5-10 minute increments. So now I'm back, and wishing I had the liberty to go through the photos to tell all the fun stories. But my to-do list has been multiplying itself faster than the Duggar Family. In fact, I actually decided to cut the trip short because of it. So I'm working as fast as I can at getting (even remotely) caught up. If you're waiting for photos, for an email, please know that I am on it! And I really appreciate your patience. With the announcement of the bags last week, my workload has easily doubled. We're working feverishly on the new site up + all the other details that go along with launching a new business.

In the mean time, I want to say again how much I appreciate everyone who has been helping to spread the word... especially everyone who blogged about them: 

KAL, ALI, SHUTTER SISTERS, ELISE, STEPHANIE, KATE, CHASITY, JANA, THE WHITEBOX GIRLS, PHAUNT ACTIONS, KELLIE, KHARA, TANIA, MELISSA, STACEY, REBECCA, AMY, RACHEL, BROOKE, CHRISTINA, ADRIENNE, LAUREN, and THE PAPER PASSION

If I'm missing anyone or if you post a new link, please let me know. I want to return the favor! And I'm also really passionate about supporting people who are following dreams. Like my friend and fellow photogirl, Brooke Mayo who has just released her first book: Diving Doggies: A Celebration of Play Underwater! How amazing is this cover shot?! I think this is the perfect gift for the animal lovers in your life...just in time for Christmas! To purchase, GO HERE. 

And speaking of following dreams, check out what Jen and Andrea are up to! Mondo Beyondo is an online course designed to help you define and make your wildest dreams come true. I signed up for it a couple months ago, and just opened up my link to the site today. It looks like it's going to be incredible, so be sure to check it out!

And that's it for now. Hopefully in the very near future, I'll find time to post about my Amazing Visit With Kal and Her Adorable Family. We laughed, we went to thrift stores, we took pictures, drank wine, painted nails, and generally realized that online friends are also real life friends. It was a very full-circle weekend for me. There's so much to say about it, and her, and everything else. It really deserves a full post of it's own. Or two or three. Until then, I'm going to go bury my head in the computer screen.  xo