Bring on the New Year!

We just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients, friends, and fellow photographers a very happy 2008! While 2007 was a great year, I know that 2008 is going to be even better! We are introducing lots of new products and a new approach to album design - and of course, we have lots of great ideas for cool images that we can't wait to try out next year.

We also wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays, although the holidays are pretty much over at this point! We had a great Christmas with our families, and very much enjoyed and appreciated the time spent relaxing, having fun, and of course, eating! Whatever holiday you happen to celebrate at this special time of year, we hope it was memorable for you as well.

So to everyone we know: all the best to you in the New Year! May it be a time of inspiration, creation, and all good things.

Hambleton Portrait Session

In mid-November I photographed the beautiful Hambleton family in Richmond. The Hambletons had just recently moved up to family status with the addition of little Mackenzie, who was about six months old at the time. There's a special glow around a new family and the Hambletons had it in abundance, making my job easy - with the exception of attempting to photograph Mackenzie while preventing her from eating leaves, which she seemed bent on ingesting!

Nunweiler Portrait Session

I had a great time with the Nunweiler family for their portrait session in Steveston. After scouting out some locations prior to their session, I found the perfect spot for their group of ten (nine people and a dog!) We also had the opportunity to break the larger group into small groups for what I like to call "supporting images". This always works great as a wall display - the big group shot is displayed as a large print, with smaller prints of the little groups displayed nearby. It's an excellent way to give a cohesive feel to a display of family portraits.

Baby Liam Session

Little Liam is such a sweet guy - actually, he's not very little - he's quite the big boy, weighing in at about 18 pounds when I photographed him at close to four months old! He is truly adorable and has one perfect little dimple in his left cheek. Mom Meaghan was also on hand for the session and helped pose Liam. I love doing these sessions in the baby's environment - around the home, in their nursery room, and of course in their crib. I also photograph all the little details as well - toys, clothes, room decor - all of these things serve well later on as design elements in a baby album. Liam was a joy to photograph and I'm looking forward to seeing how big he is next time I see him!

Shannon - Maternity

Maternity photos are another new concept for us this year. I love doing these sessions not only because they are great fun, but also because the photos created will reflect such an amazing point in the subject's life (and that of her family). This past summer I had a chance to photograph the beautiful Shannon and hubby Mark, just a month or so before little Gabrielle came into the world. Right away Shannon told me she wanted something different - could we go roll around in a field while you take photos? Ummm, yes! How cool is that? So off we went to Iona Beach where Shannon and Mark braved mosquitos and did, in fact, roll around in a field a bit! Shannon thought it might also be cool to do some more "urban" stuff, which I thought was great because it is very atypical to the usual maternity look. In Steveston we found a cool brick wall and combined with Shannon's camo capris, a black bikini top, and Mark's neat tatoos, we got some very unique shots. If you're interested in booking a maternity session, drop us an email and we'll send you more information. We've also got more examples in the Intimate gallery on our website - enjoy!

The Start of Secret Sessions

Continuing on with our portrait posts, I finally had a chance to start offering boudoir sessions this year. I thought it would be a little more fun to call them "Secret Sessions", since many of our boudoir clients often do these sessions as a surprise for their partner - hence the secret! A few brave ladies were nice enough to let me use a few of their images online and I thought I'd post a few here (more can be seen in the Intimate Gallery on our website). These sessions have been even more fun than I anticipated, as boudoir photography these days is much more artistic and fashion-influenced than it used to be - think an editorial spread in Vogue magazine and you'll get the idea. We're planning on doing at least two Secret Session marathons next year - basically a full weekend of sessions at a local luxury hotel - so watch the blog for next year's schedule!

Liza and Cohen - Baby Portraits

My very good friend Liza had a beautiful baby boy in March, and I finally had the chance to photograph him and her together in July. We had a lot of fun with these images, while poor daddy Shaun was at work earning money for diapers! Cohen is pretty much one of the cutest babies ever made - he has big eyes and this adorable quizzical look on his little face. Baby photography is relatively new to me compared to weddings, and I have to say it is so much fun - and challenging too! You never know when you might need to stop for a feeding break or a quick nap - of course, those are actually just more photo opportunities in themselves! If you're interested in a Baby Session or Family Session, drop us an email and we'll gladly send you more information.

Sonus and Adventures in Trespassing

It's not often I get to shoot a rock band and break trespassing laws at the same time, but I got my chance back in the summer with local band Sonus! Okay, so the "trespassing" was actually just wandering onto the grounds of an abandoned warehouse, which happened to have some "No Trespassing" signs posted - so it's not exactly as rebellious as it sounds! Being on train tracks is also illegal, but we weren't actually ON them, just sort of beside them... Anyway! Sonus has just released their first CD of rock/alternative songs, and I must say it is impressive. Of course, I am a little biased since my brother-in-law, Lucas, is the band's bass player. ;) Photographing a band is a little different from weddings or family portraits, and it was both fun and challenging at the same time. It was neat to play with funky angles and selective focus, and I can see how lots of these techniques could transfer over to weddings and other portraits - good stuff. Congrats to Sonus on the first CD - you guys rock! You can check them out online at Sonus Music.

Portraits, portraits, and more portraits

Wow, we've had the opportunity to do lots of portraits over the past few months, and now we finally have a chance to blog about them! Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting some images from a variety of different sessions I've shot since way back in the summer, as well as lots from the fall. With all the craziness of wedding season, our portraits sessions suffered from blog-neglection, so now it's their time to shine! Enjoy!

Secret Session Marathon - Change of Date

Due to popular demand, we've decided to change the date of our upcoming Secret Session Marathon. The marathon will now be held the following weekend, November 23 (Friday), 24 (Saturday) and 25 (Sunday) - the times available are the same as in our previous post below. And don't worry - there will still be lots of time to create your extra special "Secret" Christmas gifts!

Just a side note as well - none of your images will be displayed on our website unless you are okay with it! We respect your privacy (especially when it comes to "Secret" images!) and are grateful for images to share on our website and blog, but if you want to keep your Secret Session a secret, that's totally cool as well! :)

Secret Session Marathon!

Hey ladies! Looking for a fun Christmas gift for your significant other that he will love even more than golf clubs or hockey tickets? Or maybe you'd just like some beautiful photos of you at your best? Either way, our Secret Session (boudoir) Marathon on November 16, 17, and 18 is for you! We will be holding a total of six sessions throughout the weekend:

Friday - 3:30PM
Saturday - 9:00AM, 11:00AM, 1:00PM, 3:00PM
Sunday - 9:30AM

Sessions will be held at the beautiful Vancouver Airport Hilton (Richmond) in one of their deluxe King Bedroom Suites. Sessions take approximately 90 minutes, and are shot by Laura. Three to five outfit changes are recommended. There will also be albums and prints on hand for you to look through, so that you can decide exactly how you'd like to show off your Secret Session images. Sessions are $295, which includes the shoot at the hotel, an online gallery of your images, and a $100 product credit (can be used towards a Secret Album, custom enhanced prints, etc.) A CD with the high-resolution original images will also be delivered with your product order.

There are only six spaces available, so contact us as soon as possible to reserve your spot! For examples of our boudoir work, check out the Intimate Gallery on our website. And if you'd like more information, please give us a call at 604.277.7452, or email at magnoliaphotographic@gmail.com.

Elizabeth and Chui - September 15, 2007

Ah, the emotion - it was plentiful and flowing at Elizabeth and Chui's wedding! Though it was all rooted in joy and happiness, there was laughter and tears throughout the day. Lots of laughter ensued throughout the photo session, which made photographing these two and their bridal party very easy. The tea ceremonies (yes, there were two!) were also fun - I've never seen a bride receive so much jewellery, and Elizabeth was more than happy to show off her new "bling," as she called it! Laughter was also plentiful at the reception at Shiang Garden, but there were some tears as well. Elizabeth's father made a beautiful speech about his lovely daughter, and it's evident how much it touched her in the image below. Elizabeth also has a very special relationship with her grandmother, which she talked about during her emotional speech and ended by giving her bouquet to her grandmother. It was an incredibly touching moment. The reception concluded with some very fun games and then an amazing performance by contortionists - all I can say is "wow!"

Cecilia and Phil - September 8

Cecilia and Phil's big day was all about the personal touches - from the hand-made favours to the bento box lunches for the guests, everything had a little (or a lot!) of Cecilia and Phil in it. Their ceremony took place at the Vancouver Museum (inside the Planetarium building) in the beautiful Joyce Whalley Room overlooking Vanier Park. The bento boxes were ready and waiting for guests after the ceremony, and contained some of Cecilia and Phil's favourite foods - a Chinese pork bun and an orange chocolate truffle lollipop, among other delicious things. It was fun to take advantage of the museum displays (like the 50's diner display in the image below) and then it was onwards to Locarno Beach, followed by a local park with great views and a school with cool architecture. The reception was at the Victoria Chinese Restaurant, and in between courses guests were treated to some amazing entertainment - a Chinese harp player, a saxophone player, and even a Chinese opera - all performed by guests at the wedding (pretty talented group!) The favours were beautiful wooden boxes, each one carved by Phil from a single block of wood. Inside was a macaroon made by Cecilia (who also made the fabulous cake) and a magnet featuring a cute caricature of the couple. It was an amazing day, and we were happy to share it with Cecilia and Phil!

Vicky and Ken - September 2, 2007

After Vicky and Ken's big day, I now feel that we should be known as the "Rain Dodgers!" We were lucky enough to time the photo sessions in Gastown and at Deer Lake Park between (sometimes torrential) showers. But the best part was the outdoor ceremony - somehow, the rain held off just long enough for Vicky and Ken to get married in front of the beautiful lake. Of course it poured during the reception, but that was okay because everyone was safely inside enjoying the reception at Hart House. Speaking of the reception, Vicky and Ken did a great job decorating the tent with their theme colours of pink and chocolate - I especially loved the huge pink paper lanterns hanging from the roof. I know these two were a little tired from all the planning, but it didn't show on their wedding day - they were clearly so happy just to be together and married!