Samantha and Allen’s Barriere Maternity Session
In early April, before any greenery was out yet, Samantha and Allen wanted to do a maternity photo session in Barriere (ok, Samantha wanted to, and convinced Allen he should come too đ ). The great thing about the mainly coniferous forest on our acreage is that it is green year round, so with some strategic framing, I can make it look like spring any time. I thought about seeing if Samantha wanted to wait a bit for the leaves to come out, as her due date wasn’t for a couple weeks, but good thing we didn’t, as she went into labour only three days after these photos were taken! She delivered a healthy baby boy, O’Shea, on April 10th.
Samantha is a multi-talented hair dresser, makeup artist, and waxer, who runs The Sugar Shack in Barriere. She posted on her page that she would be working right up until her due date, and would then be taking some time off until July. I had a hair cut with her on April 9th and after my appointment, she had two colours to do. While she was cutting my hair, she was telling me that she had been having small contractions since that morning, and by 1:25am on the 10th, O’Shea had arrived! So she wasn’t kidding about working right up until she was due. :p
Clearwater Engagement Session – Kirin and Kirsten
Christine and Lea (Horse & Rider portraits)
One of my stopovers on my way home from New Zealand  in 2011 was in Los Angeles (the others were Tahiti, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, if youâre curious!). There, my travel partner Juli and I stayed with a friend of hers, Christine. Christine has a beautiful warmblood mare, Lea, so we went out to visit her and take some photos. This was my first horse & rider shoot of the new year, and I couldnât have asked for better models! Christine had a perma-smile on her face, and who wouldnât, being around a sweet mare like Lea? Besides that, the mare should teach equine posing classes! There was hardly a photo in which she didnât have an earnest expression with her ears pricked, and she held each âposeâ with plenty of time for me to capture the shots I wanted. I swear I could hear her saying, âDid you get my good side?â đ To add to the perfection, there were cherry trees (or almond trees perhaps?) in bloom, which made for a beautiful backdrop.
