Garden Days

I love spring!  Ok honestly I love all seasons... but spring always bring such freshness and colour!  This photo was taken in our garden last year.  The birdbath was a gift from my aunt and uncle awhile ago and it tends to migrate through the yard from year to year depending on what dad's decided to do that year.  He's so great with gardening and landscaping, so the yard always looks stellar!  I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does this year :o)  And to starting our vegetable garden!

Greasy Webs

Spiderwebs are super cool, and can be very tricky to capture in a photo.  This particular one looked as though it had been sprayed with a very fine mist of grease and then coated in dust... or something.  It looked sooo funky I just had to hang out for awhile and shoot until I came up with this shot.  It was taken in Redford at one of Austin's gigs last summer.

April Showers

T

This photo was taken on Mackinac Island last spring.  It was FREEZING on the island that weekend but I still managed to get some nice springy shots like this one.  All the rain made for some vibrant colours and fun water droplets on the flowers.  I may be sick in bed today, but still looking forward to the patterns of spring emerging!

Photo of the Day: Peek-a-Boo

This sunflower was trying to peek out from it's bud, and I'm really hoping we start seeing this again soon!  :o)  I'm ready for spring!

Photo of the Day: Wedding Bliss

Congratulations to my friend Cindy and her new husband (as of this evening) Mike!  Cindy and I met at church camp many many years ago and I have become friends with just about her entire family.  Her brother was one of my housemates for awhile back in college as well.  This particular photo was taken back in 2007 at the first wedding I ever got paid to shoot :o)  I'm happy to report that the couple is still happily married today (unfortunately not the case with other weddings I've shot...!)  For those of you in need of a wedding photographer, or for those of you who know someone who is in need of a wedding photographer... send me a note!  :o)  I'm ridiculously reasonable and willing to travel if need be!  Check out some of my other wedding shots on my website www.ShutterbugDesign.com

In all honesty though, this entry is a heartfelt congratulations to Cindy and Mike, may you have a lifetime of wonderful experiences and adventures together as a married couple!  Can't wait to join the club!  :o)

Photo of the Day: Cheer up Charlie

Today's photo is my own personal pick-me-up.  At the end of last year I was informed that my full-time job was being reduced to a project-only basis due to the company's financial position, which means no more regular cheque and no more benefits.  As a result I've been searching for a new job while picking up as many hours as I can cashiering at a grocery store to try and pay the bills so I don't have to deplete my house fund for when Austin and I get married and need a place to live (since we both still live at home and do NOT want to start married life in the parents' basement...!)  Yesterday was a rough day, being very frustrated with my lack of focus and progress, so I'm posting this photo today because, as Meg Ryan once said "Daisies are the friendliest flowers" so they are going to cheer me up... or they'd better :o)  I am trying to stay positive, but we all have our days... yesterday was mine.  Onward and upward!

Photo of the Day: Viva Las Vegas

Today I am on my way to Las Vegas with my family for a mini-vaca!  Woohoo!  Be on the lookout next week for some photos from that, but for today's entry I thought I'd leave you with this piece from a trip there several years ago.  This is a glass installment at the Bellagio Hotel-Casino that I just loved.  It was a part of their whole botanical garden thing, and was quite large, very impressive!  Hope you enjoy the colours and the craftsmanship!

Photo of the Day: Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my future mother-in-law today!  I took this photo on a trip I took with her (and my fiance too) to Daytona Beach to beat a case of the Mid-Winter Blahs.  We were only gone for a few days but we had such a great time together! Happy birthday Donna!

Photo of the Day: Colours of Duesseldorf

This photo was taken at the Benrath castle in Duesseldorf, Germany.  Austin and I visited there on a whim during our Eurotrip in 2008 and had a great time!  Benrath is also home of the killer geese I mentioned the other day, I'll be posting that story in its entirety later this week, but if you're interested in reading more about our excursion, check out our travel blog from that day!  The Benrath grounds were beautiful and made for many photo opps, really enjoyable (other than the killer geese) :o)

Photo of the Day: Sunflower Saturdays

My mum and I were headed to an event I was shooting early last fall when we passed by this random field of sunflowers right of the main road.  We decided to get on site early the next day so I'd have time to run over there and take some shots while the sun was out :o)

Photo of the Day: Winter Rose

I have no idea where I took this photo... lol!  I think it was at a wedding we attended, and was in the bride's bouquet, but I'm not 100% sure.  In any case I thought it would make a nice entry for today since I'm kind of a serene wintery mood, and while this isn't a winter flower really, it's white and soft like snow.

Photo of the day

Today's photo is dedicated to my mum. I took this a couple of weeks ago up on Mackinac Island while I was there for the Mackinac Policy Conference. This was the view in front of Mission Point Resort (hotel I stayed at) and it was just lovely. While it rained almost the whole entire time we were there, I did manage to get a few nice shots, and this one just reminded me so much of my mum I had to snap it... it's like her idea of paradise, only it would need more sun :o)

Photo of the day

Woohoo!! Dad and I finally got back into the garden today and finished digging up my veggie patch! Now Jared and I can go get dirt and finish it up on Thursday and PLANT!!! It looks great I'm excited! :o)

I took this photo in the front garden a few weeks ago after a rain and the tulips were looking just lovely and fresh. Last year I'm pretty sure my dad planted like a thousand so they've just been sprouting up all over, it makes me homesick!

Photo of the day

Every year I brave a single flower in the garden... I am not much of a gardener, but I love tigerlilies so much I had to give it a try. The first year I only got about 3 blooms, but now they've grown and spread so much I get a lot more than 3 :o)

I always end up shooting a bunch of photos whenever they bloom... I took this one a couple of years ago after a rain. I love the way the shutters behind it contrast with the petals... blue and orange, two of my favourite colours, and my all time favourite colour combo :o)

Photo of the day - A Dedication

Today's photo is dedicated to my friend Mary. She sounded like she could use some inner peace today, so I hope this helps create that.

I took this photo while at a wedding for a former boss of Austin's on their property up north a little ways from us. It's a huge piece of land with some beautiful scenery and plant life, they guy did high-end landscaping and clearly took care of his own space as well. I loved the way the petals of this lily fell, and the slight reflection in the water.

Notecard Sales

So my notecard sales have been going pretty well, and I'm really pleased with the response I've been getting to them... I currently have 3 sets available: Doors & Windows, Bridges, and Flowers. It's great to see I've finally found a product that works for people, showcases my photos, and doesn't cost me too terribly much in time or financial investment! If you haven't checked them out yet, you can order through my website www.ShutterbugDesign.com
The photos included in this entry are one from each series (each set contains 10 different photos on the front of blank notecards). Enjoy!

Photo of the day

It's been freezing out again the last 2 days, but I'm still in a Spring kind of mood, so I figure screw the weather, I'm posting a springy photo today! :o)

I took this photo in my aunt & uncle's backyard last spring while I was in a particularly inspired mood (I took like 100 pictures in their yard that weekend...) I really liked the way the water was sitting so nice and neatly on the leaves waiting to be photographed... plant life can be soooo accommodating!

There's really not much of a story behind this one, but I liked it and it enhances my spring mood, so I hope it does the same for you!

Photo of the day

Well I ordered another series of notecards to start selling on my storefront... the first series is a 10 pack with various photos from my "Doors & Windows" collection. The new series features various flower shots I've taken (including this one). I'm excited to get the stock in so I can launch the line (accepting pre-orders... $12.- for a 10 pack of notecards, incl. s&h!!)

I took this photo in Scottsdale, AZ at Jack Canfield's Breakthrough to Success seminar back in 2007. I was invited to attend the seminar because my boss couldn't go at the last minute, so he offered me his registration. I went in with pretty much no expectations, and ended up really having an incredible experience, and meeting some fantastic people...! The resort the seminar was held at was phenomenal, and it was pretty cool because one of my best friends from my high school years lives there now, so I got to see him a couple of times and catch up on life. I'm not normally taken by Arizona scenery (deserts only offer my eyes so much... at least the deserts I've seen thus far...!) but this place did a good job of bringing in the desert feel, and still maintaining the pretty (like these awesome orange flowers!) :oD