Crimson Chickadee Photography » Crimson Chickadee Photography

He is my middle child.
He has had a tough fall.
He is still struggling with his arm, he has no feeling in two of his fingers and has some real damage in his pinky.
He has a lot of my qualities…both good and bad. Most of the time he melts my heart. Like when I asked him what he wanted to do over the holidays.
He told me he wanted to spend time with me…you know maybe buy some clothes and do some pictures.
He knows I could never resist a request like that!
He sat beside me and helped me edit every single one.
He wants them for facebook. I have a surprise for him…I posted this to his page. I cannot wait to see his reaction when he sees this!

WOW!! What a bunch of well behaved boys! I have to admit when mom called and told me that she wanted pictures of her four boys I had visions of what you would expect from a bunch of boys…but was I ever wrong! These guys could put a few girls I know to shame! They took turns politely, sat patiently and helped each other out. I am impressed to say the least! But on top of having such wonderful manners they are a handsome band of brothers! Enjoy your peeks!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all enjoy your time with your families. I know I cannot wait to spend some time with mine!

{hugs}

Sometimes you can’t help yourself but to be smitten by someone…and I was by these two! Mr. H and Miss H were both sweethearts! They listened so well and behaved better than I could have asked for! The pictures are all so adorable…I can’t wait to sit down and edit them! But until then here is a little taste of what is to come…

And one more…compliments of Miss H.

When Ms. T contacted me about their wedding next summer I was thrilled when engagement pictures where included in the package they choose. Although it was  very chilly and we found ourselves going in to warm ourselves up, we did have fun and I am excited to give them their sneak peek.  I look forward to seeing you in the summer…enjoy your peeks!

I believe that the month of December is a wonderful month. I love the effort people put into the holidays, however I also believe that we unintentionally or subconsciously become self orientated. We look forward to seeing OUR family and friends, to making OUR homes festive, buying gifts for OUR families and I am very guilty of this one…anticipating what is under the tree with OUR name on. Sometimes around the holidays we hear how someone has had some misfortune and we have a moment of compassion for them but do we ever take it any farther than that? Most of the time no.
Last year I gave away a session over the holidays. Not because I wanted to help someone out or do something good…I just felt festive. Soon after I posted about my contest I found out about Giving is Awesome. It occurred to me that my little contest could hold more impact in someone’s life than just a random drawing of a name. I decided that I would be apart of Giving is Awesome in 2009. When the time approached to start thinking about giving, Alleisha and I both decided we wanted to give and we will both participate.

What is Giving is Awesome?

Giving is Awesome is a simple effort by photographers worldwide to give back to their communities. Regional contests are sponsored by photographers across the globe. Each photographer is encouraged to give both a session fee and a generous amount of portrait product (typically $1000 or more) to a worthy individual or family this holiday season. Giving a smaller portrait gift to the person who does the nominating of the winner is also strongly encouraged. You can visit the Giving is Awesome website HERE.

So here are the details.

You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

We want to know who they are, and we want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography — $1300 worth, to be exact. The winner will receive their session and the ‘Love Bird’ portrait collection.
Here is a twist to our Giving is Awesome contest. Instead of having one contest with one winner we will be having one contest with two winners…one winner for Nicole and one winner for Alleisha. That’s a total of $2600 in portrait goodness for two deserving families from Crimson Chickadee Photography.

Oh, and the person who nominates the winner receives a $50 print credit.

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing our services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Alberta. They must also have transportation to the studio for their session. Tell us who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve our artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

*Nominees cannot be relatives of any employee of Crimson Chickadee Photography…but they can nominate someone:)

* You must e-mail me the full story : givingisawesome@crimsonchickadeephotography.com

The deadline for entries is 6:00 p.m. December 24, 2009.

The winner will be announced on Christmas Day — get nominating! We can’t wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving us the opportunity to open ours.

{hugs}

Nicole and Alleisha

Well not really me…but it sounded kind of fun, like we had been on an adventure! I can barely believe that miss p is 9 months already. I always look forward to her visits…it is so fun to see how she has grown since the last time I saw her. I had such a hard time choosing what should go up for her sneak peeks…she looks so cute in them all!

When the alarm went off on Monday morning I wondered as I looked at  the time if I had agreed to something that I was really going to regret.

I got myself ready and I kept looking at my bed thinking it looked so inviting, I wish I could snuggle back into it.

As I headed out on the dark and lonely highway I wondered when I would see the sun.

I entered the building I called my destination and headed to the office and wondered what the day would be like.

I walked into the room and saw all of the  computers, the studio lighting, tables full of binders and cameras and many curious faces…I thought to myself it will be amazing, I am so glad I agreed to come.

As the day came to a close and I made my way  home I pondered about how often we procrastinate to do something that is a sacrifice to ourselves and a benefit to others. That simple act often becomes the most educational and satisfactory thing. I did not spend the day in the soup kitchen or volunteering for a wonderful organization but I did spend the day with a group of the most amazing high school students.  That’s right…I spent the whole day with the film and media students at the Leduc Composite High School. As I talked to them about camera settings, posing, natural and studio lighting I was rewarded with the gift of sharing my knowledge to eager ears. I am sure there have been more than one laugh at the school today as they walk around looking at the size of the other students eyes and which side of their face they subconsciously favor!

Thank you to all the students for listening so well, for not being shy to ask questions, and most of all for being yourselves and having fun learning about photography!

Till next time…

Nicole

Around this time last year I did a maternity session in which I captured a picture I absolutely adore..you can look at the post HERE. That little candy cane heart is  is almost a year old! Time goes by so quickly.

Usually it is me rolling around acting silly trying to get smiles out of the little ones but not this time! Grandma and Mom both deserve awards for silly behavior and squeaky voice talking!! I enjoyed Mr. L’s session and he was such a good boy!

I have chuckled many times at this first image…can you see “cat”? ( I know, I know I am REALLY original when naming my animals!) She is like the supervisor around here…always watching but never working!

And how about this one…isn’t he just adorable?

But I LOVE this image!! What a little cutie Mr. L is!