Element Photography

HURRAY! The comment field is working again!! Genevieve from Lilac Creative saved me this week. Sorry to everyone who had so much trouble getting their entries in for the giveaway! Thanks to those who persisted! I received 22 entries after publishing the blog post Maui – top 5 and a giveaway! Great big thank you to Sophie Grace for the jewelry gift! This afternoon Leeza my lovely assistant and I did the draw and it went a little like this!

Congratulations Krista Redenbach!!

Please contact me with your mailing address and I will put Jamie from Sophie Grace Maui in touch with you!!! Enjoy your gift – thanks for playing!

Hell00o gorgeous!

Meet Kim, a great friend of mine from Uni. Kim’s the girl who used to intimidate me a little around the faculty. For one, she’s a stunner. She hung around with the guys, she had sharp and quick wit and a serious dose of sarcasm to go with it all. And she was smartie pants, so smart she could sit in the backrow and act like it was no-big-deal. Note – I sat on the left side second row from the front, pretty much all the time. I wasn’t the smartest, I wasnt from Saskatchewan, I was pretty fun or maybe just funny looking,  and I liked to chat with pretty much anyone.  I cant remember the exact time Kim and I actually started to become friends but I remember spending alot of time with her in fourth year during study breaks while prepping for PEBC’s. good times. Our paths crossed constantly through student council and social events and many mutual friends. I remember when she got an offer for a job in Duncan, BC on Vancouver Island and she asked me for advice on the location. Well I couldn’t say enough good things about Van Isle, she took the job and off she went. Now I get to see her every time I go back with my husband! Our friendship continues to grow and its amazing to see what an incredible person she has become. Brilliant, beautiful, passionate about her career and her life. A love for travel, her furry friend Franklin, and her family. Her quick wit and sarcasm still gets me…when I actually catch on to the joke! A girl who is grounded. Honest. She talks to her mom back home weekly, daily maybe? Not to mention the covergirl for the Island Pharmacy billboards doting the highways of Vancouver Island (although if you ask her Franklin really stole the show and he can be spotted with her).

I snatched up the opportunity to shoot her while we were in Maui. Gorgeous, ocean-side location while taking in the amazing sunset. Looking at her sun-kissed glow reallllly makes me wish we were all still there!  The shoot was pretty impromptu “hey kim stand over there!” it took all of 5 minutes and it was a whoot! Here are the results!

Last week I jetted off across the Pacific to the beautiful island of Maui! I had never been to HI before and it did not disappoint. Maui is a quiet, laid-back island where anything goes and you will encounter anything but the ordinary and expected. Miles of pristine coastline and white sandy beaches, gorgeous turquoise waters and lush rainforest. I met up with my two great girl friends Rachelle and Kim, we lounged on a variety of gorgeous beaches, attempted the road to Hana (car sickness got the best of us), scuba’d and snorkeled, shopped, laughed at ourselves floundering in the waves while boogie boarding (waves 1 girls 0) and ate waaay to much tasty pineapple. While I was there I also covered a wedding for Mike + Jenn Flaman, my first destination wedding! hurray! More on that later : ) I loved Maui, really really I did. I will go back, next time I’ll take m. Christmas too early?!

For now I leave you with my top five must’s of Maui + some photos!

1. Big Beach outside of Wailea, big waves big fun. Not for the kiddies!

2. Paia town – dont miss Sophie Grace Maui island inspired jewelry. I picked up a dainty little stamped silver bracelet. Customized with ” m + e ” stamped on the small silver medallion. Other bracelets were stamped “loved”, “twins”, “blessed”, “pray” cute! I also couldn’t resist a pair of earring that shop owner and artist Jamie Shepherd was wearing. Vintage coral, with pyrite and turquoise on twisted gold hoops. I loved them so much I bought them right out of her ears!!

3. Cheeseburger Paradise (obviously) in Lahina + Coconuts fish cafe – best fish tacos Kihei

4. Snorkling with the local sea turtles

5. The smell of the fragrant island air, take a deep breath as soon as you get out of that airplane…amazing – ocean mixed with plumeria + hibiscus florals

we spotted this sunset wedding…awe.

SURPRISE GIVEAWAY! - Jamie from Sophie Grace is the sweetest lady around she’s giving away a piece of custom jewelery to one of my blog readers!

Here’s what you need to do to WIN!

1.  Friend Sophie Grace Maui on facebook by clicking on this link HERE

2. Like Element Photography on facebook by clicking on this link HERE

3. Once you’ve done both those things, and picked out your favorite jewels…Tell me about it! Leave a comment here on the element blog and a winner will be selected on October 25 2011.

easy peasy!

Aloha! Find element photography on facebook, see where we go next!

Just a little notice to readers that October is booked in full, still some availability in early November. Im thinking we will have late fall color well into November  - as you can see so far not much has changed! Drop me an email if your interested in booking a session!

Its been a busy fall so far I can hardly keep up with myself! We can check Thanksgiving off the list, and my first destination wedding – just home from a gorgeous Maui! Last wedding of the 2011 season too! Amazing to reflect on the last couple months, I cant believe I was able to shoot eight weddings from May to October! Incredible growth and experiences for me meeting so many fantastic couples and their families along the way! Thank you so so much to everyone who has commented on my blog page, shared, read one of my features on other blogs, and liked element on facebook. I cannot express how much I appreciate your support! Looking ahead the rest of October is jam packed with fun filled family sessions and then life will slow down again, and for that I am thankful too. My hubby misses me and it will be nice to settle back into a routine!

next up on the blog? Rachel + Bobby’s Oliver wedding!  stay tuned ; )

Keep up with element latest blog posts, availability, contests, and friday fab five! Find us on facebook!

Our wedding was featured as a top finalist in the RW & co we do, weddings contest! Hip hip hurray!!

Please help us win by submitting your vote here on the RW & co website! Look for Malcolm and his mighty men

Thanks so much!

Chantel + Patrick, you guys are crazy, zany and so much fun!! These two are on a working holiday in the Okanagan for the summer, sweet hey? I think so. Planning for a wicked adventure abroad and saving their pennies to do so. Estimated time of departure? This January. Destination? Unknown…or maybe a just little unknown. These two fly by the seat of their pants and I like it. Chantel is a pharmacist too, so we got to know each other this summer as co-workers.As well she is a talented yoga teacher! Patrick a high school teacher and Sumac Ridge wine server extraordinaire! Not only did I have the worlds best locum to work with this summer, M and I made fun new friends too! Thanks for the great times this summer Chantizzle and for keeping me energized at work with your mantras and positive spirit!

smokin’ whoa!

then the sunset! so we experimented with low light…i like it, the texture kind of reminds me of my film days!

Helloooo gorgeous couple, meet Adam + Lyndsay! Lyndsay and first connected at our photo hero  Jamie Delaine‘s workshop this past June. We pretty much chatted each other’s ears off during our down time at Jamies studio. We have so so so much in common. She pretty much covered all of it in her super sweet post she blogged after shooting us for our One year anniversary! Check it out!!

L + A were heading to the Okanagan from New Westminster for a weekend of family time, and I had to make sure I saw her too! I just cant get enough of this girl and her antics! Dinner date it was! Lyndsay’s so fun she suggested we cover a low key mini sessions with our hubs while we catch up, pre-dinner. The evening of frantic texts began  flying back and forth, we’re late, no…WE are going to be late. So we changed the location from Summerland to Penticton for dinner and the Hooded Merganser (one of my favs!) and decided if we both got there in time we will still sneak in a shoot.

We made it in time! hooray!

We walked and gabbed, and walked and snapped, and walked and gabbed some more. I laughed, alot. Its my knee-jerk reaction to unusual situations. It happens often and its loud and contagious. We shared tips about client interactions and posing, what we love what we dont love, who is the biggest nerd and how we met our sweethearts.  Dinner was delish and the company irresistable. We look forward to seeing you both again really soon!

L + A just celebrated their 2 year anniversary, a week before our 1 year : ) Congrats and Hooray some more!

 im a little bossy…this is what happens when M takes the reigns. we are working on this.

Follow element photography on FACEBOOK!  Can’t wait to meet you!

Cherry blossoms and sunny days are a give away I suppose, but Spring is here and Im really excited about it. Not to mention all the bright new dresses I have been eyeing up lately to fill up my closets with! Just a reminder to everyone that my May and June sessions are booked solid, I am now booking into July, August and September with limited availability. Please contact me sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment! Thank you everyone for your interest, it means so much.

Below is a snap of my gal pal Liza, and second shooter extraordinaire. Want to know more about Liza? Who doesn’t? Check out my top 34 things you didnt know HERE!  HAPPY EASTER!!

Liza! Who is she?? Only the my ridiculously fabulous partner-in-crime and trusty second shooter. Liza and I tag team all element weddings together and we have a busy summer season ahead that we are really excited about. To date we are completely booked up from May till September, doubling the amount of weddings that we shot together last summer!! Hurray!

A few months back I started compiling a list of things that reminded me of Liza. She knows about this secret list of mine and it drove her to hysterics everytime I brought it up on the sly.  Liza had a big birthday while I was away in Thailand, and then she left for Trinidad before I got back to celebrate with her! Since she is not one to toot her own horn I have taken on the liberty to do it for her! To welcome her home in style and surprise her with a gift, this post is all about HER! At the risk of being out-of-date as I recognize the facebook trend of “25 things about me” may be a little passe…I present to you Liza (and all our friends) 34 things about HER…

1. she cannot sleep with out her CONAIR sound machine

2. prefers to eat Kraft Dinner, only when someone else makes it. This goes for juice too.

3. all time favorite movies must include zombies or gore. Better yet, BOTH.

4. oddly enough is notoriously emotional during movies that the rest of us generally enjoy. (see #3)

5. generous

6. megadeath superfan

7. always sporting a pair of Converse Chucks

8. mena Liza, has enough Godchildren to outfit a soccer team

9. a talented photographer who has shot for Hearts at Carnival in Trinidad (twice!)

10. closet knitter.

11. cruises in her dad’s vintage Omni for kicks. (or when the tempo is in the shop)

12. tea bags – she has a closet FULL. Horders would eat-this-up

13. loves Forbidden Fruit Wine

14. she makes the best chocolate treats but doesnt like sweets

15. visits her hockey loving Grandma (who’s well into her 90′s) on a weekly basis

16. late night powerwalks

17. lives for 80′s movies and beats

18. she remembers the first day of MTV

19. Commodore 64

20. old men love Liza

21. reportedly forgets her toast in toaster in the am. aka. NOT a morning person

22. had an incident with a meat grinder involving her finger as a child.

23. scarves (often knitted see #10)

24. always wins the trance music dance off’s in my living room during breaks from editing or when we wrap a wedding

25. photoshop WIZARD. she can do anything i swear

26. heart of GOLD

27. went through a bit of a grunge phase. hello hippy pants.

28. tears up behind the camera during nearly all wedding ceremonies we have shot together. this goes for heart-felt toasts and speeches too. oh Liza, there there.

29. OK PHOTO store. lifer.

30. secretly cuddles a pink snuggie while chilling and watching movies such as those in #3. no. big. deal.

31. dangly (yes dang-ly), flashly earrings. the bigger, the crazier, the better

32. do not phone Liza during the Amazing Race

33. Proudly Portuguese

34. rocks the best faux hawk loaf in town. hands down!

love ya Leez! welcome back!! xo