Merry go Round and Carousel Ponies; Saratoga Springs New York

Saratoga Springs Carousel Pony 

I love to watch the merry-go-round, the ponies painted so beautifully.  The kids riding them with smiles on their faces, parents and grandparents who never fail to wave each and every time the child goes by, smiling back and enjoying the moment.

It’s Monday and I hope you are enjoying your own version of the work/life merry-go-round, that someone is standing on the sidelines for you, smiling and waving each time you go by, cheering you on, and enjoying the moment.  I truly hope that it is a merry-go-round that you are on, not a treadmill.   Play the music loud, smile at those you around you and enjoy the moment.

 

Related articles

• The Story of the Game Bird Horse (janetserra.com)
• Broadway’s George Tsypin Designs $12 Million ‘SeaGlass’ Carousel For NYC’s Battery Park [Video] (latinospost.com)

 

Sago Service; a family business, Calgary Alberta

Sago Services, A family business

It was so much fun working with Maria of Sago Services, she wanted new business portraits for the family business.  We gathered her husband and son and worked together to get some great images. Just look at those great smiles!

Sago Services is a full service moving company, but not just an everyday average moving company. Their team of people will come in pack up your house, clean, move everything to your new home and then unpack, and they will take the stuff (junk) away for you while they are at it.  Any or all of the chores as you desire, imagine moving being this easy.  I don’t know about you, but I hate moving, sorting through all the stuff, cleaning getting the old house ready for the new people and then opening the door on the new empty house and have to find a place for all those boxes and furniture.  Maria and Sago Services want to take care of all that for you.

Maria is another of the wonderful people I have met through the BNI Rocky Mountain Thunder Chapter meetings. We meet at the Blackfoot Inn every Thursday at 7 am and it always brightens my day to see her smiling face.  If you are interested in joining us for breakfast, connect with me through email.

For more  Calgary Business Portraits

Baby Miya

Baby Miya 

I love newborn babies, okay, I love all babies…

And I have great admiration for professional baby photographers. My wonderful friends Brett and Amrita proud new parents allowed me an opportunity to take a few pictures of their beautiful baby girl.

 

Grandpa’s Car; Old Photos bring back Memories

Grandpa’s Car

“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.” - author unknown

Grandpa’s car was eventually parked up behind the old farm-house. It was no longer drivable, but I do remember driving it, and Grandpa home from town on the occasional Saturday night when he had been in town a little too long. It was our time to visit, and lots of time he sang to me was we drove down the dirt road to the farm. He wanted me to sing with him, and I eventually learned the chorus of some of his old wartime songs!

As the quote above states, memories can last a lifetime, and photos like this brings those memories back to mind, and bring a smile to my face.  Photos are a great tool for awakening our memories and bringing a smile to our face, and I love to go  back through old photos for those smiles.

This image was copied from an old slide, then color enhanced with photoshop and a blur layer added. I have always like the photo because of it’s memories, but it did have some  problems.  After reading about artistic blue on Kateyestudio I thought I would dig it out and give it another try.  I am happy with these results: I like the deep color of the car and grass, the blur around the trees and edges, it is as if the wind is blow by the movement in contrast to the car.

Let me know what you think.

Sugar and Spice and all things nice!

Carolynne’s granddaughters

“Sugar and Spice and all things nice, that’s what little girls are made of…..”

 This one was fun, but only take two attempts, little Addilyn tipped over the first time! On the plus side it won’t be long before she rolls over all by herself.  The big girls Skylar and Alexa were perfect, they remembered to watch me, not the baby, so I could get the shot.

Addilyn; following a family tradition!

Saskatchewan Rough Rider Fan – Addilyn

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirty, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for – unknown. 

We first met Addilyn before Christmas, she is now about 5 months old, and has clearly made some major decisions about how she will live her life – afterall cheering for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders is usually a life long obsession.  Okay maybe, just probably, she had some family influence, I think it was Grandma Carolynne that bought the jersey, and the socks seem to be a big hit.

Carolynne brought the whole family by a while ago for photos, so we will have more photos during the week, they are almost ready.

The In-Between Moments

a little love’n from Sophie

It is always good to have the camera ready for those in-between moments!

To be honest Sophie was really ready to sit and have her picture taken, so we did a little playing around, and I asked her to give her dad a kiss on the cheek. The Square format eliminates the background, giving us a less distracting image.  While black and white, gives even more emphasis on the faces, and the little kiss even further.

Hopefully this is one photo that father and daughter, will cherish for a long time.

my photoheart connection for january

Sophie and her Aunt Mel

Sophie and her Aunt Mel

When you are a little girl, one of the best things is cuddling up on your Aunt’s knee and she wraps her arms around you! It is special!  I met Sophie for the first time between Christmas and New Years, while visiting her Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house! She is one happy little girls, and her Aunt Mel one of the special people in her life. It was great to meet Sophie, to visit with the entire family, to get a few pictures and share a few memories.

 

Baby Addilyn

Baby Addilyn

I have hit a wonderful time in my life, my children are all grown up and they are off enjoying their lives. Yes they visit, and we do things together, but I don’t have the day-to-day worries and work that I had as a parent of young children. Their friends, have also grown up, and this is where it gets good, they are getting married and having babies of their own.

Addilyn is part of that next generation.  Spending time and taking photo of this beautiful little baby gave me a chance to have a visit with Cameron and Jessilyn, who I haven’t seen in quite some time.  I am new to photographing babies, and it seems to take longer than it should.  Babies need changing, and feeding, and kept warm, but not too warm, and they are not always wanting to laying just the way we want them, but I do my best.  All this extra time give us a chance to chat.

Thanks Cameron and Jessilyn for your time, it was wonderful, almost as good as the photos! more to come.

Erin: A black and white Portrait

Erin 

I have been spending quite a bit of time at the computer recently, with all the travel photos. Occasionally I take a break from the processing, organizing and key-wording that has to be done and go back through some of the portraits that were taken this year. It servers as a great reminder to touch base with some of the people I photographed again.

This is a photo of my lovely daughter Erin, we had brunch on Sunday!

Reviewing my previous work also gives me an opportunity to really look at my shooting style; it gives an opportunity to think of things I might have done differently, or photos ideas I can add to the mix for my next portrait session, and it is a nice break for my brain from the current project, of processing travel photos. I am planning to put together a “Picture a Week” notebook with my Camino images, stay-tune for more information on how to obtain your copy.