One of the popular swag items of the recent Olympics in Vancouver was a promo item from Canon — a thermal mug that is designed to look like one of their lenses. I can’t think of a phrase that described the concept better, but I LOVE things that look like other things. I have a mousepad and coasters that look like persian rugs, pillows that look like big pieces of sushi, a mini papasan chair that holds my cellphone, a mini shopping cart to hold pens and pencils… okay, I like miniatures, too.

Anyway, Canon only made a limited number of these mugs as giveaways, but there was such a frenzy of demand for them that they then manufactured them in much larger numbers. My fave place to shop for equipment locally, The Camera Store let me go on the waiting list, and it arrived a few days ago! I just love it.

I did want to take the time to post, because I have also been busy working on new disc packaging for my clients. I really strive to provide a great Calgary wedding photography product and experience, unique to each person or couple I am photographing. So it was important to me that my packaging reflect that. I/m a big believer in clients having their high res photos on CD or DVD (as far as I am concerned, they are my clients’ images!). So! Here’s how all of my 2010 clients can expect the presentation of their final product:

The discs come in a Redfern Photography tote bag, making them easy to carry. Each disc comes in an enameled tin, which includes a mini folding card with a license agreement (so you can print your images at any lab). They are bound with a black hemp twine, which you can just slide off one end to open the tin. Both wedding photography and portrait photography clients will receive their discs this way.

I’m super happy with the way these came out, and truly feel that they fit well with my brand and my photography!

Been to my site before and have been thinking about booking me as your Calgary wedding photographer? Don’t panic! I will be honouring the old prices for a month from today, to give potential clients time to make their bookings. I still have some 2010 availability, please contact me to see if your date is still available!

I’m really looking forward to the rest of 2010 and all of the adventures to come. Thank you to all of my wonderful clients who have made all of this possible.

This post seems is way too bare without an image, this is a photo from a fun portrait session from the end of 2009, of Mandi.

The thing about Calgary wedding photography is that the elements are always a force to be reckoned with. Snow, storms, cold, all things that create challenges both for photographer and participants. It’s hardly the most temperate place. Beaches and palm trees are lovely, but I’d imagine that taking photos of an unchanging landscape would get kind of boring. At least we don’t suffer for variety!

A week ago Friday, Calgary had a blizzard. Up in the NW where I live, it was like being on the arctic tundra in the middle of a storm, as the snow swirled and blew across the highway. I joked to my husband while we drove that I expected a polar bear to stroll onto the road at any second. It was unreal. Huge snowdrifts accumulated in our yard (and in our parking spot). I had to reschedule a portrait shoot, because it was just too intense to think about going anywhere, never mind actually going outside to take photos. Buses were stuck, roads were closed. If only all natural disasters eventually melted away to disappear.

On the bright side, being stuck inside lately has given me an opportunity to finish decorating for Christmas!

A white Christmas tree with blue ornaments, and stocking hangers from Germany, which we got at Edelweiss Imports.

The candle is a NOEL candle from Crabtree & Evelyn… oh boy do these smell great. Sort of a mixture of balsam pine with hints of orange and cranberry. They magically smell like Christmas and I absolutely love them. I look forward to when they appear on shelves, every year.

Unfortunately I had to buy a set of these twice because our van was broken into while we were out shopping one evening in November. It was kind of disheartening to have that happen right at the start of the holiday season, but we tried to get over it quickly, and remind ourselves that $100 worth of groceries and gifts wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. Plus whoever stole those things from us probably needed them pretty badly.

I love the holidays! I am so looking forward to baking and visiting with family. The months of December to April are usually slower for photography, so I am hoping to find the time to post to my blog more.

A number of times I’ve personally been asked, or I’ve seen a big call out asking what books are good for photographers, particularly those starting out. Well, here are my top few that I have found invaluable or interesting in the past. It’s like building your own photography course! As long as you can keep up with the reading, of course.

Even if you bought all of these, it’s still a lot cheaper than taking a photography course, or paying tuition (trust me on that one). The Digital Photography book by Scott Kelby is so lovely to read and refer to. Each page is its own photography tip or tecnique. Scott has a knack for fun writing. He also wrote the Lightroom 2 book, which I found to be a tremendously valuable and in-depth reference tool. It’s pretty thick!

Anyway, the six books above are my faves and I can’t recommend enough!

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It’s been far too long since I’ve updated! It’s been a busy start to the year, although kind of slow going because I was having some real computer issues. My PC is six years old, and it was no longer able to handle basic things, like image correction or even storing larger files. It was time for a replacement. With this year’s tax refund, I picked up an iMac, named Luma.

It’s been such a great computing experience so far, I am floored at how very much it has increased my efficiency. I am most excited about Adobe Lightroom. I had read a bit about it, but not tried it out. In a recent Layers Magazine, they had an article on a photographer’s workflow using Lightroom. So I gave it a whirl and fell in love — it’s just such a great way to process and organize photos, I recommend every photographer give it a try. I am really excited to be using it for all future shoots!