“I want to start off by saying thank you, thank you, thank you, Janice! When we were planning our wedding my only concern was who our photographer was going to be. I didn’t want to have photos that looked too “staged”; I wanted a photographer who could capture our day and have the photos represent what our day truly was – one filled with tons of love, many laughs, and lots of energy! I happened to randomly find Janice’s website on the internet one day and I looked through her photos and thought to myself “I just have to have her shoot our wedding!”. From the moment I contacted Janice, I was immediately at ease because I knew that she was going to be amazing – and I was right. Our experience with Janice was very smooth; she was quick with her email replies when I had any questions and she was always one step ahead when it came to planning for any unexpected events (i.e. the buckets of rain that we had on our wedding day!). As for the wedding day itself, you didn’t even know she was there. Many of our guests commented on how she was very “ninja-like” when taking her photos! She knew exactly where to be in order to photograph all of the special moments but was not in everyone’s face with the flash of her camera. I cannot express how happy we are with our photographs and how many comments we have received from our family and friends about how beautiful our photos are. I would recommend Janice without any hesitation and I’ve already told her that our wedding day is not the last she’s seen of us! Thanks a million again!” – Amma & Duy
Mark & Nitsa had a destination wedding in Egypt last October. For their document love session/engagement photos, they wanted to go to the waterfront and somewhere where you could see the Toronto skyline. So we spent a couple of hours together in July on a sunny evening. It was extremely hot that day, but the light was so incredible. These photos are making me so nostalgic for summer on this cold, grey winter’s day. Below are some of my favourites.
And so another year has passed before another Good reads post. I’m more than a little embarrassed that this didn’t happen sooner. Looking back I feel like one of the reasons I failed to read and write more was because I only thought about it vaguely, I thought about it constantly, but vaguely. I read somewhere before that one of the first steps of achieving a goal is to be very specific about it. So for this year, I’m setting a goal to read one book per month. Specific but realistic at the same time I think. I would have liked to read one book per week or something like that but I also know that’s not very realistic given what my schedule will be like in the summer.
I think I read 5 or 6 books this past year but instead of trying to write about each of them (because the first 3 or 4 I had read almost half a year ago), I thought I’d just share some thoughts on my two most recent reads.
Wild: I had heard of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir while I still worked at my previous job (which almost seems like another lifetime ago now) but at the time I didn’t know too much about it other than it being a memoir from a long-distance hike through the pacific coast from California to Oregon. I’m not really a non-fiction reader because I feel that most of them aren’t done in a storytelling manner so this wasn’t on my list. It wasn’t until a few months ago when I was researching for some quotes that I came across the book again on goodreads.com. I was reading some of the quotes from another one of Cheryl’s books, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar and was so intrigued by her then that I wanted to read Wild right away. I started this before the holidays and just finished it today. The book chronicles her journey of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from California to Oregon in the span of three months, alone. And what a journey it was. It was a journey in the physical form, but also in the emotional and spiritual form. She embarked on this journey a few years after losing her mother to cancer and a year after divorcing from her husband whom she still deeply loved. It was a deeply moving and inspiring read for me. In the beginning of her journey, the author was battered by the elements, weighed down (both in reality by her monstrous backpack, and metaphorically) but emerged scarred, humbled, yet triumphant and redeemed; having made peace with her demons so to speak: grief, loss, forgiveness. The account of her mother’s sudden and brief battle with cancer, and then her death in the early parts of the book rocked me with a kind of anguish that almost felt real.
Some of the most memorable things for me include when she realized that all the things she needed to survive could be carried on her back, and that she could bear the unbearable (her enormous backpack being the physical metaphor). And as she was out there in the wild, most of the times, all by herself, she learned a simple yet profound fact: how often she had to do the things she wanted to do the least. There weren’t other physical or material distractions to hide behind; no escape, and no denial; and that she often had two choices: to go back in the direction she had come from, or move forward.
Anyway, without giving away too much of the book, here’s one of my favourite passages, about what it feels like to be in the wild:
“It only had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles for no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental. It seemed to me that it had always felt like this to be a human in the wild, and as long as the wild existed it would always feel this way.”
Love in the Time of Cholera: This book was highly recommended by a dear friend of mine. When I first started it, I was very intrigued because the author had started the story in what appeared to be the middle. I certainly wanted to continue and get to the bottom of it. When it comes to fiction, I tend to prefer plot driven or character driven stories. This didn’t read like a plot driven story but there were plenty of characters. However, soon I felt like I only knew very little about the characters and they just weren’t developing fast enough for me. I carried on reading though. There was something about the way Mr. Marquez writes (this was the first book by him I’d read) that just flows so beautifully. It reminds me of the voice of melodic narrators in films (as strange as that might sound). He was like the narrator of the movie (500) Days of Summer. So instead of reading the book in a couple of weeks, it took me months to finish it. Though it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just meant that I could put it down and pick it back up again like I hadn’t missed a beat. In the end, it was definitely well worth the time. Having finished it, I felt like I had not read, but rather listened to a story, the way stories were passed down in the beginning of time. It’s about a love story that went through the years, about the choices that one makes without understanding them, what it means to build a marriage and the exploration of love in all its complexity and contradictions. It was also a wonderful portrait of a bygone era and really evokes a sense of feeling for the places in the book.
If you’ve looked through my work from the past year, you’ll notice that I haven’t posted many baby & family sessions – yup I’m a little behind! Now that it’s winter time, I’m going to catch up and blog some of my favourite baby & family sessions from the past year. Starting today is a really special little guy. I first met baby Andrew when he was just 9 days old, and back in April I met up with his family for his 6-month session. No matter how many times it happens, I will never cease to be amazed by how fast they grow up! He was such a smiley and happy baby and I’m glad I captured some of that from this session.
Here are some favourites from Baby Andrew’s 6-Month photo session, enjoy!
What a year you have been. I always feel extra nostalgic at the end of each year and the beginning of a new one. Reminiscing about the things that happened, what dreams did I achieve, what memories did I make? A little less than a year ago, I handed in my resignation and left my full time day job in order to follow my passion for photography, and for the stories they tell. It wasn’t so much a scary time, but an uncertain time. The scary part happened when I contemplated the possibility of being a full time wedding and portrait photographer. Once I made up my mind about it, it wasn’t so scary anymore because it seemed possible. Possible but still so full of uncertainty. I pushed through that though, and focused myself, one day at a time, one session at a time, one wedding at a time. Making goals, checking off to-do lists, trying to maintain some balance in life during the busy summer & fall months, and trying to not get lost in the operation of my business and keep those big dreams in sight.
There were a lot of ups.Working with amazing couples and families who understood my vision, shared that vision and trusted me to document their story in the form of photographs; shooting my first, and then my second destination wedding (those are coming soon!); running a profitable business in my first year full time; but most of all, waking up everyday and not regretting or dreading going to work. That feeling, that was how I knew I was definitely doing something right.
There were frustrations and disappointments too. Lessons learned the hard way, and heartaches. But I also worked through them, a lot of times with the help of my amazingly supportive husband, and some really awesome friends. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspect for me has been adjusting to working from home. all. the. time. I really struggle with a self-imposed schedule, not to mention it gets lonely! This Oatmeal comic explains it all. :)
So many things I have learned. How to let it go when it’s not in your control; how to walk away when I’m too emotional to respond to an email; the realization that some things we need to learn and relearn constantly, not everything is like learning to ride a bike; the importance of saying ‘no’; the importance of carving out time for myself, to rest and to stay inspired; the importance of finding my own way and staying true to it.
I’m not a big New-Year’s-resolution kind of person, but one of my biggest goals for 2014 is to push myself to dare to dream bigger, to continue living with love, intention and purpose, and to find a way to give back to the community.
Thank you 2013.
2014, let’s do this!
Love, me.
But what’s an year-end review without some photos? Here are some highlights, favourite moments, favourite photos. Wishing you a year full of love, laughter, great food, moments that you will never forget, and adventures.
“As a marketer/event planner by profession I was extremely selective of the vendors I decided to work with for our wedding day. It was not only Janice’s style of photography and her online portfolio that won me over but her professionalism, eye for detail and excellent communication skills that really sealed the deal! She is honest and upfront and puts you at ease from the very first meeting. She truly photographs in a way that captures so many moments, emotions and details. All of the incredible moments and memories she was able to capture tell the story of our wedding day perfectly!” – Lindsey
The story from Lindsey & Ty’s wedding day is here.
