Concert Dilemma!

Don't you just hate it when you want to be in 2 places at once! Tonight was one of those night's for me. Jacob Moon was performing in Jarvis, of all places - but there was also a performance by Rob Lamothe and Hailey Gillis in Dunnville at Flyers Cafe. I have seen Jacob perform before - have even presented him in concert and he's amazing - but I have been trying to see Rob Lamothe perform solo for some time...so Dunnville won out. And I'm glad I went!

Rob is a fabulous singer-songwriter (Google him sometime - he's written and produced some big talent!) who has an awesome voice and who makes these luscious, thick sounds on his guitar, and encorporates live-looping while he plays. He was ably accompanied by his very cool and 'swampy' (a compliment from his dad!) 15-year-old son Zander Lamothe on drums and by Chad Brown on bass.

One of the sweetest highlights of the evening was seeing/hearing 15-year-old Hailey Gillis sing. She performed solo, with Rob, Zander and Chad backing her and she also sang back-up for Rob. What a voice! This girl is going to go places! She is quite possibly as big an Eva Cassidy fan as I am, and covered some Eva songs tonight. These weren't copy-cat performances...no...but really amazing, mature, original versions! Hailey is working on a CD and I will definately pick up a copy when it's released. Watch out for these performers - you won't be disappointed! (And go check out Flyers Cafe on the main drag in Dunnville - a cool, old cafe/bakery/music venue, which is operated by some super nice people who write really entertaining mailing-list emails and blogs on their website! Hello Fran!!)

A Simple Wish!

This little boy, whose name is Shane Bernier, has cancer: acute lymphocytic leukemia, to be exact. I was sent an email explaining his struggle and that he has one simple wish: to make it into the Guiness Book of World Records by becoming the first person to ever receive 3.5 million Birthday Cards. Shane's 8th birthday is on May 30 of this year...let's all send him a card and help his wish come true. You can write to Shane at:

Shane Bernier

P.O. Box 484

Lancaster, Ontario

Canada

K0C 1N0

Also: check out his websites at www.shaneswish.com and www.shanebernier.ca - where there are links to media articles, YouTube interviews, Facebook Group pages and more. You can even send an electronic birthday card, and 2 of these are posted on the second website (above).

Tell everyone you know about Shane: community groups, your church family, youth groups, when you are at the hairdresser, etc., etc. - the more cards that are sent, the closer this little guy will be to having his simple wish come true.

(Photo reprinted from www.shaneswish.com)

Urban Decay...

Yesterday, my hubby and I and our friend Ben went to Brantford to tranfer the ownership of my mom's old car to Ben - who is now the proud owner of a Dodge Spirit! Afterwards, we had some great Thai food at a restaurant on Colbourne St. called My Thai - check them out! Awesome food - atmosphere is a bit weird (the place used to be an old Irish Pub) and it sits in the middle of the desolation of downtown Brantford. But really tasty dishes for those of you feeling slightly adventurous! (and they have locations in Hamilton, Burlington and Ancaster, too!)

Brantford was obviously a booming and vibrant downtown years ago, with many incredible buildings! Lots of great architecture! It is really sad to see what the "progress" of shopping malls and suburbia has done to this town and so many others. I was happy to note, though, that there is quite a bit of construction going on for housing in this area. And artists co-ops and the like...same thing seems to be happening in Hamilton (my home town!) and I am so glad to see it. The artists will save the day in the end!

Ben is doing some modelling for an agency in Ontario and wanted some photos done. We did a bunch of headshots later on at our home studio - but first we crawled around (sometimes literally!) amongst the cigarette butts and discarded refuse of this part of Brantford, and found some fabulous places to snap some shots. All I can say is...we found the most amazing, ancient brick wall I have ever seen: flaky and rotting, mortar oozing out everywhere, the odd screw painted bright blue and sticking out here and there, plaster barely hanging on, and some intriguing messages spray painted for us to ponder. I just love old bricks and rusted pipes and crackling, peeling paint - turns out Ben does to! This juxtaposition of man and nature appeals to both of us! Another quirky reason why we 'click' as friends!

Beautiful Babes!

Aren't these babies gorgeous?! I absolutely love it when I get to photograph the sweetness and pure innocent beauty of a baby...and I have been fortunate to have this chance quite often lately. These are a few of the Announcement cards that I have produced.

A Fun Couple!

The other day, I had the pleasure of meeting a great couple from London and to do some maternity photographs for them. This is their first child, and they are due at the end of June. Even though I just met them, you can really sense their excitement as the date is getting ever-closer for them. Now the wait is on to see who "she" looks like...(yep...they're having a girl!). These are some photos from their session...

Greenhouse Fun!

A few days ago, my daughter and I got all packed up and headed to meet some friends at The Gage Park Greenhouses in east Hamilton. This park and these greenhouses, filled with beautiful tropical plants, ponds and lovely photo spots, hold fond memories for me from when I was a kid myself! My cousins, who lived adjacent to the park, and I would spend countless hours climbing trees and exploring all of the park's nooks and crannies. The City of Hamilton - my hometown (!) was hosting a Spring Bulb Extravaganza at the greenhouses, and we went down to run (!) amongst the plants and look at the fish, turtles and birds! There were even men working and potting up plants for the city gardens, and the kids found them fascinating to watch. One of the workers came over to me, and very seriously said: "You're going to have to keep your daughter out of our workspace...she's holding up production!" - For a moment I thought he was serious!

Go check out the park if you can - the roses will be in bloom before you know it!

~Sara

We all need to dance a bit more!

My daughter loves music...anything with a beat gets her little body going. Although she doesn't really watch televion, there is this one commercial that will stop her dead in her tracks no matter what she is doing. It has this slow, steady, hand clap, and as soon as it comes on she stops what she is doing and turns to look (well done to the advertising execs who produced this one!)


Anyway...it doesn't matter what the music. As long as it has a rock solid beat, then my daughter starts groovin': in her high chair, on the floor, in the bath tub, her crib, the car seat...wherever!


Today, it was in our sunroom/studio...I started to 'doot doot doot, duh doo doo doot' to the tune of the 1970's monster hit "Popcorn" (you remember...the thing that we all did on the school playground as part of Canada's "Particip-ACTION" exercise programme?!?) - well...you should have seen the moves that were a-busted!


It's a wonderful thing to see a child so blissfully happy - without a care in the world. We should all be so carefree and confident!


Let's all dance a bit more and not care who's watching!

Check Out These Fun Cards!

I recently had the pleasure of working with some young, aspiring models/musicians, taking their photographs. We had a really fun session, and afterwards I created these cards for them.

I am now offerering Comp Cards for modeling, and all sorts of invitations and announcements: 'Save the Date', Engagement, Wedding, Birth, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Parties, etc...

Let me know if you've got an idea for a card or announcement. We can have fun designing something that is unique to you and your special occasion! Send me a note with your ideas HERE.

And...

I'll post some more samples soon...(I'm on dial-up, after-all!!)

~Sara

Tea Party!

We had our Easter family dinner today and all of our girls got to enjoy each other's company (to say the least!) First item on the agenda: a Tea Party!

These are photos of my gorgeous nieces! (I love them to bits!!!)

Having tea in front of the fire...how elegant!

The small wooden table was laden with china tea cups and saucers, chocolate banana loaf, almond cookies and fruit! Pinkies extended...and hardly a drop spilled! Well done, ladies!

"Yummmm....!"

Through The Mist...

We had a few really beautiful days over March Break and then the weather turned, bringing in a very misty morning. I took advantage of this wonderful atmosphere to capture this image.

An Inconvenient Truth

In keeping with my previous post:

I got to see An Inconvenient Truth (finally!) last night. Be sure to see it if you haven't already. Rent it...buy it...tell everyone you know about it. It's not a theory folks...Global Warming is a fact and we can all do something to help our planet.

Check out:

http://climatecrisis.org/

And also: www.stopglobalwarming.org - where you can sign on to "the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now."

This organization's "mission is to use the strength of numbers to urge our government to join the rest of the world in addressing global warming, and urge business to start a new industrial revolution of clean energy that reduces our dependence on oil."

We also saw the Laurie David documentary Global Warming: Too Hot Not To Handle - check your local listings for this one. It's a great film too - HBO will be airing it on Earth Day, April 22. It is a "one-hour documentary that illustrates the effects of global warming and solutions that are already taking place. The film features contributions from leading scientists." More info can be found on the www.stopglobalwarming.org site with ideas on how we can all, as individuals, do things in our every-day lives to make a difference.

Think about it!

~Sara

Get behind the 'POWER' of the wind!

So...I didn't go to bed!

In my quest to 'connect' with you, I think I should let you know about some of my convictions... you know: causes - things about which I am passionate.

An interesting story in last week's edition of The Regional News This Week (out of Caledonia, Ontario). The headline reads:

LARGE DELEGATION SAYS NO TO WIND TURBINES

Decision to permit 'green' electricity generators gets deferred

At the recent County Council meeting, a delegation spoke on the 'dangers' of wind farms - worrying that the 400 foot 'monsters' as they were referred to by these people, could cause death (no kidding), destruction and general disturbance to their lives.

Of the 15 people who were permitted to speak to this Ontario county Council, most were seasonal residents with cottages close to the proposed wind farm site.

Call me crazy...but I am thinking that in this day and age of global warming, Wind Power Generation might just be a good thing! Look at what it says in the photo of the sign, above, (taken at one of the Bruce Peninsula sites): "Each turbine provides the annual electrical energy needs of more than 600 homes". The ANNUAL energy!! Couple that with each of us working to REDUCE our personal annual consumption and we might just be on to something here!!

My husband and I first saw these modern-day windmills on our honeymoon in Holland nearly 12 years ago. While not as 'fairytale-like' in comparison to their ancient counterparts, their stark profile has an almost elegant beauty along the landscape.

Last summer we drove an hour out of our way on holiday, just so we could see the Wind Farms along the Bruce Peninsula. (That's my hubby in the photo on the left!) These turbines, and the ones on the Norfolk County Wind Farms, have been erected by AIM PowerGen Corporation. We have friends who have some of the turbines on their land near Port Burwell - not only do they not mind the turbines, they fully support the project and promote this practical form of energy at every chance they get.

If I had my choice, I would welcome a turbine to be placed on my property. To anyone who might be worried about the change to their physical landscape due to wind turbine placement, I say this: think sustainable future, think about a planet worth inhabiting for your children, and their children and their children...bottom line: Think WE and not so much ME.

And to quote good ol' Bob Dylan:

The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin' in the wind...

~Sara

I'm 'blogging' - go figure!!!

Well, hello, all! Whoever y'all might be!

I'm new to this world of Blogs - REALLY new...minutes old, this blog is in its infancy -

You see I just got home from a meeting of the Wedding and Portrait Photographers Guild of Ontario- a group based in Hamilton, ON. On the drive in I had made the comment that 'I don't have time to do a blog' - but after hearing what was said tonight about "blogging photographers", and the benefits and differences of blogging vs. that of my website, I've decided to give it a whirl.

I may not be on here all that much, what with my 16-month-old climbing on furniture (higher, higher!) and running around the property (I'm right behind her - btw!!) - but it will give me a chance to connect with people in a different, more personal way.

I would love it if you had a chance to visit my other on-line home: www.smvPhotography.com - Take a spin around the various pages full of images and tell me what you think.

Also: tell me what you are listening to, watching, reading...any good films that you've seen?

I look forward to delving into this blog world more - and to getting the opportunity to truly 'connect' with more of you (and I don't, necessarily, mean on-line) Get in touch. Write. Call. Let's do lunch...

OK...Off to bed, I think... (unless Photoshop calls to me one last time!)

~Sara

PS. Inspiring moment for me tonight: one of the group from my meeting has decided to sign on as a photographer for the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep organization: Infant Bereavement Photography, by photographers who donate their time and talent to parents and families during their greatest moment of need: the death of a child. I am literally moved to tears each time I read about this organization, and found myself welling up again tonight. A truly inspiring act!