Cathedral Grove

This week my mom & I are in Nanaimo, BC to cheer on my brother at the Western Canada Cup. The games are fairly spread out though so we have lots of down time on our hands. We decided to take a drive up to MacMillan Provincial Park to see the trees at Cathedral Grove.

We pulled off the highway, parked, and from the moment we stepped foot onto the path it felt like we stepped into another world. A magical one. One with giant tower trees, moss growing wild, bright pink little flowers, and so many different shades of green.

It was incredible.

The overall amazingness was hard to capture in photos. So I focused on capturing all the little details that make up this beautiful grove.

Telling Stories

I recently read Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos. It was a wonderful book but there was one line that jumped out at me as soon as I read it. It went something like this...

"Clare realized that while she was the main character of her own story and all these people are supporting characters in her story - each of the supporting characters is the main character in their own stories and she was just a supporting character to them."

*The above quote is me paraphrasing the jist of what I read. In typical me fashion I returned the book to the library and forgot to copy out the actual quote and now cannot find it anywhere on the whole wide internet. Of course. Ahem. I digress.*

This quote jumped out at me immediately - I loved how this portrayed the whole 'walk a day in their shoes' idea in a way that was so much more understandable to me. It is so easy to get wrapped up in being the main character. We are so focused on our own stories that we forget to be the best supporting character we can to those who are in our lives. We forget that everyone else has their very own, very different, story they are living.

I think that maybe that is why I like photography so much. The ability to step outside of my story for a moment, an hour, a day and capture someone else as the main character of their story. To put my story aside and really focus on telling someone else's story. To give them a tangible reminder of that chapter of their lives - to essentially say that their story is one worth telling. That it matters.

Photographer is one of my favourite supporting characters to be. Always such an honour to be part of someone's unique story.


*photos from last year's photo shoot with Amy & Jordan*

Maternity Photography: The Bergsma's

I can barely believe that it was only a few months ago we did this family shoot to announce this pregnancy and now Robin is only a couple weeks away from her due date!!! So exciting!

This family is so wonderful - loved being able to capture them as a family of four before they become five!

Maternity Photography: Mallorey & Darren

I think Mallorey & Darren win for the couple I photograph the most. It's so hard to believe that I've captured so many milestones in their lives - dating, engaged, married, and now they are PREGNANT! It is the greatest compliment to have couples repeatedly come back to me - especially a couple as wonderful as these two. I was beyond excited when I learned that Mallorey was expecting!!!

I truly could not be more thrilled for this young family to become three and it was such an honour to document this amazing chapter in their lives. We may have risked hypothermia and frostbitten limbs (who knew we'd have to worry about that in APRIL) but it was totally worth it to make sure we got a shoot in before baby comes!!