Sarah’s mom, Ana, the matriarch of this family, approached me years ago to plan this photo-session, but because of timing issues (and later, Covid), it took us until this July to make it happen.

The idea was: document the family’s stay at their summer cottage, on Grippen lake.

I’ve been there before, because I’ve photographed their neighbors a bunch of times in years past. It’s a gorgeous place. Private, pristine, quiet…

And in mid-summer, that gorgeous green of the trees, couples with the deep blue of the lake…

As a photographer who is NOT a skateboarder (I mean… I tried for about a year so far… but you get hurt a lot, and I am not a huge fan of getting hurt 😜), I’m still learning what makes a good skateboarding photo.

I’m also trying to make sure I’ve got enough photos of the entire event - and not just the skateboarding photos - to flesh out the story.

During family get-togethers, there’s often someone within the family who takes photos… but it’s more awkward because they never get to be in the photos themselves (trust me, I know… this is why this year, we’ve hired Tim Forbes to be our family photographer so we can all hang out and ALL be in the photo)

So I jump at the chance of being the photographer to help the family all be present with each other.

Now, for the Solc family, it was important to take a few traditional photos.

Candids were great, they said, but we also want some of all of us all together, and a few of each family.

Well, of course, we can take some time to do this, I said!

Here we bring you another installment of the ‘Year in the Life’ series, with the Wright Straub family.

As you might recall if you’ve been following this blog, the year was 2017. We had predetermined that we would meet once a month with this family to photograph their activities.

And each month was like a fun game, figuring out what activity to photograph!

Jacklyn contacted me early that week and was like, “hey, i know it’s short notice, but we’re heading to Gananoque on Friday to do an egg toss and have some pizza”, and I was like, YES!

This is an oldie but a goodie :)

I drove to Ottawa in early May of 2019 so that I could meet this beautiful family and take some candid photographs of them doing their thing.

They have three daughters, and we had already settled on a one-hour session in their home, during which time we would be able to take some photos both inside and outside.

Lots of times I hear people ask, “what is the best time of year for family photos?”

The traditional answer is probably late spring or mid-fall.

But this isn’t a very traditional place, you know.

I’m of the opinion that literally any time of year can be a good time to take family photographs.

Because we documentary family photographers aren’t interested in what is happening in the background. No. We’re much more curious about what is happening in the foreground. What the people are doing.

Every time I check out the Kingston School of Art (KSOA) and its many programs, I am blown away by how much there is to do there for all ages.

I’ve often thought about registering for a course (maybe this spring?). They offer a range of courses, but the life drawing one grabs my attention. A few years ago, I did a series of life drawing classes with Diane Black at ArtNoise Kingston (not KSOA!). I really enjoyed it!

Anyway, KSOA offers youth and adult classes, including life drawing, illustration, oil painting, and so much more! This blog is all about one of their awesome community events - Paint the Town!

Anyway, KSOA offers youth and adult classes, including life drawing, illustration, oil painting, and so much more! This blog is all about one of their awesome community events - Paint the Town!

Lola is a beautiful and playful brown mastiff. She is eight years old now, and I photographed her when she was a three year old pup as well!

So I got to see how much she has changed in that time.

Which is not really all that much, haha.

Photography is a hyper-saturated field. Everyone and their cat can become a photographer. All you need is an entry level body with a kit lens, and a business name.

BUT THIS CAN BE A GOOD THING!! Hear me out…