I love reading blogs, especially funny blogs. I also look at a ton of photography blogs, design blogs, and now I am getting into baking blogs.

Ok, so where am I going with this? I want to blog more. MAYBE sometimes without pictures. I want to talk, I have lots to say – and working from home I don’t have anyone to say it to. I use Twitter, but sometimes what I gotta say is just more than 140 letters, kwim? (That’s “know what I mean” to all you non-texty,forum people)

I have weird little lists all over the house of blogging ideas. In fact, I’ll share one that I see here in Evernote right now. It’s from April:

american idol, parenthood, LOST, Glee
washing my face, juice beauty
dior spray foundation
twitter
iPAD
Emma’s school – garbage-less lunches

Ok, so not really sure if any of those are even remotely interesting, but sometimes I have something I want to say about something, and that’s where the lists come in. I think I actually did write a blog post about the first stuff. Yay me!

Anyway, back to the point. I am GOING to start blogging more. I wrote it big to convince myself. Don’t forget I said, sometimes it will be without pictures. I hope that’s ok. I will try not to make a habit of it. I am doing an iPhone 365 project right now (where you take a photo a day for a whole year) so if worse comes to worse I can always post one of those!

All this comes to me telling all of you that I am going to try something while in Italy. I am not brining my MacBook. I am only bringing my iPad. So I am going to blog every day of my trip with some words and lots of iPhone photos. I think. I hope. I have high hopes for this project, and I think telling you all here and now will keep me honest. Or I will be having too much fun or be too tired each day. We’ll see.

And because I want to hurry up and post this before I erase the whole thing, there’s going to be NO PICTURE. Let me know if it was traumatizing.

PS – There are only 4 spots left in the October mini-sessions. You best be bookin’ now!

Now don’t get me wrong, it gives me all sorts of great pleasure to have nice things said about me, to be featured somewhere and to win awards. But writing about it is a totally different story. I don’t really know how to do it with out feeling like a big annoying show off.
We are taught as kids to be humble (especially us Canadians, eh?) and that it’s not really nice to sing our own praises. When you are a small business-owner though, it kind of becomes part of the job. If you don’t tell people how awesome you are, who will?

So here goes. Deep breath. And before you all think that I am blaming this on my awesome PR friend Reese, I should let you know that I do like attention just a teensy bit. Or I wouldn’t have a blog. Or a Facebook page. Or probably be a very good photographer. So you can leave comments for me if you like. It will probably make me smile like a goofball, kind of like I did when all these other things happened.

Cool Thing #1
I won a couple more awards! The National Association of Professional Child Photographers recently had their first International Image Competition. I snagged two first place awards, and let me just say the competition was fierce! There were many beautiful images and I feel very much in good company with the other winners. It sounds cheesy to say, but it is a really amazing honour to be regarded highly by my peers.
Check out the Image Competition here!

Cool Thing #2
The same great organization asked me to be their featured member this month, and I got to talk lots about myself, show some of my favorite images and even give a peek into my office.
You can read the spotlight on the NAPCP site and find out maybe something new about me.

Cool Thing #3
I was also featured last month in the Shootsac newsletter. Shootsac is a great product that I love, and if you’re my client you’ve probably seen me with it at our outdoor sessions. It’s a lens bag that has interchangeable covers, and I swear I am addicted to buying those darn covers!
They probably just featured me because of all the money I’ve spent with them! You can read yet another interview with me if by chance you are not already sick to death of what I have to say, lol! Shootsac July Newsletter

Cool Thing #4
Back when I won the WPPI Fresh Faces contest, I got a congrats from Mompreneur magazine. They asked if they could put a little blurb in the magazine about the win, so that came out this past month too.

Cool Thing #5
I was asked to photograph a number of families for the Alberta Children’s Hospital – a place near and dear to my heart. I spent last Thursday photographing some of the cutest and most inspiring kids you will ever meet. It was a HUGE HUGE HUGE honour to be asked to this, and it was incredibly humbling and uplifting. I will share more about this on the blog later on, but I had to mention it because it was such a special day.

Cool Things #6 & #7
Boo, I can’t talk about them yet because they haven’t fully happened. I don’t want to jinx anything, so I will just say that I promise to share with you all as soon as they do.

Just a couple of last things to mention. I’ll be away for most of September, I’m going to ITALY and I’m VERY EXCITED ABOUT IT!!! What that means for you though, is that I am booked up for most of the fall already. I have a couple of spots during the long weekend and a couple in October, and will also be doing two days of mini-sessions this year to help try to fit everyone in. The first date will be Sunday, September 5th and the second date is Sunday, October 3rd. Hopefully one of those dates will work for everyone. I’ll be putting the appointments up on the blog this week, but newsletter readers get first crack, so make sure to sign up above if you want in!

Also, I’ve been super swamped this summer with some really great clients. I’ve fallen behind a bit on the blog, but I promise there are lots of sneak peeks to come VERY soon! Thanks so much for your patience.

One of the themes for the week was “Be Brave” and for me, it was a mantra for my entire trip. I was supposed to head down with another photographer but she wasn’t able to make it, so all of a sudden I was solo. I also didn’t have a room booked, and had to ask a perfect stranger if I could share with them. Yes, I seriously did this, much to my husband’s chagrin. I flew there by myself, taking the red eye and changing over in Montreal. I had to take a puddle jumper to Boston – it had PROPELLERS for pete’s sake, but I survived. Once there I rented my own car, and DROVE MYSELF AROUND! I am shouting this because I hate driving here at home, and have never, ever, ever driven in the United States. I had a meal at PF Chang’s because I was hungry, and I went to a giant mall because I wanted to go to Anthro. All on my owny-loney. If you can hear the pride in my words, it’s because I definitely got out of my comfort-zone and it was fabulous. Anyone who knows me well knows that I can be a bit of a scatterbrained child. I like to do things with others and I often rely on my friends and family to be the grown-ups.

My roommate Jess VanLue and I hit it off straight away. We immediately bonded and spent hours talking the first night. I don’t think the other people at the workshop even believed us when we told them we had never met before. We were total peas in a pod. We also met a bunch of really cool people at the workshop. It was held at the Wayside Inn, which is the oldest working inn in the US. It’s only miles from Sleepy Hollow and Louisa May Alcott’s house. It’s an area that is steeped in history and you can definitely feel it.
The workshop was intimate with only 10 people and that was perfect. Again, with being brave – I was able to talk with strangers (even though I have a big blabby mouth, I’m actually very shy with new people) and was so thrilled to meet other admirers of Jenn’s work.

We did things at the workshop that I would never have thought to do at home, but now am excited to try again. I printed my VERY FIRST photo ever. With a darkroom and chemicals and everything. Coming into photography only 7 years ago, I have been all digital and have always used a lab to print my work. There was something absolutely magical about spending those hours working on a single print, holding your breath during that final rinse to see what will be there. We also made collages – it was like grade school art class and we all loved it. Jenn taught us how to make couture gowns in 5 minutes, how to build a tank to shoot subjects in water, and we did figure studies and learned the patience of getting your posing just right. We watched an amazing film called Ashes and Snow, had hours of really neat conversation, made our own filters, learned lots of Photoshop tips that I never knew (command+Z!) and one night laughed so much that my stomach was still sore the next day.

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it was one of the most incredible, humbling, inspirational and motivational experiences of my life. I am so happy that I went, my life will be forever changed. As cheesy as that sounds, it is so 100% true.
And now, I will “be brave” and share some images from the workshop that I took, processed in a VERY different way than my norm, but that I love in such a unique way. I give the setups and posing props all to Jenn though, she is a master at her craft.

Here goes:

#1 – I used to be friends with Blossom. Or as I knew her in elementary school – Mayim Bialik.
We were penpals for a bit after I moved to Canada, but eventually lost touch.

#2 – Speaking of moving to Canada – I used to live in the US. Right smack in Los Angeles, California to be exact. I lived there from age 1-9. Which means I learnt to spell in the US, which is why most of my words don’t have extra u’s. I’m a bad Canadian speller.

#3 – I started dating my husband Dave when I was 21. We’ve been together for 14 years, married for 9.

#4 – I’m taking ballet lessons in the fall. I haven’t taken any for about 25 years. Ack!

#5 – I once slept outside in line for New Kids On The Block tickets. We didn’t even get very good seats.

#6 – I am Apple-obsessed. I have a Nano, a Shuffle, a video iPod, an iPod Touch, 2 iPhones, 2 iMacs, 2 Macbook Pros, AppleTV and an iPad.

#7 – In high school, my boyfriend made my prom dress.

#8 – My dad was 50 when I was born. My mom was 20.

#9 – I’m not scared of heights, but I am deathly afraid of falling.

#10 – All my life I’ve had a recurring dream about being at Disneyland and not having enough time to go on any rides.

#11 – If I had to eat only one thing for the rest of my life it would be Butter Chicken.

#12 – I used to have stick straight hair before kids. Now it’s pretty wavy. My feet are also a full size bigger.

#13 – I’m sometimes jealous of my friends that don’t have kids.

#14 – I once stayed up for 48 hours straight.

#15 – I was hit by a car when I was 12. I broke my collarbone and my wrist.

#16 – I never wear socks.

#17 – I like it when my girls want to watch High School Musical because I have a secret crush on Zac Efron.

#18 – My first concert ever was Debbie Gibson. The opening act was Bros.

#19 – When I was in high school my extra-curriculars were debate, newspaper and grad committee.

#20 – I got my first white hair when I was 20.

#21 – I often wipe my hands on my shirt.

#22 – I’m afraid of flying, and if I go too long without being on a plane, it becomes paralyzing. So I am always booking trips.

#23 – My favorite book and movie are both Little Women.

#24 – My dad was born in Mexico City.

#25 – After I moved away from home, my mom went back to finish high school. She graduated university at age 45.

Happy Canada Day everyone!

We had a great day around here, heading to my mom’s place for a BBQ. Her birthday was last week and we were able to give her the birthday present we’ve been planning for awhile now. She thought she was getting an iPad, she even told us she was practicing her surprised face for when she opened it. Hahaha! What she got though surprised the heck out of her – I’m taking her on a Caribbean cruise this November. All that practice for nothing, lol.

And speaking of iPads and giving – today is the magic day that I give away the 16GB iPad to a lucky blog reader!
Without further ado, the winner is:
(drumroll please . . . . )

I have to admit I got a giant grin on my face when I saw who won this. Nancy is a fave client of mine and one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Trust me when I say it goes to a very good home.

Thanks to all that entered, I was stunned that we had so many entries. Lots of you told your friends about Fresh Sugar too, so there were many people who got multiple entries. It’s been fun for me to be able to giveaway something so cool, so I think we’ll definitely be doing something like this again.

Just one final housekeeping note:
While I always try to fit in newborns into the schedule, I would strongly urge you to book now if you are planning for a session in 2010.
There are only a handful of spots available until October, as most clients have been booking very early this year. I don’t like being booked so far ahead because I never want to turn someone away, so please please please book early to avoid disappointment. Visit freshsugar.com to book your session.

1. Some trees when we were sitting on a bench checking into our flight on Dave’s Blackberry. 2. Some rainy leaves from the garden at the hotel. I kept calling them dew drops and Dave kept correcting me. 3. Some really tall trees at the Governor’s garden. 4. What I fondly called the Secret Garden all weekend long. 5. The long spooky hallway to our room, where I tried to make my mind open to a ghost, but no ghost came. 6. Pink flowers of some sort. Pink is my fave color. 7. The building across the street from the hotel. No idea why I wanted this photo. 8. Giant totem poll at the convention centre. It made me remember I needed to go check my little people in Godfinger. 9. A government building of some kind. I didn’t go over there, nor did I remember to take a photo at night when it is all lit up like It’s A Small World. 10. The golf course at Bear Mountain. It’s where I shot a 40. Is that a good score? I’m just kidding, I have no idea what I shot. I par’ed a couple of holes though, which is relatively new for me. 11. Some ferny looking things. I am very at one with nature if you couldn’t tell.
12. The corner of the Secret Garden. 13. A shadow. I was trying to be artsy. Or maybe I accidentally took a picture when I was putting my camera in my pocket. You’ll never know. 14. I snuck into Dave’s program that he was presenting. The whole reason why we were there.
I had no idea what he was talking about, he sounded like a crazy person. Mini-frac babbity bak? 15. We are at high tea at the Empress. It’s old and fancy there and clotted cream is my new best friend. 16. Some rocks around a tree. With some moss for good measure.

17. Me, with my borrowed umbrella walking down Government Street all on my loney-owney. 18. Hey, that’s our hotel! 19. Dave proving how wonderful using a camera phone is. I think this is the first photo he’s ever taken in his life. He was taking a picture of a fountain. I’m not kidding. 20. The sunset out the window of the hotel. 21. Tasty tea cakes! 22. Broughten Street. Which caused me to say “Oh, it’s already been broughten” alllllllllll weekend long. I am a very fun companion. If you don’t know that quote, FOR SHAME! 23. The ocean and some mountains and some more trees. Dave once again trying to make me commune with nature. 24. What is with all these tree pictures? I obviously have some sort of fetish. 25. That’s me in the golf cart. Right before the drink lady came and we got Caesars. YAY! 26. Dave on the tee box. He wasn’t very happy, so I tried to calm him down by taking his photo. I would have photographed his golf balls, but he kept losing them. 27. Yes, you saw this photo already. Very observant of you. 28. This is our hotel again. The whole leaves-up-the-side-of-the-building thing was very cool to me. 29. We are back to golf again. Dave’s swing. I was trying to take a photo of the golf ball so we could make lost posters and hang them around town. 30. A bear in a Mountie suit. Need I say more? 31. Hmmm. More leaves-up-the-side-of-the-building. 32. Pink flowers that all fell on the ground and looked like they needed their picture taken. Next time I will maybe think twice.

The countdown is over and I’m super proud to unveil the NEW Fresh Sugar Photography website: www.freshsugar.com.
I absolutely love it, I think it still showcases the bright, colourful Fresh Sugar style but also has a more grown-up feel that reflects our fabulous clients!

One thing you might notice is the address – I’m now the proud owner of freshsugar.com – which literally took 6 years to get! www.freshsugar.ca is still around, but will send you to the .com. So it’s easier than ever to get to the site!
The new site has a new look, new photos, a new gallery and videos! Have I mentioned that it’s new?

The new gallery is called the heartwork and it’s a gallery dedicated to my own first photography loves – my children. I always have such a great response when I blog images of my girls, and I’ve decided to have a gallery just for them. Here you will find funny moments, and some of my more out of the box and creative work.

Be sure to take a look at the video section to see some examples of client videos I’ve done this past year. Video is always free of charge to include with your session, and a slideshow of video and images is complimentary at purchases of $3500 and over. The videos are designed to just be little tiny additions to your session to help document this moment in time.

To celebrate the new website, we are giving away a SUPER fantastic prize: a 16GB Apple iPad. I got an iPad last month from the US, and have been addicted to it ever since. Now that the Canadian iPad app store is open it’s even more fun. So when I was thinking about what I could give away to celebrate our new look, I thought: “iPad!”. The contest is open to residents of Calgary and surrounding areas and no purchase is necessary. One entry per person, BUT you can earn 5 extra entries by booking a session with Fresh Sugar between June 1st and 30th, 2010. The session can take place anytime in 2010, but must be purchased in June. You can also earn extra entries by telling your friends to come and enter, and tell us you referred them!
Click Here To Enter Now!

Winner will be chosen by a random draw and announced on July 1st, 2010. (Happy Canada Day!)

So go on and take a look at the new freshsugar.com. Enter to win, and don’t forget to let us know what you think of the new look!

My brand spankin’ new site is gone, unfortunately my website company had a server malfunction today and several of their sites were deleted – mine being one of them. The timing of course could not be worse, as today was the big unveiling. I know many of you were able to see it for a few hours and left some super sweet comments.

My husband says I must have been a serial killer in a past life because I have such very bad luck in this one. Anyway, what’s done is done, and what’s gone is gone. My website company is frantically working round the clock to restore the missing sites, but all the data and images are gone. They are fabulous people with a wonderful company though, and I know that they are just as upset about things as I am. They will be doing everything they can to restore things as soon as possible.

So what does this mean? For those of you that have yet to see the fab new Fresh Sugar, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer, unfortunately.
I have some sessions to edit and then am off to Victoria this weekend. When I return next week, I will be hard at work (again, lol) recreating the site for all of you to see. For those of you that did get a chance to see it today, thank you for visiting, and hopefully the memory can tide you over until we are back up again.

www.freshsugar.ca is back to the old site so you can still see all the info you need to, and you can be sure that I’ll be making another huge post when the new site is back up.

Thanks so much for your patience and understanding.

Muah!

-Brandy