I’m officially on vacation

Brandy — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:52:28 +0000

It’s been hard for me to turn some of you away this holiday season. I don’t like to disappoint anyone, and I know that the holidays are a great time to get photos taken because everyone is home. I promised my girls this year that I would take time off of work and spend the days playing with them and recharging our batteries.
We’ve spent lazy days by the fireplace reading, playing board games, and getting totally hooked on Animal Crossing for the Wii. I need more fruit, so if you play too, send me an email so we can exchange friend codes, lol.
Today was spent toboganning with my in-laws, and we had a super fun time. It’s amazing how good it actually feels to breathe in the cold air and see the gorgeous blue sky and just be alive.

I may or may not be posting in the next week, but I am off from sessions until January 10th. This includes newborns, so if you are expecting, please contact me as soon as you can so I can find a spot for you when I am back from vacation.
I hope you all have a very happy new year, and thanks so much for following the blog - it was amazing getting to know you.

love,
brandy

2008 Favorite Things

Brandy — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:48:46 +0000

I was reflecting the other day on purchases I have made this past year, and what have been my favorites. I thought it would be fun to make a list to help some of you out with your holiday gift lists!

First off was my Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas. It was a beautiful trip, and what even made it better was going with some amazing fellow photographers and great friends. The cruise line was great, everyone was so helpful and nice, and the food was wonderful. Of course the ports of call were absolutely gorgeous, especially their own private island Coco Cay.

I am a bit of a sunglass addict, much to my husband’s chagrin. Not only does he not understand how I can spend so much on a pair of sunglasses, he also doesn’t understand why I need more than one pair, or why I need to buy several pairs a year. My favorite pair bought in 2008 are my purple Prada lenses.
Of course I can’t find a single photo of them on the internet anywhere, but here they are on my head:

My favorite video game purchase this year was definitely WiiFit, the whole family enjoys it and playing it over the summer got me down a size in jeans. No lie!

Speaking of jeans, the pair of jeans I got this year that I get the most compliments are True Religion’s Disco Joey. They are super comfy too!

Shoes? My favorite pair is my most recent purchase:

New favorite perfume:

Emma’s favorite toy of the year:

Charlotte’s fave:

And for the photogs reading, my best work-related purchase this year was my Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8. loooove it!

So those are some of my best purchases this year! Stay tuned tomorrow for some of my wants for 2009!

Giving is AWESOME!

Brandy — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:08:12 +0000

I’m so happy to announce I’ve joined forces with some amazing photographers across the globe. You can take a look at everyone participating at www.givingisawesome.com

You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography — $2750 worth, to be exact. A session, a complete set of digital files and a set of bordered 4X6 prints, it’s in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $500 print credit for a future session. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Calgary. Tell me who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story : info@freshsugar.ca

The winner will be announced on January 15th — get nominating! I can’t wait to read all of your entries! (yes, I extended the deadline to give the slackers a chance. LOL)

Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love,
Brandy

Want a holiday card? Well, do ya, punk?

Brandy — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:07:40 +0000

***UPDATE - They are all gone. Man you guys sure do love some Christmas cards!***

Guess what? I have 20 client cards here that I am sending out to the first 20 extremely lucky people who email me their addresses. info@freshsugar.ca

I say lucky because the cards rock this year. Seriously. You’ll want to see it for yourself. They are so full of awesomeness that I can’t stand it.

So now that I’ve completely and unnecessarily blown this holiday card thing way out of proportion, email me to get yours. LOL!

Future Calgary clients, other photographers or blog ~~stalkers~~ fans are all welcome.

Daddio

Brandy — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:16:31 +0000

I first met little Walker last year as a newborn, and this year Mark called me back to do a Father/Son session. With both of us having recent losses, this idea was especially poignant. What a wonderful gift for his son to have someday, to be able to look back and see how much love there was in their home and in their hearts.

A video from Santa

Brandy — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:43:12 +0000

If you live in Canada and have kids, you have to go over and check this out:
Portable North Pole

My kids absolutely flipped over it, even Charlotte who freaked at Santa in person. Make sure you add a photo, that was Emma’s favorite part - it really made it real for her. It’s so fun to listen to her little giggle as she sees her photo and reads her name in his book.

It’s a great idea, and pretty well done. I’ve added Emma’s video if you want to see what’s so cool.
Video from Santa

My yearly trek to Lake Bonavista

Brandy — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:47:42 +0000

I say trek only because I live so far north we joke that it’s always Christmas here. Ahhhh, Calgary.
I first met Carrie when she only had Matthew, but since then I’ve done a newborn shoot, her baby was a model for me for the March of Dimes, and now again we hung out to do a family session before the holidays.

My husband’s very favorite image of mine, out of ALLLLLL the photos I’ve ever taken (our children included) is one of Matthew that still graces my website.

So of course we had to recreate it!

It gets me all teary to see how he’s grown. I had a great time with his little sister too, who is going to be a supermodel when she grows up, I’m sure of it!

It was a fab session, we got to hang out and play and relax and have fun. Good stuff.

A little sneaky peek

Brandy — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:22:04 +0000

I’ve just got one tiny post tonight, it’s showcasing some of the new stuff that’s going to be unveiled in the new year.
I’ve wanted to show everyone everything for a couple months now, but being so busy this fall season I haven’t had the time.
I will tell you this much . . . there will be a new site, new look, new blog, new products, new ways to order, and yes - new prices.
If you want to lock in the 2008 prices, book and pay for your session fee now for any session in 2009.
I’ll be sharing some more sneak peeks as the month goes on.

I’m cheating

Brandy — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:14:33 +0000

I took the weekend off, and then got tied up tonight, forgetting about the blog until I was lying in bed.
But because I love you and want you to be happy, I got up (ok, sat up) and starting typing away (or possibly looking at UrbanOutfitters.com).

So look up at the headers above this post. I put together a little FAQ for photographers on the blog, because I get asked a lot of the same questions over and over. This saves everyone time now, because you don’t have to write the email, and I don’t have to write back. LOL

If there’s something you’d like to know (definitely boxers) feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email with your question and I’ll add it to the FAQ.

http://www.freshsugarblog.com/faq-for-photographers/

We got SO lucky

Brandy — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:52:41 +0000

This is a wonderful family that has been with me since the very beginning. Teresa is a gorgeous mom who I am so fortunate to have as a client because she tells all her awesome friends about me. It’s been a fun group of ladies I’ve managed to meet, all thanks to her.

We were all set to do their session in October, until I realized that I had booked them on the same day as my mini sessions. So we moved it to November, and they still wanted an outdoor session at a NW Calgary park. I was prepared for a crying baby, a crying dad, and a freezing photographer. What we got was one of the most gorgeous fall days Calgary has seen in a long time. In November!

It was such a treat, and it was just one of those sessions that make me so happy to be a family photographer in Calgary. I loved the people, I loved the day and now - a whole lot of images that I love too.