Well, hello again! I know, I know…these blog posts of mine are so sporadic!  When I finally get time to put it all together its like a mishmash of the goings on in my life, photography-related and otherwise.  I have a few things I've been wanting to share though, so I thought this would be a good place and I finally do have the time right now.

What an absolutely crazy year with my photography last year!  And I mean crazy in a good way! Thanks so much to all of my clients for making me so busy! Your trust in me for capturing the precious moments in your lives means everything to me.  :-)   My family life, however, did suffer somewhat and the lack of sleep that became necessary in order to keep up with all that editing finally started to catch up with me. After much thought,  I made a decision  last year that, beginning in 2015, I simply could not photograph weddings anymore.  Sadly, the editing that goes along with shooting a wedding is just more of a commitment than I can handle while working full time at my regular day job.  The good thing about that is that I will be able to keep up with my editing for all other types of sessions and not make my clients wait nearly as long for their final edited images -- and, as an added bonus, maybe my hubby won't divorce me! So its all good!

I have added a few more images to the galleries here on my website, some that were not posted on my Facebook page (most recently, some new boudoir images) so, while you're here, have a look.  And if it makes you feel like planning a photo session of your own, don't hesitate to contact me so we can start talking :-)

One thing I have not had time to post at all, and that a few of you had been asking for, were the photos from my last trip to Newfoundland in September of last  year.  So, I'll finish this blog by writing about Newfoundland. Again. And I'll post some of those here because, well, whats a photography blog post with no photos??  My last blog post included photos of the MajumderManor tents in Burlington, NL (and lets not forget, of Shaun Majumder with yours truly, oh and ya with hubby too :-) ) but when I went back in the fall with my brother and his wife, we actually got to stay in one of tents! Experience of a lifetime!! Especially for a city girl like me who is NOT a camper!! lol I absolutely loved it and hope to stay there again when we go back in June.   From the moment we arrived, we were treated like royalty!  No exaggeration! We were met by a couple named Janice & Lew with whom we became fast friends and who were just the kindest, most generous, hospitable people you could ever hope to meet -- and so typical of many of the people you meet in Newfoundland! They made sure that our every need was met while we were there.  The tents had EVERYTHING we could possibly have needed and so much more.  Or, should I say "tent" as I have to confess that this city girl was too afraid to stay in a tent by myself so  the 3 of us stayed in one tent! Yes, its true. lol 

During the planning of this trip, I had asked Shaun if it was at all possible for him to arrange for us to get to Indian Burying Place -- an abandoned community I have been wanting to get to for years, but that is most easily accessed by boat. And arrange it, he did!! So, after our first night in the tent, we got up early and headed out to meet Sterling, the man with the boat.  The 'amazing Captain Sterling' as my brother now refers to him, got us all loaded onto his boat, the Maggie & Madison, (named for his grandchildren) and off we went on our amazing adventure!! And amazing it was -- every single moment!!  We had tried to convince Janice & Lew to come too and, although Janice was too busy, Lew did decide to join us.  We were served coffee and breakfast and the most spectacular scenery on the way to our destination. To FINALLY arrive at Indian Burying Place was like a dream come true for me! I am fascinated by abandoned buildings.  We spent hours exploring those old homes and graveyards and talking about the families that lived and died there and what life must have been like for them. I took a bazillion photos. Truly a photographer's dream.  When we needed a rest, we sprawled out on the beach and soaked up the sun's unusually warm rays (unusual for a September day in Newfoundland!). And then Sterling and Lew served us lunch on the beach -- a delicious burger and homemade salads. Mmmmm, I can still taste it!!  

When the day was over, I was sad to have to leave such an amazing place but Sterling said he had another surprise for us on the way home so there was still more to look forward to!  Did I mention that I'm from Toronto? So things like camping and fishing were never much a part of my life, nor did I want them to be.  However, the surprise that Sterling had for us was that we got to fish on our way home! Brad and Sue were ecstatic about this but I, however, was hesitant, never having done it before and well, you know, fish are kind of 'icky' and all. ;-)   I grudgingly agreed to give it a try and Sterling showed me how to hold the rod and how to cast and minutes later, I caught my first fish ever!! A respectable 6 lb cod! (Ok, "tiny" according to the expert!)  Which we had to throw back but not before taking a few photos of course! lol I have to admit -- it was exciting!! And I even look forward to doing it again. :-)  By then there was a spectacular sunset happening right before our eyes and we just relaxed, reflected on the day, and enjoyed the rest of the ride back. 

But our day wasn't over yet!! One other thing that Shaun had arranged for us was to have a Newfoundland-style feast for supper at Janice & Lew's house. It was exactly that -- a feast!! Thats why Janice was too busy to come with us! She is one beautiful lady, inside and out and what an awesome meal she prepared for us. What an absolutely perfect end to a perfect day that was overflowing with the joy of new friends and new adventures!! It doesn't get any better than that!!

Oh dear, I've done it again. Rambled on and on about Newfoundland. If you've ever considered a trip to Newfoundland, all I can say is GO!!  And while you're there, do not miss a trip to Burlington and the whole Baie Verte Penninsula to  check out all that it has to offer. :-)

J.