I met up with these two while they were in town over the holidays. We wandered around the market, creating some neat stuff for their engagement session. Can’t wait for your wedding guys!

For Monica and Dave’s fourth Year in the Life session, they and the rest of their extended family went to Stanley’s Maple Lane Farm for an old fash­ioned horse-drawn sleigh ride. The weather was perfect: sunny, and right after the freezing rain, so all the bare trees were lit up with a coat of ice.

We hung around in the barn for a bit, and then we were off on the sleigh ride!

About halfway through the ride, all the kids were let off to romp around in the snow:

The freezing rain had created a layer of ice over the snow, and the big thing was to smash it over your head.

A great time was had by all.

Highly recom­mended if you have kids of that age.

…Mike

Sonia and David were married at the Château Montebello on a gorgeous winter afternoon.

…Mike

I’m looking for an assistant. For the right person, this will be a great way to earn some extra cash and maybe learn a thing or two. But please keep in mind that this is not a shooting position. That’s my job Instead, you’ll be doing things like holding lights, carrying stuff, and keeping track of equipment.

This is a year-round position, but the majority of work will be between May and October, mostly on Saturdays. I won’t need you every week, but when I do it will be an all-day thing. I do some work on Sundays too but almost never on weekdays.

Some traits you should have before you send me an email:

Having a sense of humour is a huge plus, the dryer the better. If you don’t have one, you should at least appre­ciate one.

You should be able to follow instruc­tions well, have a good memory, and be able to think for yourself. Clairvoyance and ESP will be helpful too, for when we are too far apart for me to yell at you to do something.

You should be good with driving direc­tions, and know Ottawa well. If you can’t get to the grocery store without a GPS, please don’t email me. You must know how to drive a car with a manual trans­mission, too.

You will need conser­v­ative black dress with sensible shoes. You will be climbing stuff, walking up hills, through gravel, and in very quiet churches where loud/hard heels are too distracting.

People will come up to you to ask ques­tions or verify schedules and plans. You will need to know what’s going on and have the confi­dence to answer. You must be polite and artic­ulate, no matter what happens. If you have ever lost your temper and gotten into a fight, please don’t email me. Even as my assistant, you will be the face of Photos for Life. I need to know that you will represent the business properly. Judgment and tact are vital.

You will be carrying heavy bags, loading and unloading cars, and holding awkward stuff. Some physical strength is necessary.

If you can look at some­thing and figure out how it works, bonus. Being good with elec­tronics and doodads is a definite asset.

If inter­ested, please email me.

…Mike

I’m happy to say that I had four images place in the ISPWP fall contest

This fifth place image was taken at the NAC:

This fifth place image was taken at the Ottawa Hunt and Gold club, during Jessica and Mike’s wedding:

This one, also from Jessica and Mike’s wedding, placed eleventh in the “Pure Art” category. It was taken at the Manotic Mill.

Finally, a photo of Courtney’s dress place seven­teenth in the “Dress” category:

…Mike