Michele Dyson Photography » Blog

Here it is people – take note of some of THE best dance moves 2010 is sure to see!  Early January I had Si for a few hours and him and “his girl” decided they wanted to shake it. Well, I decided there should be a dance-off  ….for candy! Oh yeah, I bribed them and of course pulled out the camera. They worked it to ” Boom Boom Pow” and seriously….the two of them are kind of really good. Nevaeh’s not the most coordinated, but she makes up for it in attitude and sass and determination. And Si, he wasn’t giving up….even tried to take her down a few times. I think I may need a few lessons from these two. Man oh man thave they got personality. Bloody hilarious to watch them in action.  And for the record – Si won 1st place for the boys team, and Miss N won for the girls. Surprisingly enough they didn’t even question it:)

Enjoy the pics!

PS  - This would be SO much better with sound…..the tunes of course, and little Miss Eve who was down at their feet squealing her noggin off. Fun times

She gets her “Elaine” gene from me:)
Okay, if this doesn’t crack you up then somethin’ is wrong!They can both shake a meeaannnn  tailfeather!

So, it’s been quite a while of me thinking about taking some shots of the girls in the tub, and I finally got around to it. The way they interact with each other cracks me up! Of course bath nights are more work, especially with Eve’s age and Nevaeh’s….well, very particular ways:) But, it is always SO entertaining. And who doesn’t love free entertainment, right?! Eve isn’t yet walking…..standing quite well but doesn’t try to take steps on her own. Except in the bath. Don’t know what it is, but she goes a little wacky once she hits the water. Crazy splashing, wants to stand at all times, and literally climbs overtop of Nevaeh. I just wish I had audio to go along with these…..she sounds like such a little alley cat. Nevaeh, on the other hand, has always been pretty mellow, but now that she’s got a partner in crime I think we may be in for it. The peel n stick tiles have definitley got to be replaced with some real ones. haha!

Anyways, enjoy the pics…..I obviously have no idea how to use my flash, but in this instance I don’t really care!!!

In other news….make sure and keep checking in; there is BIG news coming in the near future and I can’t wait to share!!!

Now, is it just me, or does she look oh-so-grown up in this one?!  11 months old….CRAZY!!!!

Classic Nevaeh. She stole this one from her Mama!

Come ON – is she not a spitting image of Jack Nicholson in The Shining?! Gotta love her, crazy little lady!

A year in review. Wow….time really does fly by, doesn’t it?!  The past year has definitely been one of the best I’ve had.  Mistakes were made, the learning is ongoing, and I’m still dreaming. Big. There have been times I’ve questioned what I’m doing, if I’m doing the right thing…but the fact that I actually enjoy working away at 2 a.m. must mean something, right?! There’s a quote I read on Tara Whitney’s blog a few days ago, which was so fitting ….” If you want to know where your heart is, look where your mind goes when it wanders”. Well, my mind is always a wandering – all over the bloody place. That’s the problem with being Gemini – I can’t stay focused long enough to finish a thought. Luckily for me I have great friends and fam who (try) to keep me on track( you know who you are)!

This past year or so has brought so many changes…..a new home, new jobs and of course our new baby girl Eve. Lucky for us, big sis Nevaeh thinks she’s just as sweet as we do and we haven’t had to deal with jealous fits of rage, pulling hair or eye poking. Well, yet anyway. Eve’s personality is really becoming apparent, and I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to be the quiet, mellow timid little thing we’d first thought. She may just follow in her “big sissies” footsteps and have a very outgoing “look at me world” kind of outlook.  As long as they can pause for a moment once in a while for me to snap a few shots of their cute little faces, I don’t mind.

Be forewarned, this post is ridiculously long…..I never realized just how many photos we really do have. And to think that the majority of these are the “portraits”.  I’ve been working on a coffee table album for my blogover the past year, so had to include these faves for the end of it. Wondering who I’m doing it through? Blurb. They will actually “slurp” your blog and print it up all fancy for you to hold onto. Something to show for all our late nights, right?! A big thank you to my hubby for never complaining about how much I work in the evenings( well, rarely complaining)! I promise that 2010 will include me coming to bed at least a few hours earlier each night. And of course I couldn’t possibly post with saying thankyouthankyouthankyou to Brooke for capturing all the pics of our fam , as well as a bunch more in this post; love each and every one of them and feel insanely lucky to have you around.

So, here it is. The biggest post ever. And just so you know, it was never intended to be so lengthy….I just started to get all mushy and sentimental and, well…they’re just so darned cute!  I suppose this post was kind of for me to look back at ( perhaps when I’m having a “yuck” day and wish I could have an on call nanny to deal with not-so-fun Mum stuff)! These are pretty much guaranteed to make me smile:)

Enjoy…..

These were taken a few months before Eve arrived :: thanks Brooke!

I think this is a contender for one of the warm-fuzziest belly pics EVER!
33.5 weeks ( yup-I’m counting the .5) It was -14 degrees outside and Brooke still managed to make me laugh!February 22nd, 2009 at 3:30 she arrived. Eight pounds one ounce and easy-peasy. I guess it was a hint of how she was going to be as a baby…..we couldn’t have asked for a sweeter little thing.Eve was under 5 days old in the pics above, and just a few weeks here. What I can’t believe is how much Nevaeh has grown up since then…she still looked so wee here!

Possibly the best little ballerina pic EVER….look at all those hungry bums!Father’s Day. Love these.This image needed a LOT of editing to salvage it; bad lighting and a lot of noise to start with, but it is one of my absolute faves….Eve was just 12 weeks here and looks like such a little doll..

These were taken by Brooke on her daughter’s 1st birthday… I’d photographed Miss Isla and Brooke decided to grab a few of us. So glad you did.

Nevaeh at almost 4 years old and Eve at 6 months. I could just squeeze them in these pics…..Our biggest girly-girl. Love you Miss.
Okay, come ON! If this pic doesn’t make you have baby fever I don’t know what will. Absolutely my favourite shot of her. Mmmm. Thanks again Brooke, man I adore this image.
Baby Miss. 
These don’t really fit, I know….but here are some summertime pics of B and I. Thank you thank you to Andrea Blair for the images us together – so much fun!

My besties of the girls together. An impromptu session at home while Nanny was in town for a visit. Homemade tutus +cardboard crowns = adorable! Miss Nevaeh + her 4th Birthday Party :: Alice in Wonderland Style Perhaps the best “real” moment I’ve captured of them…..I can only imagine what Eve was thinking here!Christmas-time pics…..At last a family pic…..this really truly was the 1st taken of the 4 of us; not even a snap before this one. I dragged B out in the cold and had her shoot us for 10 minutes before she met another fam. Couldn’t have been more thrilled. Love you so, SO much !!!! Mwah! xoxox

A bunch of my faves from the year…..there were so many images I adored it was tough to choose, but these were some that made me smile the biggest. Thank you all for workin’ it in front of my lens, and for having me be the one who got to capture all these wonderful little moments.

Michele

You guys tired of us yet??!  My girls and I, that is. I know, it seems like I’ve been doing nothing but shooting these two…but really, I HAVE! It’s almost as though this blog of mine has turned into the ramblings of our little fam and that’s IT!   I’m still staying up late at night- not AS late, usually in bed by 1a.m. instead of 3. It’s progress, right?  Mainly I’ve been working on weddings…..luckily I have a better system in place for 2010. This year, I’m embarassed to say, I had clients choose their images for editing and it didn’t work out in my favour. Of course orders trickle in slowly, and then…WHAM!  11 orders just in December. That’s about 700 images to edit ( I need to learn batching)! and 11 coffee table albums. I WILL be done all by March. I will. I was saying to Brooke last night that luckily for me, I a excited about editing each and every wedding….some are even from 2008! That’s a definite upside, as there’s not much worse in post-processing than working on something you’re not into. Okay, enough babble for now, just thought I’d send out an update!   Onto the newest post of the girls…..yet again!

The first big dump of 2010, and Eve’s first time playing in the white stuff. I was prepared for the whimpering and her quiet little cries, but I wasn’t prepared for her actual response to the wet stuff. And ohhhhhh, was it wet! Just like the good ol days playing in the West Coast slush. I dressed her up in the coziest things I could find; they weren’t actually waterproof, but it was the best I could do. Let’s be honest….I figured she’d hate it and we’d be inside after 2 minutes. I set her down. Waited. She rolled into crawl mode – and totally face washed herself!  I of course grabbed her by the tail to save her….she did it again. Loved it. I clicked off what I could, but it was coming down so fast and wet I was worried about the camera….at least I was using the old one:)  

Nevaeh liked it as well, but I think she’s more of a fair weather girl like her Mama…..10 minutes and she was asking for hot chocolate. I’m hoping she’ll like the fluffier snow up at the Mountain better! Tubing and skating…..I’m not ready for her to try boarding for another couple years. Yup, I’m a bit paranoid, what can I say?! 

Thanks for dropping by….hope your New Year is off to a great start!!!

And for any photogs reading this……WHOA! Can I ever tell the difference in the these pics and how much I had to tweak them compared to my other camera. I usually shoot with the Canon 5D Mark 2, and these were with the Canon 30D. Both great cameras, but what a difference! My point – if you’re on the fence about upgrading and can swing it – WELL worth it!!!

It’s that time of year again. Well, actually this post is about 3 weeks behind schedule, but better late than never, right?! This is year two of Nevaeh’s “parents welcome” class, and I loved it even more this time around. Maybe it was because she has really learned to LOVE dancing, maybe it’s because she’s somehow a little more graceful and yet still 4 year old awkward. Whatever it is, I’m glad she has so much fun in such a great class. Her teacher, Mrs. M is truly one of the best. So incredibly patient, even with my Miss Chatterbox. My favourite moment? Their 3 minute interpretive free-style. Man, it was CUTE! Little Miss seriously dances like no one is watching ( check out the first two images). She comes right up to the audience and just works it –  ”Elaine” style. Think Seinfeld people….the girl could be a stand in for her for sure. And check out how much she’s grown in a year….click here to see last year’s class. Same hair, same sweet face, a little less chubba-lubba. Too cute. 

Hope everyone had a wonderfully-fabulous Christmas!!!!  

Michele.

Along with the fact that I haven’t posted in a few weeks, paired with the constant reminders of my Mum that she hasn’t seen photos of our girls in too long….I thought it best that I pull up my socks and post a little something. Of course as every other person out there knows, it’s a crazy hectic time of year – and on top of client orders, Mummy duties, Christmas shopping, sick kiddos and party planning I’ve still got to remember to get a few festive shots of the girls. I got out the fancies the other day, but much to my surprise Miss Nevaeh was having none of the frills. She wanted “cool” clothes…..”like I’m six, okay Mummy”?! Well, why not. So, although there isn’t much of anything festive going on in these photos, try to imagine me singing Christmas songs in the silliest voices possible in order for them to pay attention….that’s festive, right?! Nevaeh somewhat cooperated, and Miss Eve?  Well, at 9 and a half months she is a little fireball. Go, go,go…I had to catch her with my feet while I was crumpled into a corner trying to fit them both into the frame. The things we do:)  I can’t wait to see what she’s doing in the next few weeks……she’s now able to stand completely on her own for a good 15 seconds and is saying her first little words…..Papa’s watch gets ” gick…….gock” ( tick-tock ) and “book” is pronounced with a “g” in front. Silly little thing. And at 4 years old Nevaeh is starting to learn about hand-eye coordination, as her Dad would say. She is learning to LOVE video games. Drives me absolutely nutso, but of course there are limits set by moi….. and she is pretty darned good at games, even if I cringe every time they play! Does this form of entertainment drive any other Mum’s bonkers?! Oh, it gets to me……..the hubby thinks it’s hilarious and says I’m just envious that she could kick my butt! 

So here they are….my attempt at some shots for Nanny to see how grown up the girlies are getting. I must say that this time of year feels soooooo restricting; these shots are the same ol thing I keep taking when it’s yucky out.  Next shoot I’ll attempt outside in the white stuff…..once it warms up a bit, of course:)  Alright, enough babble from me…..hope each and every one of you  has a fabulous Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year;  and don’t forget to leave a little blog love – it’s for a great cause this time of year…..1 comment = 1 can of food donated to the Food Bank.  What better reason is there?!  

Merry Ho-ho!!!!!This one makes me want to go wake her up for a snuggle:) 

How does time fly so quickly again?!
* Edited to add*  

I almost passed this one by…..one of Eve’s “firsts” – a mini play with her little friend Milla. I did 3 shoots at our home this day so we got in a lot of play time!  Little M is 6 weeks younger than Eve and I think they may be two of the cutest little things I’ve ever laid eyes on…..and can’t you just see the hair-envy in Eve’s eyes?  I mean, come ON !