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Category Archives: Lifestyle:: Just Because

Brooke + Andrea + Me :: Just Because

So, here it is. Finally. Part one of two……a great shoot with a couple of great girls. Brooke, Andrea and I met up one hot summer afternoon in July with a plan to get dolled up with a bunch of great clothes and accessories and shoot away. We had our makeup done by the wonderful Nicole Sweezey and clothes compliments of Vintage and Vogue. The location we ended up at was a little town called Hedley and it worked out perfectly….nobody to watch us make fools of ourselves!  Brooke and Andrea were both incredibly comfortable in front of the camera, myself on the other hand….I had to have a drink or two pre-shooting as I was so nervous. Yuck. It’s definitely one of my least favourite things to do – although when B and I were in front of the camera together I felt much more at ease. If you’re wondering where those pics are, they’ll be coming after Christmas; I’m SO happy with them, Andrea did a great job:)

So, here they are….a few of Andrea, a tonne of B and a couple of yours truly. Ladies, it was a blast and I cannot wait to venture out again!

Michele

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01/03/2010 - 11:40 pm andrea blair - eeeeck ...LOVE these to bits :) you ladies rock my socks off!

12/30/2009 - 11:05 pm michele - THANK YOU!!!!! Really. Thanks to everyone - especially Brooke and Andrea for making me look and feel purdy:) And Janine, the random chair once belonged to Brooke's Grandma. Love it!

12/24/2009 - 11:34 am Rebecca - These. Are. Absolutely. Amazing. The poses are killer, you ladies are goooorgeous, and my new wish for Christmas is to get all those dresses. Santa is magic so he could do it, right?

12/23/2009 - 11:50 am Michelle - B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.

12/22/2009 - 11:14 pm Melissa - Not only are you ladies all ridiculously talented behind the lens, you are all ridiculously gorgeous in front of the lens. Gorgeous photo's!

12/22/2009 - 10:59 pm Cathy Empey - I cannot stop staring! These are amazing images. Love the location too! Beautiful!!

12/22/2009 - 10:11 pm Cara - I agree with Mandy! You all look amazing! STunNiNG!!!!!!

12/22/2009 - 9:58 pm Mandy - oh my good gracious!! why are you three photographers you should be the models! your all so beautiful! love all the images! M

12/22/2009 - 8:39 pm Janine - wowzers!!! Hot ladies!!! Love the pics. One question though...ummm, where'd the random yellow chair come from????

12/31/2009 - 4:28 pm Me + B :: Just Because » Michele Dyson Photography - [...] Brooke + Andrea + Me :: Just Because [...]

Vancouver Island:: friends + fam

I’m thinking these may be my last few outdoor posts of our girls ; the weather has now changed, and aside from a few Winter Wonderland shots I’d like to attempt up at the ski hill, I’m not planning on torturing the wee ones for much longer….although they don’t really seem to mind that much:) This is a long post as it’s a mixture from the past month or so…..a few from my stay in Nanaimo with a couple shots of my girlriends’ very photogenic kids, of course since the girls were tagging along I needed some of them on an actual beach too; MAN I miss the ocean!  We then ventured to Victoria where my Mum and 3 of my siblings live. I’d promised Mum I would attempt pics of the 4 grandkids together and it actually worked out …the girls were a bit chilly, dirty, sniffly and wild but in the end they had fun and we all got what we wanted ( us-photos, the rugrats got tic-tacs and cookies…YAY for treats)!!!  

It was a good trip, but of course we’re happy to be home and getting into winter-mode. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that quite yet; luckily the hubby and I are heading to a warmer climate….I’ll be shooting a wedding in Playa Del Carmen in 2 weeks; good timing as Mike and I haven’t been on a holiday together since we lived overseas 5 years ago and it IS TIME!!!

 

Now on with the good stuff…

 

This first image may just be my fave of the girls….I can only imagine what Eve was thinking:)
7846bShe really does adore her big sis….lucky little thing:)7849bgirlsb
The Holland kiddos….thanks for having us guys!
 

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Cousins…my sister’s girls and mine finally in a photo together…..man, I give kudos to child photogs – it is HARD work!
8142lbCan you believe that Nevaeh and her big cousin next to her are only 7 weeks apart???  That’s right, my girl is lacking in the height department, that’s for sure…..luckily she makes up for it in personality:)8126lb8208blogI just love this shot of Sam’s grubby little toddler hands…I believe I was bribing them with food in this one ( she was just 16 months in these photos and it worked like a charm)!
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This is my Mum, “Nanny” to the girls….she’s been asking me for two years to redo her headshots for work and sadly it’s taken me this long. Well, I’m thrilled with the results and we honestly took about 5 minutes to get these. Mum is one of those people who ( up until now)! looks MUCH better in person…she’s been told that the photo she’s been using the past 6 years for marketing makes her look about 60 –  definitely not the case anymore; you look smokin’ in these and I’m so glad we pulled it together!  
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11/02/2009 - 9:17 pm brooke bowland - the first image kills me. it is a must up and large! all the kiddos are adorable. how lucky are you to photograph such super cuties and your mom...wowzers lady...HOTTIE!

11/01/2009 - 5:06 pm Reb - Your mom is gorgeous! Soooo cute.

10/31/2009 - 12:17 pm Shelley - I love the black & white outfits on your girls...adorable! I love your post...always so soft and pretty :)

10/31/2009 - 9:52 am Jen Sander - whoa michele....your mom is HOTTTTT!!!! LOVIN the new BLOG! I have to say I think my fave is the one of E. laughing at N. laughing!

10/31/2009 - 7:38 am Simone - Jen's girls could be twins! Great pictures. Your mum's definitely don't look 60... I'd say more like mid 40s. Love the black & whites of your girls. The first one of Eve is hilarious. I see a little bit of her big sis's personality in that one.

Janine + Ava :: Because

While on the Island last month I got the chance to spend some time with my girlfriend Janine and her family. It was great getting to know her hubby and daughter Ava better, as I feel somewhat responsible for them meeting!  Okay, I can’t take all the credit……Janine and I met while working at the bank about 5 years ago. I had just returned from almost 4 years traveling and working throughout Asia with my hubby and although I was thrilled to be back in B.C., I missed Asia and still had “the bug”. So, when Janine started mentioning that she just wasn’t happy with how things were going where we lived, I  suggested selling her car and moving away. Far, far away…..I’m sure her parents loved my suggestion, especially since their little girl was not yet 20 years old! Needless to say, Janine moved to Taiwan, where I myself had started out my adventures and a few months later her and Emon met, fell in love and ended up getting married in his home country of Nigeria. Ava was born a year later back home in B.C. and now they’re all together anxiously awaiting their second little one. I’m so glad to have played a small hand in such a fabulous couple meeting. I wish you all the best and can’t wait to get my hands on your new baby:)
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My fave .

7972blog7894blogJanine, you are STUNNING!  Pregnancy totally agrees with you :)
7990blogAva wins hands-down for best dimples. Love.

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Hugs, 

Michele

10/23/2009 - 11:45 am Amber Hughes - These are ridiculously beautiful! Love everything about them... especially the closeups of Ava. What a cutie!

10/23/2009 - 11:37 am Rebecca - Beautiful! Amber was my sister's wedding photographer - isn't she amazing? PS I love your new blog!

Amber Hughes:: Workshop

This session was a big deal for me as it was the first “class” I’ve ever taken. While searching through random photog blogs a few months ago, I came across Amber Hughe’s site. I was blown away and instantly knew I had to convince her to take Brooke and I under her wing for a few learning sessions. Luckily for us, she agreed! What draws me to her work is not only the clarity and fabulous compositions but the lighting. Ahhhh, her lighting really is to-die-for. And believe it or not, she just began getting creative with her off camera lighting a year ago. Inspirational to say the least. We spent a few hours together, hitting a few spots down at Granville Island in Vancouver and B and I were both amazed at how much we learned. Off camera lighting isn’t nearly as intimidating as I’d thought !

Unfortunately the day wasn’t as long as we’d hoped….I was on the Island  dropping off my girls and would you believe that the ferry was late?! Of course, the one day I’m paying to be somewhere they decide to get backed up! Everything worked out in the end….my girlfriend Janine and her wonderful husband Emon kindly came over with me to be our guinea pigs, and although we didn’t shoot a tonne, I did get a handful of images I hope they’ll love. There was a lot of standing around to be done by the two of them as Brooke and I tried to take in all the info Amber had for us, so thank you guys for being troopers….especially since Miss Janine is expecting and was not feeling her usual self!

Brooke and I are definitely going to book again….hopefully a session in the spring and another in the fall if Amber is still willing to take us on!  Make SURE to go check out her blog….I promise it will not only inspire you to think outside of the box, but it will put a smile on your face:)  Amber, thank you so much for being so warm and putting us at ease; we had a great day!

These images are a mixture of off camera lighting and natural light….off camera equipment mainly provided by Amber, which means we need to go shopping!

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10/26/2009 - 3:16 pm Cathy Empey - Amber is amazing! Sounds like an amazing learning experience too! I really love the last image! Gorgeous!

10/24/2009 - 9:34 am Chelsea - Mish, love, love, love the first one of them in the metallic background! These are fab and even though I don't always comment, I look at everything you do and "show you off" to all I know! much love!

10/23/2009 - 11:33 am Amber Hughes - Thanks so much for the glowing review Michele! It was truly a pleasure to teach both you and Brooke... you were both fast learners and so very easy to talk to. I had a fantastic time! Love the shots you got! Can't wait to take you both out again... I'm already excited to see the next batch of shots we get! :)