Michele Dyson Photography

This one is for my Dad, and Nevaeh and Eve’s “Gimpa”. Yep, Miss Nevaeh tagged him with that name when she was just one year old, and it has stuck!  Last month I did a quick session with Dad, stepmum Dianna and their 3 kids….it had been years since they had a family pic done, and well….I guess I was the obvious choice, right?! So, don’t say anything if you see him because this image is his Father’s Day gift….I’ve printed it HUGE for his office – I think he’ll love it!

And of course to my hubby……Happy “Papa’s” Day to you too…….xoxoxoxox!

Mish

Two girls, fresh out of the tub……cotton jammies, clean sheets, bouncing and giggles. What more could you ask for?!

And yes, I do realize that our youngest mildly resembles Jack Nicholson in The Shining – darn good thing she’s cute, right?

Enjoy the pics…man, it was funny getting these. Little ones crack me right up!

Mish.

Just a little post of the girlies I had forgotten about. A few of these images have actually been framed up big and put proudly on our walls last month; just got so busy I forgot to blog ‘em! These were snapped after a baby session I had done at Brooke’s studio, and B decided to pick up her camera and snap a few of Eve while she chilled on the bed. Well, Big Sis decided she wanted in there ( amazing)! so I actually got some updated pics of the two of them together. I managed to catch a few shots I adore, but the majority were shot by Brooke while I bounced around trying to get Eve to peek up at us….Brooke, I love love LOVE these; thank you so much for the impromptu quickie:)!

Do I ever feel lucky to call these two cuties my girls……



Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
and I say it’s all right

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it’s all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it’s all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,

and I say it’s all right

It’s all right

First, a sneak of my Dad’s family….well, just my siblings in this one. They’re pretty good in front of the camera, don’tcha think?! ….And of course much easier for me when the girls are being held down and can’t take off! Make sure to tune in for their full post:)

And yes, I realize Eve’s hair is ultra dorky, but what else can I do when her bangs are halfway down her face and she will NOT keep anything in ?! Good thing she can pull it off……and no, she still doesn’t have any teeth; hurry up baby!!!

My newest fave of our biggest girl……I adore her little face in this one. Thanks Miss!This was a somewhat impromptu session – I literally dragged the girls with me and shot these in the few minutes before my Dad and his family arrived for their session….it was Eve’s bedtime, it wasn’t warm and they definitely weren’t into it. Regardless of all that, I’m happy with what we got and can’t wait for the next outdoor, sunshiny session:)

** Sidenote for photogs – these were all shot with my brand spankin new 35mm 1.4 . I am LOVING this lens…perfect for a “shorty” like me:) **

Wow, it has been a long time since I’ve posted and yet again I’m getting personal. Oh well, part of down time I suppose. But, for those of you interested in more than cute wee faces, it’s almost slam-time and I am looking forward to it. A Baby Marathon out of town this weekend, and then straight into wedding season. Woot woot!!!!

As for this post, these were all taken at my good friend Brooke’s place last weekend. Her not-so-little man turned FOUR and we had a blast! Si chose a Superhero party, and dressing the part was mandatory. Si as the Hulk, Isla as Wonderwoman and my girls were Rainbow Rose and Super Sailor. Ummm…..SuperFreakinCute is all I have to say!  The kids had such a great time, and B…you threw a fab party as usual.

Enjoy the pics – and Simon…..you’re making me want to try for a boy! Stop being so darned CUTE!!!  hehe…

Okay, Miss Isla – you are sooooo adorable in this one. Yo Mama has got skills in the costume department, that’s for sure!Yup, it’s official. They are lovin each other. Be careful Simon!B – have I told you lately that I. love. you ? Because I do….photos including myself are few and far between and these next two I adore..thank you!  And PS – my baby girl looks like a GIANT!

That is one cute booty!

Best. Icing. EVER!!!!

I think that Si actually WAS The Hulk….nice job buddy:) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! xoxoxoxoxox

Well in a better late than never attempt, we are going to share some of our photos from WPPI this year.

Was it worth it?  Absolutely.  It would be hard to say specifically the moments that made the trip valuable.  I think it would be fair to say it was the overall experience.  Catching presentations such as Bobbi + Mike (LOVE), or having the chance to get a hands on look at new album companies…or basically attacking Jasmine Star like crazed fans…the trip was amazing.  The only thing we wish we had done differently!?  Booked an extra day!  So, WPPI 2011…look out.  We are hooked.

Mr David Jay. Our first encounter with someone we know of, and we were lucky enough for it to be his smiling face. Such a nice guy:)

The “one” and only Bobbi + Mike.  Love love love them. Bobbi for her ridiculously  inappropriate behavior and inability to stay on topic ( no surprise her and I are both Gemini’s.. hehe) and Mike for just how obviously he adores his girl! We heard them speak and were pretty much laughing the entire time. Bobbi – you’re not the most eloquent speaker, but DANG girl….you can hold an audience! We walked away feeling extra comfortable being our dorky selves. hehe!

Our first, and only night out on the town. Nope, we didn’t get all dolled up. We bandaged the feet, threw on some comfies and hung out in Anthropologie for way too long. ( It was heavenly…..) Next year we’ll definitely plan to see more:)

The Boudoir Divas. Make sure to check out all their goodies here.

And as you can see by the HUGE grins on our faces…..one of our biggest highlights was meeting Jasmine Star – our new BFF! We were leaving the tradeshow, both spotted her at the same time, said nothing… and a hop, skip and a jump later we were on top of her. I’m sorry to say that I’m not really exaggerating. Didn’t think that Brooke and I were in “awe” of anyone, but apparently we were. Jasmine was so kind, genuine and funny we couldn’t help but be inspired by her:)

Kelly Moore. It would be a dream to be in front of her lens, or even better to carry one of her fabulous bags while watching her style and shoot a session. This lady is somewhat of a technical genius in our books. And her accent makes her extra-likable.  Promise us you’ll click here to check out her amazing talent and also take a peek at her gorgeous camera bags ( already on our birthday lists:)

Trying hard not to look like dorks…..it wasn’t easy, trust me! A romantic sushi dinner + too many drinks + B’s very sore feet = us passed out in bed by midnight. Oh yeah, we’re hardcore.

Clockwise:: Jasmine Star + her very sweet and talented hubby JD :: an unknown face, B, Joe Photo and myself :: us with [b]ecker…..Becker hosted a great party where we were able to meet and network with some amazing people. We had such a fab time and will be in attendance next year:)  Last but not least….our new BFF, Louis Torres. Spiced things up a bit, right from the start.

From left to right:: Alexander Garza, moi, B, Amelia and Justin Lyon. These two are pretty much rockstar photographers in our books – and amazingly good people to boot. Promise us you’ll check out their work here. Don’t blame us for staying up til the wee hours.

With our Canadian girls……Deanna Hall and Brandy of Fresh Sugar. Superfun ladies….we’re going to have to step it up next year in order to keep up with you two!  2nd snap with Jasmine Star….I kicked off my shoes and sprinted after her in the hotel so the ladies could get a pic. Good thing I’m not worried about making a fool of myself

And we just HAD to post this one….that is Brandy of Fresh Sugar, and half of the Two Photogs team ( if you’re a photog reading this and haven’t checked out their site-do it now. Their blog is full of tibits of info that have really helped us out a lot….you girls are goooood)! Brandy’s image was entered into WPPI’s Fresh Faces contestand with over 16,000 votes,  guess what she did?! Oh yeah…..she WON!!!! Unbelievable. Even if we hadn’t of known who shot this I still would have voted for it. What an amazing accomplishment.

Last photo…needed to finish with a giggle. This was our last night, post [b] school party, so needless to say we were both a little tipsy:) As we headed back to the room these ladies accosted  me with, ” Dang, girl – you got a PHAT A*%!!” Aparrently a white girl with booty is a rare thing in their neck o the woods. I walked away feeling the love and with a newfound appreciation for my “counter butt”!

Looking forward to 2011!
Michele + Brooke

What started out as a simple idea to paint eggs with a few kids turned into a circus of sorts…..broken eggs ( inevitable) dye that wouldn’t stick ( forgot the vinegar) and of course Brooke and I expecting the kids to actually acknowledge the fact that we were trying to catch their smiling faces ( bribery was necessary)!  Little Miss Isla was snoozing…probably for the best as there definitely would have been a lot more broken eggs:)

Happy Easter everyone!
Yup, there it is again….the Littlest Miss always has her tongue hangin out!
My obvious faves! I think they’re in love. 

A wee Miss. Happy. Energetic. Inquisitive. Loud. Outgoing. Vocal. Stubborn. And sweet as sugar.  Eve and I had a weekend to ourselves as Nevaeh and her Papa took off to Vancouver for some bonding time. Eve has definitely noticed, being a little out of sorts and booting around the house peeking out the windows on her tippy-toes shouting, “Ya-Ya”!….”Ya-Ya”??  ( All wee ones seem to call Nevaeh “YaYa” – cute, right)?!

So before we sat down to play this morning, I dug through some of Nevaeh’s old toys and found an old fave….her light-up stackers. Well, they are now Eve’s fave. Pretty cute watching her figure it out. It was a nice, quiet weekend – I got a lot accomplished, but I can’t wait for the house to be back to its noisy self!

Now on with the pics….and yes, she is that pale ( and that cute)!!!

Oh….that little face of hers. I must drive her nuts with all the smoochies:) 

Here she is….the Birthday Girl in all her glory!!! The party was as successful as a room full of wee ones can be – we had a lot of bodies crammed inside on a cold day and it was a bit chaotic to say the least!….now I understand why women plan to have warm-weathered babies! The littlest Miss enjoyed all the kiddos, her presents and especially the cake. SO very different than her sissy was on her 1st. Nevaeh was oh-so delicate, almost prissy – not wanting to get even a finger dirty. But Eve on the other hand? She dove right into the raspberry colored icing and covered herself in it in a matter of minutes. Hair, face, clothes and even her eyes were smothered. It was fabulous!  Thank you very much to my Mum for flying in to celebrate  (and help out), Brooke for helping with the decor and Brandi for pointing me in the right direction for Eve’s dress… I was looking for something not so light and airy like we always do for parties ( I kind of wish I’d gone with the light tones as the decorations could have hung in her room….I’m going to have to start renting this stuff out so it doesn’t go to waste)!

As for the lack of “people” pics….other than the birthday girl, of course ?! We had so much chaos going on that it really was tough for B or I to get behind a camera, but I’m loving what I do have to remember Miss Eve’s special day. I have to admit I cheated a bit and took a bunch the day after:) Thanks for your photo contributions Brooke…love em!

Found this gorgeous Asian inspired dress at Tea Collection. Love it! The flower is a hair clip I made for Eve…super easy and very sweet….click here for the how to :: Mum and I made one for each girls’ plate – the plan was to attach each to a pin so they could leave with a brooch. Of course, not enough time for that.
Miss “La” with the birthday girl…..at least next to her buddy she still looks like a baby!
The brown flowers are made from 6 paper lunch bags….easy- peasy. Click here for Martha’s how-to. The favours for the party were these beautiful campanula plants – they almost made me forget it was still yucky outside!The aftermath of her first sweets…..by the time she finished she was covered, I’m talking  sleeves of raspberry icing, a pink mohawk, and stained eyebrows from rubbing it all over her face. Quite entertaining for us all!Obviously pre-cake. And if you’ve noticed the multiple hair clips? It’s not because I’m indecisive……the little monkey is a typical one year old and won’t keep a darned thing in her hair.

Well, here it is. Time has passed oh so  quickly, and the Littlest Miss is nearly one. This time last year I was driving my friends, fam and especially my hubby nutso trying everything in my power to get this girl out. She made her entrance ( with a little help) on February 22nd and has kept us smiling since then. I’d thought at first that she was going to be this sweet, passive, girly little thing….but I may be wrong. The last few weeks she’s been showing us another side. A very sassy, very in-your-face kind of side. Oh no, am I going to have TWO fiesty girls?!  Anyways, here I go on rambling again…..the point of this little shoot was to take some “portraits” of Eve in her birthday clothes – before the craziness of the party. Well, she didn’t want the dress on ( yes, that has started already) so I put her in some cozies and then decided that my big girl needed some new “pretty” pics as well. I bribed her with a popsicle:)  I can’t say it was easy getting the shots….my house was seriously trashed; it took all of 10 minutes to make a huge mess while moving quickly to keep Eve relatively happy, and Nevaeh? Well, like I said – she’s old enough to bribe. Oh yeah, I do it when necessary…..

So, here they are – Eve’s One Year pics as well as some of her big sissy……I sure do love these two munchkins.

** Brooke, you’ll be happy – I finally captured Eve’s “cartoon” smile…the last photo of her ( yes, I know…she’s still toothless, takes after her sis:) SO glad I got it!