Project 365 Week Four

Week Four already! Tried a landscape (which I struggle with) and some different compositions this week!  Hope you enjoy!

Day Twenty Two:

Easter Sunday was spent with my parents back in my hometown.  It was a beautiful day despite the dreary and rainy start, so we were able to get out for a really nice walk.  This view is only a few minutes walk from my parents house, and many many a days were spent playing on this beach growing up.  It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Day Twenty Three:
This little doll fell asleep after her suppertime bottle with her dad, and when he set her down this was the position she took, and stayed like that for quite a while.  Oh to be that age and be able to sleep anywhere, who am I kidding, I can sleep anywhere as well!

Day Twenty Four:

Embracing shadows.  The light coming in this window in our basement created the perfect shadow.  I try to squeeze in a workout while Abigail takes her morning nap (that's if she naps, as you'll see below), and I really liked the way the light was hitting my water bottle, so I threw the weights up there too, grabbed my camera and snapped a photo!  Nothing like getting my photo and a workout in at the same time!

Day Twenty Five:
She is so peaceful when she's sleeping!  This day she resisted the naps big time!  I tried walking, nursing, rocking, and even a soother, she'd fall asleep for ten minutes then be up again!  Finally I thought going outside for a walk would work...man was that a mistake!  She screamed the whole way down the street!  Needless to say we didn't go far!  Finally, after another nursing session, she conked out and had a decent nap!  Poor little thing was exhausted!  But doesn't she just look so perfect sleeping like that?

Day Twenty Six:
Play time!  Now that Abigail has more awake time, we have more time to actually play!  She was full of smiles this morning, but they always just flash so quickly it's hard to catch them!

Day Twenty Seven:
This dog poses so beautifully, and the light was perfect to make his fur look so soft! I am starting to feel more comfortable shooting in lower light situations to give more interest to my photos.

Day Twenty Eight:
Well this little beauty dominated week four!  Four of the seven photos were of her! I will cherish these photos forever! I am so happy to see the improvement in my photography as I collect more and more photos of her as she grows (which she is doing at an extraordinary rate I might add)!

On to week five!!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week Three

Week three and going strong!  I am loving having my camera in my hands every day!  I love how it feels, I love the creativity it is helping me cultivate, and I love the stories I get to tell with my photos! 

Day Fifteen:

Working in full sun/directional light is challenging!  But that is the point of this project; to challenge myself and learn to work in all lighting situations! 

Day Sixteen:
This photo was technically taken at the end of day fifteen, but I used it for day sixteen as I knew my husband was going to have the camera at a work function on that day.  I saw the moon in our backyard late in the evening and decided to try to capture it.  The eeriness of the moon, haze and trees are well portrayed, but the glow of the moon is a bit brighter in the photo than it was in real life.  I am still working on getting the exposure right for these more challenging situations!

Day Seventeen:

A self portrait.  I was playing with the timer on the camera in my dining room with my camera propped up on a Kleenex box and books!  I'm in need of a tripod and possibly a remote if I want to be in some of these photos!  Hoping to get some shots of myself with my family sometime soon as well!  

Day Eighteen:

Tiny little shoes!  Thanks to her grandmother, my daughter has the cutest little shoes.  I like the texture of a crocheted sweater that I am making for my sister as the background for this photo.

Day Nineteen:

One of my coworkers introduced me to essential oils, and these are two of my most used.  I bought Clary Sage to use during the labor and delivery of my daughter, but only used it twice as my delivery went very quickly!  I find myself using it more and more now that I am postpartum.  Wild orange just has such an uplifting scent!  You will find it diffusing in my house almost daily! 

Day Twenty:

It is Easter weekend and it is sunny and warm here on the east coast!  I love seeing the sun and being able to get outside more after the winter.  April can sometimes be kind of dreary with the rain, and its quite muddy, which results in a lot of dirt in the house when you have a dog, but I'll take it!  The warmer weather is coming and that means we can be outside more!  

Day Twenty One:

I had the chance to have a photo taken with my daughter!  It is sometimes hard to get in the photo when you're the one taking them all the time, but I want her to look back on photos and see her and I together as well.  My husband graciously took this photo for me, and I think he did a really great job! I will treasure this one!

I hope you've enjoyed week three! Now onto week four! Comment below what types of photos you'd like to see more of!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week Two

Week two is complete!  Some days were harder than others to decide on what to take a photo of, but I was able to come up with something each day.  I hope you enjoy this weeks photos!


Day Eight:
Caught this little one with a big smile on her face.  Her smile lights up my world!  Seeing her smile with intention gives me a sense of peace, a sense of joy, and a sense of love.

Day Nine: 

A small glimpse of my book collection.  I have an obsession with books, I cannot get rid of them, even if I never plan on reading them again!  I love the feeling of a book in my hand, the smell of the paper, the places my imagination takes me when I am reading the words.  I love all types of books, ranging from non-fiction to fantasy.  I own a variety of collections, and even though they may collect a lot of dust, they hold a special place in my heart and I will never let them go! What is your favourite genre of books?

Day Ten:
Flat lay.  This photo I actually took with my phone (obviously as my camera is in the photo) to use as my project 365 blog post header, so you will be seeing this photo again and again as the weeks go on!

Day Eleven:
Crafting up thank you cards for my coworkers!  They put on an amazing shower for my daughter and I after she was born and they deserved a special Thank You!

Day Twelve:

I have the cutest golden retriever, and he loves to pose for the camera!  I'm sure there will be many photos of this pup throughout the year!

Day Thirteen:

I ventured outside for this one.  It is starting to get nicer outside here on the east coast so I hope to be outside more often from here on out!  This is the woods behind our home, and these pretty little deer can be found wandering up there quite often.  My pup was out with me as well on our deck and they just looked at us, not being bothered at all that there was a dog barking at them!

Day Fourteen:
I went to a class put on by a local photographer regarding manual mode, exposure and use of light.  It was very helpful and I hope to see an improvement in my photos as I integrate some of her tips!  I felt right at home sitting in a class taking notes; I absolutely love to learn!

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks photos! Comment below if you have any suggestions on what I should try next!

xo Suzanne

Meaghan and Rob Are Getting Married!

Soon to be Mr and Mrs! 

My best friend Meaghan is getting married this summer and I am so excited!  I have the privilege of being Meaghan’s maid of honor, and I couldn’t be happier to stand up with her on her special day!  Meaghan and I have known each other for about eight years now, and her and Rob have been together since before I knew them (they were highschool sweethearts)!  Meaghan and I played hockey together and became very close friends throughout university. I got to know Rob a bit better once my now husband and I started hanging out with them a lot, and we discovered we're quite alike, so naturally I approve of Meaghan's choice of partner! They make such a great couple and I am honoured to call them my friends!  I was given the opportunity to take some photographs of the couple and am excited to share some of my favorites from the day!  

It was a Sunday afternoon in January, but thankfully a fairly mild day!  I was 37 weeks pregnant at the time, so moving around was starting to be a bit of a challenge, but I made it work.  Plus, these two were super fun, and so easy going that it made photographing them a breeze!  Little did I know, I would deliver my baby less than a week later, so I was very happy we were able to squeeze the session in before the baby arrived!

We took a few photos at Saint John High School as that is where this lovely couple started their relationship, and continued to a few different locations in the uptown Saint John area.  Our city has some truly beautiful spots, and despite the chill in the air, we were able to capture some lovely shots!  These two never complained once about the cold, and they brought along their gorgeous husky Arya, who easily made herself at home in the chilly air.

I cannot wait to witness these two tie the knot in August!

Isn't Arya just a gorgeous pup?!

xo Suzanne

Project 365 Week One

A little over a year ago, my husband and I decided to purchase our first DSLR camera.  I had dreamt of owning an SLR camera since I was a young girl.  I have always been fascinated with photography and dreamed of taking high quality images.  As Andrew and I decided that we would soon like to start expanding our family, I thought there was no better time to invest in a good camera and learn to use it before we welcomed a baby into the world.  I began by using Auto, and reading everything I could read about how to use an SLR camera. I then started venturing out of Auto to try to use some of the other modes and improve my skills.  I took a little mini course with a local photographer that helped solidify some of the things I had read about the technical side of using my camera etc.  I continued to practice and did see some improvement.  I then purchased my first non-kit lens and saw a huge improvement in image quality.  I am still learning, and am taking another mini-course soon with the aforementioned local photographer to further develop my skills!  There is always room for improvement but I am very happy with my progress so far.  Some of the areas I would like to improve on is image composition and manipulation of light!

My Camera:

Last week I decided to embark on a photography journey.  I began a project 365…one photo a day for a year!  To accompany this journey I also decided to start this blog to showcase the photos and to give a little recap behind some of the photos.  The first week of photos is shown below.  This week was all about experimenting, getting to know my camera a little more, and playing with ideas on what to photograph.  The weather outside in New Brunswick during the last week of March is a little bleak.  There were a few nice and sunny days, but theres a little bit of snow, and desolate looking landscape, so my photos were all taken inside.  As a new mother, I started out with the perfect little subject, our daughter.  I also have another very photogenic member of our family, our golden retriever Austin.  He is a year and a half, and I think he is just the most handsome guy!  I was also able to capture a lovely photo of my husband with our daughter and Austin, giving me a sense of pride to see what a wonderful family we have started.  The other photos were just playing with light, using every day items to practice, as well as using old items from our wedding to practice my skills.  I am very excited to see how my photography grows over the course of the year and to share all these photos with you!  I hope you enjoy them!

Day One:

Day Two:

Day Three: 

Day Four:

Day Five:

Day Six:

Day Seven:

So far taking a photo a day has been really fun.  It is a bit of a challenge trying to decide what to take a photo of each day, but I think it will provide an excuse for a little adventure as well as challenge my creativity.  If you have any ideas for photos that I could try please let me know! 

xo Suzanne