Mel (caramel)

My mom got a new puppy the other week, and he and Dekker have become the best of buddies! It's sooo cute watching them play together, Dekker will run around with one of the toys while Mel chases after him trying to steal it.. after a while Dekker will just patiently stand there and let Mel try to pry it away (which never happens) it's too funny!

here's a couple shots from Mel's last visit...

Top 10 WPJA Photographer!!!!!!

One of my images placed #1 in the 'details' category and #10 overall of the latest WPJA contest!!!!



I am just SO honoured! I don't enter contests very often and actually didn't even realize I had placed until I received an email from a friend saying congratulations! lol..

The WPJA contests are incredibly competitive because professional photographers from all over the world enter.. They're a great association because they only accept photographers who are true photojournalists.

Here's their mission statement:

"The Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA), an International, membership-based organization, represents professional photographers skilled in the documentation of weddings and events in a candid, unobtrusive style. The WPJA was founded to uphold excellence in the area of wedding photojournalism."

Anyway here's the image, I loved the judges comments :)

Joe Buissink Workshop

All I can say is WOW! I was so amazed by Joe, both by his incredible photography and just by his down-to-earth, super friendly and open personality.. For the photographers out there, if ever you have a chance to take one of his workshops don't hesitate!! He's all about recognizing and capturing the moment and I left the workshop feeling SO inspired.

I also met a ton of other great photographers from all over the US, Canada and the UK who I had a ton of fun with, and who I would definitely love to keep in touch with. We were also incredibly well fed with the tastiest organic meals...mmm!

Here are some photos from the week..

it's barbeque season!

we bbq year-round, but it's soooo much tastier in the summer! tonight's menu: chicken hamburgers! yum!

hmmm...

My mom came by for a visit this afternoon and brought her camera so I could burn a disc for her of her photos.. She was taking care of Dekker for us a couple weeks ago while we were at an all day wedding and I came across some photos from that day... I discovered that besides spoiling him, my mom breaks all our 'rules' for Dekker's while she has him :)

The stuffed pig is his special toy for when he visits her place, but he's definitely not supposed to be on the furniture!

Satuday Morning Brunch

homemade blueberry sauce AND homemade waffles....yum!

Gift Certificates

We have brand new gift certificates for newborn/baby/children sessions!! They're available in any denomination and make excellent gifts :)

The best thing about the certificates (in my opinion) is our packaging for them, which is suuuper cute!

Developmental Disabilities Association

I've done a whole ton of photo sessions for the Developmental Disabilities Association lately. Most of the sessions were done at their various daycare centres throughout the city and the images will be used in a calendar that will be coming out later in the year..

Here are just a few..

Savvy Bride Show

If you didn't have a chance to check out the Savvy Bride Wedding Show on the 20th (organized by Kerry of Fairy Godmother Weddings), then definitely make sure you get a chance to next year.. I was there as the roaming photographer of the event and thought it was super well-organized, there were a ton of great vendors (including some tasty food to sample.. my personal favourites!) and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves checking everything out..

all the earlybirds waiting to get in..



the fashion show...






I've seen a fair amount of arrangements by Flowerz and each piece is always a completely unique work of art..



we're planning on having a destination wedding when we get married, but if we were to get married here then DEFINITELY I would have wanted a chocolate fountain! YUM!!

Us!

My talented friend Hollie from Frozen Moment Photography took some great photos of Jin and I the other day.. We've been doing sessions for each other the past year or so and it's always fun to be on the other side of the camera!

Dekker

When we got Dekker we promised ourselves two things.. We would never dress him up in doggy clothes and we would never brush his teeth.. So after a visit to the vet this week who pointed out some plaque on his teeth, we found ourselves on the living room floor trying to wrestle a mini toothbrush into his mouth while he tried to lick the chicken flavoured toothpaste off his lips and squirm away from us.. lol, it was quite the scene! I think we maybe managed to get two teeth brushed and then we swore off the process.

The next day we discovered there were instructions that came with the toothbrush explaining that it should be a fun experience for him and it can take up to two weeks to actually get the toothbrush into his mouth... oops! We might take another shot at it but for now have decided to instead feed him special dog food that supposedly cleans his teeth as he eats it...

Carnival Gala

Last night I did some photography at Street Angel's Fundraising Gala.

They are an incredible organization who help impoverished women in the slums of Brazil keep their children off the streets, safe at home, healthy and in school.

Last time I was in Brazil I spent a month doing some photography in the community and taught photography to at-risk teenage girls with disposible cameras. It felt great to help out, and I was amazed both by how hard the people at Street Angels work and by how much they have done for the community, from providing them with running water to building a school.

They're definately a great organization to support and they are always looking for more help, whether as a volunteer, fostering a child or even just donations, so check out their site: www.streetangels.ca

Home Sweet Home

I'm back!! I had such a blast travelling but it's also great to be back home :) Things are going to be insane the next couple days so I'll be contacting everyone within the next day or two...

Here are some favourites from the trip..





I just loved this man's smile!

Thailand

We've just arrived in Thailand, and the plan is to get in a little R&R before heading home.. I'm missing Cambodia already, I really loved it there and it was much easier to get away from the crowds (although travel could be brutal! One boat ride in particular was supposed to be 4-5 hours but quickly turned into 10! We could have flown but we really prefer going overland to get a better feel for the rural life).

Here are a few of our touristy photos..


We've been eating like kings!



We got an underwater casing for the point and shoot camera which has been so fun at the beach.. Yesterday we spent the day snorkeling and took a zillion underwater photos!

Angkor Wat

After spending the past few days checking out some incredible temples at and around Angkor Wat we are all 'templed out'... so fun though, we hired a tuk-tuk driver for a few days to take us to them all, and then we'd just wander around and discover what made each one unique... here are a few of my favourites..

Cambodia..

After a few great days in Singapore, we flew into the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, Singapore's cultural opposite... So far it has left an amazing impression on us, the people are very friendly, the food is taaaasty (even the tarantula leg wasn't that bad!.. I couldn't stomache the body, though!), and the history eye-opening.. I would definately recommend it!! Our attempts to pick up some Khmer (the local language) is going fairly well, although everytime I ask people if I can take their photo they start laughing.. at first I thought it was because I was butchering the language, but then it turned out that because each region speaks a little differently, no one actually understood what I was saying!!

New Website!!

I figured it was time to get a new fine art site, since it was starting to look a little neglected.. This site features my personal work, all B&W fine art/travel/documentary photography. There are still more images I would like to include on it, but they won't be ready until I'm back from my trip and I really wanted to release it before I go..

www.alanacouchphoto.com

I'm getting a ton of my fine art images scanned, partially because I want them backed up incase anything happens to the negatives (these were all taken at least a few years back, when I was still using film.. ) and partly because I'm preparing a submission to Lenswork, this incredible b&w fine art photography magazine..

Most of the images on the site are of a Brasilian photo project I've been working on for a few years and plan to have published once it's completed.. One more trip to Brasil and I should be done! (Not that finishing the project will stop me from returning :)

Holiday Project

My project for the holidays is a new fine art site.. here's a Christmassy preview:

Dekker

my sweet puppy :)

BIG!!

of course I wait till the end of the wedding season to figure out how to make photos bigger on the blog.. lol.. next year they will ALL be big like this :)