Kare v. Karen

I had a few nicknames growing up: Sam, Karinsky, Tinkerbell...

Each originated from a different source.

Sam came courtesy of my maternal Grandfather. It seems I watched too much Bewitched as a child and he called me Sam after the lead character. Oh, how I wished I could twitch my nose and do magic just like she did!

Karinsky, I'm told, came courtesy of my father's Polish barber. I'm not sure how much truth there is in that, though. You see, my father's always been quite the storyteller so there's always been a fine line between truth and fiction with his stories.

Tinkerbell was courtesy of my 7th grade teacher, Mr. George. He had previously taught my older brother and sister and we each got the nickname when going through his class. Mr. George was a large presence in the classroom with a big booming voice; you could say he commanded respect (or placed fear in his students!). In my young mind, he was kind of scary and could call me whatever he wanted!

There there's Kare. Family and friends usually end up calling me Kare at some point; much in the same way you'd say Lor(i), Shell(ey), or Jacq(ueline). After a while, I would start signing cards and letters that way as a sign of affection or, at the very least, comfortable familiarity.

These days I'll take either: Kare or Karen. Chances are good, if I'm meeting you for the first time I will introduce myself as Karen but soon afterwards will sign off my emails as Kare. Because now we're comfortable, familiar, and perhaps even friends.

Happy Saturday,

~Kare~


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Home

*Sigh*

It's good to be home.

As I've said before, I was brought up as a military brat. Because of all of the moves we've made, I've never felt like I had a hometown. Sure, each place we've lived has a special place in my heart and each has helped shape the person I've become but none has that feeling... that feeling of belonging, of connecting whole-heartedly that I know must come from growing up in one place, of having shared experiences with friends you've known since kindergarten.

But home will always be where the folks are and it's good to be here.

Sorry, no picture with this post. If you're with family, go give them a hug. If you're not, call them and give them your love.

:-)

~Kare~

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Sarah & Jerry - The E Session

Nerves! I discovered I have them. And they get to me before every photoshoot. Every.single.one. It doesn't matter what kind of shoot (baby, family or engagement) or if it's with old friends or new friends, I still get them. I suppose that's a good thing; it shows I'm still aiming to please and anxious to do a good job.

I got them again yesterday before Sarah and Jerry's Engagement Session. And they were all for nothing, we had a great time wandering around the Halifax waterfront, trying different things out, and we ended up with some fun shots.

Sarah and Jerry, I hope you like the shots we took; I really enjoyed the shoot and am glad we were able to find some time to get together this week. You guys have a lot going on over these next few months, I hope you take the time to just enjoy it all. Have a great trip to Cape Breton and Best Wishes for your future together.

Here are just a few random pictures; for more, check out the slideshow.





~Kare~

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Kristy - High School Grad

I spent the weekend in the Annapolis Valley visiting with family. Life is a just little slower in the Valley and at this time of year, the weather is always just a little better. It's nice to get away from the city and relax by the pool. It was especially nice to hit the grocery store and not be one of thousands; instead, there were only a few others moseying along like they didn't have a care in the world. Sigh.

While I was there, I was lucky enough to do a Grad Session with Kristy. Kristy was fun - her parents dropped her off and we just did as we pleased. She's a budding photographer herself, so she was open to any ideas I had and just went with it. Rusty old ball diamond, sure. Muffler shop, sure. Culvert under the highway, sure. I threw in a field and a pasture with horses in it just to even things out.

I hope you enjoyed your session, Kristy. Good luck in the fall - I expect some day to be following your work and coming to you for ideas!




I had a hard time narrowing down the pictures - I loved them all! To see more, click here for the slideshow.


~Kare~

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My latest sneak peak...

It's much too late and I'm much too tired to do a proper post of my latest session so I leave you with the sneak peak of Kristy; her Grad Session will be up later this week.




~Kare~

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Life's a Beach...

What a great morning I had with this family. Mom is a work friend, Dad I just met for the first time, Nanny flew in from England for the photoshoot (no, not just for the photoshoot but it was nice to have her along for the ride), and then there was little Miss Thang.

I love shooting little kids - they don't care who you are or what you're doing, it's just another chance to show off. Little Claire was friendly and playful and just oh-s0-precious. You can definitely see her personality come out in the pictures.

We got some shots around their home and then hit the beach! It was a beautiful sunny day, a gorgeous sandy beach right on the Atlantic Ocean, and c-c-c-cold ocean water (luckily, I only had to get in as far as my ankles!). They ran, and played, and chased waves and I just had to stand back and shoot to my heart's content (not really, I could've stayed there all day!).

It doesn't get much better than this...




To see a slideshow of a some of their photos, click here.

~Kare~

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I Love My Job

... not my day job, of course. I mean, it's okay and I work with some great people and I'm glad I have it *ahem*in case my boss is reading this*ahem* but it's the other job that I love. The one where I get to go on adventures and meet new people.

I am shy by nature; shy and afraid of the unknown. I was the little girl who clung to her mother on the first day of school, the one who needed someone to walk with her to the corner store because there might be people there, the one who would stand in the corner and watch other people instead of joining in and meeting someone new. I never fully outgrew that little girl. I've changed and grown up, but instinctively I'd rather sit on the sidelines and hope no one notices me.

But put a camera in my hands and that little girl disappears. Since I've started on my little photography journey I've met some great people I'd otherwise never have known. I love that I get a little glimpse into their lives, into their corner of the world. And that I get to pause this little moment in time for them, for who they are right now, to remember years down the road.

Today I got to meet this little girl. She will never be the little girl I was so many years ago. I walked into the house and instantly we were friends. She looked at me with her big eyes and talked about Dora, having her toenails painted, and the birthday party she was going to later this afternoon. But, really, she had me at "You're here to take our picture!"



So much fun. I'll do a proper blog of her pictures in the next few days, this one shot of attitude will have to do for now.

~Kare~
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