After years in the Fine Arts, and running my Choo Choo Photography portrait business, I'm happy to now offer my Fine Art Giclee Prints through my newest Etsy store:  www.etsy.com/shop/choochoophotography.

Welcome to my world - well, little bits of it, here & there, this and that.   Definitely a different side to my creativity than my portrait work --I like to think I'm well rounded.

Above, from my Retro series; This is a display set, capturing the mood of bygone days; we all remember those times, the carefree summer days.

Above, "The Time Before, I Wasn't Here" from my Persistent Memories series; not all memories are clear, not all memories are our own.

Above "Medley" & below, "Sheltered" from my Layered Memories series; a mix of old and new, reflections on past and present.



Now until April 30th; mention this blog post and receive free shipping on your order.

Thanks for looking.

Loved this client as soon as I walked through the front door -partly for the warm smile greeting me, partly because I could tell right away she had style.  In the midst of renovations in a century home in downtown Barrie, what they have complete was a mix of retro & cosy contemporary, which equals; fantastic shooting opportunity for me.
I spotted this cool retro chair right away as the first spot to tuck baby "H" -Mom agreed excitedly, this is her favourite chair.  Obviously "H" loves it too; what a perfect little nest.  "T" was content to take her place on the shaggy rug -after a few curious & loving licks of baby first of course.

Upstairs we find large, low windows and a welcoming guest bed with you guessed it; retro patterened bedspread and fantastic, bold contemporary artwork.  "H" wasn't quite as content up here, preferring nursing to sleeping at this point. 

Ahhhh, what Mom doesn't remember that newborn peeling skin -making new baby skin even newer.

Finally, overcome by sleep... 

Okay, okay, we'll let you rest!

Thanks "S", I spent a very enjoyable morning with you and hope I get to see the end results of your reno when it's complete!

If you visit Montreal, you'll miss a lot if you forget to look up.
Even if it's raining.

Or if it's *just* apartments.

You'll miss the most interesting things -even if you're not quite sure what you're looking at.

Have you ever taken a vacation alone?  I for one never thought I'd have the opportunity, but at my husband's urging I finally did it.  He & my son were going to spend a week at the family cottage, so he suggested I take a little trip on my own to stave off the inevitable boredom I would experience in their absence -not that I wouldn't find something here or there around the house to do... I took it as a challenge and booked a very reasonable, last minute air & hotel package deal to Montreal, a city I've always wanted to visit. 

I have to say, it was indeed a pleasure and a luxury to visit this beautiful city and it's abundance of culture on my own!  I spent as much time as I wanted strolling the different quarters, art galleries, shops and museums.  I took pictures when I wanted, of what I wanted, or left the camera in the hotel room.   I walked 5 or 6 hours every day; the Metro became my new best friend.  I'm confident I saw more, did more, and spoke with more locals than I ever would have, even with the best travelling companion imaginable.

Enjoy my photos, I certainly enjoyed taking them -not my usual genre, but a wonderful change of pace, and challenge.  More to come!

Finally hung my disco ball in my office.  Right around 2 o'clock, the light show starts!   

Not sure how it fits into the design of my office, but the colour goes well.  Fun stuff!  

This is my office; I find it a very inspiring place to work.  It's bright, it's clean (in design to be specific, anyways), & I'm proud to say, I designed every square inch of it myself -except for the fireplace, which happily worked very well for me.  As you can see, I'm not afraid of bold design -my husband on the other hand, could be described as slightly more timid, so the wallpaper is only visible from within the office.  I feel deeply that our surroundings can help inspire us and allow our creativity to flow.

The design of my office directly transferred to the design of my blog. Take a minute to think about it; what inspires you?  Do your surroundings inspire you to work, create, produce?  Does this inspiration carry from one aspect of your life to another?  I say; don't be afraid of a shot of colour, don't be afraid of a bold design or two.  Shake things up, get inspired to stay inspired!