Holidays 2009- The Guelph, Burlington, Hamilton, Port Colborne and Buckhorn Tour!

This post is for our family and friends - Thank you all for a wonderful holiday! There were so many great pics, but here are some of my favs...thank you to everyone that hosted us over the 5 day tour and to all who prepared the awesome food and especially to aunt Kathleen and aunt Ruth for hosting two kick-@ss Christmas fetes for us all! Happy New year!

Our first stop on the holiday "tour of duty" is to visit my bestest friends L and A in Guelph- what could be more exciting but to receive wonderful news that L is expecting her first babe in 2010! Woot!
The kids here Santa coming from the front hall...
This year cousin Robert dressed up as the Real Santa to give each of the little ones a gift...

Here's one half of the clan on Christmas in Burlington- Santa arrives with a gift for each one.

Our little princess got jewelry from Santa...how did he know it was what she always wanted!
With our whole normal schedule out of whack, our little man was up very late playing piano with tati Anne- was super cute!


Among our many stops on the holiday tour was to visit beautiful my baby niece. She has grown so much...have you ever seen such chubby haunches?! Cute!

Each Christmas For the past 3 years, I have crocheted different versions of this dolly for the girls in the family and every year, I am crocheting heads, adn stringing eyes and sewing details in the dark in teh car ont eh way to our Christmas party...this year it kind of shows, but little miss M didn't noticed and was so happy to have her dolly.

2009 has welcomed some wonderful new little people into the world and I am so pleased to say that I have been able to capture some of these new little faces. There is something so amazing about being able to capture a woman in the height of her pregnancy and also to see her again days after baby arrives. There is an awe and wonder in those first days after birth that is unforgettable and I am so proud to be a part of capturing this special time with some great families.

It was also neat to photograph some growing families from previous maternity and newborn sessions in the past...amazing to see how these little people blossom and grow!

Here is a slide show of some of my favorites from 2009. Enjoy!

p.s. Everyone asks, "Do you take a lot of photographs of your own children?" The answer...Not enough- but I included a couple of my own cuties in this slide show and one of my baby niece -little "m" ... a real blessing this year.

Have a wonderful 2010!


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The E man gets his First Haircut for the Holidays

Things started out well enough with our little man being as goofy and happy as ever...but then, he's never had his haircut...so he was unaware of what would happen next...



Oh boy! Screaming like a banshee in dadd's lap there was a huge drama. Sister K, tried to console him with a lollipop with no luck...poor E man...

Then, no kidding...no sooner is he out of the chair ...then he is totally calm, with his lollipop and hockey cards..too funny...


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Newborn twins: K+L } Ottawa newborn photographer

I met P about five years ago as her friend's wedding photographer for a winter wedding at Strathmere in Ottawa. What a treat when she contacted me delighted by the safe delivery of her twin baby boys! At 38 weeks, these lovely little babes weighed just over 5 pounds. These little ones were just barely a week old and you could already see their different personalities coming through. One little guy is laid back, while the other is intense and serious...it took over 3 hours to finally have both these little ones fall into sync to get this lovely shot of these two twin brothers.

As a portrait and wedding photographer, I find the full breadth of photography to be fascinating. Weddings celebrate love and union; families celebrate their growing lives together and, as is appropriate for this time of year...newborn photography is truly the celebration of miracles. Looking at these sweet little boys, it is incredible how perfect they are.

I couldn't think of a finer note to end my 2009 photography season on...Congratulations to P&M on the safe arrival of these beautiful boys.




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613.769.6019

Favorite Ottawa Weddings in 2009 - Ottawa Wedding Photographer

I have shared some amazing moments with some wonderful people in 2009. I never cease to be touched by the love and friendship that surrounds each couple. I have laughed with my clients and I have, on occasion, suffered from blurred vision as the couple says their vows, or as the brides father makes a speech or as the sisters and brothers stand up for each other not just as siblings, but as friends..."sigh". There are many occupational hazards to being a wedding photographer and one biggie is that you may be subject to excessive happiness...but I'll take it!

Thank you to all my wonderful 2009 wedding clients for allowing me to be such a big part of your very special day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTaV40twl4c



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613.769.6019

The Acharya Family- Ottawa Family photographer

Just in time for Christmas, we had a wonderful family session with C and S and their beautiful family on a sunny Sunday afternoon in November at their home in Kanata. The children played and showed us some of their best camera faces (see below). Falling in love with other peoples children is definitely an occupational hazard...these little ones were just adorable! Lesson learned...lollipops herd cats! Enjoy!

















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Contact: melanie@m-contemporaryphotography.com
613.769.6019

Interested in seeing more from this family portrait session? View the slide show:

The Butler Family- Ottawa Family photographer

I have had some wonderful family sessions this year, and I must say there are an unusual number of budding young families among them. However, this family portrait was just a little different...none of the usual sock puppet tricks were going to get a laugh here. The Butler family has come together for the holidays, a special time when they would all be together...and there was no snow storm going to stop mom from getting that elusive picture of them all together....so we all trudged out in the bludgeoning cold; snow in our hair and teeth, but shoot we did! Here are some of my favorites from our session at the Museum of Civilization in Hull. What a bunch of troopers...Oh does it look like it's freezing cold? yep...it was! Thank you to the Butler family for a fun session and have a wonderful holiday together!







If you would like to see more from this session view the slide show below:


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Contact: melanie@m-contemporaryphotography.com
613.769.6019

Just Arrived and Delivered! Ottawa Wedding and portrait photographer

Exciting! Today the mailman delivered big! I have just received some on my iris book 2010 samples and delivered beautiful holiday cards and wedding albums. I am so pleased with these products. I think they truly capture the elegance and contemporary feel that m photography stands for. Would love to hear your comments and suggestions...looking forward to more elegant and contemporary photography products for 2010. Looking ahead, expect to see more canvas and metal prints and more fine art texture work...

I absolutely love this irisbook luxe album which is my signature album for my 2010 weddings and family sessions. Finished in silk with handmade end papers and personalized imprinting...I just LOVE this product. The fact that it comes in "m" blue doesn't hurt either.

I am looking forward to delivering this album t the client this weekend! Jennifer and Reg...it's on its way!





Do those end papers sparkle? yes they do! How lovely!



Here is a peek at one of the lovely custom holiday card designs created for 2009. These cards have a high gloss finish with a matte interior with personalized messages...delivered today in time for Christmas!



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613.769.6019

Christmas Cards

Been creating more cards…

My parent’s card…

This one is done with photos that this family provided for me & I created the card for them…

M+J -Wedding Canadian Museum of Civilization] Ottawa Wedding Photographer

The first time I met with Emily and John it felt like meeting with old friends. John and Emily both love photography and Emily is a wonderful graphic designer and owner of Emily Chen Design and Illustration. I knew that collaborating with M and John was going to be a fun and creative adventure. There is an incredible love and care between this couple. Having been together many years before tying the knot, this climax event was a true celebration of their friendship, their love and the incredible way they share this with their family and friends.

Like having an amazing bride and groom were not enough, the venue was a dream. The Canadian Museum of Civilization is a stunning piece of architecture. "Its natural forms echo Canada's geological past, when wind, water and ice shaped the Canadian landscape." It was an epic treat for the end of the wedding season.





This is a first for me ...a paper bouquet with careful crafted flowers...












All the beautiful nature inspired decorations were prepared by Emily and it created a beautiful warm and modern ambience to the evening. I especially loved the paper lanterns...



You would never know that the day was grey in this image. The sun peeked through for a few moments and lit the foliage behind to create this romantic portrait.


I am hoping that Emily will comment on this post to tell us where this lovely headpiece came from. It was simply beautiful.

Emily's father, couldn't have been more proud all evening...and we know where emily gets her cheeky personality from!

While Jon Rennie was monkeying around above them, I shot this portrait from the side. One of my favorites.

This is a stolen moment as the couple returns to the Museum for the ceremony....

Emily and John wanted to put a modern spin on the guest book and wanted a photo guest book. Here are some of my favorites...




Oh hey! There myself and Jon Rennie posing for a guest book pic. Jon was great fun to work with and is an amazing wedding photographer in Toronto. Jon drove in Saturday morning at 5 a.m. to arrive in Ottawa with Big apple apple pies in hand for my fam and his! Thank you Jon for pie and for being so great to work with.

I love this image for what I think it captures about Emily's personality and lovely dynamic between to two of them.

Here the rings were nestled into the paper pom pom...the pom poms dressed the ceiling of the Cafe Musee...

This is a spectacular image taken by Jon Rennie. For fear or tearing my pants where it would be most embarrassing, Jon, Emily and John - hopped a fence and captured this stunner. You can visit Jon's blog to see more images...

Rarely is the grand hall of the Museum this empty and how could I resist the perfectly positioned spotlight that was begging for the couple to sit right in it.

Thank you Emily and John for having me as your photographer and thank you for a wonderful time everyone!

For more on Emily's wedding, please visit her blog!

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Contact: melanie@m-contemporaryphotography.com
613.769.6019

Here's a slide show to view more: