Moving Day

So, I've finally gone and done it. I've moved my blog! Find me here:

http://www.jennydrakephotography.com/blog

It's not quite finished (shocking), but I will be posting over there from now on. PLEASE change your 'favorites' tab or re-subscribe to the feed over there as I would miss you if you didn't!

And tell me what you think of my new digs . . .

Later skaters.

tuesday tune and a todd!

an exciting day . . . my new little todd (my maiden name) niece or nephew is on his/her way as i type . . .

so kevin told me recently that you can tell a 'jenny' song by the presence of an accoustic guitar or ukelele solo and upbeat lyrics about love and happiness. bwah hahahahaha. but it's totally true.

this is julia nunes, a funky ukelele songstress who records covers on her ukelele and broadcasts them on youtube. she also throws in some originals now and then. i have followed her for a little over a year and i think she rocks! she has a MASSIVE youtube following because she is spunky and fun and hilarious.

i LOVE that she records in her messy dorm room in somewhereville, USA. and from her parents house. i LOVE that she is super normal and funny and young. her youngness makes me laugh and reminds me so of some of my friends and days from long ago (hello combo of dee, chris, and allison). LOVE that. she plays the melodica. LOVE that too.

so here is LOVE covered by julia nunes:



and little todd baby . . . L-O-V-E you too! we will meet soon.

the gratitude project

my uber fun and fantastic friend, dana, is hosting a photography challenge! my other amazing and admired friend, tara, took up the challenge and the project was born. the task, to capture 5 images that express gratitude. the challenge was due today!

i was so excited to take part, but decided last night that i would sit this one out as my weekend adventures did not allow me time to breathe, let alone capture anything. but this morning, i decided that i am ABUNDANTLY GRATEFUL and this is exactly why i needed to take some time, no matter how short, to capture some tiny bits of my happy thanks. i had ten minutes in my kitchen and on my front step!

most simply . . .

i am grateful for my will. he makes me burst with pride and reminds me that the world is a good and gracious place. my little gentleman.



i am so very grateful for my baby boy. my sweet jack makes me laugh until i cry every day. he teaches me patience and curiousity and flat out love.



i am grateful that i can see and experience simple beauty in my everyday world. my senses are gifts that i try not to take for granted. some days, i feel like i am a guest at a big ole sensory buffet and i can't get enough! dee-licious.



and i am so very grateful for my home. in the place and time and circumstances in which i live. holy cow, am i ever grateful.


thank-you dana! loved it. needed it. will do it again!

p.s. yes, that is my newly painted red front door. but there has been a mishap
(oh no!) and i have since found out that the paint-store lady inadvertantly gave me the wrong base. i have to sand it down and paint it again!!!! but she kindly replaced the paint, so . . . . please excuse the streaky mess! but nice color, hey?

a tune and a tot.

It's Tuesday . . . and apparently the only day that I can barely get it together enough to post.

Anyway!! This makes me happy all over. Thanks, Shauna-Rae:



So does this:

More from that little guy later. Night!

my front door and a ditty

it's still tuesday and here i am! soooo . . . here is my door:

it's pretty much white. with dark grey trim and a silver kickplate. and surrounded by stucco. it has a wreath. i love wreaths, love circles. you can find them all over my home (and in my logo). and they are all moving clockwise in my mind.

i never really realized (until i just wrote it) that i see shapes moving directionally. huh, there you go! i do.

my front door is blah and bland and needs help. i want it to be warm and welcoming and friendly. i want it to welcome me into it's arms and say "hey jennygirl, come on in, you are home." and then shut ever so lightly behind me to reveal the joys of my house that are held within. hahahahaha. but seriously, i do.

moving on . . . here is a tuesday tune! i had a request for a more upbeat song (yeah, you amy), so i'm offering up a couple, actually. the first is an awesome remake of one of my favorite songs EVER (woo-hoo journey). this song premiered last week in an episode of fox's glee. i was ready to love the show - and i'm not quite sure if i did - but i LOVED the song. it hit #1 on itunes.



the second track just makes me happy. this is greg laswell singing how the day sounds:



i found that sampling through a blog i follow called untitled records. head over there and meet rachel. her taste in music is superb. just saying.

crazy lady.

was there a crazy lady trespassing on your front lawn today taking pictures of your door?

do you live here?

or here?


oh, it was just me. i dashed around this morning and took pictures (excuse the snapshots, i was seriously running up, snap snap, running back) of doors that i like.

i'm starting a series of home reno projects in an attempt to bond with my house. we have alot of work to do, she and i. we're working on our owner-home relationship and we have a long way to go.

long-story short, i have never loved my house. i am madly, deeply, crazy in love with the people who live in my house, but not with the house. don't get me wrong, it is a much more than an adequate home. we are very fortunate to be able to call these walls our own. truly.

i was ready to love this house when we moved in, it just didn't happen.

among some amazing memories, the walls of this house saw some very sad days before we owned it (the prior owners are dear friends of ours and experienced profound loss in this home). and the summer that we moved in was one of the most difficult times we have ever experienced as a little family.

i think it is a little bit of their story, and a lot of ours, that has prevented me from settling into our HOME. we have been here almost four years. and i feel sure that we have found ourselves in this home for a reason. i just haven't been ready to consider it fully until now.

but, i'm ready. we're ready! yay! so here we go . . . we're starting with the front entrance. and you get to come along for the ride . . . i'll post a 'before' pic of our own sad door tomorrow . . .

oh yeah, i LERVE the teracotta door but our house lends itself to black . . . i need to find ways to say welcome and warmth with black. huh. help me out.

tuesday tunes!

okay, it's technically wednesday. but i've yet to put a close to my tuesday, so i'm a startin' something new . . . . a weekly FEATURE!

i had a great conversation this weekend (resulting from a series of funny girlfriend emails) about the little snippets of music i've posted here. seems that some are in need of advice of where to spend their itunes currency?!! say no more!!! oh, i'm so so happy to oblige.

i'm not professing to have the most cutting edge, hip, or even good taste in music, but i do cop to a having a complete love of music. period. music of most genres. except really really BAD rap. post 1993. but i digress . . .

i find new music for my ears here, there and everywhere. i found this while watching mamma yamma this morning on Kids CBC. oh, yes, you moms out there know mamma. justin nozuka was crooning an accoustic version of golden train:



there is an official video of this song but it features justin with bad hair. and bad pants. i liked this live version better.

he's american but was raised in canada by a single mom. in a family of seven children. he had a big hit earlier this year that many would recognize . . . it's called after tonight.

mamma yamma has had lots of great 'canadian' talent on her little spot - ron sexsmith, barenaked ladies, and sarah harmer to list a few. there is even a mamma yamma compilation CD!

music finds me all different places . . . how about you?

p.s. more photography related posts to come soon. wink.

random . . .

just a random late-night post. . .

i have had a recent bout of insomnia (for those who know me, this is UNHEARD OF). i have seriously started watching more television in the hopes that i will drift off to sleep. it is not working.

it has only served to remind me why i have diligently and purposefully cut my tv hours to a minimum. i become mindlessly and hopelessly addicted to any half-rate late-night show in about thirty seconds. especially if it is bad reality tv. tonight's fare: dog the bounty hunter, america's next top model, and as many HGTV real estate episodes that i can get.

did y'all know that sarah has not only a house, but sarah has a COTTAGE? i did not know. how could i not know about sarah's cottage?

aside from mind-numbing television, i also spend time listening to new music online. i quite often browse new stuff while i'm editing images. but tonight i dare not edit after too many nights of lacking more sleep than i usually lack (?!) but i found sanders bohlke. i like sanders bohlke.

and then i found this fan-made montage of grey's 'cristina and owen' set to my favortie bohkle song (so far):



let me be clear that i do NOT, i repeat, i do NOT consider grey's anatomy to be late night tv drivel. grey's and i have a standing thursday night date that does not get messed with.

and i think cristina and owen are tragic beauty together. hopeless romance. and who could not love sandra oh. oh, oh.

good night.

post script: 1:08 a.m. i have just discovered "tommy twitter" at Sarah Richardson Design. i will never sleep again.

sigh . . .

oh, that sigh is for lots of reasons. here is a great one:


it's friday afternoon again (where or where did my week go?) and my vows to be a blogaholic this week didn't ring true.

truth is, i love to blog. i look forward to it and compose lots of little bloggy entries in my head daily. i want to share this, i think that. it just never seems to make it to screen.

i would have NEVER pegged myself as someone who enjoyed sharing ANYTHING about myself out there in cyber-space . . . but the blogsphere seems much more community-oriented than i ever thought it would be, and those who know me, know i like me a great community.

and i love to write. and chat. and connect. and this seems to combine all of the above. i have had many people tell me that they pop by see what i have to say, even moreso than to see what pictures i have posted.

and as much as this causes me to say WHAT? (and then to have a privately thrilled little moment where i think . . . really, you like what i SAY), i understand it as a blog-fan. i read many many blogs out there on a plethora of topics. art, photography, design, music, parenting, media, finance, i've got it covered.

i am a blog addict/stalker.

i usually connect to bloggers because of what they SAY and what they DO on a level that is larger than the blogosphere. and they are mostly visually and accoustically pleasing too, thank you very much.

so why am i telling you all of this? for a couple of reasons - number one, to publicly out my desire to blog more in the hopes that it will motivate me to actually do it . . . and, two, to let you know that i have a new blog in the works that makes me very happy.

and happy is as happy does, or so they say . . kind of. :)

sweet, sweet baby . . .

Just a really quick one of the gorgeous Miss H who arrived in this fabulous world of ours about ten days ago . . .


She came to the arms of one of the finest mothers I know. And by that, I mean that she is now, and will always be, unconditionally encircled in love, in compassion, and in understanding of the unique and beautiful being that she is.

Her family is as much a gift to her as she is to them.

xoxoxo-

are we screw-ups?

it's friday morning. before 8 a.m. i just saw this trailer. it made the biggest smile break out over my puffy little early morning face . . .



plus, the music in this trailer is an alexi murdoch song that i have recently grown to adore thanks to dana dana. it seems to be permeating my life.

i mean, we're 34 . . . 33 . . . and we don't even have this basic stuff figured out . . .

oh, me.

happy thursday . . .

not much to report -- well, lots of things going on, actually, but mostly that which keeps me away from my computer!

yesterday I got this in the mail:
it just happened to arrive on the SAME DAY as did the precious little one who will be wearing it in the next week or so . . .

i so normally would not go for something with ears, but can you say baby bear? come on. it is too cute.

i bought it on etsy. through a lovely seller - karen - who has a little shop named beachwalkphoto. if you don't know what etsy is, you MUST check it out but be prepared to be forever converted to buying handmade. over the internet. frequently. while you salivate. and make small audible exclamations of "ooohhhh" "i want . . ." and "perrrrrrfeccct." seriously watch out.

Happy Birthday ROCKSTAR!!

It seems like just yesterday that I was blogging about this excellent family and their gorgeous little guy. See that here.

If time has flown for me, imagine how quickly it has gone for them! Uh, can you say gorgeous mama?

Little P is one year old. His big gorgeous eyes remain big and gorgeous. His fuzzy peach hair has grown long enough to sport a mohawk. He has truly grown into a cool dude. Gee, wonder why?

I love taking pictures of this family. They just are. Perfectly them. It makes it easy to capture their joy. Sigh.
I have to say that these shots are totally random in terms of how much I adore them. I heart so many, many more from our shoot but grabbed these few to peek to the fam TODAY, on the BIG BIRTH DAY.

Okay, I lied. Not totally random. THIS ONE is one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES. A reminder of what awesomeness created the little rocker in the first place:

Family, I know that today your hearts are filled with momentous love for each other and most importantly, for the little guy that has changed your world. Can it only have been a year?

Congratulations to ALL OF YOU for growing a year older. Together. Wishes of balloons and cake and giggles for your whole year through.

Guess who is in my living room . . .

Scrumptious.

Check out the gallery wrap on the corners . . .


An idea of the canvas texture . . .


Beautiful finished back, ready for hanging . . .


Talk about your child being a work of art! I can't say enough how beautiful these canvases are . . . .

Little Boy Blue

Meet little boy blue. He is sweet, sweet, sweet and he reminds me why I love two year olds so much!


They have boundless energy, endless curiousity, and a love for their Momma that is simply the best thing there is. This little man is no exception . .


And let me tell you, the love goes both ways!

I have known his Mom since we were school-girls . . and although we don't often see eachother, our families remain connected in the ways that are important. In the ways that mean that when you see your school-aged friend in the eyes of her child, you can't help but remember that it was not that long ago that you both were as energetic and as curious and as full of love as he is now.
And how truly remarkable it is that the universe keeps great people in your life.

A&B, you have a gorgeous little boy who is so clearly cherished and adored. Thank you for sharing those baby blues.

p.s. This post was alternately entitled 'boys and their balls . . .' - A, thought you just might understand :)

p.p.s. Just in case you are wondering, these photos were taken at Mom's work - Athletes Nation - a supercool St. Albert fieldhouse/sports performance centre that is an off-season training home to the likes of Jarome Iginla and Fernando Pisani! Check it out -

And the winner is . . . .

. . . . canvas #4!!

The little dude with the big brown eyes was one of my very first portfolio building sessions way back in May of last year. This year, he is awaiting the arrival of a new baby in his family and has grown leaps and bounds.


His Momma was a ruthless competitor and shared news of his canvas debut with many, garnering 76 individual votes of a total 236. She described herself as "shameless" as she distributed the link to many, many far and wide. Hello? I love it.

She will have a beautiful canvas of that image . . she chose the 11x14 size with plans to hang a second one of baby #2 underneath it in one more year. Can't wait.

So, none of the charity canvases won -- they were #5, #7, and #12. Thank you to those families for lending their images for a great cause! But I get to make the rules and I say that a donation is still in order . . .

I'll be forwarding a donation to CAIRD - the Children's Aid International Relief and Development Association. They are a Canadian humanitarian organization located here in Edmonton. They offer help to children who are orphaned and in need in Romania and South Africa. The programs and initiatives that they support are numerous. Their Mission Statement holds my heart:

One child is so much.

You can find CAIRD contact information here. Thank you to everyone who participated in the canvas contest. You made my first launch week so very exciting to watch!

Stay tuned this week for a quick mini-shoot preview of a super sweet two year old . .

mmm, mmm, mini-magic

Wanted to share some previews of a little magic mini-session I had this past weekend! Mom and Dad in this case might laugh at me a bit for calling it magical. This couple love having their picture taken. They love it so much, they want to marry it. Ha ha! Right, guys?

But that's my point.

What made their session sparkly and glittery in my eyes was that it was happening at all. The magic comes straight from the fact that they understand that their babies are changing every day and they want to preserve and cherish that. And even more, that they know that it is important that their love for their children and each other is captured too.

Simple. Beautiful.

Part of what makes children so magical is how they move . . .

Tip-toe, tippity toe . . . so big.

I love love love the monster-truckin' in this image. Meet Mr. T's best buddy, Excaliber.

Oh, who am I kidding? It's pretty obvious who his best bud is:

And this is what it is all about. This image tells the story of sweet baby J who just turned one and got her first tooth. All at the same time, people.

Thanks guys! You did great (even despite the nutter in your living room with a camera of all things). Who invited her?

A little something else: OVER 200 VOTES ON THE CANVAS CONTEST!! Yay! In all of my canvas contest excitement, I've decided to gift the winner a bigger canvas! 16x20! That is exciting news!! Haven't voted? Scroll down and get at 'er . . . you have until Friday at 4 p.m.!

CANVAS CONTEST: Now THAT was fun - let's try THIS

Woo Hoo. THAT was fun.

I had a complete blast putting my website out there over the weekend!! It was a chance to share a bunch of beautiful families and a bit of myself with lots and lots of people in my life. Now let's hope others take a peek . . .

I was nervous . . . but I want to say THANK YOU for all of the support and amazing emails that have been sent my way. So many of you told me that watching the galleries made you smile and laugh and cry. And oh, I did not want to make you cry, but I LOVE THAT YOU DID.

You see, aside from my love for photography, this work has enabled me to see children, families, and the love that brings them together in a way that breathes new life into me. Children are a precious gift, let me tell you, and I am so thankful to work with those who get that and want to capture it and hold those memories tight. Love it. Thank you.

And in keeping with the thank-you luv, I'm wanting to send some of it back at ya! I'm running a canvas contest this week for some of the families that helped me put together my portfolio (and hence website), over the last year. Many of these grace my website. Some are simply my faves. Others are the ones that people have told me over and over that they make them sigh.

Check out the 12, count 'em 12, entries below and VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE. The contest starts on Monday March 16th and will close on Friday March 20th at 4 p.m.! The image that receives the most votes will win a gorgeous 11x14 gallery wrap canvas of their image as a thank you from me!

Rules and regulations: YOU CAN ONLY VOTE ONCE. And believe me, I can tell if you cheat. If you want others to vote for your fave, send them over here to get voting! Vote in the poll box that is in the right hand column of this blog!!
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Also . . . there is more than one image in the running that if it wins, I will donate the proceeds (in lieu of the canvas) to a fave children's charity of mine. I'm not telling which ones they are . . .

Get voting! And thanks again . . .

EDITED TO ADD: Holy smokes!! 139 votes on day one! And so very few cheaters ;) Seriously. You guys rock - six countries represented, too many cities, provinces, states, islands (?) to count. A few people also dropped me a line to let me know what their connection was to the images, and that was cool too - throw a comment in there.

KEEP VOTING. SHARE THE LUV! MWAH.

It's Up!!!

I'm officially official . . . . big huge drumroll for . . .

www.jennydrakephotography.com

I'm reeeaaaaalllly excited. And reeeaaallllly glad that I'm done.

Please please check it out and let me know what you think! Leave me a comment below or even better, shoot me an email through my fancy contact page!! Eeeeee. That's fun. Kind of feels like playing office at home when I was little with real staplers and highlighters my Dad borrowed from work.

And check back here this week coming up for some AWESOME RAD contests and giveaways. Seriously.

Hmm. I should say RAD more. And maybe SUH-WEET too.

Just about there . . . . .

Hi!! So the website is in final completion stages. Almost, almost. If I were more computer-savvy, I could post a snapshot of my splash page right here:

But, no. It's one of those simple steps that I'm missing. Cannot pull the "how to snapshot a webpage" from my brain. It's there somewhere . . . painful . . . still no.

So instead, I will do a quick share of my new logo:


It made a brief appearance in my blog header a couple weeks back, but now it is officially on my site. I hemmed and hawed about a logo, and gawked and gandered at so many other lovely photography related logos out there.

Turns out, I wanted simple. Happy. Clean. Colorful. I had it designed by a graphic designer and am completely happy with the results. Suits me.

AND, I got word today that I have artist permission to use some equally happy and simple and colorful music on the site . . . so it was a good day.

AND the site will be up SOON. Just about there . . . .

p.s. if anyone can give me a jump-start on the snapshot thing, it would be much appreciated.

Aggle Flaggle Klabble! Snurp . . .

ohmyword.

My family and I are so sick . . . turns out that when you opt out of getting the flu shot, you get the flu. Huh.

Don't worry everyone out there in the big world . . . we have kept our germs to ourselves and have been quarantined at home for the past week. I won't bore you with the gory details, but let me just say that our level of contagion and sickness has astounded me. My poor little boys. My poor husband (who doesn't have the flu but has to take care of us, which is worse?) But this too shall pass . . .

And strangely enough, turns out that one of the only things that seems to bring some sort of relief to my pathetic boys has been reading Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.


He's always been one of my favorites, but we have this one (on loan from the library of course) with the CD and the boys will listen to it over and over again.

Aggle Flaggle Klabble! has become our saying for oh-my-goodness-every-inch-of-my-body-hurts-make-it-stop. Grab the book and have a read. Too cute.

snurp . . . .

Oh, and mini-session update! I had huge interest in the just because i want to sessions. Yay!! And even more than that, I had lots of people booking full sessions for spring and summer. Double yay!! I actually had more than one family book mini-sessions and then cancel, holding off for bigger sessions in the coming months.

So . . . why am I telling you this . . . this means that two spots have become available for mini-sessions . . . one on the 15th and one on the 21st. Email for more info if you are interested. And if you are interested in a session come spring or summer, send me a shout-out and we will get things rolling for that too!

And send us some get-well wishes. We need them :)

just because i want to . . . .

So, it's been a little quiet from me out there in photography world, I know. I've been thinking. Percolating, really.

I'm really excited to talk about a few things in the works, but I don't want to get ahead of myself! I've finally put some time into my website and it will be up soon. Well, soon is subjective, but ha ha ha ha . . . .

And I'm puttin' a mini-session promo out there for those who are interested. It is a smaller-than-normal package for a smaller-than-normal price. It's limited bookings and for a short time only. And it has perks - email me at jennydrakephotography@gmail.com for more info!


If you ask me, it's a perfect way to capture those images that tell the story of your family, just as you are. No pressure for the marathon family portrait shoot - although the whole fam can bring it, for sure. It's a moment. It's now. It's about you. And it's just because i want to.