I am back to work next Tuesday, but that doesn't mean I haven't been running around with my camera. My shooting finger was feeling restless, add some nice light and I was off and going.
Joining my was our lovely friend Cassie.
Shortly after we moved into this house we saw a moving truck bringing a new family into the 'hood. We had hight hopes - kids, fun, warm, always well stocked on eggs for us to borrow when I am mid baking and didn't check first. And bingo! We got just what we wanted.

Cassie, is the dream neighbour. Each of our kids adore her, our dog thinks she is the bees-knees and both John and I think she is one of the nicest kids in town.

Score.

Oh, she is wonderful in front of the camera to boot!

I am not really back from holidays yet, well I am back in the valley, but trying to take on what is called a "staycation" around here. It's tough though as I am itching with ideas I want to get to work on.
My trigger finger was twitching yesterday so I put together a last minute shoot with one of our children and her best friend, I am heading out for a shoot today and have a few more sprinkled throughout the week, however, other than photographing I am suppose to be just living some r&r - we'll see how that goes!!!

I have a few shoots brewing and need a few subjects.
 
- a pregnant woman at least 32 weeks along who also has a child between the ages of 2 and 5.

-  an outgoing child between the age of 5 and 8, who is willing to play dress up with us.

- an outgoing sibling pair between the ages of 6 and 10 who is willing to play dress up with us.

You would receive a complimentary photo session and a mini-brag book. If you aren't already one of our clients you would also receive all the perks that clients receive such as access to preferred pricing for future sessions and our complimentary mini-session days. You would also be able to order photographs from our current presentation list at 20% off for a limited time.

These sessions will be scheduled asap - and guarantee to be loads of fun. Because I am trying to capture a certain look I ask that you email us at info@mckinnonphotography.com with a photo (don't worry about the quality.)

I will update this post when the casting call has been filled.

update on casting call: looking for a sisters duo approx five-year-old and eight-year-old thanks to everyone who have submitted so far, we will be making our selection in the next few days

Update: SPACES HAVE ALL BEEN FILLED!! Thank you to everyone who contacted us.

I am feasting on blue skies and enchiladas
drinking in warm air and the occasional margarita
being filled up with the laugh my daughter shares when a big wave almost knocks us over

It's all good, this gal is made for hard work followed by holidays. What makes a holiday extra sweet is being excited about what you get to come home to.
 

After a wonderful evening at the Y.A.N.A. auction last night I am feeling very blessed (and a little tired,) but also goose bump excited as in a few hours I will be chilling on the plane heading to Mexico.
 
I am not one for balance in my life, I like to go hard, so holidays keep me charged up.

My sunglasses are packed, so is my page turner and bathing suit. There is no fleece, nor a hat, in my bag,   For those that always ask I am packing just one camera body and a 50 mm lens.
This holiday is all about keeping it low key, and low stress.

See you soon!

Tomorrow is the annual Y.A.N.A. auction, a night I look forward to for so many reasons, in no particular order:

- the obvious, it is an amazing charity, that has made a difference in so many of my client's lives
- the evening leaves you with a big warm fuzzy, lots of love, lots of pride for our kick a** awesome town
- I am wowed by the crew that puts this event together, Lucy, Loretta, Anita, and the rest of the crew, you sure know how to throw a classy yet welcoming event
- I am going to have one big glass of wine
- I am going to wear a dress, which is pretty rare, because somehow, when I work a dress just doesn't usually fit the bill
- for the last three years I have presented a day in the life slideshow of a family who has used Y.A.N.A.'s services, doing this presentation always scares the crap out of me, and I thrive on things that challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone (other than bungee jumping, that is just plain ridiculous, and something I will never do.)
- this year, like last, I am donating a day plus more. You can own me for a day. It could be used to photograph family or children's sessions for a group of your friends, I could create a day in the life book for you, it could be used for a Bella Party, or for your own custom photo instruction day - there are lots of options. The only requirement is that you have to let us take great care of you! 
I always get a bit nauseous when my item comes up in the live bid, that's where the big glass of wine comes in - I made John promise to bid on me if no-one else does.


Last year for the family who won our donation we spent thanksgiving day with them, and photographed candids as well as more than a dozen family portraits. It was crazy fun and this is what they told the folks at Y.A.N.A. about the experience:

At last year's YANA auction we bid and won an day with Karen McKinnon.  We were thinking at the time that it would be a great way to get some family portraits but it turned out to be a fantastic experience as well.  We shared the bid between 3 families, and when we came together for the photo shoot we had 22 people, three generations, and decades worth of friendship--it was a party and Karen and Jen (her assistant) jumped right in!  It was amazing and very impressive to watch Karen arrange and organize such a large group of people, shooting hundreds of pictures each with its own unique and creative flare.  Karen and Jen really made the day so much fun, we all left thinking "we have to do this every year!"  We all waited anxiously to get a sneak peak of our photos on her blog a few weeks later and were thrilled with the results when we got to see the photos of our day.  The experience and the end results really were priceless.  Thank you to Karen for such a great experience and for your generous donation to YANA!

*fine print: the own me for day donation cannot be used for wedding services