And his beautiful mommy.  We finally got to do his newborn pictures after a round of colds and flu’s in my house.

He is so beautiful and such a doll.  Meet baby Christopher.  He is one lucky dude being born into such a wonderful, loving family.

Welcome to the world little one!  (click for larger image)

check out that newborn hair on his shoulder!  Oh makes me want just one more!!

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I received this from a client.  It is why I do what I do.  So rewarding to have someone take the time to write this!

Dear Shelley,

I have been meaning to write to you since our photo shoot in October, but as a new dad time seems to be at a premium, with children of your own I’m sure you can relate and I think that lends itself to one of the reasons why you are so good at what you do.

I have always dreaded getting packed up and heading off to have ‘family pictures’ done, both as a kid and perhaps even more now as a grown man, I think it’s a right of passage for fathers to anguish over these formalities.  It is for this very reason that I have decided to take a few minutes to send along my thoughts.

For three weeks I was reminded every couple of days by my wife Melissa that our big family photo day was coming and for three weeks I cringed at the thought of sitting in front of the camera for an hour while someone told me to hold this here or look over there; that was right up until the moment we got to the place we had decided to have our pictures taken, Everett’s U-Pick, and we actually had a chance to meet and talk with one another as we all got ready start our day. 

Instantly I was intrigued by your enthusiasm, our great surroundings and the excitement of our beautiful daughter who was discovering this new place for the first time.  Our one hour photo shoot turned into the better part of two, but for a father who ‘anguishes over formalities’ it honestly seemed like 15 minutes, the time truly flew by.  To say that we did not even notice you there taking our pictures would be unfair, but to say that we went about our day of apple picking first and having our pictures taken second would be closer to the truth.  It was such a wonderful morning, and in my mind your knack of  “being a part of the day while not being a part of the day” is what allows you to get such wonderful, pure, candid shots couple this with the great outdoor locations that you choose, and you truly have a recipe for success.

To say that we were pleased with the pictures from our day at Everett’s would be an understatement; overwhelmed perhaps would be a better way to describe our feelings.  There is absolutely no love in the world like the love you have for your child.  So when I can look at our family pictures and see what I see I instantly realize what an important part of our lives that day was.

I would wish you good luck in your career as a photographer, but I know that it is not needed.  Better that I congratulate you on finding something to work at in life that you have a genuine passion and flair for.  Thanks again for all of your hard work; it means a lot to both of us.

Sincerely,

Craig Stairs

Former anguishing dad.

One of my favorite sessions to date.  At an apple picking farm this past fall.  Here are a few images from their session.  Thanks Melissa and Craig.  I adored hanging out with you and Ryan.  And thank you so much for the kind words!  They mean alot.

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It would seem that it is a busy time for maternity and newborn sessions lately.  I have had a few recently as well as a newborn session tomorrow and maternity next week.  I have to admit to loving this type of session.  It is just so much fun to be able to hang out with tiny little babies, so new to the world.

Here are a few from my last session that I finished proofing.  Baby Quinn is a doll.  And her parents are just in love with her.  It was obvious.  Dad and Mom both got pooped and peed on and both still kept smiling and going with the flow.  My kind of clients. 

And I thought I would mention that based on my bookings to date, It looks like I will have less openings this summer and spring due to projects and appointments that are now quickly filling up my calendar.  I will be doing 3 weddings this summer, but will not be taking on any more than that.  It leaves August completely booked for me at this time. 

I plan to take vacation the last week of July so if you are considering booking a session in the spring or summer it would be best to call soon to ensure a date that works for you.  I had a smart maternity client call to book me for September.  It was wise as I only take on a few newborn/maternities each month due to coordination.  You can’t change due dates and it can be tricky making sure I get all the new babies in within the first two weeks of life. 

If you have any questions regarding availability please feel free to email me at srphotos@nb.sympatico.ca.

Wishing everyone a great week.

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I wanted to let people know that yesterday I realized that my contact form on my website is not working.  I had made some changes to my website, added some new exciting shopping features but did not realize that by doing so would mess up my contact form!  No… I am not a programmer or this wouldn’t have happened!!  *sigh*

It has likely been approximately one month since it stoppped working.  Perhaps even a bit longer.  Why didn’t I notice you ask?  Well, I guess I told myself people were busy after Christmas and didn’t need pictures.  So no one was contacting me.  Woops!  :)  However, a nice client who had booked with me via the phone tried to send me a message and then called to see if I had gotten it.  Which prompted me to check into my website contact sheet.  Nope… not working!  It appears to now be fixed and I apologize if you had been trying to get ahold of me through my site and I have not responded.  If you have sent me any messages please resend them as I do not have any way of retrieving those older messages that may have been sent via my contact form in the past month.

So if you happen to hear someone say… "that Shelley Rankin is rude and doesn’t respond to her contact form inquiries…" then hopefully you can set them straight and let them know what actually happened. 

Happy Valentines day everyone! 

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She is so use to the camera.  I asked her to give me her best posed look.  She’s got the hip action down. 

Those eyes just melt my heart.  This is what got me into photography to begin with.  My children.  Always wanting to remember what they look like at each stage in life. 

And she is obsessed with lining things up.  Anyone else’s child do this?  Obsessive compulsive perhaps? 

(click on  images for larger view)

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