We will be offering our popular SLR Overview class at The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford on Thursday, January 28th at 6:30 - 9:00. This class is for people who own an SLR camera or other kind of camera that can do manual settings. We will cover basics such as modes your camera has and topics such as focus, aperture, shutter speed, iso, shooting modes and metering.

In the class after talking about each topic, we go around and help each person find the setting on their own camera. It’s a lot more engaging and less confusing than reading a manual.

This is the only class we have scheduled so far in 2010 and our winter/spring shooting schedule is booking quickly so we may not have time to add more. If you’re someone who wants to take a class with us this year, now is the time to sign up! You can register by calling The Reach 604-864-8087. Please bring your camera and manual to class.

The pics on this blog post were taken by Jason two days ago with our old (in digital years) point and shoot camera when he was out and about. You can see more of his “December Wanderlust” pics and other random things that he photographs when no one’s watching on Flickr.

Audrey is a real estate agent and needed some new headshots. Here is one from her recent session …

We had a bunch of kids in costumes come to our studio today for a client appreciation Boo Shoot. There were so many adorable costumes! Thanks everyone for coming out + bringing donations for the food bank. We gathered several large boxes of food that I am looking forward to dropping off on Monday. Here are our favorites …

Come see us at booth 372 at the West Coast Women’s Show at the Tradex in Abbotsford - you can enter a draw with a chance to win $500 credit towards products! The Women’s Show is on Saturday from 10-9 and Sunday from 10-5:30. Some images of our booth and the Friday crowd:

We are very excited to launch the biggest project so far in our photography career! We are creating a coffee table art book titled Imagine featuring portraits of local kids. We have been planning the project for several months + the website just went live a few days ago so we can *finally* tell you about it.

The $75 per family session fee will be donated entirely to Matthew’s House, a respite home in Abbotsford for children with severe disabilities.

If you have kids + want to have us photograph them, now is the perfect time! There are a limited number of sessions available so please go to our www.imaginekids.ca website to learn more + to sign up now.

This is a large project + we need your help in getting the word out to all of the families who would like to participate! We know there are several hundred of you out there who read our blog + Facebook posts everyday. If you can post a link to the imaginekids.ca website or pass on a message to your friends it will help us out a ton. If you know a place where we can put postcards or a poster, or if you know someone we should contact who can help us get the word out to more mommies, please send us a message.

We are pumped to create a book that will be a part of people’s history + to give back to our community at the same time. Do you ever get the feeling that you’re on the cusp of something big? That’s how we feel now + we want you to be a part of it!

We are going to be at the West Coast Women’s Show next weekend. It is the biggest + most popular women’s event in BC! Come visit us at TRADEX Exhibition Centre in Abbotsford on October 23rd, 24th + 25th. We will be at booth #372 in the Interior + Decorating Zone.

We are giving away two pairs of tickets to the show. To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this blog post (if you’re reading this on Facebook click “View original post” at the bottom of the note) + we will enter you in a draw for two free tickets. The deadline for entries is Wednesday at noon.

For discount coupons, including $1 off admission, plus show information + stage schedules please visit the website.

Jason loves his Shootsac + uses it at every shoot. I never use mine so sadly it’s been sitting in the closet for a year. If you’d like to give it a new home, please send us an email or call 604-864-6339. It’s $150 + includes the regular black + a classy cover.

You can see more pictures + descriptions on the regular Shootsac website.

We just completed our September newsletter. You can read it online here + sign up to receive it here.

We are looking forward to running some classes this fall. Here’s what we have planned so far:

SLR Overview
@ The Reach Gallery Museum, Abbotsford
October 1st
November 12th
This is a workshop for people who have an SLR camera (digital or film) and want to learn about the different settings and modes it has. We will cover focus, aperture, shutter speed, iso, shooting modes and metering. Be forewarned that while this is a technical workshop, we will present it in a practical and engaging manner. We will give you a ton of information that will give you the tools you need to begin to shoot in manual mode.

The class size is limited so Jason + I are able to spend time with each participant and their camera to make sure they understand the topics we cover. After teaching this class a few times, we’re amazed at how many different menu options there are and how confusing they can be. We’ll help you navigate your way through yours.

Cost is $50. You can register by calling 604-864-8087 x116.

Being Kid Savvy
@ APAC 32nd Annual Photographic Seminar, Abbotsford
October 17th
Kids are more predictable than they seem. Join us to learn age appropriate strategies and camera techniques for striking images. More information on the Abbotsford Photo Arts Club website.

We will not be running our monthly Cliq classes as we don’t have time in Fall with all the portraits we do. We have a few more teaching opportunities that we’re working on and we are also posting behind the scenes + photography tips on our Cliq blog.

If you’re in the Abbotsford area, we recommend the Abbotsford Photo Arts Club as a great place to hang out with other amateur / hobbyist photographers, learn about photography and show your work. They meet twice a month on Monday evenings.

We just returned mid-week from a 10 day vacation at Green Lake in BC. It’s near 70 Mile House and my parents have a cabin there that used to be my grandparents’ that we’ve been going to since I was a teenager. The kids look forward to it all year and gauge the passing seasons by reciting all the birthdays and holidays in a year followed by “…and then we’ll go to the cabin” for summer.

I posted a bunch of pics of the trip on my Facebook profile and my cousin left a comment under one saying that she set it as the background on her computer. I thought that was a great idea! So we put together a selection of our favorite scenics for you to choose from. Feel free to use them on your computer’s background. If you would like to use them for something else, please contact us.

Just click on the thumbnails to view the full, 1024px x 768px screen size image on a new web page. Right click and select “Set As Desktop Background”.

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If you are looking for some art for your wall, we will be selling gallery canvas wraps of these photographs. They start at $130 for 18″ and go up to $725 for 60″. Our gallery canvas wraps are gorgeous and on a stretcher ready to hang with satin lamination for protection and a 2.25″ side wrap. Please phone 604-864-6339 or email for more information. This is a limited time offer until August 10th.