Jaden, Early to the Party

I've really been ignoring this blog lately. We're just catching up with our friends and spending more quality time with family before the whirlwind of activities pick up again next month. In the meantime, one of our friends had her baby 7 weeks early due to complications that put the baby's health at risk in utero. I can totally relate to her situation as I had the same complications during my pregnancy. I was lucky that, despite the risk level of the situation being on the high side, I was still able to carry Mikka though 39 weeks.

Jaden was born at 33 weeks and is still under the great care of the NICU at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New West. Last Saturday, we dropped by for a quick visit to check on the new mom and to meet the little guy. I've never been to the NICU before nor have I ever been up close with a preemie. While we passed by a few really tiny babies, I was surprised to see how healthy and strong Jaden looked. If not for all the thingamajigs hooked all over his precious body, you wouldn't think him to be fragile.

Here are a few we took during that visit:

Feeding time!!!

Close-up of the handsome boy...

By now, Jaden's a week older and he's still got about 3 weeks to spend at the NICU. In no time, I'm sure we'll see him running around with the rest of the kids, including Mikka. We hope that when he's home and the weather gets better (no more snow, please!) we'll get a chance to do a proper portrait session with this angel.

Giving is Awesome Winner of Pelaez Photography Portrait Package!

I am obviously a day late in announcing the winner to our pledge to the Giving Is Awesome program. However, it does not make us any less honoured to have the opportunity to capture the spirit of Brenda Crump.

Before I get to our winner, we just wanted to thank everybody who sent in their nominations. We can only wish that we'll get the chance to meet each and everyone of you and your remarkable nominees. Your stories and your willingness to open up humble us.

Our winner, Brenda Crump, was nominated by Deborah Twocock from Dress for Success. Dress for Success is an international Not-for-Profit Organization dedicated to help women from low to no-income families to transition into the workforce by providing free services ranging from professional clothing, employment retention programs and continuous support to be successful in their chosen career and be self sufficient. This is such an opportune time to bring light to this great organization especially during these challenging economic times. We hope that you'll find time to learn more about the great things they do and how you can help in your local area by visiting their main website at http://www.dressforsuccess.org. If you're from Vancouver and would like to know how you can volunteer, donate suits, mentor women towards a successful career, or simply donate, please visit http://www.dressforsuccess.org/vancouver. If you believe you can benefit from the services that Dress for Success has to offer, please note that the organization works with women referred by 60 social services agencies located in the Lower Mainland as listed here: http://www.dressforsuccess.org/affiliate.aspx?sisid=72&pageid=15.

Here is Deborah's awesome e-mail and our introduction to Brenda:
Brenda now sits on the board of directors of DFS - having referred clients to us for over 9 years .

Brenda first heard of us when she herself could have used the service - a single mom, working part time in an employment bridging program on Commercial Drive. Instead of seeking the service herself though - she encouraged her organization to sign on and become one of our first referring agencies - giving up her own opportunity - to make sure that more and other women would have the chance. (You cannot refer clients to us and be a client at the same time)

Coming on to the board of Dress for Success was a huge step - her expertise and experience both as someone who had lived the life of a client, and as someone who has seen and helped women come through amazingly horrific situations - was much needed - yet here she finds herself in a room of powerful and well off veterans of the business world. How brave she is to set aside her own fears and offer to serve for the good of all.

Brenda’s Boy is now a teenager (a whole new set of challenges I am sure). They still live off the "Drive”, and she still works tirelessly to help women find beauty and strength in themselves.

On top of this - I am sure Brenda will make a brilliant photo - she is brown skinned with curly hair - and a huge smile with a space between her 2 front teeth. She is so very engaging; it would be interesting to see if her "heart" could be captured in an image.

We would be more than happy to photograph Brenda and we can only hope that we do capture her heart and show how much of a selfless and amazing person she is.

Brenda will get a 2-hour lifestyle portrait package with Rico and Gracci worth $1500 while Deborah gets $250 print credit.

Congratulations Brenda and Deborah! You are extraordinary women and we hope you continue the inspiring work at Dress for Success.

From the Vault: Gaie Paris 2005

I finally found some time to dig through some of our personal photos to pull a few from our 18-day Europe trip in 2005. Straight from our flight into the Charles de Gaulle airport from Vancouver, via Toronto, we hit the streets of Gaie Paris! The sightseeing didn't kick off to a good start. Soon after we settled in our hotel, we realized we had forgotten to pack our tripod! I remember scouring through the streets of Paris looking for a place to buy a cheap and lightweight tripod that was sturdy enough to bear the weight of our camera. After about an hour or so of wandering around, we finally found FNAC on avenue des Champs-Elysées and got the tripod, which I'm proud to say is very much a part of our list of gears that we use regularly as a small light stand. After that small snafu, we finally got on with serious sightseeing business by visiting the Eiffel, walking down Champs-Elysées and taking a relaxing cruise on the River Seine.

Day number 2 included a morning trip to Chateau de Versailles which was a little over an hour ride on the RER Line C from the city centre. After a quick lunch it was back to the city to Musee Rodin, then off to Hotel des Invalides. By 2pm, our feet were already crying for mercy... nevertheless, we marched on... And so, after half an hour's rest, we hied off to Montmartre to see the Basilique du Sacre Coeur and of course to see the Moulin Rouge for real. When darkness fell, we traveled 56 floors up Tour Montparnasse in 30 secs to catch another breathtaking view of the city of lights. On our way back to our hotel, we caught the nightly light show of the Eiffel Tower...

The plan for day 3 was to see churches, museums and monuments... we had a full day ticking off famous sites in Paris. We started our day heading to Notre Dame, tracing the footsteps of Quasi Modo. A few blocks away is the Cathedrale de Sainte Chappelle with its glorious stained glass walls. Then we were off to see the Cliff Notes version of Louvre and breezed through the last few minutes of Musee d'Orsay. We also took leisurely walks at Place de la Concorde and Jardin de Tuileries at sunset. When the City of Lights turned its switch on, we enjoyed the after dark view of Palais Garnier and took another view of the city's beloved Tour Eiffel. Our feet has already sustained permanent bruising by that time...

Here are a few images from the first 3 days in Paris:


The view from our hotel room...

in front of a Toyota poster... not quite a Paris sight... haha!

The Arc de Triomphe

View of the Eiffel on the Bateaux-Mouches boat cruise on Rive Seine.

The Thinker viewed through the telescope directed at Rodin's Gates of Hell

Musee Rodin

Hotel des Invalides with Napoleon Bonaparte's tomb inside


The Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Montmartre.

A gargoyle atop of Notre Dame...

The glorious Cathedrale de Sainte Chapelle

Love these metro signs that's reminscent of Old Paris...

A couple of photos of the Louvre...


And my favorite, Musee d'Orsay or M'O.

The Tour Eiffel up close...

From atop the Arc de Triomphe, we see the La Grande Arche in La Defense...

The Arc de Triomphe

When we went to Montmartre, our purpose was to see Sacre Coeur which sits on the highest point of Paris. At the same time, we wanted to use our vantage point to watch the City of Lights come alive at dusk and see it twinkle as if we're looking up (or down?) at the heavens. We were waiting on the steps of the basilica looking out, waiting for the sun's feeble attempt to linger over the city. When I looked back, I was awed by the rich, almost velvety blue hue hugging the church and took this shot.

On top of Montparnasse, the tallest building in Paris, we can see this view...

Opera de Paris Garnier or Palais Opera, designed for Napoleon III, in 19th C 2nd Empire Baroque style. This is the inspiration for the setting of Gaston Laroux's famous story, Phantom of the Opera, with its subterranean lake & chandeliers.

With our hotel being so close to the Eiffel Tower, we couldn't help but stop by every night. Honestly, I hate the light show which makes the tower look like a cheap plastic Christmas tree. This lighting is just perfect.



Our photography has evolved quite a lot since 2005. I look forward to coming back and see how we capture the city this time around with a different perspective and of course with different gears. We would probably focus more on capturing the lifestyle next time as we've already had our fix of the touristy shots... I definitely LOVE this place and we will certainly be back, hopefully sooner rather than later so... we'll see!