2022; the best of.

But first, a love letter to you.

Yeah, you. The one who invested in me and I don’t mean financially. You generously gave me your time. You shared your love with me. You invited me into your home to proudly show off your new baby. You saved me a seat at your wedding you rescheduled a few times because of restrictions. You brought me to your cottage where your whole family reunited after a few years of not being able to be in the same province, let alone less than six feet apart. One of you even invited me to witness putting on their judicial robes for the first time and I won’t lie, I teared up watching how proud your family and friends (And I) were to be there! Because of you, my cup was filled to the brim as I got to be a part of your big and tiny moments over the past year. That’s pretty heckin’ cool.

You might not have known it when you booked me or while I was photographing you, but when you invested in me, you gave me a reason to keep going and to keep growing.

Before you go any further though: this is a collection of family photos.

Wedding clients: I really thought I could fit you all in here but I have to make another post specifically for you another day.

Guys, the weddings I went to this year were for the books. I can’t wait to share more. Like one of my brides got a haircut between the ceremony and reception and surprised everyone! You’ll wanna keep your eyes peeled for my post sharing my 2022 weddings.

Warning: It’s a big scroll, Y’all. I hope you stick with me until the end…

of this post… and obviously, in all other meanings, too!

^ proof of photographer ^

Shitty PEI ferry bathroom selfie on my way home from the mindbending Creative Souls Retreat with the wonderful DeeDee Morris and Krista McNally.

2022: the year I unearthed my love of overalls.

“It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear

Well, it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year.”

Excuse me while I take a lick from the Friends theme song by The Rembrandts but it helps sum up my feelings about 2022. It wasn’t my year. It was a hard one to push through. Though I still shot periodically during the pandemic, I had a head full of lingering postpartum fog. I don’t recommend living at work with two toddlers. I didn’t have consistent childcare during my busiest season. I was shit at returning messages and emails. I had a hard time editing consistently. My best creative thoughts were found while sitting in my car alone in the A&W parking lot, quietly between sessions while stuffing onion rings into my mouth. Is it any coincidence my kids’ names begin with A&W? No.

Growth isn’t linear. I’d rather digest a few bottles of that gross orange drink for the gestational diabetes test during pregnancy than digest that hard truth. But since I’m very much never getting pregnant again, it’s looking like I have to lean into the uncomfortable feelings that come with growth. That said, look at these photos. Just fucking look at them! You can see the growth. I’m damn proud of that.

Did you know that I’ll put on hip waders and hop into a river to photograph your family if you want?

Heck, I don’t even need the waders - I’ll just do it when you’re this cute.

I started a project and didn’t finish it. Go figure.

I’m still working on it though. I really want to capture people in my hometown in a series of environmental portraits.

I photographed past, present, and future wedding clients with their families

and that is the highest honour. Some of y’all have been real busy since I saw you last if you know what I mean ;)

If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you.

Client or not, even just reading this is supportive. I love you a lot.

And if you were a client and you got this far without seeing a photo from your gallery, please don’t have any hard feelings. It was so so so hard picking these images and I hope you know I loved our encounter.

Thank you for getting this far. Thank you for cheering me on. I can’t wait to see your faces in 2023 xo