Graduation Session {2012}

'tis the time of year to start thinking about Graduation sessions...each Grad is unique in their style and attitude. Why not let that shine through in a custom session with myself...we will work together to customize a session to suit your personality. This is not your usual cap and gown shoot.... call or email me today to book in for limited dates for your session.
recommendations: I do recommend different locations, wardrobe changes and pro hair style and makeup for session to customize your rockstar/supermodel session!:)

Jasmine Star {Phoenix} theFix

While away in Arizona I was fortunate to be able to attend a couple of different workshops/venues related to my photography business. I hooked up tickets to theFIX with Jasmine Star way back  when they came on sale. I had heard great things about her day long workshops and was sure the evening marketing venue would be grand. Who is Jasmine Star? She is a wedding photographer extraordinaire that has taken herself to amazing places in just a short 6 year career. She is amazing at marketing herself in todays world of ever-changing photography world. theFIX is a speaking tour she is doing while busing around the USA...Phoenix was her first stop.

First of all; Venue. Located in Scotsdale AZ. The Clayton on the Park. Great location, amazing drinks...its was a great vibe to walk into this amazing room with other fellow photogs. I secretly admired all the amazing purse style camera bags:) this girl loves purses...and combine with a multipurpose camera bag = love!
Speaking: Jasmine is a confident warm speaker who speaks from her heart and is happy to share her vibe with fellow photographers. She wasn't selling anything...which is unusual in todays' photo world. She was just there to express the need for us to come together and re-invent this industry to a great standard.
The scoop that I got from Jasmine 1)make friends/connect with others in the industry 2)list your goals...to keep you pointed in the right direction 3) play to your strengths; outsource what your not good at! And develop your strengths and loves! 4) break the mold; your the artist so be true to your creative heart  5) Last but not least; WE ALL STRUGGLE. Embrace it. If there's no Struggle. there's no Change...and change for the better is a good thing. (this was all listed on a thanks for coming email from Jasmine...how sweet) Check out pics from theFIX...even one with me beside the lovely Danielle in the green shirt CLICK HERE
Well I did meet two very lovely ladies from Arizona area...Danielle and Michelle. Thanks to Danielle for capturing a photo of Jasmine and I. If you scope out her blog you will see her post on Jasmine and the photos I captured of her and Jasmine.

some people brought iPad to capture photos...I thought that was a funny thing to haul around considering we're photogs!:)

we're home...hurry up spring

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

in some places spring just comes a little bit earlier....as we arrived home in Canada (ie. Williams Lake) to huge piles of snow and then a fresh dump the next morning. This is what we left behind. Arizona in its beautiful spring splendour. Oh how I love Spring and the new blossoms it brings. please send spring our way.
Just going through some of our Arizona pictures. I didn't take many! WHAT!!!! (Grady's new saying) yes I took a break from behind the camera and embraced the time with my family. It was a great holiday with many new things tried and goals set. The kids are rockin the pool! Wow I'm so impressed how far they have come. The last day we were comparing our tanlines...I think Grady has us all beat! He spend hours in the pool.
We look forward to when we get to go back to Arizona!~it feels like home to us. We also look forward to seeing all the family from USA again. We enjoyed meeting more extended cousins this trip. Also loved our tour guides(and cousins) Guy and Lyn and can't wait to get back to their pool for more vodka/tonics with Meyer fruit! YUM YUM my new fav!
We've hit the ground running...busy times with the next few weeks. Weddings, birthdays, and more trips. feeling very blessed to live our best life. oh yes training for the sun run...ughhh glad to hear I'm not the only one feeling unmotivated to get this done. 4 weeks to go from 5km to 10km...(in the snow:(...so I better sign out and get out for a run.

Meyer fruit. cross between orange and lemon...the best part of a vodka/tonic:)

fresh blooms in the Watson cousin's garden!

I love all the unique cactus from Arizona

another spring plant! this was outside Lyn and Guys house...loved it!

thanks to Auntie Anna for getting this p&s shot of me and Kent! This taken on one of our great nights out. At the San Tan Flats restaurant. An outdoor cowboy restaurant with open fires, dance floors, live music, bars, ribs and more. We'll be back for sure.
Thanks to my amazing husband of almost 12 years...wow~what a great trip...2012 is bringing amazing things for our family! Bring it on....

pure bliss...

do you ever need a break from work?...yes I did!~ this trip has been a great way to unwind, slow down, take care of us.

break from camera over...I love love to get out and just shoot. Looking forward to some upcoming workshops/seminars while I'm here to re-charge, re-focus my creativity into a great 2012.

Today my lovely kidlets, with a bribe of going to the farm, were my sweet little models. We loaded up the van and headed to the Schneff farms in Queens creek AZ, we love this amazing little place. Animals, trains, peach trees, gardens and more...and its free! We showered, blow dry, curled and basically just got ready to set out on our little adventure. Grady was thrilled to be heading to the farm. He loves this place. while here before I was eager to come back with camera and check out all the nooks and cranny's of places to take photos. They did amazing my little models. Best part for me it got me excited again to get back behind the camera and create some memories... (**my Carrigan doesn't need any bribes...she loves to be in front of the camera~she picked her outfit and did her own hair~love her stylish self)
and yes to see the peach trees in bloom...they will have peaches in may:) so jealous...I love arizona!
Happy Sunday to all!

Enter to win {spread the love...}

{click on link below to head over to facebook fan page for Tammy Watson Photography} 

Contest will run February 14th to March 17th (Happy Birthday to me and a Green St Patty's day!

{Arizona} family adventures

for the past two years we have taken up spending an extended vacation in ARizona. We love love the warm sunny days here!~ our spring/summer and fall is always very busy for us. With my hubby and I being self-employed winter is our slower time. Our balance in our life is to escape for some quality family time. We are the type of personality that we need to leave our house to have a break. We still find ourselves working while here but on a much lesser level. Its great to be able to catch up with each other and play with our kids. 

Last year we worked on tennis...this year we've added swimming. We have a house with our own pool. Its been amazing. My children are progressing farther than they ever would with lessons. 

We even added a little trip to disneyland. We were joined their by Grandpa and Nana. We loved our day at Disneyland. We rocked it for over 10hours with no meltdowns. Then we brought back G&N to our "holiday house" in AZ. We loved having them here with us and sad to see them leave. We still have 3 more weeks of our time here. Looking forward to some more great days by the pool, tennis court and just hanging out. 

We've taken in a phoenix coyotes/calgary hockey game, road trips to Disneyland, checked out Palm Springs, Mesa flea market, Apache trail, Ostrich farm, schneff farms, eaten many amazing mexican meals,  and many more amazing sights.

This trip so far I've taken a break from hauling around my DSLR camera around...and chosen my iPhone and p&shoot camera to enjoy the time with my family and not worry about spending time behind the camera as much. I great way to recharge.

Enjoy the photos.

Anyone going to disneyland...stay tuned for tips from the Watson's to make it an amazing trip. things we learned.

enjoy your day...smiles, Tammy

ps as I work on this...Kent is helping the girls with their math homework. Love listening to them learn something new. last week was our week off of school this week they are back at their homework...then off for tennis:)

Tea post

at the wedding expo...I had many of you ask where I found the muslin tea bags. I searched high and low to find a economical place to purchase these. CLICK HERE for link to bags and also to a great site for tea. The tea favour I was handing out included a mixture of Green Tea and Chai Tea. Mmmmm my favourites combines to make a warm and tasty treat. To stamp on the bags I used Staz-on ink which can be purchased at most craft stores. If looking for this as a wedding favour why not search around etsy and get a custom stamp designed for your day. Go to etsy and type in the search custom wedding stamps...loads of amazing ideas.

below is my crew who love to craft with me...stamping bags. It was a time consuming activity to stamp and then fill. 

{Merry Christmas} my joys!

better late than never January 19th....just finally getting to my xmas photos...It was a blur of sickness for me and Kent. First a brutal cold and then the flu struck. Ughhhh. We managed to have a lovely Christmas day. Good thing for my need to be prepared. I had everything completed by the evening of the 22nd so that I could enjoy doing fun things with the kids. Who knew those fun things would include surfing the couch, watching movies and naps.
Christmas morning was sooo much fun. We had our Grandpa and Nana spend the night the kids were thrilled. Santa even left a note...letting the girls know that their "dad" would never be able to trap him. He's been trying for years. I tried napping later that day before the crowd came for dinner. Meanwhile Grady never left my side so excited about all the day had entailed until then. He said "it was the  best Christmas" melt my l'il old heart that boy! In his 3 years here on earth...this is probably the first year he remembers.
We had a houseful for dinner and enjoyed lots of stories and laughs. And the food next year we will have a second sitting. Wow! We are truly blessed.
Happy New year...so very thankful that I have a warm house during this arctic front we have happening at the moment....-39 yesterday morning. Brrrrr....
Here's to warm tea and snuggles with those you love....oh yes and 9 sleeps till we are in Arizona:)

Mmmm...check out the yummy cupcakes that Judy brought...so lovely decorated too!

{Okangan Wedding Expo} January 8, 2012

Wow! It was a great weekend. My great friend Leslie and I travelled down to Vernon on Saturday with a truck load of decor. I think the planning of my Wedding Expo booth was the best part. I love this vintage urban style that I have going on.
We arrived in Kelowna at Prospera Place bright and early sunday morning to set-up our booth. To our surprise there were not many others at this time so it made set up a breeze. It was great to see it all come together. It was totally my "vision" that I had in my little head. Yay! We then had some time to grab a scrummy lunch and do a little shopping!:) Then back to change into our "Wedding Attire" and wait for the crowds.
 And crowds there were...wow~so many happy women in one spot! It was like attending a wedding everyone happy and full of smiles. It was my pleasure to greet the brides to be, bridesmaids, mothers, mother'nlaws, friends and even a few grooms to be! (extra points for the grooms!:)
 Leslie and I shared our wares; showing off my gorgeous sample albums and sharing tea. I had my crew package my favourite tea in lovely muslin bags; Green Chai. I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely pot of tea while enjoying looking over all the information they collected during the show.
{I will be posting a blog post on information on the tea bags in the near future; stay tuned}

Click over to the wedding icon on the top to see more pictures of my booth.

{And yes we hauled down a couch, dresser, tree and more...crazy women we are!:)}

{week 5} santa breakfast cereal

this is taken christmas morning.Cereal boxes were in each child's stocking this year....the conversation that I overheard was like this "Santa must be real....momma never would buy us crappy cereal like this..."from Makenna.(age 8) to her sister (age 6)
Gotta love Santa....this is Makenna's 8th year to believe...thanks Santa for giving me another year of a believer. I love Christmas!

Okanagan Bridal Show 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2012! Wishing everyone a year full of love and adventures. I'm off this weekend to a big adventure of my own. I hope to see lots of stunning and excited brides at the Okanagan Bridal Expo in Kelowna at Prospera Place. This sunday 1-6pm...wishing one of my brides wins the trip for to to Mexico!:)  Stop in my booth and enter the draw for a date night kit.  Lots of blogging to catch up on in the new year...new projects to announce, trips to plan, and more....
xoxoxxo
smiles
Tammy

Our little Christmas Angel

Merry Christmas to one and all. Here is a picutre of our new Christmas Angel this year. SHe is loving all the lovely decorations and things to explore. I hope your day is filled with love and peace:)

Merry Christmas to you

{week 4} tree trimming

while I was away on my girls weekend...Kent and the trio went out in search of a tree. Grady thought it was great. We haven't had a "real" tree since Grady was a baby since babies and trees don't always get along. So this year is our year to stay home for the Christmas so we thought a real one was in order. It is perfect. Flat along the backside so we can push right up to the window. Grady loved putting the candycanes on it. Its a beauty. Merry Christmas to all.


"Best of all, Christmas means a spirit of love, a time when
the love of God and the love of our fellow men should prevail
over all hatred and bitterness, a time when our thoughts and
deeds and the spirit of our lives manifest the presence of God."
~George F. McDougall~

{Piano Concert} Williams Lake Seniors Village

Makenna loved her piano lessons. She had her first recital at the Seniors Village today. She play Jolly Old St Nick. She did great! Grady loved the Seniors Village....makes himself right at home. He sat with his Nana and cousins for a while then joined me after a pout... then ended the show off laying on the ground behind all the seniors. (cause you know this is gramies other house...she has fish here!)
I love having piano music in our home...

{week 3} baking

making Christmas cookies is always soooo much fun. especially when there is flour included....it was everywhere....

{Elf Hip Hop Dance} Grady

Grady's turn for a dancing premier!:) Grady has been practising for this elf hip hop dance on thursdays at preschool...the teachers said he loved it! But the performance was on tuesdays...so he was a little shy to be going on a different day. But the music started and he didn't miss a beat!:) He had the same amazing dance teacher; Melissa; that the girls have...I love the last shot in the series of mr D...who spotted his momma:) Here's hoping the elves take some time to dance...

{maternity} Mara

i don't think Mara knew what she was in for...when she agreed to be our super model for the afternoon...my good friend & photographer friend Leslie and I took Ms. Mara out for a fun maternity session. It is great to get out and shoot for the love of shooting.
Oh she is just glowing....and a whole lot of babies....Yes! TWINS....boys...both expected in early February. I can't wait to meet the boys! Thanks for the visit Mara...and watch out Canada's Maternity Top Mara...she is ready to shine!:)

{week 2} crafting

I'm sure on day this little table will be outgrown...but it one of the most well used little tables around. Here is the trio doing some craftin together....scissors and tape are always a hit at this table. Oh happy day that G is craftin with them.

{family session} Mackinnon

doing a bit of catch up on my blogging...
 Here is a session from a great family...K & K were amazing...full of smiles and treats:)
in true Cariboo fashion this session was almost rained out. that day is was sunny, cloudy, rainy and then when we met for the shoot...the sun came out and the rain that had fallen glistened!  Thanks Melinda for having me capture your family.