Carrie and Mike | Calgary Engagement

These two are the bees' knees. Carrie and Mike decided to have their engagement session at Carrie's mom's acreage, which was such a beautiful location. We had a great time walking around the property, narrowly avoiding stepping into a wasps' nest at one point. Carrie and Mike were such troopers, willingly getting bitten by mosquitoes and climbing over gates to maneuver through swampy grass to get to the good spots. Mike proposed to Carrie by building her a swing, which I find incredibly sweet and sums up Carrie and Mike incredibly well - so thoughtful and caring. I can't wait to shoot their wedding in August.

Rae and Craig | Calgary Engagement

Rae and Craig just make so much sense. The love the both of them have for each other is so overwhelming and evident that there is no doubt in my mind that they are perfect together. I'm a big believer in love not necessarily being easy, but natural. Rae and Craig make it look effortless. The two will be getting married in May and I am so excited to be able to document it for them. After this engagement session, I can already tell it's going to be amazing.

Heather and Nathan

Currently it is 4:55am in Hong Kong and I have crazy jetlag. I've never been so awake on just one hour of sleep, especially after being awake for the 24 hours prior. I have a blog specifically for my time in Asia if you would like to check that out, but since I have so much time right now I figured I would share a recent engagement session I shot with Heather and Nathan, AKA the sweetest people ever. The way they fit so well together and make each other happy make me so glad that they are getting married.

Alyssa and Brandon

Sometimes the way Alyssa and Brandon looked at each other made me stop and smile from ear to ear, because it is so heartwarming to see two people look at each other like they are so lucky to have found each other. The two will be getting married in May and I'm super excited to shoot their wedding and see more small glances that are so quiet but at the same time so overwhelmingly loud.

2012

Before this year I didn't really act much on what I really wanted to do. I would just imagine what my life would be like if I were a photographer. I would take photography seriously but not serious enough. It was always "what if?" and "maybe not". It was just a hope, always in the distance. I was studying something I really, really did not want to do and even though I tried to grind my way through it, there was no way I could lie to myself and think that I was actually happy in the field I was in. I was miserable. It was not what I wanted to do. It finally got so bad that I snapped and suddenly this wasn't a dream, suddenly this was the only thing I wanted to do and it weighed so heavily in my heart that suddenly all my fears were nothing. Yes, I'll switch majors. Yes I will practice and get good at this and the maybe's started becoming definitely's. One night at two in the morning I made a website. I bought a new camera. I spent a whole summer saving up for the only thing I've really wanted to do since I was sixteen.

Looking back on the year, 2012 was pretty big for me. I put myself out there and really tried, and I'm pretty sure it's working. I've never been happier, really; I've met so many great people who have helped me out a ton, both in giving me advice and encouragement and in pushing my limits in what I can do. I've started taking pictures that I am actually proud of. I've got a whole bunch of people I love and who are so supportive sometimes I just lie in bed at night and think about what a lucky person I am. 2012 was very good to me and I'm really excited to keep moving forward and seeing where I end up a year, two years, ten years from now.

I'm just really excited about life in general, and before this year, I don't think I could have really honestly said that.