Harmony Meadow Farm

Hello!

Long time no see!

I’ve been busy all summer running around organizing photo shoots and video shoots for Tourism PEI. I did the behind the scenes work like finding models, props and choosing locations. Because there were usually multiple shoots scheduled within the same week it was pretty hectic, but it was also a lot of fun making all of the shoots happen.

Fortunately, once work slowed down at the end of the summer, I was able to schedule in one of my own photo shoots!

I know a couple, Marcella and Kevin Ryan, that have two adorable children, Seamus and Emmylou. So, I asked Marcella if she would like to have Seamus and Emmylou take part in one of my shoots.

My idea was to take photos of the children on a little farm interacting with farm animals. I chose to do the shoot at Harmony Meadow Farm. They have a huge flock of sheep, some pigs and a bunch of chickens, some of which are free range.

So, you may think I was crazy for mixing untrained farm animals with young children… and I may have been. I knew not to expect too much, but I don’t know if I was prepared for the lack of control what-so-ever. The shoot that I had planned out in my head long before shooting goes miraculously well. The sheep come straight over to the children who quickly run up to pet them and are giggling at how cute they are. The chickens stay perfectly still so the kids can pick them up and in the end I get all the shots I planned on getting… Okay, so I knew that the real thing wouldn’t go as well as that, and I did wind up with some great photos that I’m really happy with… but I’ve definitely learned a lesson on what to expect when you mix children and farm animals!

Anyway, I had a great time and I think the kids had a lot of fun too, so the struggle of getting a good photo was well worth it.

P.S. Marcella is a florist and runs Gatherings Flower Studio here in PEI. You can check out her website here.

Canada Day with Sean Casey MP

I was recently given the opportunity to be Sean Casey’s photographer for the day. Sean Casey is the Liberal MP for Charlottetown, PEI. On Canada Day he helped welcome new citizens to Canada during the Citizenship Ceremony at the PEI 2014 Celebration Zone in downtown Charlottetown. I spent the morning with him capturing moments with happy new Canadian citizens as well as some other important Islanders.

 

Sean speaking during the citizenship ceremony

Sean with Island activist Catherine Hennessey

Sean and wife Kathleen Casey

Sean with Wayne Hambly the recent recipient to the Order of Canada.

I caught a couple Fathers of Confederation in conversation outside Province House

Check out Sean Casey’s website here

Check out PEI 2014’s website here

Fall Photo Shoot with Justin Simard

The other day I heard that someone was looking for a photographer to take their head shots. I was obviously interested and thought that this is a perfect opportunity to post photos from a shoot I did with Justin Simard this past fall…. I’d been meaning to post them anyway!

Justin chose to do the shoot on location at his place in Valleyfield and I agreed, it’s a beautiful spot. The weather was great, albeit a bit chilly (you can’t tell though!). It wasn’t just Justin and I at the shoot; Ellen, my sister, Justin’s fiancé, came out to be my assistant and their neighbour’s horse, Phoenix, kept us company as well.

Here are some of the hilarious outtakes as well as a couple final shots that Justin chose.

Justin has a range of facial expressions…

Most of which didn’t make the cut…

There were obviously many laughs had

Phoenix wanted in on the action

Ellen O’Brien – Professional Reflector Holder

Maybe a bit too dramatic??

You can check out Justin’s website here.

Sunset in Little Sands

The other day I was getting ready to leave the house I’m staying at in Little Sands when I couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous sunset. I ran back inside to grab my camera and took this photo…

Christmas Tree Hunting

For the past few Christmas’ my family has gone out to the back of our property to find a christmas tree. We used to go to a christmas tree farm every year to buy a tree, but they were always too thick (and Dad was never satisfied with the price). One year Dad figured he could find a better tree on our own property and after a bit of searching he did. Albeit it was a little Charlie Brownish, to me it was a lot nicer than any tree you could buy… and we just pushed the sparse side into the corner. From then on we’ve made it a tradition to go out and look for a christmas tree together as a family.

Here are some photos I took while out looking for christmas trees the weekend before last. We ended up with 4 trees, one each for Ellen and Justin, for Mitchell and Stephanie,  for our friend Jeanie Rooney and for home.

Ellen and Oz

Mom tagging trees so that we don’t forget where they are

Oz posing for a photo

One of the trees we chose

Taking the trees back to the truck

Oz waiting for a command

Heading home

The final selection

Decorating With Berries

Here are some of the ways we used the berries we picked…

Berries at Ellen’s house

We placed the berries around the house like in this antique pitcher

Mom put together this arrangement outside our front door

Mom also made this Christmas arrangement on our deck…

… a couple days later it snowed

Christmas Berry Picking

The other day I went with my mom and sister to pick berries that we use to make christmas decorations. We drove down the long road to Point Prim. It’s a beautiful location. At the very end of the road there is a light house and a small restaurant, which is closed for the winter, and of course a beach. When we got there it was so foggy out that you could barely see the light house, so it made for some interesting photos

Point Prim Light House

Point Prim Beach

Chowder House

These may be a type of currant

Ellen and some rose hips she picked… incase you’re wondering, her gloves were too big for her hands

Rose hips

Mom with the christmas berries

Hello!

So, this is my very first post to my new blog!

I’m so excited to let everyone know what I’ve been up to and to keep you up to date on my current work.

Just so you all know I’m back in PEI. I moved back in September and will be here indefinitely. It’s so nice to be back here with my family and with my PEI friends. After living in Montreal for three years I’ve realized that PEI is the place I where want to be… though I have to say, I do love Montreal… and will be back to visit many times I’m sure… if not only to visit my friends then to do some shopping (one of the things PEI lacks is good shopping!).

Since I moved back to PEI, I’ve been taking photos here and there. I’ve done some shoots for friends of mine and I’m working on a photo project with a local wine maker. Slowly but surely I’m getting my name out there and letting people know about my work… though, it’s not that hard on an island where everyone knows everyone and word travels fast!

So, stay tuned because I’ll be sharing some photos from my most recent shoots in my upcoming posts.

Emily