25 things to do before i turn 26.

i was inspired to do this list as soon as i read the title of susan’s entry, and when she challenged her readers to write a list, i knew i *had* to do it!

- learn how to use the functioning 1930’s film camera i picked up in the czech republic
- use said camera to take a photo worth printing
- plan something fun for my birthday.
- make a new friend
- book at least 3 more weddings for 2009
- buy a plane ticket to visit my hometown sometime soon!!!!
- do a raw food cleanse for 14 days or more
- purge my apartment of a lot of the things i don’t need or use
- buy a ringlight and be ready to do a photobooth!
- read more!  read at least 2 books that are NOT related to photography or business
- become a proud owner of the canon 24 1.4 lens (ok, i probably won’t get this by my birthday.  but i really really want it).
- compliment people more
- mail my friend kelly the shirt i told her i’d get her
- have my blog professionally designed
- order another sample album
- have the lightbulbs in my apartment changed.  this might not seem like a big deal, but they’re 18″ up, so i can’t just do it myself.  oh, and have the fan CLEANED.  yuck!!
- experience just one minute where i have ZERO emails to read
- i bought a little statue in the czech republic that broke in transport.  glue it back together.  it won’t be the same, but i love it too much to just get rid of it
- do a photoshoot in the snow
- buy another bookcase
- get a massage
- renew my yoga membership
- do a shoot at sunrise.  which shouldn’t be too difficult, considering it rises at like 8am now…
- order personalized stationery
- make my bed every day

shoot, i just wrote all that and posted it, and then realized… i’m already 26.  i’m turning 27 on december 5.  so i need one more thing… to be honest, the most important thing that i have to do before my birthday is a secret.  but right now, i am promising myself that i will do it.  it’s the hardest one to do, and if i can even just check this one and none of the others, i’ll be proud.

one of the best parts of my trip…

was the part i didn’t actually experience.  on the return home, we flew over greenland.  because i’m stupid, i didn’t realize that there was even a possibility that might happen.  so, when i looked out the window and saw all ice, i was kinda confused…  but so so thrilled…  i’m so glad i got to see that, it was magical.  ice for hours of flying.  not a person, not a car, not a building.  just ice and snow.  it was breathtaking.  (and i don’t just throw around cheesy words like that — it really was).

seriously, isn’t that the most amazing thing ever?!  i really want to go to greenland.  um… do you think greenland has much going for destination weddings?  anyone?

new-old cameras.

when in olomoucs, czech republic, i stopped in a used and vintage camera store.  at home, i have no interest in antique stores, but there, i did, because they have actual antiques… here, they’re probably just full of cassette players.  so, when we passed this store, i obviously had to go in.  the woman didn’t speak a word of english, but we communicated through signs and my trusty language book to buy these 3 new-old cameras.  two of which, actually work.

fokaflex fokar II camera on the left :: made in 1952, and says “made in czechoslovakia” on it.  sadly, this one doesn’t work.

balda juwella camera in the middle :: 1939.  this one does work with regular film, so i picked up two black and white rolls, and hope i’m able to create something pretty from it.

pronto agc camera on the right :: this plate film camera is impossible to find information on!  but i assume it’s older than the juwella, based on the fact that it doesn’t use rolling film.  if i ever were to find the film, however, it does actually work.  it came with one single plate of film.

i never shot with film, but i wish i had.  film forces you to slow down, read the light, and select the proper settings.  so i’m hoping those two rolls of film will be a wonderful learning exercise for me.

re: holiday special!

dear blog readers,
with the holidays approaching, lots of people are starting to think of having their photos taken.  my current rate for a 2-3 hour portrait session is $300, but as my holiday gift to you, i am offering a blog special for $250!

the session must take place sometime between now and december 5 (my birthday!) to be eligible for this promotion.  all types of portrait sessions are eligible:  engagement/couple, family, boudoir, headshot, etc.

so if you or someone you know is interested, please contact me soon to schedule your session!

kristel.

theressa & damon :: engagement session :: part two.

where were we… oh yes… in PRAGUE.  i still can’t believe i got to do an engagement session IN PRAGUE.  i want to live there so i can shout “IN PRAGUE” a thousand times each day…

by some miracle, the maniacal clock-loving tourists gave us a quarter of a second to get this shot…

we had to do something with those beautiful cobblestones… as much as we hated them for the pain they caused us, walking all day…

it kind of makes me mad to see how pretty she is.  and she’s also super adorable and sweet.  ugh.  haha.

i love this  one!

and this one…. somehow, we managed to find a quiet alley.  (just had a flash of what the alley in behind my apartment building looks like… umm… i miss prague!!!!)

ok, i just love them all…

this was theressa’s idea, and i think it turned out perfectly!

then, theressa, damon, the g-man and i went for dinner to this AMAZING lebanese restaurant.  seriously, i can’t stop thinking about that food.  it was soooo good.

theressa and damon, i can’t wait to hang out with you again in vancouver!!!  enjoy the rest of your time in europe!

re: album orders.

dear 2008 clients,

if you are looking to order an album in time for christmas, the time to act is now!  albums take 6-10 weeks to produce from start to finish, and we now have only just under 9 weeks til christmas!  please contact me asap to get your album started…

kristel.

theressa & damon :: engagement session :: part one.

sometimes, it’s a little difficult to think of good locations for photoshoots.  umm… not when you’re in PRAGUE.  so, here’s a funny little story… about 2 months ago, i had a consultation with theressa and damon, here in vancouver.  i mentioned that i was going to prague in october, and they mentioned that they were also going to prague in october!  so, of course, we couldn’t pass up on doing their engagement session there…

i LOVED hanging out with them in prague.  it was so nice to a) speak english and not feel guilty for it and b) just hang out.  seriously, these two are so fun.  and despite the fact that i was made rather uncomfortable by theressa’s ridiculously unfair beauty, it was one of the most enjoyable sessions ever.

it’s hard to capture the beauty of prague in a photo.  but i think this well represents the architecture…

i love the way the light just wraps around  her hair.  her perfect, beautiful hair.  haha.

ok, part two will come in two days.  be there or be square.

prague :: day 15.

day 15.  the last day.  we started with one last belltower climb…

then, we visited the jewish quarter.  we planned on visiting this synagogue, but we only had about 45 minutes to spare, and it was $30/person, so it seemed a little ridiculous to spend so much when we couldn’t really enjoy it.

this clock is special… because hebrew is read from right to left, this clock is read… get this… counter-clockwise.  graeme and i thought that was pretty awesome.

after that, i did something very exciting, which you will learn about in the next few days…

prague :: day 14.

day 14 was spent at prague castle, the main attraction in the czech republic.  it’s a beautiful place (although i still wouldn’t say it’s worth the $80 it cost for us to get in…)

accordions rock.  this guy made the walk through this square.

charles bridge, the bridge that tourists think is really special.  i don’t get it.

at the gate to the castle.  some people have welcome mats, some have pictures of men beating fearful-looking men with clubs.

st. vitus’s cathedral.  pretty amazing.

i kinda think stained glass is tacky.  but there’s nothing tacky about the beautiful reflections of the colours on that wall…

i need a ballroom like this.

the g-man…

oh sunset, i love you so much…

a few shots from the charles bridge while walking back to the hotel…

krakow, poland – prague, czech republic :: day 13.

no photos to see here.  i didn’t take a single one all day.  woke up at 5am, took a loonnngg train ride to prague, went for dinner, went to sleep.  fascinating, no?