While playing inside this morning the boys noticed some people tobogganing on the hill out back. Right away Brandon asked if they could go “bogganing”. I asked them if they would like to go out before lunch and Owen added “yeah we can go bogganing, have lunch and then hot chocolate because it’s cold outside”, ha ha. They were so excited that it was no longer Siberia like temperatures and we could get out to enjoy some fresh winter air, and I have to admit the idea of tobogganing sounded sweet!

I did not get any pictures of the actual tobogganing because I was riding the sled with them but I did catch them enjoying the warm cup of mini marshmallow infused cocoa.

Of course Brandon loves showing off his moustache, maybe he could “grow” one of these bad boys next Movember.

I hope you all were able to get outside this weekend and enjoy some beautiful Alberta winter weather!

Children, Edmonton Portrait Photographer, Family, Fun, Korsan Studios, Photography, Winter Hide

This year Angela planted a vegetable garden for the first time and I have to say it was awesome! We had lots of fresh veggies all summer long. She also planted sunflowers early in the year and while they did grow super duper tall, they did not flower until just recently. She was worried, and so was I for the kids sake , that they would not flower at all this year.

I think they turned out amazing!

Edmonton, Firsts, Flowers, Garden, Korsan Studios, Photography, Sunflower Hide

We took the boys to Sesame Street Live: Elmo’s Healthy Heroes at Rexall Place on Saturday and the tickets included gate admission to the Capital X as well. While we waited for Aunty Claudette and Grandma Korsan the boys played around the statue of Wayne Gretzky one of the greatest hockey players of all time who played for the Edmonton Oilers from 1979-1988. I love this photo because even though the boys are just playing around it looks like they are taking a moment and praying to the hockey gods for greatness!

Sesame Street was better than I was expecting, actually it was quite good! This is pretty much the only photo I took because security came and told me no “professional, detachable lens cameras were allowed”. I asked if it indicated that on the tickets as I had not read them and he said indeed it did, in fact NO CAMERAS were allowed. I reluctantly put my camera away so as not to be asked to leave but could not help but laugh at the fact that hundrends of other cameras were clicking away with flashes going off.

After Sesame Street we headed to the Capital X for some lunch and rides. After lunch we started off easy on the Carousel.

Brandon wanted to ride the bumble bees but Owen wanted to ride the motorcycles so we split up to wait in lines. While Brandon loved the bumble bee mom did not look as thrilled, at least not in this photo

Owen started off great on the ride all by himself, all smiles and happy!

but once it started going he put his head down in his hands and slumped over the handlebars… I was worried that he banged his face on the bars going over the “jumps”. I was even more worried that as the ride jerked and spun that he would continue to bang his face if he did not lift it up! I hollered for him to lift his head and when he looked up he was not crying or hurt but he was no longer smiling. After he got off the ride he told me that he did not want us to cheer for him on the motorcycle… Ahhh I felt so bad, we embarrassed him with all our cheering him on. Maybe the pom poms were a bit too much So sweet!

We took a break from ride time and played a few games. Both Owen and Brandon seemed to like the games even more than the rides, expecially since they could win prizes playing the games!

And what sweet music to our ears the prizes were!

By this time the clouds had rolled in and some showers started but soon fizzled and we went back for a couple last rides before home time.

Owen and Brandon had a ball in this jeep, they were talking and gesturing the whole time. I imagine this is what they will be like once they get their hands on mom and dads car in a few years. Cruising around with the music blaring waving to all the girls. “How you doin’?” I guess we better start saving for a convertible!

The roller coaster was last on the list of rides and the boys wanted Aunty Claudette and mom to take them so no rides for dad this year, which was fine because I did notice the sign behind the coaster. CRASH, did not seem like the thing I wanted to read or see just before we took the plunge from the top! Of course the ride ended without incident and Owen seemed genuinely pumped from the experience, either because he had fun or he too read the sign and was relieved it did not come to a CRASH.

At the end of a long day we all piled into the van and headed for home, bellies full, rides riden, and games played. See you next year Capital X!

Action, Children, Edmonton, Edmonton Portrait Photographer, Family, Korsan Studios, Photography Hide

We have had some spectacular sunsets as of late but this mornings sunrise is the most amazing I have seen in a long time. The last couple of nights have been different, albeit interesting, for sunsets. As seen from our deck.

July 5

July 16

And then this morning Angela woke me about 5:30am and said you have to look outside at the orange sky. Through the window it looked like the sky was on fire, everything outside was orange from the rising sun reflecting off the approaching storm clouds. It was pure awesome. The power went out a few times and Owen and Brandon kept asking us to turn the lights back on. ha ha

Click the image for a larger pano to open.

Edmonton, Korsan Studios, Orange Clouds, Photography, Storm Hide

Self Portrait Sunday has been negleted for a while but with good reason. Have have made it a priority lately to look after myself a little better. Eating balanced meals that are appropriate in portion and getting a little more exercise have been the main focus so I have not spent anytime working on self portraits. I have lost about 30 pounds to date and I think that it is really noticeable in my face. The other day we were out for a photo walk at the University of Alberta and while we were in one of the buildings there was some pretty nice window light coming in. Since I did not have a subject I turned the camera on myself, and it is a little challenging holding a DSLR in your hand while trying to take a photo of yourslef. Lets just say framing is pretty limited… Anyway after seeing the photos of myself I thought that it would be cool to dig through some old photos and find one of the chubbier me. I liked this photo because it was simple and something that I could recreate pretty easy as it was simply a test of some new Pocket Wizards with my 580 EX II flash. So here is a before and after (after about 3 months) taking better care of myself. I know the expresions are pretty lame so I also included the photos from the University with some sillier faces Hope you enjoy!

No tags Hide

Last year we took the boys to see Thomas the Tank Engine at Heritage Park in Calgary. Since they enjoyed it so much we decided to take them again this year. While the day looked beautiful with a bright blue sky

It was actually quite windy and cold.

Once we were on the actual train though the boys perked up and were excited to watch all the sights go by, and catch a glimpse of Thomas puffing smoke as he chugged around Heritage Park.

After the train ride we headed for the activity tents and first up was the Temporary Tattoo parlor. Brandon waited so patiently and Owen took off to play with the trains.

The boys remembered the ice cream from last year and wanted to stop again this year.

Unfortunately, or fortunately due to the frigid temperature, they were closed so we could not get any ice cream.

Luckily the candy store was open and we were able to stop in and pick up some…

Popcorn? With all that candy at their disposal yes the boys picked popcorn. I think popcorn is one of their favourites!

Poor Brandon, the wind had blown over his popcorn bag and some spilled out onto the bench. He was so upset he started to cry.

One thing that Owen did wait patiently for was Thomas to steam on by.

They had people manning the train crossings to that you could not accidently get trampled by the train. They would tell people that they had to wait until the train went by and it was safe to cross while they waved flags on long sticks. Owen and Brandon have since started this practice while Angela and I are getting reading in the morning. They block off the section that joins the bathroom and bedroom and wave toilet plungers instead of flags while telling you that you need to wait until it is safe. Too cute!

Calgary, Children, Family, Heritage Park, Holiday, Korsan Studios, Photography, Travel, Vacation Hide

A few days ago we took the boys out back to plant some sweet peas that our friends next door gave us. They were so excited to get to head into the garden. Once everyone was ready to “work” it quickly looked like it was going to turn into a “city job”, you know the kind were there are 3 workers and 1 shovel!

After some careful supervision and instruction we were ready to get our hands dirty.

First up was Brandon. Just need to get the seeds into the hole and then fill it up with dirt, pretty simple right…

Whoa, all this manual labour is making me a little light headed, I better sit down and take a break before I…

After Brandon had his posterior planted he was done with um planting so Owen took over. Mom helped a little and then set him free to keep planting on his own.

Owen really enjoyed working with the seeds and soil. It was extra cool because this week they got to plant seeds at daycare and have their own plants growing right in the room. Owen wanted to bring it home today but we told him it had to stay a little longer. He cried and was pretty sad because he was so proud of his plant that he created…

Children, Edmonton, Family, Gardening, Korsan Studios, Photography, Spring Hide

The boys got coloured bubbles for Easter and I was lucky enough be to home with them for the day! It was beautiful outside so we headed out to the driveway for some bubble mayhem. Right off the bat it was obvious that it was going to be a messy affair.

I figured that before things got too out of hand that we should switch to the bubble machine.

They thought it was so cool to try to step on a gazillion colored bubbles.

Looks like the sharks are swimming closer!

Closer, closer, closer, almost touching, STOP! So the inevitable happened, the bubble machine and it’s colored ooze were knocked over… At this point I thought it might be a good idea to put the camera down and help them get cleaned up before mom got home.

The driveway was covered, their clothes were covered, their shoes were covered. We hopped into the bath and got cleaned up and put on some new clothes. Luckily the bubbles were washable otherwise I might have needed to go into hiding, or the witness protection thingy.

Before and after, see the shoes are as good as new now!

Action, Bubbles, Children, Edmonton, Edmonton Portrait Photographer, Family, FSpring, Holiday, Korsan Studios, Photography Hide

After missing the last few weeks of self portraits I thought I would simplify one. It has been a tough few weeks, lots going on and I can’t seem to get caught up. I think I am back on track now after setting up a new computer and a new bed. I seems that 2 adults and 2 kids cannot all sit on the same corner of the bed. Who knew?

No tags Hide

I was walking around downtown Edmonton a week ago and this little Volkswagon caught my eye. In the springtime the color palette around here is mainly browns, greys and generally muddy but this little car was a nice clean bright white with a red roof.

Beetle, Convertible, Downtown, Edmonton, Korsan Studios, Photography, Volkswagon, VW Bug, Walk Hide