My favourite little people!

There are a few kids that I would do absolutely anything for--I admit that they have me wrapped around their littlest, dirtiest, cutest finger!  Two of them are my nephews, and the other two are the children of my host family in Australia.  I love each of them for who they are and who they will be!  I cannot wait to see Edward and Joanna again--it may be 10-20 years--but it does not matter!  They will always be the cutest little aussie kids I know!  And Alexandre and Samuel are my little buddies...they are such good little boys--so full of life and fun!!!

Edward at 9 months, when I first met him!

Edward, now 6!!!

Johanna--who LOVES blue juice!

And my nephews!!!!!  Samuel found a ladybug and had to show everybody how cool it was!

How could you not love these little faces?!?!!?

Carrie

I'm going to be an aunty!!!!!

Actually, I'm already an aunty to two of the cutest little boys ever....but this spring, I'm going to be a "real" aunty!!!!  My sister Stephanie is expecting, due in May.  I'm so excited for her!!!!!  I can't wait to hold the little munchkin and show it all the bad things I know...just kidding Steph!!!!  Anyway, when I took this shot at New Years, my sister was extremely sick with a nasty cold, and she didn't want any pictures that showed her runny nose, watery eyes, etc etc.  So I tried my best, and this is what I got!

Carrie

People shots

I don't believe that I'm especially good at taking shots of people.  I am working on being more comfortable with uncomfortable people, if that makes any sense.  Most people are uncomfortable in front of a camera--hence, the reason I have chosen to be behind the camera.  Here is a shot of my younger brother at his high school graduation.  Now most of you reading this probably don't know my brother.  But those of you that do, know that he does not like having his picture taken.  I think every picture day at school for those 12-13 years, my mom had to order re-takes....  Now this picture, I think,  did not turn out too bad, if I may say so myself. 

Sorry Tyrell--had to post it---you're famous now!!!

Carrie

Trees and Architecture

It's funny...anywhere that I go with my camera, I always seem to gravitate toward the shots of the trees or the architectural aspects of a place--I guess maybe because both tell the story of that particular place, and the character can be established quite easily by looking around...   Or maybe because a tree or a bridge does not move, and it's easier to get the shot that you want.  Either way...here are a few that are pleasing to the eye....

St Louis, SK

Fraser Island, QLD

Altos de Chavon, DR

Cracow Station, QLD

Vancouver Island, BC

Carrie

Odds & Ends

Just some odds and ends that I've dug out of my archives...

It's hard to be a kitty...

New South Wales, Australia.

And this is a shot of the "Bottle Tree", also found in Australia.

Kids!

This little cutie-pie is my nephew Samuel. Now, there is a trick to taking photos of kids, especially busy little boys like this one.....you have to get down on your hands and knees in the dirt and the water, and do what they do--in this instance, look for big rocks to throw into the water.  While you are "searching" for the "best" rock that will make the biggest splash, you secretly snap shots like these:

 

Storm-stayed.

Well, it's still storming in good ole Saskatchewan.  60km/h winds, snow, and temperatures cooling off already.  Not to mention I haven't shovelled this much snow in 2 years!!! 
Here are some "summery" pictures to take everyone's mind off the snow...

All the Pretty Horses

Horses at Cracow Station in Queensland, Australia.

Meow!

This was taken at the infamous Australia Zoo...such a beautiful animal!!!!

What does a person do when they are snowed in...????

Why....put up pictures of warmer climates of course!!!! (besides cleaning house, washing dishes, laundry,etc etc)
Here's a few from some of my travels in the past 6 years...

These were taken on Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic...

Finding my groove...maybe?

Ok...so I thought I'd test out some photo editing software that I got lately.  If the shot doesn't seem quite "right", let's just call this is a practice round.
This picture of my sister, Stephanie, had to be published on here, just so that everyone could see how beautiful she looked on her Nursing graduation day!!!  Don't you all wish you could have a nurse with that smile every time you go to the doctor's office or the hospital?  I know I do!  A HUGE congrats to you Steph, and we're all so proud of you!!!

These second & third shots are from my travels to the land down under!  The pictures hail from Cracow Station, QLD, which is owned by Richard and Sarah Cox.  I stayed with them for 6 months of my time in Australia in 2004-2005, and had the pleasure of going back last March to visit.  They wanted to show us the Cracow Caves, and we gladly went for the adventure!  We traversed through a dry creek bed, up a very rocky outcropping, and then came out at the sandstone Caves.  They are very real, very ANCIENT, aboriginal cave paintings.  All of the handprints are quite small, and I am assuming they were painted by children.  Having the opportunity to be there, taking this shot, touched my soul--literally.  The caves will not last long, as they are made of sandstone, and I felt very honoured to have been one of the few able to experience it before it disappears.

Purrr-fect Shot!!!

Man's Best Friend

This is my dog Wyser.  He's probably the most irritating, goofy, unique-looking, lovable pet any person could ask for.  And....he loves having his picture taken!

Made the Jump!!!!

Finally!!! I've come to the conclusion that I need to grab the bull by the horns, and do SOMETHING with my passion for photography. Currently working on obtaining a diploma in photography, and then we'll see where this leads me...