Carmen VanDyck Photography

a whole lot of beautiful {family photography, white rock bc}

carmen — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:31:23 +0000

Ahhhh, summer. Those beautiful, carefree, warm, dry, wonderful days that abruptly ended today. *sigh* Why do I have to be one of those silly, sentimental mommies who gets teary eyed instead of rejoicing on the first day of school. To lose not one, but two of my littles to all day school this year breaks my heart a little. Grade one is hard for me. Way harder than kindergarten (but now that it will be full day, you don’t even want to know me on the day my “baby” starts!!). So I may be a little emotional today. And I may be a little mad at summer for abandoning me like this. But I will accept it. Allow life to change and grow and try my best to embrace it. But for now, I am going to go back to this day. This beautiful sunny day, where I met this beautiful, wonderful family on the beautiful beaches of White Rock and had a beautiful time with them. :o) Ahhh, summer.

It was a bright, sunny day, so we had to find some shade and play with the light a little, but I loved spending time with this family. They were out here from New York for a family wedding, and they squeezed in some time with me. I got to take the kids photos last year but it was on the hottest day of the year, and we had some serious heat last summer, so this nice breezy beach was a little nicer for them. They are such great kids. I just love how their little (and big) personalities just shine from them. I think you can see it just by looking at their phtos. Just look at how much they’ve changed since last year!

Another treat for me was that this year their parents joined in on the fun. (fun, right Gary?) And I just love some of the couple shots I got of them :o)

We finished the evening off with a treat. Cause let’s just be honest. A beautiful summer beach night is not complete without ice cream. It’s just not.

Thank-you for a fabulous evening! It was so great to see you guys again! I thoroughly enjoy those beautiful children of yours :o)

city hall {family photography, vancouver bc}

carmen — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:52:08 +0000

I have been doing my best to soak up every last minute of sunshine and warmth and summer and time with my littles this last week of summer. As a result I have also been doing my best to avoid my computer this week, so if you are waiting on an email, or a post or gallery, you may have to wait a little bit longer. I will be back hard at work next week. For now, I will cherish holding little hands and visiting with friends, and going on adventures, cuddling little ones, laughing a lot (and breaking up a few more fights) a little longer before I lose our carefree days to school and activities once again.

I have had so many fun sessions lately, and all over the place. I have to say though, I have been having a horrible time getting to Vancouver lately. No matter what time of day or how I try to get there, or how early I leave. I am either super early, or late. And I loathe being late. I’m starting to think I should avoid going west of the Port Mann until the new bridge is done. You all can wait until 2013, right? I only mention this because that’s how this session started off, with it taking me an hour and fifteen minutes just to get over the bridge. Ugh, but fortunately we had a great session once I did make it! They had suggested meeting at City Hall in Vancouver, and I loved it there. I had no idea the grounds were so big. We started off in the community gardens.

Their little guy is about 10 months old, and at that stage where he loves to crawl everywhere and pull up on things and put things in his mouth (oh wait, my 7 year old still does that!). So we just let him do his thing for a while and I got some favorite shots.

This next picture I just love. I think the drool only adds to my love of it!!

Awesome. And even more awesome were these stairs. I just love these stairs. And the three of them sitting on them.

There were way too many snuggly pictures that I love. Especially the ones with mommy and all the beautiful flowers behind them. So forgive me, but I just could not narrow them down any more than this.

Thanks so much for another fabulous session. You guys were so much fun and your little man was just perfect!! I’m off for the weekend to celebrate 10 wonderful years of wedded bliss! I’ll be back next week with more great sessions! Enjoy your last weekend of summer :o( and all the craziness of next week!

wait and see {maternity photography, langley bc}

carmen — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:37:05 +0000

It’s weird. When I had my first baby, which really doesn’t seem like all that long ago, it was still very rare that anyone around here found out what they were having. And now, a few years later, it is very rare that anyone doesn’t find out. Because of this I find it all the more exciting when I meet couples who don’t know who is going to be entering their family. And these two are just such a couple. Maybe it’s more exciting to me because I never knew. And I honestly don’t know what it’s like to know. But I do know that it is so hard to wait. To imagine what a girl would be like, a boy. How either sex would change the family dynamic. And then the moment comes that you get to not only find out, but meet them in the flesh. Hold them and see them and call every person you’ve ever met :o) to announce “it’s a…” I can’t wait for that moment for these two. For this sweet family. And I can’t wait for my email, when I too, get to know. Here are the eagerly anticipating threesome:

I just love this next series. Their sweet girl was so much fun. She was a little cuddler throughout the whole session, which I just adore. So I was happy just to be there and watch their family together. I know this next little one will be equally loved and adored.

A last few of this mom and dad to be (again). I love the way he’s looking at her in the first one. Love it :o)

Thanks for looking! And A and L, I cannot wait to hear the news!!! Happy waiting!

sophia’s one! {baby photography, white rock bc}

carmen — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:06:22 +0000

Again the passage of time is freaking me out. First because sumer is almost over (sob! this depresses me to no end. I think I need to move to Hawaii.) And secondly (and the reason I bring it up) because one of my favorite newborn sessions from last year, little miss Sophia is already ONE!!! All these one year old sessions this year have been so much fun, and hers was no exception! It might have even been a little more fun. My mom and kids came along to the beach, we had fish and chips together and then they played in the water while I took pictures. We finished the evening off with ice cream. Both Sophia and my kids did… you’ll see.

And Sophia? She was all her own fun! She is walking everywhere in that incredibly adorable toddler way, so I started off by just following her. (and really hoping her curiosity didn’t drive her off the dock :o)

I love nothing more than when my clients, or in some cases my client’s parents are up for anything. When they know that a fabulous shot is worth a little dirt, or damp, or freezing cold. Usually that is when my favorite images happen. And this family are those clients for me. I had so much fun a few times this session, the first of which was watching Sophia explore the beach and water. With some gorgeous evening light to help out… Happy me.

I’m also a big fan of wardrobe changes (incidentally, they’re a big help in case of dirt or wet or cold as well. Just sayin’.) So after Sophia got a little drenched her parents changed her and she was off and running again. Really, I’m fairly certain her parents spend a good portion of their day chasing her. She is fast!

And then… we took a walk and got some ice cream. And got messy. Again… happy me :o)

Thanks for the fun Colin and Rebecca! I loved getting to see how much Sophia has grown and changed. She is so much fun! And thanks for giving me an excuse to have a fun little summer’s eve with my kids and mom as well! Fun, fun!

some fun in the sun {family photography, osoyoos bc}

carmen — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:01:14 +0000

Yep, another holiday session for you. I have to admit, I was totally excited about this session. While I have seen this beautiful family around the school yard for the last few years, I finally got to know them when our daughter’s were in the same class this year. And, well, I think they are kind of great.

So yes, they are stunning. And so much fun. All three of their kids are just so much fun! They’re athletic and talented and it seems like anything they set their mind to, they do well. I love watching kids like that. Their oldest son, Cameron is very athletic, he’s a hockey player, and a bike rider, and a wake boarder, and a skater. He’s just plain fun, and very cool. While their daughter came alive any time the camera was on her :o), Cam came alive when he was able to do his own thing. To jump off docks and play with his little brother.

And little miss Julia. I have come to love this sweet girl this year. She and my daughter have become fast friends, and I am so glad. Julia is so sweet and fun and adventurous, and boy does she love the camera :o). I think may just have to borrow her a little more often. And those freckles, I just love those freckles.

And then there’s Adam. THis little guy is also full of life and spunk. There’s nothing like attempting family photos to show you how energetic toddlers can be. I’m being nice, he’s more of a preschooler, but don’t tell his mom that. She’s in as much denial of her “baby” growing up as I am of mine. (So don’t you DARE tell me he’s not a baby anymore!!!)

And the beautiful people who made these little beautiful people? Well, they were there too,

And with their little cuties:

I love these ones with Adam. They say to me that he still totally is their “baby”. And he is. He loves his momma, he tries to be like his daddy, and he thinks his big brother and big sister are the greatest people in his world.

After doing some pretty photos, we decided to just have some fun, so we played at the beach and jumped off the dock and enjoyed their summer home. And it was fabulous. What a great morning.

Thanks guys, for letting me get to know your family a little better, for a really fun day, and for a few visits with friends at the lake. Hopefully we can make it an annual event :o). You guys are so much fun, I’m really hoping that our girls will share a classroom again this year, maybe wear their matching clothes and costumes, and so we get to have more fun together! Hope you love you pictures!!