Getting a Puppy
I've decided I should blog something. ha...this year has been so busy with both work and my family life that something had to give and my blog posts ended up being that thing.
This family won my contest that I had back in June and they chose to have their session to celebrate the arrival of their newest family member(a gorgeous puppy). We played in the backyard and then went for a walk. The puppy tired out quite quickly and had to be carried like a baby. So sweet. This is my favourite kind of session...a little bit of home and a little bit of the neighbourhood. Enjoy!
An Adventure With The Hanki Family
I first met Andrea Hanki online...before she had kids. Over time, we have become quite good friends. Despite the fact that she is infinitely cooler than I am. We met up for a little adventure in the mountains....these are quickly becoming my favourite sessions. The kind where we go out to the mountains and play. I'm headed out there again this weekend and I just can't wait!! We live in one of the most amazing places. I think it's only right to celebrate it. So....here is Andrea's incredibly gorgeous family exploring one of my favourite spots.
I'm going to share the next set...even though they are far from perfect because they make me LAUGH UNTIL MILK COMES OUT MY NOSE. True story. For those that don't know me well, I am...um...freakishly afraid of birds. I would go so far as to call it a phobia. Bob(my husband) certainly would. When we met up, the kids were having a quick snack and dropped a sandwich. A 'campground robber' quickly decided that it would indeed like to steal that sandwich. These SUPER BRAVE kids actually fed it while I screamed even though I was a fairly safe distance away with my camera. It was ridiculously awesome. Here are some photos I made despite my extreme urge to run and hide. **notice the piece of sandwich on MARK'S HEAD???!!! Clearly, he is the bravest of them all. And, the deadpan expressions in the first image are just perfect. IMO.
~ Dana Pugh :)
Personal Work
Every year, I define some goals for myself as far as my work and my business is concerned. This year, one of the goals I set for my work was to elevate my underwater work. I had a few plans as far as that was concerned, but here's the thing that I have learned. BE FLEXIBLE. Plans are there to get me set in motion...to do the work, but sometimes the work will just show itself. I am not sure if that makes sense, but that is what happened this past weekend whilst shooting underwater in Jasper. Yes, Jasper.
Yes, it was cold. Georgia might be cold blooded. True story. I, however, am not and when I first got in the water, I had trouble catching my breath. The sun came out though and made it bearable. Don't I make my job sound so romantic? hahahahahaha.
I will say this--Georgia is fast becoming the best child model ever. She takes incredible direction and has a strong desire for the best possible outcome. I work fast(because I am a wimp and cannot stay in that water), but she keeps up with me. And, this weekend--she killed it. So much so that I thought I'd share some of the images. Some new favourites for me.
That last one might be one of my top 5 favourite images ever shot. I love it so very much. I have been sharing lots on Instagram lately, but this one just didn't work in a square crop, so I have only shown it here.
~ Dana
CONTEST!!!!!
I'll be honest and say that I didn't want to have to make a new website. I mean--I just went through this!!! ha! But, the powers that be(read: Google) left me no choice and so here I am with something brand spanking new. Truth be told--I love how prominent my images are. I love that you can really see the heart of my work. So, it wasn't all bad. The hardest part for me is having to launch when there is still some tweaking to do, but I will slowly get it all done. Such is the life of a busy photographer. I am embracing the imperfect and sharing it all with you anyways ;)
To celebrate FINALLY launching this imperfect version of myself, I have decided to do a super duper giant contest. My awesome photographer pal, Andrea Hanki, actually had a similar contest when she launched her site and I asked her if I could copy her. True story! She gave me the go ahead...So, here it is....I AM GIVING AWAY ONE FULL LIFESTYLE SESSION AND THE COMPLETE SET OF DIGITAL FILES!!!!! It has a $2000 value. There are some 'consolation prizes' as well...which make it the best contest I have ever had!!! You have the ability to earn 10 entries and it's super duper easy--like my Facebook page, follow me on Instagram, comment on my blog post and share it with your friends. My friends at Rafflecopter will be choosing the winner from those entries. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
So, here is the contest entry:
The consolation prizes will be awarded based on my favourite comments on this blog post...sooooooooo...make sure to fill in the blanks as creatively as possible because I will be choosing the 3 sessions I most want to do and giving them 50% off of a collection of their choice(I NEVER DISCOUNT MY COLLECTIONS!!!!). You will have ONE YEAR to take advantage of this special offer if I choose your comment(so until July 1st, 2016). Need some ideas...here are some examples:
Hey! @danapugh please come to Vancouver and photograph my family playing in the water at Whytecliff Park!!
Hey! @danapugh please come to my house in Calgary and photograph my family running through the sprinkler!!
Hey! @danapugh please come to our cabin at Pigeon Lake and photograph my family jumping off the dock!!
Now, take note, if there are travel fees required for the session--you will be responsible for them. So, as much as I would love to photograph your family climbing the eiffel tower in Paris, if we are going to do that, you would have to pay to get me there. Capiche? If I am already going to be in a certain place, then there are no travel fees. So far in the next year I have plans to be in these places:
Okotoks, Calgary, Banff/Canmore, Lake Louise(and area), Jasper, Edmonton, Red Deer(and area), Vancouver(truthfully--we will be driving from Edmonton to Vancouver and then back to Calgary in the middle of July so if you are anywhere along that route we could make it work), Las Vegas, Utah, Toronto.
The contest will run until 12:00am on July 1st, so you have one week to enter!!! So...what are you waiting for?
****warning: emotional segment of the blog post**** just a note to say THANK YOU to all of my amazing clients and friends who have supported me over the last 8 years. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined photography taking me this far. It would simply have not been possible without your support. I have BIG PLANS for the next year....can't wait to share them with you all.
~ Dana