Nenshi, Police Officers, and Ice Cream -- Oh My!

So, if this had been a normal engagement session, I would be telling you all about how she used to babysit my kids and how her parents are our neighbours. I'd add something witty and sentimental. But, this wasn't a normal engagement session. This engagement session was epic. Now, I don't often photograph in downtown Calgary, but in Spring...when the trees aren't quite full yet and the ground is kind of muddy...well, the dry streets of downtown seemed like a good idea. So, I made the trek downtown one spring evening recently and on the way there I saw 3 SEPARATE car accidents on the Deerfoot. THREE OF THEM. Seriously. People...drive more carefully. And, then, while I was driving around looking for a parking spot, I saw our famous mayor Nenshi. Just walking down the street...I would have pulled over and got a selfie with him if I had the chance, but alas...it all happened so fast. I was mostly surprised that he is actually able to walk down the street without being mobbed by people making this request. But, there he was...strolling along. All by himself. After I finally found a parking spot, I met up with these two love birds whose wedding I am excited to be shooting next summer. Right after I warned them about the goings on at downtown parks, an odd and slightly frightening man who was clearly high on drugs approached us angrily saying 'you think you're so smart'. Then, for good measure, he added 'you're just like thousands of others.' As he rode off on his bike, I nervously added 'billions...we are literally just like billions of others'...we chuckled and moved on. But...the most interesting part of the night was yet to come. While we were shooting inside of Wonderland(the large head sculpture outside of the Bow Building), a young man came running up to us. He stood on the other side of the sculpture from me huffing and puffing...clearly out of breath...bent over at the waist. I resumed shooting and then from out of nowhere a police officer came running up to us. He was clearly exhausted and out of breath. He was also yelling 'stop him!!!'. It all happened pretty fast, but I do remember looking over at the young gentlemen and seeing him shake his head right before he ran off. To be clear, I did decide not to stop him out of concern over my own safety. I am not sure why the security guards from the Bow Building didn't do anything...in fact, they mysteriously buggered off. And, anyone who has ever been inside of the Wonderland sculpture knows how rare a thing it is to not have them making sure that no one climbs it. Well...seconds after the perp(yes, I am now talking like a '70's cop show) and his pursuer disappeared, the Bow Building was surrounded by police vehicles. We decided that after all that action, we certainly deserved ice cream.

So, if you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a session, there is an extreme example ;) hahahaha...I will say that we laughed and laughed and had the best time despite of all the chaos. Aside from being crazy in love, this couple also obviously laughs together a lot. I think that is a great combination to secure a wonderful future together.

Thanks for being so patient in waiting for your sneak peek guys! I hope it was worth the wait!!!

~ Dana

Hot Mama :)

Some images I'm working on...I feel like I should say 'mother of 2 children ladies and gentlemen'. This is a type of work that I have thought about creating for almost two years. It's one of those things that I knew I'd do eventually, but I had to do it my way or no way at all ;) Thank you to the beautiful mama in these images for letting me do it my way.

~ Dana

PS--see another set of images created on the same day here.

Erin & Kristie Engagement

This is the kind of session that makes my heart sing. We laughed(a lot--Ginny Weasley greeted me at the door! How could I not LMAO). We drank tea and ate lemon cookies. And, we talked about their relationship and their wedding...and life. And how amazing life is if you let it be. I don't share many full sessions, but I had to share this one because they let me see their real life...even though they were pretty nervous about it ;) Even though they don't live in a big, fancy house. This is their life...before marriage.

I just want to say that I am grateful for the trust that these two beautiful women put in me to capture this authentically. I am so excited for their wedding day! I literally cannot wait.

~ Dana

Love in the Winter

Her glasses kept fogging up whenever they got close :) We trudged through some pretty deep snow(well deep for short me).

And, we laughed a lot.

Winter engagement sessions are not for the weak of heart, but...for those who can embrace the weather and roll with the punches...the pictures can be pretty beautiful.

We had so much fun, I didn't even realize how cold my legs were until I got in the car. hahahahahaha!!! Thanks for being such troopers you two! See you in August!

~ Dana