Goodbye 2012...

And just like that, the year is almost over! I have no idea how it happened, I swear time is somehow speeding up, please let me know if you know a way to slow it down. I notice it most in my kids; this time last year both of my girls had all their teeth and were definitely inches shorter, my boy too, was much shorter and maybe a little quieter and more reserved. This has been a year with highs and some low-lows.

Parenting is no easy task and that saying about wearing your heart outside of your body once you have children has felt very true. There are hard things that they have to go through, that we just can't fix for them and as a mother, with all the love that I have, it breaks my heart. To share in their joy and excitement though, is just so much fun. This week of celebrating Christmas, remembering Christ's birth and how that has changed our lives forever; the best gift...time together as a family, the anticipation and the presents and their exuberant gratitude, it is priceless!

As I reflect on this year I see growth, I see and feel the ways I have changed and I have hope for the coming year.  I know that at the end of next year we will be moving and I have no idea where to. My husband will have finished with his degree so we will need to move off campus, even if we remain in the general area. The uncertainty and unknown can be scary, especially for a planner such as I, but for now I am content to take it one day at a time and cross that bridge when we come to it.

Heading into 2013 I plan to continue my Day In The Life Series and am thinking of doing another 52-week project as I feel I have not been shooting as much as I would have liked to this year and want to get back into the habit of carrying my camera around with me more again. Let me know what your plans are and where I can follow along.

If you are on Facebook, I would really appreciate you 'liking' my photography page if you haven't already (http://www.facebook.com/JuanitaCannanPhotography). I would love to start picking up more work and 'likes' not only help get the word out but provide legitimacy. Thank you so much for reading and following and enjoying my photography as well as your ongoing support and encouragement.

Special thanks to my husband for being my biggest fan and always being prepared to jump into photographs with me and my son for capturing this one once I had all the settings correct :)

 

From me to you, Happy New Year!

Day In the Life - December 2012

Often photographers end up neglecting the documentation of their own families. Sometimes it can be due to being too busy with client work, or a lack of inspiration, or just not being able to balance everything. This is my 'Day in the Life Project'. I have chosen the first day each month to document, from morning to night, so that each month I am guaranteed photographs of my family and my life.

My blog, my rules...so once again my day to document didn't land on the 1st,  instead I chose one of our family days. Saturday, December 8th, was a fun day; we started out with the Christmas Cafe and Children's Store (a seminary event) in the morning, stopped to visit friends and have lunch, then continued our annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas Tree. A couple of years ago we discovered Celesta Farms, in Sebastopol and have never looked back. They are a family run farm, with great prices and we love that as returning customers we get a $5 discount as well as the free coffee, hot chocolate or cider and cookies.

These are not technically perfect (far from it), or portrait-worthy, this is just real life. If you are doing something similar leave me a comment with a link to where I can follow along with you, I would love that!

A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes {Marin County Head Shots Photographer}

 
I am so excited for Jenna. She is taking risks and trying new things so that she won't look back later in life, with regret, wondering what might have happened if she had just tried.

She is a beautiful, genuine young lady hoping to become a real life Disney princess!

Of course even princesses need a resume, but unlike most 'regular' positions, they also need head shots. Enter moi. Of course looking this good, my job was pretty easy.

Wishing you every success Jenna, have fun in Disneyworld next week.

Day In The Life - November 2012

Often photographers end up neglecting the documentation of their own families. Sometimes it can be due to being too busy with client work, or a lack of inspiration, or just not being able to balance everything. This is my 'Day in the Life Project'. I have chosen the first day each month to document, from morning to night, so that each month I am guaranteed photographs of my family and my life.

My blog, my rules...so once again my day to document didn't land on the 1st (as I had documented the day before for the previous month, the 31st and didn't want to do two days back-to-back) instead I chose one of our family days. I already posted one photo from my day, earlier in the month, but here are some more.

These are not technically perfect (far from it), or portrait-worthy, this is just real life. If you are doing something similar leave me a comment with a link to where I can follow along with you, I would love that!

The End of Summer

We don't have a garden at the moment so when I visit friends who do, I love to get out my macro lens and see what I can capture. It was slim pickings last week, but I found this beauty. Nothing can compare to the elegance of a rose.

Today's storms reminded me that Summer is well and truly gone, but there is a welcome familiarity to the changing of seasons. Christmas is around the corner, bringing with it more family time and the chance for life to slow down again. So as I listen to the rain, or my children bickering, I remind myself again that I get to choose if my glass is half full, or half empty...and I strive to look for the positives. It doesn't always come easily for me, but I am being intentional, reminding myself of all the good things and hoping for much more.

Grateful

My favorite times are the times we get to spend together as a family, it truly is priceless. I love this simple shot of my precious family walking ahead of me down to the beach, it fills my heart.

The day before Thanksgiving was a beautiful day, there was no work or school so we headed out to Fort Kronkite for some beach and hiking time. It feels so good to get outdoors and breathe the fresh air and to be free of distractions. For a girl from England, to be able to do that at the end of November and not be freezing my butt off is just wonderful, I don't think I will ever take it for granted. I love Northern California and that we can be so close to a city, the beach, the mountains AND the woods...we are blessed.

Day In The Life - October 2012

Often photographers end up neglecting the documentation of their own families. Sometimes it can be due to being too busy with client work, or a lack of inspiration, or just not being able to balance everything. This is my 'Day in the Life Project'. I have chosen the first day each month to document, from morning to night, so that each month I am guaranteed photographs of my family and my life.

Well October did not go to plan, I was away at the Pursuit 31 Conference on the 1st, my normal day to photograph family life and then I kept remembering part way through a day and it was too late. Before I knew it, it was the 31st, so today was the day, I just scraped in.

These are not technically perfect (far from it), or portrait-worthy, this is just real life. If you are doing something similar leave me a comment with a link to where I can follow along with you, I would love that!

Jacie - Casa Grande High School Senior - Class of 2013

Within the first couple of weeks of moving to America I met the cutest little girl. I vividly remember visiting with new friends and she was the only child. This cute-as-a-button, articulate, four year old and I sat on the stairs and had a full on conversation. I'm sure she doesn't remember, but I do.

Fast forward a few years and she's all grown up. A senior in high school, graduating from Casa Grande next year. I was honored to be asked to take her Senior photographs. She is still beautiful and articulate, with her whole life ahead of her. What an exciting time.

It was such a fun shoot, she has her own style and is stunning, but was up for anything as we wandered around downtown Petaluma. We were even able to get a few sweet photographs with her boyfriend.

As usual it was hard to pick out a few to share from so many. Hope you enjoy your sneak peek Jacie (and family) - there are many more to come.

Six and Sassy! {Marin Child Portrait Photographer}

She started kindergarten last year and after making friends with several little girls who had no fringe (or bangs) she promptly announced that she too wanted to grow hers out . So over the last year we have invested in countless headbands, Alice bands - anything really to make the process a little easier. As of last week what was left of her fringe was well below her chin and she came home asking me to cut it again! She didn't give a specific reason why, just said that she wanted to cut it...after all that work! I told her we would wait a week or so, to really make sure that was what she wanted to do, after all it would take a year to grow out again if this was just a rash decision. Well it appears it wasn't, she really wanted to do this, so yesterday was the day.

She looks so different again, but I do love it and so does she. Love this sweet girl with all her enthusiasm and zest for life, she is an inspiration and joy to our family.

Pursuit31 Conference

We all have times in our life when we know we have to do something. We are compelled, there is a tugging in our spirits that cannot be ignored. When, earlier in the year, I heard about the Pursuit31 Conference, I felt that tugging...but I looked at the cost and sadly pushed the idea aside. My husband is a full-time Seminary student and working to support our family and my business is still in the early days. We moved just a year ago and sometimes I feel like we are still trying to find our new rhythm and help our children navigate the changes in our life as well as deal with them ourselves. I had taken work as it came, but my business was not able to be a top priority.

A few weeks ago I was again reminded of the conference when one of the speakers sent out a Tweet. We had been going through some things in our family and I was feeling a little more fragile than I normally allow myself to be...and I cried. (I probably should have warned you at the start of this post that this is way more personal than I normally get)! This conference seemed like exactly what I needed and once again that tugging was there, that I could not ignore. When I told my sweet husband about it, he was bound and determined that I should go. My stomach was literally in knots as I looked into flights and tried to figure it all out.

The week before I left he told me that friends and family were helping to send me. He had set up a Facebook group and these amazing people in my life had given...some a little, some a lot, some had prayed, so that I would be able to go. I was humbled beyond belief and grateful (and I'm ashamed to say, I was also embarrassed). Who was I to deserve this? I would never have dreamed of asking others to help in this journey. For me, this made all the difference in the world, it confirmed to me, so clearly that I was truly meant to go.

So, last Sunday, my alarm woke me at 4:30am(!) Yes it hurt, but there was reason to my madness. I had a plane to catch. I was heading to Atlanta, GA and (huge bonus) would get to spend the evening with dear, dear friends from England who I had not seen in eight years. Trevor and Tracy Atkins met me at the airport and we caught up on the years we had been apart. They were the same friends from all those years ago, we picked right up where we had left off. It was so wonderful. The next day they showed me more aspects of their life and ministry and introduced me to Chick-Fil-A then drove me out to Rome, GA to the Winshape Retreat Center.

I really had no idea what to expect. The facility was beautiful and peaceful. The staff were genuine and kind and seemed happy to serve. Yet I walked in, full of my lifetime of insecurities, I felt alone and nervous. A tiny seed of an idea was in my head, that I was a fraud, that I had no place being there, that my business was not successful enough to get me there on my own. I knew it was a lie, I knew I was meant to be there...and I needed to push through.

I won't say that from then on out it was all sunshine and roses (in fact it rained our first two days there) but I will say that I did not leave in that place of defeat. I slowly made connections, I realized that there were other women there with businesses at many different stages, other women who knew nobody else when they arrived, other women with insecurities and struggles of their own. This can be a lonely business, fellow photographers are seen as competition, but at this conference there was support and encouragement as we came together. We had a common thread outside of our photography; our faith! I didn't know what that would mean, what it would look like, but it broke down walls. Our speakers, well known, successful photographers, led by example and they were amazing; they were open and painfully vulnerable. I shed many silent tears, freely, as each of them shared their stories. I was open in a way I have not been for many, many years. It was not what I was expecting. I thought I would gain valuable skills for my business, maybe marketing advice and learn new strategies, all of which I did, but what happened this week went so much deeper.

Away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Away from the laundry and the cooking and cleaning and school runs and constant attention needed by my family (which of course I am happy to give, they are my priority), I was able to slow down and be still and hear what I needed to hear and feel what I needed to feel. There was a freedom. A lot of what happened was on a personal level and a spiritual level and it is hard to put into words but I will say that I left, different than I arrived.

The ladies - photo credit Pursuit31

I wholeheartedly recommend this group and this conference to any other Christian Women Photographers out there. If you are wondering if it is for you, take that leap of faith, I don't think you will regret it.

For those of you who were a part of sending me, thank you, thank you, thank you! Those words seem so inadequate as I type them, but they are truly heartfelt. I am amazed by the love that you showed me and your support and generosity. I am so incredibly grateful!



Thank you also to all the sponsors who helped to make the conference even more special.

Kelly Moore Bags
Jo Totes
ONA
Lena Lime
Showit
PASS
Epiphanie
Think Tank
Black Rapid
Foto Strap
Organic Bloom
Black River Imaging
Heartworks by Lori
Blessed Mama Designs
Knits and Knots
Upsy Daisy 
Zella Shop
2 Dancing Danes 
Tello and Rose 
Windsong Knits

Blackaby Sneak Peek {Mill Valley Couples' Photographer}

Meet Daniel Blackaby, fourth generation author. Currently writing the second book from his fantasy trilogy, as well as being a student and a teacher; it's a busy life. With such a great smile, we had to work for the serious shots, this is one happy guy!

Needing updated head shots as well as wanting current photos of he and his wife, we started our session on a beautiful afternoon in Tiburon and ended in FREEZING fogginess in Mill Valley. It's amazing how quickly the temperature dropped once that typical Southern Marin fog rolled in.

This couple make each other laugh so much and it was a pleasure to spend a couple of hours with them, capturing their love. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek guys...more to come.

Space Shuttle Endeavour

NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour flew over the Bay Area this morning (atop a 747) on the last phase of her journey to Los Angeles, where she will spend the rest of her days in a museum.

It was a beautiful morning, so after taking the two older children to school I headed out with my littlest to see what we could see. We waited, anxious and excited, with a small crowd who had gathered; some walking dogs, some with binoculars or cameras (many with smartphones, checking the progress on Twitter or the news).

It was incredible to watch from our vantage point in Strawberry, Mill Valley, as she circled the Bay. We were granted a striking view and I could not believe how close she flew by; it was spectacular, moments I will not forget. To know that she had flown into space 25 times and now was flying her final farewell, right above our heads was pretty amazing, although also a little sad. So glad I got to see it.

Day In The Life - September 2012

Often photographers end up neglecting the documentation of their own families. Sometimes it can be due to being too busy with client work, or a lack of inspiration, or just not being able to balance everything. This is my 'Day in the Life Project'. I have chosen the first day each month to document, from morning to night, so that each month I am guaranteed photographs of my family and my life.

September 1st we were away for the weekend. With a husband in school, resources are tight and we are grateful that Jenness Park offers a discount for Seminary students. We had previously visited in the winter and the kids had a blast sledding and playing in the snow, so this was a very different experience. The weather was wonderful and they got to fish and play in the water and kayak, while I caught up on reading for pleasure and did not have to worry about cooking and cleaning (that's what a real vacation is all about). It was only a couple of days, but it was a great way to end our summer.

These are not technically perfect (far from it), or portrait-worthy, this is just real life. If you are doing something similar leave me a comment with a link to where I can follow along with you, I would love that!

Twins {Cotati Newborn Photographer}

Before I had children of my own, I remember thinking how wonderful it would be to have twins. The adorable matching outfits, best friends for life and sure it would be a lot of work to start with, but it would get easier and they would always have someone to play with, to confide it. Then I had my first child and was overwhelmed and tired and wondered how anybody would be able to do it with two. Now of course we never had family around to be able to help, but even so...parents of twins have my utmost respect and admiration!

I recently had the pleasure of photographing adorable twin girls. So tiny and perfect! Twice the fun and twice the work; we had to be patient and just as one would finally settle down, the other would awake. In the end I think it was all worth it, they are beautiful, just like their Mama. Enjoy!