ocean swim

Stephanie Chan July 31, 2018

It's been 2 years since I took photos of our last family swim. You can never see how your kids will grow older, you can barely fathom the thought of them ever being older than they are at any given moment. 2 years later, they've grown into their teeth or their teeth have grown in, their hair is 5 inches longer or 5 inches shorter, their bodies have trimmed off more baby fat, and one of them is half a head shorter than you while the other grew 2 heads taller...

life has been busy... seemingly in 5th gear since the end of April.
it's been great, workwise. we were able to pay our monthly bills and managed to save enough to cover the dreaded PROPERTY TAX. of course that means, everything else is frantic as we try to juggle the rest of our life.

summer is here. in fact, it is half-over now. tomorrow is August 1st, BC Day weekend is around the corner once again. with so many projects on the go (including our own home projects...), we haven't had any time for any quality family time outside of having dinner together. i've soaked up the sun at Centennial a bunch of times this summer already, but only in the morning/early afternoon when the tide was way way out. aching for that warm ocean water, i shooed us out of the house after dinner for the first ocean swim of the year. it was 7:30pm, but it's also summer, and i knew it would be worth it.

it was.

winter was so very very long, i am hanging onto every ray of sunshine and every bead of sweat just so i know i made every bit of summer count when the cold rolls in again.

summer forever

Beach Evenings

Stephanie Chan July 18, 2016

i had posted this in my personal blog but decided these were too good not to share here as well. we are so lucky to live so close to the beach. it's so clean and quiet (at least during the week anyway throughout summer) and it's my favourite place to be all year round. i'm so grateful we were able to have a few family evenings here as i've been pounding out a lot of work and not able to spend as much time together as i would like. this was such a great day as it was the first time Malcolm experienced walking in the water on his own. it hasn't been warm enough until recently and this time last year he was only a mere 6 months old. to see him wander in right up to his chest and fall in love with the ocean was the heartmelting treat i needed. seeing him get right in there with his older siblings and watch as they both rush to his side to help him is definitely the greatest reward i could ask for! NO FIGHTING for one beautiful evening was all i needed.

for anyone interested in Booking one of these Beach Sessions, hit me up at my Contact page and we'll get you some beauties to frame and share!

ENJOY!

Beach Bump with Lindsay Elliott

Stephanie Chan September 23, 2014

There is a baby inside of me . My third delicious pie-to-be, baking to perfection within the confines of my body and soul. There is so much mystery surrounding a pregnancy, so many curiosities and questions that feel like they will never be answered...

And then they arrive. A few weeks early or a few days late, they finally arrive. They take in their first breath of air and proceed to try out their tiny little lungs.

I'm stuck in the mystery. I look at Moses and Chloe, 5 and 4, and feel like I have known them my whole life. Their personalities, once a tightly wrapped up present, now so obvious and fitting. Their physical attributes that continue to gradually morph as they grow older year after year now make me wonder even more what will this third one look like?!!! It's a little different with interracial kids because the range is much broader. The gradations of skin tone to the possibility of black hair, Moses' thick dark mousy brown mop, or Chloe's borderline blonde loose tresses… the possibilities are endless!

I vowed that if I had a third child that I would take tonnes of photos since I hardly have any at all with my first 2 pregnancies. I have kept that promise, even if it is me posing on my bed in front of my mirror while one of the kids stands and repeatedly presses the camera button. I had my first maternity session over the weekend with my good friend and talented photographer Lindsay Elliott. It was a bit of a collab. I sent photos of ideas I was hoping to get as well as scoping out the light at different locations out here at Centennial beach. She got everything I wanted.

One of the ideas I had was to be right in the water wearing some sort of loose and sheer drapery. I was over the moon when my girlfriend and talented seamstress Joanna Delaney offered to help me out with putting something together in between her busy schedule of wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses.

So thankful that after a few days of rain, the afternoon's hot sun managed to warm the water up to a very pleasant temperature!

I love this.

Oh, Little One, who will you turn out to be?

Sometimes I wish I were more academic rather than creative, but on days like this where I can collaborate with other like-minded creators and talents, I know I got the better deal.

Alright. It is off to bed with me and this belly...

Down by the Bay…

Stephanie Chan September 17, 2014

It's been a long time waiting for this beautiful milky end-of-summer light and I'm so thrilled to have captured this light with Shannen and her crew of beauties. Shannen contacted me almost a year ago, having seen my work through a mutual friend. Turns out, she also attended the same highshcool as one of my very best friends. It's a small world after all….

A few of my favourites below from last week's session at Centennial Beach, Boundary Bay

Two of kind
Twin Heartbreakers Wyatt + Cypress

Jojo

I've got a handful of these with her face in focus
but I am hopelessly in love with the blurred one

Possibly one of my Top 10 Faves of the year

The most beautiful backdrop for the loveliest little family

The Dente Princes

Stephanie Chan August 30, 2014

Better late than never, I invited Maria and her family out to Centennial to fulfill my end of the bargain from last year's head shaving: mini session for anyone who donated $200+ for the Change Your Hair Change Your Life Fundraiser. Had a riot with these three naughty but very handsome scoundrels.