Fast forward twenty years later, I am now a photographer and my teenage daughter has expressed an interest in modeling.  One day her agent calls to say she has a job for her, shooting for Blanche McDonald Centre.  When I ask her who the photographer is, I am floored when she tells me… Gaetano Fasciana.  Who would have thought?  Years earlier, the photographer whose work I had admired from afar was now going to photograph my daughter… I went along on the shoot, not only to chaperone but excited to finally meet him.  At first, I was nervous and a bit surprised by how quiet and unassuming he was.  When I had the opportunity, I introduced myself and told him how I had admired his work for many years… he seemed flattered, but also a little surprised.  I spent most of the day hanging in the background, fascinated, watching him work and smiling to myself at how life can work sometimes.

At the end of the day, Gaetano invited us for coffee and a friendship began.  Maddi was fortunate to have the opportunity to shoot with him several more times and I would tag along and carry the reflector and watch him work… always amazed at how he could take a model into an alleyway with very little to work with and create magic… literally, in a matter of minutes.  He really was a genius… his eye for light and shadow and composition was incredible and instinctual and all the while… he made it seem completely effortless.

Outside of work, we would meet for coffee or go for Pho at his favourite Vietnamese place on Denman and talk about life and art and photography.  The man behind the camera turned out to be far more complicated than one would think.  His genius behind the lens was matched by a fierce intelligence and a kind heart… although I soon learned that conversations with Gaetano were rarely about the weather.  He did not suffer fools and had little patience for small talk.  He lived his life on a level of consciousness unlike anyone I knew and the time we spent together was equally fascinating and exhausting.  One of many things I loved about him, aside from his very dry sense of humour, was how he encouraged me to look at life in a much deeper way.  Being friends with Gaetano was interesting and he always made you think…. which is a rare gift in a human being.

The stunning images he took of Maddi, the memories of our friendship and the time we spent together mean the world to me.  Gaetano was a unique and beautiful individual and I am proud to have called him a friend.  Wherever he is now, I can only hope he has found peace.  I know he will be missed.

wishing all my wonderful clients, family and friends a very happy holiday season!

xoxo

Lori

I have had the pleasure of knowing Asha since she was a little girl, dancing around in her tutu with my daughter, Maddi… and it has been a blast watching her grow up into the fabulously talented girl she is today.  she has been performing and writing her own original music since she was eight years old, she even held court performing in Robson Square during the 2010 Olympics this February.  she followed up that success this summer by releasing her first CD, Jumpin’ Off.

Asha’s most recent endeavour is competing in CBC Radio’s contest “Best High School Singer/Songwriter“.  her vibe and her music reminds me of a young Sarah McLachlan and I know you would love her music… so, take a minute, have a listen and VOTE (between October 14 – 17th) at this link to help make Asha’s dreams come true!

GO ASHA!!

xoxo

Lori

we were coming back from the beach on our way to the rope swing, which was about 5 mins. from the house.  I’m having a blast driving my friend’s convertible (I know, poor me!) and my daughter Maddi and her friend Asha are in the back seat complaining because they are in their bathing suits and the wind is too cold.  we quickly pull over and thrown them a few towels and a sweater from the trunk to put an end to the whining.  the rest of the drive, I keep looking at Maddi in the rear view mirror to make sure she’s okay.  she has this old brown sweater pulled up tight and her hair is blowing like a banshee all over the place and I can’t help but notice how unbelievably beautiful she is.  first thing I did when we stopped at the rope swing was take her photo to capture the moment.

and then it was gone.

I hope you’re enjoying your summer as much as I am.

the combination of all of those sweet faces in their adorable costumes made me take waaaaaaayyy too many photos!  as a result, I couldn’t resist creating a very special slideshow from a bunch of my favourites.

simply click on this link below and get ready to smile (don’t forget to turn up your speakers!)…..

Pink Petal Ballet Slideshow

enjoy!

Lori

when I was a kid, I loved a good road trip.  getting in the car and driving, the road in front of you and no particular place to be… now that I HAVE a kid, I love a road trip even more!  what a great way to get away and have fun and explore.  my daughter and I took off for 10 days over Spring Break and flew into San Francisco.  what a gorgeous city!  so much to see and do… our plan was to spend a few days doing the tourist thing and then rent a car and drive south on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway and see where it took us.  but first, San Fran!

between shopping and sightseeing and sleeping and eating, we rode the cable cars and even visited Alcatraz.  we soaked up the feel of the city on the streets of San Francisco.  although I have to say, Haight Ashbury was quite a trip… in more ways than one!

stopping to stock up on tunes for the road trip portion was also a must… and what do you know?  we just happened to find a great music store in the neighbourhood.

stay tuned for the second, and more scenic part of the trip!  so many photos, way too many to choose from…

• American Idol
• taking my dog to the beach
• booking (and shooting!) weddings
• watching my Spring bulbs bloom in the garden
• road trips with my daughter

and, lastly…

• finally launching MY BRAND NEW WEBSITE!!

it has been months in the making and  I’m thrilled with how it turned out.  my web designer, Stephen at Blender Design did an amazing job!  thank you, Stephen for all your hard work.

a huge thank you also, to all my wonderful clients who put their trust in me and gave me the opportunity to create these beautiful images over the past few years.

feel free to sit back, turn up the volume and take a look through the site.

enjoy!

Lori

may your holiday season be filled with love, joy and happiness.

Lori

xoxo

on that note, I would love to share with you some of my favourites images of 2008.

last December, I had the good fortune to find myself on the big island of Hawaii, photographing the wedding of Dean & Angie.  it was the perfect opportunity to bring along my family and make a vacation out of it, so we did just that!  one day, after some heavy rain and bad weather, we were driving around the island and exploring.  I couldn’t get over the landscape and how unique it was… the lava fields had created almost a moonscape with these beautiful weeds growing miraculously out of it.  at one point, the skies parted and the sun peeked out and I asked my husband to stop the car and pull over so we could take some photos (the story of his life!).  my daughter Maddi and I got out and we cranked the music and she just started dancing and singing.  it was one of those magical moments I will always remember and I was thrilled to have my camera with me to capture it.

February came and with it, the wedding of my beautiful cousin, Keli.  she and her new husband, Marius had a gorgeous winter wedding in Chelsea, Quebec on one of the coldest days I can remember ever shooting in!  the temperatures dropped to -27 degrees celcius and we all braved the cold outdoors at Winterlude in Ottawa with the incredible ice sculptures.  I’ll never forget warming up in the limo and celebrating with champagne and authentic French Canadian poutine on the way to the reception… 

March brought a very cool moment at the engagement shoot of Carole & Derek at the Vancouver Aquarium. they had chosen it as a special place they went together and decided it would be a fun place to begin our shoot!  I had the idea of photographing them in front of the beluga whale tank and placed them on the bench and told them to keep looking at each other until I saw a whale come into the frame and then I would ask them to kiss.  sure enough, after a few minutes, a beluga came down to investigate what was going on and even after they kissed and I got my shot, he stayed floating there… looking at them, curiously.  then he began rubbing his head up against the glass in front of them as if to say hello!  they reached out to touch the glass and the beluga stayed there for a few minutes… it was an incredible exchange between this wild mammal and two humans and a huge thrill to be there with my camera.

in April, I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Amy & Jim.  I love this image in particular as it completely captures her as a bride looking radiantly happy on her wedding day!

one of the things I really wanted to do this year was travel and in May I joined my good friend, Patricia Lyons, in Georgia to photograph the wedding of Ali & Michael.  they were married at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel which is located on one of the tiny barrier islands on the coast of Georgia.  Georgia was just as I had pictured it… massive old oak trees draped in spanish moss, with tons of history at this incredible resort.  I would highly recommend adding it to your list of places to see.  

the summer brought not only weddings, but lots of baby and family shoots as well.  this little cutie is named Keeley and she was such a sweet, happy baby and a joy to photograph!

speaking of families, I was asked by my friend and fellow photographer, Kathryn Langsford, to photograph her and her family while they awaited the arrival of their new baby.  while I considered it an honour to be asked to document such a special time, it also brought along some pressure with it!  fortunately, Kathryn and I have been friends for years and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them.  they are an incredible family and have now added a beautiful baby girl to bring their family to four!

July also brought the wonderful and emotional wedding of Darlene & Eddie.  Darlene was one of the happiest brides I’ve ever had (I loved her favourite expression of the day, “Yay me!”).  this image stands out in my mind as I remember Darlene having a quiet strength about her.  we were in the middle of her bridal portraits when I asked her to take a moment and think about something special.  she got quiet for a moment and I raised my camera and took this image.  she told me later she was thinking of her mother, who had passed away but was very much with her in spirit that day.    

purple is my favourite colour and these delphiniums were so beautiful I couldn’t stop shooting them! Corinne & Sean got married at a private garden in Maple Ridge and the grounds were so lush and beautiful, I was completely inspired.  I ended up hiring the landscape designer to come and do my own house!  

speaking of colour, this image is from the wedding of Cynthia & Prem at Van Dusen Gardens.  Indian weddings are such a feast for the eyes and the variety of colours are absolutely stunning!  I was standing at the back of the tent to shoot the ceremony from a different angle and this little beauty caught my eye.  she smiled at me as I raised my lens and clicked the shutter and got one of my favourite images from my weddings this year.

loyal journal readers will recognize the wedding of Rachel & Geoff from August.  these two had a very tender, loving way with each other and it was a dream to be following them all day with my camera.  I couldn’t just choose one from the wedding, so I’ve included the first, which I love for the carefree, happy feel and the second one for the genuine emotion and love these two convey together.

speaking of awesome couples, Emily & Devin’s wedding in August was nothing short of breathtaking.  this image of them coming out of the church following the ceremony at St. Andrew’s Wesley Church is one of my favourites as they were so incredibly happy!  stay tuned for some very exciting news about this wedding…

September was a busy month for me… one weekend, I was crazy enough to shoot two destination weddings back to back!  on Saturday I was up at the top of Whistler mountain to photograph Stacey & Sheldon, who had come all the way from Toronto to be married in Whistler!  the next day…

I was lakeside in Kelowna to photograph the gorgeous wedding of Leanne & Matt!  it was a busy weekend, but the weather was spectacular (as you can see!) and both weddings were a blast to be a part of.

this young beauty is one of my daughter’s best friends, Siobhan.  she a free spirit and a beautiful girl, both inside and out.  she came along on a family weekend to Orcas Island, Washington and I got this shot of her while walking on the beach one afternoon.

Siobhan collects heart shaped rocks and I love this shot of our collection from a weekend of beachcombing!

and last, but far from least, is one of my favourite images of the year of my two favourite people.  my husband and daughter who make my world a beautiful place.  I love you guys.

I’d like to wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!  I look forward to another year of fun, fabulous photos and wonderful adventures in 2009!

I received an e-mail last week (on my birthday, no less!) from one of my awesome brides from this past year, Angela. it was incredibly kind and it made me feel really happy, so I wanted to share it here…

Hello my friend,

Much love,
Jonathan & Angela =P

THANK YOU, Angela! you know, from the moment I met you both I knew we were going to have a blast working together. you two are very special and it was an honour and a pleasure to be a part of capturing what you have together. you made my job very easy.

I think this is a great time to thank ALL of my brides and grooms from this year! thank you, thank you, for putting your trust in me to document one of the most important days of your life. I love what I do and I am very fortunate to have clients who feel the same way. it has been an amazing year and I have been very blessed. I want to wish each and every one of you all the best of the holiday season!

much love,

Lori