New Adventures

At the present time, I'm no longer accepting commission request as I'm working on personal projects and continuing my charity involvement.  My work has drifted away from classic portrait and wedding photography into new creative and artistic projects.  I'm on a continual quest for inspiration, unique faces and odd locations... if you'd like to collaborate on a project with me, don't hesitate to write me a few lines.




Julie M.








 

We try.

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

 

The inspiration behind this image was that shapes speak for themselves and not everything needs to be in focus.  :)

Rare

A rare occasion.

 She doesn't let me take her photo often enough !

Thoughts

Silently, like thoughts that come and go, 

the snowflakes fall, each one a gem. 

 ~William Hamilton Gibson

Treasures

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  

~Thornton Wilder

I know there is a trend to put babies in all sorts of baskets and props, I tried that style and well, I just never felt the connection to produce those types of images.  I think the beauty of an image lies is its simplicity.  Perhaps it takes more effort to produce those types of images.. I don't know.  But what I do know, is that it just comes naturally to me.  I feel that great images should be timeless whether that is for weddings or portraits. 

I had a great time photographing this little cutie. I love the way his eyes catch the light.

 

Enjoy your weekend everyone !

Sauron

A few evenings ago, we were watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I got to thinking about this image I had tucked away and never published.  When it comes to my personal work, I will often take images and keep them for later.. it is just part of my artistic process.

I came across this little baby caiman at a reptile exhibition hosted by Mr. Reptile.  Now, if I remember the conversation I had with the owner, Mathieu Naud, it takes a special permit to own a caiman in Québec. 

I love the way the light is hitting the eye.  If I am not mistaken, this is a spectacled caiman, and the skin detail over the eye is just crazy. Such an impressive creature.

“Little by little, one travels far”
J.R.R Tolkein 

Déjeuner du Père Noël Benjo 2012

La tradition se poursuit avec le célèbre déjeuner du père Noël dans la merveilleuse salle de bal du Château Frontenac pour une quatrième édition qui s'est déroulé le 1er décembre 2012. Lors de l’événement Benjo, la grenouille ainsi que le père Noël se feront un plaisir de vous divertir pendant le repas. La totalité des profits est remise au Centre mère-enfant du CHU pour le département des soins palliatifs pédiatriques.

C'est sous la thématique féérique des châteaux que se déroulera cet événement tant attendu. Les enfants sont invités à accompagner leurs parents en arborant des costumes de princesses, de princes, de dragons, de chevaliers ou tout autre personnage de conte. Une journée bien remplie attend les enfants. Au programme : activités de bricolage, jeux et promenade en train à l'intérieur du Château Frontenac.   - site officiel Benjo

Giving back has always been important to me, this year was no exception.  It was a privilege to be part of such a great team of individuals giving their time, talent and of course their donations to such an important cause. 

 

Absolutely yummy. !

La Maitrise des petits chanteurs de Quebec

One of the Santa's little helpers

Martin Dalaire, animateur de radio WKND 91.9

and Santa !  The real one  :)

Life's seasons

Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons.  

~Author Unknown

This fall, I had a wonderful family session.  I've photographed them before and I love seeing how the little ones have grown.  One of those sessions where everything just goes right.. the weather, the light, the fun.

 

This particular moment was one of my faves !  Just darling !!!

This little one reminded me how much I love black and white photography.

Wow, what can I say... I enjoyed playing in the leaves and hearing all the laughter.  I love what I do, spending time with my clients like this... giving them beautiful imagery and memories.  A great way to spend a fall afternoon !!

Adventure

“I tend to think of the act of photographing, 

generally speaking, as an adventure. 

My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.”
- Diane Arbus

Earlier this summer, Marie Leblanc commissioned me to photograph her album cover and poster for her show at l'Anglicane.  This Saturday October 20th, you'll be able to hear a variety of songs from Brel to Vigneault.


"Passionnée et charismatique, Marie LeBlanc dévoile et commente un répertoire composé de grands classiques de la chanson et d’œuvres contemporaines d'artistes tels que Vigneault, Leclerc, Léveillé, Salvador et Brel. Portée par le doigté de Guillaume St-Laurent au piano, la voix riche et douce de Marie LeBlanc vous plongera dans une atmosphère chaleureuse et cordiale."

De Brel à Vigneault

Duo Piano-voix avec Guillaume St-Laurent

While looking through the images while preparing this blog post, I can relive the photoshoot.  Honestly that is one of the wonderful things that photographs are able to do.  Not only freeze time, but spark the memories that go along with them.  Marie, thank you for letting me capture YOU, your beautiful smile and laughter, your passion !

Enjoy your adventure Marie !

L'essentiel

  L´essentiel c´est d´être aimé
Le reste importe peu, la seule vérité
C´est compter pour quelqu´un quoiqu´il puisse arriver
C´est entrer dans son cœur et n´en sortir jamais

- Ginette Reno

A few months ago, I had the privilege to photograph an amazing couple with a beautiful love story.  However since they both have a very public life I won't be showing you any closeup portraits.  Their identity will remain a mystery :) 

A few weekends ago, we also photographed their intimate wedding and I will be posting some images soon. 

Special meanings

Where have I been ?  Here.. there, but not everywhere.

I had a great diner with a client the other day and it sorta put my absence on the blog in perspective.  He said that I was first and foremost an artist. That really touched me.

.... and....that got me thinking.  As much as I love the final result, I also love the artistic process each new photography project takes me on.   The end result, the final cuts (the ones you get to see here on the blog) are the ones that mean the most to me!  And for that reason I find it hard to part with them and let everyone else see them.  Each image has a special meaning, it may be the rich tones, the look in the eye, or just my overall feeling I had when I took the image.   

That said,  let me share with you a recent wedding we did at a historic site in Saint-Jacques de Leeds.

 

This last image was taken by Jeff, I was outside already to get the shots as they were exiting the church and Jeff was able to take this wonderful image of them from behind.  I really can't stress enough the importance of two photographers.

A and F,  we wish you the best with your new life in Europe.  We loved being part of your day and now, every time I drive pass the site.. I'll think of you both.

Julie M.

Les Harmoniques

I have been blogging mostly personal photography lately, but I thought I would share with you a concert I photographed recently.  Les Harmoniques de Sainte-Croix is a vocal group, directed by Pierrette Vigneault. 

When they contacted me to photograph their concert, I was thrilled.  I browsed through their website and did some research, but I was truly blown away by all the talent.  From dance, to music, to vocals... did I say I was blown away ? Let me say it again, I was blown away.

The show was brilliantly thought out, with modern pieces as well as some classics... Cats, Lady Gaga, Glee, La mélodie du bonheur... all the while combining choreographed dance moves.  Les Harmoniques practice on a regular basis and are always looking for new talent to join their group.  Please visit their website for more information : Les Harmoniques

Now, some of my favorite shots from the concert...

   

 

The lighting was amazing during the show.  Hats of to Teksho Inc. who brought the big stage feeling to this intimate venue.

The fourth image, was a solo that was so powerful : Hallelujah solo by Marie-Josée Delisle.  It is one of my all time favorite songs and I love the clenched fist in this particular image.The fifth image goes to show you that throughout the whole evening, they all stayed in character and I thought that was brilliant. And well this last two images are classic Julie Marie details shots :) 

Earlier this week, we had a viewing of the images from the concert and I loved to see the reaction of the group while they viewed them.  As a photographer and artist, you can not put a price on a reaction, a smile, a laugh while showing your work. I'm looking forward to next year already !!

Oh, and tickets sell out pretty fast but I will remind you next year when they go on sale. :)

Undocumented

It's not a bug - it's an undocumented feature.  

~Author Unknown

A little wink to all my tech savvy friends out there.

Only you

Only you can set you free.  

~Living Colour, "Cult of Personality"

...

Solve

Don't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.  

~Philip K. Dick

...

Smile

Is a smile a question?  Or is it the answer?  

~Lee Smith

Elasticity

I try not to break the rules, 

but merely to test their elasticity. 

~Bill Veeck

Mainly

What we see depends mainly on what we look for.  

~John Lubbock

In a weird way it reminded me of the yodeling mountain climber game on the price is right.   If you are wondering what it is.. it is half frozen drops of water taken through a window.

Happening

Love is not a matter of what happens in life. 

 It's a matter of what's happening in your heart.  

~Ken Keyes

This image is for my oldest daughter who, when I showed it to her.. said : "Mom, look... it is a heart".  Indeed it is.  As with most of my images, unless I am doing something specific, what you see is what you get.. I don't go out of my way to Photoshop something into something else.  I may tweak the colors, dodge and burn but that is about it. I use what is in front of me, the available light and the moment.

Enjoy your Tuesday :)

As they really are.

No great artist ever sees things as they really are. 

 If he did, he would cease to be an artist.  

~Oscar Wilde

No Tears

The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. 

 ~John Vance Cheney

Every rose

Every Rose has it's thorn
Just like every night has it's dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has it's thorn

Poison 

Papillons en Fête - Hamel Espace vert 2012

It has been a few years since I've taken the time to go to  Papillons en Fête !!  Ophélie and I were quite lucky, for about 45 mins before lunch, we were the only ones in the garden.  As we sat, literally 50-100 blue butterflies would stream by us non stop !!

 Magical.

Here are some other images I took.... this first one is my absolute fave.  This guy really knows how to rock a Mo-hawk.

And lastly a detail shot from the garden setup.   

The fish trap exists because of the fish.  Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap.  The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit.  Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare.  Words exist because of meaning.  Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words.  Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?  

~Chuang Tzu