Last Minute Valentine's Pinup!

Time wasn't on our side, but we did it!
Kari called about 10 days before-hand asking if she could have a session and if she would get a poster in before Valentine's day. I ordered two, one from my regular in Edmonton, (secretly hoping they'd be able to deliver their usual awesome metallic prints on time), and one from the photolab here in the city. To my surprise they both delivered on price and on time! She had two to choose from, and of course, she chose the metallic. Thanks to everyone that helped out! I'm sure her hubby was pleasantly surprised! :)

New Website Up!

Check out our new site at: http://www.astoriaphotography.ca/
Enjoy!

Happy 2010 from Astoria Photography!

Happy New Year! A big Thanks to all our awesome clients from 2009 and a hearty Welcome to all our new brides, grooms and pinups.
All the best for 2010!

Christmas Kids

Merry Christmas! This year we had my wonderful, lovely, beautiful nieces for a week up to and including christmas day. We went to movies, playgrounds, Fish Creek park and of course hit the studio for some xmas day shots. Enjoy!

Santa Baby

How could we resist a shot a like this! This was the second time in the studio for Evan - first was with his beautiful mom for a pinup session and then they returned for family portraits. He was soooo well behaved, in such a good mood and full of curiosity. I guess it's a good thing I stayed up til midnight, wrapping fake presents, and finding santa hats. Actually, Mom pulled through coming prepared - as always with the perfect fitting baby santa hat.

Cool Dude Kyle

Here's the guy... Mr. Kyle - I forgot to add in my previous blog that this shot is one of my favorites from Cool Dude pinup shoot day. He looks cool, casual, completely relaxed, hanging out with Mel and Carlina.... No one would ever know that Sacha's watch was too big and he's just doing his best trying not to let it fall...

Thanks Kyle! :)

Cool Dude Pinup

The first Cool Dude Pinup Session Ever! Mel and I convinced our colleague Kyle to help us out with our portfolio. For the longest time, we were asked if we do "Guy Pinups" and we wanted to say yes, but had nothing to show for it. Well now we do! We transformed Kyle into James Dean, Buddy Holly, and the dude from Jessica Rabbit (Laurie B is going to add art to that one).
It was FREEZING cold, just -30 or something and I said to Kyle to just pretend he was cold to keep his shoulders hunched like JD. Not a problem. We got some awesome shots and he even ordered a 2010 Calendar for the girlfriend - just in time for xmas.

1920's Vintage Vixen Pinup Session

We're mixing things up a bit! This year, we'd like to incorporate the 1920's look as well as Burlesque sessions to our packages. A different era, but just as sexy! Thanks Erica for doing such a great job modeling for us! You played the part perfectly!

Astoria BFF Pinup Magazine Cover

Here it is.... the first ever Astoria Photography BFF Magazine Cover! These two pinups came for the BFF session (Glamour Girls - $395 each) and left with a magazine cover. I must also add that they were in full training mode for the Internation Woman's Weight Lifting competition in France! They did so well there and they each came home with medals. Way to go Astoria Pinups Michelle & Andy! We're all proud of you!

Colour Change?

I usually just add and manipulate colours in photoshop, but this is the real deal. No, its not a joke, or part of my Halloween costume, I really did dye my hair red. Here it is, never done anything like it before, so we'll see how long it lasts.

Vargas Girl Photoshoot

How Lucky am I to have the a perfect Vargas Girl look-a-like for a friend and assistant! One of our pinup sessions was postponed for the day, so we took the chance to practice on ourselves! We thought we'd try the Vargas Girl and Melanie did an OUTSTANDING job! Take a look at our impersonations of the Vargas Girl Pinup.

Copy Cat Kari

October was a good month for Astoria, and we landed a super client, Kari, that came to us all the way from OTTAWA! As usual, we asked if she had any special requests, and she sent us a couple of pictures that she liked. Below left is the one she sent us, and, you guessed it, the right one is ours! Not to brag, but I think it's fantastic and even better than the magazine pic! Thanks Kari, for the inspiration and adding a new "pose" to our list! :)

Evening in Amsterdam

Trying to cut back on a bit of travel time, and just taking a couple of days to relax on our own, an Amsterdam Bed and Breakfast was the perfect place to accommodate us. We stayed at the Barangay B and B. It was close to Central Station, and all the canals - which I was on a mission to get some great evening pictures of. Problem was, every evening at twilight it started raining! Despite that we got some good shots and had a good time.

Milk Anyone?

Dairy friends, outside of Zierikzee. I've seen so many cow pictures, kitchens turned into cow theme, bathrooms, a dairy cow sofa? Even received a corporate invitation for a stampede party with cows on it and never understood the obsession - til now! I saw these guys during a bike ride and it was love at first sight! Don't know how it happened or why, it just was... They seem so innocent and gentle, and the wee bit of drool was not at all disturbing... enjoy!

Friends & Family

As much as everyone dreads family pictures, they need be taken every now and again. Prime example is here with Sacha's Oma Baas. As we only visit every other year or so, we need to remind ourselves that it may be the last... which is a sad thought, but very real. This year I asked if everyone could get together for the van As family pic. One picture with everyone on it - for the family album. Here 4 generations are shown which not every family has the privilege. We made a nice day out of it by going out for Chinese food afterwards. Looking forward to next time!

The newest van As additons, Gideon 4 and Nathan 2. Super cute and glad we got to spend some time to get to know them - even just a little bit! :) Big sis Celine, below, contemplating modeling or traveling to New York for her Birthday??

Home in Holland - Zierikzee

As some of you may know, Sacha my husband is from Holland (aka my "European Import" as apparently, some women need to cross continents to find a good husband) :) Anyhow, every year or two we go back to visit family and friends. Sacha's hometown is one of the oldest villages in Holland, with it's gates dating back to about 900 AD receiving it's "city" rights in 1248. Now that's old! It's a beautiful place with a long history and proud, yet friendly people. Here's a few pics from around Zierikzee.

Maggie & Jane - the Sister Session

Who could say no to these two super sweet, super cute, little girls! A friend asked for their yearly portrait session and I almost didn't recognize them. How much they've grown in a year! Blonde curls, big brown eyes. We mixed it up this time and took it out of the studio and into the playground. Sacha, my husband, played the part of the second shooter as I didn't want to miss a thing, and they are so fast! Running around, happy faces - it was a great day!

Engagement Session

Someone is getting Married!

A colleague of mine from work asked if I could take some family pics and then a few extra special pictures of her and her fiancee as they were planning a Christmas wedding. Of course! I needed some "real" people to try out my new camera on, and what better than a great looking couple on a beautiful fall day. The leaves were colourful and changing and she had selected a great location by a waterfall in a community park. Our only challenge was the sun was setting quickly, and we had to work fast near the end - but looks to me like they were happy with it! :)

Wishing you two all the best!

Floresta Ridge Portrait Session

Floresta Ridge, the name of my sister's playground east of the city,is a beautiful spot with a heritage home, lots of trees, a couple of rolling hills, a stream, and a few resident cats. It's not a surprise that the family likes to spend their spare time out there. This year's family shoot was destined to be with their new friends, Cinnamon and Maggie, out in the corral. The girls wore matching denim dresses, and personally, I found the little ponies actually liked being the centre of attention and allowed me to capture a few great shots.

A little bit of fun in wheel barrow just to mix things up a bit, and then of course I had to convert the pics to sepia to give that old-time, farm like feeling.

Buggy Baby Pinup

For some strange reason, I thought I needed an old fashioned baby buggy. I searched the classifieds and then Kijiji and found one for $25. No less than a week later, Miss Kim phoned and asked for a pinup session, and if it was alright to bring her 4 month old baby. Well of course! We were set and ready to go. Kim did a wonderful job, as did baby who watched - and maybe cat napped - for the 4 hour session. I may also add that Kim is the superstar for keeping secrets who kept the session a surprise for 4 months more til Christmas. Now if only all of us had that much self control! Looking forward to the next buggy and or buddy session :)