Derek and Kristin - Prince George Engagement Photographer

So after a marathon drive from Calgary to Prince George battling tourist traffic (including countless RV's and motorhomes) and crazy amounts of construction I arrived with 30 minutes to spare before I met Kristin and Derek for the first time. I was feeling more than a little flustered, unprepared and hungry for the photo shoot. But I prevailed and let the flustering go away and shot from the hip. The hunger didn't go away until later that night, but I managed!


They were gracious enough to give me a few minutes to figure a few things out and we were off! It helped that Kristin chose one of my favorite PG locations that is a favorite of dog walkers and bikers (the pedalling kind). Kristin mentioned it as a place that she enjoyed walking during summer time and I mentioned that I loved going there with my boys and our bikes. It is one place that we miss alot!


Derek and Kristin have the old facebook (hi5)to thank for their meeting. They had checked out eachother's profiles and then starting chatting on msn. Thank goodness for chatting!


Anyways, long story short, they met online, met face to face and fell in love and in September are making everything official. I am excited for their wedding day and am thankful that they've asked me to be part of it! It was apparent that they are the best of friends and I'm thinking that their future will be one of contentment and peace as they are a perfect fit!

Derek had been away for work for quite a while and one day after work, Kristin discovered a rose on her windshield, then a trail of rose petals in the hall of their house leading to the words "will you marry me?" spelled out in rose petals on their bed. And there sat Derek ready to propose to a shocked Kristin!

Kristin loves Derek's intelligence and that he is driven to accomplish things in life. He is calm when she isn't, and they seem to balance eachother.

Derek loves Kristin's ability to remember things when he can't and her outstanding kindness when others are in tough times.

If you could describe eachother in one word what would it be?

Derek says Kristin is kind.

Kristin says that Derek is smart.

Kristin is looking forward having all their family and friends together to watch them commit themselves to eachother. (minus everyone looking at them!)

Derek is looking forward to exchanging their rings and sharing their vows

with eachother. And sharing their first dance together as husband and wife.

How did you know he was the one?

"It was just a feeling, I just knew that when I met Derek that there was something very special about him and everything has felt right with him ever since."

Favorite Drink

Kristin - Earl Grey Tea!!

Derek - Freshly ground coffee, brewed strong

Sisters and Friends

Melissa was one of the first people I got to know when we moved back to Calgary. In fact she facebooked me within the first few days of Garth starting. It was nice to know that even though Garth had started and I was hours away in PG that someone was looking forward to meeting me again! Those first few weeks I found myself looking for her lovely smile at church so I'd at least have one familiar face! Melissa and Michelle are two amazing young women, both celebrating graduatison this spring, Melissa from university and Michelle from high school. These two are a hoot! As you'll see from the photos below, these two girls enjoy life and have fun together. The sister bond is strong here!

We decided that it would be fun to capture a few photos of them together at such a momentous time in their lives. We had a blast as Melissa navigated and directed my driving path as we explored a new location in Calgary (for me at least!). We found a couple great spots and one we've already agreed needs nice dresses to make the most of it. So back we will go when it works for all three of us.

Thanks Melissa and Michelle for letting me get to know you better. I look forward to many more times of laughter! And next time I will find that amazing ice cream place I mentioned!

Head Shots

When I was asked to take the staff portraits at our church, I must admit that I was more than a little nervous. Why? It's not like a wedding where do overs are completely impossible (could you imagine? - "excuse me pastor, but could you take off the bride's ring? I missed the shot!") or that I was time crunched. I think I was nervous because I was taking the photos of my pastors! Now don't get me wrong, they are super people; warm, welcoming and inviting, but it was a shift for me being the one with the knowledge and leading them! It also didn't help that I hadn't met all the staff yet. So I was glad for the opportunity to meet most of them and stick my camera in their faces! Talk about a first impression huh? I had sucked back a few mints so I was okay!

Garth and I have been so blessed to again have a great staff to work with and we look forward to spending time with them

But at the same time being nervous I was also excited b/c I was able to stretch myself again in my photography. I'm not much of a traditional poser with my photography. I tend to set people up and then just ask them to hang out, so this whole thing of "tilt your head to the left" or "lower your chin" is not something I'm used to. Looking over the photos I must admit that I think I did okay! I had fun and I think they did too. So next time they ask for photos, no nerves needed!

So if your office/staff/board needs head shots taken, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Breathing a sigh of relief

So.... yes I know it's been a long long long time since I've posted last. No real excuses here other than I've been busy with edits and website building and photo shoots. And for the most part it's been fun. I'm not really a big computer person so building a website was a huge feat for me, but I perservered and buh bah bah dah!!! I finished!!!! Yes ..... done.

My computer can be wretchedly slow at times or even non responsive so it was a true test of my patience. And I can honestly say that even though tempted the computer did NOT get thrown out the window. I'm sure Tysen and Rylen can attest to the fact that it was mentioned more than a few times this last month!

So without further mumblings and rabbit trails I happily, excitedly, joyously present.... my website! Pass it on to your friends, family, co workers, strangers you like.... anyone to check it out. I am looking for a busy fall where I can spend lots of time behind my lens and in front of the computer (thinking Garth's laptop is looking gooooooodd!) to produce some awesome images!

Check out c koop (web address www.ckoop.com) to view the site. And if something seems out of whack, please let me know and I'll fix it!

We are on vacation this week so my response time may be somewhat muted or delayed, but I will get back to you! We are doing that most over used summer word----- staycation--- and are going to kick back at home checking out the fun stuff here in Calgary and area.

Here's a sneek peek at a fun Fun FUN photoshoot I had a couple weeks ago. This photo really highlights the mood of the whole evening. A post about it will follow soon! Have a great week!