She’s only three but she’s indeed my little muse. Yuppers. Saffron Belle. a.k.a. *Saffy*. And in case you were wondering, our eldest daughter Piper was in a real princess phase at the time of her wee sister’s arrival… she had the honourable task of coming up with the middle name. We think it is possibly fitting since Saffy also happens to be so cute {guilty as charged: totally biased parents!}

We’ve been away for a few weeks taking some time out of the frenetic wedding schedule to create precious family memories. Actually, it was a last minute wedding cancellation that enabled us to log over 5,000 km in the family car… travelling down to Chicago, through Ohio, up to Niagara, Toronto, Sudbury and back. While the primary purpose of our trip was to bask in the glory of our two little monkies {who, by the way, never ever fight lol}, we also had the honour of shooting several of our client couples who live down south. And while we look forward to posting some really unique work from our clients, this blog is reserved exclusively for those who want their own little dose of inspiration by way of some extremely cute kid pics.

Since we rarely post anything personal on here, a few tidbits about Saffy. And truly, to know her is to love her.

loving. worships her big sister Piper. couldn’t say Piper so calls her Po-Po. obsessed with the Cars movie franchise. obsessed with how things work. a little bit cross-eyed. favourite funny face automatically includes growling sounds. only fruit + veggies in her palette are peas, carrots, apples, strawberries. loves pizza. likes to feel the wind her in face. loves her grampa. loves doggies. wants a doggie. has to do everything by herself. cannot pronounce her “l” sound. as result, her fave colours blue + black come out sounding like b-yew and b-yack. going through what we call her “Stewart phase” {the dude from Mad TV who constantly shows off with a “look what I can do!”}. can sing nearly any song on key. has a pink blankey she calls *Buddy*. wants to be a helicopter when she grows up {that’s right… the actual flying machine, not the pilot}. loves to say “I wuv you”.

Saffy, we wuv you too. This post is dedicated to you, our second little peanut. It’s about time you had a moment in the sun and these pictures capture literally such a beautiful moment of you in the sun on our way home from the Great Road Trip 2011. Circa Agawa Bay, Lake Superior.

p.s. she's not crying here. she's growling like a tiger. yup.

Who doesn’t love a repeat customer?! Our dear friends and clients {Ben + Cynthia} were recently back in the Bay for some R+R with family. Now for those who know them well, it will come as no surprise that R+R in their world = some serious rock and roll. So in keeping with the prevalent theme music takes in their lives, we opted for a family photo shoot with some pizazz. Yeah, a little bit o’ attitude. By the time we were done, I was having flash forwards of several show business careers!!

Before getting to their sneak peek, I’ll fill you in on this razzle dazzle fam. At the helm are the hip and suave Benjamin {a.k.a. *Daddy*} and the funky fashionista Cynthia {a.k.a. *Mommy*}. Ben is an environmental engineer in the Toronto area while  Cynthia is a freelance writer and has one of the niftiest mommy blogs currently online {www.crumbsintheminivan.com}. Their beautiful brood is made up of Suvi (aged 9), Max (aged 5) and Finnegan (aged 3). For confidentiality reasons we are keeping mom and dad’s ages a tightly guarded secret lol.

This is a family that loves all things musical and creative. When the weekend rolls around you might find them attending regional music fests and/or regularly jamming in their home. In fact, the word on the street is all members of this clan can rock the air guitar! Another trademark of theirs is ensuring all gatherings/occasions come equipped with a distinct theme. Most recently they hosted a *rockabilly party* for other families in their neighbourhood. Dressing up and just being goofballs also comes with the territory!

And so without any further ado I give you Ben, Cynthia, Suvi, Max and little Finnegan. The latter of whom can do one mean Pee Wee Herman impression. Go team, Coulson! With much love and thanks for your continued support of our own insane family and of course, of this boutique little biz we call *Bliss*. xo –Alvis + Sam

It’s been a dog’s age since we posted anything remotely personal on this blog. And rightfully so, it is meant to showcase our most recent client work. With the holidays upon us, however, and family in all parts of the world these days, we couldn’t resist putting up a few images from our trip home to Sudbury and Ottawa, where we took some time to just live in the present and hang with our girls Piper (7) and Saffron (2). And in case you find yourselves wondering, yes, this is about as typical as it gets with us: no sleds on hand so why not just grab some trusty cardboard and make do?!!

To our family in Guatemala: Mom, Dad, Natasha + Rod + Maple, Jonathan + Shalem…. we miss you a tonne and wish you were here! Say hello to the volcanoes and bring us home some Antigua coffee, please! To our family in the Middle East: Dagmara + John (+ and all our kindred bandmates)… counting the days until you make that requisite journey back home. Though you are so bloody far away (it’s hard to fathom where on earth Oman is!), you are in our hearts and we love you dearly. To our family in Sudbury: Mom, Dad, Inese + Freddy + Cody, Laila + good ol’ Mojo…. thank you for spoiling us rotten, for making numerous feasts fit for kings and for putting up with the yammerings of our little ones.

Life has blessed us in so many ways; but often we find ourselves caught up in the ever infamous pursuit of *more*. We are grateful for our health, for our two loving and mischievous daughters, for our supportive and unwavering families, for friends that love and accept us shortcomings and all and for this career which allows us such an intimate and poignant glimpse into this crazy little thing called *love.*

Happy Holidays to all our clients, former and new; and may 2011 bring you an abundance of your own blessings to count.

xo, Alvis (the man perpetually behind the camera and gratefully never in any of the shots!)

Sometimes you get lucky and everything falls into place. Such was the case for the McCullough family photo shoot {beautiful lighting. beautiful people. need we say more?!} Such was also the case for Kerri-Ann + Scott McCullough who celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary this year. To commemorate the day they describe as *blissful* {ooh…we likie!} they opted for a family photo shoot with a twist… the twist being that we’d spend a significant amount of time documenting them as a couple, too.

This happy-go-lucky pair got engaged Christmas Day in 1997. Kerri-Ann describes Scott’s nervous twitches and trembling knees as “so cute” and before she knew it they were planning the wedding of their dreams! The marriage took place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and thus became a fitting place for us to get warmed up during our shoot. From there we headed over to Victoriaville and took advantage of some wicked lighting in the parcade staircase… I’d always wanted to shoot there and they were totally up for anything. Several goofy shots ensued and I could not help but include them as it illustrates how quirky and fun their relationship with each other is. By contrast, we also took some very poignant images of their sweet little girl, Ryalie. She completely charmed me, that one! Very easy to see why this threesome is a tightly-knit family.

Enjoy your sneak peek, Kerri-Ann! And may the bear hugs, music and dreaming of Ireland continue to inspire you both. Thank you for allowing us this glimpse into your beautiful family! –xo Alvi, Sam + Melissa

To our loyal blogstalkers (you know who you are!); you have come to know Bliss as a boutique photography company with a deliberate focus on wedding imagery. But from time to time, our cameras will be wooed away to enticing offers from long-time friends who happen to have the world’s cutest children and we then find ourselves powerless… surrendering to the intensity of said cuteness and thus making a date for a family photo shoot. Ok, that was wordy, but you get my drift!

This is one such story. Erika Bergman-Hachey and I have known each other for… ahem… we’ll say 22 years now. That puts us right about the early years at FWCI, I do believe? Thanks to the marvels of social networking, she and I have reconnected after all these years on Facebook, and when she mentioned that her family would be up from Illinois (where they now reside) and were hoping for some family photos that reflected the beauty of our boreal forest, it just had to happen.

Erika — an RN with a penchant for competing in and winning triathlons — married the love of her life, Peter — also a Canadian, originally from Saskatchewan — and together they are raising their three adorable life’s masterpieces: Liam, Kalum and daughter Brielle. And although life is grand down in Illinois, they do grow weary of the incessant 40 degree weather and regular tornado warnings. So visits back north to see friends and family are a welcome relief! Ironically, the day they arrived here mother nature wanted to ensure they did not forget what awaits them at home: she served up a tasty thunderstorm and some whopping tornado warnings {just for good measure}. Even way up here there was just no escaping the possibility of being swept over the rainbow!

Erika + Peter: this is just a quick sneak peek from your shoot and thanks for all your patience. Wedding season is no-sleep season but eventually we are getting caught up! And despite the wiggling bodies, your photo session captured the happy and relaxed nature of your family. You are blessed in all things money cannot buy.

–xo Sam (+ Alvi, busy working away in the editing room!)

Here is a small portion from a rare email we have received from Sam in Bolivia.  She has climbed 2 smaller peaks maxing out at 17,650 feet.  She is now on her way to attempt a 22,000 foot climb. If interested, please the following excerpt:

Just a few quick words on this trip so far.

….It was a drama that unfolded like no other, but they handled it so amazingly. Everyday Leila (or Ozzy, the head guide) takes our pulse oxygen saturation levels…mine have been consistently around 80 (which is good) but Chris´s was 50. He was beginning to drown in his own lungs but didn{t even realize it yet. I guess he has that 18 year old invinceable mindset….stiff upper lip, etc. Leila has never before administered Dex (short form for powerful steroid drug) at a base camp and had she not done so, and insisted she bring him down to La Paz at lower altitude, it would have gone very badly. I am telling you this because I want you to know that at the heart of everything they have our safety in mind first. Every cough, headache, sneeze is questioned and checked. Ozzy our lead guide is just incredible. So caring, so amazing. So selfless.

I am all over the map here, just bear with me.

WAnt to tell you a little bit more about the big climb. WE were only three (me, Heiko and Teri) and then 3 guides. This kind of a ratio is practically non0existant in the mountaineering world. Incredibly safe. We woke up at 2:00 am and put on our headlamps and walked 1.5 hours to the base of the glacier. The day previously we had been up there practising crampon techniques and self arrest techniques with our ice axes (picture this: I was pushed down the slope of the glacier with my slippery gortex layer head first and had to use my ice0axe to stop myself….VERY UNNERVING!). But a necessary thing to know how to do. At any rate, we got to the glacier and I could hear it crackling and moving. It sounds like thunder. Kind of creepy. I was roped in with Ozzy (lead guide…guess they drew straw to see who would get the rookie!) and Teri and Heiko were roped in with Sergio together while Juancho floated around with no fear and no rope and took photos. It was a tough slog up that glacier at a very slow pace. By the time we reached the base of the actual slope the sun was coming up. It was incredible to see. Then we had this 50-60 degree slope to climb and we zig zagged it (sorry, cant think of the actual term for that!). It was tough because it was icy and all we had to rely on were our crampons. But the whole thing with being roped in is that the basically your harness is tied with a rope that must stay taut with the guides harness. That way if someone falls or goes down a crevasse there is no slack and it is easy to stop the person. Back to the story…. as the sun was coming up I saw what lay ahead and I thought NO FREAKING WAY. It was just never ending. I could see what looked like the col (the section that is flat that connects two mountains) but after we got there it was only the beginning.

Then we had to climb up this pass called Tarija and it was nasty. We all just groaned when we saw it. I think it took 2 hours. AFter we get there, we had to take OFF the crampons because we were going to then climb down 60 meters over sheer rock…as in it was like rock climbing. But in reverse. I bummed it. Yes, I literally sat on my bum and gently and gradully got myself down. then when we got there we finally saw the route to the real mountain, Pequena Alpamayo. Heiko, who has summited a bazillion mountains said very audibly HOLY SHIT. Teri, who also is an amazon woman and has climbed a tonne, said “I{m just going to wait here until you guys are done.” The traverse was this knife-edge passage where we were only roped in together. On either side were drop offs (and crevasses). But the guides were amazing. One at a time they coached us through and never once lost their focus. They so have their stuff together. AFter that traverse we just had to climb one more really steep knife0edge passage until we got to the safety of the fixed ropes, at which point we were able to use an ascender and basically pull ourselves up to the summit. It was touch because there were some other climbers who were in trouble and ill prepared. One of the girls crampons had come loose and they were free climbing with just two ice axes each. Ethicially, our guides had to step in and help, but it meant there was a lot of standing around on the edge of a mountain…thankfully clipped in, but still very freaky. These guys were German and Heiko was so embarrassed he didn{t even acknowledge that he too is German! I´ve never seen such selfless, incredibly fast0moving quick thinking in my life. Our guides got them straightened out, allowed them onto their fixed lines (which, by the way, they had to install while we were on the traverse…..so Juancho the photographer guide dude was flitting all about the mountain with no fear installing these lines just 5 minutes ahead of us. And we would get through two and then have to wait so that they could go back and get the other original rope and use it again. (To have enough rope to do the whole approach would have been a ridiculously heavy load).

Finally, we got to the summit. I could not believe I had done it. It was incredible….. so peaceful and beautiful. We were up there for about 45 minutes, I bawled my face off. Took out a photo of my family and had pictures taken of me holding the photo. I dedicated the climb to you guys.

The whole way up I was starving but could not eat. I think my body was eating itself and I got up there on adreneline alone! The prospect of “how the hell do we get off this thing” occurred to me as Ozzy said “ok guys, five minutes”. Doing everything I just said when you are spent in reverse seemed like an improbable situation. My legs felt like cement. And looking down at the traverses that were so exposed was more daunting than looking up. To get down we absailed (sp?) which means Ozzy lowered us down a section with us facing the mountain and front pointing to the less steep part. I had to jump over this crevasse…CRAZY!!!! Then the weather started looking not good. CLouds were rolling in and we were still dealing with these ridiculous Germans.

Long story short, the hardest part for me was going back UP over the Tarija Pass which was all rock with no crampons. My thighs just had no gas left in them. I remembered Shalem saying ” no peudo mas, Pigger! En serio!!) and I said it a million times and shocked the guide who got stuck with me that I knew a little spanish. Poor Juancho….. I fell pretty far behind but eventually got off the friggin mountain and dragged my tired sorry butt back to base camp and collapsed in my tent. All in all it was a 15 hour climb that, to me, included every single element of the world of climbing. Steep passages, some technical stuff, crevasses, front pointing with your crampons up steep icy slopes, bad weather…. ridiculous, ill-prepared other climbers (tee hee).

And now? I have finally had a shower for the first time since Monday. Man it felt good. I am pretty nervous about Sajama as it is 6,500M and the one we just climbed was only 5400M. It is pretty much a mountain that stands alone in the middle of a desert. THere is a lot of wind and it is cold. And then there is the additional altitude. But I am going to just see how it is and even if I only get to high camp (which, is 5400M!!!) then I{m satisfied with what I{ve done thus far.

If you haven´t fallen asleep yet reading this little dissertation, I just want to share a few epiphanies I´ve had along this journey.

#1 I always feel guilty about being so blessed. I always wonder “why do I have such a good life…why me?” My epiphany is this: why NOT me? I´m a good person. I deserve what I get.

#2 Being away from my family makes me feel not whole. I need my kids and Alvi in my life and I realize that often I spend time with my head in the clouds or thinking of the “next thing on the to do list”. You guys are the most important part of my whole world. Without you I ache. I spent many a night alone in my cold tent just wishing that I could have a snuggle from Piper, or a hug from you, Alvi.

#3 While our little world goes on, there is a whole other world happening. People in Bolivia have so little, and they work so hard, and they are so selfless. It makes me realize how spoiled we are and how preoccupied we can get with acquiring things. I´ve decided I dont care about acquiring THINGS. I want to see the world, and teach our girls that there is a life beyond their back door.

#4 You get what you pay for. This is a huge epiphany for me. I now understand why this trip cost so much. It´s because it is first class. Every meal is prepared, coffee brought to the tents in the morning, and most importantly, Berg Adventures pays their guides and staff VERY WELL. They have changed these guys lives. They have invested in them and I could just cry thinking of how their employment with this organization has opened doors for them.

Many many more epiphanies……………………………………………………… but I am now running out of gas.

I want you all to know how much I love you. This has been an epic experience for me, and the real meat is yet to come. I cannot believe how much I have seen and done in the past 10 days. One of the local ladies herding the donkeys and llamas that ported our bags out was probably 25 or so…and she loaded up these animals with her 10 month old baby boy strapped to her back. And she had no socks on and it was -5 this morning. But she was smiling and happy and doing her thing. BLOWS ME AWAY.

At any rate, thank you for all your support. I am going off the grid again until Saturday. I feel pressure to get to the top of this mountain because once I start something I don´t want to quit. But I am going to be very cautious and smart about it. Getting to the summit is not the purpose for me anymore, it truly is all about the journey.

- Samantha

On a personal note, I miss my wife and the girls miss their Mom.  I/we could not be more proud of her in her accomplishment and following that dream. Regardless if she completes the final climb or not she will be “our” hero.  We will have more posts upon Sam’s return as she has taken many images from not only La Paz but also from the journey up the mountains.  One last thing, when I ask Saffy where Mommy is and her response is “Olivia” and then proceeds to point to the Nor’Westers indicating that Mom is mountain climbing.  That’s my Saffy!

- Alvis

To catch up or follow the climb with the dispatches, please check out this link

http://www.bergadventures.com/v3_cyber/2010/2010-06-11-bolivia/main.php

The following comments have been reposted from Facebook.  Please feel free to post in the blog.  THX!

Dear September 10th, 2010:

As an act of humanity (altruism, really), we at Bliss Pictures feel it is in your best interest to give fair warning that your day, when it eventually rolls around, will be completely ROCKED! As the world now knows, Jessica + Brad will seal the deal in three short months. We’re certain that you really have no idea what you’re up against (but no worries, ‘cuz we’re not judging); and we’d like to suggest that you prepare yourself in advance for some high-energy fun and a heartfelt exchanging of vows. Similarly, it has been inferred my numerous fans of your precious month that you will not disappoint weather-wise, and that in fact, you may surpass expectations altogether in that department.

But to be clear, consider this a courtesy “heads-up” memo. Because if Jessica + Brad have anything to do with it, your day is bound to go down in history. We’re just saying, is all.

Respectfully,the Bliss Team.

Dear Jessica, Brad + Cedar!

What an incredible engagement shoot — I think we can all agree that most importantly, your faithful companion, Cedar, is a real spotlight stealer! There are scads of photos for you to go through; these are just a smattering of some of our faves. I particularly loved the series we did against the concrete wall. Your warm energy and love for each other are such a wicked contrast to the cold of the stone. I appreciate that you just “went with it” and Jess, your ideas made my day! Keep noodling on others because as referenced in our letter to Sept 10th, that day will not know what hit it, especially after you put your signature touch on it. We’ll talk soon and please enjoy this sneak peak of imagery! –Alvis

Theirs’ is an epic love story rife with international flair, high drama and sexy, sassy dance moves!

Right away we at Bliss apologize for what is about to be an abundant overuse of soccer metaphors. We simply cannot help ourselves and trust that in our shoes.. er, cleats, you would do the same.

Barb, our blonde, athletic beauty — whose face will be familiar to anyone who works out regularly at the Canada Games Complex — took only a small amount of convincing to go out with Wilson; our dashing, Brazilian Captain of the Thunder Bay Chill. Perhaps it was his boyish good looks… perhaps it was the way in which he easily charmed the shyest of little kids enrolled in the Chill soccer program… or maybe it was the way he helped lead his team to an outstanding North America championship just a few years ago. Whatever it was, he cast a spell on Barb and she fell hard and fast. And so they opted to kick-off the their journey together with two international weddings this year: one right here in Thunder Bay, and the other at the end of soccer season this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

But what is love without a little drama, eh? In the blink of an eye their wedding was nearly offside, as immigration teetered on the edge of deporting poor Wilson around Christmas time. Seems that an incorrectly issued visa nearly sent him packing. Guess he was out of bounds {such foul play, no?}. Thankfully that all got sorted out and the plans continued for what turned out to be one memorable, rocker of a wedding! Guests from as far away as Australia and France, along with a sizable posse from Brazil {slightly disenfranchised with our frigid weather!} crossed borders and flew in for this very special day. Truly, in all the weddings we’ve shot over the past 6 years, we’ve never witnessed such an impressive show on the dance floor ever. I mean, really. Really! There were moves that we’ve quite literally not seen before. Pra caramba!

Barb + Wilson, we hope you enjoy this sneak peek of imagery from your wonderfully, action-packed wedding day. We look forward to compiling your highlight movie and hope to scrounge enough points to get down to Brazil for “round two” of your marriage celebration. {Naturally this is a pipe-dream… but hey, we know people in Brazil!}

Special shout-out to Benoit for his cinematography prowess, the fine folks at Chapples Park for allowing us exclusive entry behind the scenes and once again to Miranda of the Flower Shed and Maggie of Maggie’s Magicals for outdoing themselves yet again with breathtaking decor and stunning, punchy flowers.

We are so excited the vibrations are keeping the neighbours up at night (sorry 1426 Broadway!). In less than three weeks, we’re whisking the family away for a very special retreat to Antigua, Guatemala. What awaits us is a reunion with Sam’s parents, her brother Jonathan and his new wife, Shalem, along with a jam-packed agenda!

Jonathan + Shalem, after fighting tooth and nail to secure appropriate paperwork and basically giving their right AND left arms, were finally married this past November and we are stoked to take some time to document their story on film. Jonathan, a native Thunder Bay’er who’s been teaching English in Honduras for the past few years, met his true love Shalem in Honduras. Her English was mucho limited. His Spanish was rusty but passable. Somehow, someway, their love has conquered all language and cultural barriers and the universe succeeding in bringing them together. We are overjoyed to welcome Shalem into our family.

Whilst in Guatemala, several items of business will also be conducted, including a top-secret Trash-the-Dress shoot which has been in the works for years but has never gotten off the ground. Other related tasks will include Sam’s attempt to continue her training for the big climb {of Mount Sajama in Bolivia this June} with treks up several of Guatemala’s highest volcanos {including one active one… Pacaya!} and my quest to get up to Tikal to finally document the Mayan ruins that eluded me last year.

To our valued clients, new and those-we-have-not-yet-met; February shall be *business as usual* despite our sojourn to Central America. We shall continue to move forward on our editing; we shall continue to blog; and we shall continue to photograph!!!

Top of the evening to our faithful blog-stalkers.  Thanks for dropping in… we do appreciate it!  

September has been life-changing in so many ways; but at the risk of over-sharing we’ll keep much of that insight private.  What a whirlwind, though:  {Weddings, funerals, power outages, tree felling, road trips to the ‘Bury, bus trips to the Alberta Oil Sands, consultations with overseas gurus, new client bookings, school starting, surprise 60th birthday celebrating, reflecting, learning, growing, adapting.} I’d say that’s plenty for one month, wouldn’t you?

Alvi took the girls home to Sudbury recently and we are finally getting a chance to view some of the shots he captured along the way.  I love that in spite of the 11-hour car ride with 2 young children in tow, he opted to make the journey top priority as opposed to just the destination. These photographs were taken along the shores of Lake Superior as Saffron and Piper spent an hour collecting rocks and learning about the beautiful world we live in.  Oh and couldn’t resist throwing in a few pics from the Plavins’ house on the lake.  While these pictures may not interest you, we are succumbing to massive pressure from family members on the West Coast, in Honduras, Great Britain and the Middle East.

People:  we surrender already.  Enjoy!