I’m loving my new website, which was created by Ryan Doco who happens to also be an extremely talented Photographer from Vancouver, and my wordpress as you will notice now matches! Jason from West Coast Design Co. completed my blog for me! I have to say I’m very happy with the results of both projects and with the two who made it happen; it’s beneficial to contract work to local artists! I have added some new pages and changed a few things around on the website, let me know what you think!

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On July 8th I was able to participate in a great new event called Five Hole For Food, which was started by Richard Loat, and over 10days covered Ontario to BC! This street hockey event raised 5915lbs of food for local food banks; Victoria raised 956lbs of food and came in second to Vancouver’s winning 3,000lbs!

It was an extremely hot day, but there was a great turn out despite the heat wave! Even Marty the Marmot from the Salmon Kings made it out to play! I can’t say I was jealous of his outfit, but it was inspiring to see him out supporting a good cause despite the heat!!

For an event that was put together in an extremely short amount of time, Richard and his crew did a great job. Can’t wait until next year, we’ll kick Vancouver’s butt! Hehe.

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This past weekend I got to participate in a group shoot at Albert Head Lagoon, organized by Que the Photography Elf, and it was loads of fun! Got to meet some great models and photographers, and work with some I already knew! I’m already getting excited for the next group shooting adventure and it hasn’t even been organized yet! I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I love the shots I got! I hope you enjoy them as well!

On Thursday I am privileged to go on a photo adventure with Que the Photography Elf and can’t wait to show you the results! It will be good times for sure!

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Photo contests?! Yay!

Monday Magazine has announced it’s 10th annual Photo Contest and once again I will be entering. I only placed in 2007 and have only entered once since then, so I’m hoping this will be a lucky year for me! As well The Nature Trust of BC has announced their annual Photo Contest. I highly recommend any amateur interested in showing their work enter one or both of these contests!

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Photographs added to the site:

• Five Hole For Food (Events)
• Stephanie (Portraits – Headshots)
• Cristina (Portraits – Models)
• Sandi (Portraits – Models)
• Al (Portraits – Models)

Cheers,

Natalie

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Now playing: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – Home – Official Video
via FoxyTunes

A few weeks ago I did another promo shoot with The Mighty Apos, entitled “Wake Up!”…I’m pretty sure that if we weren’t going to hell before, we are now seeing as we faked a Jesus…haha. All worth it though! I hope you enjoy them. They are under the “Band Promos” located on the Portraits page!

Along with those photographs, I have added the following:

- SingCinema (Events)
- Victoria’s 1st Bacon Eating Contest (Events)
- Behind the Scenes: Liam Bigg’s Video Shoot (Events)
- Live Concerts (Events)
- Headshots (Portrait)
- Music Interviews (Portrait)
I have added photos to the following:

- Band Promo (Portrait)
- Models (Portrait)

Since my website is brand new there may be some glitches or broken links. If you notice anything please let me know so I can fix them! Otherwise, I hope you like the site! Next is a blog re-design haha.

Cheers,
Natalie

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Now playing: Black Tie Social – European Car Chase
via FoxyTunes

I will be taking part as one of the Volunteer Photographers on Friday, May 14th, which is the “GREASEmania” night! Saturday, May 15th, is Wizard of Oz night! You are encouraged to dress up for both or either nights, and there will be prizes for best costume! Tickets are $20 for each night and can be purchased at the VFF office (1215 Blanshard Street), see their website for more information!

(Quite fitting I think that I am covering the GREASEmania night, considering the Walk to Cure Diabetes’ theme is Grease this year! I am still collecting donations for that event)

Cheers,

Natalie

Yesterday I had the privilege of shooting Victoria’s FIRST Bacon Eating Contest at the Absolute Underground island headquarters! This was a pilot competition, with proceeds going to the United Way of Greater Victoria, and will hopefully be part of the Saanich Fair!

The competitors were:
Scott Harrian “Bacon Boy”; a trim 230lbs; height 5’10″; owner of Island Sports News & crispy bacon lover
vs
Photography Elf “Baconator”; an epic 73lbs; height 4’10.5″; photographer & bacon addict!

“Bacon Boy” was the victor by a mere 50grams of Bacon! Both competitors did a great job at attempting to consume their 3-5pounds of bacon each!

It was an ugly 10 minute battle, which was recorded by both Chek TV and A Channel, Absolute Underground, Jason Schultz and myself! I’ve got a mere 205 photographs of the competition itself to go through and show off to you all! I’ve got some great photographs..and some that just make you never want to eat bacon again(well..maybe not..)! Will have them up A.S.A.P for you to see!

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This coming Tuesday I will be covering the PLANTS & ANIMALS show at Sugar Nightclub with my videographer friends, and then we will be covering the FINAL FANTASY show at the Alix Goolden Hall the following Monday(10th)!!

Hopefully everything will go smoothly and I will have some great shots for you! We will be covering both the interviews before the sound check and the performances those nights!

I am also just waiting to hear back about shooting “SingCinema” on May 14th, which is the ultimate communal karaoke fundraising event for the Victoria Film Festival!

As well, at the end of the month I will once again be shooting with the one and only Mighty Apos! It’s always fun times with that dude, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the photographs as much as we’ll enjoy taking them!! I’ll give you a sneak preview: the shots will feature some sexy ladies, hobos and a megaphone!

Cheers for now,

Natalie

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Now playing: Gorillaz – Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach
via FoxyTunes

I have added some new photographs to the website, photographs from a HipHop show at Barcode Nightclub on February 25th, as well a recent photo shoot with the one-and-only Skulastic  from Nanaimo’s HipHop crew Skulastic + Konfidential.

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As a Juvenile Diabetic of 16years, helping the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation raise the funds it needs to help the lives of all Diabetics around the world is very important to myself and my family.

I’ve decided to donate 50% of all Portrait sessions to the the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, via my fundraising team(Donor Page), as a way to do my part to help.

If you book any Portrait session between now and the end of May, I will make this donation. Not only will you have photographs to show off to friends and family, but you will also be helping a very worthy cause. It’s win-win all around, and I hope you will take part!

If you would like to support this cause but do not have the time to book a Portrait session at the moment, donations can be made by:
Online: http://jdrfca.donordrive.com/participant/nwoods
In-Person cash or cheque by contacting me at 250-686-7161 or info@whenshuttersclick.com!

Even if you are only able to donate a few dollars, I hope you will consider doing so. Every penny counts and any donation is greatly appreciated! Individuals who donate $20 or more are issued a tax receipt after the June 13th event takes place.

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That’s all for now folks, Cheers!

I have decided to start a Referral Program for WSC! For every person refer, you get rewarded when they book!

Refer 1 person: receive an 8×10 print of your choice, free!

Refer 2 people: receive a Portrait For One package for $35.00!

Refer 3 to 5 people: receive a Portrait For One package free!

Refer 5 or more people: receive a Couples Portrait package for $100.00! *Can be used with a friend, child or partner.

In order to receive these prizes, the person will have to give your first/last name and e-mail/phone number when booking their session. You will be contacted after I have received their booking deposit, to claim your reward!

Cheers,

Natalie

While I was so excited to volunteer with the VFF Photo Team again this year, I fell ill with the cold just days after it started! What started off as a planned 13hours of photography coverage, ended up only being 4 1/2 hours!

I covered the Pre-Fest Bash and the Opening Gala the first weekend of the festival and have added those images to the site under the “Events” section of the website.

As well, I have added photographs to the “Behind the Scenes” section from the Liam Biggs music video. It was a pretty interesting set to be on and I can’t wait to see the final product! Enjoy!

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I am currently undergoing the long process of re-designing my website.

The first step? Figuring out what I want and where to find it. It’s the worst part of the process and I’m stuck! If anyone knows an affordable web-designer who can assist me in making a new layout that is user-friendly and easy to update, please send them my way!

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For a limited time I am offering free band photography kit!

You get a photo shoot, a show photography and a CD of the images for website/facebook/myspace use…all for free! I’m only offering this for bookings made in February. The shoot and show can take place as late as April for this offer, but you have to confirm a spot with me for the photo shoot/show before February 28th!

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This week I signed up for a Studio Lighting course through Luz Gallery in Victoria, BC. I can’t be more excited than I am! I have always worked with natural lighting outdoors and only moved into the studio when there’s been no choice. The whole reason being..natural light is easy to use, you can’t fiddle with it..you have to find a way to make it work for you. Studio lighting is changeable and takes experience/skill to use. I’m looking forward to building that experience/skill and start taking advantage of Studio space more often.

As well, this weekend I am buying a Holga 120N camera from Camera Traders and will be taking it out this weekend to experiment with. I look forward to processing the film and seeing the results! I will of course add any image worth showing off to the site.

That’s about all there is from me at the moment. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Cheers,

Natalie

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Now playing: Cold War Kids – Audience
via FoxyTunes

I have no new photographs to show off, but I will soon! This coming Saturday(Jan 23) is the “Rally to Resume Parliament” all over Canada, and I will be taking part in the Victoria Rally, camera in hand of course! As a result, I will have some photographs to show you next week! If you haven’t heard about the rally and would like more information, please check out the Canada-wise Facebook Event Page or the Victoria Event Page.

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Just a quick note about booking for photo sessions:
Due to volunteering with Victoria Film Festival again this year from January 29th until February 7th, I will be not be available for photo sessions and almost completely unreachable during that time.
If you contact me about a photo session, I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible. If you are able to contact me before the 29th or after the 7th, that would be ideal.

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Now onto Fundraising..there are two topics I am going to mention in this section: 1 – Haiti, 2 – Diabetes.

Haiti:
I’m sure everyone is aware of the earthquake that took place on January 12th. There are a lot of people suffering who need your help now! While there are various foundations collecting money, I have personally chosen the Canadian Red Cross Fund, Salvation Army Fund and the International Diabetes Federation Haiti Fund (there are over 300,000 Haitian’s with Diabetes who need supplies to stay alive!). Whether you choose one of those organizations or another, please remember there are still a lot of people out there with scam donation organizations trying to take advantage of those of us who want to help. Please select carefully!

If you are in the Victoria area, here are two fundraisers taking place:
Hope for Haiti (FB Event Page – Jan 28 @ Bear Mountain)
To Haiti with Love (FB Group Page – Gala Event Jan 22 @ UVic + Photo Marathon Fundraiser Jan 22)

Diabetes:
More specifically, Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes. I am participating for the 2nd time in Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s annual TELUS Walk to Cure Diabetes event taking place on June 13th at Beaver Lake, Victoria.

It’s true that with today’s technology, taking care of Diabetes has gotten easier, but it is still a daily struggle for over 300,000 Canadian Adults and Children! Canada has the 6th highest rate of type 1 diabetes in children 14 years of age or younger. I want to do my part to help those diabetics newly diagnosed and old timers like me have a chance to make this easier to deal with in day to day life.
My goal this year is to raise at least $460.00 (double what I raised in 2009). I hope that you will help me reach this goal, if not exceed it, for the 2010 event.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 16years ago just after my 6th birthday! I have been on Multiple Daily Injections of insulin for those 16years and calculated that based on my minimum required shots a day, I have taken over 20,000 shots in that time! This does not take into account additional shots for extra snacks/meals or blood sugar corrections! Children and Adults all over the world require Multiple Daily Injections of Insulin(or Insulin Pumps) to survive!

For information on how you can donate or assist me in raising funds, please go to the “Team Car RamRod – JDRF’s TELUS Walk to Cure Diabetes ’10” FB Group Page I have created. So far I am planning on hosting a Bottle Drive, Portraits by Donation, and a Live Music event in the months leading up to the walk. I would like to thank you in advance, whether you donated or passed the information along to friends who are effected by Type 1 diabetes.

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Well that is all from me for now folks! I’ll leave you with a link to a very peaceful and cute video: http://cuteanimals.todaysbigthing.com/2010/01/19

Cheers,
Natalie

New photographs are up on the website under “People” and I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. Went out with my friend Rachel on the weekend and did some shots
with one of my gas masks(yes, I have more than one). The first of many shoots I’m planning on doing in the next couple of months.

I have also updated the site an album called “Victoria Film Festival 2010″ which holds the Pre-Festival photographs and will be added to as I cover VFF events, obviously.

That’s about it from me for now. Still looking to book shoots in the future, so if you have any ideas please give me a shout!

Cheers, Natalie

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Now playing: The Dudes – Mr Someone Else
via FoxyTunes

Last night I was one of two photographers volunteering with the Victoria Film Festival to cover their Pre-Festival Bash. The bash, which took place at the Island FX Industrial Studios on John Street, was the program launch for their 2010 Festival attended by local “celebrities” and just some very lucky Film buffs! Food was provided by Sauce Restaurant & Lounge and Driftwood Brewery provided the refreshments, “Reel” beer which was created just for the VFF event!

Adam Sawatsky from A Channel hosted the event and ran a 106 second version of the  Olympic Torch Relay, showcasing the VFF iPhone Application & the Program Guide! Prizes were drawn, which included passes to the festival, “suvival” items like dental floss for after all that popcorn, and even some prizes from The Zone/The Q! For the FilmCan entries, Christina Robillard won the junior category(Sony HD Handycam in), and Emma-Lynn Whitman won in the senior category(iMac w/ Final Cut Express software). I have to say, even though I have an iMac..I was pretty jealous of the prize Emma-Lynn won from Soho Computers!

All in all, good time all around. I even managed to get out with one of the snazzy pink USB drives they were giving way which has an interactive program guide and the iPhone app(now I wish I had gotten one! Oh well, it’s my 2010 investment!)!

Photographs will be on the website soon, in their own fancy VFF 2010 gallery, but until then they are viewable on the When Shutters Click FB Fanpage!