New Website!

This has been in the works for quite a while and I am happy to announce that my brand spanking new website is up and running for your viewing pleasure! It is loaded with tons of never before shared images so take a few minutes and head on over to the new site at www.psphotographics.com. I would love to hear what you all think :)

Patricia

Introducing Tristan - Newborn Photo Session

The following images are from the first official photo session with my little nephew, Tristan. He was a whole whopping three days old when I snapped these and he was a complete natural in front of the camera. I am pretty sure that by the time he is up and walking he will be so sick of seeing my camera in his face that he will start running in the other direction as I approach. I'll sneak in as many shots of him as I can while he is unable to protest :) 












Congratulations Janine and Arthur on the newest addition to your family! And thank you for giving me such a cute nephew :)

Love Patricia xoxo

The Birth of Tristan (my nephew!) - Birth Photography Coverage

My little sister is officially all grown up. A few weeks after my sister Janine got married last year (see pics here) I received a phone call from her. She told me that she had some big news and I was instantly curious. "You're going to be an aunt!" she said excitedly into the phone. To understand my response to this you must first understand that my sister and her husband have a little pomeranian dog, Odie, that literally goes everywhere with them and they have spoiled like a child since the day that they brought him home. When Janine informed me that I was going to be an aunt I automatically assumed that they were getting another dog because Odie is often referred to jokingly as my nephew. "Oh my god! Are you getting another puppy?!" was definitely not the reaction that my sister was expecting from me. Once she explained that she was pregnant I was flooded with emotions. The reality that my little sister was going to be a mother took a few days to sink in. The excitement that I was going to be a first time aunt hit me right away!

Tristan James Creelman was born at 6:35am on May 8th 2009. He weighed 6lbs 8oz and I fell in love with him as soon as I layed eyes on him (even though he was born with quite the cone head!). All joking aside, I absolutely love this little guy and look forward to watching him grow and spoiling him like crazy.

I wasn't lying! He really did have a big cone head!

Checking out his grammie.

My dad...such a proud grandpa. He can't wait until this kid is old enough to go for drives with him on the Harley Davidson!

The proud papa!

Winking at his mommy :)

The proud parents :)

I will be sharing photos from Janine's maternity session in the next few days and also a few newborn pics of Tristan that I took when he was three days old so stay tuned for more photos!

Love Patricia

So Far Behind & Photos of Baby "E"

I am so far behind in posting images from sessions that it is not even funny! I have a folder of finished sessions from as far back as last year sitting on my desktop containing images that I have not yet blogged. Things have just been so crazy busy that my poor blog suffers the most neglect. I am going to try my best to upload and share images from all of the sessions that I have photographed over the past few months.

Here are a few images from a session with baby "E" and her family. I photographed baby "E" once before (check out those images here!) and she has grown so much since the last time that I saw her!

The Miracle of Life - Birth Photography Coverage

"Do you have any children?" I am asked this question on a regular basis. My response is usually "No. But I have three fur babies (referring to my cats). Does that count?"

I am 30 years old and feel my maternal clock ticking, especially every time that I photograph an adorable child. I photograph newborns, toddlers, school aged children...I am basically surrounded by kids all the time. I love their innocence, their honesty and their energy. They are untouched by the harshness that the world can throw at us. There is such beauty in their purity and the way that they seem to view the world.

The day that my good friend Christina found out that she was expecting her second child, she phoned me right away. Her excitement was contagious! She asked if I would photograph the birth of her baby. and without hesitation I said, "Yes. Definitely!" It was later that the realities of this request really started to sink in. I had never witnessed the actual birth of a child. I had watched TLC's "A Baby Story" with fascination from time to time, but that was the closest that I had ever come to witnessing the miracle of life. I knew that I was in for an experience that I would never forget.

In the months leading up to the due date, Christina and I discussed the logistics of my presence during the birth. We decided that during the birth I would position myself next to Christina and photograph everything from her bedside. We both agreed that I would document the moments and emotions surrounding the birth of her baby, not the "actual" birth.

On the big day, I received the call that I had been preparing for. It was go time! I met Christina and her husband, Tim, at the hospital and began to document the birth of their child. It took a little while for things to really get going but once everything was underway I was busy snapping away with my camera.

I feel like I do not have the right words to describe what it was like to be present for the birth of a child. Watching "A Baby Story" does not even begin to come close to the real thing. One minute there were six of us in the room and the next second there were seven. It was the most amazing thing that I have ever witnessed. The air in the room was thick with so many different emotions and everything seemed to be happening at warp speed. I had to remind myself a few times to keep shooting! I was in such awe of everything that was happening. I wiped tears away from behind my camera as I witnessed Tim's tears at the first sight of his new daughter. I smiled as I captured images of this brand new life with her parents.

I am so glad that I was able to document such an extraordinary event for Christina and Tim. I will never forget the moment that baby Clara came into this world. Being present for such an amazing moment has reminded me of the beauty that life has to offer.

Love Patricia

Winners of the 2009 Wedding Photography Giveaway!!

First let me start by saying that I was thrilled with the response to our 2009 Wedding Photography Giveaway. This is the second year that we held this contest and I hope that it continues to grow each year. As an entrepreneur, I have watched my business grow with the help of so many individuals and I look forward to a future that allows me to continue to pursue my passions in life. It feels wonderful to be able to "pay it forward" and give a deserving couple the gift of wedding photography.

Thank you so much to everyone that sent in their stories and took part in this contest. Each story was touching and unique...which made our job choosing one lucky couple that much harder! Our panel of judges definitely had their work cut out for them :)

It gives me great pleasure to offer a big congratulations to Erin Smiley and Darrell Fardy! They are the lucky winners of the "Wedding Photography Giveaway"!

This is what Erin wrote:

" Dear Patricia,
 
 
I started to write you a letter to tell you about mine and Darrell’s modern romance, complete with how we met via computer and how we survived the loss of his job when the mill shut down in Miramichi, and how after a lot of stress and struggle and “what ifs?” we wound up engaged and happy, living back home in Nova Scotia. Instead, I decided to just tell you who we are: 

We are Erin Smiley and Darrell Fardy. 

We believe our surnames sound very silly together. 

We believe, even when blindsided, that we are writing our own story. 

We believe marriage still has a role in the modern world and that we would like to be role models.  

We believe in being more silly than serious if it won’t cause trouble, and sometimes when it will. 

We believe in unexpected angles; nothing is black and white. 

We believe that weddings are an adventure, not a well-oiled machine. 

We believe that friends are family. 

We believe in getting married in a place that has wound itself around our lives like a vine-- or perhaps we have wound our lives around the place.   

We believe we met for a reason and that, in ways both magnanimous and miniscule, we are better people because of each other. 

We believe that we can’t afford our house, but that it is perfect for us. 

We believe in sharing our home with at least one dog and two cats. 

We believe in having children, even when the world seems precarious – because the future needs good people and we are up for the challenge.  

We believe in the primal power of music and in drunkenly dancing on each other’s toes. 

And finally, 
We believe in having one wedding picture in which we are both smiling and no one has googley eyes or a crooked tie—one that we both agree is breathtaking and captures the excitement and emotion of the day—one that we can blow up and place over our sofa and stare at every day, sighing with happiness.
 
Patricia, we’ve seen your work and are both entranced by your eye for detail. Money is tight, as it is for us all, and we know we will not be able to afford the photography package of our dreams. If you would help us create a special heirloom for our future family, we will be over the moon. 
 
 
Yours Truly, 
Erin Smiley and Darrell Fardy "


Erin and Darrell are getting married on August 15th in Wallace Bay, NS. They are renting a tent and having the reception and ceremony on the lawn of Erin's family's farmhouse, where she spent the majority of her childhood summers.

The photo that Erin sent to us was taken a year ago on the eve of her move to Nova Scotia and the end of 6 long months of living in separate provinces. 

I am soooo looking forward to photographing Erin and Darrell's wedding!! They have also won an engagement photo session with yours truly, Erin's wedding day makeup will be provided by Lina Hussain of Lina Hussain Makeup Artistry and her hair will be styled by Christina Sands of Endless Beauty.

Congratulations guys and I can't wait to meet you!!!
Patricia

2009 Wedding Photography Giveaway!

I have been busting to make this announcement! The success of 2008's contest convinced us to offer this great giveaway once again! One very lucky couple will win an engagement photo session and a full day of wedding photography coverage provided by Patricia Sampson Photo Graphics, the bride's "do" on her wedding day provided by Christina Garagan of Endless Beauty Hair Salon and the bride's makeup provided by Lina Hussain of Lina Hussain Makeup Artistry. 

We are looking for a deserving couple to nominate themselves or to be nominated by someone else.

Rules

Deadline
Contest opens on February 25th, 2009 and closes on March 25th, 2009. Winners will be announced and contacted by phone on April 1st, 2009.

Requirements
This giveaway is open to anyone planning to be married between May 2009 and December 2009 (subject to Patricia Sampson Photo Graphics' availability) anywhere in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Anyone that is planning to be married outside of the HRM is also welcome to enter but will be required to pay for travel expenses.

We would love to honor a couple who deserves this amazing offer, so we are looking for couples with a great story. Do you know of a worthy couple? Others may enter this contest on behalf of a couple who they think are great and deserve to win!


How To Enter
Tell us your story and make us fall in love with you! Send the story to psphotographics@gmail.com with "Wedding Photography Giveaway" in the subject line. Stories should be no longer than 1500 words (well, unless it is such an amazing story and it couldn't possibly be told in less.) Also please include a photo of yourselves in JPG format, the wedding date, location, full names and contact information.

Just to clarify...couples do not have to have overcome great odds, we just want to hear your story and a little bit about you. Tell us how you met, how you fell in love, all about the proposal or all the details in between. A selected panel of judges will choose the winners.

What You Will Win

Wedding Photography
• Wedding consultation with Patricia Sampson Photo Graphics
• Full day of wedding photography coverage provided by Patricia Sampson Photo Graphics (up to 8 hours)
• 8 hours of photo coverage on the wedding day by Patricia Sampson and an assistant second shooter
• Up to 100 fully edited high resolution digital files (Digital Negatives) of the best images from the wedding day (chosen and edited by Patricia Sampson) provided on DVD

Engagement Photography
• One hour outdoor engagement session provided by Patricia Sampson Photo Graphics
• 5 fully edited high resolution digital files (Digital Negatives) of the best images from the engagement session (chosen and edited by Patricia Sampson) provided on CD

Hair
• Bridal "do" provided by Christina Garagan of Endless Beauty Hair Salon

Makeup
• Bridal makeup provided by Lina Hussain of Lina Hussain Makeup Artistry


Restrictions
Wedding must take place between May 2009 and December 2009. Individuals who have already signed a contract with Patricia Sampson Photo Graphics for 2009 wedding photography coverage are not eligible to enter.

** Forward this information along to anyone that you think may be interested!! If you are a business or individual who would like to donate something to the winners of this contest, please contact Patricia ASAP via e-mail at psphotographics@gmail.com. Anything that you can do to help make this contest even more fantastic will be greatly appreciated.

Good luck to all of the contestants!

Tiffany and George were the winners of the 2008 Win Your Wedding Photography Contest. We had such a blast getting to know them! Here are a few of our favorite shots from their engagement session and wedding day.