aitalk

ar·ti·cle     {ahr-ti-kuhl}

n.     a written composition in prose, usually nonfiction, on a specific topic, forming an independent part of a book or other publication, as a newspaper or magazine.

I just got an email from one of our clients, Manitoba Conservative MLA Mavis Taillieu, who is the provincial representative for Morris.  Her email had a link to an article about her Christmas card in the Winnipeg Free Press.  Of course, we took the portrait for it.  

Here is an excerpt from the article found on the Winnpeg Free Press’ website:

Capital Chronicles with Mia Rabson  |  Winnipeg Free Press  |  Dec, 16, 2009

“But so far the best holiday card photo I’ve seen has to be that of Manitoba Conservative MLA Mavis Taillieu. The provincial representative for Morris is standing with her husband and two sons under a tree in a park-like setting. It is pouring rain and they are huddled under an umbrella and Taillieu is hunched into herself, arms crossed around herself for warmth and looks like she is positively freezing.

At first I wondered why they wouldn’t have just rescheduled the photo shoot if the weather were that horrible. Then I thought hey, bravo to Mavis. First of all, with the wet, cold weather of 2009, finding a day when it wasn’t raining was about as easy as it is to find Waldo at a convention of red-hatted people.

Plus that photo is in many ways symbolic of the year that was. For 2009 will not go down in history as a year many people want to remember. From the economic meltdown and major government deficits, growing unemployment lines, H1N1, you name it, It kind of feels a bit like the entire year was spent under a rain cloud. That picture just kind of personifies it.”

a not so typical Family Fall Portrait

The story behind the photo….A couple of years back we had done a portrait of her and her husband for her Christmas card.  This year, her two sons were coming in for Thanksgiving weekend, so we scheduled a family session to photograph them in their home and outdoors on a walking path that she often walks on near her home.  Mavis really wanted fall colours and the popular, beautiful fall portrait.  When we got to the location, just as I was about to click the shutter it started to snow. Not just a light fluffy snow, but a outright downpour of wet snow.  We waited in the cars for about 10 minutes hoping it would blow by, but it didn’t, so I said…well I have an umbrella, lets just go for it.  So we did a fun one with the umbrella to capture the moment and then did some without.  It was soo much fun.  We also headed back to her house to do some more inside.  But we all felt that the snow shots were fun and couldn’t wait to see them.
When Mavis came to view the images, she decided almost immediately that the umbrella portrait would be her Christmas card.  She loved that it was different and so did I.

I think she made the right choice  It just goes to show, that no matter what the weather, a professional photographer can “make it work!” as Tim Gunn (from the hit Bravo TV’s show by Heidi Klum…Project Runway) says.