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Brrr... chuckles

Ok, another off-the-topic little story that just made me howl with laughter. This would be the same couple I got that other little story from, the one with the teenie ice cream spoon.

This is how this new conversation went:

Him: "I'm soo cold...!!"
Her: "Really?"
Him: "Yes... I'm SOOO COLD!"
Her: "Maybe you're coming down with a cold or something."
Him: "Maybe I just ate twelve popcicles."

Honest to God. I can't make this stuff up!

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You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography – $2000's worth, to be exact; this gift would include a session with me, a custom album and a selection of prints.

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments on a two-million-dollar-home does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Toronto.

What to do:

* Tell me who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well. E-mail me the full story at: josee@joseecaza.com and make the subject line in your e-mail: "A Hero I Know"

The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve… get nominating! If you don't know anyone, pass along this e-mail to everyone you know so that we can find that special family together.

Open your heart to someone this holiday season – and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

Coming up for air...

For just a quick note!

If there are still folks out there who haven't come in for portraits yet and are thinking about it, there are still a few available days to book before the studio shuts down for the holidays. 2009 Pricing will come into effect on January 1st, so if you can sneak in before then, give me a call and take advantage of the last two weeks of the 2008 pricing schedule.

And for my loyal blog subscribers.. don't give up on me yet, I still have a lot of pretty portraits and lovely things to share about the clients I've seen in the past couple of whirlwind weeks! Stay tuned... I'm hoping to start yak-yak-yaking away on here very shortly! :)

Dance Parties & Natural Rubber Non-Toxic Assistants

This week has hands down been the busiest week of the year for me. My head is spinning with three consecutive to-do lists at all times, and it's hard for me to stop thinking about work even as my head hits the pillow.

How do I keep going? I have this playlist on my iTunes with a dozen songs that I can't help but move to. Whenever I get tired, or just before a session, I crank the "Move it!" playlist and dance around the loft for a solid ten minutes to get my energy back up. It began as a necessary thing to do... but I have to confess I've done it a few times this week just for the heck of it. You should try it sometime!

WELL. It's time I fess up and admit that sometimes (well okay, a lot of times), it's not just me evoking the smiles and giggles from gurgling babies. I have an assistant whose name is Sophie. Funny enough, I never really "hired" her myself... but she comes included with about 99% of families that arrive at the studio with a young baby. She's brilliant with kids. If only she could edit!!

A little midnight pick-me-up

I usually don't blog much when it comes to my personal life, but I just laughed so hard I have to share it with the whole world. I was sitting here swamped with editing and holiday card designing, and a friend of mine dinged me on Messenger with something funny her husband said to her tonight.

And I'm just all about sharing smiles & laughter. So here's how the conversation went:

Her: I'm going downstairs, you want anything from there?
Him: I have a small request.
Her: Shoot.
Him: Can you please get me some ice cream... but the important thing is that you have to get me teenie spoon. You know, that little spoon. I always eat ice cream with that small spoon.
Her: Ok... Teeny spoon. Got it. So how much ice cream do you want?
Him: The whole tub, please.

I kid you not. I know them too well to doubt any part of that conversation. I should add this man is like 6'2. Did you spit-laugh on your monitor, too? :)

My Daylight Savings Shoot

Today I met Aiden and Liam for a shoot. Mum & Dad were worried that Liam would be very timid but this little cookie turned into an instant ham for me and breezed on right through the session. Aiden suffered a little because his nap schedule didn't really agree with the daylight savings switch, but I think we managed quite well, all things considered!

When I'm photographing families, I try to do more than photograph what they look like; I want to be able to show what it feels like to be a part of this family. I must have hit the target with these folks because I was smiling ear to ear while going over their portraits... have a peek! Can you feel how much fun they are??













This is where we started to lose Aiden... I just can't resist that baby drama! After that shot though was the moment that made me bust a gut at the session. When Aiden started to lose it, we asked Liam if he could make Aiden laugh, and he happily obliged.. but to no avail! That's when he threw his arms up and gave me that "Sorry! Can't help you!" look, which made me laugh so hard I think Liam might think I'm a little crazy now!

It ain't over till it's over!

Well, just when I thought Halloween was over & done with, my neighbor Amy tells me about the Pumpkin Parade that happens every year at Sauroren Park in Parkdale where hundreds of people bring over their pumpkins and put them out to line the park. How awesome is that??? I didn't think twice; grabbed my camera and hopped in the car to go check it out. There were over 1200 pumpkins there!

So if you missed it this year, here's a peek of it through my eyes... but I'll see you there next year, right??

Happy Halloween, little frogs & princesses!

Me & my little surrogate niece Clare did it up in style today. Her mum Natasha made me a hood for my Little Red Riding Hood costume and couldn't resist making one for her little princess too, so I got to hang out with Clare today, and how could we resist snapping a few shots of this??

Thanks again so much, Natasha... and happy candy sorting, everyone!!





Um... if I look totally overjoyed here, it's because I am. I love Clare Bear.

Jingle What?

Jingle Bells, ladies & gentlemen! I know you don’t want to think about it yet, but before it’s too late, let’s talk about holiday deadlines!

I’ll be closing the studio from December 13th to January 2nd. The calendar on my website was recently updated with all available sessions before the holidays. If you’re expecting a newborn while I'm on holidays, please let me know. I will be photographing newborns while in the city.

Here are the Holiday deadlines:

All sessions with holiday gifting in mind must take place before November 15th
Holiday card orders placed before December 1st
Print & gallery-wrapped canvas orders placed before December 1st
Jewelry ordered before November 15th

I will be shooting after the November 15th deadline, but there will be no promises made for prints or gifts on time for the holidays.

Happy shopping, everybody! Better get on it before the malls get kooky!

Havin' a Hoot!

Oh my word, I had so much fun this morning with Phin! What a FLIRT, this one! His dads wanted him in here before he cut his first tooth, and we just about barely made it! Check him out... those little teefs are comin!

I must have sat here half an hour trying to narrow down what I wanted to show on here. Between that little faux-hawk and that grin, and those big shiny eyes, I had quite the time deciding what were my favorites! I'm quite fond of the squish-the-papa shots. I'm usually lucky to get a nice cuddly little hand on a parent's face but Phin had plenty of those in store for me today!

Have a look at these... a guaranteed grin, I tell ya.

Wee lil' Josh

I had a treat this saturday morning when I got to see how much Josh has grown! I met him for the first time when he was a wee lil' newborn, and even got to see him bust a few moves when he was in his mummy's belly!

Look at him now, he's coming along quite nicely if you ask me!




This time his fur-brother Jack was invited along for a few snaps. How cute are they??? Jack is adorable when he gives Josh kisses.

Unbearably Beautiful

I'm still smiling when I think about Tamara's kids. First of all, I have a new best friend named Sean.



He's adorable, he's clever, and very funny. I adore having conversations with toddlers, they are so expressive with their faces and bodies when they talk. I could have a wall with 36 different beautiful images of Sean when we talked about lunch. But here are my favorite four!






And then there was a little princess named Amelia. Brace yourselves, this one's got eyelashes that go until the end of time. I loved everything about her; those big wide eyes, that little button nose, that cute little rosebud mouth. What a DOLL!!

Over the Moon

This Thursday I met with two beautiful little spirits named Liam and Dylan. I met Liam for the first time two years ago when he was just a lil' baby cookie. He had the same big eyes as his new little brother, the same chubby cheeks, and the same awesome chub all over. Dylan was easy peasy throughout the shoot, whenever we put him down he was a perfect little subject. Liam was hilarious because my best shots of him came with the help of raisins & crackers, believe it or not!