Alexis McKeown :: photoblog

~ for my Momz ~

I am incredibly lucky to have an amazing mom.  And at risk of embarrassing one of this blog's few readers ;) I'm gonna tell you just a little bit about her (hi Mom!)

This woman is the reason I am who I am.  She gave me amazing tools to carry me through life by teaching me to value myself, to be caring, to work hard, to 'send ahead', and to remember that life is supposed to be full of fun.  She's a force to be reckoned with, sometimes a whirlwind (I mean that in the most loving way!) and always a pillar of strength for those who need her.  My mom and I developed a real friendship (beside the usual mother-daughter relationship) pretty early in my life; ever since I was about 16 or 17, we've been able to sit and have long, candid, inspiring conversations about life, love and the pursuit of happiness.  And those of you who know me well, know that these types of conversations, whomever they are with, are my absolute favourite and most valued pastime.

So thank-you, Mom, for teaching me how to have these conversations, for making them a priority in your life, and for continually inspiring me to be better. 

~

My beautiful mom in her 60th year ~ Happy Mother's Day & Happy Birthday Mom!

~ mountain atelier ~

Okay, the post title may seem a bit over the top, but I do dream of having a studio in Canmore that warrants a frenchified name like 'atelier' :)  For now, though, I'm happy to report that after a very busy winter of back-&-forth to the Parkhouse Studio, I am finally opening up my calendar to Canmore shoots!  Woot!  I'll still be up in Edmonton about once a month, but I'm really looking forward, now, to meeting new clients in my new mountain home.

Here's a little peek at the Canmore 'home studio' ...

 

...and a couple of images of the stunning Tara O, my latest Canmore client :)

~ parkhouse portraits ~

So, my dance photography season has stayed a little busier through the winter this year and I haven't had much chance to post here, but I have lots to share!

Besides having the lovely pleasure of photographing hundreds of talented young dancers - a job I absolutely love to do and feel so blessed to have in my life - I have been slowly building up the portrait & beauty side of my business over the past few months.  And I am super excited about it :) If you haven't checked out the new website, take a peek here!

Since the big move last September, Conor and I have been enjoying life in Canmore; the mountains are an amazing place to live and to work.  And I get the best of both worlds, since I'm traveling back to Edmonton about once a month to visit dance studios, see my close friends, and to shoot portraits at what is lovingly known by my inner circle as "The Parkhouse".  

The Parkhouse has been slightly altered recently ~ we could almost call it "The Parkhouse Studio" now :D  The large front room has been rearranged to create a beautiful, airy, natural light studio & a viewing area so that I can present images to my clients larger-than-life, on the big screen.  What do you think?

(The table in the photo on the left/bottom is a very special piece created by my amazingly talented brother, Dane Saunders. I just thought I'd share that with you because a) I am such a proud big sis, and b) everyone who sees the table asks about it!)

 

I am having tons o' fun working in this space!  Here are two of my favourite images created, so far, in The Parkhouse Studio.

(More images of these two beauties will be on the blog soon...)

 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope all is well in your world :)

~ happy 2013 ~

Hello & Happy New Year Friends!

I hope each and every one of you had a lovely, relaxing and refreshing holiday season and that 2013 has started out beautifully!

My little photography business and I had a very eventful 2012 and although I don't want to bombard you with every detail, I wanted to share a couple of things with you :)

The first is that, in fulfilling a life-long dream of Conor's, (Conor, whom many of you have met, is my lovely husband/assistant/second shooter/lighting designer/support network/chef) we've moved to the mountains!  I am now operating out of a cozy home office in Canmore, AB and I feel so blessed every day when I see the immense beauty that surrounds me here.  I travel to & from Edmonton often, since so many of you - my valued clients and amazing friends - are there, and I hope that if any of you are ever in the Canmore/Banff area, you will let me know!

   I'm certainly no landscape photog, but I can't get enough of instagramming the mountains ;)

The second bit of news is that I have introduced a new 'arm' to my business which I am super excited about.  Dance photography is my first love, and will of course remain the cornerstone of my business, but I have started to take on non-dance portraiture as well.  I've always been so inspired by each new face and personality that I meet (not to mention by the stunning portrait work in the stacks and stacks of Vanity Fair & Vogue magazines I seem to collect year after year!) and working as a portrait artist has been a dream of mine since I got my first camera as a young teen.

The portrait work I'm doing is mainly with women of all ages and walks of life - of course the boys are always welcome as well, though :P  My shoots are a blast - we get to have fun with hair and make-up, play dress-up, and then I have the honour of creating beautiful images to go along with this experience, images that will remind each of the women I work with that she is a true beauty.  (I guess you can see why I am so excited about this new addition to my business, hey?)

I am feeling very grateful that I get to meet new people all the time, I get to 'play' in the studio with amazing young dancers, and I get to do what I love.  Thank-you so much for being an important part of what makes this possible!  I appreciate all of your support so sincerely.

I'd love to hear about how your 2012 was, or even better, about what your wishes are for 2013! Drop me a line here, or through alexismckeown.com (after you check out my new portrait work!!)  And if you are into Facebook, maybe we could even be friends there :P

Wishing you much love, time and adventure in the coming year...

~Alexis

~ just around the corner ~

New things are a-stirring at Alexis McKeown Photography... 

~