american beauty

i can't even tell you - this girl is amazing.  totes gorge (for those of you who are unfamiliar with abbrevs, that's "totally gorgeous").

i don't know how she does it, but in approximately 2.2 seconds she's able to go from "i'm super hot"...

...to "i'm the cutest person on the planet".

you inspire me.  your positivity, willingness to learn and ability to see good in people...you're wise beyond your years, honey.  maybe i can be a little more like you when i grow up.

we spent the afternoon under the overpass and anticipating that we might be intruding on someone's winter home, brought some fresh chocolate chip cookies along to share.  we were sad not to encounter anyone, but pleased to see that abbotsford seems to be doing its job in taking care of those with no homes in these cold months.  thank you to places like the food bank and cyrus centre - please continue to support these services with your time and money.  they can't do it without us!

my husband

is the best husband.  for me, at least.

for my birthday, which was in may, he surprised me with tickets to see my favorite band.  like, "i've been listening to them ever since i was 14" favorite.  and not just anywhere, but in their hometown of cincinnati, ohio.  and not just one concert, but three.  including an exclusive "soiree" on sunday with an acoustic set and a chance to mingle with the musicians.

can i get a what what?

so this weekend, me and my main squeeze are dashing away on a romantic pre-christmas trip, full of snow, sleep and music.  so much good(maybe the best) music.  did i mention our trip will also be filled with airports?  we booked it on points, so i think it's going to take us as long to get to ohio as it would to get to india.  but who cares?  all the more time to read, sleep, wander, people watch...because did i mention we're not bringing the kids?  mmhmm.

need another reason my husband is the best?

he's super talented.  and yes, i'm about to shamelessly promote him.  what good is a blog if you can't put in a plug for family now and then?!  he just started his own business called cliff house productions.  he's a performer, speaker, comedian, personal chef (if you like mac & cheese or peanut butter sandwiches), juggler (of a maximum of three balls)...jack of all trades.  hire him for your staff party, church banquet, school assembly, wedding reception...he pretty much does it all.  he also makes a fairly convincing santa.  i'm not kidding.  e-mail him...or me.  and i'll pass it on.  because we live together.  because he's my husband.

he's producing his own variety show on april fools day in abbotsford, so stay tuned for more details...he might even spare a few tickets for me to give away!

p.s.  here's another of our road trip family pictures for your viewing pleasure.  lake superior.  it would have been almost perfect, were it not for that amazing husband i've been raving about.  best. face. ever.

this sounds like a "last post of the year", but it's not.

some of you have asked about the name change.  i recently updated my blog header and for all you super astute people out there, you noticed that it now says "sharalee prang photography" instead of "images of life".

when i first started out, i wanted to come up with a name for my business that really reflected what i did.  and i believe images of life was just that.  there's so much summed up in those three words...pictures, love, creation, memories, nature...it's all about what i love to do - to capture people in their most comfortable place, a place that's fun and filled with people they love and exudes LIFE.  to draw out real emotions and create art out of them.

as i have evolved and grown and looked to build over the last few years, i've come to a place where i realize it's more than what i do that matters, it's who i am.  for some of you that may sound like a silly/cheesy/late bloomer type revelation, but that's okay.  i want to be someone who is authentic, who people trust and who actually has my priorities straight!  a lovely woman and amazing photographer named natalie once told me, "there is only one you".  and as cliche as that may sound, it's true!  i can't be duplicated.  i am a unique creation of an all knowing God who made me to be totally different than any other creation on this planet.  he's given me gifts and asked me to share them with others.  he's enabled me to love and to create, which is such a sweet deal!

SO, i figured my name needed to reflect those things.  and there is no name that can actually wholly represent me other than my own.  plus, it's way easier to just introduce myself than have to say (in a snooty nasal voice) "i'm sharalee.  of images of life photography.  as if you don't know me."

"why the personal reveal?' you may ask.  well, when i'm taking pictures my clients are in a somewhat vulnerable position and i expect them to open up to me, so the least i can do is return the favor.

i'm also so so so so excited to announce that i'm finally working on an honest to goodness, real life website!  well, I'M not working on it, but the talented joe malleck of malleck design co. is.  i got to take his family pictures last month and am so glad he's been willing to take on this project.  i can't even tell you...i'm really excited.  a dear friend of mine has done a beautiful illustration for me which i'm building the site around.  it's going to be ready sometime early next year, so stay tuned!

to those who have hired me: you've not only inspired me, you've actually helped put food on my table, so for that i am forever indebted to you!  for those of you that are interested in working with me: i can't wait to meet you!  one of the best parts of my job is all the amazing people that i get to hang out with that i may never cross paths with were it not for this crazy business.  and to all who just read because, like staring at a car wreck, you just can't help yourselves: welcome!  i love hearing from you and truly hope that your time spent here is more than a way to procrastinate doing papers or housework (though i fully endorse both those things).  thank you for your support - i'm excited for this next leg of the journey!

p.s. this is not my last post of the year.  i'm just feeling nostalgic and hopeful all at the same time and couldn't help but verbally explode all over the blog.  apologies to anyone caught in the crossfire.)
p.p.s.  we had planned to put out a christmas card this year with all the freakin bizarro family pictures we took on our trip across canada, but here we are at december 10th and no such card has been made or sent, so i'm going to treat you to one of my favorites.  southern alberta bible camp.  day 4-ish?  clearly, 4 days together in a motorhome has already driven us mad.  completely batty.

p.p.s. if you are not already familiar with natalie norton, go now.  familiarize yourself.  i seriously learned (and continue to learn) so much from this woman not only about the photography business, but about how to live.  if you have a chance, go to her envision workshop.  fly, drive, train, bus...get there.  seriously.

run for my money

this little guy made me work.  which is good!  because i'm not working out regularly right now and every once in awhile a girl needs a good sweat.

he is so cute.  which is also good because i knew if i was patient enough to wait him out i was going to get great smiles.  and i did.  for about 5 minutes.  in all fairness, it was freezing cold outside, the biting windy kind of cold that when you're sitting inside by your fireplace looks beautiful, but when you're climbing the icy paths of discovery trail with nearly frostbitten fingers, is not quite as quaint.  and there were injuries.  slips and blackberry bushes and splinters.

so all in all, he was amazing.  and i like tough cookies because it makes it all the more rewarding when they crack.  even for a moment.  

i'm just sad that it was so cold, i couldn't even get a picture of jen's sweet baby bump because she didn't dare take her coat off!

the way it works.

this is my office.

for those of you who don't know, our family lives in a very small corner of a very large house.  we are part of a community made up of 12 adults and 4 children (the newest addition is only 3 days old!).  we love our house and we love our housemates, but sharing life and space does present some challenges.  one being: where do we fit everything/everyone?  

i thought some of you might be interested in getting a little glimpse behind closed doors to see what the glamorous life of sharalee prang is all about.  for those of you who are not interested, simply close this window, take a deep breath and be glad the next few minutes of your life were not wasted away hearing me talk about dirty diapers and lack of sleep.  but for the rest of you sickos, here we go. 

i figured this picture needed a legend to give you a broader view of what's all goin down here.

1. the sink.  where i mixed simon's bottle at 4:30 this morning.  where i wash my coffee mugs.  where the warm sudsy water sits for a day until it is no longer warm nor sudsy and i have to reach my hand in and pull the plug out.

2. where all my little papers and discs and business cards and random odds and ends that a pack rat such as i will be stored.  maybe an envelope with your name and a stamp on it will sit there someday soon.

3. my desk.  it has not been ideal, but it certainly has served it's purpose.  the top flips down and there are some nifty compartments inside, all of which are currently empty (thanks to my amazing husband who just moved this in for me and gave me a great reason to organize).  behind that door also sits my precious camera.  so if you ever break in, you know where to go first.

4.  my 10 year old $10 ikea plastic chair (all the chiropractors around the world unite in a collective scream).  it is far from ergonomically correct.  my physiotherapist and my carpel tunnel can attest to that.  though, hanging on the back is a cute sweater i just got at the last clothing swap i had with my girls (holla ladies!).

5.  my daughter's doll high chair.  i suppose i could have cleaned up before i took this picture.  but that just wouldn't have been an honest representation.

6.  the beautiful african print my husband bought for me in san francisco when i was pregnant with our first child.

7. the chair i rocked simon to sleep in at 4:30 this morning when the aforementioned bottle didn't work.

8.  the doll bed full of the kids dress up clothes.  at last check, it housed dragon, zebra, monkey and giraffe costumes, as well as a mexican wrestling mask and "princess" shin pads.

9.  our bedroom.  when i'm working at night, cliff is close enough to hear me snickering at my sister's blog posts, but far enough that he can actually still fall asleep with the door open.

10.  my beloved mac.  i don't want to hear from no haters out there.

11.  cliff's laptop.  isn't that romantic?  he lets me use the chair.

12. the room our three children (ages 4, 2 and 1) share.  when i'm working at night, i'm close enough to hear allie singing "the lion sleeps tonight" and she's close enough to hear me say, "SHHHH.  your brothers are trying to sleep!"

13.  a print from the amazingly talented jennifer judd-mcgee.  i just found out she's having a sale at her etsy shop, so i'm going shopping for next year's wedding gifts!

so now when you get an e-mail from me at an ungodly hour or you call and hear screaming in the background, you have a little context.  and if you have any suggestions for ways i could better use/beautify that space, please let me know!!  

picture yourself

can you picture yourself on this christmas card?

how about this one?

well, stop picturing yourself and make a comment on the blog to win a free design with YOU in it!  the lovely shari from dolcetto designs is offering a free digital design ($18 value) to the winner of this contest.  basically, that means you submit photos and the content you'd like to include and she works her magic and voila!

she will e-mail you the design and you can make as many copies as you like.  she has over 100 different christmas card design options on her website, so there's no doubt you will find one you love.  probably more than one!  don't they look great?  if you're saying to yourself, "aw man, i don't have any pictures to put in a card like this", why don't you give me a call?  if you win this and don't have pictures, i will guarantee a session spot for you before christmas so you have these in time to give to all of your loved ones.  or you could save it for the new year and have birth announcements or thank you cards made...the options are endless!

so leave a comment here and if you want an extra entry, go and "like" dolcetto designs facebook page and then come back here to tell me you did it!  if you haven't become a fan of my facebook page yet, do that and i'll give you another entry as well.  you have until midnight pst on friday to enter.  happy winning!

drum roll please...

okay, the moment you've all been waiting for...the winners of the contests!

now i know there's fancy on-line software that can run these kinds of contests for you, but how much more fun is it to actually draw OUT OF A HAT!  infinitely more fun, i tell you.  especially when you have an assistant as cute as mine.

as you can see, this method is totally unbiased.  the winners are...

the set of 3 frames:

and the 50% off photo session:

congratulations, ladies!  I'll be in touch.  for all you vintage frame lovers out there that didn't win this time around, adrienne has more to sell.  she could even turn them into chalkboards like she did with this one...which i already bought from her :)  be sure to follow her blog as she's in the midst of a "30 day blogging spree" and she's showing new projects everyday.

and because i'm in the spirit of giving, anyone who commented on my "100" blog post and didn't win the 50% off is eligible for 10% off a booking if you set up an appointment with me in the next two weeks.

one last thing...stay tuned for a new contest this week starting tomorrow...it's perfect timing if you still haven't made your christmas card...(hint, hint).

sorry!

i know some of you have been waiting, but we just had to get all of our ducks in a row before we made the big reveal for the latest giveaway!

meet my incredible friend, adrienne.

her creativity and eye for design is so inspiring.  we've gotten to know each other over the past year and i just LOVE her family.

she has also started her own business doing something she loves and is very gifted at.  she has so graciously agreed to give away three vintage frames that she re-finished this week!  i think they would be an amazing compliment to any home, whether it's framing sweet prints for your child's room or featuring the family pictures i took of you (hint hint) on your living room wall.  they would also make amazing gifts!

to enter: all you gotta do is leave a comment here.  want an extra entry?  go to adrienne's blog and leave a comment there too.  the best part?  you don't even have to live in the lower mainland to win.  we'll ship!!  contest ends tomorrow, sunday the 28th at midnight pst.  good luck! (i'm kind of sad i'm disqualified because i'd like to win these).  i'll also be drawing for a 50% off portrait session tomorrow night, so leave a comment on my "100"post to win that too!

a beautiful day in the neighborhood

as some of you know, we live right across the road from the sikh temple.  i took this picture last fall when i was playing with my kids at the park.  the pigeons are often circling the dome and i've been so amazed at their formation....seemingly random but still synchronized.

this weekend, they are replacing the domes in preparation for their big celebration tomorrow.  i've seen the domes sitting in the parking lot for weeks, but yesterday they finally installed them.  i took jojo over to get a closer look - it was quite the operation and involved a huge crane, so my little boy was very entertained.

these little girls were taking a good look at us, so i thought i'd go out on a limb and take a picture...my suave and handsome son helped out by sliding in next to them ("i'm holding her" he exclaimed when he saw the picture).

i'm pretty shy when it comes to taking strangers' pictures, especially at close range, though i'm working at trying to be bolder (nate!).  this time, when these ladies saw me taking pictures of the kids, they asked for one of themselves, which sure made my job easier!  when i showed them after, the lady the second from the left said "much good".

and one last shot of the installation.  i'll show a picture of the finished product soon.

everyone in our neighborhood is so excited for the big parade and party to follow tomorrow.  today the tents started going up all along the parade route...can't wait to share more pictures next week!

my first (hopefully of many) indian shoot!

i was chatting with a neighbor recently and realized she had quit her job to pursue a career in the hair and make-up artistry business.  right away we got to talking and decided to collaborate on a shoot highlighting her talents.  she brought two beautiful models fully decked out in indian wardrobe, one with a beautifully natural look and the other was highly dramatic.  before this i had never considered doing any fashion photography, but after this experience working with such wonderful people, i would definitely love to try it again!  jas gill is available for all occasions and has a "mobile salon" so she can come to you.  contact her at 778-549-1919 for an appointment.

our models, katie prasad & aman khera, were so lovely and accommodating...can't wait to work with all three of you ladies again!