101 Years of Beauty | Dorothy at 92

My good friend Lorenna met us in the parking lot and led the way, straight passed the reception — "I never sign in!" she said — and down the corridor to a door that had a pretty sign on it that read "Dorothy White." Dorothy was waiting for us in her apartment filled with singing teddy bears, beautiful scarves & her souvenirs from her time spent in India. I was pleasantly surprised by her playful sense of  humour and throughout our entire photo shoot I had a hard time keeping my camera still because I was so busy laughing :) She put up with a lot for us and when I thanked her for cooperating she came back with, "I just want to be praised. I'm good person." ha! What a character. Thank you Lorenna for introducing me to your dear friend Dorothy and thank you Dorothy for representing the beauty of women at age 92! 

Check out my 101 Years of Beauty Project HERE!

101 Years of Beauty — Lexie 1 yr

We were celebrating firsts this weekend. 

Lexie's first year of life and being beautiful.

My first time photographing someone who couldn't wait to get out of my studio!

She screamed her way through our photo shoot (we found out later that she had a fever ..poor thing). She wanted mommy to hold her the WHOLE time and she was content as long as she had a lollipop in one hand and a piece of bread in the other. One minute she wanted to wear a hat...the next minute she threw the hat to the floor. One minute she wanted to wear pretty shoes; the next minute shoes were abandoned all together. But of course, like any woman, she was temporarily mesmerized by the jewelry department. ;) 

Not my typical behind-the-scenes images. haha!

Last week I published portraits of Four Generations and the great-grandma was 101. 

It dawned on me this morning that Marie is 100 years older than little Lexi! How incredible is that?! 

Just look at these beautiful women...a whole century between them.

Di Vinci, Obama, Schwarzenegger....Thurston-Rattue — One Name Wonders!

Di Vinci, Obama, Schwarzenegger....Thurston-Rattue.

No, it just doesn't sound right to me. haha 

This afternoon I was reading an article on PetaPixel about my "101 Years of Beauty" project and the author referred to the photographer (me) as "Thurston-Rattue". I did a little double take — it sounded so formal and made me feel all famous – like a great painter who everyone knows by one name lol But I'm the friendly neighbor girl who invites you over for tea and gets really excited to swap books with you. I run around barefoot (sometimes in public) and I walk around the supermarket in my pajamas and Birkenstocks (or on a fancy day I'm wearing yoga pants & zebra patterned pumps). You can call me Chamonix. Most people end up calling me "Cham."  Nope, I don't think I will ever get used to being referred to by my last name, like a fancy artist or politician. It just sounds so funny. 

But if you must call me by my last name only then please at least make sure you're doing it in a sweet article that's being published and promoting my photography because then I'll feel really cool and I'll get REALLY EXCITED! 

Thank you to PetaPixel for sharing the "101 Years of Beauty" Project with the world today and for making me feel like a one-name wonder!

 

Oh, and they tweeted it out too! So exciting to have my work shared with the masses ;) Woohoo!

Have a gorgeous day my friends :D I dare you to meet someone new today and introduce yourself with JUST your last name haha Let me know how it goes ;P

"101 Years of Beauty" Project :: Featured on SLRLounge!

Yesterday, in honour of Mother's Day, SLRLounge published an article about my "101 Years of Beauty" Project! So excited to have people talking about it! Thanks to Hanna Mazur for her beautiful hair & make-up and to Marisa, Barbara, Carolin & Marie for spending the day with me in my studio celebrating how beautiful they are! We had so much together and I'm SOO happy that now they all have a beautiful portrait hanging in their house!

In case you haven't seen the Four Generations Video yet, check out right now...

101 Years of Beauty — Four Generations (29, 57, 79, 101)

I had just launched my "100 Years of Beauty Project" when my friend Cheryl Ford asked me... "What are you going to do if you find a woman who is 101?" Well, then I would change the project to "101 Years of Beauty" (duh!) Little did I know what was waiting for me less than 24hrs around the corner. 
The next day, Cheryl & I were in Seattle at a ChickChat networking. We moseyed over to the staircase and listened to the speeches from behind the crowd. As the applause faded away we bumped into a couple women and a little small talk dug up a golden sentence....
"My great-grandmother is 101."
SERIOUSLY! Are you kidding me? When Marisa told me that she was the 4th of FOUR living generations we practically booked her photo shoot on the spot! One month later, all four women (Marisa, Barbara, Carolin, & Marie) were sitting in my studio enjoying make-overs, nibbling on chocolate shortbread, and telling stories. There is a soft spot in my heart for each of these beautiful women and I am so excited to finally share their portraits with the world. You will see them all together in my "101 Years of Beauty" Project representing ages: 29, 57, 79 and 101.

After the shoot, we all sat together - the video camera rolling - and they reflected on their lives & ages. I was so excited to surprise them with this video when they came to pick up their prints and as I watched the happy tears flowing I couldn't have felt more grateful for that spontaneous decision I'd made to attend that networking event and for that impulse I'd had to waddle over to the women sitting on the staircase.

Huge THANK YOU to Hanna Mazur for Hair & Make-up!

"101 Years of Beauty" PROJECT

Over this past year, my first year as a woman's portrait photographer, I have come to REALLY appreciate an important fact of life...

There is beauty in every woman. 

My camera and lens seem to be my rose-tinted glasses. I lift them to a woman's face and just like that her beauty becomes so apparent and I never forget it after that. And it's not just the fresh young faces that amaze me. I've also learned that

There is something uniquely beautiful about every stage of a woman's life.

When you're six, it's the goofy smiles that are so big your cheeks hurt; at sixteen it's skin that glistens so smoothly in the light; and at sixty, it's a seductive sophistication that's hinted at by silver strands of hair. Each age offers something special we can look forward to with anticipation, enjoy fully, and remember fondly.

So, a few months ago, I launched a project... "101 Years of Beauty"

Over the next year, I'm photographing women ages 0-101 and I'll be publishing the images together in a beautiful book. I've also been collecting video footage to help bring the project to life. Thanks to some handy paint swatches I  'borrowed' from the hardware store, I'm keeping track of all the women I'm photographing and how many ages I have yet to check off. 

The best part, is that each colour has a name and somehow they all seem to fit perfectly (with a good sense of humour). For example...

4yrs =  "tutu"

6 = "eraser pink"

59 = "hopeful"

90 = "egg yolk"

101 = "spoiled rotten"

etc...

The project is well under way and I invite you to follow along as I begin to share the images on the BLOG and celebrate the beautiful women that I meet. I hope this project encourages you to see the beauty in yourself and those around you. 

Have a BE-YOU-TIFUL day ;)