Rachel Ludwig Photography | Abbotsford Portrait and Wedding Photographer

We love camping. Love love love it. This summer we are so lucky that we are doing a lot of camping! In just a few days we are going to be heading out for a month long trip through BC, and I can’t wait. Growing up some of my favorite memories were from camping, and I hope for my kids that they will remember these times fondly as well. It truly is amazing time together as a family, and we do lots of reading, walks, biking and visiting the beach. We hope to try some geo-caching on our next trip, and we’re looking forward to the Fraser Canyon, checking out some of the gold rush trail, and in particular, Barkerville. We are also planning on hitting some of the big national parks that we always drive through but have never stopped to explore…Jasper and Banff.

So, I will be out of the office for most of August, and possibly the first few days of September. I will have some access to email, but my response may be delayed depending on if we have network access. If you are interested in booking a fall session for Christmas cards, please email me as soon as possible to reserve a date as this time of year fills up fast.

I wanted to share some pictures from our second camping trip of the year in Shuswap.

My kids can play together *so* nicely, and hockey is a current fave. Arden loves doing the face-offs!

Yes, she has killer hair. Wish I could have hair like hers

Hudson is a huge hockey nut. In his world, the bigger the stick, the better.

Ethan is loving reading. It’s still not his first choice for activities, but once he starts he can’t put a book down and he’s been reading a ton of chapter books and comic books this year.

I love my Keens. Best camping sandals ever….great for hiking, biking and the beach. And the resulting sandal tan is hot. haha

The cutest boots ever!

Arden had three mosquito bites right around her eye, and it was almost swollen shut. It was so freaky to look at, she looked like a completely different girl. Fortunately it didn’t bother her.

She is finally starting to master her bike. Her bike is pink (her favorite color) and girly. Of course.

We did a lot of biking here. The provincial park campground at Shuswap is nice and flat and perfect for biking.

We do a lot of reading. I’m so glad Tim and I are both readers, it’s the perfect way to spend a cloudy day in the campsite.

The bike trailer is always a big hit. Pulling it with 50+ pounds of kids is a super workout.

Hudson and his push car were pretty much inseparable. With it he can run. fast. He loved 4×4′ing the trails with it.

Everything was so green and luscious here. We live in such an incredibly beautiful area of the world.

I love it when I am asked to photograph a family again, it’s always great to catch up and to see how ‘my babies’ have grown! I photographed Evan when he was just an teeny-tiny newborn, and he’s now two!

He’s a very typical two-year-old boy and wasn’t super interested in me or my camera (this is totally normal! I know lots of parents stress out about this during a session, but it’s totally OK and we still get lots of great shots).  He may not have been interested in my camera or bribes such as lollipops, but he was most certainly interested in his car, the swings and slides, and running! He gave us quite the work out, but it was definitely worth it. One of my goals with my photography is to capture personalities, especially with kids, as they are constantly changing and growing up on us! I love that we captured Evan and what he’s all about at age two (and just for fun: see how many pictures you can spot his car in!)

Isn’t he positively adorable? Those beautiful brown eyes of his just melt me. Thank you Sarb and Lucky for such a great session…I’ll be in touch soon with the rest of your images. Enjoy your sneak peek!

that pout…too cute!

When Leina contacted me during my maternity leave for a session with her new baby, I didn’t realize that I had met her a few years earlier through scrapbooking. It was so nice to reconnect with her and meet her adorable little girls and her super nice hubby.  These two girls are so fun and cute, Ayla was 7 weeks old at the session, and Brooke was 21 months old.  They are both in a ‘busy’ stage, and they kept me on my toes (and their parents too!), but we had fun and managed to get some great images in the process. Thanks for a great morning!

Enjoy your sneak peek, I’ll be in touch soon with your slideshow and online ordering gallery.

Check out those blue eyes and how intently she’s looking at me.

(I bet she’s wondering what in the world that big black thing in front of my face is!)

Leina told me she loves green and is always wanting to paint her house in all shades of green…I think these pictures with one of my new backdrops will be perfect for display in their home:

Beautiful mama and daughter:

Brooke wasn’t too interested in the camera…but check out Ayla’s big grin, is that not super adorable?

So cute!

Proud dad:

Gotcha! It took some doing, but I did manage to get a few shots of Brooke. I love her little pig-tails:

Another family shot. my favorite I think:

And then we headed outside to grab some more pics:

When Chantal contacted me about a family session, and mentioned wanting to incorporate umbrellas, I was smitten. And then when she loved my suggestion about balloons (which I’ve been dying to do a shoot with since I saw Traci’s fabulous balloon engagement session), I swear it was love at second email. And even though Kylie wasn’t as interested in her adorable pink umbrella as we hoped, it was such a great session with a wonderful family. I loved seeing how this family has blended together so perfectly…especially how Jordon is such a good big brother to Kylie. You can tell she absolutely adored him!

And going back to umbrellas…I was worried we were all going to have to huddle under Kylie’s little umbrella as it looked like it was going to start raining any minute. But fortunately it held off and stayed dry for our entire session (and with our all over the map weather lately, I think it was a small miracle in and of itself it didn’t rain!).

Here are a few of my favorites:

The previously mentioned umbrella…check out the adorable dog on the handle (and the one very sweet and adorable little girl!):

Don’t you just love how Jordon is looking at his Dad here, and how intent Kylie is on playing with the rocks and water? (plus, it was a great way to contain a busy and active 22-month old, who loved to run!)

Such a handsome young man, and I was told that he did the faux-hawk just for me. I was rather flattered…being a mom to a boy myself, I know how hard it can be to convince them sometimes on matters of personal appearance!

I can never resist fishy-lips

Are these balloons not totally fabulous? I was so excited when they pulled these out of their vehicle. I know where I’m going to go for my daughter’s birthday party next spring to get some for myself. er. I mean, for her!:

I always need to sneak in a few of mom and dad, I love how happy they are here:

My fave family shot, I just love all the cuddling and happiness:

Some of you may remember Marta & Szymon’s engagement session from earlier this year, and two weeks ago they got married in amazingly beautiful Tofino. The weather was gorgeous, the location was stunning, and Marta & Szymon are so incredibly kind, considerate and thoughtful…and not to mention they looked stunning on their wedding day!

A big thank you from both of us (My friend Alyssa came along as a second shooter), we so enjoyed our time in Tofino, and being a part of your special day.

Marta & Szymon are leaving for their honeymoon in Spain today, so I promised I’d try post a sneak peek for them before they left…here are a few of my favorites (most of these were taken after dinner…we snuck the bride and groom back to the beach as the sun was setting. It was perfect!)

Marta’s dress was just gorgeous, and so perfectly her. A few from inside the the Wickaninnish Inn, where they had their wedding and reception.

Doesn’t she look amazing?

Marta & Szymon….I hope you have a most wonderful time on your honeymoon! I’ll be in touch soon. And I will try post a few more of my favorite images from your day here in the next week, so be sure to check back if you can!

This little guy kept me running, but he was oh so cute and I couldn’t resist his beautiful blond curls and lovely dark brown eyes! I know his mom is dying to see a sneak peek, so here are a few faves from our session.