En français maintenant :) / in French now too :)

English to follow below!

Ben oui, on est en Suisse, faut que je me mette au français... Bienvenue à vous, si c'est la première fois que vous visitez mon blog. Laissez-moi des commentaires, j'apprécie toujours les critiques et les encourgaments!
Nous sommes arrivés il y a un presque 2 semaines depuis le Canada. Je retrouve la Suisse de mon enfance, quoique plus "internationale" si on peut dire - il y a beaucoup plus d'anglais parlé (ainsi que d'autres langues) que lorsque j'étais enfant. Ce n'est pas encore tout à fait le mélange multiculturel du Canada, mais c'est un bon début. J'ai hâte de connaître la Suisse d'aujourd'hui un peu plus.
J'ai retrouvé beaucoup de mes amis, ainsi que de vieilles connaissances d'enfance. C'est amusant chaque jour, de voir sur qui je vais tomber!

Sinon, j'ai déjà eu quelques demande d'informations pour mes services de photographe, et un mariage booké pour mai. C'est encourageant! Je dois admettre qu'à l'idée de tout devoir "recommencer" (publicité, recherche de partenaires, de fournisseurs, etc..), j' étais un peu nerveuse. Mais j'aime les challenges donc je m'y suis mise avec ferveur, et voilà ça commence à payer.


À la prochaine,
Ciao!
Colette



Hello!
If you are new to this blog, welcome! As you will gather from the previous posts, I have just moved from Canada, back to my native Switzerland. Things seemed to have changed since I last lived here...it's not quite multicultural Canada, but there are definitely more English speakers (and other languages) around. I am excited to discover more about the "Switzerland" of today.
I have also been bumping into old friends from primary school; seems like everyday almost, I am bound to meet someone I once knew. Which is kind of cool. I like exchanging life experiences, hearing what people have done, where they're at now...

Photography-wise, well, I booked my first Swiss wedding! I have also had a few more "interest" emails as I call them, where people have asked for more information about my services. I admit I was a little nervous starting out all over again here. Looking for partners, distributors, advertising, etc... But it's looking good, and it's encouraging.

Talk to you soon!
Bye!
Colette

Tandela and Carlos - Married!

Here is a sneak peak of Tandela and Carlos's reception day photos. They had their church ceremony the evening before, followed by drinks and cake. On Sunday, we went up to The Cochrane Ranch House for afternoon pictures and a reception. I was one of Tandela's bridesmaids, as well as being official photographer on Sunday. We had a lot of fun. It was freezing but the couple and wedding party toughened it out and were awesome! My favorite memory was of all of us piled into McKay's Ice cream shop (A big thank you for their patience and cooperation!!) trying to all fit behind the counter; then me and my fiancé running outside to stop traffic, signaling to the rest of the wedding party to follow and line up in the middle of the street. Ah, good times!
So anyways, you will have to wait a little for the whole story in pictures. Here's the sneak peak:

Snowing today...

I was challenged to go out and shoot the beautiful landscape surrounding us today. I am by no means a landscape artist and you'll agree these shots are nothing spectacular. But I am quite happy with them actually. Living in Calgary I was far away from the century old forests of my childhood and I missed them - so being outside and looking up at these branches that look like veins- it's like I'm breathing in life, feeling the pulse...

The following images are entitled "Swiss Cupcakes"... aka snow cubes in the parking lot, before and after. :)

A little color to finish

We arrived on a rainy day in Switzerland

We arrived in Switzerland on Thursday. Didn't get much sleep on the plane (I blame Hollywood) so we took a long nap and really didn't do much that day.
On Friday, we attended a funeral... I debated talking about this...but I think as much as death is a devastating thing, life and any amounts thereof need to be celebrated. It's really not fair though, when it's a 6 month old baby. I had the pleasure to photograph this little girl with her twin sister as they were just a couple of weeks old in the early summer.  It was a shock to hear that Malia passed away in her sleep last Sunday. It made me feel sick...The parents are very good friends of mine... What can I do? What can I say? Nothing to ease their pain, nothing to make them feel better. Be there for them. Pray for them, and for the little girl that is still here...apparently she has not been eating, and has had fever the last few days...makes you wonder whether she feels the absence too...she must. When I think of how long they had waited to be parents to, it breaks my heart.  It reminds us though how fragile life is, and what a blessing it is to be able to share another day with your loved ones. Treasure every single moment. Don't put your dreams on hold. Live life to the fullest.

"...Je serai, bien que loin de toi
Tout contre toi..." - Laurent Voulzy