From three to four, this family keeps getting cuter! It is amazing to watch a family grow, to see their love expand and to witness the little things that make up their happy family. From the sweet newborn scents mom cherishes, to the casual playtime on the patio between dad and their first born. These are the footprints of their life. Congrats Katie and Jesse, you’re such an amazing team and your girls are absolutely precious! xo

It was such an honour to be a part of this amazing evening. An evening where family and friends came together to support Steph, Don, Kiki and Mika in their time of need. Kiki is a strong and determined little girl, showing us all how to be brave and courageous. Kiki has the most amazing mom, dad and big sister, standing beside her, showing her love and holding her hand at every turn.

Here are a few of the photo booth shots I took that night, the rest can be found in an online gallery. I’m going to do a bit of an honour system here. I would love to have people donate to Sick Kids Hospital in Keaton’s name, your donation will be greatly appreciated and in exchange, feel free to download your high res photo from the online gallery until July 1, 2013. Every donation counts, big or small so please take a moment to click on the link below and help out however you can.
http://www.sickkidsfoundation.com/donate/tributeCards.asp

Once you’ve made your donation you can head on back here and follow the instructions below to gain access to the gallery and download your image, please be respectful and only download your own photo, this will be monitored.

Go to our website at http://orders.altdesigns.ca.
In order to access the gallery you will need to create an account with your correct name and info, any falsified info given will result in an immediate termination of your account.
Enter your email address and password, then you will see a place to enter in the access code below:
Access code: 4edde4f1

The goal was Cherry Blossoms in High Park but seeing as Spring decided to make a late arrival this year, we made do with what we had. The sun and light were enough to allow us to pretend it was warm. Kaleigh and Brandon were troopers even though I could see their fingertips turning blue near the end. These two were brought together by a game of Scrabble so it seemed appropriate to play a game at the park. The blue gingham will be seen at their Balls Falls Wedding, I can’t wait to see all the rustic elements come together in the barn.
Kaleigh and Brandon’s love filled my frame. They are fun, easy-going and obviously made for each other. See you in August!

Em and I had the house to ourselves last night so we decided to take advantage of a little girl time. Only girls would bring a flower to their pizza picnic in the park. I’m in love with these images and even more excited about the time Em and I spent together. Pizza in the park was a great idea, inexpensive, easy and fun. I decided to treat Em to a little flower for our impromptu photoshoot, picked up from Charmed, being in her store just soothes me, not only are you surrounded by beautiful flowers but also her artistic creations. The pizza was delicious as well, our favourite Hawaiian from Gourmet Pizza.
Admittedly, I have not been good about posting on our 365 blog this year, though I’m doing my best to take a photo every day, it’s the editing and blogging that seems to be a challenge. Regardless, this is day 117 of 365. Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Three beautiful and strong women got all dolled up for some photos. Shannon is a fellow photographer and knows how rare it is for grown families to get in front of the camera, yet still so important. Shannon has developed an amazing brand and business, I was lucky enough to try out her new studio for this session. She believes in finding ones true soul in her imagery and because of this Shannon has the ability to capture genuine, real and poignant elements in people.
It was an honour to capture some memorable moments for the three of you. Enjoy!

A colourful family, a couple in love, what more can I ask for… how about a handmade vintage banner? I can’t share that image just yet but it will make an appearance on my blog as soon as I get the go ahead. Love Sarah’s creativity!
It was chilly and muddy but we had sunshine and smiles. Balls Falls Conservation is stunning, we did the engagement session here as this is where Sarah and Brian will be celebrating their wedding next year. Can’t wait!

We’ve got some big news and lots of changes happening at Alicia Thurston Photography.

Number one on the agenda is the introduction of my AMAZING Office Manager, Ruby!

Ruby is a dynamic and highly innovative Communications, Marketing, and Photography professional with 5+ years of multi-faceted experience in the manufacturing, pharmaceutical, event planning, and retail sectors.
With her background in communications and public relations, along with a strong affinity for photography, Ruby has a thorough understanding of the importance of imagery, professionalism, and brand value building.

Ruby will play a role in each and every portrait session and wedding, taking care of the important details behind the scenes and sometimes right along side me. The customer experience is important and I want to make sure that my time is spent getting to know my clients and their needs, creating an artful session that reflects my clients uniqueness, and finally taking careful time with the final images to ensure quality imagery, ready for your walls. I also want to make sure that I am giving just as much time, focus and love into my family. With that in mind, I felt that bringing in an office manager with Ruby’s expertise and wonderful personality, would offer a great balance to all the aspects of my business and home life. We are so happy to have her on board.

Next up, I wanted to announce our newest product. I’m so exited about our new Digital Albums, they are going to be a huge hit with all of your family and friends. Now you can share all the best from your session on your mobile device and there’s no time limit. Check out this great demo!

Now for a few updates on business and the like…
We are booking up quickly this year. There is one more spot left for a Toronto Portrait session and only two more weekend spots for Kitchener/ Waterloo before July. Weekday mornings and evenings in Waterloo region are still an option but very limited.
I am only taking ONE more wedding in 2013 and have starting booking 2014 weddings.
On that note, wedding prices are increasing for 2014. The new price book will be printed in May so I’m giving a last chance shout out for my current pricing for all 2014 brides. I will announce one more last call before they get printed in case this announcement gets missed with all the great news listed above.

We are heading to Toronto for a few fun photo shoots! As well, we are walking a 5KM walk to help raise funds for The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and in support of a good friend and client, Stacy. Stacy appeared on City News yesterday to briefly discuss the importance of this Foundation and our team, take a look here. You can check out our team page here, there’s still a few more hours to contribute and your donations would be greatly appreciated. Both Em and I will be walking and we can’t wait. That’s all for now folks. Have an amazing weekend and enjoy some sunshine!

Just for fun…

I am so glad to have met this family. The afternoon I photographed them in Liberty Village changed me a little, as so often meeting amazing families does. This time it was different. With courage, strength and love, Jason and his family, Kerry and Aidan, are facing Cancer head on. Not only do they show each other love but I felt their kindness, their graciousness and their gratitude for every day we are given. It doesn’t matter what life throws our way, it’s short, it’s meaningful and it can be wonderful if we let it be.

Jason Larkin’s Story in his words;

On April 25th, 2012 my life changed forever. “You have a rare malignant tumor” 5 words I will not soon forget. That was the day I was diagnosed with GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumor). A rare form of sarcoma Cancer found in the GI tract.

Weeks leading up to my diagnosis, I had what I thought to be an acid reflux issue. One night during sleep, I woke up feeling dizzy and extremely lethargic, had a hard time finding my way to the washroom and by the time I returned to bed, I had sweat through everything and passed out from exhaustion. Something was wrong. The next day I took myself to the hospital where they ran several blood tests. It was found that my hemoglobin levels were dangerously low (around 86). I was admitted to the hospital, scheduled for a GI scope. I received 2 blood transfusions the following day as I had lost more than half of the blood in my body…..It was after the numerous scopes and scans that my diagnosis was brought to light. They determined that there was an egg sized tumor in my stomach and that it was bleeding from the inside out, which is why I was losing so much blood. I was scheduled for surgery June 1st to remove the 5.7cm tumor from my stomach. 4 hours in surgery, 15% removal of my stomach and 2 hours in recovery (trying to get my heart rate stabilized) and after a 2nd surgery on June 3rd to assess a suspected hernia, I was on the mend to recovery. My hospital stay was long, but the staff at Southlake Regional Health Centre were amazing. I was released about a week after surgery. I met with my surgeon who put me in touch with Dr. Ko, one of the few oncologists at Sunnybrook Cancer Centre who is familiar with GIST. I started my daily chemo pill in August of 2012 and will continue this medication until August of 2015, when funding is no longer available.

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors are a cancer of the soft tissue otherwise known as Sarcoma Cancer. It is different than your well known cancers as GIST attacks the soft tissue. There are several factors that make this cancer rare, one being it is mostly found in people who are over 50 years of age, another is that it is found only in the GI tract. I was 36 years old when I was diagnosed, which makes this cancer even more rare. It is not well known to the public and there is not much information out there on it. Typical survival rate is 5-7 years after diagnosis.

I receive outstanding care at Sunnybrook Cancer Centre, and have found a support group called Life Raft Group Canada which my wife and I have joined and I have recently become a board member within this organization, this is the only support group for GIST in Canada.

I have a great family, great friends and a great life. There is so much support surrounding me and I will not let this disease take over.

You can be a victim of Cancer or a survivor, it’s a mindset. I choose survivor. –Jason Larkin

You are strong and brave my friend. The love the three of you have will carry you through this battle and leave you a survivor! It was truly an honour.

Another round. Katie and Jesse’s CNE maternity session was one of my favourites to date for a number of reasons! My long time friends were finally welcoming their first little baby into their world, the CNE was a lot of fun, and Katie and Jesse just look good in front of the camera. Now, 18 months later, Tori is a sweet as pie and ready to be a big sister. This time we stayed close to home and started the session on the beach, a familiar spot for this Beach family. Then headed to their beautiful home to capture some amazing snuggles and laughs.
Congrats to all three of you. Can’t wait to meet the newest addition! xo