This particular portrait session wasn't really your typical one, seeing as how it was purely family. During our trip to Ottawa a couple weeks ago, we managed to set aside a couple days to go visit my cousin Angie and her family up at their cottage in Quebec. It was the first time I had seen my cousin in a long, long time and the very first time I had met the rest of her family as well. Suffice it to say, I was very excited.
The cottage itself was located in Gracefield, Quebec. A place neither me or Anne had ever been before, so we didn't know what to expect. The drive up was beautiful and we could tell right away that it was going to be very nice, just from the views we saw along the way. It only took about 1.5 hours to drive from downtown Ottawa to the cottage, which really wasn't that bad at all. As soon as we pulled in, we noticed no one was around. We checked inside the cottage itself quickly and no sign of life. In the distance, we heard talking and laughter and realized that everyone was down at the dock, which made perfect sense, seeing how nice it was outside.
So we made our way down got acquainted with everyone. My Uncle Don and Auntie Pat were visiting as well which was awesome. I hadn't seen them in a few years too. In a way, it was a bit of family reunion. My cousin Angie joked ahead of time that we didn't have bring anything and we could stay the night, only if I agreed to take photos of her and her family. It was a deal I couldn't refuse.
As I mentioned above, this wasn't really a traditional session as I was taking candid photos all day. Once the sun went down a bit, that's when they all got changed and we did some 'formal' portraits. If you could do all my portrait session like that, I would be simply amazing. We were able to go out on the boat for a while and generally just hang out on the dock and have fun swimming and eating.
It was so nice being able to spend time with family and also come away with some really great moments that I know Angie and everyone else will hopefully cherish.
