Carnival Gala

Last night I did some photography at Street Angel's Fundraising Gala.

They are an incredible organization who help impoverished women in the slums of Brazil keep their children off the streets, safe at home, healthy and in school.

Last time I was in Brazil I spent a month doing some photography in the community and taught photography to at-risk teenage girls with disposible cameras. It felt great to help out, and I was amazed both by how hard the people at Street Angels work and by how much they have done for the community, from providing them with running water to building a school.

They're definately a great organization to support and they are always looking for more help, whether as a volunteer, fostering a child or even just donations, so check out their site: www.streetangels.ca

Almost booked up..

It doesn't happen all the time, but every once in a while there will be two couples interested in the same wedding date at once. I always wind up feeling terrible that as much as I would love to be able to do both events I just cannot and someone always winds up disappointed.

On that note I am just about fully booked for the year, and then I will no longer be accepting bookings for 2008, so it's definately a good idea to book soon if you are interested..

Home Sweet Home

I'm back!! I had such a blast travelling but it's also great to be back home :) Things are going to be insane the next couple days so I'll be contacting everyone within the next day or two...

Here are some favourites from the trip..





I just loved this man's smile!

Thailand

We've just arrived in Thailand, and the plan is to get in a little R&R before heading home.. I'm missing Cambodia already, I really loved it there and it was much easier to get away from the crowds (although travel could be brutal! One boat ride in particular was supposed to be 4-5 hours but quickly turned into 10! We could have flown but we really prefer going overland to get a better feel for the rural life).

Here are a few of our touristy photos..


We've been eating like kings!



We got an underwater casing for the point and shoot camera which has been so fun at the beach.. Yesterday we spent the day snorkeling and took a zillion underwater photos!

Angkor Wat

After spending the past few days checking out some incredible temples at and around Angkor Wat we are all 'templed out'... so fun though, we hired a tuk-tuk driver for a few days to take us to them all, and then we'd just wander around and discover what made each one unique... here are a few of my favourites..

Cambodia..

After a few great days in Singapore, we flew into the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, Singapore's cultural opposite... So far it has left an amazing impression on us, the people are very friendly, the food is taaaasty (even the tarantula leg wasn't that bad!.. I couldn't stomache the body, though!), and the history eye-opening.. I would definately recommend it!! Our attempts to pick up some Khmer (the local language) is going fairly well, although everytime I ask people if I can take their photo they start laughing.. at first I thought it was because I was butchering the language, but then it turned out that because each region speaks a little differently, no one actually understood what I was saying!!

off to Asia!!

We're just about off for Asia! I can't WAIT! So far the plan is to start off in Singapore (where Jin is from to visit with family) then to Cambodia and Thailand before returning to Singapore for a final couple days and returning home...!!

I will do my very best to keep the blog semi-updated while I'm gone, and at the very least will add a ton of photos at the end of it all!.. so stay tuned :)

We're going to miss our dog Dekker (our baby!) while we're gone, he hasn't been away from us for more than a day since we've gotten him but we're guessing he will completely forget about us the minute we're gone because of all the long walks he'll be getting :)

I will still be checking email while I'm there if anyone needs to reach me, but it may take me a day or two to get back to you..

Maria & Nima

I really loved it that these two just let go and had fun!.. Thanks guys!

New Website!!

I figured it was time to get a new fine art site, since it was starting to look a little neglected.. This site features my personal work, all B&W fine art/travel/documentary photography. There are still more images I would like to include on it, but they won't be ready until I'm back from my trip and I really wanted to release it before I go..

www.alanacouchphoto.com

I'm getting a ton of my fine art images scanned, partially because I want them backed up incase anything happens to the negatives (these were all taken at least a few years back, when I was still using film.. ) and partly because I'm preparing a submission to Lenswork, this incredible b&w fine art photography magazine..

Most of the images on the site are of a Brasilian photo project I've been working on for a few years and plan to have published once it's completed.. One more trip to Brasil and I should be done! (Not that finishing the project will stop me from returning :)

Michelle & Shane

What a great session to start off the year with!! Check back this summer for Michelle and Shane's wedding!