Sean was one of the first people I interviewed way back in 2011. One of my classic “Hey can I interview you on my blog?” ploys to actually become friends with Saint John celebrities. It worked! I’m so happy that we’ve become friends over the past 4 years.

Sean is an insanely talented photographer. In addition to being a popular wedding photographer, he’s also in demand all over the Province for events, corporate projects and (just recently) family portrait sessions.

This year Sean opened up a Print Shop online where some of his favourite landscape, destination and vacation shots are available to purchase.

Some of my favourite shots from his shop are below and are clickable to his shop where you can order them.

There are great gift ideas for the Saint John lover in your life.

Enjoy!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Sean is offering an 8″ x 12″ (Fine Art) print, printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper, of any of the photographs in his Print Shop. These prints are the best of the best. Photo Rag is the most popular paper chosen by photographers to create high quality fine art prints. It has a fine, smooth surface and the feel of Photo Rag makes the paper very versatile and ideal for printing both black and white and colour photographs and art reproductions with impressive pictorial depth.

The regular price of an 8″ x 12″ (Fine Art) print is $105.

Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

See you tomorrow!

Sean McGrath is looking for volunteers – 100 of them.

This is an amazing opportunity to have your portrait taken by one of the finest photographers in Saint John. Grab your mom, brother, boyfriend and bestfriend and sign up on Sean’s website.

Once he’s got enough names, I assume he’ll pick a date and ask you to show up.

If for some weird reason you’re not into getting your photograph taken, sign up to be a volunteer!

Be a part of this! You’ll never regret having a photo of yourself. You definitely won’t regret letting Sean take it.

-B

p.s. In 2012 Sean took a photo of me…. click.

Hey guys!

I can’t thank you enough for following along over the past 4.5 years. It’s hard to believe that in 2009 I started (what was supposed to be) a fashion blog that transitioned into a shopping blog, into a high fashion blog and eventually into a Saint John blog. I’m not even sure how to categorize barbbarbbarb.com now – it doesn’t matter! I’m just glad you’re here!

As you can see… it looks a little different.

This has been a LONG time coming.

Thank you to Sean McGrath and Blend88 for helping me build my blog. Over the past year, Sean and his company Blend88 have helped me make the old barbbarbbarb.com user friendly. He’s the guy behind how it looks now. Without his tips and links and internet presence, I couldn’t have done this. Thanks, Sean. You’re great.

Thank you to Gillian Goldie for helping me build my brand. She is such a killer designer. And you know, she’s a great friend too. The very best.

(and thank you to Jordan Stewart for 4 years of “can you add this?” and “can you delete this?”. Very much appreciated.)

Anyhow, have a look around.

Comment. Search for things. Pin photos. Read. Enjoy.

I have a lot of recipes to post and CrossFit to tell you about… so I’ll see you soon.

xo

It’s hard to believe that this event has grown from 14 people to over 30.

{ The gang in Judith & Robert’s kitchen, as shot by Judith Mackin }

It’s always been a dream to organize and participate in a photoshoot. Now that dream has been realized 3 times.

Sunday was spent ‘Into the Wild’ at the ultra modern home of Robert Moore and Judith Mackin, tucked in to the side of Mount Pleasant.

As with every #SaintJohnCut event, the day was shared with make up artists, hair stylists, photographers and models. The BEST kind of collaboration, in my opinion.

The photos I took yesterday are far from professional… but hopefully give you a “behind the scenes” vibe.

Enjoy!

{ Kelly Lawson shooting Alyx Moore }

{ Amy Stewart on the stairs shooting Maryanne Delaney }

{ Mark Hemmings (who did the whole shoot on an iPhone) shooting Sam Lewis on the Eames }

{ Chelsea Donaldson on the green roof with Julia Hurst }

{ Kayla Cormier outdoors being shot by Dan Culberson }

{ Floor to ceiling bookshelf }

{ Sam Lewis and Janna Boucher }

{ Glen MacLean shooting Graeme Stewart-Robertson }

{ Emily Fraser shooting her sister, Kiera Fraser }

{ Impressed with Results! }

{ Ryan Livingston in the hallway }

{ Allie Beckwith shooting Kayla Cormier}

{ Sean McGrath shooting Alyx Moore}

The credits:

HAIR

Hair was done by Adam Donnelly from Hairacy’s. He is a dear friend and my personal hair stylist. If you’ve ever told me you “like my hair down”, you can thank him for the ‘do.

He can be stalked on Twitter:

Follow @AdamDStyle

MAKE-UP

Make-up was done by Carrie McGrath and Taylor MacDougall. Carrie has been involved since the beginning and I am always so impressed with everything she does.

Follow them here:

Follow @PersonaBella

Follow @TaylorMDougall

Like Persona Bella on Facebook here:

Clothing & Shoes

Clothing for the shoot was provided by Silver Daisy Designs & Je Suis Prest.
Shoes for the shoot were from Manchester Shoe Salon.

Follow @SilverDaisyD

Follow @JeSuisPrest

Follow @ManchesterShoes

The Photographers:

*Please click after their names for links to their Twitter, Facebook & blog!

Dan Culberson (T/Website)
Mark Hemmings (T/FB/Website)
Sean McGrath (T/FB/Website)
Kelly Lawson (T/Website)
Alicia Robichaud (FB)
Allie Beckwith (T/FB/Blog)
Amy Stewart (T/FB/Website)
Emily Fraser (T)
Chelsea Donaldson (T/Blog)
Glen MacLean (FB)

The Help!

This shoot could not have happened without the help of Gillian and Morgan. Gillian was instrumental from start to finish – picking up snacks for the hungry models to dragging bags and bags of shoes from Manchester.

Morgan wasn’t heard from all day – as he was holding lights and lugging sandbags for Mark Hemmings.

Thanks again!

The Models:

Sam Lewis
Graeme Stewart-Robertson
Maryanne Delaney
Catherine Delaney
Alyx Moore
Julia Hurst
Kayla Cormier
Kiera Fraser
Kate Lordon
Apryll Stansfield
Amy Doucet
Janna Boucher

The Host & Hostess:

Robert Moore
Judith Mackin
Macey & Scout

Follow @JudithMackin

Follow @TUCKStudio

—————————————————–

Thanks again to everyone involved. I’m ecstatic thinking about the photos to be revealed in the coming weeks.

If you have an idea for #SaintJohnCut4 – get at me!

xo
B

SO MUCH has happened in the last 2 weeks… I can’t begin to start updating you all on my #30in90 progress.

Skipping ahead to this morning, I met Sean McGrath at the top of Saint John – Fort Howe – for #29 on my #30in90 Bucket List.

A few months ago when I had first posted my bucket list, Sean messaged me to ask if I needed any help with this shoot. (note: of course I did).

Over the past month or so we’e been sending ideas back and forth and finally met this morning to make it happen.

I’m ecstatic. The photo is perfect. I look like myself (important) and the City that I love, looks amazing.

So, blog world, this is me!

Photos by Sean McGrath
…And In true blogger fashion: Jacket: Creme Fraish // Top: Gap // Jeans: Old Navy // Shoes: TOMS

Update #4, better late than never!

I’ve been having mini panik attacks thinking about how much (or how little) time I have left. August 29th marks day 40… what am I even worried about!?

Per normal, if you want to do something with me – drop me a line!

BUCKET LIST ITEM #1 – “DO YOGA 3X PER WEEK FOR 1 MONTH”

My Yoga challenge comes to a close this Thursday. I’ve been to 11 classes and feel great.

Jason MacLean interviewed me about my progress last week. The article was in KV Style last Friday.

Here is a list of things that still puzzle me about yoga:

1. Why can’t I bind my arms behind my back?
2. How can I get my left or right foot from a downward dog position to be in-between my hands in one step? OR
3. How can I get my left or right foot from a forward fold position to be in a long lunge position in one step?
4. Does this mean that I’m doing Downward Dog wrong?

BUCKET LIST ITEM #3, 4 & 5 – “VOLUNTEER: _________”

My Volunteering quota is filled! Girl Guides this fall, Sappyfest merch table at the beginning of August and now, I am officially a Dragon Boat pro. OK maybe not a pro, but I have just competed in my first Dragon Boat Festival in Renforth as a member of the CBC Airwaves.

I basically fulfilled my lifelong dream of being friends with Hance Colburne.

The CBC Airwaves placed 25th out of 55 or so teams. Not bad, but not good enough to make the semis. Don’t talk to Chuck Teed about this, those wounds will take a while to heal.

BUCKET LIST ITEM #6 – Read 3 Books.

I’ve picked my books and am halfway through Bossypants. Tina Fey is hilarious.

Adam suggested that I continue to read essay-style books to compliment my short attention span. Do you have any recommendations?

BUCKET LIST ITEM #11: Build a Piece of Furniture.

I have no idea why I added this to my list. Do you think IKEA furniture will count as building something?

BUCKET LIST ITEM #14: Learn to use Fondant

Gillian and I have purchased Fondant and plan to use it very soon. The original plan was to use the fondant for Stella’s first birthday cake… but we weren’t sure that fondant would fit over a cupcake shaped cake with ease.

BUCKET LIST ITEM #17: Ride on a motorcycle

I’ve removed this from my bucket list.

I’ve replaced it with: Purge my home. Again.

There’s nothing worse than a house full of stuff you don’t use. I hate when friends come over and I have more than 10 minutes worth of cleaning and tidying to do.

Purge, purge, purge!

BUCKET LIST ITEM #18: Pick berries and then make a pie.

I totally dropped the ball on this one. Blueberries were 2 weeks early (and therefore, basically done) and I missed raspberry season altogether.

Maybe I should change this to “pick a pumpkin and make a pie”.

BUCKET LIST ITEM #19: Buy shares in RIM, Facebook and FORD.

My dreams have been recently crushed. I met with David Love from Investors Group. Turns out that since I’m not a millionaire, it costs me about $10,000 to open an investment account.

I’m taking referrals to rich aunts you might have that already have investment accounts.

BUCKET LIST ITEM #21: Drink 8 glasses of water every day for a week

I’m getting the hang of this water thing. I think that practicing yoga and sweating like a crazy person has really made drinking water a necessity.

Do you have any tips for maximum water drinking?

BUCKET LIST ITEM #24: Visit TreeGo with some girlfriends

WooHoo! Heading to TreeGo in September with 3 of my favourite ladies!

I have to admit, I’m a little worried about how my core is going to react to a day of holding on for dear life!

BUCKET LIST ITEM #26/27 – “SEND 50 HANDWRITTEN NOTES TO PEOPLE I TALK TO ALL THE TIME/NEVER TALK TO”

The design is DONE! Gillian Goldie is such a professional. I sketched out an idea that was going through my mind and she created the perfect image for my postcards!

Advocate Printing is whipping them up this week and my pen hits paper this weekend.

Stay tuned, one may be coming to a mailbox near you!

BUCKET LIST ITEM #29: Do a self portrait

Sean McGrath and I have been shooting emails back and forth brainstorming my portrait idea. I am really excited to create it. I may need to borrow a backdrop, a stool and an insane circus getup. The circus getup was a lie.

I’m finding that the more I read blogs, surf Twitter accounts and even interact with co-workers… I really want to know what people look like. I can imagine that half of the people that read my blog wouldn’t recognize me if they tripped over me.

I’m about to change that!

———————————————-

Here’s the updated list. Please let me know if you’re up for doing anything awesome!

As far as unrealistic dreams go, I have many. Among other things, my bucket list includes organizing and participating in a photo shoot.

Sunday was spent at the glamourous White Room on Prince William Street. I shared the time with photographers, models, artists and stylists.

Dream. Come. True.

The photos I took today were not meant to be professional by any means. They’re just quick snaps of some of my favourite moments.

{ Sadly, Dan, Beaver and Alex are missing from this shot… set up by Sheldon but shot by Alex Pesold}

{ Fran being shot by Sheldon Parsons }
{ Beth getting her makeup done by Carrie McGrath }

{ Kiera Fraser, being shot by Kelly Lawson }

{Beth being shot by Sean McGrath }

{ Jenna being shot by Dan Culberson }

{ Fran, Beth and Jenna being shot by Dan }
{ Beth being shot by Beaver }

{ Rihanna must have been on. Kate, Kiera and Nadine breaking it down }

{ Kate checking out her makeup by Carrie McGrath }

{ Chelsea’s amazing makeup by Carrie McGrath }

{ Dan shooting Nadine }
{ Jenna }

{ Dan shooting Fran }

More photos tomorrow. and maybe Wednesday. I shot almost 600 photos. Whoops!

**I’ll also be linking to the shots taken by everyone else.

Success!!

You might remember that part of my blog resolutions this year was to showcase local shoppes and local artists. I’ve started my list of people I want to interview this year – and coming up with 52 names is easier than I thought! (Although, if you have any suggestions, please pass them along!)

When you think of style and you think of fashion, the first thing that comes to mind (after shopping, of course) is photography! Where would I be without a camera?!

I caught up with Sean McGrath and asked him a few questions – take a peek!

Hi Sean! Tell me a bit about yourself and your photography business!

Well, by day I am software developer who builds everything from Photoshop plugins and iPhone apps to web sites and web applications. When I am not doing that, I am pretty much always in photography mode. While I love the software world, photography is definitely what I love the most.

Photography isn’t my full time job, like a lot of people think, and I am keeping it that way on purpose. I fear that the second that photography becomes my primary income source it will start to feel like a job and I’ll have to take jobs that I’m not excited about anymore. The way it is now, every shoot is still exciting and it doesn’t feel like work… and I think that gives me a bit of an edge.

When did you first pick up a camera? I want to know about your first roll of film!

The first roll of film I ever shot was at my high school graduation on my Dad’s Nikon SLR. After that I didn’t really pick up a camera until about 3 years later when I bought my first point and shoot digital camera. My first digital SLR came 3 years ago so I could have something to take decent pictures with on my honeymoon.

Have you had formal training?

Never.

Everyone wonders, but never asks. How many photos do you take before you have one that you’re specifically proud of?

It depends on the shoot really. One of my favorite images came from a shoot where I only took about 30 pictures. Looking back at my 2010 year in review blog post, I had a hard time narrowing it down to 100+ images that I was really proud of.

You have to have a favourite lens! What is it?

I love both my 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.4 a lot! My zoom lenses are nice, but not my favourites.

When did you decide that you wanted to make a business out of your photography hobby?

Last year (2010) was my first year really trying to make it a business. It was my first year shooting weddings. I made the decision to focus primarily on shooting weddings, portraits and bands photography.

How would you describe your style of photography?

Some words that come to mind are organic, modern, natural and classic. And yes, I used both modern and classic in there because I think my style has a modern look that isn’t so trendy that it should have a classic lasting appeal. Natural because I don’t like to pose my subjects very much and like to capture them in real moments. No fake smiles. For couples that means capturing them interacting with one another, showing real feelings and emotions instead of just looking into the camera. Lastly, I’ve stepped away from very heavily processed/photoshopped images in favour of more organic looking ones, often trying to recreate some of my favourite looks you get from shooting film.

Your wife has started doing makeup; tell me about that!

Makeup to her is like photography for me, i.e. she is self taught and does it because she loves it! She recently attended a workshop by one of her favorite makeup artists and has since started to pursue it as a business as well. Living with a photographer, and being one herself, she really knows how to do makeup that lasts and looks amazing on camera. I am by no means an expert on makeup, but I can certainly see a huge difference whenever I am photographing makeup she has done. We now team up on most of our shoots offering both photos and makeup together. It’s a great combination, I think.

(She is currently available for booking for whatever event you need makeup done for. Her website in under construction right now, but she has a Facebook page up at: http://www.facebook.com/PersonaBella)

A few questions just for fun…

What is your favourite song right now? The Wild Hunt by The Tallest Man on Earth

What is your desert island CD? (The one album you’d listen to forever) That’s a tough one, but I’d probably have to say either Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins.

What is your favourite television show? It was Lost, but now I’d have to say House and The Walking Dead. Just started getting into Breaking Bad and that could become my favourite though.

Tell me about how to get a hold of you and how far in advance you should be booked!

For a portrait session you should get in touch at least 2 weeks in advance. For weddings I am already booking into 2012 so if you are getting married June-September next year, I wouldn’t wait much longer!

I can be reached through my website and I have been been posting my recent shoots to my Blog and Facebook page.

And now for the exciting part!

Sean has offered one lucky reader a 50% discount off of a photo shoot with him!

Sound exciting? It’s the perfect opportunity to get your girlfriends together!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Like Sean McGrath on Facebook!

2. While you’re there, like Persona Bella, too!!

3. Come back to my blog and leave a comment.

That’s all! I’ll draw for a winner (and a runner up) on Wednesday, January 19th at 5pm. I’ll e-mail the winner(s) and post the results back here. This giveaway is open for anyone living in or around Saint John. Please, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks so much to Sean!

Edit: Congrats to Maritime Shopaholic, Chelsea Mason! You’re eligible for a 50% discount off of a photo session with Sean! Congratulations!

Hello friends!

Last week my lovely friend Kiera hosted a fashion show in support of Coverdale Centre for Women at the trendy and chic Canterbury Lounge.

I’m not good at writing (weird for a blog, right?) but I’ll try my best to express what a great time I had.

The Je Suis Prest fashion show was the third of its kind in the past month or so in Saint John. Brunswick Square held a show in October and Market Square hosted a fashion show this past Wednesday.

Unlike the other events, there was no “trip to Vegas” up for grabs, no free jeans and no free Matt & Nat purses. The main goal was to raise awareness for the Coverdale Centre and (of course) to display the new Holiday Fashions!

I took a few photos at the event, but they’re not comparable to the photos shot by Sheldon Parsons or Sean McGrath.

Take a peek!

All of the lovely jewelry was hand sewn by Esqaured. Look for a post on them in a few days! (in the mean time, check out their new Etsy shop here).