Erin Gilmore Photography

Today marks the end of the Olympic Games here in Vancouver so with that, here is my thank you note to the rest of the world.

Thank you

For coming here and realizing we don’t all live in igloos
For being secure enough in yourself to buy AND wear your Canada gear proudly
For having such wonderful things to say about us in your home towns….well most of you

For enjoying our hospitality
For trading your country pins with us
For creating Irish House and Heineken house…it would not have been the same without you

For wanting to see our coins so bad that you are willing to line up for 7 hours
For supporting our local businesses and bringing pieces of Canada home with you
For less frequent eh? jokes than we expected

For being competitors and pushing our athletes to be their best
For most of you…smiling on the podium even when you didnt win first place… very classy…very Canadian of you!
For bringing your celebrities for us to take pictures of and bringing our city to the forefront of the world

For letting the jokes about the torch and cauldron design…die very early
For not asking us a million times what the heck the mascots were supposed to be
For sitting beside us in the restaurants and pubs and raising a glass with us

For your brightly coloured curling pants
For you…the snow leopard…you are an inspiration
For Shaun White showing us how to lay it down

For standing up in the name of fair play
For shedding a tear in solidarity for joannie rochette
For being able to be a patriot while still showing love for us

But most of all
Thank you for being here.
Now….if you enjoyed our service, please feel free to leave a tip…we still have to pay for this after all….

Friends and neighbours Kit & Michelle welcomed baby James two weeks ago and so when Michelle called and asked if I could squeeze in a quick session before James lost his newborn good looks…of course I could. As long as it wasn’t during a possible gold medal event!

we got up early and headed down for the day…it was a ton of fun but man o man those lineups.  I have never seen the city this crazy.  The buzz is so amazing.   Here is my take on my city as a tourist…

just finished up the collage for the 3 girls shoot from a few weeks ago…ohhhhhh they are sooooo cute

Tracey Heppner, perhaps one of the nicest ladies around brought her camera down to indie i do in January and was snapping all of us as we worked the show. She sent over the Erin Gilmore collage last night….

So today was supposed to be a photo walk/drive with a bunch o photogs but the weather did not look like it was going to play along so we postponed for another day. When I checked outside at 10:00 the weather was clearing up and I saw some spots of blue so I gave the amazing Fran Chelico a call and we decided to go ahead with a mini version of the shoot with just her and I. A few missed exits later, Fran made it out so we hopped into GJ Jane and headed off to grab some fun shots around town

Both Fran and I are a little shy when it comes to photos of ourselves but Fran let me shoot her and I love how playful she was and I can’t thank her enough for the shots she captured of me…I normally hate photos of myself so for me to be in love with not just one is a big deal..you ROCK Fran!

I just received notification that one of the photos that I shot at the CCMA’s has been used as the cover photo for a magazine.  I love when that happens!

My good friend and web guy extraordinaire Shane called the other day to set up a session for him and his son so that he could surprise his wife for valentines day. Now that is a considerate husband! He popped out yesterday morning with his cute little guy and we headed down to the park for a quick 10 min session. Here are some of my favs.

Yesterday, I was hanging out at Delovely when Michelle stopped by with her three little girls Ashley, Kyley, and Sarah. I just couldn’t resist a quick photoshoot with the cute little clan so we grabbed a cool chair from Delovely and headed across the street for a 10 min powershoot…can you say cuteeeeeeeeeee!

Getting ready for a shoot, I grabbed my little gal for some test shots…yes…i think she will do just fine

after such an early start to the morning, by noon I was itching to get out and do something productive so off I headed to House of Delovely to hang with Jeanette and wonder at the fabulousness that is her store. It is always imperative that I grab some shots while I’m here so here are some of my favorite things in the world of Delovely….now its for some friends time, dinner, and then some serious unpacking after Jeanette”s move.

I was up bright and early at 4:30Am to get ready to see my second in command Gabrielle. You see, she has been gone since October as one of the photography team for the torch relay. Criss Crossing all over Canada we only got to chat via blackberry message every so often and got to talk even less. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have her almost back! When I heard the torch was making a stop nearby, I set the alarm and dragged myself out of bed to hopefully catch a glimpse of Gabrielle in action. Let me tell you…4:30am came quick.

Instead of waiting at the final destination, I trudged up to the start point, determined that I was gonna follow the torch for the whole 1/2 hour that it was here. I waited for 45min in the dark and cold before the torch came flying by…ok not literally flying but it does go fast and in the dark no less. I ran along side for 15min catching shots along the way…not very good ones I might add considering it was pitch black but still…fun. Out of breath, we finally made it to Spirit Square where Gabrielle finally got to get off the truck with just time for a quick hug or two, a pic, and away they and the torch went.

Two things we will likely never see again..the olympic torch and me running. Im going back to bed now….