Ever since I first heard the news of the earthquake in Haiti, I have been devastated for the families living there. I knew there had to be something I could do other then donating money myself and then being finished with it. I was so happy when I discovered Helping Hearts and knew it was a way that I could encourage others to give, or give a little bit more even if you have already donated.

Photographers from across the country are teaming up in an effort called Helping Hearts. It all started with two brilliant photographers, Michele from Pinkletoes Photography and  Lyndsay Stradtner of Life in Motion Photography. Together, we’re going to try to do something to help. But, we need you, too! Here’s the deal:

You could win a photo session with me at your choice of location! What a great evening out with your sweetheart!

• This session will be photographed by myself and will be held before June 2010 (we will work together to pick the perfect date).
• Session is for one couple (married, engaged or dating) or a high school senior and will last between 1-2 hours.
• Winner will also receive 25 fully processed, high resolution images on CD. Print to your heart’s content!

How to win:

• Make a MINIMUM donation of $10 to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.
• Forward a copy of your receipt to info@emmapoliquin.com
• All entries must be RECEIVED by midnight (Atlantic time) on January 31st.
• Winner will be drawn at random and announced on February 2nd.
• You can enter as many times as you’d like, but each entry must be the minimum $10 donation.

Other details:

• Session participants must sign a model release.
• Session must be held in/around Halifax Nova Scotia prior to June 2010.
• If the winner does not claim his/her prize by Feb. 9th or cannot claim the prize, then another winner will be drawn.

But wait! There’s more!

If you are a photographer and would like to hold your own Helping Hearts event to help Haiti, please contact Helping Hearts ASAP so they can send you everything you need to get started!

And PLEASE blog, Tweet or share this link on Facebook! You can also follow Helping Hearts on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

This is my brother and his girl friend Dafne who were amazing enough to go outside during a snowstorm for some pictures. When I woke up on January 2nd there were beautiful, large, fluffy snowflakes falling peacefully from the sky. I decided I had to find someone to photograph during that amazingly beautiful snowfall so I got on my phone and sent a text to my brother. Just a few texts later we had a photo shoot set up for a bit later in the day. Well, by the time we went to take the photographs those gorgeous snowflakes turned into this tiny, little snowflakes zooming around in the air. Not so wonderful. We went out anyway and I ended up loving the snowstorm!

We went into the forest for these to be able to shoot in the trails so we took two snowmobiles for transportation. So much fun! I have to thank Justin for being my driver and stopping whenever I saw the right locations and Frank and Dafne for freezing!

This past holiday season, my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Cayo Coco, Cuba. It was a wonderful vacation and made memories we will never forget. The majority of time there was spent on the beach and I think this post reflects that and we also spent some time on mainland Cuba where we visited a Cigar Factory and saw the real Cuba.

We spent the week at Blue Bay Cayo Coco and I could not help but imagine a wedding photograph everywhere that we went. If you or anyone else you know are having a destination wedding, e-mail me and I will hook you up!

What could be better then massages on the beach, palm trees rustling and the Cuban sun.

An overview of the Resort. To the left of this picture is the beach

Cuban Covertable Pesos, so colourful!

You should see how quickly these women could roll these cigars! It was so neat to watch each one made by hand

The Beach. There were sandbars so we could go so far into the water and not be in too deep to hold the camera

Justin and I on the beach

The resort just as the sun set. It was so beautiful I could hardly stand to come back home.