Things You Should Know About Me

I thought I'd share a bit about me...

I’m an aries. 
“Adventurous, ambitious, impulsive, enthusiastic and full of energy. The Arian is a pioneer both in thought and action, very open to new ideas and a lover of freedom. They welcome challenges and will not be diverted from their purpose except by their own impatience” [according to www.astrology-online.com] – that’s pretty much me. But I like to think I’m DRIVEN not AMBITIOUS.

I sometimes miss England. And Ottawa. And Kananaskis. And being on the road. Or in the air. Or just on the go. I feel things pretty intensely. Some days all of the above are correct. Some days I miss the UK for all the “old” stuff - the history, the quaint villages, the stone walls - and of course my family. Some days I miss travelling (I’ve been to a lot of countries, and travelled quite a bit on my own for extended periods of time.) Some days none of the above is correct because I’m TOTALLY in love with Kelowna, and the whole Okanagan Valley. In fact, people come HERE for their vacation and for destination weddings – it’s an amazing place!

Sometimes I talk too much.

I love food. Period.  I like Thai, Japanese (but not so much the creepy octopus tentacles – yes, I did try it though), Italian, Indian, Greek, BBQs, seafood, steak, pasta, salad, desserts, wine…and a good old-fashioned English Sunday dinner.
P.S. The list is not exhaustive. Feel free to invite me over and I’d be happy to try a new dish!

I like hockey. In fact, my husband and I were two of the thousands of fans who went to the Canada vs USA game at the Vancouver Olympics. No, we didn’t pay a fortune for our tickets – but we DID sign up for the Olympic newsletter 18 months before the Games took place…and we had a bit (maybe a lot) of luck when the preliminary round tickets we got in the ticket lottery turned out to be for that much-coveted game. (P.S. I still don’t always catch it when a team is offside – I know what it means, I just can’t follow the action that takes place so quickly. And we still follow our home team in Nottingham, England - Go Panthers!)

I spend a lot of time on the ground at weddings and portrait sessions because:
1.    I’ve stumbled over a chair, a person’s leg, or someone’s dog
2.    I’ve dropped my camera
3.    I’m drunk
4.    I like to see the world from a different perspective
The correct answer is 4.
Most people forget to look up, or through, or down. I remember a scene from Dead Poet’s Society (yes, I’m THAT old) where Robin Williams gets the students to stand on their desks to get a different perspective. (Oh, and 1 is a possibility – I’m usually totally focused on capturing the moment; 2. I hope never happens; 3. I NEVER drink – while I’m “on duty” anyway ;0) – it’s just not professional.)

I’m interested in people. (Hence all the travelling too.) It’s why I LOVE photography – weddings, babies, families, events, sports – all involve people. I used to really want to be a travel photographer, but I realized that (besides trying all that fabulous food) I got to experience different cultures and like meeting and photographing people. I’m blessed in that I met some kind, generous people who showed me their special part of the world. Everyone has a story. I like to tell it through photographs.

I love to read. There's never enough hours in a day, but I try to read for a few minutes every day over breakfast. As I've gotten older, I've become more interested in biographies (currently I'm reading Nelson Mandela's "The Long Walk to Freedom", and I've just finished Theo Fleury's "Playing with Fire" autobiography). I read about business and marketing (last year I read the classic from the 1950's that's still valid today: "How to Win Friends and Influence People"; currently in line to be read is "Predictably Irrational"). And I like fantasy/sci-fi (I'm waiting to read the last Robert Jordan "Wheel of Time" book.) I read photography books and fashion magazines (ok, I look at the photos to spot current trends and look at all the shoes that look great...on someone else's feet).

I hate my feet. Size 11. Wide. Flat. Funny toes (2 broken ones, 2 squished pinky toes.) Not so good for finding stylish ladies' shoes!

P.S. This is me and my (sometimes) better half Paul at our own wedding. We’re still kinda new at this marriage thing – not quite newlyweds anymore, but not “grown old together” yet. We arranged our wedding in Ottawa, while living in the UK. We had an ice cream cake even though people said “you can’t do that in the middle of August” – we did! We didn’t have dancing (people said “you HAVE to have dancing” – we didn’t). We had a brunch wedding instead, then everyone walked through downtown Ottawa, along the canal, beside the Chateau Laurie and Parliament Hill, to get to the boat dock where we all (45 of us) took a boat cruise…then Paul & I ditched them, and had an incredible late dinner, just the two of us, at Le Merlot – a revolving restaurant on the 27th floor of the Marriott Hotel in Ottawa. Perfect...or perfectly us! (The moral of the story is - do it your own way, it's your day after all!)

P.P.S. Here's a test to see if you read right to the end - when you contact me, or on the Style Photography Facebook page, please put the comment "The answer is 42" along with your details. Thanx!



Angelique Duffield, LSWPP
250.575.5964
http://www.stylephotography.ca/
Creative. Stylish. Professional.