Rachel Peters Photography

New Blog Link

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:52:50 -0400

Hey everyone!

Just a little note to let everyone know to update your blog links to the new blog link below.

All of my new blog posts since this last one are over on the new site!

New Blog is located at http://www.blogbyrachel.com

Cannot wait to see u at the new blog!

Keep on smiling!

Rachel :-)

Adrianne + Johnny = Engaged

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:19:57 -0400

Johnny & Adrianne introduced me to one of the most peaceful place in PEI. I have since been back to this spot and have sat in the trees and just listened. I could not hear a single thing except the gentle sound that the trees were whispering in the soft breeze. So very quite and solitude. Had I never met this lovely couple, I would have never found this amazing spot. Thank you Karma for bringing all of us together.

Having a place you can go and relax and have no sound of the outside world is amazing. Being alone with your thoughts is an important place to be when you are a creative person. To be able to look around you and feel safe and hear nothing but the wind is exactly why I now go out to this spot. I went out just recently and it is completely packed in by snow and I couldn't get to it without snowshoes.

Johnny, Adrianne and I will have a great day together this coming spring when they get married on PEI. Cannot wait!

Cheesehead

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:50:32 -0400

I like cheese. I always have. I am a Peters afterall. The Peters family could live off of cheese.

So today is Superbowl Sunday. This is the biggest cheese day of all. Well I guess that depends on what team you are cheering for today!

Todays defensive match up is between the Pittsburgh Steelers vs the Green Bay Packers. While many of you join in to watch the Superbowl for the funny new commercials, half time show or eating 400 lbs of food, including CHEESE....I will watch it for the game. All of it. Actually most of who we will watch the game with are VERY interested in the outcome of this game. Normally you can count on me and my Chiefs to be matched up together, but today....

With or Without Favre, today I am a Cheesehead!

Looks like someone else is also a Cheesehead...not just today but everyday....Jackson Ole Boy defies his owner and meows ... "GO PACKERS!!! Down with the Steelers!!!"

Karianne + Jim = Engaged

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:47:55 -0400

What is love? It is one of the most difficult questions for the mankind. Centuries have passed by, relationships have bloomed and so has love. But no one can give the proper definition of love. To some Love is friendship set on fire for others Maybe love is like luck. You have to go all the way to find it. No matter how you define it or feel it, love is the eternal truth in the history of mankind.

Be together, share your joy and sorrow, understand each other, provide space to each other, but always be there for each others need. And surely love will blossom to strengthen your relationship with your matter of affection.

Love will always leave people with a question mark and memories or happiness like nothing else in this world. Let's love each other, be kind and pass it on.

I dreamt my life.

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 01:40:53 -0400

So a year ago almost to the date, it began. My reassessment of my state of affairs. My reassessment of what I wanted my life to be like. As I was sitting in my cubicle on the night shift in a federal government building for the 10th year in a row, I started to think....

What would it be like if I was a wedding photographer full time? Imagine taking photographs and being able to make art as a living. Think about how fun it would be to travel to unknown surroundings to photograph two people in love.

Imagine.
Dream.
Inspire.

Wait a minute....

How scary would it be to sign a release form with the federal government and leave a steady income? SCARY.

How scary would it be to not know for sure if any one would be interested in booking me & I might have zero income coming in? SCARY. VERY SCARY.

What if I fail? or succeed? S C A R Y.

But life wouldn't be life without being scary. I think this past year has taught me more lessons about my self and about my life and definitely about my strength as a human being than I ever could have dreamt that it would.

Right now as I sit at my desk in my meeting space, surrounded by my photographs and I am typing up this blog post, I am beyond Thankful. Thankful that I did sign that release form. Of course their will always be fears involved in having my own business, and their will always be days that I wonder if I made the right the decision. As time passes the answer becomes more clear. Following your dreams is the right answer for your mind, heart & soul.

So very Thankful that I am now following my dream of capturing love.

Dream on, friends, DREAM ON!

Krista + David = Married

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:11:26 -0400

I am just in the process of getting my 2012 prices ready and have many requests waiting to be answered regarding this! I am on it! I promise! I will be announcing my first come/first serve wedding dates being released via Twitter, Facebook and my blog very soon.

As I am going through making changes/updates to my 2011 packages I am still in the process of posting many many more weddings from this past wedding season. I came across my beautiful Krista! This bride made me laugh, made me cry. She was just a doll, and with her favorite friends, family & the love of her life all around her made everyone smile

Krista & David live out in Alberta and grew up in Newfoundland, so the whole wedding from start to finish was fun. Lots of laughing and joy!

"Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end."

Julie + Matt = Married

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:30:51 -0400

Oh Julie & Matt got married on a freezing cold day in the fall. Well now that I think of it, compared to now, it was balmy warm weather! For real, I couldn't believe how cold it was, even I was cold. If the "Ice Princess" was cold, everyone else must be frozen. This group was awesome as not once did I hear a complaint about it.

I mentioned before how fall is my ultimate favorite time of year. I love everything about it. The crisp air, apple picking season, the color of the leaves, the beautiful color of the sunsets. This wedding was taken on my birthday weekend and the most thankful weekend of the year! My sweet Julie & Matt gave me a card with the words "Here's to living life on the edge". I really aspire to live those words. People seem to always worry about the next step in life, and of course I do as well. I try my hardest to live with not as much worry about the next step and in the now! I love that my clients new this about me and seemed in sync with the way I live & my beliefs.

Oh I know...you have heard it before from me..."yes I love my clients" and I am always saying "I am lucky to have them". I am lucky to be able to say and truthfully believe that they are not just clients but they are friends as well!

Me + NYC = TLND

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:27:07 -0400

I wonder what I would be like had I never traveled. What if I never was on a plane before? or lived overseas in Abu Dhabi before? or followed my dreams to far off places? Would I be more shy? Would I be more closed minded? I could play the "if" game all day long, and will never know.

These are things I do know I love about traveling:

~ Meeting Local People & Learning about their lives. This can change your world. It can change the way you think about this life, and it makes the world a smaller and more lovely place.

~ It brings out my innermost creativity. I have seen a million buildings in my life, but the one city that brings out creativity in me every single time is New York City. It is filled with culture, amazing stories and art.

~ Opens my mind. Each time I travel I find out more about myself and about my interaction with others. Self Awareness is something that can never be a complete task.

On a flight from Abu Dhabi via Saudi Arabia via London, England to Halifax, I was sitting with a fellow islander. He inquired about my tan (Abu Dhabi is in the middle of the desert) and where I was coming from and heading to. I told him that I was trying to get all of my travelling out of my system while I was young. He just laughed and said I would love to meet up with you again in 20 years and see if your plan works. That was 10 years ago and I feel like I have barely skimmed the surface of where I want to visit and explore! I have several loves and passions in this world, and traveling is definitely one of them!

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." - St. Augustine

Vivian + Dave = So Sweet

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:28:24 -0400

When New York City mayor declares a state of emergency because of a snow storm, the city shuts down. As I am from PEI and we know a real storm is, we don't stop, we just become more interested. To us a few inches of snow does not shut down a city! Even the owner of the apartment we stayed in was worried for our safety. We decided we would still go out and explore and do our planned shoot! Most of these images were taken around 5th Ave & in around The Plaza!

The snow just started to flake as we started our session but this only added to the mood and the ambiance of the shoot! Their is nothing quite like being all snuggled up with the one you love when it is snowing out side! So in your own little world in a city of 18 million. So romantic!

Vivian works with MasterCard on the marketing end of the company. Dave is a prosecutor in NYC along with a martial arts teacher. They live in New York and had hired my dear friend Krista Jefferson of Edison Photography to photograph their wedding last year. When Krista contacted them that we wanted to set up a shoot with them they were more than willing! We were all excited to try out our new lights we had purchased at Adorama that day! They are such an adorable couple! Even though they were shaking because of the cold, they were willing to keep on photographing! What a sweet couple!

Copy Yourself

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:48:49 -0400

Anyone who tells me the power of twitter and fate don't mix have it all wrong. I am not one to believe that I am always right and cannot accept another view but this time I feel pretty strongly about it. It is only because of twitter that my photo girls and I met Joel in New York City.

Joel is married, and has 6 children. He travels about an hour to work on 42nd Ave in Manhattan to share his positive thoughts and vibes via twitter while he works for Adorama. So our group of 6 traveled to Adorama to make a few purchases and could not go their without meeting our famous Joel. He is amazing as his twitter personality which surprised none of us. He came with us to the cupcake shop down the street and we had the most amazing conversation with him. Follow Joel on Twitter @adoramaused

Joel really inspired me in so many ways. He pointed out that artists are so hard on themselves and we all need to be happy with the work we are producing because it is amazing. When he mentioned the words "Copy Yourself" my eyes teared up. Being an artist it is such a hard business to be in because you are constantly being criticized. You could be complimented a 100 times and 1 critical comment and that's the one your remember. Joel was so impressed with our group of girls who have bonded. He thought having such a safe place to share and boost each other up is an amazing thing.

Genuine real connections is what traveling is all about. It is what makes traveling an adventure. If I could make one connection each trip that I go on, this would make the world a much smaller place for me.

"Live by looking in the mirror and not by looking out the window" - Joel

Brooklyn Bridge Love Session - NYC

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:36:00 -0400

Nothing says love, like a beautifully sweet couple being photographed in New York City on the Brooklyn Bridge. Marina & Victor were visiting from Brazil for the first time to the Big Apple. Both being lawyers in sunny Brazil they found NYC quite cold and different!

As we walked around taking shots of this lovely couple on the bridge, I almost felt like I was by myself in a city of 10 million people, I felt as if it was just a few of us around. I sometimes almost feel surreal when I am shooting in a place that I love. It feels like nothing else exists, except me, my camera & the clients.

New York City is a magical place with so much character and it fascinates me time and time again. If you want to be inspired this is the place to go. This is a place I will never fall out of love with.

Valentine's Day Session

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 19:05:16 -0400

This Julia Roberts look alike did this session last year for Valentine's Day for her husband. I have heard that he loved it as much as she did. YAY!!

Julia, I mean Jana, was very nervous to do this session. I think she almost *secretly* hoped that I wouldn't answer the door so she could go back home. I am glad I didn't and had sent a confirmation email the night before. I think she DEFINITELY had hoped I hadn't done that!

I received this response from her about the boudoir session.."It's not just enough to be able to take great pictures, you make people feel at ease too! I have told so many people what a fabulous experience a shoot with YOU is! .... I love your blogs, they are soooo from the heart...so heartfelt" :-)

I still have a few spaces left for the Valentine's Day sessions on January 22nd & 23rd. Would love to capture your beauty!

Roadtrip

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:13:13 -0400

I need to pee. I need to pee. I NEED TO PEE.

When will we be stopping?

I need to peeeeeeeeeeeeee.

The snow is nicer in New York State. I am tired. I need to pee. But it is all worth it to spend all this time with these wonderful girls.

I love getting my hair braided by Jodi.

I love learning all the wisdom of the world from my European friend Nataschia.

I love laughing and playing tricks on the other girls with Krista.

I love hearing about love from Rosita.

I love that I can trust Sandra to get me safely where we are going.

I drank too much Starbucks and I need to peeeeeeee.

Fresh Start with Fresh Memories of 2010

Thu, 30 Dec 2010 15:39:32 -0400

Treasure

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:36:04 -0400

Christmas is amazing and heartbreaking all at once. Two extreme ends of the emotional spectrum but for many people experiencing the heartbreaking end they can not imagine the amazing end of that spectrum.

This is a particularly hard time for families that have lost a special someone. Unexpectedly just the other day, one of my best friends from high school lost her father; whom she was extremely close to. My heart breaks for her, and I cannot imagine the pain that she is experiencing. Christmas may never be the same for her & the rest of her family. This is the kind of pain that presents and gifts cannot take away, or make a heart smile. It is the kind of pain you wish you could wave a magic wand and not have a dear friend or anyone experience. If I could I would do so. I hate to see people in pain and heart, my empathetic soul hurts for her and her family.

I know their are many other families on PEI are also experiencing deep heartbreak and for them I am sadden as well. Any of these losses would hurt any time of the year but this time of year they seem to break your heart even more.

I believe this is a lesson that the Universe has sent me. It is to hug my family more, laugh more, listen more, be present more, enjoy every single moment with my family more. I send this lesson to each of you as this holiday season passes and we begin another year & another chance to live as fully as your soul can allow.

XO to each and everyone of you who have taught me many lessons about life, happiness and sorrow this past year. I treasure each one of you in my life.