Fish Flies at Winnipeg Beach

The fish flies are a yearly occurrence at Winnipeg Beach. I remember the season all too well from when I was a kid. Most people aren't fond of them. They cover the entire town. The swarm of them is so big that you can see them on a weather radar. Other than blanket the town with millions of fish flies that smell pretty horrid, they don't do anything. They are literally just a feast for nature. They hatch, and then die within 48 hours. Birds that otherwise aren't seen in Winnipeg Beach come for the week long event and fill their bellies before flying off. This year seemed way heavier on the bugs than most other years. Check out some news articles like CBC or Huffington Post.

When I was a kid I thought of them more as fairies or dragon flies rather than some gross stinky bug...which they are. I loved them. Still do! I love how they are so obvious about how ecosystems operate. So I was rather excited that we were at our cabin during peak fish fly season. My girls loved them! And our pal Josh loved them as well! Josh is the son of my oldest friend that I met when I was 5 years old here in Winnipeg Beach...(and coincidentally Josh and Adelaide share a birthday!) So having our kids play together in the very place we shared our childhood is pretty special. Here is a collection of some pictures I took of our time together with the fish flies! 

Nolan & Asher

I was there documenting the moment Nolan came in to the world. It was such a beautiful and calm birth which you can see HERE. When Nolan was born, he made Asher a big bro! So when Nolan was 4 days old we did an in home family session. As you can imagine, it's pretty wild working with a toddler and a newborn. You gotta be quick. You gotta be ready all the time. You gotta learn the art of distraction, and I have definitely become a pro at that, ha ha ha. So even though Asher was more interested in playing than having his picture taken (like most tots), we were able to capture him in his world doing the things he loves, and the pictures turned out perfect and natural and real!! Scroll down and take a look at my favourites from this session!  

Good Morning Addison

{birth story}

This mama! Wow. The second I walked in to the room at the Toronto Birth Centre and saw this scene in the first image, I whispered, "wow!". This mama. So beautiful! So focused. She trained! She was prepared. She was ready! She worked so so hard for her sweet little wrinkly baby! She was well educated. She did everything in her power to help that baby down and out. But sometimes, try as we might, things happen that are no longer in our control. Baby was sunny side up and would not turn. She got stuck. And this mama didn't give up. She tried to turn that baby in every way she could. If you have ever experienced real back labour, it's worse than labour itself. And that happens when baby isn't facing the right way. So after 8 hours of intense back labour and with 2 exhausted soon to be parents and one soon to be grandma, they made the call and we did a hospital transfer. This mama didn't give up. She worked all through the night at Sunnybrook Hospital. Her goal at this point was to avoid a c-section. But alas after about 30 hours (24 of which I was there documenting) the tough but necessary decision to do a cesarean section was made. It was time for these parents to finally meet their baby! 

These are some of my favourite images from this birth story. At the bottom of these images you will find a video of the full birth story. Grab a whole box of tissues for this one. It's a real tear jerker! It was a real powerful emotional birth and you can really feel it in the video. Spending this amount of time with families through these intimate moments, you really can't help but get emotionally involved. This birth was the 20th birth I have documented, and you can bet your bottom dollar I remember every single one. 

Press play!!