I was originally supposed to be in Barrie, Ontario this morning but I had to cancel my trip last night. The idea was to visit my friend Gary so that I could take some pictures of myself and his bike for an upcoming ‘Traction’ article I am writing. Somehow, I ended up on Toronto’s best beach, with my two children, my mother and my camera.

It was a cool, sunny and blustery day. The waves were rolling in and the sand was wet under our feet. Quite a different feel compared to last week’s photo session with Dan’s kids. I called my mother in the early afternoon and asked her if she would be willing to help me keep an eye on the kids while I had my eye behind the camera. Conditions were perfect and I had to take advantage of it. I have been waiting a long time to take pictures of ‘mes deux maringouins’ (mosquito in Quebec as I affectionately call them) and was excited to finally have the opportunity.

When Luc first stepped onto the sand his head and eyes immediately went down. It was almost as if he was in a trance. Sand everywhere. He has seen sand but not this much and it was mesmerising. I focused my attention on him as I found it harder to take pictures of him. His brother Sebastien lends himself easier to the camera. Luc, on the other hand, is more evasive and quickly turns away or charges full steam ahead onto my lens. Today however, his head was down and he was not listening to any cues my mother or myself gave him. Luckily, the waves caught his attention. They also caught his shoes and by the time we left his feet and the bottom of his jeans were soaked. It was just plain fun to see him stomp on the water as it rolled in to greet his tiny feet.

On the flip side Sebastien was busy creating sand castles and sand art. It was fun watching them play and I consider myself so lucky having been able to record them with my camera. Too quickly though the sun lost power and my golden light was beginning to fade. I would soon need a flash to brighten up their faces. I decided to pack it in..already satisfied at the natural light pictures I was able to get.

Thanks to my mom for helping out and for my two beautiful children for being kids. I am super happy at the pictures I was able to get. When I look at the photos from today I see my children in all their splendour – happy, surprised or lost in deep thought…the pictures reflect their personalities. I will definitely be hanging up a few.