Lethbridge Portrait & Wedding Photography & Design by Tanya Plonka

It’s been a few years since Matthew Good played in Lethbridge, so it was a treat to finally have him back. I’m a little biased in my opinion of the show because he’s been my favorite musician for half my life, but I’m sure there were a few other people who agreed with me seeing as how it was sold out ;)

I was able to catch one of his shows at Jack Singer Hall in Calgary the week before and was excited to be able to photograph his bar gig here in Lethbridge after seeing that. Luckily the gorgeous light show they had set up translated pretty well to the smaller stage. The performance was amazing (one of his best I’ve seen), and we all cheered when he chastised a few guys who started a fight. Definitely one of my top shows of the year! Read more here »

Vegas shows usually have a no photography rule, but Absinthe encouraged it! This relatively new show in a circus-esque area outside of Caesar’s Palace is described as Cirque du Soleil’s younger punk brother, which was the perfect description of it. It takes the impressive acrobatic nature of Cirque and throws in raunchy humor (including making fun of Cirque) with a super intimate environment. The stage is only about 10 feet wide with seating for 200 in the theatre, so no matter where you are, you are up close and personal. If these performers were to mess up, you’d get a roller skate in the face. We didn’t splurge for the VIP tickets and still managed to get the second row, which was almost but not quite as terrifying as the first row.

The performers were all amazing and I think I watched half the show with my jaw hanging open. (The other half was spent wiping away tears of laughter.) If you’re easily offended, the humor in the show may not be appropriate for you, and if you don’t want to be picked on, sit a little further back :) Read more here »

It’s been a busy season so I’m two months behind on posting this, but better late than never, right?

I had a great time at Photoshop World again and learned many things which I have since forgotten (good thing I took notes!).

On my first day, I went on the Photo Safari with Joe McNally and Moose Peterson. I am lucky I signed up for it when I did because it was sold out several days later! This event is always popular because you get to spend an entire day shooting with these two very influential, talented photographers. They show you how they light scenes, interact with subjects, and see things the way they do. This year the field trip was to Bonnie Springs Ranch, which is a tourist attraction just half an hour outside of Las Vegas. The employees/actors who work at the ranch were our models, and they were great to work with. Read more here »

Amazing! Amazing! It’s hard to write much else about this show. After a much too long hiatus, Big Sugar got back together and this is very dear to my heart since they were the second 18+ show I ever went to (my friend and I had to skip some classes in high school the next morning to do this). Gordie Johnson is also now a member of Wide Mouth Mason so they came along as well, and that’s exciting since they are one of my top bands. Shaun is one of my favorite singers – ever – and I never cease to be amazed at his guitar playing gush gush gush, etc. though that’s some tough competition when you are sharing the stage with Gordie.

This show went on for several epic hours and I’m so glad I got to be up front, showered by Gordie’s spit as he sang! :) Read more here »

Shari and Garett go back to nearly the beginning of my photography career; I second shot their wedding with Hope only half a year after starting at that studio. Now they have a little family with their daughter Ava, who is an adorable, smiley, curly-haired girl but with all the stubbornness of the average two year old :)
Photos involved a lot of chasing her and as usual with kids that age, we tricked her into all kinds of photos! Read more here »

I love following this family! Though I have photographed their siblings, cousins, and friends, it all started a few years ago when I did Chrysline and Michael’s maternity photos. Now Mahlia is getting pretty grown up, and they are adding a set of twins into the family in a few months! I think Chrysline is double-glowing as a result :)

I was so happy we had a beautiful evening for photos and there were just enough leaves left on the trees. Read more here »