Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

Congratulations to the nursing grads of 2021/22! The University of Lethbridge was finally able to have in-person convocation ceremonies again and the nursing class was able to have their pinning ceremony. The event was held in the ballroom at the university with graduates, faculty members, and their family in attendance.

This year’s graduates had unique challenges during their education. Their time at school saw a pandemic, online classes, and a faculty strike. Making it this far was even more of an accomplishment than any of them had anticipated.

Thank you for having me photograph your University of Lethbridge Nursing Faculty pinning ceremony!

When Anita called me to book her Coaldale backyard family photos, she was in a hurry. One of her sons was ready to travel back to Germany the moment flights reopened and one son had just graduated high school but missed out on the big ceremony. To keep her session easy for the boys to prepare for and make it more personal, I visited them in their beautiful backyard.

We spent the first half of the session focusing on the family, and the second half was dedicated to Steve’s grad photos. Luckily he had been able to borrow a cap and gown from his school, but I think the best photos were of him rocking his suit. You could tell he felt extra confident in it. It definitely “suited” him (sorry I will see myself out).

Martha is a very dear friend of one of my favorite university professors that I’ve ever had. I’ve seen so many photos of her and heard so many of their adventures that I almost felt like I knew her before I met her! As part of her graduation gift, Martha’s friend treated her to convocation portraits. This year Martha accomplished the huge achievement of graduating with a University of Lethbridge Masters Degree in Environmental Science.

We did the photos at the University of Lethbridge to honour the hard work she put in on campus. However, Martha was feeling a little done with her studies by that point so we stuck to more of the natural landscape around the university rather than looking at the buildings. The lilacs are amazing this year and were still in bloom on campus so we took full advantage of them.

Upon meeting Martha you can immediately sense how kind and positive she is. This was even more apparent in how happy she looked wearing several layers with her cap and gown in the heat! It was super hot that day – unbelievably so! – but Martha was full of smiles and laughter.

Congratulations on your graduation, Martha!

I started out the U of L grad week with the lovely Michelle who was celebrating her newly acquired degree! Michelle and her family came back to the city for her convocation and University of Lethbridge graduation photos. To avoid being rushed we did her session the night before grad, which I think was a fantastic move as convocation day is so crazy! Her mom and dad (mostly dad) tried their best to embarrass her during the photos but Michelle would have none of that ;) After her cap and gown photos around the university campus, we headed over to Aperture Park for more casual portraits. The rain tried to threaten us but instead we had a beautiful evening!

(more…)

I met up with Bert, his wife Geraldine, and their five beautiful children for his University of Lethbridge convocation photos immediately after his graduation ceremony finished. Bert’s family was buzzing with excitement over his accomplishment, and his sisters were so excited they couldn’t stop hugging him! To celebrate his achievement, we wandered around the U of L campus that afternoon for family portraits. It was such a beautiful day, though that’s not the kind of day you want to be wearing a heavy black robe ;)

(more…)

Chantal finished her nursing diploma and wanted to celebrate with some super fun photos with her family on her convocation weekend, so we headed out to Indian Battle Park for her Lethbridge graduation photos. The only problem was that the wind that day had insane gusts and Lethbridge was covered in a giant dust cloud! Aside from some intense balloon wrangling and averting our faces the few times we were pelted with rocks, I think we excellently pulled through! Chantal had some adorable motion in her hair (though Chantal is always adorable!) and the balloon situation gave us a LOT to laugh about. :)

Congratulations on your convocation, Chantal! (more…)