What’s your New Years resolution?

Happy New Years Eve everyone! Some of you probably have big plans to hit the town tonight, while others are going to chill at home and maybe watch the ball drop into Times Square. However there’s one thing we all have in common this time of year ­– resolutions.  A silly tradition perhaps, yet there’s something about this time of year that inspires us to reflect on the year past and resolve to do even better in the next. Like hitting the refresh button .

In light of this reflective time of year, we thought we’d share some of the resolutions floating around the studio today:

Walk the dog more often.

Spend more time with family.

Spend more time outside.

Get into the Olympic spirit as much as possible.

Explore more of Vancouver’s fine eateries.

Dance more.

We know it’s sexy, but try to quit smoking people.

Laugh more.

Drink less…well, maybe in moderation. Ha.

So here’s to you and yours this New Years Eve! May you celebrate in style and kick off 2010 with a bang.

Salut!

The countdown is on

With less than 7 weeks to go, Vancouver is putting the finishing touches on the city to ensure a spectacular arrival for our international and home-grown guests alike. The Olympic vibe is the air folks, so we thought we’d get in the spirit and share a few Olympic-esque snaps with ya’ll.

By the way, anyone have any hook ups for the Molson Canadian Hockey House? Looks like it’s going to be one hell of a party. Check this.

O’Canada

55 Water Street

Gastown, situated in the heart of Vancouver’s heritage district, has become more than just a popular tourist attraction. Gastown and its vibrant neighborhood has quickly become Vancouver’s creative mecca, home to many local artists, photographers, furniture designers and the like.

Our studio is located in one of the neighborhood’s original structures – 55 Water Street to be precise – originally built in 1912 as the Malkin & Company grocery warehouse. Today this 6 storey building is still full of charm, with its brick walls, exposed cedar beams and eerie historical vibe. It’s also full of some very talented Vancouverites, so we thought we’d give a shout out to some of our fabulous neighbors:

Twenty One Inc. – www.twentyoneinc.com
Gajoum D’Art Studio Inc. – kalgajoum.com
James Northy – www.jamesnorthyfd.com
Kontent Creative – www.kontentcreative.com
Pace Group – www.pacegroup.com
Coastlines Creative Group – www.coastlinescreative.com
Wallop Creative – www.wallopcreative.com
Endgame – www.endgame.ca
Burke & Hair www.burkeandhair.com
Metta Healing www.mettahealing.ca
Red Rocket Creative Strategies www.redrocketcreative.com
Metalogix www.metalogix.net
Smart Web Canada www.smartwebcanada.com
Foot Prints Recruiting www.footprintsrecruiting.com
Blue Olive Photography www.blueolivephotography.com
The Old Spagetti Factory www.oldspaghettifactory.ca
Dirty Laundry www.ilovedirtylaundry.com
John Chen Photography www.jcphoto.ca
Free Agency Creative freeagencycreative.com
David Wilkes www.davidwilkesbespoke.com

Please click here to let us know about anyone we’ve missed!

Looking for a one-of-a-kind cocktail dress for New Years Eve? Perhaps you’re outfitting your new Woodward’s condo with some fine art or a funky conversational piece or two? In any case, cruise around these cobblestone streets and re-discover this hip yet understated hood.

Winter Warmers on Water Street

On this eve of Christmas, many of you are nestling in with the family for a few days of rest and rejoicing in an age-old holiday tradition – booze.  Aside from the feasting and singing and enjoyment of good company, nothing enhances ones jolly mood more than a festive Christmas cocktail. So in the spirit of the season, we have concocted our own cocktail, sure to put the jolly in your holly.

The C3 is a delicious blend of ingredients, mixed with Ciroc Vodka, distilled from Mauzac Blanc and Ugni Blanc grapes, grown in the Gaillac and Cognac regions of France. Why C3 you ask? It’s the Cruz Christmas Cocktail, ofcourse.

– A fifth (1½ oz.) Ciroc Vodka –
– Generous splash of Aloe juice –
– Stirred, not shaken –
– Add a few cranberries for color –
– Finish with a sprig of mint –

Refreshing and festive, the C3 will have your family and friends rockin’ around the Christmas tree til dawn.

From everyone at Jonathan Cruz Photography, have a safe and happy holiday.

Merry Christmas – Joyeux Noel – Buon Natale – Feliz Navidad – Feliz Natal – Maligayang Pasko

Bahala Na!

Loosely translated to happen what may, bahala na is a popular Filipino philosophy that we felt was fitting to share with everyone during this frantic festive season.

This time of year means more parties and get-togethers in one month than you’d attend in a year. Social butterfly burnout, if you will. The anxiety of catching up with all your friends and family in one short month often detours you from the point itself – to enjoy one another!

So next time one of your friends rocks up late for after-work drinks or one of your closest pals is a no-show due to extreme holiday burn out, don’t fret. Remember what’s really important, which is to enjoy our loved ones when we can. If not over rum and eggnog this Christmas, there will be plenty of time to toast one another in 2010.

Bahala na…

Help-Portrait Warmed the Hearts of Downtown Eastsiders

Several days following the international Help-Portrait event, the team at Jonathan Cruz Photography and the many amazing volunteers are still reeling from an extraordinary day spent with some extraordinary people. 

The crew set up shop at the Carnegie Library in the heart of Vancouver’s downtown eastside.  It was snowing lightly – the perfect day to come inside, have something warm to drink and have your family portrait taken by one of five local photographers, volunteering their time to give back to the community.

It was a busy day, snapping pics, running to and from Gastown Photo (who kindly donated all the beautiful black and white prints!), and framing each portrait for our subjects.  All the frames were donated by Homewerx on Davie Street – stop in and check them out – and we were also fortunate enough to have five fabulous makeup artists on hand to gussy up all the gals before each shoot. Special thanks to William F. White International for donating all the lighting and equipment and Off-Set rentals for the makeup stations!

The purpose of the event was to demonstrate that each and every member of our community matters and everyone deserves to have their photo taken with their loved ones. The positive response from the community lead to nearly 400 people having their portraits taken that day.

Thanks to all the many volunteers that made this event a success and a big congrats to all the other events around the world! See you next year.

Attention Last Minute Christmas Shoppers!

Still scrambling for those last few gifts to stick under the tree?  Perhaps you’re after that extra special stocking stuffer and you’re plum out of ideas. Look no further people – we have something that will make your mother-in-law swoon or your sweetie’s heart skip a beat.

Stay clear of the mall and avoid the stress of last-minute shopper pandemonium. Give the gift of timeless memories with a gift certificate from Jonathan Cruz Photography.  Packages start at $500, which includes a professional portrait shoot and 1 prepped image, touched up to perfection.

Perfect for corporate gifts or something to spoil your family, contact the studio for more information.

Happy Holidays!

 

Kimiko Zakreski Makes Sportsnet Top 10 Hottest

Sportsnet – Canada’s leader in high definition live-events – launched a campaign, encouraging viewers to logon to their website to cast their votes for Canada’s Hottest Athletes.

Hailing from Calgary, Canadian snowboarder Kimiko Zakreski is ranked 9^th in the list, however she’s #1 in our books! We had the pleasure of shooting Kimi this past summer and really enjoyed getting to know the girl behind the strong, athletic persona.

Kimi won her first career World Cup medal (silver) in December, 2008 and was ranked 18^th in the parallel giant slalom at the 2009 World Championships. She’s ranked 16^th overall in the 2008-09 World Cup alpine snowboard standings. All this and beauty to match!

Watch for Kimi competing for Canada on home turf during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

Check out Kimi’s gallery (featuring snaps provided by us!) on Sportsnet.ca.

 

The many faces of Sarah Smyth

Over the summer, we partnered with the talented Sarah Smyth, a Vancouver-based actress who has appeared on shows like Smallville and Harper’s Island. The concept was to coordinate a series of creative shoots, demonstrating how multi-faceted and multi-dimensional Sarah can be.

Check out Sarah’s YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/TheSarahSmyth

Several different looks and many characters later, Sarah uses her acting chops to work it for the camera going from a rock star and 1950’s pinup to the girl next door and – wait for it…a bearded man.

Check out some of the snaps from the shoot below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credits: Make up by the fabulous Maria Rahmany, Costumes by Sara Rakhshandeh,Hair Design by Trish Aye,  Hair Design by Cara Doell. Photography by Jonathan Cruz , Assistant/Video: Dan Ax, Mathias Zetzsche, crew: Annalissa & Katie

Pan Pacific Vancouver Skating Event

The team from the Pan Pacific Vancouver and their families spent an afternoon on the ice of the Richmond Olympic Oval. Check out our video of the shoot below:

Video by Dan Ax – www.youtube.com/DanAxFilms