New blog reminder!

Hey guys!

Just a reminder that this blog is no longer active and my new blog is http://msansoucy.wordpress.com Please make your way over to my new blog and be sure to follow and comment!!

Much love & peace!

Martine

How I really feel about Jamaica… a personal post :-)

We are outside and the heat is thick.. my hands are literally swollen to the size of small balloons (just a fun perk of being me right now). I am wiping the sweat off my brow and chatting with friends or yelling in their ears over the loud music. Despite my trying to stay still, I just can’t. I find myself involuntarily moving in my seat and wanting to get up and grind my whole body to the vibrant and sexually explosive Jamaican music. I am the only white girl in the place and my red hair and fair skin stick out like a sore thumb, attracting all sorts of wanted and unwanted attention. At times, it can be a little tiresome and all I want to do is fit in. I cover my hotel band with my bracelet and try to look casual, like being thrust into such a foreign way of life is normal for me. I run into some people I met last time I was there.. I can hardly believe I know people here already and it’s a great feeling. I want locals to consider me another local, not some tourist who’s rolling in American money.

I take a cab back home in the darkness. I am crammed in a small car that sounds like it might explode if it moves too fast with a tall dark Jamaican man on my right and a cheerful voluptuous looking woman on my left. They chatter with each other sometimes in Patois (the Jamaican language) and I struggle to understand… if only I had bought some books before I left! They start to chatter with me and within 5 minutes we are exchanging numbers and Facebook info, hoping to connect if I should ever be back in Montego Bay. The general vibe is they just want to show me a good time here in Jamaica and they are always so interested to hear about the weather where I am from. It’s nearing the end of my ride and I hand the cabby $200 Jamaican dollars, which comes to around $2 American or Canadian. No doubt I would be paying an upwards of $30 or $40 American if I had taken the “safer” and registered taxi’s that come straight to the front of my hotel. Again, I don’t want to be some rich bitch perceived by the Jamaican’s, I just want to be treated like everyone else even though my face is white as the moon.

The security guys at the gates of my hotel are by now used to my comings and goings. When I left the first night I was there with friends, they were sure to document my room number, name, the name of the person who was picking me up and the location of where we were headed. By the third day, they just smiled and waved me off as I ran off across the street. One of the security guys later told me him and the other guys were concerned about me, but after watching how I waved away certain cabs and chose specific ones they knew that I knew what I was doing. I was really flattered by this and it made me feel happy to know they no longer just thought of me as some “tourist” – confined to the prison walls of a resort.

I found myself often moving to Jamaican beats in my head, even when there was no music playing. I felt vibrant, alive, energetic! My skin was also literally starting to glow.. my pimples were disappearing and I felt less self conscious about being a bit bigger than I would like to be at this time as the Jamaican men were quite forward about letting me know how they felt about my appearance. It was always positive and I was flattered at most times. It was a self esteem boost but could also easily get tiring. My nose had cleared up.. I slept like a baby, the best I have slept in so long because I could finally breath. Back home my nose is constantly stuffed up and I often wake up not being able to breath. The only downfall was the sweat… ohhh the sweat. I don’t mind sweating during a workout I’m killing, but to sweat all the time every day for no other reason then just because you are hot and uncomfortable is unattractive to say the LEAST.

My friends are gems.. I made some real connections I feel so good about. There were other people I met and the general over all consensus from a lot of people was that a friendship could be bought and paid for. After all I am from Canada and I MUST be loaded with cash and have plenty to give away at leisure. I am not. My money is worth just as much as theirs is back home and it’s not cheap to live here in Canada. Not cheap at all. I may make more, but I sure spend a hell of a lot more on the necessities of life. There were times I felt taken advantage of and merely used for the hopes of receiving my money. It didn’t feel good and it didn’t feel right. That was the one biggest negative that I have about being in Jamaica. All the more reason fitting in as a local was so important to me. Now let’s be fair… not ALL Jamaican’s are like this. On the opposite end of the spectrum I was treated the best I have been treated by anyone in a long time by my friends, who are all amazing and wonderful people.

The last night in Jamaica my friends took me to a street party… Yes, a real street party in Jamaica. Honestly, sometimes I had to take a step back to realize that I was actually there and it was real and this was happening. The sweet smell of pot wafted around and drinks were flowing. The music was sick. I had begun to pick out my favorite songs and move my body freely when they came on. Suddenly at some point, the party went from seeing space between people to crammed and jammed up against one another.. in a sea of dark faces I was the only white girl at the party yet again and the guys walking around with video cameras seemed to be attacking me with bright lights. Being there was amazing though, and the feeling was humbling and surreal. I never wanted it to end.  I was feeling good but the last couple of days had exhausted me. By the next morning I was feeling emotional and heavy with regret at the thought of leaving this beautiful tropical paradise. I felt like perhaps I had let myself feel too fast and too much for some of the connections I made and didn’t want it to end.

Yes, I do believe I made real connections and also a couple friends for life. The number one question I am being asked by all is did I find love in Jamaica? Well the answer to that is simple. No. But I believe I could. It would be easy and effortless and it scares me to death. There are some things a girl doesn’t need to share with the world either. What I really need to do now is fall in love with myself.

What are the things I brought back with me that are the most treasured? First and foremost, the memories and the friendships. After that, I would have to say the mixed CD’s of music I bought from random guys selling burnt discs from their cars and on the streets. I still feel like dancing and it has me motivated to start dancing once again. Overall I brought back a sense of myself.. a longing for change and self appreciation. Yes Jamaica will change you and affect you in many ways if you are open to let it in.

Will I be back to Jamaica? I have no plans as of right now to be returning to the beautiful country, but sometimes fate has a way of intervening and whatever is meant to be will be. For now I am studying up on learning some Patois and dancing around the house in my underwear to these ripped Jamaican beats , feeling more free and irie than I have in my life.

*Stay tuned for a mega blog post on the AHHMAZING Wedding I shot in Jamaica and all the fun details behind it and other shoots I did while there!*

Get Results From Your New Years Resolutions! +Free daily planner & monthly resolution planner!

Sharing again! Get success out of your New Years Resolutions in 2014 AND download my FREE monthly resolution planner and my FREE daily planner!

Photography by Martine Sansoucy

Can you believe it is already 2014!?

I can’t. Seriously. 2013 flew by and I feel like I didn’t get the most out of it at times! I definitely do not want to feel that way about 2014. Are you with me?

Firstly, I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and a super awesome fantabulous New Year! I spent my holidays with my family and nothing could be better. Instead of a ton of Christmas presents (that would eventually end up all over my floor, and broken), my boys and I decided to start a new tradition this year! We took ourselves to Las Vegas for an early holiday vacation and it was AHHHHMAZING. So amazing in fact, that it is a tradition we are carrying on in 2014 and bringing extra family with us! It will be exciting for us to plan a trip somewhere new…

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New Blog reminder!!

Hey guys!

Please remember to come visit my new blog and follow it! http://msansoucy.wordpress.com

xoxo – M

Adventures in Jamaica Pt 1

I hope you will check out and follow my new blog!

Adventures in Jamaica pt 1

Cheers! Martine

New Blog!

I just want to direct everyone to my new blog at http://msansoucy.wordpress.com/

Hope you will continue to follow me there!

Love & Peace – Martine

Finishing up some wedding edits!! :-)

What a great day with my boys!!
I have some amazing shoots coming up tomorrow so I am excited for that!

 

Had to share some of these edits I was finishing up from weddings!

 

Nite everyone xxoo Martine

Saskatoon Wedding Photography

Saskatoon Wedding Photography

Saskatoon Wedding Photography

Saskatoon Wedding Photography

 

Saskatoon Wedding Photography

 

 

What a very cold and gross day! Here’s a little something to warm your thoughts….

Good morning!

What a gross cold day! I can’t believe this time of the year has come already… [insert excitement for Mexico Destination wedding here!]. I am so so excited for a weekend of fun with the boys and also some amazing photoshoots with some old and new clients! I am also getting ready for an awesome concept shoot on Monday… yay.. wait until you see what I have up my sleeve for this one!
Anyway I got so warm and fuzzy looking at these photos from the summer. My son Christian is fishing for minos at a Blackstrap and I love all the things the sun did that night 🙂 Thought I would share and hope it warms your thoughts as well ❤

xxoo – M

Saskatoon Photography by Martine Sansoucy

Saskatoon Photography by Martine Sansoucy

 

Vote for my photo!

Good morning everyone!!

This morning my post is going to be about shameless self promotion! I really want to win this contest so that I can buy MORE props for photoshoots! I would absolutely love your help to win this contest. You can access it through Facebook and you can vote once a day! My mom made the costume out of old sheets bought at Value Village! 🙂

Thanks so much in advance for your support and votes!

http://bit.ly/Tca2HM
❤ Martine

A little sneak peek of the vintage boudoir sessions!

Here’s just a little sneak peek of the vintage boudoir sessions! Hair & Makeup done by Tamsen Rae 🙂

Vintage boudoir sessions by Martine Sansoucy

Vintage boudoir sessions by Martine Sansoucy