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Photographing babies in the buff has also led to some messy situations that Mara easily laughs off. She also takes pictures of older children and does publicity shots for models, actors, weight trainers and even a few "John Does" accompanied by much younger women. "The hardest age to photograph? Babies who have just learned to crawl," Mara testifies. While they're exiting the scene on hands and knees, Mara's poodle and cat are just as likely to wander onto the scene. There are some challenges to working in a home studio. Mara's maternity photography has garnered considerable media interest, including a VTV spot that went national on CTV. There have also been a couple of magazine covers and a contract with Please Mum to brag about. When Mara was featured in Arts Alive almost three years ago, she had w o n an Entrepreneur of the Year Award for her achievement home-based in a business business, a development tie-dye baby course that she used to launch her first and kids clothing operation. Mara sold her products at local craft fairs and worked feverishly to keep up with the orders, quickly expanding from a one-woman show to a thriving, multi-level enterprise. Despite this success Mara longed to return to her pre-pregnancy career as a photographer and soon started working with another photographer in a Gastown studio. Soon Mara opened a studio in North Vancouver which goes full tilt, six days a week. Mara is opening a second Next, studio on Vancouver Island where a friend is setting up a facility that will feature a collection of maternity services from clothing to yoga and midwifery. She'll swoop in to do the photography three days a month. A third studio awaits in Kelowna. As a child Mara loved to draw pictures of eyes, reflecting that "the eyes are the window on the s o u l . " Today, she uses her mastery of shadows and light to strip away the irrelevant and reveal the essence of the spirit within. View Kimberly Mara's work at www.eclipsephotography.ca May | June 17