Ryan & Karolina

2009 Calendar Flyer

2009 SCENES OF SASKATCHEWAN STILL AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN BULK BUT INSPIRATIONAL AND PRAIRIE SCENES ARE NOW UNAVAILABLE THROUGH BUSINESS SALES BUT CAN STILL BE BOUGHT FOR INDIVIDUAL SALE AT $10.00/CALENDAR.


This is the flyer that I send out to businesses. Feel free to share this with others and to contact me via email or this website. I don't know if you can read the phone numbers properly but just email me if you have any questions. lisaspics@sasktel.net

I am very excited about these calendars and what God is going to do with them this year. :-) I have so enjoyed putting them together.

The first calendar is not available yet - I'm not sure when it will be. That calendar is with a variety of SK photographers but the proof has not been completed. Calendars #2 and #3 are already proofed and available to view in it's complete form.

Calendar orders by June will be guaranteed. Any orders that wait until Fall will not be guaranteed. The orders that I put in between now and the end of June will determine how many the printer will print for me. Late orders in Fall will be on a first come first serve basis as all of the calendars will be printed in summer. I look forward to hearing from you. God bless.

2009 Inspirational Calendar

Here are some of the photos for the 2009 Inspirational Calendar. The prices will be the same as last year - $2.00/calendar with black imprint on the bottom or $2.50/calendar with color imprint on the bottom showing your business company and logo. The minimum order is 100 calendars. Early deadline for orders is June 15/08. Fall orders will be available but it will only be on a first come first serve basis. The orders that I receive now until June will determine how many the printer will print for me and how many extras they will print for me for late fall orders. So, please get your orders in early to guarantee calendars for your business. :-) lisaspics@sasktel.net Also, if you'd like more information on using these calendars for a fundraiser, please contact me.

If you wish to see the photographs larger, then just double click onto the photograph itself. Please remember that it is illegal to copy photos that are not yours - so please do not copy these pictures for any reason. Please ask for my permission if you would like to use these photographs for anything. Thanks.

cover photo taken in Jasper National Park, AB
as I stood there looking at this beauty with my family when we were on a family holiday, I couldn't help but be reminded of this verse that talks about the heavens declaring the Glory of God. There was such incredible beauty at this lake.
This is the only photo in this calendar that is not from Saskatchewan the rest of the photos are all taken in SK

this photo for January was taken out of our front window at Shell Lake, SK - there are always a lot of blue jays out in winter - we love them - their blues are so much bluer in the winter than in the summer.

this photo for February was taken on a beautiful frosty day at Memorial Lake, SK when I was out driving snowmobile with my daughters - I loved looking up to the heavens to see what kind of photos I can capture. Each time I looked up, there was a great picture and this was one of them.

the photo for March was taken on the Ahtakakoop Native Reserve near Shell Lake, SK when we were visiting some friends there. These horses were eager to pose for me while the sun was setting behind them. It made for some great photos.

I captured these incredible clouds painted by God near Hepburn/Waldheim, SK area. I chose it for the April photo because the colors make me think of Easter and Jesus' death on the cross for our sins and the new life we have in him because he didn't stay in the grave - He Arose! and now lives in heaven, preparing a home for us, his children.

the photo for May is of a baby bird that had been sitting on our grass one day so our daughter picked it up and held it for a bit in our yard in Warman, SK - it couldn't fly yet and we weren't sure where the mother was but God allowed us to have this special time with this little guy for a few moments before it got too scared and fluttered and danced away. I love moments like that with my kids. :-)

The June photo I took on a drive from Shell Lake to Blaine Lake, SK, we so enjoyed watching these clouds and this one little rainbow - it lasted for a long time. The stretch between these two communities is filled with hills and valleys and winding roads - a gorgeous part of Saskatchewan.


July photo taken at Camp Kadesh at Christopher Lake, SK This place is one of my favorite places to be. :-) It was a gorgeous morning and I was out taking photos. I was down by the dock and just as I was about to shoot the picture - the last one on my roll of film, a dog ran out onto the dock. I knew it was gonna be a cool shot and I thanked God right there for what He had given me. I couldn't wait to get into the city to get it developed.

Above you also see a sample page for the month of July to show you the design of each calendar page showing the dates and weeks. Each page is a highlight of a reflection of the photo shown for the month. This design is the same as last year. Hope you like it.

August photo taken at Big Shell Lake, SK I had been out quadding with my son, his friend and one of my daughters. We had stopped at a friend's cabin to say hello and my daughter had walked out onto the dock - I saw a great photo opportunity! The sunset was beautiful!

This September photo was taken on a drive out by Quill Lake, SK My husband and my son and gone elk hunting in the area out near Fishing Lake, SK with a friend and they had shot an elk. They had the meat made up for it out there and so when the time came for the meat to be picked up, I offered to go get it. I'd never been out in that part of Saskatchewan so I was looking forward to taking some photos in that area. God gave me some great photos that day. There's also one from the area in the Prairie Scenes calendar as well.

One beautiful fall day, my husband and I were out at Waskesui Lake, SK and my hubby was golfing and I was busy shooting photographs with my camera. It was a slow golfing day and they were kind enough to let me walk along with my camera. We heard the sound of the elk calling - wow! - I had never heard it before - it's a very high sound. This big guy was out on the golf course with his harem. :-) I thought it would make a great October photo for this calendar with the verse about 'every created thing giving praise to the Lord.' It looks like that's exactly
what he's doing, praising the Lord. :-)

For the November photo, I chose this photo that I took one evening when my son and I were driving back from a baseball game he had in Wakaw, SK. The sun was setting and the clouds were gathering for a storm. There was an old church, Ukranian Orthodox, I think, on the north side of the highway that runs between Rosthern and Wakaw where this cross was at. I love taking photos of crosses. A photo of a cross is something I like to have in November, remembering what it cost for men to fight for the freedom of our land - but it also reminds me of the cross that Jesus died on for our sins and so we could have everlasting life. I call this picture, "Fading Darkness". The day Jesus died was a dark day and there was storm that day but the sun/Son was coming back and the darkness was fading after the storm would pass.

December photo taken just south of Warman, SK It was another gorgeous frosty day - I think SK has the greatest hoarfrost days! It's definitely a unique, wonderful part of SK winters.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the photos of the Inspirational Calendars and learning the stories behind each picture. I love hearing the stories behind photos that are taken by others and I thought this year, I would share the stories with you to make it a little more personal. Some photos just have an incredible story to them and it gives the photo so much more meaning when you know the story behind them.

Feel free to contact me should you have any other questions or if you'd like to order some of these calendars for a business or for yourself, personally. Personal calendars are $10.00 each and will not be available until fall. But, it's still important to get your orders in now so that I know how many to get printed. For businesses, the prices again are $2.00/calendar with black imprint on the bottom or $2.50/calendar with color imprint with your logo and business information. It's a minimum of order of 100 calendars.

God bless you!

2009 Prairie Scenes Calendar

Okay, here you have the photos for the 2009 Prairie Scenes calendar. Same type of calendar as last year but the page style is different as well as the photographs for each month.
The orders that I bring in from now until June will determine how many the printer will print for me and also how many extra they will print for me for the late orders in fall. Of course the fall orders will be on a first come first serve basis. It's best to put your orders in early to guarantee the order for your business. You can email me at lisaspics@sasktel.net
So, the prices will be the same as last year: $2.00/each with black imprint and $2.50/calendar with color imprint for your logo and business information. There is a $30.00 design fee and also, if you order more than 1 type of calendar, there is a $10.00 charge for each additional calendar type. For example, if you wanted 100 of all 3 calendars, you would pay an additional $20.00 for the 2 different extra calendar types.
Please remember that it is illegal to copy photos so please honor that and do not copy these photos for any reason. If you have a request, please contact me personally. Thanks!

This photo that I chose to use for the cover was taken at Batoche National Park. I attended a class trip with my one daughter and her class one spring - it was a field trip for the day. I hadn't been here since I was a child myself. My have they made some beautiful upgrades to this place - it was a wonderful day with my daughter and her friends.

This has got to be my favorite photograph in this calendar. My family was so incredibly blessed this past winter when we were in the Shell Lake, SK area. We had asked a fellow who had some horses if he would take our family on a sleigh ride over the Christmas break. Well he willingly did this for us and the day we chose, God blessed us with another frosty day. The ride couldn't have been more beautiful! We had family over from out of the province and they had never been on a sleigh ride before - so it was great to experience this with them. This photo just makes the perfect January photograph. These horses were just gorgeous!

the February photo I took while I was on a day trip skiing with my daughter and a couple of classes from her school. We had gone out to Table Mountain, which is near North Battleford, SK. It is a hotspot in Saskatchewan - a favorite place to go skiing in winter. It's settled on the banks of the river that runs through North Battleford. It was a beautiful sunny day, quite mild but very windy.

for March I chose this photograph that I took while I was out driving to Kuroki to pick up some meat for my hubby. Near Fishing Lake, SK the snow geese were just all over the fields - it was beautiful! What a sight they are to see. I had never been to that part of Saskatchewan before - I quite enjoyed the drive - beautiful area up there. I couldn't believe the high water levels on Fishing Lake - some of the cabins and homes were nearly flooded out.

One day we were out for a family drive looking for some prairie chickens and we came across this road. I loved it! It was near Delisle, SK and went on for a long way. That's one of the things I love about SK, you can take these little scenic roads, off the beaten track, and see things in God's creation that you don't see on a well driven highway. This photo makes a cool black and white photograph too but for this April spot, we'll leave it in color for you this time. :-)

Here you also see a sample of the calendar month page in April. Each month will have a ghost photo of the original photo displayed under the days of the month as you see above. I love the effect it has for each month. Hope you like it.

Butterflies! I just love butterflies. One day in May, I followed this little guy around in the lilac bushes for quite some time taking a variety of photographs of it. Each one is so unique and different - one of a kind - just like us humans. :-) We were up in the Shell Lake, SK area when I took this photograph.

In June, my kids often played baseball but living in a small town, you had to drive out to the other small towns to play ball. When you had kids on different teams, and had to drive to 3 or 4 different games each week, well, you covered a fair amount of miles in good ole Saskatchewan. This particular day, we had driven out to Cudworth, SK for a game. When we were leaving, we drove past this big body of water and I saw these geese with their little ones. I stopped the car and walked out in the bulrushes to take this photograph - it was well worth it - I love the shot!

We were driving to Shell Lake one weekend and there was the most beautiful sunset as we were on the highway near Big Shell Lake, SK. The skies were just an array of colors and the sun was peaking through them, just over the horizon. It was incredible. How beautifully God paints the skies for us at the end of each day. I thought it would make a great July photograph for the calendar.

One day when we were driving back from a ball game at Wakaw, we were close to Rosthern, SK when we saw this tractor standing in the field with the sun going down behind it. I've always wanted a shot like this and now God was giving it to me. :-) I think it looks so cool. August is often the month when the harvest comes in so it's very suitable for this month.

One September, my hubby and I and another couple had gone quadding up at Chitek Lake - they've got great trails up in that area. On our way back as we got closer to Spiritwood, SK we saw this old barn on the west side of the highway that I just had to photograph. I love old barns and abandoned homesteads and taking photographs of them - they make great black and white pictures too.

One fall, my hubby and I were staying up at Emma Lake for our anniversary. We had gone for a drive through the Waskesiu National Park, SK - the day was gorgeous, the fall colors were beautiful and the skies were clear blue. As we drove along, listening to praise and worship music, I told God that it would be so great to see a bear right now. And you know what?? We drove around the curve, and there was a bear eating berries in the ditch right alongside the road. We stopped and he just continued eating. As we were sitting in the car watching the bear, I took about a dozen photographs of him - he loved posing for me. :-) It was incredible sitting there watching this amazing animal - I wanted to go out there and hug him, he just looked so huggable. :-) I didn't though. Sure worked good for this October spot in the calendar.

The same drive that we had taken through Waskesui National Park, SK we came across dozens and dozens of deer - big and small. One of my favorites I had put in the 2008 calendar. Here is another one of my favorites from the great photo opportunity day - these 2 deer watching us through the trees. They are such a graceful animal. I love watching them. I decided to put it in for this November month - often we haven't had any snow yet and the leaves have still been sitting, all dried up on the trees, not having all fallen off yet.

Precious memories!! It was a beautiful, December day and the trees were filled with frost. The skies were almost clear and the sun was on it's way going down for the night. It's often at that time when the colors are so rich and blue. I took the girls out on the snowmobile through the trees on some private land at Memorial Lake, SK and had a wonderful time slowly touring in the trails, listening to the birds, seeing deer and looking out at the lake all covered in snow and ice. It is a winter wonderland up in this area.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing the pages for the 2009 Prairie Scenes calendar.

Daniel & Becky's Wedding Aug. 07

Precious baby moment with mom and dad.

The guys are lookin great, aren't they?? The littlest one is my favorite - he's lookin like a real cowboy. :-)
I love this photo. This old truck was so cool with the flowers and the skulls around it. The clouds in the background were so blue and dark - it made for a gorgeous photo. The clouds really matched the blues in the wedding party. :-)
Check out this gorgeous couple. They are lookin handsome...hmmmhm.
Becky had always wanted to do a pose like this. It was fun. :-)

This guy is now locked in for life - no better place to be once you've said I do. The grass is not greener on the other side man and will never be. God has some great plans for your lives, just walk with Him and trust completely in His plan for you.

Big moment for dad to walk his only girl down the isle. Another precious moment.
One last kiss on the cheek for his little girl before she's someone else's girl. I love the look on the little guys face to the left - I wonder what's goin through his mind at this time.
This is one of the most beautiful action done at weddings now. Here the bride is pouring her own sand, the groom is pouring his and the minister is pouring sand which represents God in their marriage. Once these sands are all mixed together, there's nothing that will ever happen that will make the sand their own again - they are all joined together and nothing can separate what has been joined - their lives will never be the same again, and they won't be their own again. It is a sand covenant which cannot ever go back to the way it was. Absolutely beautiful!!


The moment after the signing of the papers and the pouring of the sand covenant. The smiles are huge and the love is so evident between these two - just look at those smiles. :-)

Another precious moment with mom. I love this photo in the sepia tone - it just adds such authenticity to the picture and captures the moment better. Little Abby is such a darling.

My sister's beautiful family. I loved this setting for these photos. This old barn added such character along with the dark clouds in the background. One gorgeous family that Becky's a part of - and with Daniel in it now, another boy for Matilda to keep in line. :-) God bless this family.

The brook in behind the museum made such a great setting for this couple shot. This is one of my favorite poses with the bride and groom, I use it a lot.

I love these shots where the bridal party is makin a run for it towards the camera. :-) I had to do everything I could not to laugh myself because they're all laughing so much tryin to stay together and trip on each other. It's great!

Another one of my favorite shots to take are hand shots - especially when the focus is on the rings, the covenant of marriage on the couples hands. The flowers are always great backgrounds to do these hand shots with.

Wallace's Studio in Vanderhoof, BC did an excellent job of developing the photos for me in a very limited amount of time so that I could put the book together for Becky & Daniel before I returned home to SK. Thanks so much Kevin and staff for your help in making this day and these photos a success. God bless you!

Article in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix for Saturday Dec. 29/07

Each day of calendar an inspiration

Darlene Polachic, The StarPhoenix

Published: Saturday, December 29, 2007

If someone had told Lisa Braun when she was 15 that she would one day be back living in her hometown of Warman producing inspirational calendars, she would have laughed in scorn.

"My life was pretty messed up back then and I couldn't get away from Warman fast enough. I said I would never come back. But, never say never. God has a sense of humour."

Six years ago, Braun and her husband Roger and their children moved back to Warman, where Braun cares for her family and passionately pursues her gift for photography.

"It's not something I had training for," she says. "I know it is a gift from God. It isn't that I go out looking for pictures, or that I wait for hours for something to happen. God just seems to put me in the right place at the right time."

One example of that is an amazing photograph of a resting, snow-covered deer. "Roger and I were driving to the lake, when suddenly Roger stopped and said, 'Get out your camera.' I hadn't even noticed it, but there was a deer in the ditch with its back all covered with snow. It lay there the whole time I snapped away."

"Another time, we were going to Emma Lake for our anniversary. It was a beautiful fall day, and we were listening to praise and worship music as we drove, feeling like we were travelling with the angels. I said, 'It would be so cool, God, to see a bear right now.' We turned a corner and there was a black bear in the ditch eating berries."

Braun has loved photography since she was a child, but it was only when her youngest daughter started kindergarten that she began working at it seriously. A photographer friend who was booked to shoot a wedding and couldn't, asked if Lisa was interested in doing it. She's been doing wedding photography ever since.

"I don't have a studio," she says. "God's creation is my studio and interestingly enough, I have never yet had a wedding session rained out."

Lisa began taking photographs to Page One Printing in Saskatoon to have them made into cards which she offered for sale on the Thickwood Hills Studio Trail, a self-drive tour of artisan locations. "Page One asked if they could use some of my pictures for a Saskatchewan calendar they were producing. They ended up using six in the 2007 calendar which they sold to businesses for $2 a piece. The business could put their name and advertising information on the bottom and hand out the calendars to customers.

"I asked if I could sell the calendars, too. In three days, I sold 3,000 to about 14 businesses. I said, 'God, can it be this easy?'"

That gave Braun the idea to produce calendars of her own. She had Page One make 10,000 copies of a 2008 calendar containing 12 of her own prairie-themed photographs. In no time, she had sold every one. She decided to do a second calendar for 2008, this one an inspirational calendar with Bible verses superimposed on the photographs.

"This," she says, "is my heart. My heart is for God who gave me the gift. I love to capture what God created and bless others with it. I love putting scripture to photos."

It all happens very naturally. "When I'm taking a picture, certain words from a verse will pop into my mind. I'll already know when I'm setting up the photo exactly what verse I will use and where it will go. It is definitely God-inspired."

One such photo is of a red barn taken on a very frosty day. "I gave the duplicate prints to the son of the woman who used to live on the farm when I was a child. He picked one, and said, 'Mom would love to have a verse on it from your Bible.' I wondered if there was a verse in the Bible that mentions frost, so I looked in the concordance. Sure enough, Job 37:10 says: 'By the breath of God, frost is given.' Reading that gave me chills. I could just visualize God breathing on the earth, covering everything with hoar frost. I can never see frost again the same way."

Braun's calendars have become a popular item for fundraising. Churches, clubs, and schools buy them for $2 each (minimum of 100), imprint their own logo on the bottom, and sell them for whatever markup they want. Generally, Braun says, the calendars sell for $10 a piece.

"Osler Mission Chapel is building a new church and bought 500 to sell. Saskatoon Christian School also sells my calendars as a fundraiser."

Braun's 2008 calendars are available from her website: www.photographybylisabraun.blogspot.com or by email: lisaspics@sasktel.net.

Polachic is a freelance writer.

"WOW! I'm not used to this. This lady had given me a call, stating that she had seen my Inspirational calendar and thought it would make a good story. So, she came over and interviewed me. :-) It was fun! She was a wonderful lady and I enjoyed sharing with her. But there was a couple of things in this article that I felt I needed to clarify:

I never ever would have dreamed that someday my photographs would have been in a calendar, let alone my own calendar with my own photographs. I don't know if I would've 'laughed in scorn' as was written in the article but I definitely wouldn't have believed it at that point. I'm just continually amazed at what God has done in my life and around me. God is so good!

Even though I left home at age 15, I did remain in school in Warman until I graduated in 1987. My High School years were much better than my Junior High years although overall my school years weren't the worst. I had lots of friends and great teachers. I had a difficult upbringing but I didn't have any major issues with the town itself.

The Inspirational Calendar was the very first calendar I ever wanted to create because that was my passion. I love putting scripture to photos. About 15,000 calendars had been printed and OVER 10,000 calendars have been sold to date. Three different calendars were printed: Inspirational 2008, Prairie Scenes 2008 - both of these are filled with my photographs - and then a 2008 SK Scenes calendar which is Page One Printing's version with a variety of SK photographers including myself. So with all 3 of these calendars, about 15,000 or more had been printed originally. There are still more available to be sold. Scott's Parable Christian Store in Saskatoon has also been selling the Inspirational Calendar as well and will still have them available in the New Year.

Thanks for reading and God bless you all!
Lisa"