Back in June I had the pleasure of shooting my cousin Ayla’s wedding in Winnipeg.  Funny this was certainly not where I imagined my first destination wedding shoot would be!  The night before and the morning of the wedding it was raining in Biblical Proportions!! But as luck would have it the rain let up just about the time we were set to start shooting and stayed away for all the pictures and the outdoor ceremony.  We mostly shot onsite at the Hitch n Post  which was also the location of the reception.  It was a fun filled day and Ayla and Ty’s groomsmen and bridesmaids were a sheer joy to shoot.  It was also great to have help shooting that day from an old friend, Karen Dawson of  Blue Cabin Photography.

Well I would like to be able to list all the reasons and excuses that come to mind for why I have not been keeping up with my blog but alas I cannot….plain and simple I have just not done it!!

Think the last one was in August….been very busy since then with work, football, and of course photography.

Last week I had the privilege of shooting the Annual Bateman Fashion Show which was a blast and I was very impressed by all the students who took part in the show.

At intermission and after the show we had a Photo Booth to raise funds for the Grads!!  Check out images from both below.

Recently my cousin Ayla got engaged to her guy Ty and they have agreed to let me shoot their “Big Day” in June of 2014 in Winnipeg!  As luck would have it my wife JoAnn and I had already booked a trip there to visit family and spend some time at the lake in the wilds of Manitoba.  So I managed to find the time to meet Ty and get some photos of the two of them.  At first they both said they had no idea what to do so I should direct them…..well it did not  take long before they had ideas of their own. It was a couple hours of great fun and I even had my nephew Reece (an aspiring photographer) to tag along to help and learn.  have a look at some of the days shots.

Last week was a great week for me!  I had a chance to shoot a model I have been wanting to shoot while getting some lighting lessons from a photographer I admire.  Does not get much better than that! We all had a good time and I think we are learned a few things.  It was a nice sunny day so we started the shoot in the studio then moved to the living room…then the deck…..then out in the front yard….and then back to the studio to finish off.

You would never guess it if you passed this young lady on the street but she is indeed a hockey player and an accomplished one at that!  Brittany has played high caliber hockey and is currently a skating instructor.  I certainly never had a skating instructor as beautiful as her! A while back she accompanied a friend to a photo shoot and decided she should give the modeling thing a try too.  I spotted her on Model Mayhem and sent her an email to see if she would like to come to my studio and shoot some photos for her portfolio. We had a fun couple hours shooting and talking and it is obvious to me this young lady has the drive and work ethic to get where ever she chooses to go!

Well I finally purchased some studio strobes.  Was  excited to try them out I hit Model Mayhem to find a model at short notice to pose for me.  I lucked out and Alex responded willing to drop by my shop/studio for a shoot.  She is a delight and we had a good time while capturing some great images.  The lights performed as promised and I can now expand the services i offer to include indoor shooting as they are very portable.  Take a look at a few of the images from the shoot. Oh yes as it turns out I shot Alex’s sister Nikki and she was feature in my last blog post…….small world!!

Had a great couple hours working with Nikki.  She is a young aspiring model based here in Abbotsford and I had the pleasure of shooting her for her portfolio the other day.  We spent some time at Ellwood Park, Trethewey House and the ever popular train tunnel in Matsqui!  She was very easy to work with and I think we got some great photos…What do you think?

Well my wife got word about an unexpected week of holidays this past week so we took advantage and headed up to Whistler for a few days.  Very much love it up there…..just wandering around the village…taking a bike ride out to Lost lake…and of course sitting on one of the many patios around the village  enjoying a cold beverage and some snacks!  Does not get any better!  Love the drive up and back and often stop at Porteau Cove and Shannon Falls to take some photos.  Once again we had a wonderful time and hope to journey back again soon….

SHANNON FALLS

LOST LAKE

LATE BLOOM

FAVE WATERING HOLE!!

PORTEAU COVE

So this past Saturday I, along with 35 or so other shutterbugs, spent several hours exploring Deer Lake Park in Burnaby.  I had heard about this park and seen it listed in several hiking books but it always seems boring to me in print.  Boy was I wrong! It is a wonderful park filled with so much to see……forest, trails, wildlife, flowers, gardens, a huge lake, a turn of the century village, and even a carousel you can ride for like $2.00! Not only did I have a great time shooting I also made some new friends!  Time well spent!  Check out some of the sights below..

I have known Garth since he was just a little boy and was totally pumped to get to shoot his and Lianne’s  “Big Day”!  These two have got to be the most Chill Couple ever….nothing phased them on this sunny day not even a locked gate at one of the sites we had planned to take some pictures!  We even took a break to grab some lunch at the Yarrow Deli after shooting at Cultus Lake.  Not sure if we were the biggest lunch rush this little eatery has ever had but I am certain we were the best dressed,  Here are a couple sample shots from the day.