Nicole & Jack's Portraits

What a great day for a portrait session and the Irwin Inn Resort on Stoney Lake made for some awesome backdrops.

I don't know what to say about these photos other than I think they're some of my best portrait work to date. I love the warm feeling they portray with the colourful fall foliage and rustic location.







Gotta love those fall colours:


Some fun with off-camera flash:


Did I mention it was a gorgeous spot?:








I love the light in October...It's even great at 1pm!:








I hope you and your sisters like them (the session was a gift from Nicole's sisters for her 5th anniversary).

Michael

Kristina & Jason's Wedding

Kristina & Jason picked out a cool little spot aptly named "Perfect Little Moments" for their wedding ceremony which was designed solely for wedding ceremonies and photos.

Gotta love it when the weather cooperates with you the way it did that day. It was raining during the entire preparation and just before we stepped outside, the clouds opened up to reveal a beautiful blue sky. It went back to overcast for most of the day but the rain held off right until our drive to the reception hall. I'm sure I traded my bad luck of leaving my jacket and bag at the house for the good weather. ;) Anyway, on to the photos:

An infrared portrait in window light. I just never get tired of this shot:


Using the videographer's light to good measure:




This might have been a bit cheesy if it was staged...but it wasn't:






Ahhh, this brings back memories of Central Park:






They held their reception at the elegant Deer Creek Golf and Banquet Facility which provided some great photo ops:








Some of the most heartfelt and genuine speeches I've ever seen. There wasn't a dry eye in the place:


The perfect fairytale ending to their special day:


Michael

Stephanie & Chris Engagement

What a great place for a portrait session..."The Beach" in Toronto offers such a diverse range of backdrops from cool store fronts, street scenes, parks, beach, etc...

We almost postponed the shoot due to rain and although we got caught in a bit of a drizzle a few times, I'm glad we toughed it out as we got some killer shots:




I almost waited until all the people in the background moved out of the way but then this moment happened and I had to grab it...and in hindsight I kind of like the fact that there's people in the background. It gives the impression that they're in their own little world while everyone else is busy going about their daily routine:


Here's a cool "triptych" I shot out of the corner of my eye while giving this weird guy on the street a B.S. story about Stephanie & Chris being famous Australian TV stars.


We found a cool alley for some more funky urban style shots:












We're going to have so much fun shooting their wedding up in the Muskokas in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more pics!

Michael

Julie & Fraser

Congrats to Julie & Fraser for putting together a smooth-running elegant wedding last month (with more than a little help I'm sure from Jodi Gagné of Simply Perfect).

In an effort to keep things up-to-date, I'm going to let the images speak mostly for themselves...


What a great smile!




Notice the groomsmen reflected in the top of the sporran:




This was the first wedding I've ever done where the officiant couldn't be convinced to let me take pictures during the ceremony...but don't worry, I snuck a few from the balcony and got some of the major events (including the first kiss)...

This shot makes me feel like we were in Scotland:








The Rosedale Golf Club was a very elegant venue for the reception and worked well for the formals:










The terrace had an amazing view of the golf course from above:


I hope you two had an amazing time in the Greek Isles (I'm so jealous)!

Michael

Allison & Steve

Ok, I'm finally getting caught up with my blog entries! Two more to come later today...

Allison & Steve hosted an intimate celebration last month and we had great fun capturing some funky images.

They had a sense of style all their own and it was a refreshing change from the standard "white dress and tux" affair:




Allison & Steve wanted something a little more artistic and dramatic and that was music to my ears:






I loved the shadows coming through the window in this one!


Here's a bit of a new twist on the standard infrared image - I like how it looks in Sepia:


I get a great feeling from this one:


Yes, we did get some happy smiling images too:


But the serious ones are just too cool:




Here's another sepia infrared image:


I love this shot of Steve. So mysterious and dramatic.


It was pretty cold earlier that day, but Allison and Steve heated things up nicely at the end.

Michael

Jasmeena & Doug in Ottawa

After an amazing intimate wedding in Italy, Jasmeena & Doug came back to Ottawa to celebrate the occasion with all of their family and friends...

This time around there was more emphasis on the Thai-Cambodian traditions. The ceremonies were stunning and incredibly colourful:



They chose a beautiful manor for their primary wedding location - The Olde Virginia Manor:


Friday evening was centred around a blessing by 5 Buddhist monks. It was pretty cool! It took a few attempts to catch the holy water in action:


Some colourful accessories for one of the 7 outfits to be worn on Saturday:


One of the groomsmen heading out for the elaborate processional:


The processional, complete with treasure bearers, musicians (not pictured) and many family and friends:


The ceremony was no shorter than 3 hours and was a joy to witness and photograph. I could have taken detail shots for another 3 hours:


It was very intimate with all of the family and friends gathered closely around the couple. It allowed me to get in really nice and close (with a long lens, mind you) for frame-filling details like this one:


A couple of quick portraits of the beautiful bride in between one of the many wardrobe changes:




Even the groom had a few ornate outfit changes throughout the day:


Check out the detail in dress number 3 (or was it 4?):


Next up was the "hair cutting ceremony" where guests would come up to the bride and groom and symbolically cut their hair and spray them with perfume:


I love this detail of Doug helping Jasmeena into her shoe. Check out those bracelets and anklets!:


This one is one of my favourite shots of the ceremony. There was a great feeling of togetherness and celebration in such a close and intimate environment. This part of the ceremony involved the guests passing around candles and what looked like wafting the flames towards the couple. Not sure what the symbolism of this is, but it looked cool:


Next, it was time for the guests to dip threads into holy water and tie them around the bride and groom's wrists. I believe they're supposed to keep these threads on as long as possible (until they fall off...but I'm not sure how often this happens):




Next, the guests would take flower petals and toss or lightly adorn the couple in colour.


Then it was time for the fruit teasing. I'm not sure what the official name of this part of the ceremony is, but the premise appears basically to tease your partner by dangling fruit just out of reach. We got some fun shots here, but here's a more serious one:


Some portraits of the happy couple and their wedding party:












Skipping ahead to the reception...A closeup of the first dance highlighting the blessed threads and wedding ring (now with dress number 6, I believe):


It was a long 23 hours of shooting (over 1 1/2 days) but what a great experience for someone who's never witnessed a Buddhist wedding celebration - not to mention a photographer's dream! Congrats to Jasmeena and Doug (again)!

Michael