Pam and Adam chose the popular bridge at Jackson Park for their family formals and bridal party images. What we did not account for was a long distance running marathon taking place that day where the bridge at Jackson Park was part of the course! So we had frequent interruptions as runners passed through. But it all worked out in the end. Pam and Adam allowed for plenty of time in their schedule so frequent small interruptions were not an issue. I should add that the single image of Adam’s grandfather on the bridge is because he helped restore the bridge many years back with a group of students. So I quickly snagged a nice image of him on the bridge.

Their reception was at the Knights of Columbus Hall. This was my first time to this reception venue and I have to say, the meal was quite good. Thank you Pam and Adam for including me in your meal.

One thing that was a bit unique about their wedding was the large perigee “super moon” everyone saw in the sky Saturday May 5th. At the end of the evening we went outside and captured an image including the moon.

A huge thank you to Pam and Adam for selecting Woodhouse Photography to be their personal professional photography service!!

Their ceremony and reception were at the Baker’s Hill Banquet Centre at the corner of Parkhill and Television Road. I’ve been to this venue before and the owner, Wolfgang, is a great fellow that is there to help in anyway he can.

Amanda and Shaun included plenty of time in their schedule for us to get some great images of just the two of them. We started out at the popular bridge in Jacksons Park and finished off at the railroad tracks on George Street, next to the Holiday Inn. Both are great locations and offer quite diverse environments … which allowed us to get some great variety in their images. We were not rushed and we had time to enjoy ourselves at the different locations.

Thank you Amanda and Shaun and all the best!

That is what comes to mind when I think of the Smith family of Ennismore. The reason is this was my second visit to the Smith farm in the Ennismore area, just a short drive north of Peterborough. Last year the family shoot was a small one of just Marina, her two children and her mother. However this time the extended family were invited so they could secure the desired group shot.

Marina and Tim were great sports and brought their couch out into the field behind their home. Family photos are great when something different can be incorporated into the shoot, such as a couch in a field.

A big thank you to the Smith family for asking myself to come to their home a second time.

Here is a snippet from their website “The Kawartha Male Chorus was formed in 1990 to provide a recreational activity for men in the Kawartha Lakes area of Ontario who enjoy singing in four part harmony. Basically a community organization, the Kawartha Male Chorus (KMC) give concerts throughout the community free of charge, to nursing homes, hospitals, churches, etc., other organizations, and charitable fundraisers at a fee.”

If you are in need of excellent music to add a unique high quality characteristic to your event, they are the group to contact! More details can be found here -> http://kawarthamalechorus.ca/

I took Steph & Cam to the southern tip of the Kawartha Highlands provincial park. This took us only a few minutes outside of downtown Buckhorn. I have shot at this location before and it is a great spot for privacy and including a Kawartha feel.

Did I mention it was cold?

Even though it was bitter cold, both Steph and Cam were real troopers and very patient with me. Thank you guys!

I know their Sept 2012 wedding is going to be great. I am confident about that because both Steph and Cam are easy going, confident people that know what they want. I’m sure the day will go off smoothly and be a very beautiful rural wedding. I’m looking forward to it guys!

Here are just a few of my fav’s from their e-shoot.

Viamede Resort was their venue and a beautiful venue it is. I’ve been to Viamede Resort to shoot many weddings and it is a great place for any wedding. Beautifully kept, stunning scenery, great staff and an excellent meal have always made Viamede a great place for a Kawartha wedding.

With Tara and Jay making use of the Empress room at Viamede, they were able to have all of their guests attend the ceremony (as the chapel max’s out around 90 people). With the great weather I spent some time outside with the wedding party and then with just the two of them to get some great winter themed wedding images. The ladies were very patient while I was shooting the groups because without jackets, it didn’t take long for them to get too cold and beg to retreat to a cottage. A big thank you to Holly, Michelle, Jennifer, Rebecca and Elyse for braving the cold while I kept barking orders. The evening was rounded out with a beautifully decorated dining hall where the tables were named after various ski resorts and there was an elegant wedding cake made by a family member. The heartfelt speeches were really special.

Tara and Jay did their engagement shoot in Young’s Point late in the summer of 2011. The couple selected Young’s Point because Tara is a descendant of the Young family that originally settled the Young’s Point area. The lock and dam located at Young’s Point made for the perfect scene.

First are a few of their e-shoot images, followed by their wedding.

The guest list for Shelley and Rick’s wedding was small. This allowed for a very intimate wedding which was really nice to see. Closest family and friends made the road trip to Irwin Inn and pretty much took over the place. An excellent meal with fun kissing games made for a great dinner. And the popular Homemade Jam DJ services ensured the dance floor never was empty.

I’d like to give a big thanks to Shelley and Rick for selecting Woodhouse Photography to be their professional wedding photography services. They and their family and friends were an excellent group to hang with for the day!

Introduction to Digital Photography

Duration: Tuesday nights for 6 weeks
Start: Tuesday January 24, 2012
End: Tuesday February 28, 2012
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Location: Buckhorn Community Centre

Cost: $75 per participant

Summary: An all new Intro to Digital Photography workshop.  Incorporating feedback from past students, my workshop has been re-written to be more hands on!  This fun course is geared to the beginner and intermediate photography enthusiast. We will review universal photography elements such as F-stop, shutter speed, ISO, focusing techniques, point and shoot and SLR camera characteristics. We will review modern digital camera technology such as the digital sensor, colour casts, white balance and using camera pre-sets (Portrait, Sport, Landscape) versus semi-auto modes and 100% manual (where you set the shutter speed and aperture and ISO).  Each night we will have some hands-on time to practice shooting where you will be changing the settings of the camera and understanding what and why the camera is doing what it is!

Prerequisites:
i. Any and all levels of photography skill welcome
ii. All ages welcome, however some concepts may be difficult to grasp for kids under the age of 12
iii. Need to have a camera with you each night.  DSLR preferred but not mandatory. Each class will be a mix of theory and hands on experimenting
iv. Come ready to be social and have fun!

Topics:

• Typical camera terminology, what it means and how to use it: i.e. Shutter Speed, F-Stop, ISO, Exposure, Exposure Compensation, White Balance, etc
• What are the options for JPEG image files?
• What is ‘RAW’ and why would someone use it?
• Colour Cast (white balance and images coming out green or yellow or blue, etc)
• Reviewing what all those odd buttons and switches due on your camera (what does the ‘Portrait’ option do?; what does Av feature do?; what does the ‘exposure compensation’ button do?; what is the ‘white balance’ option?; etc)
• Recommendations for improving your images (i.e. rule of thirds, composition, adding a sense of depth to photos, turning the flash OFF and using available lighting, etc)
• Review how Depth of Field (DOF) is affected by the lenses F-stop, focal length and your distance from the subject
• Image Stabilization in camera bodies (on the sensor) or in a lens. How it works and how it helps you and what it does not do for you
• What does all of this info on the LCD screen on the camera mean? (i.e. Histogram, highlight blow-outs, EV number, etc)
• What is ‘Bulb mode’ and Bracketing?
• What is the difference between a point and shoot camera and a SLR. Why are SLR’s so expensive? Why do they make a ‘click’ sound when they take a picture?
• What are the optical characteristics of a lens (construction, focal length, aperture capability, sharpness, prime versus zoom, distortion) to causes a large variety of lenses and price range? When would someone know when to use the correct lens for the job?
• Understanding the different megapixel options and why more megapixels typically isn’t a good thing
• An explanation of computer monitors and how the colour of your images probably won’t match what is printed. An brief intro to professional colour calibration
• An intro to colour space and the options some cameras have to capture images in sRGB or Adobe RGB (what’s the difference and why use one versus another)
• Getting the images on your computer (uploading from memory card, or using a scanner to scan a print (i.e. from a film camera)) and organization tips
• Best practices for printing images (print yourself vs a common photo development service vs a professional printing service). What does ‘archival’ or ‘giclee’ (pronounced zee-clay)
• Practicing in class some of the concepts discussed

This workshop is advertised in the fall newsletter of the Buckhorn Community Centre.  Click HERE to view it.

Register by either calling or stopping in at the Buckhorn Community Centre (BCC) @ (705) 657-8833 or toll-free 1-877-300-9767.

Click here to see a map to the BCC. Buckhorn is 20 minutes north of Peterborugh.