If you take a quick glance at my engagement and wedding photographs, you’ll notice I take a decidedly Fine Art photography approach and style.

I had a wonderful time photographing Jessica and Mike even with the less than stellar weather we had last weekend. In fact, the weather helped convey the mood convincingly well as the two wouldn’t leave each other’s side in an effort to cure the common goosebump with body heat!

We all started our morning early at one end of Iona Beach, just around the banks of the airport. I love this location because it has this unkempt and natural feel I like in beaches. While I froze my tail off in a sweater, Jessica and Mike showed up casually dressed and had no problem bearing the cold without getting out of character. We shared our stories, uncontrollable laughs, sentimental moments, and at the end of our session we all walked away having felt the pleasure of getting to know each other on a more personal level. On their wedding day, we joked that Mike would come down from the sky in his white robe and command the ceremony with his 12 apostles. Please?!

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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An amazing year, not just for my travels but what I would consider my best wedding photography to date.

I have to thank all of you for an eventful 2012 of travel and weddings because it wouldn’t have been possible without my readers, supporters, and wedding clients. Because of all of you, I can keep perfecting my craft and providing you with my best wedding photography as well as personal work, and when I get the opportunity to mesh travel, weddings, and photography I can’t contain my excitement. This year, I’ve been fortunate to photograph intense and vibrant Indian ceremonies, enjoy the elegance and grit of downtown Vancouver, create adventures in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, and soak in some sunshine in Maui for a beach wedding. The year was filled with lots of soul-searching and I am fortunate to have met so many like-minded, passionate individuals, at home and abroad, during this process. The drive to create my best possible photography will never diminish.

A huge, heartfelt thanks to all those who came out to help. You know who you are.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

Travel

My travels with AJ Kwong through South America were nothing less than extraordinary! Here are just a handful of photos which don’t quite do the trip justice. To view the whole experience, please visit: Travel Photography

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I was honoured to receive an invite to join friends, Jayme and Corey, as their destination wedding photographer in Maui. They were married under the warm island sun, with the swaying palm trees, and by an endless ocean view.

That ecstatic feeling of receiving an initial email from a potential wedding client is still not lost on me and will probably never be. The messages always differ from couple to couple (this is one of the reasons being a wedding photographer is so interesting) and they allow me the opportunity to connect and share my visual stories. Things get a little different when I find out about an opportunity to travel for a wedding: I can’t contain my excitement. I really just can’t and it’s such a great feeling. When Jayme and Corey approached me about documenting their wedding in Maui because of things falling through in their plans, how could I not jump on the occasion? After sorting things out in a few short days, I was off to Maui.

As a wedding photographer, spending a few days with the wedding party is a way to build rapport with everyone. It then becomes more than just interacting with the couple and getting to know them better specifically; the collective experience of celebrating love is, by far, one of the best things about my job.

If you’re thinking of having your own destination wedding, or better yet, you’re staying home and “home” happens to be Bali, Iceland, or Australia, feel free to give me a shout. I would be honoured (and more than a little excited) to hear from you.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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For more of my Destination Wedding Photography work

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This is the kind of wedding that I get a little more excited about as a wedding photographer. Mubarak and Andrew appreciate the simple things in life and that common trait was mirrored in the celebration of their love. From their neat and minimalist abode to the laid back and comfortably pleasant wedding at Brix Restaurant in Vancouver, which was made private for the smaller event, I couldn’t help but enjoy my time documenting their special day.

Opting for a bit more of a modern vibe, accented with some of the essential Indian wedding traditions, ensured that both sides of the family could enjoy the evening to the fullest. This was not the type of affair to be fretted over or scrutinized to the very last detail and once the ceremony and formalities were over, everyone was set to mingle and socialize well into the night. Cultural differences, lost in a wash of merriment and dancing, were the last thing on anyone’s mind as our very own Polaroid Photobooth captured the more candid and silly moments between friends and family alike. The sounds of dancing and and barely contained laughter could be heard from across the street!

Looking back over these images I can’t help but smile as I remember the events of that day. Big thanks to Simran Pawa of Shadi Mubarak South Asian Wedding Planners for your assistance at the Brix Restaurant, AJ for covering the day as secondary shooter, and Amy of All & Sundry for assisting with the Polaroid Photobooth.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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Our visit to Berlin was a short one, but it took no time at all for us to be fully fascinated by the “open air” nature of a city steeped in struggle, tragedy, intrigue, and terror. We wondered if this unique (maybe not so unique) combination of qualities could be found anywhere else in Germany or Central Europe for that matter. As if involved in its own psychoanalysis, Berlin bared its pockets of grit and discomfort alongside its boisterous Christmas markets, and we were never sure how to navigate this tension except to embrace its differences and its weirdness through photography and tracing every line with our hands.

Looking back on these photographs, perhaps we were influenced by Berlin more than we could have known at the time. We were able to fly through a number of different sites and sights—Checkpoint Charlie, East Side Gallery, Berliner Dom, Museum Island, Topography of Terror, the Helmut Newton exhibition at the Museum für Photographie, among others—but there was always this nagging feeling there wasn’t enough time to see, know, examine, smell, taste, and un-know it all. Isn’t this always the case, even if you’ve lived somewhere all your life? (ahem, Vancouver).

It was snowing and we felt it in our hair. We downed glühwein and copious amounts of mushrooms drenched in hollandaise sauce whilst watching the carousel horses fall and rise. The older Germans swaying near us knew every lyric to every 90s song and they seemed to be relishing this moment as if that night when their singing would be lost over the din of the market clamouring its way to sleep, this would be the last of the bratwurst and the fire pits and the promise of it all happening again tomorrow.

Berlin, we’ll see you again soon.

Cameras used: Fuji XE1, Contax G2, Fuji GW690II
Written by Amy Tran of All & Sundry

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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We found ourselves on the phone at 1:57am one mid-June night and moments later had asked ourselves, “Did we just book a trip for two and a half months to Europe?” We had a vague idea of Amsterdam, our first overseas travel destination together, but with the opportunity to extend our layover by a few days, all was settled: we were going to be in the Netherlands for four days to photograph, experience, and explore before our connecting flight to Istanbul.

Understanding Amsterdam as the prelude to our travels offered us a sense of relaxation and a way to mentally prepare ourselves; though the idea of living with only what we could carry was nothing new to either of us, we both had never set out on a trip for this long. The only thing to do then (and anytime, really) was to take things in stride—so, we spent some time overcoming our jetlag while in the Venice of the North.

We people-watch; it’s what we do. We also people-photograph. We loved the seamless integration of cyclist, pedestrian, motorist, and tram traffic which moved like clockwork and it was encouraging to see how the right of way of cyclists was respected more than anything; it was easy to make comparisons with Vancouver, the two of us being cyclists, but this is certainly not the kind of thing we want to concern ourselves with while traveling as there are always better things to think about: where you’ll be pointing your feet next, or sleeping that night, or satiating your vegetarian appetite with (good) food.

So we explored the splendidly curated and thoroughly interesting Anne Frank House, consumed delicious and inexpensive red lentil soup at Broodje Bert, slathered homemade pineapple jam on melt-in-your-mouth croissants at Gartine, received our cat fix at the Poesenboot (yes, we were in need of one already), took in the disinterested expressions of the iPhone-occupied women in the Red Light District, went on a quest to find the coveted stroopwafel at the Albert Cuyp Markt nearly missing the stroop-maker, scaled the I Amsterdam sign, and admired every canal, bike-lined street, and crooked building in beautiful Amsterdam.

We know we’ll visit again, most definitely during a warmer season in order to fully participate in the cycling culture of the city, festivals, and events that happen across the water at the NDSM Werf, outdoor markets, and the like—but wintry Amsterdam had our hearts (and our body heat).

Cameras Used: Fuji XE1, Contax G2, Fuji GW690II (film processing by wonderful people at TheFindLab)
Written by Amy Tran of All & Sundry

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

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Priscilla and Travis only connected with me a few short months before their wedding. Originally, they were not looking to hire a Vancouver wedding photographer.

But thanks to my good friends, Kamelli and Chris, who had a lot of good things to say about my work, I was booked for their wedding day.

Here I was, shooting a wedding right in the beautiful heart of Vancouver’s West End. Priscilla and Travis held their ceremony at St. Paul’s Anglican Church because it was significant to them as was the neighbourhood they lived in. So much about this wedding was intimate and thoughtful, even down to the details of Priscilla’s locally-designed dress. It was also a particularly emotional occasion for both sides of the family and the privilege was definitely all mine to be able to witness and capture these quiet and intense moments. After the ceremony, the group loaded onto a bus and drove to Stanley Park where we took the rest of our portraits. It was a short day for me and I wish I could have had the opportunity to capture the entire day, but I hope these photographs depict some of the best moments of two amazing people who love and are loved.

Tomasz Wagner | Mananetwork

Ceremony: St.Paul’s Anglican Church | Reception: Heritage Hall  | Photo Location: Stanley Park | Bride’s Dress: Jason Matlo | Groom’s suit: J Crew | Shoes: Chie Mihara and Gravity Pope | Jewelry: Grimson & Sons | Hair: Rosalind Satar | Makeup: Ramona Satar | Flowers: Davie Flowers | Catering: Butler Did It | Cake: Grace Winter | DJ: Kilocee

Processional: “This Will Be Our Year” by The Zombies and performed live by Cary Pratt of Prairie Cat
Recessional: “River Deep - Mountain High” by Harry Nilsson
First Dance: “I’m In Love With A Girl” by Big Star

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